[JPRT 110-40]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


110th Congress 
2d Session                JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT         S. Prt.
                                                        110-40
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


                    COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
                           PRACTICES FOR 2006

                               VOLUME II

                               ----------                              

                              R E P O R T

                            SUBMITTED TO THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
                               US SENATE

                                AND THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                      US 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 2006
                               VOLUME II

110th Congress 
 2d Session              JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT                  S. Prt.
                                                                 110-40
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 
                    COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
                           PRACTICES FOR 2006

                               VOLUME II

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                            SUBMITTED TO THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                               US SENATE

                                AND THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                      US 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
41-618                      WASHINGTON : 2008
_____________________________________________________________________________
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                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut     RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska
RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin       NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
BARBARA BOXER, California            BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BILL NELSON, Florida                 GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois               LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey          JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania   DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
JIM WEBB, Virginia                   JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
                   Antony J. Blinken, Staff Director
            Kenneth A. Myers, Jr., Republican Staff Director



                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                 HOWARD L. BERMAN, California, Chairman
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York           ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American      CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
    Samoa                            DAN BURTON, Indiana
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey          ELTON GALLEGLY, California
BRAD SHERMAN, California             DANA ROHRABACHER, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida               DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York             EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts         STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York           THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
DIANE E. WATSON, California          RON PAUL, Texas
ADAM SMITH, Washington               JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri              MIKE PENCE, Indiana
JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee            JOE WILSON, South Carolina
GENE GREEN, Texas                    JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California          J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas            CONNIE MACK, Florida
RUBEN HINOJOSA, Texas                JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York             MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
DAVID WU, Oregon                     TED POE, Texas
BRAD MILLER, North Carolina          BOB INGLIS, South Carolina
LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California         LUIS G. FORTUNO, Puerto Rico
DAVID SCOTT, Georgia                 GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida
JIM COSTA, California                VACANT
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona
RON KLEIN, Florida
BARBARA LEE, California
                     Robert R. King, Staff Director
                Yleem Poblete, Republican Staff Director

                                  (ii)

  


                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Foreword.........................................................   vii

Letter of Transmittal............................................    ix

Preface..........................................................    xi

Overview and Acknowledgments.....................................  xiii

Introduction.....................................................  xvii

                                Volume I

Africa:

    Angola.......................................................     1
    Benin........................................................    15
    Botswana.....................................................    25
    Burkina Faso.................................................    34
    Burundi......................................................    44
    Cameroon.....................................................    67
    Cape Verde...................................................    91
    Central African Republic.....................................    97
    Chad.........................................................   123
    Comoros......................................................   137
    Congo, Democratic Republic of the............................   142
    Congo, Republic of...........................................   167
    Cote d'Ivoire................................................   176
    Djibouti.....................................................   200
    Equatorial Guinea............................................   207
    Eritrea......................................................   223
    Ethiopia.....................................................   235
    Gabon........................................................   259
    Gambia, The..................................................   267
    Ghana........................................................   279
    Guinea.......................................................   300
    Guinea-Bissau................................................   317
    Kenya........................................................   322
    Lesotho......................................................   343
    Liberia......................................................   352
    Madagascar...................................................   363
    Malawi.......................................................   375
    Mali.........................................................   389
    Mauritania...................................................   397
    Mauritius....................................................   408
    Mozambique...................................................   415
    Namibia......................................................   432
    Niger........................................................   441
    Nigeria......................................................   455
    Rwanda.......................................................   481
    Sao Tome and Principe........................................   507
    Senegal......................................................   512
    Seychelles...................................................   529
    Sierra Leone.................................................   534
    Somalia......................................................   551
    South Africa.................................................   565
    Sudan........................................................   580
    Swaziland....................................................   603
    Tanzania.....................................................   616
    Togo.........................................................   641
    Uganda.......................................................   652
    Zambia.......................................................   678
    Zimbabwe.....................................................   692

East Asia and the Pacific:

    Australia....................................................   717
    Brunei.......................................................   729
    Burma........................................................   737
    Cambodia.....................................................   763
    China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong and Macau)..................   787
      Tibet......................................................   825
      Hong Kong..................................................   834
      Macau......................................................   845
    China (Taiwan only)..........................................   852
    East Timor...................................................   866
    Fiji.........................................................   882
    Indonesia....................................................   892
    Japan........................................................   923
    Kiribati.....................................................   931
    Korea, Democratic People's Republic of.......................   936
    Korea, Republic of...........................................   947
    Laos.........................................................   956
    Malaysia.....................................................   971
    Marshall Islands.............................................   996
    Micronesia, Federated States of..............................  1001
    Mongolia.....................................................  1006
    Nauru........................................................  1016
    New Zealand..................................................  1021
    Palau........................................................  1028
    Papua New Guinea.............................................  1033
    Philippines..................................................  1041
    Samoa........................................................  1059
    Singapore....................................................  1064
    Solomon Islands..............................................  1080
    Thailand.....................................................  1085
    Tonga........................................................  1112
    Tuvalu.......................................................  1119
    Vanuatu......................................................  1124
    Vietnam......................................................  1129

Europe and Eurasia:

    Albania......................................................  1155
    Andorra......................................................  1171
    Armenia......................................................  1175
    Austria......................................................  1189
    Azerbaijan...................................................  1198
    Belarus......................................................  1219
    Belgium......................................................  1255
    Bosnia and Herzegovina.......................................  1263
    Bulgaria.....................................................  1281
    Croatia......................................................  1298
    Cyprus, Republic of..........................................  1321
    Czech Republic...............................................  1341
    Denmark......................................................  1358
    Estonia......................................................  1364
    Finland......................................................  1371
    France.......................................................  1380
    Georgia......................................................  1396
    Germany......................................................  1422
    Greece.......................................................  1433
    Hungary......................................................  1452
    Iceland......................................................  1464
    Ireland......................................................  1472
    Italy........................................................  1480
    Latvia.......................................................  1492
    Liechtenstein................................................  1502
    Lithuania....................................................  1507
    Luxembourg...................................................  1518
    Macedonia....................................................  1522
    Malta........................................................  1539
    Moldova......................................................  1545
    Monaco.......................................................  1563
    Montenegro...................................................  1566
    Netherlands, The.............................................  1575
    Norway.......................................................  1585
    Poland.......................................................  1591
    Portugal.....................................................  1605
    Romania......................................................  1612
    Russia.......................................................  1641
    San Marino...................................................  1707
    Serbia.......................................................  1711
      Kosovo.....................................................  1727
    Slovak Republic..............................................  1752
    Slovenia.....................................................  1767
    Spain........................................................  1777
    Sweden.......................................................  1788
    Switzerland..................................................  1798
    Turkey.......................................................  1807
    Ukraine......................................................  1833
    United Kingdom...............................................  1863


                               Volume II

Near East and North Africa:

    Algeria......................................................  1877
    Bahrain......................................................  1892
    Egypt........................................................  1910
    Iran.........................................................  1941
    Iraq.........................................................  1969
    Israel (and the occupied territories)........................  1990
      The Occupied Territories...................................  2011
    Jordan.......................................................  2033
    Kuwait.......................................................  2051
    Lebanon......................................................  2070
    Libya........................................................  2086
    Morocco......................................................  2095
      Western Sahara.............................................  2110
    Oman.........................................................  2115
    Qatar........................................................  2125
    Saudi Arabia.................................................  2137
    Syria........................................................  2158
    Tunisia......................................................  2181
    United Arab Emirates.........................................  2202
    Yemen........................................................  2220

South Central Asia:

    Afghanistan..................................................  2241
    Bangladesh...................................................  2268
    Bhutan.......................................................  2289
    India........................................................  2297
    Kazakhstan...................................................  2344
    Kyrgyz Republic..............................................  2367
    Maldives.....................................................  2390
    Nepal........................................................  2400
    Pakistan.....................................................  2418
    Sri Lanka....................................................  2447
    Tajikistan...................................................  2462
    Turkmenistan.................................................  2479
    Uzbekistan...................................................  2494
Western Hemisphere:

    Antigua and Barbuda..........................................  2525
    Argentina....................................................  2529
    Bahamas......................................................  2543
    Barbados.....................................................  2552
    Belize.......................................................  2558
    Bolivia......................................................  2567
    Brazil.......................................................  2581
    Canada.......................................................  2604
    Chile........................................................  2613
    Colombia.....................................................  2623
    Costa Rica...................................................  2647
    Cuba.........................................................  2657
    Dominica.....................................................  2677
    Dominican Republic...........................................  2682
    Ecuador......................................................  2701
    El Salvador..................................................  2715
    Grenada......................................................  2731
    Guatemala....................................................  2735
    Guyana.......................................................  2751
    Haiti........................................................  2762
    Honduras.....................................................  2772
    Jamaica......................................................  2787
    Mexico.......................................................  2796
    Nicaragua....................................................  2813
    Panama.......................................................  2826
    Paraguay.....................................................  2839
    Peru.........................................................  2853
    Saint Kitts and Nevis........................................  2867
    Saint Lucia..................................................  2872
    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.............................  2878
    Suriname.....................................................  2884
    Trinidad and Tobago..........................................  2894
    Uruguay......................................................  2903
    Venezuela....................................................  2909


                              Appendixes:

A. Notes on Preparation of the Reports...........................  2927

B. Reporting on Worker Rights....................................  2933

C. Selected International Human Rights Conventions...............  2935

D. Description of International Human Rights Conventions in 
  Appendix C.....................................................  2943

E. Country Assistance FY 2006....................................  2945

F. UN General Assembly's Third Committee Country Resolution Votes 
  2006...........................................................  2959

G. United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights..........  2965
?

                                FOREWORD

                              ----------                              

    The country reports on human rights practices contained 
herein were prepared by the Department of State in accordance 
with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961, as amended. They also fulfill the legislative 
requirements of section 505(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended.
    The reports cover the human rights practices of all nations 
that are members of the United Nations and a few that are not. 
They are printed to assist Members of Congress in the 
consideration of legislation, particularly foreign assistance 
legislation.

                              Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
                          Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations.

                                  Howard L. Berman,
                            Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs.

                                 (vii)

                                     
?

                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                     Washington, DC, March 6, 2006.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
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 2006, 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,
                                Jeffrey T. Bergner,
                          Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs.
    Enclosure.

                                  (ix)

                                     
                                PREFACE

                              ----------                              


                          Human Rights Reports

                              ----------                              

    Across the globe, men and women are pushing for greater 
personal and political freedom and for the adoption of 
democratic institutions. They are striving to secure what 
President Bush calls ``the non-negotiable demands of human 
dignity.''
    Despite personal risk and against great odds, courageous 
individuals and nongovernmental groups expose human rights 
abuses. They seek to protect the rights of ethnic and religious 
minorities, workers, and women, and to stop the trafficking in 
human beings. They work to build vibrant civil societies, 
ensure free and fair elections, and establish accountable, law-
based democracies.
    These impatient patriots are redefining the limitations of 
what was previously thought to be possible. Indeed, in the span 
of a few generations freedom has spread across the developing 
world, communist dictatorships have collapsed, and new 
democracies have risen. The rights enshrined in the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights are protected more fully and by 
more countries than ever before.
    This noble work continues--but it is not yet complete and 
it faces determined opponents. Not surprisingly, those who feel 
threatened by democratic change resist those who advocate and 
act for reform. Over the past year, we have seen attempts to 
harass and intimidate human rights defenders and civil society 
organizations and to restrict or shut down their activities. 
Unjust laws have been wielded as political weapons against 
those with independent views. There also have been attempts to 
silence dissenting voices by extralegal means.
    Whenever non-governmental organizations and other human 
rights defenders are under siege, freedom and democracy are 
undermined. The world's democracies must defend the defenders. 
That is one of the primary missions of our diplomacy today, and 
we hope that the Department of State's County Reports on Human 
Rights Practices for 2006 will help to further this effort. 
With these thoughts, I hereby submit these reports to the 
United States Congress.
                                  Condoleezza Rice,
                                                Secretary of State.
                      OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

                              ----------                              


                          Human Rights Reports

                              ----------                              


                      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 that thus are not covered by 
the congressional requirement.
    The responsibility of the United States to speak out on 
behalf of international human rights standards was formalized 
in the early 1970s. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation 
creating a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of 
State, a position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. In 
1994 the Congress created a position of Senior Advisor for 
Women's Rights. Congress has also written into law formal 
requirements 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. The first reports, in 1977, covered only the 82 
countries receiving U.S. aid; this year 196 reports are 
submitted.

                      HOW THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED

    In 1993, the Secretary of State strengthened further the 
human rights efforts of our embassies. All sections in each 
embassy were asked to contribute information and to corroborate 
reports of human rights violations, and new efforts were made 
to link mission programming to the advancement of human rights 
and democracy. In 1994 the Bureau of Human Rights and 
Humanitarian Affairs was reorganized and renamed as the Bureau 
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, reflecting both a broader 
sweep and a more focused approach to the interlocking issues of 
human rights, worker rights and democracy. The 2006 Country 
Reports on Human Rights Practices reflect a year of dedicated 
effort by hundreds of State Department, Foreign Service, and 
other U.S. Government employees.
    Our embassies, which prepared the initial drafts of the 
reports, gathered information throughout the year from a 
variety of sources across the political spectrum, including 
government officials, jurists, armed forces sources, 
journalists, human rights monitors, academics, and labor 
activists. This information-gathering can be hazardous, and 
U.S. Foreign Service Officers regularly go to great lengths, 
under trying and sometimes dangerous conditions, to investigate 
reports of human rights abuse, monitor elections, and come to 
the aid of individuals at risk, such as political dissidents 
and human rights defenders whose rights are threatened by their 
governments.
    After the embassies completed their drafts, the texts were 
sent to Washington for careful review by the Bureau of 
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in cooperation with other 
State Department offices. As they worked to corroborate, 
analyze, and edit the reports, Department officers drew on 
their own sources of information. These 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. Officers 
also consulted with experts on worker rights, refugee issues, 
military and police topics, women's issues, and legal matters. 
The guiding principle was to ensure that all relevant 
information was assessed as objectively, thoroughly, and fairly 
as possible.
    The reports in this volume will be used as a resource for 
shaping policy, conducting diplomacy, and making assistance, 
training, and other resource allocations. They also will serve 
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 individual, 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 
persons have the inalienable right to change their government 
by peaceful means and 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 sex. 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.
    Within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the 
editorial staff of the Country Reports Team consists of: 
Editor-in-Chief--Stephen Eisenbraun; Office Directors--Bruce 
Connuck, Nadia Tongour, and Francisco Palmieri; Senior 
Editors--Jonathan Bemis, Daniel Dolan, Stephen Eisenbraun, 
Jerome L. Hoganson, Sandra Murphy, Elizabeth Ramborger, and 
Julie Turner; Editors--Kulsum Ali, Joseph S. Barghout, Kate 
Berglund, Sarah Buckley, Laura Carey, Elise Carlson, Ryan J. 
Casteel, Cheryl Clayton, Sharon C. Cooke, Susan Corke, Stuart 
Crampton, Tamara Crouse, Frank B. Crump, Mollie Davis, Douglas 
B. Dearborn, Cortney Dell, Lauren DiSilvio, Joan Garner, Saba 
Ghori, Karen Gilbride, Elliott Gillerman, Lisa Heller, Victor 
Huser, Stan Ifshin, David T. Jones, Simone Joseph, Salman Khan, 
Anne Knight, Catherine Kuchta-Holbling, Lawrence Lesser, 
Jessica Lieberman, Gregory Maggio, Michael Michener, Jennie 
Munoz, Daniel L. Nadel, Catherine Newling, Emily Oswell, Peter 
Sawchyn, Amy Schmisseur, Patricia Meeks Schnell, Sonam Shah, 
Wendy Silverman, Melissa Sims, James Todd, Terry Tracy, Nicole 
Willett, Whitney Wilson, Suzanne Yountchi, and Robert Zuehlke; 
Contributing Editor--Lynne Davidson; Editorial Assistants--
Elyse Bauer, Adrienne Bory, Karen Chen, Carol Finerty, Maureen 
Gaffney, Sylvia Hammond, Noel Hartley, Laura Jordan, David 
Perez, Lindsay Robinson, Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Julie Short, 
Nora Vacariu, Emily Weaver, Eva Weigold, and Melike Yetken; 
Technical Support--Linda C. Hayes, Paul Skoczylas, and Tanika 
N. Willis.

 INTRODUCTION TO THE COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR THE 
                               YEAR 2006

                              ----------                              

    These reports describe the performance of governments in 
putting into practice their international commitments on human 
rights. These fundamental rights, reflected in the United 
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, constitute what 
President Bush calls the ``non-negotiable demands of human 
dignity.'' As Secretary Rice has said, the full promise of the 
UN Universal Declaration cannot be realized overnight, but it 
is urgent work that cannot be delayed.
    The Universal Declaration calls upon ``every individual and 
every organ of society . to promote respect for these rights 
and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and 
international, to secure their universal and effective 
recognition and observance.''
    The United States takes its human rights commitments 
seriously. We recognize that we are writing this report at a 
time when our own record, and actions we have taken to respond 
to the terrorist attacks against us, have been questioned. The 
United States will continue to respond forthrightly to the good 
faith concerns of others, including by means of the reports we 
submit periodically in accordance with our obligations under 
various human rights treaties to which we are a party. We are 
also committed to continual improvement. U.S. laws, policies, 
and practices governing the detention, treatment, and trial of 
terrorist suspects have evolved considerably over the last five 
years. Our democratic system of government is not infallible, 
but it is accountable--our robust civil society, our vibrant 
free media, our independent branches of government, and a well 
established rule of law work as correctives.
    The congressionally mandated country reports on human 
rights practices that follow are an essential element of the 
United States' effort to promote respect for human rights 
worldwide. For three decades, these annual reports have been 
used widely here and abroad as a reference document for 
assessing the progress made and the challenges that remain. 
They also have served as a foundation for cooperative action 
among governments, organizations, and individuals seeking to 
end abuses and strengthen the capacity of countries to protect 
the fundamental rights of all.
    The reports review each country's performance in 2006. Each 
report speaks for itself. Yet, broad patterns are discernible 
and are described below, supported by country-specific 
examples. The examples we cite are illustrative, not 
exhaustive.

                 HOPEFUL TRENDS, YET SOBERING REALITIES

    As a review of these reports shows, across the globe in 
2006, men and women continued to press for their rights to be 
respected and their governments to be responsive, for their 
voices to be heard and their votes to count, for just laws and 
justice for all. There also was a growing recognition that 
democracy is the form of government that can best meet the 
demands of citizens for dignity, liberty, and equality. These 
are hopeful trends indeed, yet the reports also reflect 
sobering realities:
    First, the advances made in human rights and democracy were 
hard won and challenging to sustain. While some countries made 
significant progress, some lagged and others regressed.
    As the range of examples below demonstrates, the 
performance of countries varied greatly, depending on factors 
such as the degree of governmental commitment, institutional 
capacity, the extent of corruption, and the strength of civil 
society.
    In January 2006 Liberia's democratically elected Unity 
Party Government, led by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first 
female head of state in Africa, replaced the National 
Transitional Government of Liberia, which had served as the 
interim government since the end of a ruinous 14-year civil war 
in 2003. The Government took significant steps to correct past 
human rights deficiencies, including working with international 
partners to rehabilitate the country's justice sector and 
establishing a public defender's office in the capital. The 
president dismissed or suspended a number of corrupt government 
officials. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established 
in 2005 to investigate human rights violations and war crimes 
committed during the civil war, began taking statements from 
witnesses. Despite this progress, Liberia continued to face 
serious human rights challenges, including a still weak 
judiciary, official corruption and impunity, gender-based 
violence, and extreme poverty that led to child labor.
    Substantial reductions in killings by the armed forces and 
the police in politically sensitive areas of Indonesia 
continued during the year. Fifty-four generally free and fair 
elections were held at the provincial, regency, district, and 
municipal levels, most notably in December in Aceh, where a 
former rebel field commander won the governorship. Although 
inter-communal religious violence generally abated, it 
nonetheless persisted in some areas. The Government and the 
courts were unable to confront past human rights abuses and 
atrocities both in Indonesia and in East Timor.
    Morocco's human rights record showed notable progress, 
although problems remained. The Government began to address 
past human rights abuses by providing compensation through the 
Consultative Council on Human Rights for specific cases of 
arrest, disappearance, and abuse during the period between 1956 
and 1999. In March the Government enacted an antitorture law, 
although reports of torture by various branches of the security 
forces persisted. There was extensive and largely open debate 
in public and in the press, despite continuing restrictions on 
freedom of the press and speech. During the year the Government 
punished some journalists who violated limitations on free 
speech, and many journalists practiced self-censorship. 
Trafficking in persons, particularly for sexual exploitation, 
and child labor remained issues of concern; however, both the 
Government and civil society were increasingly active in 
addressing them.
    The Democratic Republic of the Congo held its first 
democratic presidential and legislative elections in more than 
45 years, putting an end to a three-year post-civil war 
transitional period. A new constitution went into force. Yet, 
the human rights record remained poor. In addition to simmering 
conflict in the east, where government control remained weak 
and armed groups continued to commit serious abuses, government 
security forces across the country also committed serious 
abuses with impunity.
    In Haiti, citizens demonstrated their commitment to 
democracy by going to the polls three times in 2006. More than 
3.5 million citizens registered to vote, and an impressive 
turnout estimated at more than 70 percent of registered voters 
participated in the first round of presidential and 
parliamentary elections in February. After a relatively stable 
and violence-free election process, voters selected President 
Rene Preval and filled 129 parliamentary seats. In December, 
Haiti held its first municipal elections in more than a decade. 
Yet much remains to be done to restore fully the rule of law, 
including an overhaul of Haiti's dysfunctional judicial system 
and the continued retraining and vetting of the Haitian 
National Police.
    In Ukraine, notable post-Orange Revolution progress in 
human rights performance continued to be made. The March 2006 
parliamentary elections were the freest in 15 years of 
independence. The country continued to make improvements in 
press freedom, freedom of association, and the development of 
civil society. Despite these gains, a number of serious 
problems remained, including corruption in all branches of 
government.
    Although Kyrgyzstan's human rights record had improved 
considerably following the change to democratically elected 
leadership in 2005, during 2006 a week of mass yet peaceful 
protests culminated in the hasty adoption of an amended 
constitution that offered the possibility for genuine checks 
and balances. At the end of December, however, parliament 
passed another constitution negating many key checks and 
balances. The Government also harassed foreign-funded 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
    Despite President Musharraf's stated commitment to 
democratic transition and ``enlightened moderation,'' 
Pakistan's human rights record continued to be poor. 
Restrictions remained on freedom of movement, expression, 
association, and religion. Disappearances of provincial 
activists and political opponents continued, especially in 
provinces experiencing internal turmoil and insurgencies. The 
security forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings. 
Arbitrary arrest and torture remained common. Corruption was 
pervasive throughout the Government and police forces. On a 
positive note, in December the National Assembly passed and 
President Musharraf signed the Women's Protection Bill--marking 
the first time in three decades that a Pakistan Government 
successfully rolled back laws detrimental to women's rights. 
The law amends the 1979 rape and adultery provision of the 
Hudood Ordinance by transferring the offense of rape from 
Pakistan Sharia law to the Pakistan Penal Code. The law also 
eliminates the requirement for rape victims to present four 
male witnesses to press charges.
    Though Egypt held a first-ever, multi-party presidential 
election in 2005, in 2006 public calls for greater 
democratization and accountability sometimes met with strong 
government reaction. The continued imprisonment of former 
presidential candidate Ayman Nour raised serious concerns about 
the path of political reform and democracy in the country. 
Continuing a trend begun in 2005, the Government arrested and 
detained hundreds of activists affiliated with the banned-but-
tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, generally for periods lasting 
several weeks. Two senior judges were brought in for 
questioning in February for publicly calling for an independent 
judiciary. Egyptian police arrested and detained over 500 
activists for participating in demonstrations in support of 
judicial independence. In addition, severe cases of torture by 
authorities were documented. The Government also arrested, 
detained, and abused several Internet bloggers.
    In Kazakhstan, the Government restricted the functioning of 
the political opposition by enforcing onerous registration 
requirements and hindering or denying political party 
registration. The merging of progovernment parties consolidated 
the firm leadership of President Nazarbayev's Otan Party and 
left less political space to express alternative views and 
advocate for reform. The Government harassed the political 
opposition via politically motivated charges and restrictions 
on freedom of assembly, passed laws restricting press freedom, 
and harassed NGOs.
    Russia experienced continuing centralization of power in 
the executive branch, including amendments to election laws and 
new legislation for political parties that grants the 
Government broad powers to regulate, investigate, limit, and 
even close down parties. Taken together with a compliant State 
Duma, corruption and selectivity in law enforcement, political 
pressure on the judiciary, and restrictions on the NGOs and the 
media, these trends resulted in the further erosion of 
government accountability. In Chechnya and other areas of the 
North Caucasus, serious human rights violations continued, 
including unlawful killings and abuses of civilians by both 
federal and Chechen Republic security forces. Rebel fighters 
committed terrorist bombings and politically motivated 
disappearances in the region. In a growing number of cases, the 
European Court of Human Rights held Russia responsible for 
these abuses.
    In Venezuela, the Chavez Government continued to 
consolidate power in the executive branch. The Government 
continued to harass the opposition and NGOs and to weaken 
judicial independence. International observers judged generally 
free and fair the December presidential elections, in which 
President Chavez won re-election with 63 percent of the vote. 
In his inaugural address, President Chavez asked the National 
Assembly, in which his parties control 100 percent of the 
seats, to grant him power to rule by executive decree.
    In Fiji and Thailand, militaries overthrew democratically 
elected governments.
    A second sobering reality is that insecurity due to 
internal and/or cross-border conflict can threaten or thwart 
advancements in human rights and democratic government.
    Despite the Iraqi Government's continuing commitment to 
foster national reconciliation and reconstruction, keep to an 
electoral course, and establish the rule of law, both deepening 
sectarian violence and acts of terrorism seriously undercut 
human rights and democratic progress during 2006. Although the 
Iraqi constitution and law provide a strong framework for the 
protection of human rights, armed groups attacked human rights 
from two different directions: those proclaiming their 
hostility to the Government--Al-Qa'ida terrorists, 
irreconcilable remnants of the Ba'athist regime, and insurgents 
waging guerrilla warfare; and members of Shi'a militias and 
individual ministries' security forces--nominally allied with 
the Government--who committed torture and other abuses.
    Although Afghanistan made important human rights progress 
since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, its human rights record 
remained poor. This was mainly due to weak central institutions 
and a deadly insurgency: the Taliban, Al-Qa'ida, and other 
extremist groups stepped up attacks against government 
officials, security forces, NGOs and other aid personnel, and 
unarmed civilians; and the number of suicide bombings rose 
dramatically during the year, as did attacks on schools and 
teachers. There were continued reports of cases of arbitrary 
arrests and detention, extrajudicial killings, torture, and 
poor prison conditions. In December President Karzai launched a 
Transitional Justice Action Plan designed to address past 
violations of human rights and improve the institutional 
capacity of the justice system.
    Lebanon's significant steps toward reform following the 
2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 
the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops after nearly three 
decades of occupation have been hampered since the July-August 
2006 conflict between Hizballah and Israel. Before the 
conflict, the Lebanese Government had started to remove many of 
the obstacles that barred political associations and parties. 
After Hizballah entered Israel from Lebanese territory and 
kidnapped and killed several Israeli soldiers, Israeli military 
forces responded by entering Lebanese territory. The conflict 
ended with an UN-sponsored cessation of hostilities. Despite 
the cessation of hostilities and the deployment of the Lebanon 
Armed Forces and UN Interim Forces in the south, Lebanese 
militias and Hizballah retained significant influence over 
parts of the country.
    In East Timor, a series of deadly clashes between the 
national defense force and a variety of dissident military, 
police, and civilian forces led to widespread mob and gang 
violence in the capital. At the request of the Government, 
forces from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Portugal 
assumed responsibility for security in the capital. On August 
25, the UN Integrated Mission for East Timor took over policing 
responsibilities. This internal conflict resulted in the 
displacement of approximately 150,000 people, more than 15 
percent of the country's population.
    Third, despite gains for human rights and democratic 
principles in every region of the world, much of humanity still 
lives in fear yet dreams of freedom.
    Countries in which power remained concentrated in the hands 
of unaccountable rulers--whether totalitarian or 
authoritarian--continued to be the world's most systematic 
human rights violators.
    In 2006 North Korea remained one of the world's most 
isolated and repressive regimes. The regime controls almost all 
aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press, 
assembly, and association, and restricts freedom of movement 
and worker rights. The constitution provides for ``freedom of 
religious belief,'' but genuine religious freedom does not 
exist. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people, including 
political prisoners, were held in detention camps, and many 
prisoners died from torture, starvation, disease, and exposure.
    The military Government in Burma extensively used 
executions, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and forced 
relocation of entire villages, particularly of ethnic 
minorities, to maintain its grip on power. Prisoners and 
detainees were subjected to abuse and held in harsh, life-
threatening conditions. Surveillance, harassment, and 
imprisonment of political activists continued; Nobel Laureate 
and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remained incommunicado 
under house arrest, and over 1,100 political prisoners 
languished in prison. The use of forced labor, trafficking in 
persons, conscription of child soldiers, and religious 
discrimination remained widespread. The Government reconvened 
the sham National Convention, handpicking delegates and 
prohibiting free debate. Touted as part of a ``democracy road 
map,'' the convention was designed to nullify the results of 
the 1990 election and adopt a new, regime-friendly 
constitution. The regime's cruel and destructive misrule also 
resulted in refugee outflows, the spread of infectious 
diseases, and the trafficking of drugs and human beings into 
neighboring countries.
    The Iranian Government flagrantly violated freedom of 
speech and assembly, intensifying its crackdown against 
dissidents, journalists, and reformers--a crackdown 
characterized by arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, 
disappearances, the use of excessive force, and the widespread 
denial of fair public trials. The Government continued to 
detain and abuse Baha'is and other religious minorities and 
hosted a widely condemned conference denying the existence of 
the Holocaust. In the lead-up to the December 15 Assembly of 
Experts elections in Iran, more than two-thirds of those who 
had applied to run--including all female candidates--were 
disqualified, leaving many seats uncontested. Hundreds of 
candidates in nationwide municipal elections also were 
disqualified. The Government continued to flout domestic and 
international calls for responsible government in 2006 by 
supporting terrorist movements in Syria and Lebanon as well as 
calling for the destruction of a UN member state.
    In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe Government continued across-the-
board violations of human rights. Official corruption and 
impunity were widespread. The 2002 Official Secrets Act and 
Public Order and Security Act remained in effect, severely 
restricting civil liberties. In the 2006 parliamentary by-
elections and rural district council elections, the 
Government's manipulation of the electoral process 
disenfranchised voters and skewed elections in favor of ruling 
party candidates. The ruling party's dominance permitted 
constitutional changes without wide consultation. Security 
forces harassed, beat, and arbitrarily arrested critics and 
opposition supporters. Disruptions at farms and seizures of 
property continued and were sometimes violent. The campaign of 
forced evictions, which left 700,000 people homeless during 
Operation Restore Order in 2005, continued on a lesser scale. 
The Government interfered with humanitarian organizations' 
efforts to provide assistance. In December Mugabe and his 
loyalists proposed extending his term for two years by 
deferring presidential elections to 2010.
    In Cuba, the Government, temporarily headed by Raul Castro 
due to Fidel Castro's illness, continued to violate virtually 
all the rights of its citizens, including the fundamental right 
to change their Government peacefully or criticize the 
revolution or its leaders. In 2006 the Government increased its 
harassment of dissidents and other citizens viewed as threats 
to the Government, often through mob actions called ``acts of 
repudiation'' involving verbal abuse and physical attacks. 
Beatings and abuse of detainees and prisoners also were carried 
out with impunity. Although token releases of prisoners 
occurred during the year, at least 283 political prisoners and 
detainees were held at year's end, including 59 of 75 
prodemocracy and human rights activists imprisoned in a March 
2003 crackdown.
    The Chinese Government's human rights record deteriorated 
in some areas in 2006. There was an increased number of high-
profile cases involving the monitoring, harassment, detention, 
and imprisonment of political and religious activists, 
journalists, and writers as well as defense lawyers seeking to 
exercise their rights under the law. Some of their family 
members also were harassed and detained. Large numbers of mass 
demonstrations and protests calling for redress of grievances 
continued and in some cases were violently suppressed. New 
government controls were imposed on: NGOs; the media, including 
the Internet; and courts and judges. Repression of unregistered 
religious groups and of minority groups, in particular Uighurs 
and Tibetans, remained a serious concern.
    In Belarus, the Lukashenko Government continued and 
intensified its repressive policies. The March presidential 
election was severely flawed. Up to 1,000 people were arrested 
in an ensuing crackdown on public protests against the results 
and many were sentenced to short jail terms. More activists and 
opposition members, including Aleksander Kozulin, who ran 
against Lukashenko in the presidential race, were sentenced to 
jail terms ranging from 2 to 5 + years.
    The Eritrean Government continued to be one of the most 
repressive in Sub-Saharan Africa, and its human rights record 
worsened in 2006. Government security forces committed 
extrajudicial killings; there were credible reports that 
security forces shot on sight individuals trying to cross the 
border into Ethiopia. The Government escalated its campaign of 
arresting national service evaders as well as their relatives, 
and there also were credible reports indicating that some of 
those arrested were tortured. As it did in 2005, the Government 
ordered several international humanitarian NGOs to leave the 
country, despite a severe drought in the Horn of Africa. There 
were continued severe restrictions on religious freedom.
    The fourth sobering reality is that as the worldwide push 
for greater personal and political freedom grows stronger, it 
is being met with increasing resistance from those who feel 
threatened by political and societal change.
    Human rights defenders and nongovernmental organizations 
are essential to a nation's success. In today's world, the 
problems confronting states are too complex even for the most 
powerful to tackle alone. The contributions of civil society 
and the free flow of ideas and information are crucial in 
addressing a host of domestic and international challenges. 
Restricting the political space of NGOs and public debate only 
limits a society's own growth.
    In every region of the globe in 2006, there were 
governments that responded to the growing demands for personal 
and political freedom not by accepting their obligations to 
their people but by oppressing those who advocated for human 
rights and who exposed abuses, such as nongovernmental 
organizations and independent media, including the Internet. A 
disturbing number of countries passed or selectively applied 
laws and regulations against NGOs and journalists. NGOs and 
journalists also were subjected to extralegal measures, often 
by unknown assailants. For example:
    In Russia in 2006, a new NGO law entered into force in 
April imposing more stringent registration requirements for 
NGOs, strict monitoring of organizations, extensive and onerous 
reporting requirements on programming and activities, and 
empowering the Federal Registration Service to deny 
registration or to shut down an organization based on vague and 
subjective criteria. Freedom of expression and media 
independence declined due to government pressure and 
restrictions. In October unknown persons murdered human rights 
defender Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent journalist known for 
her critical writing on human rights abuses in Chechnya. The 
Government used its controlling ownership of all national 
television and radio stations, as well as of the majority of 
influential regional ones, to restrict access to information 
deemed sensitive.
    In Belarus, onerous tax inspections and NGO registration 
requirements made it difficult for civil society organizations 
to operate, and attacks against members of the independent 
media continued. In November prodemocracy activist Dmitriy 
Dashkevich was sentenced to 18 months in prison for operating 
an unregistered NGO.
    The Government of Kazakhstan registered the opposition True 
Ak Zhol party after one of its co-chairmen, Sarsenbaiuly, was 
killed and restrictively interpreted Article 5 of the 
constitution to suspend foreign-funded, nonpartisan political 
party training activities, asserting that providing information 
is tantamount to financing political parties. In July President 
Nazarbayev signed into law restrictive media amendments deemed 
a step backward by the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe's Freedom of Media Representative. The 
Government continued to use restrictive libel laws to fine, 
convict, and suspend media outlets, journalists, and critics. 
In April a member of a suspended media outlet was brutally 
beaten.
    Freedom of expression, association and assembly are tightly 
restricted in Turkmenistan, and the Government sought to 
control all NGO activity. Foreign-origin satellite television 
is accessible throughout the country, but the Government 
controlled all domestic media, and local journalists were 
prohibited from all contact with foreigners unless specifically 
permitted. Very limited Internet access was provided through 
government-owned Turkmen Telecom; no new accounts were allowed 
in the capital since September 2002. In August the Government 
arrested journalists Ogulspapar Myradova, Annakurban 
Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy Hajiyev and sentenced them to six 
to seven years of imprisonment for weapons possession in a 
closed, summary trial. In September Myradova, a Radio Free 
Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent, died in prison under 
suspicious circumstances. NGOs have reported that she and her 
two colleagues were tortured during detention in the summer to 
extract confessions of weapons possession. OnDecember 21, 
President Saparmurat Niyazov died.
    The Government of Uzbekistan sought to control most NGO 
activity and closed down over 200 civil society organizations, 
including international NGOs operating in the country, citing 
alleged violations of the law. Independent journalists and 
human rights activists continued to be persecuted.
    The Syrian Government strictly controlled the dissemination 
of information and prohibited criticism of the Government and 
discussion of sectarian issues, including religious and 
minority rights. There were detentions and beatings for 
individual expressions of opinion that violated these 
restrictions, for example the February arrest of journalist 
Adel Mahfouz after he called for interfaith dialogue following 
the controversy surrounding the depiction of the Prophet 
Muhammed in cartoons. The Government relied on its press and 
publication laws, the penal code, and the Emergency Law to 
censor access to the Internet, and it restricted electronic 
media. Harassment of domestic human rights activists also 
occurred, including regular close surveillance and the 
imposition of travel bans when they sought to attend workshops 
and conferences outside the country.
    Press freedom was at an all-time low in Iran, as the 
Government closed independent newspapers Shargh and Iran, 
blocked access to Internet news sites--including the New York 
Times and BBC Farsi--and jailed journalists and bloggers. The 
authorities used bans against leaving the country as a weapon 
against journalists.
    In Burundi, there was an increase in the arrest, detention, 
and intimidation of journalists and human rights activists by 
the Government; among many other individuals, police arrested 
and detained for several months the president of the country's 
leading anticorruption NGO. A governor of one province 
reportedly called the country's leading human rights NGO, 
League Iteka, an enemy of peace, and in November a government 
official announced that 32 registered international NGOs in the 
country could face expulsion for failure to submit mandatory 
annual reports to the Government.
    In Rwanda, there was a restrictive atmosphere for the 
functioning of civil society. Domestic and international NGOs 
are required by law to register each year and to provide 
reports to the Government on their activities. Authorities 
reportedly required some NGOs to obtain government 
authorization for some projects before being allowed to access 
international donor funds. In addition, all NGOs were expected 
to join a collective intended to manage their activities.
    The Venezuelan Government continued to harass and 
intimidate civil society groups, most notably the leaders of 
the electoral watchdog NGO Sumate, whose trial for conspiracy 
and treason for accepting a foreign grant was indefinitely 
postponed but continues to hang over their heads. At year's end 
a draft law was under consideration in the National Assembly 
which, if implemented, would increase government control over 
NGOs' financing and restrict NGOs from working in the areas of 
human rights or democracy promotion. Amendments to the penal 
code that impose prison sentences for insulting public 
officials and violent attacks on journalists contributed to a 
climate of self-censorship. The Government stepped up its 
harassment of independent and opposition news outlets. In 
December President Chavez announced that the Government would 
not renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television, 
the country's oldest commercial television network. The 
Government accused the network owners of being ``coup-mongers'' 
and of violating the public trust.
    In China, NGOs, both domestic and international, continued 
to face increased scrutiny and restrictions. By the end of 
2006, Reporters without Borders reported that 31 journalists 
and 52 Internet writers were in jail. While the Government 
encouraged use of the Internet, it also took steps to monitor 
its use, control content, restrict information, and punish 
those who violated regulations. The Government imposed stricter 
website registration requirements, enhanced official control of 
online content, and expanded the definition of illegal online 
content. The Government consistently blocked access to sites it 
deemed controversial, and the authorities reportedly began to 
employ more sophisticated technology enabling the selective 
blocking of specific content rather than entire websites.
    Vietnam continued to monitor and restrict the Internet, 
blocking international human rights and news websites. Laws 
allow citizens to complain openly about inefficient government 
and corruption, but the Government continued to prohibit the 
press from drafting articles that questioned the role of the 
Communist Party, promoted pluralism or multiparty democracy, or 
questioned human rights policy. The Government forbids direct 
access to the Internet through Independent Service Providers 
and requires cybercafe owners to register the personal 
information of their customers and the sites visited. The 
Government released several high-profile political and 
religious dissidents, including Dr. Pham Hong Son, who was 
imprisoned for translating articles on democracy and 
disseminating them over the Internet.
    Genocide was the most sobering reality of all.
    Almost 60 years after the adoption of the UN Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights--an expression of the outraged 
conscience of mankind to the enormity of the Holocaust and the 
cataclysm of the Second World War--genocide continued to ravage 
the Darfur region of Sudan.
    Despite the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
ending the 22-year civil war between the north and south, and 
the establishment of a unity government that year, ethnic 
conflict continued in Sudan, most catastrophically in Darfur. 
The Sudanese Government and government-backed Janjaweed militia 
bear responsibility for the genocide in Darfur, and all parties 
to the conflagration committed serious abuses, including the 
widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of war, 
systematic torture, robbery, and recruitment of child soldiers. 
By the end of 2006, the Darfur conflict had resulted in at 
least 200,000 civilian deaths and two million displaced by the 
fighting. Over 234,000 refugees had fled to neighboring Chad, 
and both Chad and the Central African Republic experienced 
violent ethnic conflict along their borders with Sudan.
    In spite of indicating its support for the Addis Ababa 
framework, the Sudanese Government publicly rejected 
international forces for Darfur and renewed its military 
offensive during the latter half of 2006. The deteriorating 
security conditions forced some international NGOs and 
humanitarian organizations to scale back or suspend operations.

                          DEFEND THE DEFENDERS

    If the great promise of the UN Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights is to be fulfilled, the international community--
and especially the world's democracies--cannot accept that 
today's sobering realities are impervious to change. Indeed, 
they compel us to align ourselves with those who work for human 
dignity and political reform.
    In 2006 the courageous efforts of human rights defenders 
were highlighted by democratic governments:
    Country resolutions passed by the United Nations General 
Assembly in 2006 emphasized the need to protect human rights 
defenders in Iran, Belarus, North Korea, and Burma.
    The UN Democracy Fund, growing out of an idea presented to 
the General Assembly by President Bush in 2004 and established 
in 2005, completed its first year successfully. Its board 
agreed to fund 125 projects out of more than 1,300 proposals 
submitted by over 100 countries--a disbursal of more than $35 
million in grants mostly to prodemocracy civil society 
organizations.
    At the regional level, in June 2006 the General Assembly of 
the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the 
Declaration of Santo Domingo, a groundbreaking multilateral 
commitment by the countries of the region to ``guarantee the 
liberty of every person to enjoy freedom of expression, 
including access to uncensored political debate and the free 
exchange of ideas through all forms of mass media, including 
the Internet.'' The Foreign Ministers also declared their 
resolve to develop and encourage strategies and best practices 
to that effect.
    The OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' Unit for 
Human Rights Defenders issued a report on the serious problems 
they face in some countries, emphasizing the need for 
governments to support their work.
    In advance of the July African Union Assembly of the Heads 
of State, civil society organizations from 19 African countries 
met in Banjul, The Gambia, to develop recommendations for 
summit leaders regarding civil society's role in the African 
Peer Review Mechanism on countries' compliance with treaty 
obligations, ways to improve access to information by civil 
society, and citizenship laws that entrench discrimination. 
These recommendations were adopted at the summit.
    In the Broader Middle East and North Africa region the 
Forum for the Future brought together government officials and 
civil society representatives from the region, along with G-8 
partners, at the Dead Sea in Jordan. Nearly 50 civil society 
leaders representing hundreds of organizations from 16 
countries of the region participated in discussions on the rule 
of law, transparency, women's and youth empowerment, and the 
legal environment for civil society organizations. They also 
discussed how to strengthen reform by establishing mechanisms 
to follow up on recommendations. Though the hardest part lies 
ahead--adoption and implementation of recommendations put 
forward by civil society--the Forum helped to open political 
space that did not before exist for civil society organizations 
to form and interact with governments in the region.
    Marking International Human Rights Day in December 2006, 
Secretary Rice launched two important U.S. initiatives in 
support of human rights and democracy defenders:
    She announced the creation of a Human Rights Defenders Fund 
to be administered by the State Department that will quickly 
disburse small grants to help human rights defenders facing 
extraordinary needs as a result of government repression. This 
funding could go to cover legal defense, medical costs, or the 
pressing needs of activists' families.
    Secretary Rice also issued ten guiding NGO principles 
(http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/77771.htm) regarding the 
treatment by governments of nongovernmental organizations. 
These core principles will guide U.S. treatment of NGOs, and we 
also will use them to assess the actions of other governments. 
The principles are meant to complement lengthier, more detailed 
United Nations and other international documents addressing 
human rights defenders and can help to rally worldwide support 
for embattled NGOs by serving as a handy resource for 
governments, international organizations, civil society groups, 
and journalists.
    When democracies support the work of human rights advocates 
and civil society organizations, we are helping men and women 
in countries across the globe shape their own destinies in 
freedom. And by so doing, we are helping to build a safer, 
better world for all.
    We must defend the defenders, for they are the agents of 
peaceful, democratic change.


                       NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

                              ----------                              


                                ALGERIA

    Algeria is a multiparty republic of approximately 33 million 
inhabitants whose head of state (President) is elected by popular vote 
to a five-year term. The President has the constitutional authority to 
appoint and dismiss cabinet members and the Prime Minister, who serves 
as the head of government. The President also serves as commander-in-
chief of the armed forces. President Bouteflika was re-elected in 2004 
after competing against five other candidates in a generally 
transparent election in which the military remained neutral. While 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the 
security forces, there were a few instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of government authority.
    The Government continued to fail to account for thousands of 
persons who disappeared in detention during the 1990s. Other 
significant human rights problems included reports of abuse and 
torture; official impunity; prolonged pretrial detention; limited 
judicial independence; denial of fair, public trials; restrictions on 
civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, assembly, and 
association; security-based restrictions on movement; limitations on 
religious freedom, including increased regulation of non-Muslim 
worship; corruption and lack of government transparency; discrimination 
against women; and restrictions on workers' rights.

                        RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

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, according to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) 
and press releases, the total number of terrorist, civilian, and 
security force deaths declined to 323 (compared to 488 in 2005, 429 in 
2004, and 1,162 in 2003). Of these, the Government stated that 
terrorists killed 54 civilians (76 in 2005) and 90 security force 
members (177 in 2005); security forces killed an estimated 179 
suspected terrorists (235 in 2005).
    Terrorists targeted civilians, security forces, and infrastructure. 
Press reports estimated that 135 civilians and 174 members of the 
security forces were killed in terrorist attacks, most of which were 
attributed to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).
    Revenge, banditry, and land ownership disputes--not terrorism--
prompted some killings. In February Ali Tounsi, head of the national 
police, stated that terrorism in the country had been nearly eliminated 
and that some violence was the result of organized crime, not 
terrorism. Most of the violence occurred in mountainous and rural 
areas. For the first time in more than two years, there were terrorist 
attacks in the capital. On October 19, an improvised explosive device 
(IED) exploded outside a military barracks in the Algiers suburb of El-
Harrach, wounding six, and on October 30 two bombs killed two persons 
approximately 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from downtown Algiers. On 
December 10, a shuttle bus carrying 20 expatriate workers of a Western 
oil services company was attacked in a suburban area of Algiers near 
residences of senior government officials and a major hotel. Two men on 
the bus were killed.
    In a March press conference, former Prime Minister Ouyahia 
officially stated that the total death toll of the 1998 Ramka massacre 
committed by terrorists in the province of Relizane had been 1,000, not 
150, as previously stated by the Government.

    b. Disappearance.--In June, according to local and international 
NGOs, three individuals disappeared but later reappeared in court on 
October 9 and were charged with belonging to a terrorist group (see 
section 1.d.). It was not known when the individuals were formally 
placed in pretrial detention. In November, according to the Algerian 
League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), an individual 
disappeared and remained missing at year's end.
    For courts to hear charges of disappearance, the law requires at 
least two eyewitnesses. Most of the thousands of disappearances in the 
mid-1990s, many of which have been attributed to the security forces, 
remain unresolved. The Government has not prosecuted any security force 
personnel, and there is no evidence that the Government investigated 
any of the 5,200 cases that it acknowledged were caused by security 
forces. According to some local NGOs, the Government has refused to 
investigate cases to avoid the possibility of criminal charges against 
security forces or other government officials. Courts have therefore 
refused to consider cases where a family member, as a single eyewitness 
to an abduction, identified specific policemen as the abductors.
    Press reports indicated that the GSPC kidnapped approximately 55 
civilians during the year.
    The total number of disappeared during the 1990s continued to be 
debated. During the year, the Government estimated that 6,546 persons 
were missing or disappeared as a result of government actions between 
1992 and 1999, with some 10,000 additional persons missing or 
disappeared from terrorist kidnappings and murders. Local NGOs reported 
that security forces played a role in the disappearances of 
approximately 8,000 persons.
    In September 2005 voters approved by referendum President 
Bouteflika's proposed Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, 
which ended the Ad Hoc Mechanism that was established in 2003 to 
account for the disappeared. According to official results, 80 percent 
of registered voters participated, and 97 percent of the participating 
voters approved the charter. The charter went into effect on March 8, 
granting amnesty to units of the National Popular Army, the security 
forces, and persons who helped fight against extremists, as well as to 
certain persons involved in terrorist activities. To qualify for 
amnesty, individuals engaged in terrorism had to cease their armed 
activities and surrender themselves and their weapons to the 
authorities. Persons implicated in mass killings, rapes, or bomb 
attacks in public places were not eligible for amnesty. NGOs criticized 
the amnesty as a blanket for the security services. Many imprisoned 
terrorists were also given amnesty.
    Families of the disappeared experienced complications and delays in 
receiving compensation from the Government. At year's end, it remained 
unclear how many families had applied for or received compensation.
    Local and international NGOs complained that the charter's blanket 
amnesty for security forces did not hold state agents sufficiently 
responsible for acts of violence they may have committed. Some local 
NGOs criticized the charter for enabling terrorists to escape justice 
for crimes they committed against civilians.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Both the constitution and Legal Code prohibit torture and 
other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; however, 
there were reports from Algeria Watch in March and Amnesty 
International (AI) in April that government officials employed such 
practices. According to the Algerian League for the Defense of Human 
Rights, security forces frequently used torture, including to obtain 
confessions.
    The Penal Code criminalizes torture; government agents can face 
prison sentences for up to three years for committing such acts. 
However, impunity remained a problem (see section 1.d.).
    Human rights lawyers maintained that torture continued to occur in 
military prisons, more often against those arrested on ``security 
grounds.'' However, they believed that the frequency and severity of 
torture declined during the year, due in part to better training of the 
security forces and alternative intelligence-gathering techniques. In 
July AI published a report on torture by the secret military police, 
concluding that the security forces were still benefiting from 
impunity. In May 2005 AI reported that the ``chiffon'' method--stuffing 
a rag into a person's mouth while forcing contaminated liquids into the 
stomach until the person vomited--was the preferred method of torture 
because it left no physical traces of assault.
    In April police detained Mourad M'hamed, a journalist at the daily 
newspaper El-Khabar. Police shoved and, according to the newspaper, 
subjected him to ``heavy psychological pressure'' for several hours 
because he had published a document concerning the terrorist group 
GSPC, an act viewed as a threat to national security. In July he was 
tried for releasing information on national security to the public and 
acquitted (see section 2.a.).
    In 2004, seven gendarmes were imprisoned in a military detention 
facility in Blida awaiting trial on charges of torture and 
maltreatment. At year's end, there was no information on their status.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to the UN 
Development Program (UNDP), prison conditions were difficult but 
improving. The Government permitted the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC), the UNDP and the Red Crescent Society to visit 
regular, non-military prisons. The ICRC declined to report its 
findings. The Government denied independent human rights observers 
visits to military and high-security prisons and detention centers.
    There were approximately 51,000 inmates in 127 prisons. 
Overcrowding was a problem in some prisons. The quality of medical care 
was uneven, according to international observers, and depended upon the 
prison. In 2005 there were hunger strikes in several prisons to protest 
conditions and the length of pretrial detentions, but reports of such 
strikes diminished sharply during the year. Independent human rights 
observers reported that conditions in prisons generally improved during 
the year. According to press reports, the justice minister ordered an 
investigation into prison conditions as a result of prisoner 
complaints. Also according to press reports, the Government fired 
prison guards at two prisons and reshuffled administrations at 18 
prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention. As in previous years, the security 
forces arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens; however, LADDH and 
the Algerian Human Rights League (LADH) reported that such abuses 
occurred with decreasing frequency. In 2005, the head of the National 
Consultative Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human 
Rights (CNCPPDH) said that pretrial detention, although defined as an 
exceptional measure by Article 123 of the Penal Procedure Code, was 
overused.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The General Directorate 
for National Security (DGSN), or the national police force, falls under 
the control of the Ministry of Interior and has national jurisdiction. 
The Gendarmerie, under the Ministry of Defense, also perform police-
like functions outside urban areas. Police were generally effective at 
maintaining order throughout the country. Low levels of corruption 
existed, especially in the customs police.
    Impunity remained a problem. The Government did not provide 
disaggregated public information on the numbers, infractions, or 
punishments of police, military, or other security force personnel. 
According to human rights attorneys, police officials, and local NGOs, 
the most frequent abuse of police authority occurred as a result of 
officers not following established guidelines for arrests. In January 
2005, all security forces were provided a copy of a code of conduct 
establishing regulations for conduct and sanctions for abuses.
    In March the DGSN director stated that as part of a national police 
internal crackdown on malfeasance, several DGSN officials had been 
arrested for embezzlement, use of public money for personal gain, and 
cronyism. In April the Judicial Police (the main body of the DGSN) 
brought official legal action against 10 police officers. Results had 
not been made public by year's end.
    In March the Gendarmerie officially announced that 4,200 gendarmes 
had been dismissed between 2000 and 2005 for lack of discipline and 
abuse of power.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police must obtain a summons from the 
prosecutor's office to require a suspect to appear in a police station 
for preliminary questioning. Summonses are also used to notify and 
require the accused and/or the victim(s) to attend a court proceeding 
or hearing.
    The Government issues warrants under three different circumstances: 
to bring an individual from work or home to a court; to execute a 
prosecutor's approved request to place a person into custody pending 
trial; or to arrest a suspect considered to be a flight risk. Police 
may make arrests without a warrant if they witness an offense taking 
place. Lawyers reported that procedures for warrants and summonses were 
usually 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. In practice, the 
security forces generally adhered to the 48-hour limit in non-terrorism 
cases. However, defense lawyers asserted that detainees in prolonged 
pretrial detention were sometimes not promptly charged.
    Prolonged pretrial detention remained a problem. The law does not 
provide a person in detention with the right to a prompt judicial 
determination of the legality of the detention. Persons accused of acts 
against the security of the state, including terrorism, may be held in 
pretrial detention as long as 20 months, according to the Code of Penal 
Procedure; the prosecutor must show cause every four months for 
continuing pretrial detention.
    Judges rarely refused prosecutor requests for extending preventive 
detention. Detention can be appealed to a higher court but is rarely 
overturned. If the detention is overturned, the defendant can request 
compensation. In December 2005, the minister of justice acknowledged 
publicly that prosecutors sometimes abused investigative detention. 
Detainees generally had prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and, 
if indigent, were provided a lawyer by the Government.
    There is no system of bail, but in non-felony cases suspects are 
usually released on ``provisional liberty'' while waiting for trial. 
Under provisional liberty, suspects are required to report weekly to 
the police station in their district and are forbidden from leaving the 
country.
    Article 23 of the penal code requires detainees in pretrial 
detention to be immediately informed of their right 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, however, detainees were typically examined only at the end 
of their detention. There continued to be frequent reports during the 
year that these rights were not extended to detainees.
    In June, according to local and international NGOs, Mohammed Rabah 
Ajine, Zeineddine Belacel, and Habib Boukhatemi, all from Tiaret, 
disappeared and were later placed in pretrial detention in Algiers. On 
October 9, the three appeared before a judge and were charged with 
belonging to a terrorist group operating in Algeria and abroad. 
According to NGO SOS Disparus, at year's end the three were in 
detention and their trials were pending (see section 1.b.).
    Local prosecutors are required to grade the performance of police 
captains operating in their jurisdiction to ensure that they comply 
with the law in their treatment of suspects. Police captains 
subsequently grade their officers.

    Amnesty.--In May and July, President Bouteflika pardoned 200 
journalists who had been convicted of defamation, including those 
serving sentences. However, journalists involved in ongoing 
prosecutions for defamation were ineligible for pardons.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, executive branch decrees and influence 
limited judicial independence. The constitution provides for the right 
to a fair trial; however, in practice, authorities sometimes did not 
respect legal provisions regarding defendants' rights, and denied due 
process. Defendants and their attorneys were sometimes denied access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases.
    In February 2005, the Superior Council of Judges permanently 
dismissed and disbarred Judge Mohamed Ras El Ain at a disciplinary 
hearing that did not afford full due process. Human rights lawyers and 
local and international press reported that he was accused of 
criticizing the politicization of the judiciary. Ras El Ain maintained 
that the judicial system had been abused to serve the interests of a 
political party.
    The judiciary is composed of civil courts, which hear cases 
involving civilians facing charges not related to security or 
terrorism; and the military courts, which can also hear cases involving 
civilians facing security and terrorism charges. Regular criminal 
courts can try cases involving security-related offenses at the local 
level.
    Military courts in Oran, Blida, Constantine, and Bechar try cases 
involving state security, espionage, and other security-related 
offenses involving military personnel and civilians. Each tribunal 
consists of three civilian judges and two military judges. Although the 
President of each court is a civilian, the chief judge is a military 
officer. Defense lawyers must be accredited by the military tribunal to 
appear. Public attendance at the trial is at the discretion of the 
tribunal. Appeals are made directly to the Supreme Court. The military 
tribunals tried cases in 2005 and during the year, but the tribunals 
did not disclose information on proceedings.
    The nine-member Constitutional Council reviews the 
constitutionality of treaties, laws, and regulations. Although the 
council is not part of the judiciary, it has the authority to nullify 
laws found unconstitutional, to confirm the results of any type of 
election, and to serve as the final arbiter of amendments that pass 
both chambers of the parliament before becoming law.
    Most trials are public and non-jury. Defendants are presumed 
innocent and have the right to be present and to consult with an 
attorney, provided at public expense if necessary. Defendants can 
confront or question witnesses against them or present witnesses and 
evidence on their behalf. Defendants also have the right to appeal. A 
woman's testimony is equal to that of a man's.
    In August 2005, the Government began a program designed to 
eliminate judicial corruption. A National Council of Magistrates met 
twice (and twice in 2005) to take disciplinary measures, resulting in 
the investigation of more than 40 magistrates. In December, 12 judges 
went before the council for abuse of power, lack of reserve, and 
unethical relationships. The results of the investigations had not been 
made public at year's end.
    In September 2005, Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz publicly announced 
that 60 magistrates had been fired because of ``reprehensible acts.'' 
In the same month, 21 magistrates appeared before the High Council of 
Magistrates for disciplinary sanctions, which ranged from expulsion to 
transfers. Eight were fired and 23 were demoted.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of political 
prisoners and political detainees. On January 21, Bachir Larabi, 
correspondent for the Arabic-language newspaper El-Khabar in the 
western region of El-Bayadh, was imprisoned for defamation for an 
article published on December 9, 2003, incriminating local authorities 
and a local association in the failed construction of a nursing home. 
On February 22, he was released. Salah Mokhtari, from the Arabic-
language newspaper Djazair News, was arrested on December 18 and 
released on December 26. Four arrest warrants were issued for Mokhtari 
between 2004 and 2005 for articles published in the weekly newspaper 
El-Kawalis, where he worked. In previous years, journalists were 
detained without charge for lengthy periods before trial for defamation 
against government officials.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was not 
fully independent and impartial in civil matters. Favoritism can occur, 
depending on the family connections and status of the parties involved. 
Individuals may bring lawsuits seeking damages for human rights 
violations and be compensated for alleged wrongs.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; in practice, 
however, government authorities infringed on citizens' privacy rights. 
The Government actively monitored the communications of political 
opponents, journalists, human rights groups, and suspected terrorists 
(see section 4).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and press; however, the Government restricted these 
rights in practice.
    Individuals generally were able to criticize the Government 
privately without reprisal. However, citizens were less inclined to 
criticize the Government in public. The Government attempted to impede 
criticism by monitoring political meetings.
    The law specifies that freedom of speech must respect ``individual 
dignity, the imperatives of foreign policy, and the national defense.'' 
The state of emergency decree gives the Government broad authority to 
restrict these freedoms and take legal action against what it considers 
to be threats to the state or public order. These regulations were 
heavily applied throughout the year, and in some instances the 
Government targeted specific media organizations and their staff.
    Radio and television are government-owned, with coverage favorable 
to government policy. During the year, opposition spokesmen were 
generally denied access to the public radio or television. Television 
access continued to be severely limited for some opposition parties. 
These limitations were less evident for radio. Presidential candidates 
received equal amounts of time on the state-owned radio and television 
channels during the three-week official campaign season prior to the 
2004 elections.
    The country's non-state-owned print media consisted of more than 43 
daily, 60 weekly, and 17 monthly publications that supported or opposed 
the Government to varying degrees; only six newspapers' circulation 
exceeded 10,000 copies. The Government owned two French-language and 
two Arabic-language newspapers. Many political parties, including legal 
Islamic parties, had access to the independent press and made use of it 
to express their views. Opposition parties also disseminated 
information via the Internet and in communiques.
    The law permits the Government to levy fines and to imprison 
members of the press in a manner that restricts press freedom. The 
Government censored directly and indirectly and intimidated the media 
into practicing self-censorship. The Government used defamation laws to 
harass and arrest journalists, and the press faced government 
retaliation for criticizing government officials.
    Charges of defamation are based on the 1990 communication law which 
protects Islam from defamation, controls access to external 
information, and outlaws writing that threatens national unity. In 
2001, the laws were amended to criminalize writing, cartoons, and 
speech that insult or offend the President, parliament, judiciary, or 
armed forces. The Penal Code imposes high fines and prison terms of up 
to 24 months for defamation or ``the insult'' of government figures, 
including the President, members of parliament, judges, members of the 
military, and ``any other authority of public order.'' Those convicted 
face prison sentences that range from 3 to 24 months and fines of $675 
to $6,750 (50,000 to 500,000 dinars).
    In January the regional correspondent of the daily newspaper El-
Khabar, Bachir El-Larabi, was sentenced to a month's imprisonment for 
defamation. In the same case, Ali Djerri, director of the newspaper, 
was fined $700 (50,000 dinars). El-Larabi was released in February.
    On December 25, a court in Jijel sentenced Omar Belhouchet, editor-
in-chief of the French-language daily El-Watan, and columnist Chawki 
Amari to three months in prison and fined them $14,088 (986,000 dinars) 
for an article published in June accusing the wali of Jijel of 
corruption. Amari told the international NGO Reporters Without Borders 
that he did not receive a summons to appear before the court of Jijel 
and only became aware of the trial after its verdict was rendered. In 
June, also for an article involving the alleged corruption of the wali 
of Jijel, Ali Fodil from the Arabic-language daily newspaper Echourouk 
el-Youmi was sentenced to three months in prison and fined $703 (49,000 
dinars). Belhouchet, Amari, and Fodil appealed their sentences and were 
not detained.
    In February, Ali Dilem, the cartoonist for the French-language 
daily newspaper Liberte, was sentenced to a year in prison and a $700 
(50,000 dinars) fine for 12 cartoons dealing with President Bouteflika 
that were published in October and November 2003.
    On February 20, Kamel Boussad, director of the weekly Panorama, and 
Berkane Bouderbala, editor of the weekly Essafir and its religious 
supplement Errisala, were imprisoned because both reprinted Danish 
caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed. The minister of communication 
lodged a complaint on the basis of Article 144 of the Penal Code, which 
provides for up to five years in prison for offenses against the 
Prophet or God's Messengers or which denigrate the doctrine of Islam. 
On March 15, Boussad and Bouderbala were released.
    On February 10, after broadcasting the same caricatures, Lotfi 
Cheriet, general manager of the television channel Canal Algerie, was 
reassigned and demoted. The narrator of the piece was fired. Houria 
Khatir, director of television channel Thalita, was also fired for 
permitting images of the caricatures to be televised.
    On April 1, police detained Mourad M'hamed, a journalist at the 
daily newspaper El-Khabar. He was shoved and, according to the 
newspaper, subjected to ``heavy psychological pressure'' for several 
hours in a police station because he had published a document 
concerning the terrorist group GSPC, an act viewed as a threat to 
national security. In July he was tried for releasing information on 
national security to the public and acquitted (see section 1.c.).
    On October 31, an Algiers court convicted editor Ali Fodel and 
reporter Naila Berahal of the Arabic-language daily Echourok el-Youmi 
on charges of defaming Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi. The judge 
sentenced both defendants to six months in prison and ordered the 
newspaper closed for two months. Fodel and Berahai appealed, and the 
case was pending at year's end.
    During the year, 68 press-related cases were tried. In 2005, there 
were 114 recorded cases of press harassment.
    In May and July, President Bouteflika pardoned all 200 journalists 
with pending defamation cases or defamation convictions, including 11 
sentenced to jail terms in 2005.
    In 2004, Mohamed Benchicou, the managing editor of the opposition 
paper Le Matin and author of a book critical of the President, 
Bouteflika--An Algerian Imposter, was convicted of violating foreign 
exchange controls in attempting to sell the book. He was sentenced to 
two years in prison and released in June. He challenged the continued 
confiscation of his passport, and in September a judge ordered it 
returned to him.
    Government economic leverage on the media was considerable. Unlike 
in previous years, there were no closures of newspapers for debts to 
the state-owned printing house. All newspapers were printed at 
government-owned presses, and the Government continued to influence the 
independent press through the state-owned advertising company, Agence 
Nationale d'Edition et de Publicite (ANEP), which decided which 
independent newspapers could benefit from advertisements placed by 
state-owned agencies and companies. ANEP, and therefore the Government, 
controlled the largest source of income for newspapers.
    Most independent newspapers continued to rely on the Government's 
four publishers for printing presses and newsprint.
    In March, the Government banned Boualem Sensal's book ``Algiers: 
Dead Letter Box'' because it criticized the Government and suggested 
fewer people were killed in the war for independence than officially 
claimed.
    The Government continued restrictions on both the local and the 
international media's coverage of issues relating to ``national 
security and terrorism.''
    In February, the Government blocked distribution of two editions of 
the French newspapers France Soir and Le Monde because they contained 
the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed.
    Satellite dish antennas were widespread.
    Access to print and broadcast media for Tamazight (Berber language) 
and Amazigh culture continued to grow. Tamazight programming also 
increased on the non-Berber language channels, as did advertisements in 
Tamazight on all television and radio channels. Beginning in the 2006-
2007 scholastic year, the Tamazight language was officially taught in 
primary schools, starting in the fourth grade in 17 predominantly 
Berber provinces.
    Restrictions remained in place on the international media, limiting 
its ability to report freely; however, the restrictions were not as 
stringently enforced as in previous years. Al-Jazeera's office remained 
closed. At year's end, neither Ahmed Megaache from Al-Arabia nor Ait 
Larbi from Le Figaro had received accreditation.

    Internet Freedom.--Access to the Internet was generally free; 
however, the Government monitored email and Internet chatrooms, 
particularly those dealing with terrorism and security issues. Article 
14 of the 1998 ministerial decree on telecommunications states that 
Internet service providers are legally liable for the material and Web 
sites they host.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government limited 
academic freedom. While a growing number of academic seminars and 
colloquiums occurred without governmental interference, there were 
extensive delays in issuing visas to international participants and 
instances where international experts were denied entrance (see section 
4).
    Scheduled performances of French humorist Djamel Debbouze in April 
were canceled. Local media speculated that the cancellation was due to 
his position on Western Sahara.
    In October the Ministry of Culture prevented books and CD-ROMs in 
support of Salafist views of Islam from being exhibited and sold at the 
International Book Fair of Algiers.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, the exercise 
of these rights was severely restricted in practice.

    Freedom of Assembly.--Article 41 of the constitution provides for 
the right of assembly; however, the emergency decree and government 
practice continued to sharply curtail this right. A 2000 decree 
continued to ban demonstrations in Algiers. Citizens and organizations 
were required to obtain permits from the appointed local governor 
before holding public meetings. The Government frequently granted 
licenses to political parties, NGOs, and other groups to hold indoor 
rallies, although licenses were often granted on the eve of the event, 
thereby impeding publicity and outreach. After repeated difficulties in 
2005 in obtaining permission to hold outdoor meetings, LADDH decided to 
hold indoor meetings. Groups opposing the Charter on Peace and 
Reconciliation also had difficulty securing permission to hold public 
gatherings. In September 2005, a gathering of the families of the 
disappeared in Constantine was violently disbanded by the police. In 
Algiers the same month, families of the victims of terrorism gathered 
in front of the Prime Minister's office for three consecutive weeks to 
protest.
    During the year the Government broke up numerous marches, protests, 
and demonstrations outside the capital. After a September 5 
announcement, SOS Disparus resumed its weekly gathering in front of the 
CNCPPDH headquarters to urge President Bouteflika to find a different 
solution to the problem of the disappeared.
    On June 28, in the Tiaret province, more than 300 young men 
gathered in the streets and marched, blocking the main national highway 
in the province to protest the absence of water, gas, and secure and 
paved roads. Police attempted to break up the protest, but riots lasted 
for three days. One individual died as a result of tripping over a 
felled lamp pole, 67 persons were arrested for vandalism, and 34 
persons were injured. On the third day of the conflict, the tension 
escalated when demonstrators asked local officials to release all of 
the incarcerated youths. Due to their status as minors, 57 youths were 
released after less than one week of detention, while the remaining 10 
served prison sentences ranging from one to four months.
    On July 22, the Movement for a Society of Peace (MSP), a party in 
the governing coalition, organized a march in Algiers in support of the 
Lebanese and Palestinian people. When security forces attempted to 
prevent the march, violence occurred. Fifteen demonstrators were 
arrested, but were released the same day following negotiations between 
police and MSP officials.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association; however, the emergency decree and government practice 
severely restricted this right. The MOI must approve all political 
parties before they may be legally established (see section 3). The 
Government restricted the registration of certain NGOs, associations, 
and political parties on ``security grounds,'' but declined to provide 
evidence or legal grounds for refusing to authorize other organizations 
that could not be disqualified on security grounds. The Government 
frequently failed to grant official recognition to NGOs, associations, 
and political parties in an expeditious fashion. The MOI may deny a 
license to or dissolve any group regarded as a threat to the 
Government's authority or to the security or public order.
    The Government issued licenses and subsidies to domestic 
associations, especially youth, medical, and neighborhood associations. 
The MOI 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 on a series of authorizations from the 
ministries of Interior and National Solidarity. These authorizations 
are difficult to obtain.
    Membership in the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a political party 
banned in 1992, remained illegal. SOS Disparus and two political 
parties, the Democratic Front of Sid-Ahmed Ghozali and the Wafa party 
of former prime minister Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi (generally regarded as 
the political heir to the FIS), remained unrecognized but operated 
without interference.
    In November the Government prevented diplomatic representatives 
from visiting Algerian NGO Somoud, an advocacy group for victims of 
terrorism.
    As in the previous year, the Government issued visas to Freedom 
House, a foreign NGO, to meet with other NGOs and foreign diplomats in 
the country.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--Article 2 of the constitution provides for 
freedom of religion, while declaring Islam the state religion. In 
practice, the Government restricted religious freedom.
    On March 1, the parliament adopted Ordinance 06-03 dealing with the 
conditions and regulations of religions other than Islam. According to 
the Ministry of Religious Affairs, one objective of the ordinance is 
the maintenance of public order. The ordinance confines non-Muslim 
worship to specific buildings approved by the state, imposes penalties 
for proselytizing, and treats transgressions as criminal rather than 
civil offenses. There are restrictions on public assembly for purposes 
of practicing a faith other than Islam without a license, prohibitions 
on proselytizing of citizens by foreigners, and controls on the 
importation of religious materials. There were no reports that the 
ordinance was enforced during the year.
    The Government requires organized religions to obtain official 
recognition prior to conducting any religious activities. The 
Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Seventh-Day Adventist churches are the 
only non-Islamic faiths authorized to operate in the country. Members 
of other denominations, particularly Methodists, were forced to operate 
without government permission or register as a part of the Protestant 
Church.
    Article 36 of the constitution provides citizens the right to 
choose their own religion; however, the Government's interpretation of 
Shari'a (Islamic law) does not recognize conversion from Islam to any 
other religion. There are no specific laws against Muslim citizens 
proselytizing non-Muslims; however, the Government considers the 
proselytizing of Muslim citizens by non-Muslims to be a subversive 
activity. The Government restricted the importation of religious 
literature, including Islamic literature, intended for widespread 
distribution, although it did not restrict such materials for personal 
use. In recent years, non-Islamic religious texts and music and video 
selections have become easier to locate for purchase. The government-
owned radio station provides broadcast time for Protestant and Catholic 
radio broadcasts. The Government prohibits the dissemination of any 
literature portraying violence as a legitimate precept of Islam.
    The education and religious affairs ministries strictly require, 
regulate, and fund the study of Islam in public schools. The Government 
monitored activities in mosques for possible security-related offenses, 
barred their use as public meeting places outside of regular prayer 
hours, and convoked imams to the Ministry of Religious Affairs for 
``disciplinary action'' when deemed appropriate. The Ministry of 
Religious Affairs provided financial support to mosques and paid the 
salaries of imams; the ministry also trained and regulated the 
appointment of imams, and the law allows it to pre-screen religious 
sermons before they are delivered publicly (see section 2.a.). However, 
officials from the ministry have stated that they rarely interfere with 
sermons beyond an advisory capacity. The Government monitored all 
Koranic schools to prevent extremist teachings. The Ministry of 
Religious Affairs controlled Islamic sermons during the violence 
between Islamists and the Government during the 1990s, and those 
restrictions largely remained in place.
    The Penal Code provides for prison sentences and fines for 
preaching in a mosque by persons who have not been recognized by the 
Government as imams. All persons, including imams recognized by the 
Government are prohibited from speaking during prayers at the mosque in 
a manner that is ``contrary to the noble nature of the mosque or likely 
to offend the cohesion of society or serve as an apology for such 
actions.''

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The country's 1992-2002 civil 
conflict pitted self-proclaimed radical Muslims belonging to the Armed 
Islamic Group (GIA) and its later offshoot, the GSPC, against moderate 
Muslims. During the year radical Islamic extremists issued public 
threats against all ``infidels'' in the country, both foreigners and 
citizens. The country's terrorist groups generally did not 
differentiate between religious and political killings.
    In October 2005, following an announcement by the authorities 
warning against such behavior, the tribunal of Bejaia sentenced six 
young persons to three to six months in prison for having eaten in an 
``ostentatious way'' during daylight hours during the Muslim fasting 
month of Ramadan. The youths were released after three months of 
detention.
    Anti-Semitic political commentary and cartoons appeared 
periodically in the Arabic-language press without government response. 
Following the July-August conflict between Israel and the terrorist 
group Hizballah, anti-Semitic articles, political commentary, and 
cartoons regularly appeared in the press. The Government did not 
promote tolerance or anti-bias education, and there is no hate crime 
legislation. The country's Jewish population numbered fewer than 100 
persons. No synagogues in the country are functioning.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--Article 44 of the constitution provides 
for these rights; however, the Government restricted the exercise of 
them. The Government did not permit young men eligible for the draft 
and who had not yet completed their military service to leave the 
country without special authorization; however, such authorization was 
granted to students and to those persons with special family 
circumstances.
    Under the emergency decree, the interior minister and the 
provincial governors may deny residency in certain districts to persons 
regarded as threats to public order. The Government also maintained 
restrictions for security reasons on travel into the four southern 
provinces of Ouargla, El-Oued, Laghouat, and Ain-Salah, where much of 
the hydrocarbon industry and many foreign workers were located.
    Armed bandits and terrorists intercepted citizens at roadblocks, 
often using stolen police uniforms and equipment to rob them of their 
cash and vehicles. On occasion, armed groups killed groups of military 
and civilian passengers at these roadblocks (see section 1.a.).
    The Family Code does not permit anyone under 18 to travel abroad 
without a guardian's permission (see section 5).
    The law does not provide for forced exile, and it was not known to 
occur.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government granted refugee status and asylum and there 
were no reports of refoulement during the year. The Government provided 
protection to as many as 100,000 refugee Sahrawis, who left the Western 
Sahara after Morocco took control of the territory in the 1970s. The 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food 
Program, the Algerian Red Crescent, and other organizations also 
assisted Sahrawi refugees. The Government generally cooperated with 
UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees, but 
did not permit UNHCR to conduct a census of the Sahrawi refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    Article 10 of the constitution provides citizens with the right to 
change their government freely. In 2004 citizens exercised this right 
through a multiparty Presidential election held on the basis of 
universal suffrage. The constitution mandates Presidential elections 
every five years and limits the incumbent to two terms. The election 
was generally transparent.

    Elections and Political Participation.--For the first time since 
the end of the one-party system and after more than a decade of civil 
strife and continuing acts of terrorism, in 2004 a sitting President 
not only completed his five-year term of office, but was re-elected in 
a contested election. However, the election and the electoral system 
were not without flaws. In the 2004 election, President Bouteflika won 
approximately 85 percent of the vote, according to official results. 
Voter participation was 58 percent, compared to 46 percent in the 2002 
legislative elections.
    Unlike previous elections, in 2004 there was marked progress 
towards a more free and transparent electoral process. An election 
observer from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
stated in a press conference that the election was generally free and 
fair, although not without flaws.
    Problems with the electoral system persisted. The Administrative 
Court of Algiers was criticized by the country's political class and 
independent media for having invalidated the National Liberation 
Front's Eighth Party Congress in 2003. The invalidation was viewed as 
politically motivated and a setback to the President's main opponent, 
former Prime Minister and FLN Secretary-General Ali Benflis, because 
the party representatives chosen during the Eighth Party Congress were 
Benflis supporters. The invalidation also froze the FLN's bank 
accounts, which became accessible in February 2004 only after the 
election of the new secretary-general Abdelaziz Belkhadem, who became 
prime minister during the year.
    Opposition candidates also complained that the MOI regularly 
blocked registered parties from holding meetings, denied them access to 
larger and better equipped government conference rooms, and pressured 
hotels into not making conference rooms available, while facilitating 
the activities of the pro-Bouteflika FLN. Opposition candidates had 
access to the state-controlled media during the official three-week 
election campaign period, but not before or after the campaign.
    Opposition candidates, primarily the (Islamist) ``Movement for 
National Reform,'' expressed concern over potential tampering with the 
voter lists. Candidates filed numerous complaints that the lists were 
disorganized, unusable, and inflated. The Electoral Commission made 
hundreds of corrections based on 191 complaints. During the year the 
Government welcomed the recommendations of IFES to correct voting 
problems, but it only partially implemented the recommendations before 
the elections.
    An accord between Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and Arouch leader 
Belaid Abrika addressed economic and social concerns and permitted 
regional elections in November 2005. However, negotiations did not 
resume as planned. At a September 14 press conference, Abrika stated 
that 80 percent of the commitments of the accord had not been honored. 
According to Abrika, the emergency social economic plan that was to be 
devoted to the region never started.
    The country has a bicameral parliament consisting of the 389-seat 
National People's Assembly (lower house) and the 144-seat Council of 
the Nation (upper house or Senate). All members of the Assembly are 
elected by popular vote to five-year terms. In the Council, two-thirds 
of the members are elected by the regional assemblies (the Popular 
Communal Assemblies and the Popular State Assemblies), and the 
remaining one-third is appointed by the President; all members serve 
six-year terms, and the constitution requires that half the elected 
members and one-third of the appointed members be replaced every three 
years. The constitution provides the President with the authority to 
rule by executive order in special circumstances. In cases when 
parliament is not in session, the President has the right to legislate 
by executive order. However, he must submit an executive order to 
parliament for approval upon its return, first to the Assembly then to 
the Council of the Nation. If the Assembly disapproves the executive 
order twice, the President must dissolve the Assembly. Assembly 
elections were held in 2002, and indirect elections for the Council of 
the Nation were held in 2003.
    The law requires that potential political parties receive official 
approval from the MOI to be established. To obtain approval, a party 
must have 25 founders from across the country whose names must be 
registered with the MOI. The Government refused to register Wafa 
because of its perceived ties to the banned FIS constituted a threat to 
national security, according to the minister of interior. The 
Government also failed to provide an official response to the 1998 
registration request of the Democratic Front. It was unclear why there 
was no response, but the party leadership claimed the Government was 
not ready for ``real democratic openness.'' No party may use religion 
or ethnic heritage as a basis to organize for political purposes. The 
law also bans political party ties to nonpolitical associations and 
regulates party financing and reporting requirements.
    In indirect elections in 2003 for 48 seats of the Council of the 
Nation, members from Islamic parties were elected for the first time.
    Thirty-two women served in senior positions in the executive and 
legislative branches. There were three women in the cabinet: the 
minister of culture and minister delegates for family and female 
condition and for scientific research. Women also held 24 of the 389 
seats in the Assembly and 4 of the 144 seats in the Council of the 
Nation. A woman led the Workers Party, and all the major political 
parties, except the Islah Party, had women's divisions headed by women.
    The ethnic Amazigh minority of about nine million centered in the 
Kabylie region participated freely and actively in the political 
process and represented one-third of the Government. However, Amazigh 
protests and boycotts surrounding the 2003 and 2004 elections 
underscored the economic and social neglect felt by many in this 
community. In 2005 the Government signed an agreement with ethnic 
Berber leaders that promised more economic aid for the region, but at 
year's end it had not been delivered (see section 2.b.).

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--During the year, 
Transparency International's composite index of the degree to which 
corruption is perceived to exist among a country's politicians and 
public officials indicated that the country had a serious corruption 
problem.
    Anticorruption regulations in the Penal Code call for prison 
sentences from two to 10 years for high-ranking officials; however, the 
regulations were not widely implemented.
    A 2004 Presidential decree created a unit to investigate financial 
information at the Ministry of Finance. The independent unit has 
responsibility for analyzing and dealing with suspicious banking and 
financial operations that may constitute money-laundering or the 
financing of terrorism.
    On February 1, a law establishing a national anticorruption program 
was passed, although it was amended to remove a provision that required 
elected and senior officials to declare their assets and, in certain 
cases, lifted parliamentary immunity. The amendment came at the 
insistence of parliamentarians who argued that the existing penal code 
was sufficient to punish corruption offenses and that the decision to 
lift parliamentary immunity should reside solely with parliament. On 
December 9, President Bouteflika issued three decrees to implement 
provisions of the February anti-corruption legislation. The first 
decree established the National Office for Prevention of and Struggle 
against Corruption (ONPLC), which is responsible for ``periodically 
gathering statements of patrimony of state agents.'' At the beginning 
and end of their terms, all state agents (high-ranking civil servants) 
are required by the second decree to declare all ``fixed and movable 
goods'' belonging to them and their minor children, whether they live 
in the country or abroad. They must also declare all liquid assets, 
investments and liabilities. The third decree broadens the scope to 
public officers by requiring them to declare their assets to the state. 
The three Presidential decrees and the penal code address the types of 
offenses that the removed provision was intended to punish.
    The case of Ahmed Bouricha, wali of Blida, was still under 
investigation at year's end. In May 2005, he was forced to resign his 
position after being implicated in real estate corruption, use of 
public funds for personal purposes, and misuse of agricultural lands.
    On January 21, the director of customs announced that 530 cases of 
customs officers breaking the law had been recorded since 2001. Of 
those, seven high-level customs officials were dismissed for corruption 
and embezzlement, while scores of the other charged customs officers 
received prison terms of unspecified length.
    At year's end, the trial of Djillali Araar, the wali of El-Tarf 
Province was ongoing. President Bouteflika fired Araar on October 28. 
Araar was charged with corruption and misuse of public funds. A 
government investigation of transactions involving the El-Tarf 
provincial government reportedly uncovered bogus projects, overbilling, 
and contract awards that did not follow proper procedures. Araar was 
the third governor since 2005 (including the walis of Blida and Oran) 
to be dismissed for corruption.
    Although permitted under the constitution, access to government 
information was often restricted. Despite pledges to eliminate 
corruption, there is no law facilitating access to information. Public 
procurement was often tainted with irregularities, including the 
excessive use of private agreements. According to the Ministry of 
Public Works, following President Bouteflika's April 2005 statement 
that the use of private agreements, including single source contracts, 
would be prohibited, government agencies began implementing a public 
tender policy for all infrastructure and large government projects. 
Some agencies, however, continued to use direct contracts for smaller 
and less publicized projects. For those public tenders, evaluations 
were not released to participating companies, and evaluation methods 
and techniques were not clearly defined.
    Lack of government transparency remained a serious problem. 
Parliamentary debate in 2005 on the corruption law disclosed that 80 
percent of government officials did not declare their wealth. Many 
government economic statistics were not released to the public. 
However, as of 2005 all ministries were required to establish Web sites 
and update them regularly. All ministries have Web sites, but not all 
are updated. The Ministry of Justice provides information on citizens' 
rights and legislation at two Web sites.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government continued to harass some local NGOs, and impeded the 
work of international NGOs. The Government interfered with attempts by 
some domestic and international human rights groups to investigate and 
publish their findings. Although some human rights groups, including 
LADH and LADDH, were allowed to move about freely, the most active and 
visible organizations reported interference by government authorities, 
including surveillance and monitoring of telephone calls, difficulty in 
securing meeting spaces, and difficulty in obtaining approval for 
international speakers to speak on sensitive issues (see section 1.f.).
    Domestic NGOs must be licensed by the Government and are prohibited 
from receiving funding from abroad without approval from the minister 
of national solidarity. However, approximately 100 unlicensed NGOs 
operated openly, such as women's advocacy groups and charity 
organizations. Although international NGOs continued to experience 
delays in obtaining visas, outright refusals were rare. Delays in 
processing visa applications nonetheless prevented a number of NGOs 
from conducting programming during the year. AI, for example, planned 
to organize a seminar on violence against women in March. Because it 
was unable to obtain visas for the presenters, AI moved the seminar to 
Morocco. On at least two occasions, programming by the National 
Democratic Institute (NDI) was cancelled or postponed due to visa 
problems. An NDI conference on electoral systems planned for June was 
cancelled because international experts could not obtain visas. NDI's 
``Young Political Leaders Forum,'' which was planned for September, was 
indefinitely postponed because of visa difficulties for international 
experts. NDI's local resident director was denied reentry into the 
country from September to December; she was finally allowed reentry, 
but only to retrieve her belongings and depart.
    If an NGO is not legally recognized by the MOI, it is not allowed 
to conduct investigations. Sometimes, however, legally recognized NGOs 
were prevented from conducting investigations. For example, the LADDH, 
a legally recognized NGO, did not have access to prison camps or 
detention centers. Domestic NGO Djazairouna, also legally recognized, 
faced indirect government pressure to relocate.
    The most active independent human rights group was the LADDH, an 
organization 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 less active LADH is an independent organization based in 
Constantine. LADH has members throughout the country monitoring 
individual cases.
    The ICRC has full access to civilian prisons and pre-trial 
detention centers; however, it has not been granted access to the 
country's military or high-security prisons (see section 1.c.).
    International NGO Handicap International and local NGO FOREM, which 
both work on children's rights, did not report difficulty conducting 
investigations.
    In 2005, the Government invited the UN special rapporteur on 
freedom of expression and on violence against women to visit, although 
neither did. However, the Government continued to deny requests for 
visits from the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary 
Disappearances (pending since 1997), the UN special rapporteur on 
torture (pending since 1997), and the UN special rapporteur on 
extrajudicial executions (pending since 1998).
    The Consultative Commission for the Protection and Promotion of 
Human Rights is the government-established ombudsman for human rights. 
Directed by Farouk Ksentini, the commission is composed of 22 members 
from governmental bodies and 23 from civil society and NGOs. The 
nongovernmental members included representatives of Islamic religious 
organizations, the Red Crescent Society, and women's rights advocacy 
groups. The President approves nominees, and the commission's budget 
and secretariat come from his office. The commission is mandated to 
report on human rights issues, coordinate with police and justice 
officials, advocate domestic and international human rights causes, 
mediate between the Government and the population, and provide 
expertise on human rights issues to the Government.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Article 29 of the constitution prohibits discrimination based on 
birth, race, sex, language, and social status. In general, the 
Government enforced the nationality and family codes, although women 
continued to face some legal and social discrimination.

    Women.--Spousal abuse occurred, and in practice was prosecuted 
under Article 264 of the Penal Code, which 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. Because of 
societal pressures, however, women frequently were reluctant to endure 
this process. According to a joint study in 2004 by the Justice 
Ministry, women's associations, and the National Institute of Public 
Health (INSP), 70 percent of abused women refused to lodge a complaint 
or follow through with the complaint.
    Spousal abuse was more frequent in rural areas and among less-
educated persons. According to the Government, from January to March 
there were 1,762 cases of violence against women. According to a March 
2006 INSP study, 70 percent of abused women are jobless and 26 percent 
are illiterate. In 2005, according to the Government there were 7,419 
cases of violence against women, including 5,178 cases of physical 
violence, 277 cases of sexual violence, 1,753 cases of ``ill 
treatment,'' 34 murders, and 176 cases of sexual harassment. According 
to a September 2006 National Research Center for Anthropology study, 52 
percent of a sample of 13,000 women indicated that they had suffered 
from physical abuse on at least one occasion.
    Rape, spousal and nonspousal, occurred. Nonspousal rape is illegal; 
spousal rape is not. Prison sentences for nonspousal rape range from 
one to five years. There were strong societal pressures against a woman 
seeking legal redress against her spouse for rape, and there were few 
reports of the law being applied in such cases. However, women's groups 
have begun to speak out against violence in the family and held several 
seminars and conferences in 2005 and during the year. In January and 
May, SOS Femmes en Detresse, a local NGO advocating for women's rights, 
organized two seminars related to sexual violence against women. In 
July, Femmes en Communication, another NGO advocating for women's 
rights, organized a two-day seminar on violence against women. 
Throughout the year, the Government's office of the minister delegate 
for the family and female condition held a series of seminars that 
articulated a national strategy to combat violence against women.
    SOS Femmes en Detresse and Wassila Network, another local NGO, 
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 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 (UGTA) established a counseling center with a 
toll free number for women suffering from sexual harassment in the 
workplace. The center receives a growing number of calls. During the 
year, the center received 1,524 calls, compared to 1,010 calls in 2005.
    According to the Penal Code, prostitution is illegal; however, the 
INSP and female advocacy groups reported that prostitution was a 
growing problem. The National Gendarmerie recorded 330 prostitution-
related arrests from January to October.
    The punishment for sexual harassment is one to two years' 
imprisonment and a fine of $685 to $1,370 (50,000 to 100,000 dinars). 
The punishment is doubled for a second offense. In the capital, there 
were at least a dozen cases reported in the press during the year. In 
2005 several persons were convicted under the new law; no updated 
figures were available.
    Article 29 of the constitution provides for gender equality; 
however, some aspects of the law and many traditional social practices 
discriminated against women. The Family Code, adopted in 1984 and 
amended in February 2005 by Presidential decree, is based in large part 
on Shari'a. The Family Code prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-
Muslims, although this regulation was not always enforced. Amendments 
in February 2005 to the Nationality Code allowed a woman to marry a 
foreigner and transmit citizenship and nationality in her own right to 
both her children and spouse. The Family Code does not restrict Muslim 
men from marrying non-Muslim women. Under both Shari'a and civil law, 
children born to a Muslim father are Muslim, regardless of the mother's 
religion.
    Under the 2005 amendments, women can seek divorce for 
irreconcilable differences and violation of the prenuptial agreement, 
among other grounds. In a divorce, the amendments provide 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 them out of the country without the 
father's authorization. In practice, more women retained the family's 
home when they have custody of the children.
    The Family Code also affirms the Islamic practice of allowing a man 
to marry up to four wives. In practice, however, this rarely occurs 
(about 1 to 2 percent of marriages), and under the amended Family Code, 
restrictions on polygyny were tightened. Women can include a ``no 
polygyny clause'' in the prenuptial agreement, and the husband must 
obtain a court ruling, usually easy to secure, allowing him to take an 
additional wife. A wife may sue for divorce if her husband does not 
inform her of his intent to marry another woman prior to the marriage.
    The amendments to the Family Code in practice vitiated the Shari'a 
requirement for a male sponsor's (wali's) role and consent to the 
marriage of a woman, although the requirement has been formally 
retained. The wali continues to contract the marriage, but the woman 
may choose any male that she wishes as the wali.
    Women suffered from discrimination in inheritance claims. In 
accordance with Shari'a, women are entitled to a smaller portion of an 
estate than are male children or a deceased husband's brothers. 
According to Shari'a, such a distinction is justified because other 
provisions require that the husband's income and assets are to be used 
to support the family, while the wife's remain, in principle, her own. 
However, in practice women do not always have exclusive control over 
assets that they bring to a marriage or that they earn themselves. 
Married women under 18 years of age may not travel abroad without 
permission of their husbands. Married women may take out business loans 
and use their own financial resources. According to the National Center 
of Trade Records, 93,328 women had their own business. There were an 
estimated two million unemployed women in Algeria.
    Despite constitutional and legal provisions providing gender 
equality, in practice women still faced discrimination in employment. 
Leaders of women's organizations reported that discriminatory 
violations are common.
    In urban areas, there was social encouragement for women to pursue 
a higher education or a career. Girls have a higher high school 
(baccalaureate) graduation rate than boys. According to statistics 
published on May 2 by the minister delegate in charge of family and 
female condition, females represent 60 percent of the medical 
profession, 55 percent of the media profession, 30 percent of the upper 
levels of the legal profession, and more than 60 percent of the 
education profession. Of the 7.7 million workers, 1.4 million are 
female, representing only 18 percent of the workforce. Women may own 
businesses, enter into contracts, and pursue careers similar to those 
of men. Two female magistrates, one appointed by President Bouteflika 
and one elected by peers, were among the 18-member High Council of 
Magistrates. In addition, 55 percent of magistrates were women; the 
2005 class of new judges was 50 percent women; and women served at all 
levels in the judicial system. In 2005 the MOI began adding more women 
to the police force and placed at least one female officer in each 
precinct to assist women with their abuse claims. This policy continued 
during the year, as part of a ministry strategy that is currently 
scheduled to last until 2009.
    In July the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of 
Health initiated a series of training sessions for imams and 
mourchidates (female guides) in order to better address social and 
medical issues, including HIV/AIDS. As part of the program, 100 copies 
of a national guide on Islam and HIV/AIDS were distributed to the 
attendees.
    According to a study by the Research Center in Applied Economics 
for Development, 17.5 percent of females are unemployed compared to 
14.9 percent of males.

    Children.--The Government was generally committed to protecting the 
welfare, rights, health, and education of children. Child abuse is 
illegal but continued to be a problem. NGOs that specialized in the 
care of children cited continued instances of domestic violence against 
children, which they attributed to the ``culture of violence'' 
developed since the civil conflict of the 1990s and the social 
dislocations caused by the movement of rural families to the cities to 
escape terrorist violence. In April 2005, the INPS reported that in 
2004, 4,554 children younger than 16 were abused, of whom 2,306 were 
hospitalized for injuries stemming from abuse; 1,386 were victims of 
sexual abuse; and 53 were victims of incest. Experts assumed that many 
cases went unreported because of familial reticence.
    According to press reports, children continued to be victims of 
terrorist attacks. In January, February, and April, according to press 
reports, there were incidents involving the kidnap and rape of girls by 
terrorists. In May the bodies of 22 children were found in the province 
of Jijel. They were alleged to have been used as human shields by the 
GSPC. In July the body of a young girl, allegedly decapitated by 
terrorists, was found in Bouira. Terrorist groups did not claim 
responsibility for any of the incidents.
    The Government provides free education for children through high 
school. Education is compulsory until the age of 16. According to the 
ministry of national education, 98 percent of children completed the 
ninth grade. Boys and girls generally received the same education, 
although girls from rural areas were slightly more likely to leave 
school because of familial financial reasons, and sons were often given 
educational priority.
    The Government provided free medical care for all citizens--
including children with disabilities--albeit in generally rudimentary 
facilities.
    Economic necessity compelled many children to resort to informal 
employment, such as street vending (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in 
persons, and the country is a transit and destination country for men, 
women, and children from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for 
forced labor and sexual exploitation. The Government did not 
acknowledge trafficking to be a problem. According to the Government, 
in the absence of specific anti-trafficking laws, other laws against 
illegal immigration, prostitution, and forced labor are used to enforce 
anti-trafficking standards. There were no indications of official 
government involvement in trafficking.
    Forced prostitution and domestic servitude of illegal immigrants 
from sub-Saharan Africa occurred as immigrants transited through the 
country seeking economic opportunity in Europe. Official statistical 
estimates of the severity of trafficking do not exist. No government 
assistance programs existed for victims, nor were there any information 
campaigns about trafficking.
    In September 2005, 10 members of the Coast Guard received 4 days of 
training on smuggling and trafficking prevention.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides free medical care for 
persons with disabilities, especially children; however, there is 
widespread societal discrimination against persons with disabilities. 
The law does not prohibit discrimination against persons with 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services. The Government did not mandate 
accessibility to buildings or government services for persons with 
disabilities. Public enterprises, in downsizing their work forces, 
generally ignored a 2002 law which requires them to reserve one percent 
of jobs for persons with disabilities. Social security provided 
payments for orthopedic equipment, and some healthcare-oriented NGOs 
received limited government financial support. The Ministry of National 
Solidarity provided financial support to NGOs; however, for many NGOs 
this financial support represented only a very small portion of their 
budgets--approximately 2 percent. The Ministry of National Solidarity 
maintained that there were 2.5 million persons with disabilities in the 
country. However, according to the Federation of Disabled Associations 
(FAHM), there are currently three million persons with disabilities in 
the country.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Because of societal and 
religious pressures, AIDS is considered a shameful disease in Algeria. 
According to December statistics released by the Ministry of Health, 
2,092 citizens are HIV-positive. During the year, the health ministry 
launched an AIDS prevention campaign, stressing the need to avoid 
discrimination, especially in the workplace, against those with AIDS 
and those who are HIV-positive.
Section 6. Workers Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution allows workers to 
form and join unions of their choice but requires workers to obtain 
government approval to form a union. The law on labor unions requires 
the labor ministry to 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 
determined to be contrary to the established institutional system, 
public order, good morals, or the laws or regulations in force. There 
were no legal restrictions on a worker's right to join a union. 
Approximately two-thirds of the labor force belonged to unions. There 
was only one labor confederation, the General Union of Algerian Workers 
(UGTA). The UGTA includes national unions that are specialized by 
sector.
    The law prohibits discrimination by employers against union members 
and organizers and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union 
complaints of antiunion practices by employers. It also permits unions 
to recruit members at the workplace. Although unions may form and join 
federations or confederations, in practice, attempts by new unions to 
form federations or confederations have been obstructed by delaying 
administrative maneuvers. Since early 1996, the Autonomous Unions 
Confederation has attempted unsuccessfully to organize the autonomous 
unions, and it functioned without official status. 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.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised this right in 
practice, subject to some conditions. The law provides for collective 
bargaining for all unions, and the Government permitted the exercise of 
this right in practice for authorized unions. Under the state of 
emergency decree, the Government can require public and private sector 
workers to remain at work in the event of an unauthorized or illegal 
strike. 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. A minimum level of public services 
must be maintained during public-sector service strikes.
    The law provides that all public demonstrations, protests, and 
strikes must receive prior government authorization. Strikes and labor 
gatherings occurred throughout the year in various sectors, including 
the construction, medical, port facility, education, and customs 
sectors. A 2001 ban on marches and demonstrations in Algiers remained 
in effect.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children; however, there were reports from the labor ministry that such 
practices occurred (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Under the labor code, the minimum age for employment is 16, except for 
apprentice positions. In order to be an apprentice, minors must have 
the permission of a legal guardian. 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. On February 20, the Ministry of Labor stated that only 
95 ``young workers'' were identified during site visits performed by 
labor inspectors at 5,847 companies. The Ministry of Labor enforces 
minimum age laws by means of surprise inspections of public sector 
enterprises, but it does not consistently enforce relevant statutes in 
the agricultural or private sectors.
    In 2005 the Ministry of Labor reported a rate of child 
participation in the labor force of 0.56 percent. That figure was 
challenged, however, by the local NGO FOREM, which runs a children's 
rights watchdog group financed by the European Union. According to the 
watchdog group, in the eight most populous provinces six percent of 
children age 10 and younger participated in the labor force, while 63 
percent of children age 13 to 16 participated. The survey found 
children working a variety of hours in small workshops, on family 
farms, and especially in informal trades, where children from 
impoverished families are employed for economic reasons.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of 
$140 (10,000 dinars) per month did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family. Ministry of Labor inspectors were 
responsible for ensuring compliance with the minimum wage regulation; 
however, enforcement was inconsistent.
    The standard work week was 37.5 hours, with one ten-minute break 
and one hour for lunch. Employees who worked beyond the standard work 
week 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 
work day, a weekend, or a holiday.
    The law contains well-developed occupational, health, and safety 
standards, but Ministry of Labor inspectors did not enforce these 
regulations effectively. There were no reports of workers being 
dismissed for removing themselves from hazardous working conditions. 
Because employment was usually based on detailed contracts, workers 
rarely were subjected to unexpected conditions in the workplace. If 
workers were subjected to such conditions, they first could attempt to 
renegotiate the employment contract or, failing that, resort to the 
courts; however, the high demand for employment in the country gave an 
advantage to employers seeking to exploit employees.

                               __________

                                BAHRAIN

    Bahrain is a monarchy led by King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa with a 
population of approximately 725,000, approximately 430,000 of whom are 
citizens. King Hamad is the head of state. His son, Crown Prince Sheikh 
Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, is heir apparent; and his uncle, Sheikh 
Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, as prime minister, is the head of 
government. The King appoints a cabinet of ministers. Members of the Al 
Khalifa royal family hold about half of the cabinet positions, 
including all strategic ministries. In 2002 the Government adopted the 
current constitution that reinstated a legislative body with one 
elected chamber, the Council of Representatives (COR), and one 
appointed chamber, the Shura Council. In November and December, 
parliamentary and municipal elections were held and all political 
societies participated, including the four that boycotted the 2002 
parliamentary elections. The constitution provides that the King is 
head of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the 
Government. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control 
of the security forces.
    Citizens were not able to change the Government and experienced 
restrictions on civil liberties such as the freedoms of press, speech, 
assembly, association, and some religious practices. Though citizens 
were not able to form political parties, the law authorized registered 
political societies to run candidates and participate in other 
political activities. Reported judicial abuses included lack of 
judicial independence and allegations of corruption. Occurrences of 
domestic violence against women and children were common, as well as 
discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, sect, and ethnicity. 
Trafficking in persons and restrictions on the rights of expatriate 
workers remained problems. The Shi'a majority population was routinely 
discriminated against in leadership positions.
    On September 19, King Hamad granted citizenship to at least 372 
children of citizen women and noncitizen spouses. On June 6, the first 
female judge in the country was appointed to the Higher Civil Court. 
The first woman was elected to the COR, after running unopposed in her 
district.

                        RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

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 unlike the 
previous year, there were no reports that government officials employed 
them.
    During the year, there were no known instances of officials being 
punished for human rights abuses committed. Controversy continued over 
impunity for alleged torturers which the Government maintained was 
granted by the 2001 general amnesty.
    In May 2005 the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) and the 
dissolved Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), in cooperation with 
the National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture (NCMVT), 
briefed the UN Committee Against Torture on their concerns. (The BCHR 
remained a banned organization.) They focused on impunity for acts of 
torture committed prior to 2001; rejection by courts of all cases 
lodged against alleged torturers and of all requests for compensation; 
and the absence of redress and rehabilitation mechanisms for victims of 
torture.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons in the country 
generally met international standards. In late 2005 while the 
Government permitted limited visits to prisons, it did not allow visits 
to short term detention facilities by independent human rights 
observers.
    In late December 2005 a BHRS team, including doctors, 
psychologists, lawyers, and academics, made two visits to Jaw prison, 
the country's only men's prison. Jaw housed 450 to 500 inmates. BHRS 
was also scheduled to visit the country's women's prison in Isa Town on 
February 25, but interior ministry officials postponed the visit 
indefinitely for administrative reasons. The visit had not been 
rescheduled by year's end.
    According to BHRS representatives, BHRS was given full access to 
the Jaw facilities, apart from the short-term detention section, and 
permitted interviews with both staff members and inmates, including two 
inmates on death row. They conducted private interviews with 56 
inmates, some of whom were specified individuals and others whom they 
chose at random. Per the BHRS report, there was no systematic torture 
at the facility, but there were reports from some inmates of 
mistreatment in the detention section where new inmates are first held 
before being assigned a permanent cell.
    Citing concerns about drug use at Jaw, the BHRS report carried 
claims by some prisoners that some prison staff members had supplied 
drugs to inmates. It also said that the prison provided drug abuse 
counseling to addicts.
    On August 10, the quasi-governmental Supreme Council for Women 
(SCW) conducted a visit of the country's women's prison in Isa Town. 
Following the visit General Secretary Lulwa Al Awadhi called publicly 
for the Supreme Judicial Council to look into sentences that were 
overly severe for the crimes committed. There was no publicly released 
SCW report on the visit.
    Juveniles were housed separately from adults until the age of 15. 
In 2004 the Ministry of Social Development announced plans to open a 
separate center for the care of juvenile delinquents, but it had not 
yet done so by year's end.
    Although International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials 
visited the country during the year, they did not request prison 
visits. Bahrain Red Crescent Society officials confirmed that ICRC 
officials had not visited prisons for several years, since the release 
of all political prisoners in 2000.

    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 Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) is responsible for public security. It controls the 
Public Security Force and the extensive security service, which are 
responsible for maintaining internal order. The Bahrain Defense Force 
(DINARSF) is responsible for defending against external threats and 
also monitors internal security. There were no reports of corruption 
within the MOI and the DINARSF, although corruption was difficult to 
assess given the lack of transparency in activities and budgets.
    During the year there were no known instances of police officers 
punished for committing human rights abuses.
    Press reports carried several cases of law enforcement officials 
being jailed and/or fined for misconduct, most often for accepting 
bribes.

    Arrest and Detention.--A felony suspect must be charged and 
transferred to the Public Prosecutor's Office immediately. Within seven 
days of his arrest, a detainee must appear before a judge in the Public 
Prosecutor's Office to determine the viability of continued detention 
regarding the case. If the judge decides the suspect is a flight risk 
or is a danger to society, he may rule for continued detention up to a 
maximum of 45 days while the investigation is carried out. This process 
may continue through reviews by subsequent different judges, but 
detention may not exceed six months. However, according to the BHRS, 
there are occasional reports of detention for up to one year, but these 
cases are uncommon and were not reported during the last year.
    On August 16, new counterterrorism legislation was enacted that 
allows for a five-day detention period of a terrorist suspect. Upon 
request, the public prosecutor may extend this period based on the 
needs of the investigation for up to an additional 10 days. At the end 
of this period, the detainee must be transferred to the public 
prosecution and questioned within three days. The public prosecutor 
must then decide to issue a detention order or to release the detainee. 
The detention order may not exceed 60 days.
    Judges may grant bail to a suspect and do so regularly. Detainees 
were generally allowed prompt access to visiting family members.
    The Ministry of Justice was responsible for the assignment and 
management of public prosecutors, while the MOI oversaw security and 
all aspects of prison administration. Detainee access to attorneys was 
often restricted in the early stages of detention; attorneys must seek 
a court order to confer with clients. The state provided counsel if the 
defendant could not afford to hire an attorney. After conviction 
attorneys required the prison director's permission to visit a client 
in jail.
    Jaw prison housed convicted, sentenced prisoners only. According to 
a BHRS official who conducted visits with inmates at Jaw prison in 
December 2005, some prisoners described lengthy pretrial detentions up 
to nine months. However, the official said these were not detentions 
but delayed trials for additional crimes while the inmates were already 
serving out a sentence on an earlier conviction.

    Amnesty.--On December 15, the King granted amnesty to all those who 
were connected to the March Dana Mall incident and the December 2005 
airport incident (see section 2.b.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for a 
nominally independent judiciary; however, the judiciary was not 
independent, and courts were subject to government pressure regarding 
verdicts, sentencing, and appeals. There were allegations of corruption 
in the judicial system. The constitution provides that the King appoint 
all judges by royal decree. The King also serves as chairman of the 
Supreme Judicial Council, the body responsible for supervising the work 
of the courts and the public prosecution. The constitution does not 
provide a legislative branch confirmation process for judicial 
appointees nor does it establish an impeachment process. The 
constitution also specifies that punishment is personal, therefore 
family members cannot be punished for an individual's alleged crimes.
    On June 6, the first female judge, Mona al-Kawari, was appointed to 
the Higher Civil Court.
    The legal system is based on a mix of British civil law, Common 
Law, Shari'a (Islamic law), and traditional laws. The judiciary is 
organized into two separate branches: the civil law courts and the 
Shari'a courts.
    The civil law courts, through their two branches (criminal and 
civil), adjudicate all civil and commercial cases, criminal cases, and 
personal status cases involving non-Muslims. The Courts of Minor Causes 
(the Lower Courts and the Court of Execution) have one judge with 
jurisdiction over minor civil, commercial, and misdemeanor cases. The 
High Civil Courts have three judges with jurisdiction over larger civil 
and commercial cases, felonies, and personal status cases involving 
non-Muslims. The Civil High Court of Appeal has a panel of three judges 
and hears appeals.
    Both the civil and criminal court systems have a Supreme Court of 
Appeal, and a Court of Cassation, which is the final appellate court.
    The Shari'a courts have jurisdiction over personal status cases 
involving citizen and noncitizen Muslims. There are two levels: the 
Senior Shari'a Court and the High Shari'a Court of Appeal. At each 
level is a Sunni Maliki Shari'a Court with jurisdiction over all 
personal status cases brought by Sunni Muslims, and a Ja'afari Shari'a 
Court with jurisdiction over cases brought by Shi'a Muslims. The High 
Shari'a Court of Appeal is composed of a minimum of two judges. In the 
event of a disagreement, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) provides a third 
judge, and the decision is based on a majority vote. There are 11 
judges in the Sunni Maliki Shari'a courts and 12 judges in the Shi'a 
Ja'afari Shari'a courts.
    The constitution established the Constitutional Court to rule on 
the constitutionality of laws and statutes. The court's membership 
consists of a President and six members, all appointed by the King. 
These seven judges serve nine year terms and cannot be removed before 
their terms expire. The court's determination is final and ``binding on 
all state authorities and on everyone,'' according to the constitution.
    The DINARSF maintains a separate court system that only tries 
military personnel accused of offenses under the Military Code of 
Justice. The MOI has a similar system for trying police officials. 
There were no reports of either court considering cases involving 
civilian, common criminal, or security cases during the year.

    Trial Procedures.--Civil and criminal trial procedures provided for 
an open trial, the right to counsel, question witnesses, and the right 
to appeal. Juries are not a part of the judicial system. Reports 
continued alleging lack of access to a fair trial.
    Defendants may choose their own attorneys. If they are unable to 
afford a private attorney, defendants may ask the MOJ to appoint an 
attorney to represent them in court. Defendants are present during 
trial proceedings, and they have the right to question witnesses. 
According to the constitution, defendants are presumed innocent until 
proven guilty.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens may bring civil 
suits before the court seeking cessation of or damages for human rights 
violations; however, there was impunity for alleged torturers that the 
Government maintained was granted by the 2001 general amnesty.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for personal freedom under 
the law. It also provides for freedom from arbitrary interference with 
privacy, home, and correspondence except under the provisions of the 
law and under judicial supervision; however, the Government continued 
to infringe on citizens' right to privacy. Telephone calls, email, and 
personal correspondence remained subject to monitoring (see section 
2.a.). Police informer networks were extensive and sophisticated.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press, but the Government limited the 
exercise of these rights. The election law prohibits speeches at most 
public locations and limits the areas where campaign materials can be 
placed.
    On July 20, the King ratified amendments to the association law 
that forbids any speech or discussion infringing on public order or 
morals (Law 18 of 1973). Under the amendments, restricted locations for 
protests or gatherings include in the vicinity of hospitals, airports, 
commercial malls, and security-related installations. Possible 
sentences for organizing unauthorized gatherings have been increased 
from three months to six months in jail. The original law allows 
security officials to break up public meetings if any crime under the 
Penal Code is committed or if public security is threatened.
    By year's end, according to human rights organizations, the 
Government had blocked local access to 21 Web sites through Internet 
service provider Batelco. Among these sites were local Web log and chat 
sites, human rights Web sites, sites containing information about Arab 
Christians, and the Wa'ad political society's Web site.
    On November 16, Mohamed al-Sahlawi and Hussein al-Habashi were 
arrested as they were allegedly preparing to distribute printed 
materials calling for a boycott of the elections and a change of the 
Government. According to press reports, the two face charges related to 
the Press Law and the Penal Code for promoting change of the system of 
the state through illegal means and possessing publications containing 
false information that ``would cause disruption to public security and 
damage the public interest.'' It was reported that the men planned to 
distribute 1,500 leaflets to mosque attendees urging people to boycott 
the national elections and participate in protests. At year's end the 
lawyer for the men confirmed that they would remain in custody until 
their appearance at the Lower Criminal Court, scheduled for January 7, 
2007.
    In 2002 the King decreed a press law. The Government began 
implementing the law but later ``froze'' it due to a public outcry. 
Although suspended the law was enforced at the Government's discretion. 
The suspended press law provides for restricted freedom of speech and 
press. The law provides for prison sentences in three general 
categories of offenses: criticizing the state's official religion; 
criticizing the King; and inciting actions that undermine state 
security. In addition, the law allows fines up to $5,300 (2,000 dinars) 
for 14 other offenses, including publicizing statements issued by a 
foreign state or organization before obtaining the consent of the 
Minister of Information; publishing any news reports that may adversely 
affect the value of the national currency; reporting any offense 
against the head of a state that maintains diplomatic relations with 
the country; or publishing offensive remarks towards an accredited 
representative of a foreign country because of acts connected with the 
person's position.
    In early September Dr. Salah al-Bandar distributed a report to 
selected individuals and political societies claiming the existence of 
a group of high-level individuals in the Government that attempted to 
manipulate the election process. At the time al-Bandar, a British 
citizen, was an advisor to the President of the Central Informatics 
Organization, which originally had responsibility for conducting 
elections. On September 13, al-Bandar was deported, and the Government 
confiscated his belongings. He was accused of seizing official 
government documents and stealing private checks.
    On October 4, the High Criminal Court banned the publishing of any 
news, commentary, or other information related to the report or the 
legal case against al-Bandar. All Web sites were banned from discussing 
the al-Bandar report about the alleged election fraud. The law 
prohibits newspapers from publishing information related to any case 
that is under investigation or is being tried in the courts. It also 
levies a fine of up to $2,650 (1,000 dinars) on any newspaper or 
individual who publishes news relating to crimes that the investigative 
authorities have decided should not be published. Bahrain News Agency 
reported that the decision came as a result of some newspaper coverage 
that harmed the public interest and incited sedition in the community.
    Local press coverage and commentary on international issues was 
open, and discussion of local economic and commercial issues also was 
relatively unrestricted. Newspapers covered opposition politics in 
detail and also published Friday mosque sermons, both Shi'a and Sunni. 
However, there was both censorship and self-censorship. Representatives 
from the Ministry of Information actively monitored and blocked local 
stories on sensitive matters, especially those related to sectarianism, 
national security, or criticism of the royal family, the Saudi royal 
family, and judges.
    Public demonstrations over foreign policy, unemployment, personal 
status laws, housing shortages, human rights abuses, and other issues 
were covered in the print media but not always on government owned 
television. Radio and television broadcasts in Arabic and Farsi from 
countries in the region, including by satellite, were received without 
interference.
    In private settings, individuals openly expressed critical opinions 
regarding domestic political and social issues. There was considerable 
freedom of discussion on the Internet (chat rooms, discussion forums, 
and individual Web logs), in letters to the editor, and occasionally on 
state run television call in shows.
    The Government owned and operated all local radio and television 
stations. However, satellite television systems were readily available 
to the public, providing access to international broadcasts. There were 
no reports of restrictions in access to these broadcasts. In 2004 the 
Government lifted its ban on correspondents from the Qatar based Al 
Jazeera satellite television channel, but maintained control over the 
selection of the locally-based correspondent.
    There was no government-owned print media, but the Ministry of 
Information exercised considerable control over local privately owned 
print media. One of the country's most prominent newspapers, Al-Wasat, 
was subject to occasional government harassment. In 2003 Dr. Mansour 
al-Jamry, editor in chief of Al Wasat, was interrogated, fined, and 
sentenced for allegedly publishing sensitive information about an 
ongoing investigation of a locally based terrorist cell. Al-Jamry 
appealed his case to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the laws 
under which he was charged, dealing with judicial authority, criminal 
procedure, and the press, were unconstitutional. In 2004 the High 
Criminal Court judge referred Al-Jamry's case to the Constitutional 
Court. The Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of the 
three laws and sent the case back to the High Criminal Court. At year's 
end a decision on the case was still pending.
    After the Government dissolved the BCHR in 2004, the BCHR appealed 
its dissolution in court. On February 22, following a final appeal by 
the BCHR to the Court of Cassation, Bahrain's highest appeals court, 
the court decided against the BCHR. Accompanying the March 8 public 
announcement of the court decision, was a warning from the Ministry of 
Social Development that it would recommend legal measures against 
members of BCHR if they continued their activities.
    The BCHR was dissolved after the arrest of Adinarsulhadi al-
Khawaja, former President of the BCHR, for criticizing and insulting 
Prime Minister Sheikh al-Khalifa at the Al-Aruba Club during a 
presentation on poverty in 2004. Shortly thereafter, the Government 
temporarily closed Al-Aruba Club and dissolved the BCHR for engaging in 
activities beyond the scope of the society's bylaws. In 2004 al-Khawaja 
was sentenced to one year in prison for violating the Penal Code by 
inciting hatred against the regime and spreading rumors that could 
undermine state security, but was ordered released by the King hours 
after sentencing.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted use of the Internet. 
The only Internet service provider in the country is government-owned 
Batelco which prohibited user access to Internet sites considered to be 
antigovernment or anti Islamic.
    At year's end a human rights organization reported that there were 
at least 21 Web sites blocked to resident users. During the year users 
were reportedly prevented from accessing Web logs, chat sites, and 
various Web sites, including the Arab Network for Human Rights 
Information, and the National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of 
Torture, among others. Access to Google Earth and Google Video was 
blocked for several days in August and then reinstated. Some users were 
able to access the sites using alternate servers. The Internet (chat 
rooms, discussion forums, and individual Web logs) allowed for 
generally candid discussions and expression.
    The country has experienced an overall growth in the readership and 
contribution to Web logs. Web logs carried information about the al-
Bandar report before and in greater depth than the mainstream press. 
Discussions on Web logs had been particularly active about the report, 
although the Government blocked some Web logs until they removed any 
references to the al-Bandar case. During the year, a number of local 
bloggers were blocked on the Internet for commenting upon election 
irregularities.
    Email use was reportedly monitored (see section 1.f.). Batelco 
estimates that more than 135,000 persons used the Internet, with 
approximately 45,000 local e-mail accounts.
    In February and March 2005 authorities arrested three Web site 
administrators on charges of inciting hatred against the regime and 
spreading false rumors that could undermine state security. Their Web 
site had been blocked by the Government for several years and these 
administrators were detained for 17 days. Supporters of the 
administrators held a number of demonstrations against the detentions 
and the detainees went on a hunger strike for several days. Immediately 
following their release the three men were prohibited from traveling, 
but this travel ban was lifted after two weeks. At year's end charges 
remained pending with the Public Prosecution and had not been 
transferred to the courts to go to trial.
    In April 2005 the Ministry of Information launched a six-month 
campaign to register all Web sites in the country. Reportedly only 
approximately 80 sites registered, many of which were government sites. 
Estimates of the number of Web sites residing on servers in the country 
range into the thousands. Under the new government regulations, Web 
site administrators face the same libel laws that apply to print 
journalists, and Web masters are held jointly responsible for all of 
the content posted on their Web sites or chat rooms.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom was 
limited, although there were no formal regulations. Academics avoided 
contentious political issues, and the University of Bahrain did not 
have a political science program. The university's hiring and 
admissions policies favored Sunnis and others who were assumed to 
support the Government. The proportion of Shi'a students was estimated 
to be close to the approximately 70 percent of Shi'a in the general 
population, although there are proportionately fewer Shi'a professors.
    There were some restrictions on popular music events, reportedly 
for reasons of public order with large audiences. For example, on 
February 27 the Ministry of Information denied a request by a Lebanese 
radio station to organize a concert featuring Lebanese singer Nancy 
Ajram during Formula One events. However, a subsequent request for 
Ajram to perform was approved for a May 18 concert. Ajram performed 
again at the end of the year during the Eid al-Adha holidays.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the constitution provides for the right of free 
assembly, the law restricts the exercise of this right. On July 26, the 
Government implemented new legislation governing demonstrations and 
rallies and codified restrictions on where and when public gatherings 
or demonstrations can be held. Organizers must submit the request to 
the MOI with at least 72 hours advance notice. The request must be 
signed by three individuals from the area in which the demonstration 
will take place and who are known to be law-abiding citizens. The new 
law prohibits any public gatherings or demonstrations near hospitals, 
airports, commercial centers, or facilities designated to be security-
related by the MOI. Public gatherings and demonstrations are not 
permitted after 11:00 p.m. or before 7:00 a.m. without written 
permission from the head of public security or his deputy.
    According to the new legislation, the head of public security is 
required to notify the organizers of any public gathering about any 
changes to the request (such as location, time, or route) at least 48 
hours prior to the event. If there is no response to the request, the 
gathering may proceed as requested. Organizers of an unauthorized 
gathering may be held responsible for any damage to public or private 
property. Under this legislation funeral processions may not be turned 
into political rallies and security officials may be present at any 
public gathering.
    Organized groups in the country are either civil society groups 
registered by the Ministry of Social Development, political societies 
registered by the MOJ, or labor unions registered with the Ministry of 
Labor. Based on the proposed by-laws a new group submits, the 
Government decides whether its proposed activities are social or 
political in nature. The Ministry of Social Development has not allowed 
the National Committee for the Unemployed to register as a civil 
society group because of the political nature of its activities.
    Scores of demonstrations occurred throughout the year. Many related 
to local issues, such as housing, unemployment, and political 
naturalization, and there were occasional demonstrations related to 
international events, such as the Israel-Hizballah conflict. Some of 
these demonstrations were not approved by the Government, but 
government intervened only on occasion. A local human rights 
organization reported that efforts by the Haq Movement, an organization 
advocating constitutional changes and a continued boycott of the 
elections and political system, to hold an unauthorized seminar on 
September 22 was prevented from meeting. No arrests were reported.
    The MOI reportedly told the owners of some venues to close their 
premises to prevent meetings from occurring, but it was not possible to 
determine the number of times this happened.
    On September 29, political societies held a rally to focus 
attention on the issue of the Government's alleged naturalization of 
persons for political purposes. Although the Government permitted the 
rally to proceed, it cited the new legislation as the basis for 
preventing participants from taking the rally to the main highway 
through the commercial district. Several demonstrators reportedly threw 
rocks at police and at least one Molotov cocktail that set alight a 
traditional Bahraini boat on decorative display next to the road. 
Police dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas. There were no 
arrests.
    The Government limited and controlled political gatherings. The 
Political Rights Law of 2002 regulates election campaigns and prohibits 
``election meetings'' at worship centers, universities, schools, 
government buildings, and public institutions (see sections 2.c. and 
3). On July 30, amendments to this legislation lowered the voting age 
to 20 years of age and provided for a 10 year loss of the right to vote 
or stand as a candidate for any person sentenced to more than six 
months in prison for any crime. The electoral restriction was not 
enforced during the year, as the names of citizens sentenced for more 
than six months appeared on the voter registration lists.
    In December 2005 Shaikh Mohamed al-Sanad was detained upon his 
return from Qom, Iran. Approximately three weeks earlier, his office in 
Qom released a statement questioning the legitimacy of the Government, 
and calling for a repeat of a UN referendum conducted in 1971 
concerning independence. As Shaikh al-Sanad was being detained at the 
airport, a group of 100 to 300 protesters gathered in the airport 
arrival lounge. Riot police were deployed and clashed with protesters. 
Several days later 21 individuals previously released were rearrested 
and charged for their alleged involvement in the events at the airport. 
One of the 21 protesters was later released.
    As court proceedings began for the 20 detainees, demonstrators 
gathered near the Public Prosecutor's Office to protest the detention. 
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, several of these 
demonstrators were arrested for their participation in unlawful 
gatherings at the Public Prosecutor's Office. On February 7, 12 of the 
airport detainees were sentenced to two years in jail and one detainee 
was cleared of all charges and released. Although the 12 were cleared 
of the charges of assaulting police and damaging public property, each 
was convicted of participating in an illegal gathering.
    On February 15, of the remaining seven airport detainees, four were 
sentenced to one year in prison for participating in an unlawful 
gathering, and the remaining three were cleared of all charges and 
released. On April 11, the court heard an appeal for 13 of those 
sentenced; eight of the two-year sentences were reduced to one year and 
four of the two-year sentences were upheld. The thirteenth prisoner was 
cleared of all charges and was released.
    On March 10, demonstrators gathered near Dana Mall for an 
authorized peaceful demonstration to protest the sentences of those 
involved in the events at the airport and the detention of protesters. 
When confronted by police, many of the youth entered the mall and 
caused damage to the shops inside. Nineteen individuals were arrested. 
Charges consisted of damaging property, assaulting police officers, and 
participating in an unlawful demonstration. There were convictions on 
all three charges, and the court sentenced those found guilty to jail 
time.
    Meanwhile, over the course of several evenings at the end of March 
and the beginning of April, groups of masked youths burned tires on the 
outskirts of several villages. Police made eight arrests and, on April 
16, revealed the identity of seven of the individuals, with photos, 
through the media. The eighth detainee was a minor.
    On September 20, King Hamad announced by decree that all detainees 
and sentenced prisoners related to the December 2005 airport incident 
and related disturbances, including the masked youths, were to be 
pardoned and released before the start of the Muslim month of Ramadan. 
On September 22, 43 were released to their families and another 18 two 
days later.
    Throughout 2005 the National Committee for the Unemployed staged 
numerous rallies calling on the Government to find solutions to the 
country's unemployment problem. As the committee is not registered with 
the Government, it cannot legally organize activities. Although the 
committee submitted an application for registration with the Ministry 
of Social Development (MOSD), it did not receive a response. The 
ministry did not release reasons for its lack of action. The Government 
warned the committee on several occasions against holding unauthorized 
events, and police and protestors clashed at two of its demonstrations. 
There were no charges placed against demonstrators or against police 
who were alleged to have used excessive force.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
freedom of association; however, the Government limited this right in 
practice. Though the Government does not allow the formation of 
political parties, it has authorized registered political societies to 
run candidates and participate in other political activities (see 
section 3).
    The 1989 Civil Societies Law prohibits any activity by an 
unlicensed society and any political activity by a licensed civil 
society. The law provides the Ministry of Social Development the right 
to reject the registration of any society if its services are deemed 
unnecessary, are already being provided by another society, are 
contrary to state security, or are aimed at reviving a previously 
dissolved society.
    During the year the Government permitted several NGOs, including 
the Bahrain Transparency Society, the Bahrain Human Rights Society, the 
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and the Bahrain Society for Public 
Freedoms, among others, to conduct some political activities such as 
election monitoring and promotion of election-related codes of conduct.
    In June 2005 the Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society attempted to 
register as a civil society group, but the Ministry of Social 
Development did not respond to the application. Unofficial sources 
claimed that the society contained an insufficient number of members 
over the legal age of 18 and, therefore, could not legally register. 
Members of the society speculate that they have not been allowed to 
register due to their relationship with members of the now dissolved 
BCHR.
    In 2004 the MOSD dissolved the BCHR after the BCHR President 
criticized the Prime Minister during a seminar (see section 2.a.). BCHR 
members continue to issue reports on alleged human rights abuses and 
participate in international human rights events. Members keep the BCHR 
web site updated, although access to the Web site was blocked. BCHR are 
consulted by journalists and appear in press pieces on human rights 
issues.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion; however, the Government placed limitations on the exercise of 
this right. The constitution declares Islam as the official religion, 
and all other religious groups must obtain a permit from the Ministry 
of Islamic Affairs to operate and hold religious meetings. Depending on 
a group's activities, it may also need approvals from the Ministry of 
Social Development, the Ministry of Information, and/or the Ministry of 
Education.
    The Muslim population is approximately 70 percent Shi'a and 30 
percent Sunni. There are numerous Christian churches of different 
denominations, four Sikh temples, and several official and unofficial 
Hindu temples located in Manama and its suburbs. The only synagogue has 
been closed since 1948.
    The Government funds, monitors, and subjects all official religious 
institutions to some control. The Government may appropriate or 
withhold funding to reward or punish particular individuals or places 
of worship although reports of this were not common. There were no 
reported closures of mosques or ma'tams (congregation hall for 
religious ceremonies) during the year.
    Sunni and Shi'a waqfs made funding decisions for new mosque 
construction. Although both Sunni and Shi'a waqfs were reportedly well-
endowed and were able to fund mosque construction, new mosques were 
dependent upon government approval of land allocation. The Government's 
approval of land allocation for mosques was not transparent and 
reportedly not proportionate to the Shi'a community relative to its 
population in the country.
    The Government rarely interfered with what it considered to be 
legitimate religious observances. During the year, the Government 
permitted public religious events, most notably the large annual Shi'a 
holiday of Ashura, but police closely monitored these gatherings. The 
MOI's policy of providing full media coverage of Ashura events 
continued this year. There were no restrictions on the number of 
citizens permitted to make pilgrimages to Shi'a shrines and to holy 
sites in Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The Government monitored travel to Iran 
and scrutinized carefully those who chose to pursue religious study 
there.
    The vast majority of those who attended Christian churches were 
expatriates. Events at churches occurred frequently and were advertised 
regularly in the English press, including the hosting of guest speakers 
from many countries.
    The Political Rights Law of 2002 forbids election speeches in 
worship centers, but political sermons continued (see sections 2.b. and 
3). Proselytizing by non Muslims is illegal and the Government 
prohibited anti Islamic writings; however, Christian publications, 
including Bibles, were sold openly. Religious tracts of all branches of 
Islam, cassettes of sermons delivered by sheikhs from other countries, 
and publications of other religions were readily available. Christian 
pastors were permitted to provide literature to Christian inmates and 
to prison libraries.
    In 2004 the Royal Court denied an application for a Shi'a mosque 
and ma'tam to be established in Rifa'a declaring that land, cannot be 
allocated for commercial enterprises.
    Christian congregations and churches were registered with the 
Government and operated freely.
    The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has repeatedly denied a Baha'i 
congregation a license to function. The ministry views Baha'ism as an 
inauthentic offshoot of Islam and blasphemous, and it refuses to 
recognize the congregation, which continued to practice its faith 
without government interference.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Discrimination against the 
majority Shi'a population remained a problem. Sunnis received 
preference for employment in sensitive government positions and in the 
managerial ranks of the civil service. The royal family is Sunni, and 
the defense and internal security forces were predominantly Sunni. 
Shi'a citizens held posts in these forces, though not positions of 
significance. In the private sector, Shi'a tended to be employed in 
lower paid, less skilled jobs. Educational, social, and municipal 
services in most Shi'a neighborhoods were inferior to those found in 
Sunni communities.
    In private conversations and in Internet forums, Shi'a consistently 
complained of discrimination, especially in public sector jobs and 
positions at the university. Although the percentage of Shi'a students 
was close to the approximately 70 percent Shi'a population in the 
country, only about 40 percent of university faculty was Shi'a. Shi'a 
compose a high percentage of the country's unemployed.
    The Government has not enacted any laws protecting the rights of 
Jews to religious freedom; however, it has not interfered with their 
freedom to practice their religion. One Jewish citizen served in the 
Shura Council. Some anti-Semitic political commentary and editorial 
cartoons appeared, usually linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
These anti-Semitic articles and depictions occurred without government 
response. Examples of this were also seen during the July-August 
conflict between Israel and Hizballah, when Israel was regularly 
referred to as the ``Zionist entity'' in the press. Although the one 
synagogue is not open due to the small size of the Jewish community in 
the country, Jews practiced their faith privately without interference 
from the Government.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
movement, except as modified by law and judicial decisions. Banishment 
and prevention of return are prohibited. Citizens were free to move 
within the country and change their place of residence or work.
    The 1963 Citizenship Law provides that the Government may reject 
applications to obtain or renew passports for reasonable cause, but the 
applicant has the right to appeal such decisions before the High Civil 
Court.
    The constitution permits the Government to revoke citizenship only 
in the cases of treason and other such cases ``according to the law.'' 
The Government has not revoked the citizenship of any person under the 
2002 constitution.
    Opposition groups claimed that the naturalization process was 
politically driven to manipulate demographics for voting purposes and 
to keep Shi'a out of the police and defense forces, which are allegedly 
dominated by naturalized Sunnis from foreign countries. Although 
naturalization requirements are clearly defined, they were not applied 
impartially, and adjudication of naturalization applications was not 
transparent. The Government reportedly was more lenient with 
naturalization requests from expatriates in the security forces. Shi'a 
and non-Arab applicants reportedly experienced longer delays in the 
processing of their cases. The Government occasionally granted 
citizenship to Sunni residents from neighboring countries. The 
Government stated that some of the Saudis who had received citizenship 
were the grandchildren of Bahraini citizens who had immigrated to Saudi 
Arabia. According to the country's nationality law, these persons have 
a legal right to citizenship.
    On September 19, King Hamad by royal decree granted citizenship to 
at least 372 children of citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers. 
Although most were born and resided in the country most of their lives, 
they had not been granted citizenship because according to law, 
citizenship derives from one's father and not one's mother. Previously, 
these children were required to obtain resident permits, were not 
eligible for some social services, or had to pay for some other 
services (see section 5).
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports 
of forced exile during the year. In 2004 the Royal Court granted 34 
citizens living in exile the right to return to the country. Since that 
time there have been no reports of citizens returned from exile to the 
country. In January, the cabinet discussed the matter of government 
assistance to over 500 former exiles and their families. Assistance of 
approximately $660 (250 dinars) monthly was provided to 250 families 
with either unemployed or elderly former exiles.
    There is no official requirement for women and children to have 
their husband's/father's permission to travel abroad and there were no 
reports of women and children facing any restrictions on travel.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status to persons who meet the definition in the 
1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol, and the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection 
against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they fear 
persecution.
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 appoints the Prime Minister, who then proposes 
cabinet ministers who are appointed by the King. Members of the royal 
family held all strategic cabinet ministry positions and approximately 
half of all ministerial slots.
    The bicameral National Assembly consists of the 40-member popularly 
elected COR and the 40-member appointed Shura (Consultative) Council. 
The Office of Legal Affairs drafts the text of laws, not the COR or the 
Shura Council. This office had been part of the Prime Minister's 
cabinet until July when it was made a quasi-independent body linked to 
the MOJ. The King may veto laws passed by the National Assembly, which 
in turn may override a veto by a two thirds majority vote. If the 
legislature overrides a veto, the King must promulgate the law within 
one month. No veto has been exercised and no law has been enacted that 
was proposed by a member of the legislature since the constitution was 
adopted.
    The King may dissolve the COR at his discretion, and he retains the 
power to amend the constitution and to propose, ratify, and promulgate 
laws. Either council may question government ministers, and the COR may 
pass a two thirds majority vote of no confidence requiring a minister's 
resignation. The COR may also introduce a resolution indicating it 
cannot cooperate with the Prime Minister. Both the elected and the 
appointed chambers of the National Assembly would then have the option 
to pass the resolution by a two thirds majority that would require the 
King to either dismiss the Prime Minister or dissolve the COR. The 
situation of a no-confidence vote has never arisen.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Bahrain held parliamentary 
and municipal council elections in two rounds on November 25 and 
December 2. Voter participation in the first round was 73 percent of 
all registered voters. In second round runoff races 69 percent of those 
eligible to vote cast ballots. Although there was a small group of 
eligible voters who maintained a boycott of the elections, all 
political societies, including the four that boycotted the 2002 
elections, participated in the elections.
    Although no international observers participated, nine local civil 
society groups were permitted access to poll stations to observe 
voting, including Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society and Bahrain 
Society for Public Freedoms. Bahrain Transparency Society and Bahrain 
Human Rights Society joined efforts to form the Election Monitoring 
Joint Committee (EMJC).
    Although by year's end it had not issued its final report, in an 
initial assessment EMJC reported that there were no reports of 
widespread attempts to influence the outcome of the elections. In 
addition to the country's 40 district polling centers, voters of any 
district could cast their votes at one of ten general polling stations. 
Prior to the elections, the general stations had received attention as 
an area possibly vulnerable to manipulation. Official polling station 
observers did not report significant problems during the voting 
process, although there were allegations that general poll center vote 
counts were manipulated in some cases against opposition candidates in 
close races.
    At district polling stations, results were announced to observers 
and candidate representatives following the counting of ballots. 
However, at many general poll centers during the first round this did 
not happen. Votes from general polling stations were taken to central 
facilities and folded in with those of other general stations before 
vote counts were made public. After the first round, EMJC presented 
this lapse in transparency to the High Commission for Elections, and 
adjustments were made for the runoff elections. Prior to moving ballot 
boxes following the vote in the runoff races, election officials 
announced vote counts to observers.
    EMJC reported a series of other violations, the most serious being 
that candidates did not cease campaign activities 24 hours prior to the 
polls as required by law. Campaign volunteers continued to pass out 
fliers and lobby voters in the vicinity of polling stations on election 
day. In addition observers reported many violations of campaign posters 
and billboards moved closer to polling stations than allowed by law 
just prior to the election. Most other violations were minor and 
procedural.
    On August 11 Minister of Social Development Dr. Fatima al-Balushi 
declared that the administrative and financial procedures of NGOs would 
come under direct control of a new department in the ministry. The 
purpose of this regulation was to prevent charitable organizations' 
financial support of candidates during elections.
    On July 30, the Government implemented an amendment to the 
Political Rights Law lowering the voting age from 21 to 20 years of 
age.
    The Government drew the unified electoral districts for both the 
municipal council and the legislative elections to protect Sunni 
interests by creating several districts with small populations likely 
to elect a Sunni candidate. In contrast districts where a Shi'a 
candidate was likely to win were drawn to include large numbers of 
voters, a formula that diluted the voting strength of the Shi'a 
community. Observers commented that this gerrymandering generally 
violated the one man, one vote principle common to most democracies. 
According to voter lists for the elections, divergence in the electoral 
population per district is significant--the number of eligible voters 
per elected representative can vary by as much as a factor of 13.
    In July 2005 a Political Societies Law replaced the 1989 law as the 
governing law for organized political activity. The law gives political 
societies legal authority to exist and defines guidelines within which 
they can operate. Political societies were highly critical of 
provisions in the law that require them to notify the MOJ before 
contacting political groups abroad. The law also prohibits foreign 
funding or training, raised the minimum membership age from 18 to 21; 
and gives the MOJ the authority to reject an application for 
registration.
    The Government did not allow the formation of political parties, 
but 15 political societies, which received some government funding and 
operated somewhat like political parties, chose candidates for 
parliamentary and municipal elections, campaigned for political office, 
developed political platforms, held internal elections, and hosted 
political gatherings (see section 2.b.). The Government began 
recognizing political societies in 2002 and placed them under the 
jurisdiction of the 1989 Civil Societies Law. Although the 1989 law 
prohibits civil society groups from engaging in political matters, the 
Government permitted such activity at its discretion.
    Al-Wifaq, the country's largest political society (Shi'a), and 
three other political societies, boycotted the 2002 parliamentary 
elections, citing grievances over the constitutional provisions that 
equalized the powers of the elected COR and the royally-appointed Shura 
Council. During 2005 all political societies except one, including 
three of the four boycotting societies, registered under the new 
Political Societies Law, a required first step toward participation in 
the November and December legislative elections. The remaining 
boycotting political society registered in spring of the reporting 
period. As of the end of the year, 15 political societies were 
registered with the Ministry of Justice. The ministry did not refuse or 
defer the application of any political society.
    The Ministry of Social Development suspended the opposition Islamic 
Action Society (IAS) for 45 days after a June 2005 seminar in which 
members of the IAS allegedly praised 73 persons convicted of a 1980's 
coup attempt. The ministry accused the IAS of ``defaming the 
constitution, national symbols, and the political leadership; 
tolerating incitement; and distributing pamphlets not licensed by the 
Ministry of Information.''
    Women have the right to vote and run for public office. In the 
legislative elections, 18 women ran in the legislative and five ran in 
the municipal elections. One woman, Latifa al-Qa'oud, was unopposed in 
her district and became the first female member of parliament. None of 
the other women candidates were elected. Percentages of the voting by 
gender were not released by the Government.
    On June 6, King Hamad appointed Mona al-Kawari the first female 
judge. On June 8, the UN General Assembly elected attorney Shaikha Haya 
Bint Rashid Al Khalifa as President, the assembly's first Muslim woman 
President.
    In December the King appointed 10 women to the 40-member Shura 
Council. This represents an increase of four from the previous Shura 
Council that served from 2002 to this past year. One of these women, 
Alice Samaan, a Christian, was elected to be the second deputy speaker 
of the council.
    In 2004 the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs reported that women held 9 
percent of senior civil service posts. Minister of Health Dr. Nada 
Haffadh and Minister of Social Development Dr. Fatima al-Belooshi 
continued to serve in the parliament.
    The Shi'a constitute approximately 70 percent of resident citizens, 
and both Shi'a and Sunni citizens have equal rights before the law. 
However, the royal family is Sunni, and Sunnis dominate politically and 
economically.
    The King appointed one Christian and one Jewish member to the new 
Shura Council in December. Eighteen Shura Council members were Shi'a 
Muslims and 17 were Sunni. Five of the 23 cabinet ministers were Shi'a, 
including a deputy prime minister.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Significant areas of 
government activity continued to lack transparency. New legislation 
increased transparency in Central Bank transactions and activities and 
increased disclosure responsibilities for the 39 companies listed on 
the local stock exchange. The annual National Audit Bureau report 
analyzed the accounts of state-owned entities and was made available to 
the public. The COR called ministers to appear at public sessions to 
respond to questions from members of parliament.
    There was no law providing citizens with access to information held 
by the Government.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Restrictions on freedom of association and expression hindered 
investigation or public criticism of the Government's human rights 
policies. There were approximately 400 NGOs registered in the country, 
most of which were sports clubs and charitable organizations. NGOs must 
report to the Ministry of Social Affairs when their members participate 
in international NGO events. There were three major human rights NGOs 
that reported on issues of concern: Bahrain Human Rights Society, 
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS), and Bahrain Center for 
Human Rights (dissolved in 2004 but former members continue to report, 
see section 2.b.). BHRS was independent from the Government. BHRWS 
considers itself independent while members of its leadership were also 
members of the King-appointed Shura Council.
    In recent years the Government has allowed increased interaction 
between local civil society groups and international human rights 
organizations. During the year citizen members of Amnesty 
International, who have not registered as an NGO with the Ministry of 
Social Development, carried out several activities without interference 
by the Government. In December they organized a letter writing campaign 
for International Human Rights Day. Members coordinated with the 
Bahrain Society for Public Freedoms to observe the elections and 
monitor media coverage during the election campaign. In May, the group 
organized free public screenings of the film The Road to Guantanamo. 
However, on June 23, they were prevented from staging a mock soccer 
game to focus attention on Guantanamo Bay detainees.
    In December 2005 BHRS and a foreign human rights organization 
organized a conference on family law issues. In October and November 
2005 members of some domestic NGOs participated with international NGOs 
in conferences leading to the Forum for the Future conference. A local 
human rights activist organized a ``parallel'' Forum for the Future 
conference for regional NGOs, which was funded by the Government. 
Bahrain Transparency Society had regular contact with Transparency 
International.
    The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) was active from 2002 to 
2004. The group produced reports, supported victims of trafficking, and 
organized other events. From 2003 government ministries warned the 
center against conducting activities that were outside its bylaws such 
as criticizing the Government or specific government officials. In 2004 
the Ministry of Social Development dissolved the BCHR. The Government 
locked the center's rented office space and froze its bank accounts. 
The BCHR challenged its closure in court, but lost the case and its 
subsequent appeals (see section 2.a.). Individual members continued to 
conduct activities and write reports about issues of concern in the 
name of the center.
    In August 2005 the Government released the locked BCHR office space 
to the Migrant Worker Protection Society. MWPS had been working under 
the BCHR umbrella but became an independent NGO after BCHR was 
dissolved.
    The BHRWS, established in December 2004 and led by a member of the 
Shura Council, conducted a number of human rights activities throughout 
the year, including organizing conferences and awareness campaigns on 
women's rights, children's rights, and labor rights. In December 2005 
BHRWS announced the establishment of a new coalition called ``Respect'' 
to focus on the twin issues of the need for a family law and the 
protection of abused domestic workers. In July BHRWS was forced to 
disband the coalition because the MOSD required that the new coalition 
be registered with the ministry. Rather than register as a new society, 
BHRWS took on the full campaign independent of the other members of the 
coalition.
    On December 19, the BHRS released its fourth annual report covering 
events in 2005. The report highlighted that authority granted to public 
security officials in the gathering law (even before the recent 
amendments) to break up meetings contradicts the constitution.
    In May the project director of a foreign organization was asked by 
immigration authorities to leave the country. The formal reason for his 
departure was that his residency status had lapsed and he was without 
an official sponsor. However, observer speculation focused on the 
probability that the Government perceived the organization's activities 
to have violated the Political Societies Law that prevents political 
societies from receiving direct funding from foreign sources. Although 
the organization did not provide direct funding to political societies, 
the organization offered training courses for elections officials and 
political leaders.
Section 5. 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. However, these rights were protected unevenly, 
depending on the individual's social status, sect, or gender.

    Women.--No government policies or laws explicitly addressed 
violence against women. Spousal abuse of women was widespread, 
particularly in poorer communities. Since June 2005 the Batelco Care 
Center for Family Violence has offered free medical, psychological, 
legal, and social assistance to victims of violence, primarily women 
and children. The center runs a hotline that abused persons can call 
for assistance. This center recorded 586 cases involving domestic abuse 
during the year: nearly two-thirds from women, just less than one-
quarter from children, and the remainder from men.
    On November 23, the Government opened a shelter for women. Its 
facilities accommodated victims of both domestic abuse and trafficking 
crimes.
    A 2004 study of 605 women of varying age, social status, and 
educational background concluded that 30 percent of the country's 
married women had been subjected more than once to verbal, physical, or 
psychological spousal violence. There were very few instances of women 
seeking legal redress for violence, and there was little public 
attention towards or discussion of the problem. Incidents usually were 
not brought to the attention of authorities.
    Rape is illegal and the press reported cases of men being arrested 
for rape. The law does not address spousal rape. Although the number of 
convictions was not available, during the year there were 45 cases of 
rape and 212 cases of sexual assault referred to the public prosecutor.
    Reports of foreign women working in domestic positions being beaten 
or sexually abused by their employers and recruiting agents were 
common. Numerous cases were reported to local embassies, the press, and 
the police; however, most victims were too intimidated to sue their 
employers, although they had the right to do so. Courts reportedly 
allowed victims who registered complaints to sue for damages or return 
home. If the victim brings a suit against the employer, the plaintiff 
cannot leave the country for the duration of the case.
    Since its inception in 2002, the Migrant Worker Protection Society 
(MWPS) has supported several victims who have taken their cases to 
court, but compensation to victims was reportedly very low. In 2003 
Anita Verma, a 28-year-old Indian domestic worker, was hospitalized 
after being abused by her employer for three months. She had received 
less than one month's full pay. She sued her employer for damages and 
back pay. Although Anita repeatedly indicated her desire to return to 
her family in India, she was not permitted to travel unless her former 
employer signed her exit papers, which she would only agree to do if 
Anita dropped the charges. After pursuing the case for over two years, 
a family illness prompted Anita to drop the charges. She returned to 
her home country on February 18.
    There is no specific law that prohibits female genital mutilation 
(FGM). According to the Batelco Care Center for Family Violence Cases, 
there have been no cases of FGM for many years.
    Women's legal rights vary according to Shi'a or Sunni 
interpretations of Islamic law (as determined by the individual's faith 
or by the court in which various contracts, including marriage, were 
made). In 2004 the MOJ suspended six Shari'a court judges indefinitely, 
following complaints from women of unfair treatment. According to the 
ministry, the judges reportedly had lost the trust of the community due 
to their misconduct (see section 1.e.).
    Shi'a and Sunni women have the right to initiate a divorce; 
however, religious courts may refuse the request. Women of either sect 
may own and inherit property and may represent themselves in all public 
and legal matters. In the absence of a direct male heir, Shi'a women 
may inherit all property. Sunni women without a direct male heir 
inherit only a portion as governed by Shari'a; the balance is divided 
among the brothers or male relatives of the deceased. In practice, 
better educated families used wills and other legal maneuvers to 
ameliorate the negative effect of these rules.
    In divorce cases, the courts routinely grant mothers custody of 
daughters under age nine and sons under age seven. Custody usually 
reverts to the father once the children reach those ages. Regardless of 
custody decisions, the father retains guardianship, or the right to 
make all legal decisions for the child, until the child reaches the 
legal age of 21. A noncitizen woman automatically loses custody of her 
children if she divorces their citizen father. A Muslim woman legally 
can marry a non Muslim man if the man converts to Islam.
    Married women have the right to apply for a passport without their 
husband's consent. Women have the right to travel abroad without 
gaining prior consent.
    By law foreign women who marry citizens are eligible for 
citizenship after five years of marriage. Foreign men who marry 
citizens, however, are not entitled to citizenship, and neither are 
their children. In July 2005 the Bahrain Women's Society launched a 
campaign to promote full citizenship rights for foreign husbands and 
their children. Over the past three years, the society has run a 
registration campaign to record the personal information of the more 
than 1,800 children (infant to age 21) who were born to citizen mothers 
and do not have citizenship. On September 19, King Hamad by royal 
decree granted citizenship to at least 372 children of citizen mothers 
and noncitizen fathers. However, this action did not change the 
legislation, so any such children will still face citizenship 
difficulties.
    According to November government data, women constituted 11 percent 
of the private sector workforce and 42 percent of the Government 
workforce. The Government was a leading employer of women.
    Labor laws prohibit discrimination against women; however, 
discrimination existed in the workplace. The influence of religious 
traditionalists sometimes hampered women's rights. In January 2005 a 
new law granted women working in the public sector 42 days maternity 
leave, not including weekends. Women in the private sector are entitled 
to 45 days maternity leave, including weekends.
    Prostitution is illegal and throughout the year there were press 
reports of arrests of prostitutes and their managers. During the year 
68 cases of prostitution were referred to the public prosecution for 
investigation. In calendar year 2005, the most recent statistics that 
were available, the state won 20 prostitution-related cases. Sentences 
for individuals who ``encouraged the practice of prostitution'' varied 
between 10 days and two years in prison. Sentences for those who 
``managed an establishment for the practice of prostitution", ranged 
from prison sentences of three months to three years.
    Sexual harassment is prohibited; however, harassment was a 
widespread problem for women, especially foreigners working as 
domestics and other low level service jobs. The press reported a number 
of cases of men being arrested for sexually harassing women. During the 
year 420 cases of sexual harassment were referred to the public 
prosecution.
    The President of the University of Bahrain is a woman and 60 
percent of the students are women.
    Several women's organizations seek to improve the status of women 
under both civil and Islamic law. Throughout the year, the Government 
and NGOs sponsored a number of conferences related to women's rights.
    Women activists had been trying since 2001 to establish a Bahrain 
Women's Union and were finally granted the permission to register and 
hold elections for members of their board following a March court 
decision in their favor. The MOSD had refused to allow the union to 
register, stating that the union's activities were political in nature. 
The union seeks to bring together numerous societies to advocate for 
women's rights.

    Children.--The Government has often stated its commitment to the 
protection of children's rights and welfare. It generally honored this 
commitment through enforcement of related civil and criminal laws and 
through an extensive social welfare network.
    Children born to citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers are not 
entitled to citizenship and are not eligible for certain social 
services, including public education.
    According to the Education Act of 2005, education is free and 
compulsory for all children, including noncitizens, ages six to 15. In 
recent years, authorities did not enforce compulsory education rules. 
However, the Education Act imposed fines on parents whose children 
failed to attend school and outlined other measures to encourage school 
attendance. According to the World Development Indicators from the 
World Bank in 2001, 98.4 percent of children were enrolled in school. 
In 2001, 98.4 percent of boys were enrolled in basic education and 97.5 
percent of girls were enrolled in basic education. Most students 
finished secondary school. No new statistics were available.
    Limited medical services for infant and preadolescent citizens were 
provided for free. Noncitizen adults and children paid a fee for each 
visit for care at public health centers.
    According to the Bahrain Women's Society (BWS), child abuse was 
common, although public discussion of it was rare. The BWS ``Be Free'' 
Campaign, which has posted a Web site for victims of child abuse since 
2002, reported that during the year it received on average over 300 
emails per month mostly from youth and adults, from inside and outside 
the country, reporting to have been victims of child abuse. The newly 
established Be Free Center reportedly serviced over 3,000 individuals 
over the year through trainings and lectures conducted for children and 
parents at the center, at schools, and at other public venues.
    Child prostitution is illegal and there were no reported cases 
during the year.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons. Workers from Southeast Asia, South Asia, the 
Horn of Africa, and the former Soviet Union reported experiencing 
conditions that amounted to trafficking (see section 6.c.), such as 
withholding of passports, restrictions on their movements, and physical 
or psychological intimidation to work. Some of these victims reported 
being forced into commercial sexual exploitation; however, the most 
common forms of trafficking in persons involved unskilled construction 
laborers and domestic workers. There are approximately 50,000 foreign 
housemaids working in the country, and labor laws do not fully cover 
domestic workers. According to government statistics, foreigners make 
up 57 percent of the workforce.
    Up to half of low and unskilled expatriate workers were subjected 
to illegal contract substitution, whereby workers agreed to a contract 
in their home country, but were required to agree to and sign a 
different contract upon arrival, nearly always for less pay and often 
for different work. Victims of trafficking experienced nonpayment of 
salaries; inadequate meals; physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; 
absence of rest days, and/or extremely long working hours.
    Frequently, traffickers--including some from influential families--
tricked new workers into paying up to $1,200 (450 DINARS) for 
fraudulent visas and nonexistent jobs, leaving stranded workers 
vulnerable to trafficking due to their illegal immigration status in 
the country and high debt in their home country. The Ministry of Labor 
(MOL) nearly doubled its number of labor inspectors to approximately 40 
to investigate reports of visa abuse.
    Prostitution is illegal, but during the year there was evidence 
that a number of foreign women were forced into commercial sexual 
exploitation through deception or intimidation. The problem was 
especially problematic for Thai women coming to the country. Although 
many Thai women traveled to the country voluntarily, there were 
indications of the use of false job offers and physical force to 
traffic some of them into commercial sexual exploitation. During the 
year the Thai Embassy repatriated 385 women.
    In cases of forced prostitution, the Government reportedly 
prosecuted the offender and often the victim's sponsor or employer, but 
did not provide any information on cases it pursued this year. (See 
section 5).
    The fear of deportation or employer retaliation prevented many 
foreign workers from making complaints to the authorities. Many foreign 
workers were unaware of their rights under the law, such as the right 
to change employers without the consent of the original employer after 
working two years in a position.
    Throughout the year the press carried stories of expatriate workers 
committing or attempting suicide. Exact statistics of attempts and 
deaths were unavailable.
    The Government can fine employers guilty of forced labor up to 
$2,650 (1,000 dinars). The rules require sponsors to put up a deposit 
of $265 (100 dinars) for each runaway worker. The Government published 
pamphlets on expatriate workers' rights in several languages, provided 
manuals on these rights to local diplomatic missions, and operated a 
telephone hotline for victims. The Government does not provide direct 
assistance to victims. Through August there were approximately 500 
labor cases involving a total of over 650 expatriate workers sent from 
the MOL to the Public Prosecution for investigation and prosecution.
    In June 2005 Meena Raj Kumar Dolare was sentenced to three months 
in jail and fined $1,325 (500 dinars) for severely assaulting her maid 
in 2003. Though Dolare reportedly admitted to the abuse, she was 
released on $1,325 bail (500 dinars) and vowed to appeal the ruling. 
Rights activists praised the ruling, but reported that it was the only 
conviction in more than 20 rape and physical abuses cases filed by 
foreign housemaids in the past two-and-a-half years. The MWPS reported 
that since it began its work in 2002, at least a dozen foreign women 
have dropped abuse cases against their employers because the courts 
delayed proceedings for months or even years and they wanted to return 
to their home countries. Due to the hardship on the worker presented by 
these court proceedings, MWPS has ceased advising women to seek court 
rulings against their sponsors. Instead, cases have been resolved 
favorably through intervention by foreign embassies and mediation 
between embassy staff and sponsors.
    In August, a sponsor attempted to send Sangita, a domestic worker, 
home to India involuntarily without paying her the 22 months of back 
pay she was due. Before the sponsor took her to the airport, however, 
she was able to contact the MWPS for help. Through MWPS and Indian 
Embassy intervention on her behalf, the sponsor agreed to pay her 
$1,325 (500 dinars) of the $2,330 (880 dinars) she was owed. On 
November 12 Sangita returned home.
    During the year the Embassy of the Philippines reported that 446 
distressed Filipino workers were repatriated, 89 percent of whom were 
women. Nearly all of these women were domestic workers. This compares 
to 210 repatriations in 2005. The workers claimed that they faced a 
range of problems including maltreatment, physical and sexual abuse, 
and non-payment of salary. The Philippine Embassy's shelter for victims 
of abuse reported that 749 workers over the year, compared with 466 in 
2005, ran away from their sponsors for reasons of alleged abuse. 
Statistics on other nationalities were not available.
    Several NGOs provided assistance to trafficking victims with the 
Government's approval. They include the MWPS, The Art of Living 
Foundation, the Indian Community Relief Fund, and the BHRWS. The MWPS, 
which operated a shelter for victims, reported that it received up to 
20 pleas of help from expatriate workers in distress every month. On 
average the MWPS said that 40 percent of the cases constituted severe 
abuse.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects the rights of persons 
with disabilities and a variety of governmental, quasi governmental, 
and religious institutions are mandated to support and protect persons 
with disabilities.
    There were no reports of discrimination against persons with 
disabilities in employment, education, or access to health care. 
Children with learning disabilities, physical handicaps, speech 
impediments, and Down syndrome were enrolled in specialized education 
programs in public schools.
    Greater emphasis has been given in recent years to public building 
designs that incorporate access for persons with disabilities; however, 
the law does not mandate access to nonresidential buildings for persons 
with disabilities.
    Since January 2005, new public buildings in the central 
municipality must include facilities for persons with disabilities.
    Society tended to view persons with disabilities as persons in need 
of protection rather than as fully functioning members of society. 
Nonetheless, the Government is required by law to provide vocational 
training for persons with disabilities who wish to work. The 1976 Labor 
Law 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 does not monitor compliance. The 
Government placed persons with disabilities in some public sector jobs.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The 1963 Citizenship 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 were reports that the citizenship law was not applied 
uniformly, and that the Government allowed expatriate Sunni Arabs who 
had served less than 15 years in the security services to apply for 
citizenship. There were also reports of Arab Shi'a who had resided in-
country for more than 15 years and non-Arab expatriates who had resided 
more than 25 years who had not been granted citizenship.
    In September, in the wake of allegations from the public of a wave 
of naturalization for political purposes, the minister of interior 
denied that such naturalization had taken place and announced that 
5,000 people had been naturalized according to the law over the 
previous three years.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law does not 
criminalize homosexual relationships between consenting adults of at 
least 21 years of age. According to BHRS reports of violence or 
discrimination against homosexuals were not common. Also, persons with 
HIV/AIDS did not commonly experience discrimination. However, reports 
of crimes in the media did not regularly specify if a victim of a crime 
was an alleged homosexual or had HIV/AIDS. While discrimination was not 
common or apparent, both attributes are socially taboo and not widely 
covered in the media.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The 2002 Workers Trade Union Law 
grants workers, including non citizens, the right to form and join 
unions. Public sector workers may join trade unions, but their unions 
are not officially recognized by the Government. Twenty-two percent of 
the private-sector labor force belonged to unions. The trade union law 
of 2002 established a union federation, the General Federation of 
Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU), which all unions had been required to 
join, until new legislation this year allowed for the establishment of 
additional federations.
    The law prohibits unions from engaging in political activities.
    New labor legislation enacted during the year provided protection 
to workers terminated for their union activities and required extra 
compensation for workers who are not paid their salaries on time.
    Members of the military are prohibited from joining unions. The law 
allows union membership for private sector, civil service, and maritime 
workers. Seven public sector unions have been formed and have 
registered with the federation, but they are still not recognized by 
the Government. In February 2005 the High Civil Court rejected a case 
filed by the Federation on the right of civil servants to organize.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively. Unions can 
be formed at establishments of any size. Employers and the Government 
are required to treat unions as independent judicial entities.
    The law states that ``the right to strike is a legitimate means for 
workers to defend their rights and interests''; however, the law also 
restricts this right. The law requires arbitration before a vote to 
strike and a two-week notification that a union intends to strike. A 
new law lowered the vote threshold from 75 percent to a simple majority 
vote of a union's members.
    Although government sources say the arbitration provision will not 
preempt the right to strike, the text of the law does not clearly 
specify that a union may proceed to a strike vote if it disagrees with 
the arbitrator's decision.
    On November 20, the Prime Minister issued an executive order with 
language expanding the 2002 Labor Union Law vital sector definition. 
Under the new order, additional sectors in which strikes are not 
allowed include the oil, gas, and education sectors. Health centers, 
pharmacies, and bakeries are also specified under the new order.
    Expatriate workers from several companies carried out unauthorized 
strikes throughout the year. In nearly all cases, the workers were not 
members of unions, but joined in a show of strength. Even though the 
workers were not union members, and therefore, the strikes were 
illegal, employers negotiated over worker demands rather than dismiss 
large numbers of workers.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. There were reports that such practices 
occurred, particularly in cases of domestic workers and those working 
illegally (see section 5). There were no reports of forced or 
compulsory child labor.
    Foreign workers, who make up 57 percent of the workforce (76 
percent of the private sector workforce), in some cases arrived in the 
country under the sponsorship of an employer and then switched jobs 
while continuing to pay a fee to their original sponsor. This practice 
made it difficult to monitor and control the employment conditions of 
domestic and other workers.
    In numerous instances employers withheld salaries from their 
foreign workers for months and even for years, and refused to grant 
them the necessary permission to leave the country. The Government and 
the courts generally worked to rectify abuses if they were brought to 
their attention, but they otherwise focused little attention on the 
problem. The fear of deportation or employer retaliation prevented many 
foreign workers from making complaints to the authorities (see section 
6.e.).
    Labor laws do not fully cover domestic workers. There were numerous 
credible reports that domestic workers, especially women, were forced 
to work 12 to 16 hour days, given little time off, were malnourished, 
and were subjected to verbal and physical abuse, including sexual 
molestation and rape. Between 30 to 40 percent of the attempted suicide 
cases handled by the Government's psychiatric hospitals were foreign 
domestic workers (see section 6.e.).
    According to foreign embassies and NGOs, it was estimated that 
there were 50,000 foreign domestic workers in the country who are 
predominantly of Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Indian, and Filipino origins. 
During the year, there were several incidents of seriously abused 
domestic workers reported in the press.
    Domestic workers who have no embassy representation in the country 
(e.g. Sri Lanka) were often subjected to the worst types of physical 
and sexual abuse. With no diplomatic mission to represent them, runaway 
domestic workers had few places to turn for support.
    On November 23, the Government officially opened a shelter to 
protect female victims of trafficking and victims of domestic abuse. 
The shelter can accommodate 60 to 80 women and their children.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits 
forced and compulsory child labor. The Government enforced this 
prohibition effectively (see section 6.c.).
    The minimum age for employment is 16 years of age. Rare exceptions 
can be made for juveniles between the ages of 14 and 16, who have an 
urgent need to assist in providing for their families. MOL inspectors 
enforced child labor laws effectively in the industrial sector; child 
labor outside that sector was monitored less effectively, but it was 
not believed to be significant outside family operated businesses. Even 
in such businesses, it was not widespread.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage. Unskilled foreign laborers in particular did not earn as much as 
the guidelines suggested. The Labor Law allows employers to consider 
benefits for foreign workers such as annual trips home, housing, and 
education bonuses as part of the salary.
    The Labor Law is enforced by the MOL and mandates acceptable 
conditions of work for all adult workers, including a maximum of 48 
hours per week. Except for Muslims during Ramadan when work should not 
exceed six hours per day and 36 hours per week, workers are entitled to 
one day of rest after six consecutive days of work and to annual paid 
vacations of 21 days after one year of service. The Labor Law for the 
Private Sector permits 12 hours of overtime per week that is to be paid 
at a rate of 25 percent above the normal wage if conducted during the 
day and 50 percent if completed at night. Special MOL permission is 
required for anyone working over 60 hours per week. The Labor 
Inspectorate conducts periodic, comprehensive inspections of private 
sector enterprises, including verification of employee hours and wages.
    The MOL set occupational safety and health standards and 
effectively enforced them by performing workplace inspections. A team 
of 15 inspectors in conjunction with ministry officials had the 
authority to levy fines and close work sites if employers did not 
improve conditions by specified deadlines. During the year the press 
reported on several workplace deaths, but exact figures were not 
available.
    The ministry enforced the Labor Law with periodic inspections and 
routine fines for violators. In 2005 ten safety and health inspectors 
covered approximately 34,000 active work places. During the year the 
ministry increased the number of safety and health inspectors to 15. 
Trained inspectors visited labor camps to verify if workers' 
accommodations met required safety and hygiene standards. The 
inspectors were only authorized to inspect premises that have a 
commercial registration. Inspectors were not authorized to inspect 
private homes where most domestic workers reside and work.
    When a worker lodges a complaint, the MOL opens an investigation 
and often takes remedial action. The MOL reportedly received 3,059 
complaints during the year, including those from domestic workers. On 
average there were six complaints from domestic workers per month. 
Ministry officials said that they were able to resolve approximately 
half of these cases through mediation in the ministry. The remaining 
cases were taken up by the Public Prosecution for investigation. The 
Fourth High Civil Court consists of three labor courts and has 
jurisdiction over cases involving alleged violations of the Labor Law. 
Complaints brought before the MOL that cannot be settled through 
arbitration must be referred to the court within 15 days.
    The Labor Law provides for fines and jail sentences for private 
sector employers who failed to pay wages as required by the law. The 
law applies equally to employers of citizens and of foreign workers.
    Although the practice is illegal, many companies transported 
expatriate workers in open trucks on benches, and accidents, sometime 
fatal, resulted. On September 16, two trucks, one transporting 23 
workers and the second carrying seven, collided resulting in the injury 
of 28 workers, six of them seriously. Three weeks later, a truck 
carrying over 30 laborers collided with a tractor trailer killing three 
of the workers and injuring another 28. On December 19, MOL officials 
announced that a ban on the transport of workers in open trucks would 
be enforced within one month.
    The press reported the deaths of several workers at construction 
sites during the year. Numerous workers reportedly suffered injuries on 
the job. The MOL routinely recommended that construction companies give 
their workers a midday break during the summer months. The ministry's 
recommendations were not binding, however, and numerous workers 
reportedly suffered heatstroke.

                               __________

                                 EGYPT

    The Arab Republic of Egypt, with a population of approximately 79 
million, has been governed by the National Democratic Party (NDP) since 
the party's establishment in 1978. The NDP, which continued to dominate 
national politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the 
popularly elected People's Assembly and the partially elected Shura 
(Consultative) Council, derives its governing authority from the 1971 
constitution and subsequent amendments. Executive authority resides 
with the President of the republic and the cabinet. In September 2005, 
President Hosni Mubarak won a fifth 6-year term, with 88 percent of the 
vote, in the country's first multi-candidate Presidential election, a 
landmark event that was otherwise marred by low voter turnout and 
charges of fraud. The civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces, which committed numerous, 
serious abuses of human rights.
    The Government's respect for human rights remained poor, and 
serious abuses continued in many areas. These included limitations on 
the right of citizens to change their government; a state of emergency, 
in place almost continuously since 1967; torture and abuse of prisoners 
and detainees; poor conditions in prisons and detention centers; 
impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention, including prolonged pretrial 
detention; executive branch limits on an independent judiciary; denial 
of fair public trial and lack of due process; political prisoners and 
detainees; restrictions on civil liberties--freedoms of speech and 
press, including internet freedom; assembly and association; some 
restrictions on religious freedom; corruption and lack of transparency; 
some restrictions on NGOs; and discrimination and violence against 
women, including female genital mutilation.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports of targeted political killings nor were there any confirmed 
reports of deaths in custody in police stations or prisons during the 
year. On January 23, the independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm 
reported that 19 Islamist prisoners had died in captivity of 
unspecified causes during the preceding six months. By year's end, 
there had not been any public governmental or NGO investigation of this 
story.
    On March 25, a plainclothes Alexandria police officer from the 
Montazah station allegedly shot and killed 19 year-old Youssef Khamis 
Ibrahim after Youssef refused to allow the officer to search him. A 
police spokesman later said Youssef was suspected of being a drug 
dealer, charges his family denied. Immediately following Youssef's 
funeral on March 25, a number of mourners attacked the Montazah police 
station; eight rioters were arrested. Two Members of Parliament from 
Alexandria submitted requests to the minister of interior and the 
Parliament to conduct official inquiries, but by year's end there had 
been no additional developments.
    On September 7, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) 
reported that 81 detainees were tortured to death inside police 
stations between 2000 and 2004 and that 21 detainees were reportedly 
tortured to death in police stations between April 2004 and July 2005. 
EOHR further reported that detainees were kicked, burned with 
cigarettes, shackled, forcibly stripped, beaten with water hoses, and 
dragged on the floor. There were no reports of death by torture during 
the year.
    During the year, there were killings by terrorist groups. On April 
24, three suicide bombers attacked the Red Sea resort of Dahab, killing 
at least 20 persons and injuring more than 100 others. On April 26, 
suicide bombers separately attacked a Multinational Force and Observers 
(MFO) vehicle in the northern Sinai (near Al-Gorah) and an Egyptian 
security vehicle (near Al-Arish). There were no casualties other than 
the bombers. According to police sources, the attackers were members of 
Al-Tawhid wa Al-Jihad (Monotheism and Holy War), a Sinai-based 
extremist group.
    By mid-May, in response to the Dahab and Gorah attacks, the police 
announced they had detained at least 30 suspects, while at least 9 
other suspects had been killed during exchanges of gunfire with the 
authorities. On May 9, according to media reports, security forces 
killed an alleged operational planner of the Dahab attacks, as well as 
previous Sinai terror attacks (in October 2004 in Taba and July 2005 in 
Sharm el-Sheikh), Nasser Khamis al-Mallahi, near al-'Arish in the 
northern Sinai.
    On December 3, police in the northern city of Damietta shot and 
killed three fishermen, and injured 30 others, after the fishermen 
resisted police efforts to remove their fish traps from the Nile. The 
police were attempting to implement a new government policy to reduce 
water pollution; the fishermen were protesting the forcible removal of 
their traps. By year's end there had been no public investigation into 
the Damietta deaths.
    Several reported cases from 2005 of killings by security forces 
remained unresolved. On March 27, the UN Special Rapporteur on 
Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions reported that the 
Government denied that security forces were responsible for the death 
of 34-year old detainee Nefissa Zakariyya Al-Marakby in March 2003. The 
Special Rapporteur said the Government had failed to substantiate this 
denial and noted that the autopsy results provided by the Government 
were ``consistent with sexual mistreatment.'' The Special Rapporteur 
also said that ``it was especially troubling that the interviews were 
not conducted with the other detainees and members of the security 
forces who were potential witnesses.''
    The UN Special Rapporteur also regretted that the Government 
``failed to cooperate with the mandate . . . given by the United 
Nations Commission on Human Rights'' regarding allegations that an 
unnamed Egyptian police officer from the Atlas (Cairo) police station, 
in October 2005, had shot a bus driver, Alaa Mahmoud Abdel Lateef, and 
his friend Mohamed Adly. The UN report further stated that although 
Egyptian authorities had detained and investigated the police officer 
for four days, the Government had not replied to the Special 
Rapporteur's request that the Government take ``all necessary 
measures'' to ensure the accountability of the guilty party.
    Regarding the Government's response to allegations of excessive use 
of force by security forces in the deaths of 27 Sudanese migrants in 
December 2005, the Special Rapporteur noted that the Government had 
rejected the allegations ``without adequate substantiation.'' The 
Special Rapporteur regretted ``that the Government's response consists 
of conclusory denials that lack factual substantiation that would be 
provided by investigations and medical examinations.'' The Government 
replied that ``the loss of life resulted from the chaos and the 
stampede invoked by the extremist leaders of those demonstrators and 
not by . . . use of excessive force or firearms on the part of the 
police.''
    During the year, the Government did not conduct any public 
investigation or disciplinary proceedings in the cases of the killings 
of 11 citizens by security forces during the parliamentary elections of 
November and December 2005. Most of these deaths had occurred after 
security forces closed hundreds of polling stations to opposition 
voters.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
cases of disappearance.
    Human rights monitors continued to call attention to unresolved 
disappearances, including the 2003 disappearance of Egyptian journalist 
Reda Hilal.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Article 42 of the constitution prohibits the infliction of 
``physical or moral harm'' upon persons who have been arrested or 
detained. Article 126 of the Penal Code penalizes acts of civil 
servants or public employees who commit or order acts of torture. 
However, torture and abuse of prisoners and detainees by police, 
security personnel, and prison guards remained common and persistent.
    Torture and authorizing torture are felonies punishable by 3 to 10 
years' imprisonment. For deaths resulting from torture, the crime is 
considered intentional murder punishable by a life sentence. Arrest 
without due cause, threatening death, or using physical torture are 
punishable by imprisonment. Abuse of power to inflict cruelty against 
persons is punishable by imprisonment and fines. Victims may also bring 
a criminal or civil action for compensation against the responsible 
government agency. There is no statute of limitations in such cases.
    Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and other 
human rights organizations have observed that the Penal Code 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.
    According to HRW in a December 23 statement, ``Torture is pervasive 
in Egyptian detention centers.'' There were numerous, credible reports 
that security forces tortured and mistreated prisoners and detainees. 
Domestic and international human rights groups reported that the State 
Security Investigations Service (SSIS), police, and other government 
entities continued to employ torture to extract information or force 
confessions. In prominent cases, defendants alleged that police 
tortured them during questioning (see sections 1.e. and 2.c.). Although 
the Government investigated torture complaints in some criminal cases 
and punished some offending police officers, punishments generally have 
not conformed to the seriousness of the offenses.
    Principal methods of torture reportedly employed by the police and 
the SSIS included stripping and blindfolding victims; suspending 
victims from a ceiling or doorframe with feet just touching the floor; 
beating victims with fists, whips, metal rods, or other objects; using 
electrical shocks; and dousing victims with cold water. Victims 
frequently reported being subjected to threats and forced to sign blank 
papers for use against themselves or their families should they in the 
future lodge complaints about the torture. Some victims, including male 
and female detainees and children, reported sexual assaults or threats 
of rape against themselves or family members. While the law requires 
security authorities to keep written records of detentions, human 
rights groups reported that the lack of such records often effectively 
blocked investigations.
    The Emergency Law--applied almost continuously since 1967 under a 
declared state of emergency--authorizes incommunicado detention for 
prolonged periods. Detentions under this law frequently were 
accompanied by allegations of torture. On April 30, the Government 
extended the State of Emergency until May 2008. Following terrorist 
attacks in October 2004 and April and July 2005, the authorities 
conducted mass arrests of hundreds of persons allegedly linked to the 
lead suspects and reportedly tortured some of them in custody (see 
section 1.d.).
    On December 6, approximately 100 lawyers and civil society 
activists, representing 40 human rights organizations, attended a 
protest at the Lawyers' Syndicate in Cairo against ``the crimes of 
torture committed by the security services.'' During the year human 
rights activists began to call attention to approximately a dozen 
amateur videos--taken by observers with mobile phone cameras and 
circulated on the internet--which appeared to document abuse or torture 
of detainees by security officials.
    In 2004 the Government's Central Audit Agency directed the Ministry 
of Interior to require any security or police officers found 
responsible for torture to be financially liable for any judgments 
levied against the ministry. According to the Human Rights Association 
for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP), there were at least 2 
instances of courts awarding punitive damages during the year to 
victims of police abuse.
    Numerous cases of torture were documented. On September 7, EOHR 
issued a report on cases of torture and death in police stations. The 
report recorded 156 cases of torture between 2000 and 2004 (75 
nonfatal) and 59 cases (38 nonfatal) between April 2005 and April 2006. 
The report said that detainees were kicked, burned with cigarettes, 
shackled, forcibly stripped, beaten with water hoses, and dragged on 
the floor.
    In early March, three Britons, released from prison after a 2004 
conviction by the Supreme State Security Emergency Court for belonging 
to a banned organization, alleged that security personnel had 
mistreated them through sleep deprivation, beatings, and unsanitary 
prison conditions, and that security personnel had tortured one of them 
with an electric prod (see section 1.e.).
    On March 30, Muslim Brotherhood (MB) member Mohammed Nagui 
testified to the Public Prosecutor that SSIS officers in Al-Haram had 
arrested and tortured him. He specifically accused officers Mahmoud 
Nour El-Din and Ibrahim Abdel Gawad of stripping him naked and 
torturing him with electrical shocks.
    On June 5, according to EOHR, officers at the Ain Shams police 
station beat and sexually assaulted Seham Mamdouh Mahmoud. The police 
briefly detained her, then repeatedly kicked her in the abdomen as she 
fought off an officer's attempt to sexually assault her. Seham was 
released that night. At year's end, authorities had not investigated 
the incident or punished the officer.
    Authorities used force to disperse peaceful, unauthorized 
demonstrations. On May 25, opposition activists demonstrated at the 
Journalists' Syndicate in Cairo to mark the one year anniversary of 
``Black Wednesday.'' (During the May 25, 2005 national referendum, pro-
government thugs, allegedly including undercover security personnel, 
attacked several groups of opposition protesters and journalists, and 
sexually assaulted several women journalists and protesters.) In late 
2005, the public prosecutor closed the investigation into these 
assaults, claiming that that it was not possible to identify the 
perpetrators, many of whom were documented on video as they assaulted 
opposition demonstrators and journalists. No police officers were 
prosecuted for the abuses.
    On May 26, according to EOHR and other widely circulated reports, 
police tortured Kifaya activists Muhamed al-Sharkawy and Karim al-
Shaeer, who had been detained in the aftermath of the May 25 
demonstration, at the Kasr al-Nil police station. (The Kifaya, or 
``Enough,'' Movement staged multiple demonstrations throughout the 2005 
calling for political reform.) According to Sharkawy's own account, 
police severely beat him at a building on Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street 
and then took him to Kasr al-Nil police station, where they tortured, 
and reportedly sodomized him. Police also beat Shaeer, detained him at 
the Kasr al-Nil police station, and transferred him to the custody of 
SSIS. A dozen Tora Prison detainees, all opposition and pro-democracy 
activists, launched a hunger strike on May 29 to protest Sharkawy's 
treatment, and other protests took place in front of the Doctors' 
syndicate on May 30 and outside the Kasr al-Nil police station on June 
1. Sharkawy and Shaeer remained in detention without charge until their 
release in July.
    In late November, the security forces detained a group of students 
in Cairo and Alexandria (including 11 Western citizens and an unknown 
number of Tunisians, Syrians, and Egyptians), apparently on suspicion 
of having connections to networks recruiting Islamist extremists to 
fight in Iraq. Some of the Western detainees claimed that the SSIS 
tortured them at the SSIS office in Nasr City (north Cairo) with 
beatings and electric shocks, administered while the detainees were 
blindfolded and handcuffed. The detainees also reported that the SSIS 
deprived them of sleep, and forced to watch as other detainees were 
tortured. In December, the Western students were deported. According to 
AI, the Tunisians remained in detention at year's end. There was no 
information available at year's end about the status of the Egyptian 
and Syrian students.
    During the year, the Government continued efforts to hold some 
security personnel accountable for torturing prisoners in their 
custody; however, the Government also continued to give light sentences 
to police officers convicted of serious abuses. Human rights 
organizations and the press reported that at least seven police 
officers in seven separate cases, faced criminal trials or civil suits 
during the year. Some of the cases involved incidents that took place 
in previous years.
    On May 28, the Azbakeya Misdemeanor Court sentenced officers Amr 
Saudi and Yasser Al Tawel, of the Azbakeya Police Department, to three 
months in prison and a $17 (LE 100) fine for beating Hossam Al Saeed 
Mohamed Amer, who had been accused of counterfeiting in 2003.
    On June 3, the public prosecutor referred SSIS Captain Ashraf 
Mostafa Hussein Safwat Abdel Qader to Felony Court for torturing 
detainee Mohamed Abdel Kader al-Sayed to death in 2003. After court 
sessions on June 22 and November 4, the court postponed the trial until 
February 3, 2007. Also on November 4, the victim's family annulled the 
power of attorney it had given to its lawyers, the Association for 
Human Rights and Legal Assistance (AHRLA), and dropped its claim for 
civil damages. AHRLA accused the SSIS of pressing the family to drop 
the civil suit against Captain Ashraf in exchange for the release of 
another family member who had also been detained since 2003. Several 
human rights organizations have called attention to the fact that this 
case marks the first government prosecution of an SSIS officer (as 
opposed to a regular police officer) in at least two decades.
    On June 5, a misdemeanor court in Port Said convicted a police 
captain, Ahmed Tawfik Aly, of abusing a detainee, opposition activist 
Mohamed Hegazy, in April 2005. The court sentenced the police officer 
to one year in prison, but suspended the sentence.
    On December 26, Cairo prosecutor Bakr Ahmed Bakr ordered the 
detention of two police officers, Islam Nabih and Reda Fathi, in 
connection with the January 18 sexual assault (including sodomy with a 
stick) of Cairo mini-bus driver Imad Al-Kabir. A widely-circulated 
Internet video clip documented the attack on Imad and generated 
considerable public attention. HRW had issued an appeal on December 23 
for the prosecution of Imad's attackers. At year's end, police officers 
Islam and Reda remained in detention, denied bail and awaiting trial.
    In 2004 the public prosecutor indicted police Major Yasser Ibrahim 
al-Akkad, head of the criminal investigations unit at Haram Police 
Station in metropolitan Cairo, for torturing actress Habiba while 
investigating the 1999 killing of her husband. At year's end, the case 
against al-Akkad, who claimed that Habiba willingly confessed, remained 
unresolved.
    In April 2005, two defendants facing prosecution for their alleged 
roles in the October 2004 bombings in Taba filed a lawsuit against the 
interior ministry, charging that their confessions had been obtained by 
torture. The lawsuit remained pending at year's end. On November 30, a 
state security court in Ismailiya convicted the defendants of 
involvement in the Taba bombings, sentencing them to death. At year's 
end they remained on death row.
    In March 2005, six police officers were convicted of torturing to 
death Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim in 2002, and each was sentenced to 10 years' 
imprisonment; the sentences were reduced to 7 years by an appeals 
court. AHRLA filed a civil suit on behalf of Ibrahim's family, seeking 
$1.6 million (LE 10 million) in compensation. The family's civil suit 
remained unresolved at year's end.
    The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), supported by 
approximately a dozen other human rights NGOs, petitioned the African 
Commission for Human and People's Rights (the African Union's principal 
human rights body, headquartered in The Gambia) to hear evidence 
concerning assaults by government supporters on journalists and 
opposition demonstrators during the May 2005 referendum. The commission 
agreed to consider the merits of EIPR's claims that the Government 
failed to prevent and prosecute physical and sexual attacks on female 
journalists and demonstrators in May 2007.
    The Government did not permit a visit during the year by the UN 
Special Rapporteur on Torture, who had been seeking to make an official 
visit since 1996.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor, and the Government did not permit visits by international human 
rights observers. During the year, officials from the National Council 
for Human Rights (NCHR), who visited several prisons were the only 
domestic human rights group permitted to visit detention facilities. 
EOHR and HRAAP both stressed the deteriorating conditions in prisons, 
especially overcrowded cells and a lack of medical care, proper 
hygiene, food, clean water, proper ventilation, and recreational 
activities. Tuberculosis was widespread; overcrowded cells remained a 
problem. Some prisons continued to be closed to the public.
    On November 6, an estimated 800 detainees at Abu Zaabal prison 
staged a hunger strike in protest of mistreatment and the lack of 
visitation rights. At Tora Prison, south of Cairo, prisoners launched 
several hunger strikes over the course of the year. In April, the 
Parliament's Human Rights Committee requested that prisoners be 
permitted to meet with their wives as a means of preserving family ties 
and reducing AIDS among prisoners.
    In April 2005, EOHR issued a report, based on prison visits made in 
2004 and on complaints received from approximately 100 prisoners, that 
attributed the cause of poor health and sanitary conditions in prisons 
to the poor quality food given to the prisoners, overcrowding in cells, 
and the absence of specialized doctors, medicines, or medical 
equipment. HRAAP's 2004 report came to similar conclusions.
    Failure to implement judicial rulings regarding the release of 
administrative detainees and the opening of prisons to visits remained 
a problem. Relatives and lawyers often were unable to obtain regular 
access to prisons for visits. Special restrictions were placed on the 
number of visits and visitors to prisoners incarcerated for political 
crimes or terrorism.
    As required by law, the public prosecutor continued to inspect all 
regular prisons during the year; however, findings were not made 
public. SSIS detention centers were excluded from mandatory judicial 
inspection.
    While separate prison facilities existed for men, women, and 
juveniles, adults were not always separated from juveniles, and abuse 
of minors was common.
    Lawyers were permitted to visit prisoners in their capacity as 
legal counsel; however, they often faced bureaucratic obstacles 
preventing them from meeting with their clients (see section 1.d.). The 
International Committee of the Red Cross and other international and 
domestic human rights monitors did not have access to prisons or to 
other places of detention.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, during the year, police and 
security forces conducted large-scale arrests and detained hundreds of 
individuals without charge under the Emergency Law. Continuing a trend 
begun in 2005, the Government arrested and detained hundreds of 
activists affiliated with the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, 
generally for periods lasting several weeks (see section 1.e. and 
2.b.). The Government continued to use the Emergency Law under the 
official state of emergency to try non-security cases in the emergency 
courts and to restrict many other basic rights. Police also arbitrarily 
arrested and detained hundreds of persons involved with unlicensed 
demonstrations. The Government detained several hundred Sudanese asylum 
seekers in late December 2005, and released them in January.
    The Government also arrested, detained, and abused several internet 
bloggers (see sections 1.c. and 2.a.).
    There were varied and conflicting estimates of the number of 
extraordinary detainees (i.e. citizens held by the Government, often 
without trial, for alleged political crimes). Credible NGOs estimated 
that there were 6,000-10,000 detainees in addition to those prisoners 
in the ordinary criminal justic system. The Government did not release 
any official data on detainees. Citing a senior interior ministry 
source, a leading journalist, Salama A. Salama, reported on April 23 
that there were at least 4,000 detainees. The Government held a number 
of detainees, including many MB activists, for periods ranging from 
several weeks to several months. In other cases, generally involving 
Islamist extremists belonging to the Islamic Group or Islamic Jihad who 
were initially detained by the Government during the 1990s, detention 
periods of more than ten years occurred.

    Role of Police and Security Apparatus.--The country has both local 
and national law enforcement agencies, all of which fall under the 
Ministry of Interior. Local police operate in large cities and 
governorates. The ministry controls the State Security Investigations 
Service (SSIS), which conducts investigations, and the Central Security 
Force (CSF), which maintains public order. SSIS and CSF officers are 
responsible for law enforcement at the national level and for providing 
security for infrastructure and key officials, both domestic and 
foreign. Single-mission law enforcement agencies, such as the Tourist 
and Antiquities Police and the Anti-Narcotics General Administration, 
also work at the national level. The security forces operated under a 
central chain of command and were considered generally effective in 
their efforts to combat crime and terrorism and preserve and maintain 
public order. However, a culture of impunity militated against 
systematic prosecution of security personnel who committed human rights 
abuses.
    There was widespread petty corruption in the police force, 
especially below senior levels. An internal affairs mechanism, the 
workings of which are not publicized, was regularly employed for 
investigating corruption and other instances of police malfeasance. 
Judicial recourse was also employed (see section 1.c.). In addition to 
acceptance of bribes or simple theft, there were instances of 
accompanying assault and even murder.
    Impunity was a serious problem. The Government failed to 
investigate and punish many instances of credible allegations of 
mistreatment by police and security forces.
    Working with the UN Development Program (UNDP), the Government has 
continued to provide human rights training for thousands of judicial 
and law enforcement officials. Ongoing programs target judges, 
prosecutors, police officers, media figures, and lawyers ``to 
familiarize Egyptians with international standards of human rights . . 
. as well as Egypt's treaty commitments.'' Despite these training 
programs, however, there were continued instances of torture by police, 
and human rights monitors believed the use of torture by police was 
widespread. Although some police were prosecuted, human rights monitors 
believed most incidents of torture went unpunished. Security forces 
continued to mistreat and torture prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and 
detain persons, hold detainees in prolonged pretrial detention, and 
engage in mass arrests.
    By year's end, the public prosecutor had not brought any action 
against security personnel for several unresolved incidents in 2005, 
including documented assaults on citizens on May 25, July 30, during 
the parliamentary elections, and during the December 30, 2005 violence 
against Sudanese asylum seekers (see sections 2.b., 2.d., and 3).

    Arrest and Detention.--The Emergency Law allows detention of an 
individual without charge for up to 30 days, only after which a 
detainee may demand a court hearing to challenge the legality of the 
detention order, and may resubmit a motion for a hearing at one-month 
intervals thereafter. There is no limit to the detention period if a 
judge continues to uphold the detention order or if the detainee fails 
to exercise his right to a hearing. Incommunicado detention is 
authorized for prolonged periods by internal prison regulations. Human 
rights groups and the UN Committee Against Torture both expressed 
concern over the application of measures of solitary confinement.
    In cases tried under the Emergency Law, access to counsel was often 
restricted or denied prior to the transfer of the accused to a 
courtroom to begin legal proceedings. Many detainees under the 
Emergency Law remained incommunicado in State Security detention 
facilities without access to lawyers. After these cases are transferred 
to trial, the court appoints a lawyer.
    The Penal Code also gives the Government broad detention powers. 
Prosecutors must bring charges within 48 hours following detention, or 
release the suspect. However, they may hold a suspect for a maximum of 
six months while they investigate. Arrests under the Penal Code 
occurred openly and with warrants issued by a district prosecutor or 
judge. There was a functioning system of bail for persons detained 
under the Penal Code but none for persons detained under the Emergency 
Law. The Penal Code contains several provisions to combat extremist 
violence, which broadly define terrorism to include the acts of 
``spreading panic'' and ``obstructing the work of authorities.''
    On December 30, 2005, Egyptian police sought to clear a squatters' 
settlement of several thousand Sudanese asylum seekers who had occupied 
a Cairo park outside UN offices since September. The Sudanese had 
demanded that UNHCR resettle them in another country and refused to 
move. Police used water cannons and riot gear to clear the camp (see 
section 1.a.). According to police, some of the asylum seekers resisted 
police efforts to clear the camp. At least 27 asylum seekers died in 
the ensuing melee. Security forces detained approximately 700 Sudanese 
and threatened them with deportation. All of the refugees were released 
in the early part of the year.
    There were also numerous arrests and detentions of non-MB 
opposition figures and demonstrators, particularly in connection with 
demonstrations in Cairo in May in support of judicial independence (see 
sections 2.b. and 3).
    On April 28, state security briefly detained and interrogated Amir 
Salem and Ehab al-Kholy, lawyers for imprisoned opposition figure Ayman 
Nour. The investigation of Salem and El-Kholy, on charges of inciting 
the masses and insulting the President, came three weeks before Nour's 
scheduled appeal. Salem was the head of Nour's defense team.
    Notwithstanding the prevailing State of Emergency, and the 
Government's use of the emergency law provisions (e.g., to prohibit 
unauthorized gatherings of more than five people, or to arbitrarily 
detain citizens who aroused police suspicion), the Government continued 
to rely on the regular penal code for the vast majority of criminal 
investigations and prosecutions. In those criminal cases investigated 
and prosecuted under the Penal Code, defendants generally had access to 
counsel. In cases tried under the extraordinary State Security courts 
authorized by the emergency law, defendants complained of inadequate 
access to counsel. In recent years, thousands of persons have been 
detained administratively under the Emergency Law on suspicion of 
terrorist or political activity. Several thousand others have been 
convicted and were serving sentences on similar charges (see section 
1.e.). During the year HRAAP estimated that the total number of persons 
in administrative detention was approximately 10,000. HRAAP estimated 
that an additional 10,000 persons have been released over the past 
three years. Government officials disputed this figure, but did not 
provide authoritative data on detainees.
    The security forces detained dozens of individuals in Sinai, in 
connection with ongoing investigations into the terror attacks there in 
October 2004, July 2005, and April 2006. At year's end there were no 
reliable estimates of the total number of suspects detained in the 
Sinai.
    There were numerous examples of arrest and detention of peaceful 
demonstrators. During April and May, authorities arrested over 500 
activists for participating in demonstrations in support of the 
independence of the judiciary (see section 2.b.). Also during the year, 
the Government arrested and detained hundreds of persons associated 
with the MB, which has been an illegal organization since 1954.
    Continuing a trend begun in 2005, the Government periodically 
detained dozens of MB members and supporters. Over the course of the 
year, the Government detained hundreds of opposition activists 
associated with the banned MB without charge or trial, including senior 
MB leaders Essam El-Erian and Mohamed Morsi, who remained in detention 
from May until early December as a result of their involvement in 
demonstrations in support of judicial independence. The precise number 
of MB activists in detention at year's end was unknown. Detention 
periods for MB members ranged from several weeks to several months, 
pending investigative outcomes. On October 26, HRW reported that it had 
collected the names of 792 MB members who had been detained between 
March and mid-October and that 62 of the 792 remained in custody: 33 of 
them without charge under provisions of the Emergency Law, and 29 of 
them on charges of ``belonging to an illegal organization'' (see 
sections 1.e. and 2.b.). (In 2004, by contrast, the Government arrested 
only 90 MB members.)
    On December 10, several dozen students affiliated with the MB at 
al-Azhar University conducted a ``militia-style'' parade clad in black 
balaclavas and demonstrating martial arts exercises. Government and 
independent media commentators criticized this display and the MB 
leadership distanced itself from the demonstrators and reiterated its 
commitment to peaceful change. Nevertheless, the Government arrested 
several hundred MB members and sympathizers in response to the 
demonstration, including the organization's third-ranking official 
Khairat al-Shatir and several other businessmen who were thought to be 
leading financiers of the MB. At year's end, approximately 200 MB 
member remained in detention.

    Amnesty.--On April 11, the Government released 300 detained former 
members of the militant Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group); during the 
previous six weeks, the Government released 650 other former militants, 
apparently after they disavowed violence.
    On October 24, the beginning of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, President 
Mubarak declared amnesties for 176 prisoners who had served half their 
terms in criminal cases and were pardoned for good conduct, along with 
100 more members of Gama'a al-Islamiya, including two of the group's 
historic leaders, Essam Derbala and Assem Abdel-Maged, who were jailed 
in 1981 for their role in the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat 
and who were the last Gama'a leaders in prison.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary. The judiciary is, however, subject to executive 
influence. The President may invoke the Emergency Law to refer any 
criminal case to the emergency courts or military courts, in which the 
accused does not receive most of the constitutional protections of the 
civilian judicial system.
    The constitution provides for the independence and immunity of 
judges and forbids interference by other authorities in the exercise of 
their judicial functions. The Government generally respected judicial 
independence in non-political cases. Nevertheless, during the year, 
thousands of judges affiliated with the Cairo and Alexandria Judges' 
Clubs (the two largest independent professional associations for the 
judiciary) publicly called for greater autonomy for the judiciary from 
the executive branch. The Judges' Clubs, whose leadership is selected 
by votes of the membership, called for the passage of a new law 
governing executive-judiciary relations, which would raise judicial 
salaries, separate judicial duties from compensation packages 
controlled by the Ministry of Justice (i.e. an executive branch organ), 
and decrease the oversight role of the Supreme Judicial Council, a 
regulatory body answering to the ministry and composed of government 
appointees.
    On June 26, the Parliament approved a new law regulating the 
judiciary. In a letter to President Mubarak on July 12, the UN Special 
Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Leandro Despouy, 
expressed his concerns regarding the negative impact of the judicial 
authority law on the independence of the judiciary in Egypt. Despouy 
said that the Government had not consulted on the new law with ``all 
sectors concerned, in particular the Judges' Club and experts in 
constitutional law, whose points of view should be duly taken into 
account.'' Despouy also raised concerns about the new law's criteria 
for selection and appointment of judges, its lack of recognition of the 
right of judges to form and join independent judges' associations, and 
a failure to clearly address the separation between the prosecution and 
the executive power. Additionally, Despouy said the new law did ``not 
provide judges with basic fair trial guarantees,'' if they faced 
disciplinary action from the Government.
    Earlier, on June 14, the Special Rapporteur had expressed his 
concerns about the draft judicial law, as well as the disciplinary 
proceeding against Court of Cassation judges, and ``the violent 
repression of peaceful demonstrations in support of the judges and 
their claims for the protection of their independence.''
    The President appoints all judges upon recommendation of the Higher 
Judicial Council, a constitutional body composed of senior judges. 
Judges receive tenure, limited only by mandatory retirement at age 64. 
Only the Higher Judicial Council may dismiss judges for cause, such as 
corruption. Headed by the President of the Court of Cassation, the 
council regulates judicial promotions and transfers. The Government 
included lectures on human rights and other social issues in its 
training courses for prosecutors and judges.
    In the civilian court system, there are criminal courts, civil 
courts, administrative courts, and the Supreme Constitutional Court. 
There are three levels of regular criminal courts: primary courts; 
appeals courts; and the Court of Cassation, which represents the final 
stage of criminal appeal. Civil courts hear civil cases and 
administrative courts hear cases contesting government actions or 
procedures; both systems have upper-level courts to hear appeals. The 
Supreme Constitutional Court hears challenges to the constitutionality 
of laws or verdicts in any of the courts.
    According to a 1993 Supreme Constitutional Court decision, the 
President may invoke the Emergency Law to refer any crime, including 
charges against civilians, to a military court. Military verdicts were 
subject to a review by other military judges and confirmation by the 
President, who in practice usually delegated the review function to a 
senior military officer. Defense attorneys claimed that they were not 
given sufficient time to prepare and that military judges tended to 
rush cases involving a large number of defendants. Judges had 
guidelines for sentencing, defendants had the right to counsel, and 
statements of the charges against defendants were made public. 
Observers needed government permission to attend court sessions. Human 
rights activists have attended hearings, but only when acting as 
defense counsel.

    Trial Procedures.--The Government will provide a lawyer at the 
state's expense if the defendant does not have counsel. The Bar 
Association maintains a roster of lawyers eligible to serve as public 
defenders. Defendants can appeal if denied this right. Detainees in 
certain high-security prisons continued to allege that they were denied 
access to counsel or that such access was delayed until trial, thus 
denying counsel the time to prepare an adequate defense (see sections 
1.c. and 1.d.). A woman's testimony is equal to a man's in court. No 
law prohibits a woman serving as a judge; however, Tahani al-Gabali, 
currently serving on the Constitutional Court, is Egypt's only female 
judge (see section 5).
    The emergency courts share jurisdiction with military courts over 
crimes affecting national security. The President can appoint civilian 
judges to the emergency courts upon the recommendation of the minister 
of justice or military judges upon recommendation of the minister of 
defense. Sentences are subject to confirmation by the President. There 
is no right to appeal. The President may alter or annul a decision of 
an emergency court, including a decision to release a defendant.
    The Government has asserted that referral to emergency courts 
usually has been limited to terrorism or national security cases, as 
well as major cases of drug trafficking; however, the Government also 
has occasionally used emergency courts to prosecute homosexuals, 
heterodox religious groups, and political dissidents. Government 
authorities ignored judicial orders in some cases. The Government has 
used the Emergency Law to try cases outside the scope of combating 
terrorism and grave threats to national security.
    On November 30, the High State Security Emergency Court in 
Ismailiya announced that the Mufti of the Republic had approved the 
court's conviction and death sentences against Ossama Al-Nakhlawi, 
Younis Alyan, and Mohamed Gayez Sabah, for involvement in the 2004 Taba 
terror bombings. HRW issued a statement after the verdict noting that 
the convicts' claims of incommunicado detention, denied access to 
counsel, and allegations of torture and forced confession raised 
serious questions, and urged the Government to permit the men to be re-
tried ``in a trial that complies with basic standards of due process.''
    On May 17, a Higher State Security Court in Cairo began to try 14 
persons charged with involvement in the Azhar and Abdul-Moneim Riyad 
terror bombings in Cairo in April 2005. The trial was ongoing at year's 
end.
    On June 18, the Government executed brothers Ezzat and Hamdan 
Hanafi, who had been convicted and sentenced to death by a state 
security emergency court in September 2005 for narcotics trafficking 
and kidnapping. Ezzat Hanafi had issued a statement protesting his 
death sentence by an emergency court, which cannot be appealed, and 
requested that President Mubarak use his authority as ``military 
commander'' under the state of emergency to order that the case be 
reviewed by a panel of civilian judges. Several domestic NGOs and 
Amnesty International protested the executions on the grounds that 
trials before (Emergency) Supreme State Security Courts ``violate basic 
principles for a fair trial, including the right to appeal before a 
higher tribunal"

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were political prisoners 
and detainees.
    On May 18, the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest appeals court, 
upheld the five-year prison sentence of Ayman Nour, runner-up in the 
2005 Presidential election and leader of the opposition al-Ghad 
(Tomorrow) Party. A Cairo court had convicted Nour in December 2005 of 
forging proxy signatures on his party's registration papers. Human 
rights organizations and Nour's supporters said his detention and trial 
had been politically motivated and failed to meet basic international 
standards. Nour's situation has been closely followed by the 
international community, as well as by domestic and international human 
rights organizations. During the year, Nour also faced dozens of 
charges ranging from assault to insulting Islam. Nour's supporters 
asserted that these charges, raised by private citizens, were 
politically motivated harassment. His family and supporters reported 
that his health was deteriorating as a result of imprisonment. Nour, a 
diabetic with heart disease, remained in prison at year's end.
    On October 31, a military court convicted independent 
parliamentarian Talaat Sadat, nephew of former President Anwar Sadat, 
of defaming the Egyptian military, and sentenced him to one year of 
prison with hard labor and no possibility of appeal. In interviews on 
October 4, Sadat publicly alleged that the Egyptian military, including 
then-Vice President Mubarak, had conspired to assassinate President 
Sadat in 1981. Prior to his trial, the Parliament had stripped Sadat of 
his parliamentary immunity (see section 2.a.).
    During the year, the Government continued to try and convict 
journalists and authors for libel, as well as for expressing their 
views on political and religious issues (see sections 2.a. and 2.c.).
    Some observers regarded the large number of arrested, detained, and 
sometimes convicted (see sections 1.d. and 2.b.) members of the Muslim 
Brotherhood as political prisoners and detainees.
    Other political prisoners included approximately 26 members of the 
banned Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami), including 
three Britons, Maajid Nawaz, Ian Nisbet, and Reza Pankhurst. In 2004, 
the 26 men linked to Hizb al-Tahrir were convicted by the Supreme State 
Security Emergency Court of belonging to a banned organization. Several 
of the defendants, including the three Britons, alleged they had been 
tortured to compel them to sign confessions. In early March, the three 
Britons were released and deported to the United Kingdom. After their 
release, they told British reporters that security personnel had 
mistreated them through sleep deprivation, beatings, and unsanitary 
prison conditions, and that security personnel had tortured Pankhurst 
with an electric prod. They also said that other prisoners had also 
suffered torture, including by electrical shocks. The 23 other Hizb al-
Tahrir convicts reportedly remained in prison at year's end (see 
section 1.c.).
    According to local human rights organizations, the Government 
detained as many as 10,000 persons without charge on suspicion of 
illegal terrorist or political activity (see section 1.d.). In 
addition, several thousand prisoners were serving sentences after being 
convicted of similar charges.
    The Government did not permit international humanitarian 
organizations access to political prisoners (see section 1.c.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Human rights observers 
recommended that rules for pursuing judicial and administrative 
remedies, including standards for considering damages for victims, be 
established to obtain equitable redress and parity in compensation.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the privacy of the home, 
correspondence, telephone calls, and other means of communication; 
however, the Emergency Law suspends the constitutional provisions 
regarding the right to privacy, and the Government used the Emergency 
Law to limit these rights. Under the constitution, police must obtain 
warrants before undertaking searches and wiretaps. Courts have 
dismissed cases in which police obtained warrants without sufficient 
cause. Police officers who conducted searches without proper warrants 
were subject to criminal penalties, although penalties seldom were 
imposed. However, the Emergency Law empowers the Government to place 
wiretaps, intercept mail, and search persons or places without 
warrants. Security agencies frequently placed political activists, 
suspected subversives, journalists, foreigners, and writers under 
surveillance, screened their correspondence (especially international 
mail), searched them and their homes, and confiscated personal 
property.
    A telecommunications law allows telephone wiretaps and Internet 
monitoring only by court order. However, some human rights observers 
alleged that the Government routinely violated this law. Although the 
law does not explicitly criminalize homosexual acts, police have in the 
past targeted homosexuals using Internet-based ``sting'' operations 
leading to arrests on charges of ``debauchery.'' There were no reports 
of such Internet entrapment cases during the year (see sections 1.c, 
1.e., and 2.a.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government partially 
restricted these rights in practice, particularly by using the 
Emergency Law to infringe on civil liberties. Nevertheless, citizens 
openly expressed their views on a wide range of political and social 
issues, including vigorous criticism of government officials and 
policies and direct criticism of the President. During the year there 
was continued public debate about political reform, human rights, 
corruption, and related issues. Several independent newspapers played 
an important role in public life. For example, the daily Al-Masry Al-
Youm, which focuses on domestic politics, has grown from its first run 
of 500 copies in 2004 to a circulation of over 60,000 during the year 
and has offered significant, independent coverage of the May 
demonstrations supporting judicial independence, Muslim Brotherhood 
activities, government corruption, and other controversial topics.
    During the year, a number of opposition political activists, 
journalists, and non-governmental organizations continued to advocate 
political reform and openly criticized the Government. The year 
witnessed a number of government actions, including disciplinary 
hearings against independent judges, widescale detentions of MB 
members, and lawsuits against independent journalists that led some 
opposition figures to charge that the Government was seeking to curtail 
criticism and activism.
    On October 31, a military court convicted independent 
parliamentarian Talaat Sadat of ``spreading false rumors and insulting 
the Armed Forces'' and sentenced him to one year in prison, with no 
possibility of appeal. In early October, police arrested Sadat after he 
publicly accused Egyptian military commanders, including then-Vice 
President Mubarak, of complicity in the 1981 assassination of his 
uncle, former President Anwar Sadat. Sadat had given a series of 
interviews--including to Deutsche Presse-Agentur and to the Egyptian 
television programs Cairo Today and Sorry for the Disturbance--prior to 
the 25th anniversary of the assassination (see section 1.e.). Sadat 
remained imprisoned at year's end.
    The Penal Code, Press Law, and Publications Law govern press 
issues. The Penal Code stipulates fines or imprisonment for criticism 
of the President, members of the Government, and foreign heads of 
state. The Press and Publication Laws ostensibly provide protection 
against malicious and unsubstantiated reporting. In recent years, 
opposition party newspapers have published articles critical of the 
President and foreign heads of state without being charged or harassed; 
however, the Government continued to charge journalists with libel. 
Under the law, an editor-in-chief found to be negligent could be 
considered criminally responsible for libel contained in any portion of 
the newspaper.
    On July 10, the People's Assembly amended sections of the penal 
code governing the press by adding minimum sentences of high fines or 
jail for journalists who criticize foreign leaders or the President. 
Despite a pledge by President Mubarak in 2004 that the Government would 
amend the law to eliminate jail time for journalistic offenses, the new 
law stipulates up to five years in prison for any journalist convicted 
of ``vilifying'' a foreign head of state. The amended law also 
preserved existing articles which allow for detention of ``whoever 
affronts the President of the republic'' as well as journalists whose 
work might ``disturb public security, spread horror., or cause harm to 
. the public interest.''
    The constitution restricts ownership of newspapers to public or 
private legal entities, corporate bodies, and political parties. There 
were numerous restrictions on legal entities that sought to establish 
newspapers, including a limit of 10 percent ownership by any 
individual; however, this limit appeared to have been enforced 
unevenly.
    The Government owned stock in the three largest daily newspapers, 
which generally followed the Government line, and the President 
appointed their top editors. The Government also controlled the 
printing and distribution of newspapers, including those of the 
opposition parties.
    Opposition political parties published their own newspapers, which 
frequently criticized the Government. They also gave greater prominence 
to human rights abuses than did state-run newspapers. Most opposition 
newspapers were weeklies, with the exception of the dailies Al-Wafd, 
Al-Ahrar, and Al-Ghad, first published in 2005.
    During the year, the courts tried several prominent libel cases, 
filed both by government officials and private citizens. On February 
23, a Cairo criminal appeals court upheld the April 2005 conviction and 
one-year prison sentence of journalist Abdel Nasser al-Zuheiry for 
libeling Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, who had served as minister of housing 
until the end of 2005, as corrupt. The court overturned the prison 
sentences of Zuheiry's colleagues Youssef el-Aoumi and Alaa Yaha 
Mohamed el-Ghatrify, but upheld fines of $1,750 (LE 10,000) for all 
three journalists. In a statement issued on March 3, Soliman announced 
that he was withdrawing his defamation complaint against the three 
journalists, along with more than 30 other defamation complaints that 
Soliman had filed. The Minister of Information, the Higher Press 
Council, and the head of the Egyptian Journalists' Union reportedly 
played a role in convincing Soliman to drop his case.
    On February 27, a State Security prosecutor reportedly summoned 
opposition journalists Iman El-Ashraf (Sawt El-Ummah) and Mohammed El-
Malhy (Dustour) for interrogation in Cairo on charges of defaming 
Counselor Ezzat Agwa, who was a candidate for Chairman of the Judges 
Club in Alexandria.
    A judge accused of electoral fraud pursued high-profile libel 
charges against three journalists and a lawyer, but eventually dropped 
the case after Egypt's highest court indicated in a separate finding 
that the judge may in fact have participated in fraud. Judge Mahmoud 
Seddiq Borham sued Wael Ibrashi, editor of Sawt Al Umma; Hoda Abu Bakr, 
a reporter with Sawt Al Umma; Abdel Rahim Al Shami, editor of the 
banned Afaq Arabia, and Gamal Tageddin, of the Bar Association, for 
their respective claims that Judge Borham had committed fraud during 
the 2005 parliamentary elections when he served as a poll supervisor. 
Borham launched his case on May 24, but dropped it on November 30 after 
the Court of Cassation ruled that the parliamentary results that Borham 
had supervised should be annulled due to fraud (Borham was the same 
judge who filed the complaint that led to disciplinary action against 
fellow judges Hisham Bastiwesi and Mahmoud Mekki. See section 3).
    On June 26, a Giza misdemeanor court found Al-Dustour chief editor 
Ibrahim Issa and reporter Sahar Zaki guilty of ``insulting and harming 
the President of the republic.'' A group of ``concerned citizens'' from 
the village of Al Warrak had filed the lawsuit after Al-Dustour had 
published a story in April 2005 about a complaint filed by citizen 
Sayid Mohamed Abdullah Soliman, who had accused President Mubarak, his 
family, and senior officials of unconstitutional conduct and wasting 
foreign aid during the privatization of several public companies. Issa 
and Zaki received one-year prison sentences with labor and were each 
fined $1,735 (LE 10,000). Litigant Soliman was also sentenced to jail 
time and fined. At year's end, Issa, Zaki, and Soliman remained free 
pending their appeal.
    Security personnel arrested or detained more than a dozen Egyptian 
journalists and a handful of foreign correspondents over the course of 
the year.
    On April 12, prison authorities banned jailed opposition leader 
Ayman Nour from writing for his party's mouthpiece newspaper from jail 
reportedly because his articles were critical of senior officials in 
the ruling National Democratic Party.
    On April 27, security forces in Dahab arrested Al-Jazeera's Cairo 
bureau chief, Hussein Abdul Ghani, after he mistakenly reported news of 
a clash between security forces and terrorists in the Delta governorate 
of Sharqiya. (No clash occurred. Al Jazeera retracted its story later 
on April 27.) A prosecutor charged Abdul Ghani with reporting ``false 
information likely to harm the country's reputation.'' Abdul Ghani paid 
bail of L.E. 10,000, and was released. By year's end, Abdul Ghani had 
faced no additional judicial proceedings.
    There were a number of detentions of journalists in connection with 
May demonstrations in support of judicial independence in Cairo. On May 
3, security forces detained Osama Abdel Nabi, a photographer for Al-
Masry Al-Youm newspaper. On May 7, security forces detained Nada Al-
Qassas, journalist for Al-Mawqif Al-Araby newspaper. On May 11, 
security forces detained a Turkish television cameraman Hussein Mohsen 
and Al Jazeera journalists Lina Al-Ghadban, Mohammed Al-Daba', Yasser 
Seliman, and Nasr Youssef. Also on May 11, security personnel arrested 
Al-Dostour journalist Abeer Al-Askary while she covered a demonstration 
at the Cairo Lawyer's Syndicate building. According to credible 
reports, the police took her to a nearby station where they tore her 
clothes and beat her.
    On May 19, security personnel briefly detained Associated Press 
correspondent Nadia Abul Magd in Sharm El Sheikh outside the meeting of 
the World Economic Forum, reportedly because she had strayed into a 
security zone near the conference center.
    On May 21, police arrested Al-Karama journalist Hamada Abdul Latif 
in Dekernes for photographing a clash between security forces and 
farmers. He was released four days later. Also on May 21, police 
detained Al-Tagammu newspaper correspondent Beshir Sakr, Al-Karama 
newspaper correspondent Mohammed Abdel Latif, French journalists Elvis 
Younil and Jean Claude, Swiss journalist Gejoire Deboire, and Belgian 
journalist Thomas Geithaid.
    On June 2, BBC correspondents Dina Samak and Dina Gameel reported 
that police assaulted them after they attempted to cover a meeting of 
the General Assembly of the Journalists' Syndicate.
    On October 8, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that 
security forces had harassed and threatened Summer Said, a journalist 
working for Reuters, in connection with her research and reportage 
focused on the detention of Islamist political activists.
    On November 14, plainclothes security personnel prevented 
journalists from covering a demonstration in downtown Cairo to protest 
sexual harassment of women. The Cairo correspondent for Radio France 
and the French daily Liberation, Claude Guibal, told RSF that the 
security personnel had prevented her from reaching the demonstration, 
even though she identified herself and presented her journalism permit. 
She was told to leave the area for ``security reasons.'' Security 
officers then briefly surveilled Guibal in an apparent effort to make 
sure she did not return to the scene of the demonstration. She later 
told RSF that she felt ``clearly threatened and physically 
intimidated.''
    Other government agencies also restricted freedom of speech. The 
Ministry of Education questioned 16-year-old Alaa Farag Megahed in June 
after the student wrote an essay criticizing President George W. Bush 
as well as the Egyptian government. School officials initially sought 
to ban her from taking her examinations, but high-level government 
intervention eventually allowed her to resume her studies.
    The Government closed at least one newspaper during the year. On 
March 8, the government-controlled Higher Press Council suspended 
publication of Afaq Arabiya, a newspaper published by the Ahrar Party 
which served as a mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood, due to a 
dispute among the newspaper's board members. Afaq Arabiya remained 
closed at year's end.
    The Emergency Law authorizes censorship for public safety and 
national security. The Ministry of Information is empowered only to ban 
particular issues or editions in the interest of public order. The 
Ministry of Interior has the authority to stop specific issues of 
foreign newspapers from entering the country on the grounds of 
protecting public order. Under the law, the public prosecutor may issue 
a temporary ban on the publication of news related to national 
security. The length of the ban is based on the length of time required 
for the prosecution to prepare its case. Only the cabinet can place a 
long term ban on a foreign publication.
    The law authorizes various ministries to ban or confiscate books, 
other publications, and works of art upon obtaining a court order. The 
cabinet may ban works that it deems offensive to public morals, 
detrimental to religion, or likely to cause a breach of the peace. The 
Government has increasingly ceded confiscatory authority to Al Azhar 
University and acted on its recommendations. In October, Al-Azhar 
banned the book Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World, by James E. 
Lindsay, on the grounds that it contained information not in accordance 
with the principles of Islam. Also in October, the Egyptian Censorship 
Office and confiscated 280 copies of Mohamed Fattoh's Modern Sheikhs 
and the Making of Religious Extremism from Cairo's Madbouly bookstore 
on the grounds that the publisher had not acquired a license from Al 
Azhar. The book criticized Al Azhar and its censorship of art and 
literature. There was no official court decision to confiscate the 
book.
    The Ministry of Interior regularly confiscated leaflets and other 
works by Islamists and other critics of the state. Members of the 
banned MB also were arrested in connection with publications (see 
sections 1.d. and 3). In many cases, the press reported that police 
confiscated written materials such as leaflets during the arrests. In 
February, the authorities banned editions of the German magazine Der 
Speigel, which contained reprints of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet 
Muhammad and in September the authorities banned the importation of 
editions of Le Figaro and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung because of 
articles deemed insulting to Islam.
    The Government controlled and censored the state-owned broadcast 
media. The Ministry of Information owned and operated all ground-based 
domestic television and radio stations. Two private satellite stations, 
Al-Mihwar and Dream TV, operated without direct government control, 
although the Government has a financial stake in both. The Government 
did not block reception of foreign channels via satellite. The 
percentage of citizens who received satellite television broadcasts has 
grown steadily.

    Internet Freedom.--Approximately five million persons used the 
Internet, which the Government has actively promoted through low cost 
access. The Government blocked access to some sites and monitored the 
Internet (see section 1.f.).
    On June 27, RSF issued a statement protesting the decision by the 
Administrative Court to uphold a Ministry of Communication and 
Information decree asserting the Government's right to block, suspend, 
or shut down any Web site deemed to threaten national security. Judge 
Faruq Abdul Qader had ruled that authorities should ``do their duty'' 
when they perceived a threat to national security.
    On October 30, RSF published a list of 13 countries it labeled as 
``enemies of the Internet,'' a list which included Egypt due to the 
recent imprisonment of pro-democracy bloggers. The blog aggregator 
egybloggers.com listed more than 1,400 Egypt-focused blogs at year's 
end. According to estimates by individual Egyptian bloggers at the end 
of the year, the actual number of bloggers in Egypt may be as high as 
6,000.
    During the year, the Government, which has previously blocked 
Islamist Web sites, increasingly blocked secular sites as well. While 
there is so specific legislation regarding blocking of Web sites, the 
authorities may force Internet service providers to block sites on 
public safety or national security grounds. On January 27, the 
Government reportedly blocked the Web site Save Egypt Front 
(saveegyptfront.org) and on March 3 blocked Masreyat (masreyat2.org/ib/
). Use of encoding devices is prohibited by the Telecommunications Act.
    On May 7, security forces arrested prominent blogger Alaa Seif Al-
Islam (www.manalaa.net), and detained him at Tora Prison until June 22. 
The authorities never charged him; observers believed that his 
detention appeared linked to his participation in demonstrations in 
support of judicial independence, and not due to his role as a blogger. 
The security forces detained at least five other democracy activists 
who were also bloggers during the same general period as Alaa: Malek 
Mostafa from April 26-June 4; Asma Ali from May 7-June 4; Karim Al 
Shaer from May 7-22 and May 25-July 20; Mohamed Adel from May 7-27; and 
Mohamed Sharkawy from April 27-May 22 and May 25-July 20. Sharkawy was 
tortured while in detention in late May (see section 1.c.).
    On June 15, Hala Helmy Boutros, a blogger based in the Upper Egypt 
city of Qena who had written about Egypt's Christians, reported that 
airport security personnel in Cairo prevented her from traveling to the 
United States to attend a conference on Coptic Christian issues. The 
authorities ordered Boutros, who had blogged under the name ``Hala Al 
Masry,'' to appear in a Cairo State Security Court on June 25. At her 
June 25 hearing, Boutros faced charges of spreading false news and 
disrupting Christian-Muslim relations. She was released after paying 
bail of $525 (LE 3000). After her release, she ceased her blogging and 
other public activism. She did not appear in court again before year's 
end.
    On November 6, Alexandria security forces arrested 22-year old 
student blogger Abdel Karim Nabil Suleiman, whose blog entries had 
contained strongly-worded critiques of Islam and Al-Azhar's Sunni 
Muslim orthodoxy. (Abdel Karim had previously been detained for his 
writings for 18 days in October 2005.) Abdel Karim had been expelled 
and reported to the authorities by Al-Azhar University for criticizing 
Islamic authority. At year's end, Abdel Karim remained in detention, 
under a series of renewed detention orders ``pending investigation.''

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government did not 
explicitly restrict academic freedom at universities; however, the 
Government selected deans rather than permitting the faculty to elect 
them. The Government justified the measure as a means to combat 
Islamist influence on campus. In June 2005, HRW issued a report 
entitled ``Reading between the `Red Lines': The Repression of Academic 
Freedom in Egyptian Universities,'' which said that the Government 
stifled academic freedom by censoring some textbooks, prohibiting 
certain sensitive research topics, and closely monitoring and 
controlling student political life. In a March 5 television interview, 
Minister for Higher Education Hany Hilal said that ``the role of the 
security agency is to secure the university and guarantee the safety of 
the people inside it.'' He said that although there were a ``few 
exceptions,'' the security services ``do not interfere in the 
universities' internal affairs.'' Hilal also said that student 
elections are ``the responsibility of each university.''
    Plays and films must pass Ministry of Culture censorship tests as 
scripts and final productions. The ministry censored foreign films to 
be shown in theaters, but was more lenient regarding the same films in 
videocassette or DVD format. Government censors ensured that foreign 
films made in the country portrayed the country in a favorable light. 
On June 3, the Ministry of Culture confiscated 2,000 copies of ``The Da 
Vinci Code'' DVD on the grounds that it insulted religion. Later in 
June, after the People's Assembly discussed banning the film, the 
distributor opted not to pursue an Egyptian release.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the Government restricted the exercise of this right. Citizens must 
obtain approval from the Ministry of Interior before holding public 
meetings, rallies, and protest marches. The Ministry of Interior 
refused to permit some political events to occur, such as the May 
rallies in support of judicial independence, and the Government tightly 
controlled public demonstrations.
    In numerous incidents, authorities showed little tolerance for 
demonstrations by opposition groups and activists protesting government 
policies. For example, on January 20, police dispersed a group of Ghad 
Party supporters after they held up ``Free Ayman Nour'' signs at the 
entrance to Cairo International Stadium. In February in the Red Sea 
port city of Safaga, security forces used tear gas to disperse a 
demonstration by family members of victims of the February 3 sinking of 
the Al-Salaam Ferry.
    On April 24, police arrested 15 activists and beat Judge Mahmoud 
Mohammed Abdel Latif Hamza for their role in protests against the 
February charges brought against Judges Hisham al-Bastawisy and Mahmoud 
Mekky. On April 27, hundreds of police sealed off the Judges Club in 
the face of mounting sit-in protests against Mekky and Bastawisy's 
charges. In April and May, security forces detained over 500 activists 
for participating in demonstrations in support of the independence of 
the judiciary.
    On May 7, security forces arrested blogger Alaa Seif Al-Islam and 
detained him at Tora Prison until June 22. Observers believed that 
authorities detained him because of his participation in demonstrations 
in support of judicial independence (see section 2.a.).
    On May 11, the scheduled day for the hearing of judges Bastawissi 
and Mekky, police violently dispersed a demonstration outside the 
Judges' Club and arrested 255 people, most of them members of the MB. 
In a statement to the media, the EOHR said ``security forces used 
excessive levels of violence to end the protests.'' Observers estimated 
that approximately 10,000 security forces were deployed in and around 
downtown Cairo.
    On May 18, riot police beat demonstrators who had gathered outside 
the High Court Building on the day of the hearing of senior Judges 
Mekky and Bastawisy. Police arrested approximately 300 demonstrators, 
most of them members of the MB. On May 17, the Minister of Interior 
issued an order banning demonstrations in front of the High Court 
Building.
    On May 25, protestors gathered outside the Journalists' Syndicate 
in Cairo to mark the one year anniversary of the May 2005 referendum-
day violence. (On May 25, 2005, supporters of the ruling party, 
possibly including undercover security personnel, assaulted opposition 
demonstrators and journalists, at several locations in Cairo. 
Journalists documented the violence, including sexual assaults on some 
female protestors and journalists, but in December 2005, the public 
prosecutor closed the official investigation into the events, claiming 
that it was impossible to determine the identity of the assailants. In 
November, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, supported by 
approximately a dozen other human rights NGOs, petitioned the African 
Commission for Human and People's Rights, to examine the case. The 
Commission's inquiry will commence in May 2007.)
    At the conclusion of the May 25, 2006 demonstration, police 
arrested several demonstrators including Muhamed el Sharkawy, who later 
reported that police tortured and sexually assaulted him (see section 
1.c.).
    The authorities did allow some protests and demonstrations to 
occur. For example, in February, authorities permitted several 
demonstrations in Cairo and other cities to protest cartoons depicting 
the Prophet Muhammad that had appeared in the Danish newspaper 
Jyllands-Posten.
    Police generally responded to political demonstrations during the 
year with high numbers of riot police deployed by the Ministry of 
Interior to contain both the size and effectiveness of the 
demonstrations. A pattern of arresting demonstrators, detaining them 
for at least 15 days ``pending further investigation'' continued, 
particularly in cases of unauthorized rallies.
    In a number of unauthorized demonstrations, police detained 
suspected organizers, some of whom alleged mistreatment while in 
detention (see sections 1.c. and 1.d.).
    The Kifaya movement organized several demonstrations during the 
year, but was less active than it had been in 2005. During a December 
12 demonstration in Cairo to mark the second anniversary of the 
movement, Kifaya activists scuffled with police.
    Members of the MB also staged a number of larger protests 
throughout the year, though these demonstrations, unlike those of 
Kifaya, often met stiff resistance from security forces (see section 
1.d.).
    The Ministry of Interior selectively obstructed some meetings 
scheduled to be held on private property and university campuses (see 
section 4).
    In July 2005, approximately 200 demonstrators gathered in Cairo to 
protest President Mubarak's intention to seek a fifth term. The 
protesters were attacked by uniformed security forces and men in plain 
clothes armed with truncheons. Thirty persons were arrested and 
reportedly detained in unofficial detention centers, in the camps of 
the central security forces in Darassa, Cairo. By August 2005, all of 
the detainees had been released. The Government took no steps to 
investigate the assaults.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government significantly restricted the 
exercise of this right. The minister of insurance and social affairs 
has the authority to dissolve NGOs by decree. The law also requires 
NGOs to obtain permission from the Government before accepting foreign 
funds. According to officials, donations from foreign governments with 
established development programs in the country were excluded from this 
requirement.
    During the year, a number of organizations active in human rights 
advocacy and civil society development registered and obtained legal 
status. However, applications of other groups, including the Egyptian 
Association Against Torture, the Center for Housing Rights, and the 
Word Center did not receive government approval. In 2005, dozens of 
NGOs and civil society groups worked together to pool resources, 
expertise, and volunteer staff to monitor and report on the 
Presidential and parliamentary elections. These groups did not 
generally receive their requested governmental accreditation, access to 
polling stations, and vote counts. In a number of cases their 
volunteers experienced harassment, brief detentions for questions by 
security officials, and other forms of interference. The domestic 
monitoring coalitions were nevertheless able to play a leading role in 
monitoring and reporting on the Presidential and parliamentary 
elections.
    A July 2005 HRW report concluded that the extralegal role of the 
security services resulted in a serious barrier to meaningful freedom 
of association. The report documented multiple cases where the 
Government rejected NGO registrations, decided who could serve on NGO 
boards of directors, harassed NGO activists, and interfered with 
donations to the groups. The report further criticized the NGO Law's 
restriction on political and union-related activity and recommended 
legal reform to overturn the ``host of intrusive administrative 
practices that stunt organizing by civil society groups, and provide 
ample means for state interference in their affairs.''
    On October 30, the administration of Helwan University banned 
several hundred students from running in the November 2 student union 
elections on the grounds that they were affiliated with the MB. Between 
October 30 and November 8, pro-government demonstrators allegedly 
supported by the security forces clashed repeatedly with student 
protesters at Helwan, Cairo, Mansoura, and Ain Shams universities. With 
the elimination of opposition and MB candidates, NDP student candidates 
won at most universities with student unions.
    On November 29, members of the 9th March Movement for the 
Independence of Universities demonstrated at Ain Shams University to 
protest intimidation by security forces during student union elections 
earlier in November.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the Government 
placed restrictions on the exercise of these rights. According to the 
constitution, Islam is the official state religion and Shari'a (Islamic 
law) the primary source of legislation. Religious practices that 
conflict with the Government's interpretation of Shari'a are 
prohibited. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially 
recognized by the Government generally worshiped without harassment and 
maintained links with coreligionists in other countries. Members of 
religions not recognized by the Government, particularly the Baha'i 
Faith, experienced personal and collective hardship. Approximately 90 
percent of citizens are Sunni Muslims; less than 1 percent are Shi'a 
Muslims. The percentage of Christians in the population ranged from 8 
percent to 15 percent, or between 6 to 11 million, the majority of whom 
belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church. There were small numbers of 
other Christian denominations, including Mormons and Jehovah's 
Witnesses, a Baha'i community of approximately 2,000 persons, and a 
small Jewish community of less than 200 persons.
    The law bans Baha'i institutions and community activities, and 
stripped Baha'is of legal recognition. The Government continued to deny 
civil documents, including ID cards, birth certificates, and marriage 
licenses, to members of the Baha'i community. The Ministry of Interior 
requires identity card applicants to self-identify as Jew, Christian, 
or Muslim. As a result, Baha'is face great difficulties in conducting 
civil transactions, including registering births, marriages and deaths, 
obtaining passports, enrolling children in school, opening bank 
accounts, and obtaining driver's licenses. During the year, Baha'is and 
members of other religious groups were compelled either to misrepresent 
themselves as Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or go without valid identity 
documents. Many Baha'is have chosen the latter course.
    On December 16, the Supreme Administrative Court overturning a 
lower court ruling, decided that Baha'is may not list their religion in 
the mandatory religion ``field'' on obligatory government identity 
cards. In May, the Ministry of Interior had appealed an administrative 
court ruling issued in April, which supported the right of Baha'i 
citizens to receive ID cards and birth certificates with the Baha'i 
religion noted on the documents. The Government had indicated that all 
citizens must be in possession of new computerized ID cards by January 
1, 2007, and that old, hand-written cards will no longer be valid. 
(Egyptian citizens not in possession of valid identity documents may be 
subject to detention.)
    Some elements of the press published articles critical of the 
Baha'is. For example, on October 16, Roz Al-Youssef, a pro-government 
newspaper, published excerpts of a government's Advisory Report, which 
supported the Ministry of Interior's claim to overturn the April 4 
ruling. The report argued that because the Baha'i Faith was not 
recognized in Egypt as a ``divine religion,'' its followers were not 
entitled to citizenship rights. The report argued that constitutional 
guarantees of freedom of belief and religion do not apply to the 
Baha'is, and that Egypt is not bound under its commitment as a 
cosignatory to the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The report 
also asserted that Baha'is are apostates, a threat to public order, and 
recommended that ``methods must be defined that would insure that 
Baha'is are identified, confronted, and singled out so that they could 
be watched carefully, isolated and monitored in order to protect the 
rest of the population as well as Islam from their danger, influence 
and their teachings.''
    In 1998 and 1999, President Mubarak issued decrees to facilitate 
approval of permits for repairing, renovating, expanding, and building 
churches. In December 2005, updating the 1998-99 decrees, President 
Mubarak issued a new decree that devolved church repair and 
reconstruction decisions to the governorate level and stipulated that 
churches would be permitted to proceed with rebuilding and repair 
simply by notifying the governorate administration in writing. Permits 
for construction of new churches remained subject to Presidential 
decree.
    Despite these decrees, some local security and government officials 
continued to prevent churches from being renovated, often requiring an 
exhaustive list of documents to be submitted multiple times between 
administrative and security departments of governorates, in repeated 
attempts to preclude final authorization, despite Presidential and 
interior ministry approvals for a building permit to be issued. As a 
result, congregations have experienced lengthy delays--lasting for 
years in many cases--while waiting for new church building permits to 
be issued. Authorities have also refused to issue decrees for 
restoration, renovation, and expansion of churches, or have failed to 
enforce decrees that have already been approved. Local authorities have 
also closed unlicensed buildings used as places of worship.
    Overall, the approval process for church construction continued to 
be hindered by delays often measured in years. According to statistics 
published by the Government's Official Gazette, 63 Presidential decrees 
were issued from June 30, 2005, through July 1, for church-related 
construction, compared with 12 permits reported during the previous 
period. Government officials have previously asserted that the 
Government approves a much larger number of projects for church 
construction and expansion, through informal arrangements between 
church authorities and local security and administrative officials.
    In March Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III consecrated a Cathedral 
in Aswan that had taken six years to build. In November 2005, the 
Presidency issued a decree permitting the construction of a church in 
al-Rehab City, a development on the outskirts of Cairo. Church 
officials had applied for the decree in 2001. In 2005 and 2006, the 
Presidency also issued decrees to build churches in the newly developed 
urban centers of Sheikh Zaied, Tenth of Ramadan, New Cairo, New Assuit, 
and New Minya.
    The National Council for Human Rights gave more attention to 
religious freedom in its second annual report released in March, 
calling for a solution for official recognition of Baha'is; addressing 
the problem of Jehovah's Witnesses; and criticizing religious textbooks 
for failing to address human rights. The report also recommended that 
Parliament pass a law to facilitate construction of new places of 
worship for all religious groups. Finally, the report noted that the 
council had not received any response from the Ministry of Interior or 
several governorates to its nine inquiries regarding alleged violations 
of religious freedom that it had received.
    In October, Helwan University instituted a new policy banning the 
wearing of full facial veils (niqab) at the university residence halls.
    Rulings concerning marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody, and 
burial, are based on an individual's religion. In the practice of 
family law, the Government recognizes only the three ``heavenly 
religions'': Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Muslim families are 
subject to Shari'a, Christian families to Canon law, and Jewish 
families to Jewish law. In cases of family law disputes involving a 
marriage between a Christian woman and a Muslim man, the courts apply 
Shari'a. The Government does not recognize the marriages of citizens 
adhering to faiths other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. A civil 
marriage abroad is an option should a Christian male and a Muslim 
female citizen decide to marry; however, their marriage would not be 
legally recognized in the country. A female Muslim citizen in such a 
situation could be arrested and charged with apostasy, and any children 
from such a marriage could be taken and assigned to the physical 
custody of a male Muslim guardian, as determined by the Government's 
interpretation of Shari'a.
    Neither the constitution nor the Civil and Penal Codes prohibits 
proselytizing, but those accused of proselytizing have been harassed by 
police or arrested on charges of violating Article 98(F) of the Penal 
Code, which prohibits citizens from ridiculing or insulting ``heavenly 
religions'' or inciting sectarian strife.
    There are no legal restrictions on the conversion of non-Muslims to 
Islam; conversion of Muslims to Christianity, however, is prohibited by 
Shari'a. There were occasional reports that police harassed converts 
from Islam.
    Muslim-born convert to Christianity Bahaa Al-Accad has been 
imprisoned without charge since April 2005. According to Al-Accad's 
attorney, his family, and human rights activists, his conversion to 
Christianity is the reason for his detention. They also reported that 
al-Accad's health had been harmed by harsh detention conditions, 
including malnutrition, and that other inmates had threatened to kill 
him since they believed him to be an apostate. Accad remained in 
detention at the Wadi al-Natroun Prison at year's end.
    In 2004, an administrative court issued a verdict allowing Mona 
Makram Gibran, who had converted to Islam and later converted back to 
Christianity, to recover her original (Christian) name and identity. 
Some legal observers believed the case would constitute a significant 
precedent as the Government has otherwise refused to acknowledge 
citizens' conversions from Islam to Christianity. As of late June, 
there were 148 other cases involving individuals who converted to Islam 
and then back to Christianity, who were attempting to recover their 
original Christian identities. Of these 148 individuals, 32 have 
received verdicts allowing them to recover their Christian identities 
and many of them have done so. The Government has not appealed any of 
these cases.
    In the absence of a legal means to register their change in 
religious status, some converts have resorted to soliciting illicit 
identity papers, often by submitting fraudulent supporting documents or 
bribing the Government clerks who process the documents. In such cases, 
authorities periodically charge converts with violating laws 
prohibiting the falsification of documents.
    Coptic males are prevented from marrying Muslim women by both civil 
and religious laws. A civil marriage abroad is an option should a 
Christian male and an Egyptian Muslim female desire to marry; however, 
if the couple returned to Egypt, their marriage would not be legally 
recognized. Additionally, the woman could be arrested and charged with 
apostasy, and any children from such a marriage could be taken and 
assigned to the physical custody of a male Muslim guardian, as 
determined by the Government's interpretation of Shari'a. The Coptic 
Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances, such as 
adultery or conversion of one spouse to another religion.
    There were no reports of forced religious conversion carried out by 
the Government; however, unsubstantiated reports of forced conversions 
of Coptic women and girls to Islam by Muslim men continued to be 
received. Reports of such cases were disputed and often included 
allegations and denials of kidnapping and rape. Observers, including 
human rights groups, found it extremely difficult to determine whether 
compulsion was used, as most cases involved a Coptic female who 
converted to Islam when she married a Muslim man. Reports of such cases 
almost never appear in the local media.
    While there is no legal requirement for a Christian girl or woman 
to convert to Islam to marry a Muslim man, conversion to Islam has been 
used to circumvent the legal prohibition on marriage under the age of 
16 or marriage between the ages of 16 and 21 without the approval and 
presence of the girl's male guardian (usually her father). The law only 
recognizes the willing conversion to Islam of any person over age 16. 
However, there are credible reports of local government authorities 
failing to uphold the law. Local authorities sometimes allow custody of 
a minor Christian female who ``converts'' to Islam to be transferred to 
a Muslim custodian, who is likely to grant approval for an underage 
marriage. Some Coptic activists maintain that government officials do 
not respond effectively to instances of alleged kidnapping. In cases of 
marriage between an underage Christian girl and a Muslim man, there 
have been credible reports that government authorities have failed to 
sufficiently cooperate with Christian families seeking to regain 
custody of their daughters.
    Article 19 of the constitution requires elementary and secondary 
public schools to offer religious instruction. Public and private 
schools provide religious instruction according to the faith of the 
student.
    The Government occasionally prosecuted members of religious groups 
whose practices deviated from mainstream Islamic beliefs and whose 
activities were believed to jeopardize communal harmony.
    On May 10, the public prosecutor Maher Abdul Wahid ordered Abdul 
Sabur al-Kashef and Mohammed Radwan to be tried by a low-level criminal 
court on charges of blaspheming Islam. Kashef is being prosecuted for 
claiming to have seen God, a sacrilegious act in Islam, while Radwan is 
being prosecuted for denying the existence of heaven and hell. Their 
trial was ongoing at year's end.
    Metwalli Ibrahim Metwalli Saleh, arrested by the SSIS in May 2003 
apparently for his views on Islam, including support of the right to 
convert, was released on April 23 after receiving eight separate 
rulings from the Supreme State Security Emergency Court in his favor 
and an official statement from the state security prosecutor ordering 
his release.
    During the year, a delegation of Jehovah's Witnesses from Europe 
and the United States made several visits to Cairo to meet with 
government officials in order to explore the prospects for the formal 
establishment of the faith in Egypt, and to advocate for the human 
rights and religious freedom of Egypt's small community of Jehovah's 
Witnesses, which has been subject to periodic surveillance and 
occasional harsh interrogations by the security services. By year's end 
the Jehovah's Witnesses remained without legal status but reported that 
hostile treatment from the security services had diminished 
significantly.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There generally continued to 
be religious discrimination and sectarian tension in society during the 
year. Tradition and some aspects of the law discriminated against 
religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha'is.
    Article 40 of the constitution provides for equal public rights and 
duties without discrimination based on religion or creed, and in 
general the Government upholds these constitutional protections; 
however, government discrimination against non-Muslims exists. There 
are no Christians serving as Presidents or deans of public universities 
and they are rarely nominated by the ruling party to run in elections 
as NDP candidates. At year's end, there were 6 Christians (5 appointed; 
1 elected) in the 454-seat People's Assembly; 6 Christians (all 
appointed) in the 264-seat Shura Council; and 2 Christians in the 32-
member Cabinet. Christians, who represent approximately 10 percent of 
the population, currently hold less than 2 percent of the seats in the 
People's Assembly and Shura Council.
    There also are few Christians in the upper ranks of the security 
services and armed forces. Government discriminatory practices 
continued to include discrimination against Christians in public sector 
employment, in staff appointments to public universities, by payment of 
Muslim imams through public funds (Christian clergy are paid by private 
church funds), and by refusal to admit Christians to Al-Azhar 
University (a publicly-funded institution). In general, public 
university training programs for Arabic language teachers refuse to 
admit non-Muslims because the curriculum involves the study of the 
Qur'an. There have been no reports of Christian graduates since 2001.
    On January 18, Muslim villagers in El Udaysaat attacked a group of 
Christians, resulting in the death of one individual and the injury of 
12 others. The confrontation was sparked by the discovery, on the 
previous day, that the El Udaysaat Copts were secretly using a guest 
house as a church.
    On April 14, a seventy-eight year old Christian in Alexandria, 
Nushi Atta Girgis, was killed by a Muslim, Mahmoud Salah al-Din Abd al-
Raziq, who had entered Girgis' church and stabbed three parishioners. 
According to police accounts, al-Raziq attacked two other Alexandria 
churches and wounded 15 others before being apprehended. At Guirgis's 
funeral on April 15, and again on April 16, Christian and Muslim 
protestors clashed in riots that resulted in the death of least one 
Muslim, dozens of injuries to both Christians and Muslims, significant 
damage to property belonging primarily to Copts, and some damage to 
churches.
    In 2000, Shayboub William Arsal, a Coptic Christian, was convicted 
and sentenced for the 1998 murders of two Copts in al-Kush. His appeal, 
which has been pending for 6 years, had still not been heard by year's 
end. There was a widespread perception in the local Christian community 
that Shayboub was convicted because of his religion.
    Egypt's small Jewish community numbers approximately 200; most are 
senior citizens. Anti-Semitic sentiments appeared in both the pro-
government and opposition press. Anti-Semitism in the media was common, 
but less prevalent than in recent years, and anti-Semitic 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 to Hitler and the Nazis were published 
throughout the year. These expressions occurred primarily in the 
Government sponsored daily newspaper, Al-Gumhuriyya, Akhbar Al-Yawm, 
and Al-Ahram, and occurred without government response. For example, on 
August 7, in an article in the government-controlled daily newspaper 
Al-Ahram, the Grand Mufti Ali Gom'a criticized recent Israeli military 
action in Lebanon and wrote that Israeli ``lies have exposed the true 
and hideous face of the blood-suckers who . . . planned [to prepare] a 
matzo [unleavened Passover bread] using human blood.''
    On June 12, Al-Gumhuriyya, published an article entitled ``The 
Octopus . . . Embellishes'' which stated that ``Jewish leaders managed 
to utilize the Holocaust, and what was said about massacres of Jews in 
Germany and Eastern Europe, which were ordered by the Nazi Leader 
Adolph Hitler, and translated this into sympathy and even extortion to 
help establish the state of Israel. The first thing that Israel did was 
to declare the map of Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates, 
and abstained from abiding by UN (drawn) borders.''
    On August 24 a Muslim cleric, Safwat Higazi, appeared on Dream TV 
to discuss recent media reports that he had issued a ruling (on the 
Islamic Al-Nas channel) which permitted the killing of Israeli Jews in 
Egypt. Higazi opined that killing of certain Israeli Jews 
(specifically, adults, who are currently serving in the Israeli Defense 
Forces reserves) in Egypt was permissible. On September 13, Al-Ahram 
published an opinion column entitled ``Who is the Nazi Now'' and stated 
that ``. . . The war which Hitler led against the Jews was an excuse 
through which the Zionists justified their colonizing of Palestine . . 
. But the Jews, who escaped from oppression, oppressed the 
Palestinians. and thus, the victims of the old Nazis became the new 
Nazis . . . Who is the Nazi now? Guenther Gras, who admitted the 
mistake he made when he was an adolescent? Or David Ben Gurion, Begin, 
Shamir, Sharon, Olmert, and people of their kind?"
    The Government has advised journalists and cartoonists to avoid 
anti-Semitism. Government officials insist that anti-Semitic statements 
in the media are a reaction to Israeli government actions against 
Palestinians and do not reflect historical anti-Semitism; however, 
there are few public attempts to distinguish between anti-Semitism and 
anti-Israeli sentiment.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice; however, there 
were some notable exceptions. Citizens and foreigners were free to 
travel within the country, except in certain areas designated as 
military zones. Males who have not completed compulsory military 
service may not travel abroad or emigrate, although this restriction 
may be deferred or bypassed under special circumstances. Unmarried 
women under the age of 21 must have permission from their fathers to 
obtain passports and travel. Married women no longer legally require 
the same permission from their husbands; however, in practice police 
reportedly still required such permission in most cases (see section 
5). Citizens who left the country had the right to return.
    On February 3, Egyptian authorities, purportedly for reasons of 
national security, detained British parliamentarian George Galloway 
overnight in an airport detention facility after he attempted to enter 
Egypt. Upon his release, Galloway ``gave evidence'' in a mock trial of 
President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair conducted by anti-
war activists in Cairo. Galloway also reported that Egyptian 
parliamentarian Mustafa Al-Fiqi had transmitted an apology, on behalf 
of President Mubarak, to him for the detention.
    On October 27, security authorities prevented Dr. Abdel Hamid Al-
Ghazaly, advisor to MB Supreme Guide Mahdy Akef, from traveling to 
London to attend a scientific conference.
    On November 17, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the security 
services prevented Ahmed Sayf Al-Islam, son of Hassan Al-Banna (the 
founder of the Muslim Brotherhood), and other members of the Al-Banna 
family from traveling to Jordan to attend a meeting in Amman to mark 
the centenary of Hassan Al-Banna's birth. Ahmed Sayf Al-Islam, who 
serves as the Secretary General of Egypt's Bar Association, protested 
that the Government's refusal to allow him to travel was ``a blatant 
violation of the law and the human rights principals which allow 
freedom of movement and travel.''
    According to a statement issued by prominent Pakistani politician 
Qazi Hussain Ahmed (leader of Pakistan's leading Islamist party) on 
November 22, the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad refused to issue him a 
visa so that he could attend the World Assembly of Muslim Youth 
conference in Cairo.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not 
use it during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution includes provisions for 
the granting of refugee status or asylum to persons who meet the 
definition in the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 
and its 1967 Protocol. Apart from a 1954 agreement with UNHCR and two 
``technical decrees'' from the Ministry of Interior relating to 
residence and travel, Egypt has no national legislative framework on 
asylum. The Government generally did not issue work permits to 
refugees. The Government admitted refugees on the understanding that 
their presence in the country was temporary. Because the country lacked 
national legislation or a legal framework governing the granting of 
asylum, UNHCR assumed full responsibility for the determination of 
refugee status on behalf of the Government; however, the January 2004 
peace accord in the Sudan led the UNHCR to halt new refugee status 
determinations in mid-2004. This led to protests by some Sudanese who 
sought refugee status and resettlement. The UNHCR provided recognized 
refugees with a refugee identification card that was considered a 
residence permit and bore the stamp of the national authorities. 
Refugees generally may not obtain citizenship.
    During the year, approximately 20,000 recognized refugees (as well 
as 13,000 individuals presenting asylum claims to UNHCR), resided in 
the country. Approximately 25,000 of these individuals were Sudanese 
nationals. A total of 12,350 Sudanese were registered with UNHCR as 
refugees, but another 12,650 were registered asylum seekers who sought 
formal refugee status. In addition, 40,000-70,000 Palestinian refugees 
are reported to be in Egypt, although less than 200 are registered with 
UNHCR. The number of Iraqi asylum seekers approaching UNHCR increased, 
with more than 1,500 who registered during the year. Conflicting press 
reports, some citing UNHCR, gave widely varying estimates of the number 
of Iraqis seeking protection in Egypt at year's end, ranging from 
20,000 to 150,000. Press reports also noted that some Iraqi children 
had been expelled from Egyptian schools, that Iraqis had protested 
Interior Ministry delays in the issuance of residence permits, and that 
the authorities in Sixth of October City had rejected a request by 
Iraqi asylum seekers to open a Shi'a mosque.
    UNHCR halted refugee determinations in 2004, after the Sudanese 
peace accords, and ceased consideration of applications by Sudanese for 
resettlement abroad. Sudanese nationals residing in Egypt protested 
this decision by periodically organizing peaceful demonstrations. 
During occasional security sweeps the Government periodically detained 
some asylum seekers who were not carrying proper identification. 
Following intervention by the UNHCR, they were released. Sudanese 
refugees, as well as those Sudanese who unsuccessfully sought refugee 
status, were part of a much larger community of Sudanese residents, 
many in Egypt illegally. Estimates of the total number of resident 
Sudanese ranged from two to four million. Many Sudanese legally enter 
with short-term visas and then decide to remain.
    On December 30, 2005, Egyptian police sought to clear a squatters' 
settlement of several thousand Sudanese asylum seekers who had occupied 
a Cairo park outside UN offices since September. The Sudanese had 
demanded that UNHCR resettle them in another country and refused to 
move. Police used water cannons and riot gear to clear the camp (see 
section 1.a.). According to police, some of the asylum seekers resisted 
police efforts to clear the camp. At least 27 asylum seekers died in 
the ensuing melee. Security forces detained approximately 700 Sudanese 
and threatened them with deportation. All of the refugees were released 
in the early part of the year. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty 
International called for inquiries into the deaths, but by year's end, 
the Egyptian government had made no such investigation (see section 
1.d).
    According to a study produced by the American University in Cairo's 
Center for Forced Migration and Refugee Studies in July, migrants from 
Sudan, regardless of their official status, face unemployment, poor 
housing, limited access to health and education, and racial 
discrimination.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government

    Elections and Political Participation.--Article 76 of the 
constitution, as amended in May 2005, provides for a Presidential 
election to be held every six years, replacing the referendum system in 
place since 1952. In September 2005, in the country's first competitive 
Presidential election, voters elected President Hosni Mubarak to a 
fifth 6-year term, defeating nine other candidates representing 
political opposition parties. The Government announced that Mubarak 
received 88 percent of the vote and that Ayman Nour of the Al-Ghad 
party had placed second, with 7 percent.
    Press reports, voters, opposition groups, and civil society 
monitors reported technical flaws and fraud during the Presidential 
election. NDP representatives reportedly controlled many polling 
stations and pressured voters to support Mubarak; NDP parliamentarians 
reportedly paid small bribes and used other illegal inducements to win 
votes for Mubarak; voter lists were outdated and included the names of 
deceased persons; nonresident or unregistered voters were allowed to 
vote for Mubarak; the NDP had exclusive control over voter lists in 
some areas and refused to make the lists available to all competing 
parties; some polling places were located in police stations; the 
``indelible'' ink used to mark voters' fingers was applied 
inconsistently and easily rubbed off; that there was confusion over 
voter registration, including who was registered and where persons were 
supposed to vote; and voters were not allowed to register to vote after 
January 2005. Additionally, the Government did not invite international 
election observers to formally observe the election, and the operations 
of the Presidential Election Commission, a nine-member quasi-judicial 
body tasked with approving candidates, were marred by a lack of 
transparency.
    Under the amendment to Article 76 of the constitution, licensed and 
operating political parties can nominate candidates for the presidency, 
provided they have been in legal status as recognized parties for 5 
continuous years and secured at least 5 percent of the elected seats in 
each of the PA and the Shura Council in the most recent parliamentary 
elections. Fourteen of the country's 18 licensed opposition political 
parties met the licensing and operating requirements for the 2005 race, 
but only due to a one-time exemption clause for 2005, which eliminated 
the requirement that an opposition party hold at least five percent of 
elected seats in parliament.
    The amendment also provides that candidates unaffiliated with 
political parties may run for President, provided they secure 
endorsements from at least 250 elected officials, to include at least 
65 of the 444 elected members of the PA, at least 25 of the 176 elected 
members of the Shura Council, and at least 10 elected members of local 
councils in each of at least 14 of 26 governorates. No independent 
candidates competed in the 2005 Presidential election.
    The elections for the 444 open seats of the People's Assembly took 
place in three stages during November and December 2005. The first 
round in the greater Cairo area occurred peacefully, but there were 
multiple confirmed reports of vote buying and charges of vote rigging. 
Presidential runner-up Ayman Nour lost his parliamentary seat in a race 
against a recently-retired state security officer. Nour's camp alleged 
government fraud.
    The second round of the parliamentary elections, which included 
Alexandria, witnessed violence by government supporters against 
opposition voters, resulting in at least three deaths and sporadic 
police cordons intended to limit access to polling stations.
    The third round of the parliamentary elections was marred by 
widespread police cordons at polling stations aimed at limiting 
opposition voters, as well as multiple clashes between police and 
opposition voters which left at least eight persons dead. The NDP 
retained its overriding majority in the new parliament but was joined 
by 88 independent deputies allied with the Muslim Brotherhood and a 
handful of other opposition deputies.
    In a series of October rulings, the Court of Cassation ruled that 
approximately 100 parliamentary contests spanning at least five 
constituencies--Nasr City and Khalifa in Cairo, Qellin in Kafr El-
Sheikh, and Nadrawa and Dekerness in Daqahliyya--should be invalidated 
due to evidence of vote rigging during the 2005 parliamentary 
elections. Article 93 of the constitution gives Parliament the right to 
decide which judicial rulings against it must be enforced. 
Historically, the NDP-controlled Parliament has used Article 93 to 
ratify only those court judgments that go against select opposition and 
independent candidates. The National Council for Human Rights 
recommended that Article 93 be amended so that court rulings against 
Parliament should be binding and non-reviewable. By year's end, the 
Parliament had not taken any action in response to the Court of 
Cassation rulings.
    In March, prominent judges, including Hesham Bastawissi and Ahmed 
Mekky, accused other judges of taking part in election fraud during the 
parliamentary elections. One of the accused judges, Mahmoud Seddiq 
Borham, then filed a complaint claiming that Bastawissi and Mekky had 
wrongly accused him of complicity fraud at the Mansoura polling station 
he supervised during the parliamentary elections. On February 16, the 
Supreme Judicial Council lifted the immunity of Bastawissi, Mekky, and 
two other judges. A State Security Prosecutor ordered the four to 
appear for questioning, which they did. On March 17, nearly 1,000 
judges held a half-hour silent protest in downtown Cairo to demonstrate 
for full judicial independence and to protest the Government's order to 
interrogate their colleagues who criticized the recent elections.
    Two months later, on May 18, a Supreme Judicial Council 
disciplinary tribunal exonerated Judge Mekky on charges that he had 
``disparaged the Supreme Judicial Council'' and ``talked to the press 
about political affairs.'' But on the same grounds, the court issued a 
rebuke and denied a promotion to Judge Bastawissi. (Mahmoud Seddiq 
Borham eventually dropped his own libel suit in November against 
journalists after the Court of Cassation invalidated the parliamentary 
race that Borham had been responsible for supervising, due to evidence 
of fraud. See section 2.a.)
    On June 25, parliament approved a new Judiciary Law. Some judges 
charged that the new limits imposed by the law would further diminish 
the judiciary's supervisory role during elections (see section 1.e.).
    Following the parliamentary elections, the NDP preserved its 
dominance of the 454-seat People's Assembly. It also dominated the 264-
seat Shura Council, local governments, the mass media, labor, and the 
large public sector, and controlled the licensing of new political 
parties, newspapers, and private organizations. However, the 
independent MPs linked to the Muslim Brotherhood have been increasingly 
vocal in parliament. Several parliamentarians and parliament-watchers 
have observed that the MBs' 88 ``independent'' members contributed to a 
new, more rigorous dynamic in the parliament, including more 
substantive debates and have led to better attendance and timeliness by 
the ruling party members.
    The People's Assembly debated government proposals, and members 
exercised their authority to call cabinet ministers to explain policy. 
The executive initiated almost all legislation. The Assembly exercised 
limited influence in the areas of security and foreign policy and 
retained little oversight of the Ministry of Interior's use of 
Emergency Law powers. Many executive branch initiatives and policies 
were carried out by regulation through ministerial decree without 
legislative oversight. Individual voting records were not published, 
and citizens had no independent method of checking a member's voting 
record.
    The Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, has 264 seats. 
The constitution provides that two-thirds of the members are elected 
and one-third are appointed by the President.
    In addition, during the year, a variety of other aspirant political 
parties, including the Karama (``Dignity,'' Arab nationalist) and Wasat 
(``Center,'' moderate Islamist) sought legal recognition from the 
courts or the PPC. At year's end, at least 12 aspirant parties were 
awaiting decisions on their applications.
    The Political Parties Law prohibits political parties based on 
religion, and the MB remained an illegal organization; however, MB 
members openly and publicly expressed their views. They remained 
subject to government pressure (see section 1.d.). A total of 88 
candidates affiliated with the MB were elected to the People's Assembly 
in 2005 as independents. There were 6 women elected to the 454-seat 
People's Assembly, as well as 5 women appointed. Two women served among 
the 32 ministers in the cabinet.
    Christians, who make up and estimated 8-15 percent of the 
population, held less than 2 percent of the parliamentary seats.
    On February 12, the Shura Council postponed the April municipal 
elections until 2008. The opposition protested this move, which 
extended the terms of 45,000 municipal officeholders, most of whom 
belong to the NDP ruling party.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of corruption in the executive and legislative 
branches.
    The February 3 sinking of the Al-Salaam Bocaccio 98 ferry in the 
Red Sea killed more than 1,000 people, many of them Egyptian migrant 
workers returning from jobs in the Gulf. A parliamentary inquiry in 
April ruled that the ship was overloaded, possessed inadequate safety 
equipment, and had not been properly maintained. The relationship of 
ferry owner Mamdouh Ismail, a Shura Council member, with Presidential 
chief of staff Zakaria Azmi sparked public debate about corruption. 
Although he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity shortly after 
the accident, Ismail fled the country. His role as a board member of 
the Red Sea Ports Authority led to media claims that he had used his 
regulatory role to boost his business interests. At the time of the 
Salaam sinking, his ferry company possessed a virtual monopoly on Red 
Sea ferry traffic. By year's end, there had been no governmental 
investigation or prosecutions in the Salaam disaster.
    On October 1, press reports said that the police had arrested at 
least nine members of a ring in North Sinai--at least two of whom were 
policeman--who sold explosives and weapons to Palestinians and Sinai 
residents.
    Corruption was a topic of opposition media speculation, and it 
emerged as a campaign theme for the opposition during both the 
Presidential and parliamentary elections of 2005. Kamal El-Shazly, who 
served as minister for parliamentary affairs, and Ibrahim Soliman, who 
served as minister of housing, until President Mubarak replaced them in 
December 2005, have frequently been the subjects of unproven 
allegations of corruption. Shazly and Soliman both won re-election to 
Parliament in 2005.
    In December 2005, prosecutors indicted two key figures in the 
country's media sector on corruption charges. Abdel Rahman Hafez, 
director of the state-owned Media Production City, and Ehab Talaat, a 
private sector advertising executive, were indicted on December 8 by 
the public prosecutor, after a case against them was brought by the 
Administrative Control Authority (a government anti-corruption body). 
According to the indictment, Hafez conspired with Talaat to grant the 
latter's ad agency advertising time on the state-owned Nile Satellite 
Channel for a tenth of its actual value. At year's end, the case 
against the two men was unresolved.
    In August 2005, the press reported a wide-ranging scandal allegedly 
involving senior members of the Ministry of Education who colluded with 
teachers to assist dozens of secondary school students in Giza to cheat 
on their general secondary school exams. According to press reports, 
several of the cheating students came from prominent families who were 
NDP members. Minister of Education Ahmed Gamaleddin Moussa referred the 
case to the administrative and public prosecutors, who had taken no 
action by year's end. Minister Moussa lost his cabinet portfolio in the 
December 2005 cabinet reshuffle.
    The local press routinely reported on confirmed cases of low-level 
corruption, including tampering with official documents, embezzlement, 
and acceptances of bribes by officials in various government 
departments.
    There are no legal provisions for public access to government 
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Government restrictions on NGO activities, including limits on 
organizations' ability to accept funding, continued to limit reporting 
on human rights abuses. Government officials were selectively 
cooperative and responsive to NGO views (see section 2.d.).
    The law governing the regulation and operation of all NGOs grants 
the minister of social solidarity the authority to dissolve an NGO by 
decree, rather than requiring a court order. There were no reports that 
the minister used this measure during the year.
    In late December, 16 domestic human rights organizations criticized 
the closure of a local NGO, Ahalina, in Qaliubiya governorate. On 
December 24, municipality and security officials in the working class 
district of Shubra al-Kheima, closed Ahalina's offices on the grounds 
that the organization was ``inciting riots'' and did not have a proper 
license to operate. Ahalina, which works in the health, environment, 
legal and educational fields, had unsuccessfully sought to register 
with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. In November, Ahalina had 
publicly challenged statements by Qaliubiya governor Adly Hussein that 
the slum areas of the municipality were fully supplied with utilities. 
Ahalina had sought to rebut the governor's assertion by pointing to 
publicly available statistics which documented that 183 villages in the 
governorate lack potable water, electricity, have inadequate sewerage, 
and polluted air.
    The leading independent human rights NGOs included the Egyptian 
Organization for Human Rights, the Human Rights Association for the 
Assistance of Prisoners, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 
the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Ibn Khaldun Center, 
the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal 
Profession, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, and the 
Egyptian Center for Women's Rights. The Arab Organization for Human 
Rights generally took a softer line towards the Government. Informal 
coalitions of internet activists and bloggers played an increasingly 
significant role during the year in publicizing information about human 
rights abuses. The Government did not demonstrate a consistent approach 
towards cooperating with human rights NGOs and detained and abused some 
Internet bloggers (see section 1.c.).
    The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), established by 
parliament in 2003, and operational in 2004, continued to monitor 
government abuses of human rights by formally submitting citizen 
complaints to the Government and issuing reports critical of the 
Government. NCHR issued its second annual report in March, covering the 
last 10 months of 2005 and the first two months of 2006. The NCHR 
report pointed to the 2005 elections as examples of limited democratic 
progress but also called attention to voting irregularities and fraud 
as well as intervention by the security forces. The NCHR also called 
for an end to the State of Emergency, expressed its concern about 
administrative detentions outside of the procedures established by law, 
and urged additional steps ``to put an end to torture and to assure 
that the mistreatment of detainees and those arrested is also 
discontinued.'' The NCHR urged ``all governmental entities'' to ``give 
proper attention to complaints referred to them'' by the council. The 
report also called for an end to ``assaulting demonstrators'' and an 
expanded protection of media freedom, and described the Student Body 
Regulations of 1979 as ``unjustified restrictions on the practice of 
democracy within student activities.'' The NCHR also issued a variety 
of studies keyed to particular issues, including the 2005 Presidential 
and parliamentary elections. During the year, NCHR conducted public 
seminars on a number of controversial current issues including civil 
rights for Baha'is, the Government's regulation of NGOs, and 
constitutional amendments.
    At year's end, the NCHR reported that it had received 5,826 
complaints during the year, of which 1,762 pertained to civil and 
political rights. The NCHR officially forwarded complaints to relevant 
ministries. Although NCHR did not publicize full details on complaints 
forwarded to the Ministry of Interior, NCHR did note that the ministry 
replied to 58 percent of the complaints it received from the NCHR.
    One NCHR member, Bahey Eddin Hassan, criticized what he described 
as the weak performance of the NCHR and indicated that would not seek 
reappointment to the Council in January 2007, when the three year terms 
of the original NCHR board members expires. Hassan questioned the 
effectiveness of the NCHR since the organization possessed no legal 
authority to compel the Government to address the concerns it raised.
    Several leading human rights groups and civil society organizations 
continued to press legal challenges against government decisions to 
allow them to register under the NGO law. Although these organizations 
were generally allowed to conduct operations, albeit on a limited 
basis, they did so in technical violation of the NGO law with the 
omnipresent specter of government interference and/or closure looming 
over them (see section 2.b.).
    EOHR, HRAAP, and other groups obtained limited cooperation of 
government officials in visiting some prisons in their capacity as 
legal counsel, but not as human rights observers.
    A number of civil society organizations received direct funding 
from foreign governmental and non-governmental donors to support their 
work in a variety of areas, including human rights advocacy and 
election monitoring. During the year, the Government permitted various 
human rights organizations--including the Cairo Institute for Human 
Rights Studies, HRAAP, EOHR, the Ibn Khaldoun Center, and the Arab 
Center for Independence of the Judiciary--to hold and participate in 
international conferences.
    At the end of the year, the Arab Penal Reform Organization (APRO), 
a local NGO, began mass distribution of human rights-based children's 
stories to elementary schools in Cairo. The group aims to educate 
children between the ages of 8 and 13 on the universal principles of 
human rights and international law through a series of Arabic and 
English stories about a young boy named Ali. The group aims to have 500 
copies distributed by the end of the year. According to APRO, the 
Ministry of Education welcomed APRO's initiative. The project is partly 
funded by USAID.
    International human rights NGOs have generally been allowed to 
establish informal operations. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch 
made periodic visits as part of their regional research program and 
were able to work with domestic human rights groups. The National 
Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and IFES, 
which provide technical assistance in support of expanded political and 
civil rights, established informal operations in Egypt in 2005. In 
June, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered all three groups 
to ``freeze'' their operations pending formal approval of their 
registrations. By year's end, the three organizations remained 
unregistered and unable to pursue full operations in Egypt.
    The Government did not respond to standing requests from at least 
five UN Special Rapporteurs--on torture, the situation of human rights 
defenders, freedom of religion, independence of judges and lawyers, 
human rights and counterterrorism--to visit.
    The People's Assembly has a ``Human Rights Committee,'' which human 
rights activists did not judge effective.
    On April 3, the leadership of Cairo's Judges Club, citing 
government pressure, cancelled a scheduled meeting with a visiting HRW 
delegation.
    In September, the AI Secretary-General visited and met with 
Minister of Interior. In comments to the press after the meeting (the 
first between an AI secretary-general and the top official in Egypt's 
security apparatus), she described the human rights situation as ``very 
serious. We have long had concerns about secret detentions, 
disappearances, arbitrary detention of political prisoners, torture, 
and ill-treatment issues of trial by the emergency security court, and 
so on.'' She also said that there was a ``window of opportunity'' to 
replace the emergency law with counterterrorism laws. ``Now, whether 
that will lead to something depends on the political will of the 
Government of Egypt.''
    EOHR reported that on May 6, SSIS officials attempted to summon 
Usama Abdel Razik, an EOHR lawyer, without legal basis. EOHR formally 
protested and petitioned the Minister of the Interior order an 
investigation into the incident. By year's end there had been no 
further action on the matter.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equality of the sexes and equal 
treatment of non-Muslims; however, aspects of the law and many 
traditional practices discriminated against women and religious 
minorities.

    Women.--The law does not prohibit spousal abuse; however, 
provisions of law relating to assault in general are applied. Domestic 
violence against women was a significant problem and was reflected in 
press accounts of specific incidents. According to a 2003 survey by the 
Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Affairs, an estimated 67 percent of 
women in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas had been involved in 
some form of domestic violence at least once between 2002 and 2003. 
Among those who had been beaten, less than half had ever sought help. 
The 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey indicated that 47.4 
percent of women above age 14 had experienced domestic violence. Due to 
the value attached to privacy in the country's traditional society, 
abuse within the family rarely was discussed publicly. Spousal abuse is 
grounds for a divorce. However, the law requires the plaintiff to 
produce several eyewitnesses, a difficult condition to meet. Several 
NGOs offered counseling, legal aid, and other services to women who 
were victims of domestic violence.
    The Ministry of Social Solidarity operated more than 150 family 
counseling bureaus nationwide, which provided legal and medical 
services.
    The court case of celebrity costume designer Hind El Hinnawy 
attracted considerable public attention. On January 28, a family court 
refused El Hinnawy's request that actor Ahmed El Fishawy be recognized 
as her daughter's father, despite DNA evidence that proved his 
paternity, because El Hinnawy could not produce proof that they had had 
a secret, informal marriage. On May 24, however, an appeals court 
overturned the family court ruling and recognized Fishawy as the 
child's father.
    The National Council for Women proposed and advocated policies that 
promoted women's empowerment and also designed development programs 
that benefited women. The Office of the National Ombudsman for Women 
provided assistance to women facing discrimination in employment and 
housing, domestic violence, sexual assault, and child custody disputes.
    The law prohibits non-spousal rape and punishment ranges from three 
years to life imprisonment; however, spousal rape is not illegal. 
Although reliable statistics regarding rape were not available, 
activists believed that it was not uncommon, despite strong social 
disapproval. A rapist, if also convicted of abducting his victim, is 
subject to execution.
    In May 2005, after hearing confessions from two defendants that 
they had raped and beated to death 23-year old Hoda Al-Zaher, Judge 
Abdo Attia handed down sentences of only three years for one defendant 
and three months for another, justifying these sentences under Article 
17 of the criminal penalties code. In November, the public prosecutor 
appealed the court's decision. At year's end, the case was under 
appeal.
    The law does not specifically address ``honor'' crimes (violent 
assaults by a male against a female, usually a family member, with 
intent to kill because of perceived lack of chastity). In practice, the 
courts sentenced perpetrators of such crimes to lesser punishments than 
those convicted in other cases of murder. There were no reliable 
statistics regarding the extent of honor killings; however, there were 
no reports indicating that honor killings were a widespread problem.
    Female genital mutilation (FGM) remained a serious, widespread 
problem, despite the Government's attempts to eliminate the practice 
and NGO efforts to combat it. Tradition and family pressure continued 
to play a leading role in the persistence of FGM. In 2005 a leading NGO 
reported that the percentage of women who had undergone FGM had fallen 
to 94 percent of all women age 18-49. The same study estimated that 60 
percent of girls age 10-13 were at risk for FGM. The Ministry of Health 
estimated that 50 percent of girls age 10 to 18 were subjected to FGM. 
The 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey, however, indicated that 
95.8 percent of ever-married women were subjected to FGM. The 
Government supported efforts to educate the public about FGM; however, 
illiteracy impeded some women from distinguishing between the deep-
rooted tradition of FGM and religious practices. Moreover, many 
citizens believed that FGM was an important part of maintaining female 
chastity. FGM was equally prevalent among Muslims and Christians. 
Religious leaders joined the Government in publicly refuting the notion 
that FGM had any sort of religious sanction. In late November, the 
three leading government-appointed Muslim religious leaders, 
participating in a conference in Cairo aimed at eradicating FGM under 
the sponsorship of a German human rights NGO (Target), said that FGM is 
not encouraged by Islam. The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar (Mohamed Sayed 
Tantawi), the Grand Mufti (Ali Gom'a), and the Minister of Muslim 
Religious Endowments (Mahmud Hamdi Zaqzuq) expressed the view that FGM 
was not condoned by the Holy Quran or by the teachings and traditions 
of the Prophet Muhammad. The government-supported National Council for 
Childhood and Motherhood, also played a leading role in the November 
conference and in the overall attempt to eliminate FGM.
    Prostitution and sex tourism are illegal but continued to occur, 
particularly in Cairo and Alexandria.
    Sexual harassment is not prohibited specifically by law. There were 
no statistics available regarding its prevalence.
    On October 24-26, during the Muslim Eid Al-Fitr holiday marking the 
end of Ramadan, there were reports of several incidents of sexual 
harassment of female pedestrians by groups of young men in downtown 
Cairo. Some critics of the Government charged that security forces had 
failed to intervene to stop the harassment. Government officials and 
certain pro-government newspapers said that the reports of harassment 
were fabricated. The episode sparked considerable public debate and led 
to calls by women's rights NGOs and the independent media for action by 
the Government and society to combat sexual harassment.
    During the May 2005 national referendum, several women, including 
demonstrators and journalists, were reportedly assaulted and sexually 
humiliated by pro-government thugs, including perhaps undercover 
security force personnel. The public prosecutor concluded in late 2005 
that a case could not be pursued because it was impossible to determine 
who assaulted demonstrators (see section 2.b.). In response to a 
request from EIPR, a Cairo-based rights group, the African Commission 
on Human and People's Rights, the African Union's highest rights body, 
agreed to consider formally the merits of the case in May 2007 (see 
section 2.b).
    The law provides for equality of the sexes; however, aspects of the 
law and many traditional practices discriminated against women. By law, 
unmarried women under the age of 21 must have permission from their 
fathers to obtain passports and to travel. Married women do not require 
such permission, but police did not apply the law consistently. A 
woman's testimony is equal to that of a man in court. Under the Penal 
Code, a married man is adulterous only if the sexual act is committed 
in the marital home (Article 277) while a woman is adulterous wherever 
the act is committed.
    While no law prohibits a woman from serving as a judge, there was 
only one female judge, Counselor Tahany al-Gabbani, appointed to the 
Supreme Constitutional Court in 2003. In the cases of two female 
attorneys, Fatma Lashin and Amany Talaat, who had challenged the 
Government's refusal to appoint them as public prosecutors, the 
administrative court ruled that it had no jurisdiction and referred the 
case to the Supreme Judicial Council for determination. By year's end, 
the Supreme Judicial Council had not ruled in the case.
    Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally corresponded 
to an individual's religion. Khul' divorce allows a Muslim woman to 
obtain a divorce without her husband's consent, provided that she is 
willing to forego all of her financial rights, including alimony, 
dowry, and other benefits. However, in practice, some judges have not 
applied the law accurately or fairly, causing lengthy bureaucratic 
delays for the thousands of women who have filed for khul' divorce. 
Many women have also complained that after being granted khul' divorce, 
their ex-husbands have been able to avoid paying required child 
support.
    The Coptic Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific 
circumstances, such as adultery or conversion of one spouse to another 
religion.
    Muslim female heirs receive half the amount of a male heir's 
inheritance, while Christian widows of Muslims have no inheritance 
rights. A sole female heir receives half her parents' estate; the 
balance goes to designated male relatives. A sole male heir inherits 
all of his parents' property. Male Muslim heirs face strong social 
pressure to provide for all family members who require assistance; 
however, in practice this assistance was not always provided. Labor 
laws provide for equal rates of pay for equal work for men and women in 
the public sector. According to government figures from 2003, women 
constituted 17 percent of private business owners and occupied 25 
percent of the managerial positions in the four major national banks. 
Educated women had employment opportunities, but social pressure 
against women pursuing a career was strong. Women's rights advocates 
claimed that Islamist influence inhibited further gains. Women's rights 
advocates also pointed to other discriminatory traditional or cultural 
attitudes and practices, such as FGM and the traditional male 
relative's role in enforcing chastity.
    A number of active women's rights groups worked to reform family 
law, educate women on their legal rights, promote literacy, and combat 
FGM.

    Children.--The Government remained committed to the protection of 
children's welfare; in practice, the Government made some progress in 
eliminating FGM and in affording rights to children with foreign 
fathers. However, the Government made little progress in addressing the 
plight of street children, which remained a significant problem. The 
Government provided public education, which is compulsory for the first 
9 academic years (typically until the age of 15). The Government 
treated boys and girls equally at all levels of education. The minister 
of education asserted that 98 percent of citizen children were enrolled 
in compulsory education through 9th grade. By contrast, UNICEF reported 
that in the period 2000-05, 83 percent of citizen children of primary 
school age attended school.
    Approximately 30 percent of citizen students pursued studies at the 
post-secondary level.
    The Government was publicly committed to provide medical care for 
all children, but strained health facilities and budgetary pressures 
sometimes limited the provision of care.
    The Child Law provides for privileges, protection, and care for 
children in general. Six of the law's 144 articles set rules protective 
of working children (see section 6.d.).
    FGM remained a serious problem, despite some signs of a modest 
downward trend, and was widely performed (see section 5, Women).
    Child labor continued to be a significant problem, although the 
Government took steps during the year to increase awareness of child 
labor-related issues and enforcement (see section 6.d.).
    The late November arrests of Ramadan Mansour and several associates 
in connection with a series of murders of street children focused 
public attention on the plight of the country's approximately 500,000 
street children.
    Although reliable data is lacking, several NGOs (including the Hope 
Village Society, the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, and the 
Alliance for Arab Women) reported that child marriages, including 
temporary marriages intended to mask prostitution, are a significant 
problem.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons; however, other portions of the criminal code 
may be used to prosecute traffickers. It is unclear how many 
prosecutions for trafficking related crimes occurred during the year. 
There were press reports of persons trafficked from Eastern Europe 
through the country to Israel for commercial sexual exploitation and 
forced labor. Because the country lacks a systematic victim 
identification mechanism, it was difficult to determine how many of the 
aliens illegally transiting the country were actually being trafficked 
and how many were voluntary economic migrants. The Government 
aggressively patrolled its borders to prevent alien smuggling, but 
geography and finances limited the efforts. Government officials 
participated in international conferences on combating trafficking in 
persons. Some anti-trafficking activists suggested that some Egyptian 
children may be trafficked from rural areas within the country for work 
as domestic servants or laborers in the agriculture industry, but there 
was no data available to support or refute this assertion.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services. Law 39 of 1975 (``The Social Integration Law''), amended by 
law 49 of 1981 and by the Unified Labor Law of 2002 (articles 12-14), 
provides that all businesses must designate five percent of their jobs 
for persons with disabilities who are exempt from normal literacy 
requirements. Statistics regarding the practical implementation of this 
policy were unavailable. Similarly, there were no reliable statistics 
regarding the total number of citizens with disabilities, but NGOs 
estimated that at least eight percent of the population has some sort 
of disability, and that one to two percent of the population is 
severely disabled.
    There is no legislation mandating access of persons with 
disabilities to public accommodations and transportation; however, 
persons with disabilities rode government-owned mass transit buses free 
of charge, were expeditiously approved for installation of new 
telephone landlines, and received reductions on customs duties for 
specially equipped private vehicles to accommodate disabled drivers.
    The Higher Council for Social Integration, which was established by 
the 1975 law to provide leadership on the issue of persons with 
disabilities, has met twice during the past three decades. A leading 
NGO focused on the rights of persons with disabilities has sought to 
increase the Government's and society's activities in support of 
persons with disabilities. The Government, led by the Ministry of 
Social Affairs, made efforts to address the rights of persons with 
disabilities. It worked closely with UN agencies and other 
international aid donors to design job-training programs for persons 
with disabilities. Beginning in 2004, and with international donor 
support, the Government, working with concerned NGOs, also sought to 
increase the public awareness of the capabilities of persons with 
disabilities in television programming, the print media, and 
educational material in public schools. However, there remains 
widespread societal discrimination against persons with disabilities, 
resulting in a lack of acceptance into mainstream society.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There have also been 
reports of abuse of foreign workers employed as domestic servants. For 
example, on January 26, the Philippine government reported that 
Veronica Bangit had reported abuse by her employers when she worked as 
a domestic helper in Cairo.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--There are no legal obstacles to 
establishing private sector labor unions, although such unions were 
uncommon. Workers may join trade unions, but were not required to do 
so. A local union or workers' committee may be formed if 50 employees 
express a desire to organize. Most union members, about one-quarter of 
the labor force, were employed by state-owned enterprises.
    Unionization has decreased in the past several years as a result of 
early retirement plans in public sector enterprises, which have aimed 
at rightsizing workforces. Privatization of public sector enterprises 
has also led to some job losses, although unions have continued to 
operate in privatized companies.
    There were 23 trade unions; all were required to belong to the 
Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), the sole legally recognized 
labor federation. The ETUF controlled the nomination and election 
procedures for trade union officers and permitted public authorities to 
intervene in union financial activities.
    ETUF officials had close relations with the ruling NDP, and some 
were members of the People's Assembly or the Shura Council. They spoke 
on behalf of worker concerns, and public confrontations between the 
ETUF and the Government were rare. Previous ETUF President Sayed Rashad 
served as an NDP member of parliament until his unsuccessful bid for 
re-election in 2005. Rashad also served as head of the NDP's labor 
committee. During the 2005 Presidential campaign, Sayed Rashad had 
announced that ETUF's four million members supported President 
Mubarak's re-election bid. Hussein Magawar, another NDP member of 
parliament, replaced Sayed Rashad as ETUF head in January.
    Elections for seats in the local unions (or ``factory councils''), 
the 23 national trade unions, and ETUF , held every five years, 
occurred in three stages from October--November. There were widespread 
reports of irregularities in the registering of candidates. Opposition 
activists charged that ETUF collaborated with the ruling NDP and 
security forces to prevent opposition labor leaders from contesting the 
elections. In the elections to determine the leadership of the 23 
national unions, NDP-affiliated candidates won 22 of the seats. 
Minister of Manpower Aisha Abul Hadi described the elections as 
``impartial, clean, and democratic,'' but the independent Center for 
Trade Union and Worker Services charged that the elections ``were the 
worst ever in terms of violations'' and were ``undemocratic and non-
transparent.''
    Some unions within ETUF were affiliated with international trade 
union organizations. Others were in the process of becoming affiliated. 
The law does not permit anti-union discrimination. There were no 
reports of attempted discrimination, nor were there reports of attempts 
to enforce this protection.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 2003 Labor 
Law establishes a labor consultative council, including representatives 
from the Government, employers, and workers associations. The council 
was intended to address tripartite issues and problems and review 
labor-related domestic and international legislation; however, the 
council did not meet during the year. The law provides for collective 
bargaining, allowing for tripartite negotiations to improve labor terms 
and conditions and resolve disputes between workers and employers. 
Collective negotiation may be set in motion by any of the concerned 
parties without the consent of other parties involved with the 
assistance of the concerned administrative authority.
    The Labor Law also established special pentagonal committees 
composed of two judges and representatives from the Ministry of 
Manpower and Migration (MOMM), the ETUF, and employers. The Labor Law 
provides these committees with judicial powers to adjudicate labor 
disputes arising from the law's application. Decisions by these 
committees, which are intended to serve in place of the courts of first 
resort, may be appealed through the regular appeals process. 2006 
statistics regarding the number of complaints lodged and verdicts 
issued were not yet available at the time of going to print; however, 
observers noted that the pentagonal committees often failed to 
establish quorums, thus limiting their responsiveness.
    The MOMM has a unit for collective negotiations and for monitoring 
the implementation of collective agreements. The Government sets wages, 
benefits, and job classifications for public sector and government 
employees, and the private sector sets compensation for its employees 
in accordance with the Government's laws regarding minimum wages.
    The Labor Law permits strikes, but only after an extended 
negotiation process. There were no formal, recognized strikes during 
the year. Wildcat strikes are prohibited, but un-authorized strikes 
nonetheless took place. Peaceful strikes were allowed, provided they 
were announced in advance and organized by the trade union to defend 
vocational, economic, and social interests. To call a strike, the trade 
union must notify the employer and concerned administrative authority 
at least 10 days in advance of the strike date, giving the reason for 
the strike and the date it would commence. Prior to this formal 
notification, the strike action must be approved by a two-thirds 
majority of the ETUF board of directors. Strikes are prohibited by law 
during the validity of collective bargaining agreements and during the 
mediation and arbitration process. Strikes are also prohibited in 
strategic or vital entities in which the interruption of work could 
result in a disturbance of national security or basic services. The 
Labor Law also regulates litigation related to collective bargaining 
and allows collective bargaining in what are identified as strategic 
and vital establishments. The Land Center for Human Rights (LCHR), a 
pro-labor group, reported that during the first half of the year, there 
were 107 workers' protests (38 in the Governmental sector, 36 in state-
owned businesses, and 33 in the private sector) According to LCHR's 
analysis, the protests included 18 strikes, 15 demonstrations, 31 
gatherings, and 43 sit-ins.
    For example, on November 5, train drivers at Cairo's main rail 
station organized an unapproved strike in support of one of their 
colleagues who was facing disciplinary action for alleged negligence 
leading to an accident. The train drivers charged that government 
negligence and poor maintenance were at fault. The strike caused 
significant disruptions on a busy intercity commuter route.
    On November 8, workers at the shipyard in Port Said, protested 
unsafe work conditions with a day-long demonstration after a crane 
accident killed a colleague.
    On November 24, 2,000 members of the Pharmacists' Syndicate met in 
Cairo to discuss recent police raids against pharmacies. The 
pharmacists said the raids were aimed at pressuring the pharmacists to 
halt their opposition to plans to privatize state-owned pharmacies. The 
police raids on the pharmacies stopped after the pharmacists threatened 
to strike and to boycott pharmaceutical products from state-owned drug 
factories.
    From December 7-10, an estimated 20,000 textile workers (including 
7,000 women) at the Ghazl Al-Mahalla factory engaged in a work stoppage 
to protest non-payment of bonuses. Minister of Manpower Aisha Abdul 
Hadi reportedly played a direct role in the negotiations. The job 
action was eventually resolved after management agreed to pay the 
disputed bonuses. Some workers reportedly voiced displeasure with the 
local factory council leadership, arguing that they were more 
interested in doing the Government's bidding than protecting the 
workers.
    Firms, other than large companies in the private sector, generally 
did not adhere to government-mandated standards. Although they were 
required to observe some government practices, such as the minimum 
wage, social security insurance, and official holidays, firms often did 
not adhere to government practice in non-binding matters, including 
award of the annual Labor Day bonus.
    Labor law and practice were the same in the six existing export-
processing zones (EPZs) as in the rest of the country.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor. The 2003 Labor Law and the Child 
Law do not specifically prohibit forced and compulsory labor by 
children. Such practices, including by children, were reportedly rare.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child Law number 12 of 1996 and its executive regulations protect 
children from exploitation in the workplace. While MOMM, working with 
the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) and the 
interior ministry, generally enforced these regulations in state-owned 
enterprises, enforcement in the private sector, especially in the 
informal sector, was lax. Employers continued to abuse, overwork, and 
generally endanger many working children.
    The law limits the type and conditions of work that children under 
the age of 18 may perform legally. In nonagricultural work, the minimum 
age for employment is 14 or the age of completing basic education (15), 
whichever is higher. Provincial governors, with the approval of the 
minister of education, may authorize seasonal work for children between 
the ages of 12 and 14, provided that duties are not hazardous and do 
not interfere with schooling.
    Pre-employment training for children under the age of 12 is 
prohibited. Children are prohibited from working for more than six 
hours per day, and one or more breaks totaling at least one hour must 
be included. Several other restrictions apply to children: they may not 
work overtime, during their weekly day(s) off, between 7 p.m. and 7 
a.m., or on official holidays. Children are also prohibited from 
working for more than four hours continuously.
    During the summer months, children under the age of 14 were 
periodically seen working outdoors in and near construction areas of 
Al-Rehab City, outside Cairo, and engaged in landscaping work 
alongside, or in the median, of busy roadways near Katameyya, also on 
the outskirts of Cairo.
    Statistical information regarding the number of working children 
was difficult to obtain and often outdated. NGOs estimated that up to 
2.7 million children worked. Government studies indicated that the 
concentration of working children was higher in rural than in urban 
areas. Approximately 78 percent of working children were in the 
agricultural sector. However, children also worked in light industry, 
on construction sites, and in service businesses such as auto repair 
shops. Press reports during the year focused attention on the estimated 
2,000-3,000 children working in the stone quarries in Minya.
    Previous changes in the Child Labor Law have not significantly 
improved conditions due to lax enforcement by the Government. 
Enforcement remained spotty, and in cases where offenders have been 
prosecuted, the fines imposed were often small (i.e. $3.25 or LE 20) 
and thus had questionable deterrent effect. Regulations proposed in 
2003 under the revised labor law, however, sharply increased the 
minimum fines in child labor cases to $81 (LE 500). The increased 
penalties did not appear to have any impact during the year.
    The Government made progress toward eliminating the worst forms of 
child labor, pursuant to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 
(CRC); however, many challenges remain. The Ministry of Justice's 
department for legal protection of the Child worked with the NCCM to 
finalize comprehensive changes to the child labor law during the year. 
By year's end the draft changes had reportedly been submitted to 
parliament for consideration. The NCCM also worked with the MOMM, ETUF, 
ILO, UNICEF, and various government ministries to formulate and 
implement a national strategy to combat child labor and eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor; trained police officers on children's 
rights and working with juveniles coordinated with the Ministry of 
Education to incorporate study of the CRC into curricula; and set up 
social and economic projects in several governorates to transfer 
working children into non-hazardous activities. The MOMM also increased 
child labor inspections in governorates with high dropout rates. The 
Government's campaign to increase public awareness was highlighted by 
workshops and conferences throughout the country. Many of these efforts 
were characterized by high-level government involvement. For example, 
during the African Football Cup of Nations, which Egypt hosted in 
January-February, first lady Suzanne Mubarak (who also serves as 
chairperson of the NCCM) publicized the fight against child labor by 
participating in the ILO's ``Red Card to Child Labor'' campaign.
    During the year, a foreign government, in partnership with the 
World Food Program (WFP) and the Egyptian government, launched a five 
million dollar project aimed at building government capacity to monitor 
and combat child labor. A specific goal of the project is to move 4,300 
child laborers into school and other training opportunities, and 
prevent an additional 6,000 children from entering industries known to 
employ child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for government 
and public sector employees was determined by the National Council of 
Wages and differed among sectors. The law stipulates that 48 hours is 
the maximum number of hours that may be worked in 1 week. Overtime for 
hours worked beyond 36 per week is payable at the rate of 35 percent 
extra for daylight hours and 70 percent extra for work performed at 
night. The premium for work on rest days is 100 percent while workers 
should receive 200 percent for work on national holidays. The 
nationwide minimum wage generally was enforced effectively for larger 
private companies; however, smaller firms did not always pay the 
minimum wage. The minimum wage frequently did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family; however, base pay commonly 
was supplemented by a complex system of fringe benefits and bonuses 
that may double or triple a worker's take-home pay and provide a decent 
standard of living.
    The Ministry of Labor sets worker health and safety standards, 
which also apply in the EPZs; however, enforcement and inspections were 
uneven. A council for occupational health and safety was established by 
the Labor Law to address health and safety issues nationwide. During 
the year, ETUF called for development of a national health insurance 
program prior to proposed changes in the health insurance law.
    The 2003 labor law prohibits employers from maintaining hazardous 
working conditions, and workers have the right to remove themselves 
from hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment.
    There were occasional reports of employer abuse of undocumented 
workers, especially domestic workers. A few employers were prosecuted 
during the year for abuse of domestic workers, but many claims of abuse 
were unsubstantiated because undocumented workers were reluctant to 
make their identities public.

                               __________

                                IRAN \1\
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     \1\ The United States does not have an embassy in Iran. This 
report draws heavily on non-U.S. Government sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Islamic Republic of Iran, with a population of approximately 68 
million, is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shi'a Muslim 
clergy dominate the key power structures. Article Four of the 
constitution states that ``All laws and regulations shall be based on 
Islamic principles.'' government legitimacy is based on the twin 
pillars of popular sovereignty (Article Six) and the rule of the 
Supreme Jurisconsulate, or Supreme Leader (Article Five).
    The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali 
Khamenei, dominated the tricameral structure of government 
(legislative, executive, and judicial branches). He was not directly 
elected but chosen by an elected body of religious leaders, the 
Assembly of Experts. Khamenei directly controlled the armed forces and 
exercised indirect control over the internal security forces, the 
judiciary, and other key institutions. Hardline conservative Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad won the presidency in June 2005 in an election widely 
viewed as neither free nor fair.
    The legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic 
Consultative Assembly, or Majles. An unelected 12-member Guardian 
Council reviewed all legislation passed by the Majles for adherence to 
Islamic and constitutional principles and also screened Presidential 
and Majles candidates for eligibility. The Majles was dominated by 
conservatives, due in part to the Guardian Council's extensive 
screening of candidates in the 2004 Majles elections. Prior to the June 
2005 Presidential elections, the Guardian Council excluded all but 
eight of the 1,014 candidates who registered, including all women. The 
Guardian Council and parliamentary electoral committees screened 
candidates for the December 15 municipal council and Assembly of 
Experts elections, disqualifying scores of reformist candidates. The 
civilian authorities did not maintain fully effective control of the 
security forces.
    The Government's poor human rights record worsened, and it 
continued to commit numerous, serious abuses. The following significant 
human rights problems were reported: severe restriction of the right of 
citizens to change their government peacefully; unjust executions after 
reportedly unfair trials; disappearances; torture and severe officially 
sanctioned punishments such as death by stoning; flogging; excessive 
use of force against demonstrators; violence by vigilante groups with 
ties to the Government; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; lack of judicial independence; lack of fair public trials; 
political prisoners and detainees; severe restrictions on civil 
liberties including speech, press, assembly, association, movement, and 
privacy; severe restrictions on freedom of religion; official 
corruption; lack of government transparency; violence and legal and 
societal discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities, 
and homosexuals; trafficking in persons; incitement to anti-Semitism; 
severe restriction of workers' rights, including freedom of association 
and the right to organize and bargain collectively; and child labor. On 
December 19, for the fourth consecutive year, the UN General Assembly 
adopted a resolution expressing detailed, serious concern over the 
country's human rights problems.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports 
of executions after unfair trials. Exiles and human rights monitors 
alleged that many of those supposedly executed for criminal offenses, 
such as narcotics trafficking, were political dissidents.
    The law criminalized dissent and applied the death penalty to 
offenses such as apostasy, ``attempts against the security of the 
State, outrage against high-ranking officials, and insults against the 
memory of Imam Khomeini and against the Supreme Leader of the Islamic 
Republic.''
    On January 24, according to domestic press reports, two bombs 
exploded in the city of Ahvaz, in the ethnic Arab majority province of 
Khuzestan, with as many as nine dead and 40 wounded. On January 28 and 
February 28, there were further bombings but no casualties reported. 
The violence came amid social unrest that began with the April 2005 
publication of a letter, claimed by the Government to be a forgery, 
alleging government plans to reduce the percentage of the Ahvazi-Arab 
population in the province. The bombings follow similar bombings in 
June and October 2005.
    Government officials initially blamed ``foreign governments'' for 
the bombings, but on June 8, the revolutionary court in Khuzestan 
announced death sentences for nine ethnic Arabs in connection with the 
bombings. On March 2, authorities executed Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali 
Afrawi for their involvement in the 2005 bombings. Afrawi was a minor 
at the time according to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty 
International (AI). On November 9, authorities in Khuzestan confirmed 
the sentences of execution of an additional 10 ethnic Arabs in 
connection with the January and February bombings. All sentences were 
imposed following secret trials that the international NGO Human Rights 
Watch (HRW) said could not be considered to meet international 
standards (see section 1.e.). According to an AI report, three of the 
accused bombers were executed on December 19 in a Khuzestan provincial 
prison.
    On May 11, according to HRW, authorities executed Majid Segound and 
Masoud Naghi Biranvand, both of whom were age 17 at the time of their 
execution.
    The Government responded forcibly to weeks of demonstrations by 
members of the ethnic Azeri minority, which protested a May 19 
newspaper cartoon viewed as offensive to the Azeri population. The 
Government initially denied any protesters were killed, but on May 28 a 
police official acknowledged that four were killed and 43 injured in 
the northwestern town of Naqaba.
    On July 31, student protester Akbar Mohammadi died in Evin Prison 
following medical complications related to a hunger strike. Police 
first arrested Mohammadi following his participation in July 1999 
student demonstrations to protest government closure of newspapers. 
Authorities reportedly denied Mohammadi's parents permission to see 
their son's body and did not respond to calls for an independent 
investigation into the cause of death.
    In November 2005 an appeals court ordered the case involving the 
death of Zahra Kazemi, a dual-national Iranian-Canadian citizen, to be 
reopened; however, at year's end there was no progress and the case 
remained under review. Kazemi, a photojournalist, was arrested for 
taking pictures while outside Evin Prison in Tehran during student-led 
protests. She died in custody in 2003 after allegedly being tortured. 
Authorities admitted that she died as a result of a blow to the head. 
In June the Kazemi family filed a civil case against the Iranian 
government in Canadian courts.
    According to a 2005 AI report, during the previous 15 years there 
were reports of at least eight evangelical Christians killed in the 
country (see section 2.c.).
    During the year there was no statement altering the Islamic 
Revolution Guards Corps's (IRGC) February 2005 announcement that 
Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 religious decree calling for the killing of 
author Salman Rushdie remained in effect.
    There was no further action on the killing of strikers in 2004, the 
killings and disappearances reported by the Special Representative for 
Iran of the Commission on Human Rights (UNSR) in 2001, or the killings 
of members of religious minorities following the revolution.

    b. Disappearance.--Little reliable information was available 
regarding the number of disappearances during the year.
    There were no developments in the October 2005 case of journalist 
Massoumeh Babapour, found barely alive after being abducted and 
repeatedly stabbed, after threats calling her an atheist and claiming 
religious authorities had sentenced her to death.
    According to an AI report in 2005, between 15 and 23 evangelical 
Christians were reportedly missing or ``disappeared'' during the past 
15 years.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits torture for the purposes of 
extracting a confession or acquiring information. In 2004 the judiciary 
announced a ban on torture, and the Majles passed related legislation, 
approved by the Guardian Council. Nevertheless, there were numerous 
credible reports that security forces and prison personnel tortured 
detainees and prisoners.
    In June the Government sent Saeed Mortazavi, the Tehran general 
prosecutor, to represent the country at the opening of the UN Human 
Rights Council. Mortazavi was accused by human rights groups of grave 
human rights abuses, including murder and torture, and was reportedly 
involved in the 2003 killing of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi 
(see section 1.a.).
    In October the Government sent Interior Minister Mostafa 
Purmohammadi as its representative at the Tri-Partite Commission of 
Iran, Afghanistan, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva. 
Purmohammadi has a history of human rights abuses, including 
participation in the 1988 mass execution of several thousand political 
prisoners at Evin Prison and the 1998 murders of writers and dissidents 
throughout the country.
    The penal code provides for the stoning, or lapidation, of women 
and men convicted of adultery. In 2002 the head of the judiciary 
announced a moratorium on stoning but reportedly ended the moratorium 
in August. Prior to August there were reports of judges handing down 
the sentence. On May 7, according to AI a woman, Mahboubeh Mohammadi, 
and a man, Abbas Hajizadeh, were stoned to death in the northeastern 
city of Mashhad. A court convicted the pair of adultery and the murder 
of Mohammadi's husband.
    In June 2005 a court sentenced a man to have his eyes surgically 
removed. According to human rights specialists, such sentences were 
rarely implemented; rather they were used as leverage to set ``blood 
money.'' Nonetheless, in November 2005, domestic press reported prison 
authorities amputated the left foot of a convicted armed robber.
    In 2004 AI reported that it had documented evidence of ``white 
torture,'' a form of sensory deprivation. Amir Abbas Fakhravar, a 
political prisoner, was sent to the ``125'' detention center, 
controlled by the revolutionary guards. According to AI his cell had no 
windows, and the walls and his clothes were white. His meals consisted 
of white rice on white plates. To use the toilet, he had to put a white 
piece of paper under the door. He was forbidden to speak, and the 
guards reportedly wore shoes that muffled sound. The UN Special 
Rapporteur on Torture listed sensory deprivation among the techniques 
constituting torture.
    In July 2005 according to domestic press, Abbas Ali Alizadeh, the 
head of the Tehran judiciary and head of the supervisory and inspection 
committee to safeguard civil rights, provided Tehran Judiciary Chief 
Mahmud Ali Hashemi-Shahrudi with a detailed report as a follow-up to 
Shahrudi's directive on respect for citizens' rights. This unreleased 
report was described in detail in the media and outlined abusive human 
rights practices in prisons, including blindfolding and beating 
suspects, and leaving detainees in a state of uncertainty.
    Also in July 2005, according to domestic press, the deputy national 
police commander for criminal investigation said police would 
investigate any reports of torture. He said torture was not only 
against regulations, but that forensic and scientific advances have 
made torture unnecessary. Nevertheless, its existence in the criminal 
investigation departments was undeniable.
    The Government relied on ``special units'' (yegan ha-ye vizhe), to 
complement the existing morality police, called ``Enjoining the Good 
and Prohibiting the Forbidden'' (Amr be Ma'ruf va Nahi az Monkar) in an 
effort to combat ``un-Islamic behavior'' and social corruption among 
the young. These auxiliaries were to assist in enforcing the Islamic 
Republic's strict rules of moral behavior. Credible press reports 
indicated members of this morality force chased and beat persons in the 
streets for offenses such as listening to music or, in the case of 
women, wearing makeup or clothing regarded as insufficiently modest or 
being accompanied by unrelated men (see section 1.f.).
    According to a December 21 AI report, a woman identified as 
``Parisa'' received 99 lashes in December, a reduction of the original 
sentence of death by stoning for adultery.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions in the 
country were poor. Many prisoners were held in solitary confinement or 
denied adequate food or medical care to force confessions. After its 
2003 visit, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions reported that 
``for the first time since its establishment, [the working group] has 
been confronted with a strategy of widespread use of solitary 
confinement for its own sake and not for traditional disciplinary 
purposes.'' The working group described Sector 209 of Evin Prison as a 
``prison within a prison,'' designed for the ``systematic, large-scale 
use of absolute solitary confinement, frequently for long periods.''
    In March 2005 the UK-based International Center for Prison Studies 
reported that 142,851 prisoners occupied facilities constructed to hold 
a maximum of 65,000 persons. In May official statistics from the State 
Prison Organization put the number of prisoners at 147,926.
    Some prison facilities, including Tehran's Evin Prison, were 
notorious for cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents of the 
Government. Additionally, in recent years authorities have severely 
abused and tortured prisoners in a series of ``unofficial'' secret 
prisons and detention centers outside the national prison system. 
Common methods included prolonged solitary confinement with sensory 
deprivation, beatings, long confinement in contorted positions, kicking 
detainees with military boots, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, 
threats of execution if individuals refused to confess, burning with 
cigarettes, sleep deprivation, and severe and repeated beatings with 
cables or other instruments on the back and on the soles of the feet. 
Prisoners also reported beatings about the ears, inducing partial or 
complete deafness; punching the area around the eyes, leading to 
partial or complete blindness; and the use of poison to induce illness. 
Human rights activists and domestic press reported cases of political 
prisoners confined in the same prison wing as violent felons. There are 
allegations that the authorities deliberately incarcerated nonviolent 
offenders with violent offenders anticipating that they would be 
killed. HRW noted that student activists were physically tortured more 
than dissident critics from within the system. It also noted physical 
abuse in the presence of high-level judges.
    In May 2005 Judiciary Chief Shahrudi reportedly complained about 
security forces' treatment of some detainees. He said judges must 
conduct interrogations, and confessions obtained without a judge 
present were inadmissible. During the year there were no further 
official remarks enforcing Shahrudi's statement.
    In 2005 the Tehran province judiciary tasked its branches to 
address and compile complaints about civil rights violations and 
reportedly received 143 complaints, including one concerning a person 
jailed since 1989 without a conviction or indication of criminal 
record. In the unreleased report described by domestic press in July 
2005, the judiciary's committee, called the Supervising and Inspection 
Committee for Preserving Citizens' Rights, reported visiting detention 
centers of the police security, criminal, and intelligence departments, 
and army security and intelligence departments to assess the condition 
of detainees, sanitation, visiting procedures, and procedures used to 
summon and arrest suspects. In its findings the judiciary committee 
noted unjustified arrests without warrants. It said the IRGC 
intelligence department detention center would not allow the committee 
to enter its facility. The report also called for an investigation of 
suicides by female inmates in Rajai'i Shahr Prison. The committee 
report stated every military camp or intelligence or security 
department had its own detention center, in defiance of the judiciary 
head's directive. Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) 
facilities operated without the required oversight of the Government's 
prisons organization. The committee found serious problems in a wide 
range of detention centers, jails, drug control centers, and prisons, 
including Section 209 at Evin Prison and the Tehran Revolutionary 
Court.
    The committee reported that, contrary to instructions from the 
judiciary head on size of a detention area, some suspects had been held 
for eight or nine months in much smaller spaces. The report noted 
torture and solitary confinement in detention centers and claimed it 
had taken steps to resolve the issue. The report stated that 
confessions obtained under duress were legally invalid. The committee 
also called for investigations into possible violations committed 
against arrested and detained girls and women.
    Later in 2005 Tehran Judiciary head Alizadeh claimed the problems 
cited in the report were resolved, upon the order of the judiciary, and 
the ``culprits were presented to authorities.'' government spokesman 
Abdullah Ramezanzadeh praised the report and said the Defense and 
Information Ministries were expected to turn over names of those 
responsible for torture to the judiciary. However, there was no 
indication during the year that anyone was held responsible for the 
abuses cited in the report.
    In July 2005 the Secretary General of the Administration of Justice 
of Tehran said in an interview that, following investigation into 
prison conditions and corrective actions, every prison cell had an 
average of 12 square meters, and all detention centers were now under 
the supervision of the State Prison Organization of prisons.
    Separately, in 2005 the judiciary spokesman called the allegations 
in the committee's report complete falsehoods. He said the report's 
claim of unlawful detention centers administered contrary to prison 
regulations and in which defendants are blindfolded and beaten was 
untrue.
    Judiciary Chief Shahrudi in 2005 also asked the judiciary to 
investigate reports of abuse of Internet writers, arrested in 2004 (see 
section 1.e.). The judiciary's report also was not released; and 
although it was acknowledged that some were abused, there was no 
information that anyone was held accountable.
    In May 2005 Shahrudi directed that convicts imprisoned for lesser 
offenses and gravely ill prisoners should be given parole for three 
months; the directive's implementation was unknown.
    In September 2005 Shahrudi issued new sentencing guidelines under 
which minor offenders would be fined and receive punishments other than 
imprisonment. This change was reportedly due in part to prison 
overcrowding; it is not known whether the change was implemented. 
According to HRW most prisoners were eligible for release after serving 
half of their sentences.
    The Government generally has granted prison access only to the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); however, in June 
Justice Minister Jamal Karimirad allowed a group of foreign and local 
journalists to tour Evin Prison. BBC reported that, according to prison 
officials, there are 2,575 men and 375 women in Evin Prison. Reporters 
were denied access to well-known prisoners. Some others with whom they 
spoke complained that their cases had not come to trial or that they 
had been awaiting a verdict for months.
    In 2004 HRW documented a number of unofficial prisons and detention 
centers such as ``Prison 59'' and ``Amaken,'' an interrogation center 
where persons are held without charge, questioned intensively for 
prolonged periods, physically abused, and tortured.
    In 2003 the UNSR of the Commission on Human Rights reported that 
prisoner abuse occurred frequently in unofficial detention centers run 
by unofficial intelligence services and the military. The UN Working 
Group on Arbitrary Detention raised this issue with the country's 
Article 90 parliamentary commission during its 2003 visit, generating a 
commission inquiry that reportedly confirmed the existence of numerous 
unofficial prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, these practices remained 
common.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Several agencies share 
responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order, including the 
MOIS, the Law Enforcement Forces under the Interior Ministry, and the 
IRGC. A paramilitary volunteer force known as the Basij and various 
informal groups known as the Ansar-e Hizballah (Helpers of the Party of 
God) aligned with extreme conservative members of the leadership and 
acted as vigilantes. The size of the Basij is disputed, with officials 
citing anywhere from 11 to 20 million, and a 2005 Western study 
claiming there were 90,000 active members and up to 300,000 reservists.
    Corruption was a problem; however, more so in the revolutionary 
courts than in the criminal and civil courts. Many police officers were 
also corrupt. Civilian authorities did not fully maintain effective 
control of the security forces. The regular and paramilitary security 
forces both committed numerous, serious human rights abuses. According 
to a 2004 HRW report, the Government's use of plainclothes security 
agents to intimidate political critics became more institutionalized 
since 2000. They were increasingly armed, violent, and well equipped, 
and they engaged in assault, theft, and illegal seizures and 
detentions.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and penal code require 
warrants or subpoenas for arrests and also state the arrested person 
must be informed of charges within 24 hours; however, these safeguards 
rarely occurred in practice. Detainees often went weeks or months 
without charges or trial; frequently were denied prompt contact with 
family; and often were denied access to legal representation for 
prolonged periods. Bail was often set at extremely high levels, even 
for lesser crimes. Detainees and their families are often compelled to 
submit property deeds in order to post bail; many cannot afford to post 
bail.
    In practice there is neither a legal time limit for incommunicado 
detention nor any judicial means to determine the legality of the 
detention. In the period immediately following detention or arrest, 
many detainees were held incommunicado and denied access to lawyers and 
family members.
    Security forces often did not inform family members of a prisoner's 
welfare and location. Authorities often denied visits by family members 
and legal counsel. Prisoners released on bail did not always know how 
long their property would be retained or when their trials would be 
held. In addition families of executed prisoners did not always receive 
notification of their deaths. On occasion the Government forced family 
members to pay to retrieve the body of their relative.
    The December 19 resolution on the country's human rights situation 
in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) expressed serious concern about the 
use of arbitrary arrest, targeted at both individuals and their family 
members.
    On January 28, authorities reportedly arrested several hundred 
members of a Tehran bus drivers' syndicate, along with some family 
members, who were demonstrating for labor rights. Family members and 
some workers were released, but several hundred were reportedly still 
held in Evin Prison at year's end.
    On February 13, officials in the city of Qom arrested as many as 
1,200 Sufi worshippers in a clash that left more than 100 injured (see 
section 2.c).
    On June 14, human rights lawyer Saleh Kamrani, a member of the 
country's Azeri ethnic minority, was detained without charge and taken 
into government custody (see section 1.e). Charged with ``propaganda 
against the system,'' according to AI, he was tried on September 13 and 
sentenced to one year's imprisonment. The sentence was suspended for 
five years, and he was released on September 18.
    In September according to AI, at least nine Azeri Iranians were 
arrested following demonstrations calling for a school boycott in the 
Northwest. Azeri Iranians were protesting for their constitutional 
right to use the Azeri language in schools (see section 5).
    On September 26, authorities arrested and detained a Christian 
couple, Reza Montazami and Fereshteh Dibaj, without charge. They were 
released on October 5 (see section 2.c.).
    On October 3, authorities arrested Hessam Firouzi, a doctor who 
treated student activist Ahmad Batebi prior to Batebi's re-arrest (see 
section 1.e.). Firouzi's wife reported that authorities took him to 
Evin Prison without filing charges against him; however, he was 
reportedly released on October 5.
    In recent years the Government has used house arrest to restrict 
the movements and ability to communicate of senior Shi'a religious 
leaders whose views regarding political and governance issues were at 
variance with the ruling orthodoxy; however, there were no new 
instances of this practice publicly reported during the year.
    Numerous publishers, editors, and journalists (including those 
working on Internet sites) were detained, jailed, tortured, and fined, 
or they were prohibited from publishing their writings during the year 
(see sections 1.e. and 2.a.).
    Adherents of the Baha'i faith continued to face arbitrary arrest 
and detention (see section 2.c.).

    Amnesty.--According to domestic press, the Government commuted 
sentences of over 13,000 prisoners during 2005 to mark Muslim and 
national holidays.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides that the 
judiciary is ``an independent power''; however, in practice the court 
system was subject to government and religious influence. After the 
1979 revolution, the judicial system was revised to conform to an 
Islamic canon based on the Koran, Sunna (the traditions of the 
Prophet), and other Islamic sources. The constitution provides that the 
head of the judiciary shall be a cleric chosen by the supreme leader. 
The head of the Supreme Court and Prosecutor-General also must be 
clerics. Women are barred from serving as certain types of judges.
    There are several court systems. The two most active are the 
traditional courts, which adjudicate civil and criminal offenses, and 
the Islamic revolutionary courts. The latter try offenses viewed as 
potentially threatening to the Islamic Republic, including threats to 
internal or external security, narcotics and economic crimes, and 
official corruption. A special clerical court examines alleged 
transgressions within the clerical establishment, and a military court 
investigates crimes connected with military or security duties. A press 
court hears complaints against publishers, editors, and writers. The 
Supreme Court has limited review authority.
    HRW noted in a 2004 report that the judiciary was at the core of 
suppressing political dissent and that, in practice, it violated due 
process rights at every level, including the right to be promptly 
charged; have access to legal counsel; be tried before a competent, 
independent, and impartial court in a public hearing; and have right of 
appeal. Detainees were often not clear of their legal status. Numerous 
observers considered Tehran Public Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi the most 
notorious persecutor of political dissidents and critics.
    According to the civil code, persons under 18 years of age may be 
prosecuted for crimes as adults, without special procedures, and may be 
imprisoned with adults. The age of criminal responsibility is set at 15 
years for males and nine years for females. As a party to the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention 
on the Rights of the Child, the country is obligated not to execute 
persons for crimes committed when they were younger than 18. However, 
reports indicated that during the year the Government tried persons 
under the age of 18, including Ali Afrawi, who was reported to have 
been 17 years old at the time of his trial and execution in March (see 
section 1.a.).
    In September two men, Sina Paymard and Ali Alijan, were scheduled 
to be executed for crimes they committed before the age of 18; however, 
both received reprieves from the victims' families, who were permitted 
under law to seek blood money in lieu of the death penalty.
    In January 2005 government officials told the UN Committee on the 
Rights of the Child that for many years there had been a moratorium on 
the death penalty for persons under 18. During the same month, 
according to credible reports, a man was executed for a crime committed 
when he was 17. According to an HRW report, during the year 30 
juveniles were on death row.
    In 2004 20 local human rights groups called on the judiciary not to 
sentence minors to death. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi 
sought permission to hold a demonstration regarding this issue, but the 
authorities denied her request. In 2005 UNGA adopted a resolution 
denouncing the country's practice of executing minors, and the UN 
Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the country to suspend 
execution of juvenile offenders. On December 19, the UNGA again adopted 
a similar resolution.

    Trial Procedures.--Many aspects of the prerevolutionary judicial 
system survive in the civil and criminal courts. For example, in theory 
defendants have the right to a public trial, a lawyer of their choice, 
and right of appeal. Panels of judges adjudicate trials. There is no 
jury system in the civil and criminal courts; however, in the press 
court a council of 11 persons specifically selected by the court 
adjudicates the case. If postrevolutionary statutes do not address a 
situation, the Government advises judges to give precedence to their 
knowledge and interpretation of Islamic law.
    According to the law, defendants are entitled to a presumption of 
innocence, but this often does not occur in practice. Trials are 
supposed to be open to the public; however, frequently they are closed 
without access to a lawyer. The right to appeal is often denied.
    UN representatives, including the U.S., the UN Working Group on 
Arbitrary Detention, and independent human rights organizations noted 
the absence of procedural safeguards in criminal trials. The December 
19 UNGA resolution on the country's human rights expressed serious 
concern about ``the persistent failure to comply fully with 
international standards in the administration of justice.''
    Trials in the revolutionary courts were notorious for their 
disregard of international standards of fairness. Revolutionary court 
judges were chosen in part due to their ideological commitment to the 
system. Pretrial detention often was prolonged, and defendants lacked 
access to attorneys. Authorities often charged individuals with 
relatively undefined crimes, such as ``anti-revolutionary behavior,'' 
``moral corruption,'' and ``siding with global arrogance.'' Defendants 
did not have the right to confront their accusers. Secret or summary 
trials of five minutes' duration occurred frequently. Other trials were 
deliberately designed to publicize a coerced confession, and there were 
allegations of corruption.
    The legitimacy of the special clerical court system continued to be 
subject to debate. The clerical courts, which investigate offenses and 
crimes committed by clerics and which are overseen directly by the 
supreme leader, are not provided by the constitution and operated 
outside the domain of the judiciary. In particular, critics alleged 
clerical courts were used to prosecute clerics for expressing 
controversial ideas and participating in activities outside the sphere 
of religion, such as journalism. The recommendations of the 2003 UN 
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention included a call to abolish both 
the special clerical courts and the revolutionary courts.
    In its 2003 report, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 
noted failures of due process in the court system caused by the absence 
of a ``culture of counsel'' and the previous concentration of authority 
in the hands of a judge who prosecuted, investigated, and decided 
cases.
    In 2004 a Tehran Justice Department official alleged that the 
Government tried and sentenced fugitive al-Qa'ida members detained in 
the country. The Government did not identify those convicted, the 
verdicts, or their sentences and provided no further information during 
the year.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--In April 2004 then-President 
Khatami stated that ``absolutely, we do have political prisoners and 
people who are in prison for their beliefs.'' However, no accurate 
estimates were available regarding the number of citizens imprisoned 
for their political beliefs. In 2003 the UN Special Representative for 
the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Expression and 
Opinion estimated the number to be in the hundreds. Although there were 
few details, the Government has reportedly arrested, convicted, and 
executed persons on questionable criminal charges, including drug 
trafficking, when their actual ``offenses'' were political. The 
Government has charged members of religious minorities with crimes such 
as ``confronting the regime'' and apostasy and conducted trials in 
these cases in the same manner as threats to national security. 
Political prisoners occasionally were given suspended sentences or 
released for short or extended furloughs prior to completion of their 
sentences, but could be ordered to prison at any time. Political 
activists were also controlled by having a file placed in the courts 
that could be opened at any time. There were also reports during the 
year that the Intelligence Ministry pressured families of political 
prisoners, banning them from speaking to foreign press and blocking 
their telephone conversations.
    There was no information that authorities took any action on 
Judiciary Chief Shahrudi's 2005 reported order for investigations of 
political prisoner cases or leaves of absence for imprisoned students.
    There were reports that some persons have been held in prison for 
years and charged with sympathizing with outlawed groups, such as the 
domestic terrorist organization, the Mujahedin-e- Khalq (MEK).
    On March 18, Akbar Ganji, a former IRGC leader turned political 
activist and journalist, was released from prison. Ganji was imprisoned 
in 2000 in connection with his reports linking the Government to the 
``serial murders'' of 80 dissidents in the country and abroad. He was 
sentenced in 2001 to six years in prison on charges including acting 
against national security and spreading propaganda. He received a one-
month furlough for medical treatment in 2005 and subsequently went on a 
70-day hunger strike to protest his detention. After his release he was 
allowed to travel abroad.
    On April 25, authorities arrested philosopher and scholar Ramin 
Jahanbegloo for ``acting against national security and having contacts 
with foreigners'' and held him at Evin Prison. A media campaign called 
for his release, including statements from human rights organizations, 
prominent international scholars, and Western governments. Jahanbegloo 
was released from prison on or about August 30 and allowed to travel 
abroad.
    On June 3, according to Azerbaijani press reports, ethnic Azeri 
activist Abbas Lisani was arrested following a protest demonstration. 
Lisani was reportedly charged with ``holding rallies against the state 
system.'' He was reportedly released on September 26 but re-arrested on 
November 1. Lisani received a one-year prison sentence for ``spreading 
antigovernment propaganda'' and at year's end was in prison in the 
northwestern province of Ardabil.
    On June 12, authorities arrested former Majles deputy and human 
rights activist Ali Akbar Musavi Khoini, who was reportedly taken to 
Evin Prison and held without charge. Khoini, who had been attending a 
women's rights protest when he was detained, was a critic of the 
Government during his 2000-04 term of office, protesting the 
Government's human rights abuses, prison conditions, and the lack of 
fair trials. Authorities permitted Khoini to attend a memorial service 
for his father on September 21, where he told the crowd that he was 
being tortured and pressured to ``repent'' for his criticisms of the 
Government. Observers at the service told HRW that Khoini had visible 
bruises. On October 15, he was released on bail.
    On June 14, the Government detained Azeri-Iranian human rights 
lawyer Saleh Kamrani without charge. Kamrani reportedly defended 
several individuals, including ethnic Azeri activist Abbas Lisani, who 
were arrested during the May demonstrations in the ethnic-Azeri 
majority region of the Northwest (see section 1.a.). Kamrani's family 
received no information on his whereabouts for several days but later 
learned that he was detained in Evin Prison. Kamrani was released from 
Evin on September 18, according to AI.
    On July 27, authorities re-arrested student activist Ahmad Batebi, 
who had been released from prison for medical treatment in 2005. On 
October 15, they released him again after he posted an approximately 
$325,000 (300-million toman) bail, but he was returned to custody by 
October 17, according to his father. Officials gave no justification 
for Batebi's re-arrests. According to his wife, at the time of his re-
arrest, Batebi warned that he would go on a hunger strike, a tactic 
often used by political prisoners as a protest. Batebi was involved in 
the 1999 Tehran student protest, and his photo was published in several 
international news outlets, illustrating the protests. Subsequently, 
Batebi was sentenced to death in 1999, a sentence that was commuted to 
15 years in prison. Batebi reportedly was severely beaten and harshly 
interrogated while in prison and consequently suffered from health 
problems. At year's end Batebi was in Evin Prison.
    On September 16, Internet writer Mojtaba Saminejad was reportedly 
released from prison. Saminejad was arrested in February 2005 and 
sentenced to more than two years in prison on charges that included 
insulting the supreme leader. He was first detained in 2004 after 
reporting the arrest of other Internet writers and, according to HRW, 
tortured and held for 88 days in solitary confinement. In January 2005 
he was released on $62,500 (50 million toman) bail. Saminejad started 
another Internet site but was detained again, and his bail tripled, 
which he could not pay. His trial in May 2005 was held behind closed 
doors.
    In October student activist Manuchehr Mohammadi fled the country 
while on furlough from Evin Prison. Mohammadi was sentenced to 13 years 
in prison, following involvement in the July 1999 Tehran student 
protests. He is the brother of activist Akbar Mohammadi, who died in 
custody on July 31 (see section 1.a.).
    On October 8, police arrested dissident cleric Ayatollah Mohammad 
Kazemeini Boroujerdi at his home, after dispersing hundreds of his 
followers who had gathered there. Boroujerdi reportedly came under 
increased pressure from the Government for urging separation of 
religion from politics. According to press reports, over 70 of his 
supporters were arrested in late September and early October. 
Boroujerdi has reportedly been arrested and imprisoned several times 
since 1992 and has claimed that he was tortured and threatened with 
execution (see section 2.c.). At year's end there was no update on this 
case.
    In July 2005 while acting as an attorney for the accused, Abdol 
Fattah Soltani was accused of espionage. Soltani's lawyer, human rights 
specialist Mohammad Dadkhah, and HRW claimed the reason for his arrest 
was his work in the investigation into the death of Zahra Kazemi. On 
July 18, the Tehran Revolutionary Court acquitted Soltani of espionage 
but convicted him of ``disclosing classified information'' and 
``spreading propaganda against the system,'' according to domestic 
press reports. Soltani was sentenced to four years in prison and five 
years deprivation of his ``social rights.''
    Police arrested journalist Siamak Pourzand in 2001 and tried him in 
March 2002 behind closed doors. He was denied free access to a lawyer 
of his choice and was sentenced to 11 years in prison for ``undermining 
state security through his links with monarchists and 
counterrevolutionaries.'' After repeated hospitalizations followed by 
reimprisonment, Pourzand was furloughed again in 2004 and remained 
under house arrest at year's end.
    In July 2005 police arrested journalist Massoud Bastani for 
covering a demonstration to support political prisoner Akbar Ganji. 
Bastani was held in Evin Prison, released in August 2005, then 
reimprisoned and sent to Arak prison, normally used for nonpolitical 
prisoners. He was released on furlough in September 2005 but returned 
to prison the next month. In December 2005 the head of the Association 
of Iranian Journalists called for Bastani's release and said he was in 
poor health. In September an Internet source said he remained in 
prison.
    Arjang Davoudi was arrested in 2003 for assisting a Canadian 
reporter making a documentary about Canadian-Iranian photojournalist 
Zahra Kazemi. In 2005 he was condemned by a revolutionary court to 
either 14 or 15 years in jail; reportedly he was beaten and kept in 
solitary confinement for approximately 100 days. Davoudi wrote a book 
from prison about his ordeal and had his manuscript privately delivered 
to a publishing company. According to one report, the Information 
Ministry prevented the book's publication by violence against the 
publisher and its employees. At year's end he was believed to be in 
internal exile in Bandar Abbas.
    In 2004 Peyman Piran, a student activist, was sentenced to 10 years 
in prison for acting against national security, contacting foreigners, 
disturbing public opinion, and behaving insultingly. In 2004 security 
forces also forcibly evicted his father, retired teacher Mostafa Piran, 
and his family. Mostafa Piran was reportedly beaten and held in 
solitary confinement in July 2004 for his attempt to organize a 
teachers' strike to mark the anniversary of the July 1999 student 
demonstrations, in defiance of a ban. Mostafa was released in March 
2005, but Peyman remained in Evin Prison. There was no additional 
verified information on Peyman Piran at year's end.
    Behruz Javid-Tehrani, a member of the Democratic Party of Iran, was 
first arrested in 1999 and spent four years in prison. He was then re-
arrested in July 2004 and condemned to seven years in prison and 54 
lashes. In August 2005 it was reported that he was held in solitary 
confinement for three months and had told relatives that he was 
severely beaten. As of July he reportedly remained in Evin prison.
    In December 2004 student leader Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, jailed 
since June 2003, was sentenced by the revolutionary court to 16 years 
in prison. He was temporarily furloughed in August 2005; however, in 
July according to AI, he was in Evin Prison.
    In November 2004 local press reported that after an early October 
2005 trial, a Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced former foreign 
minister Ebrahim Yazdi, leader of the banned Freedom Movement 
opposition party, to an unspecified but long imprisonment, based on 
charges of actions against national security, insulting the supreme 
leader, and other charges. At year's end Yazdi was not in prison, but 
his court case remained pending. He registered as a Presidential 
candidate in the 2005 elections, but the Guardian Council rejected his 
candidacy.
    Former deputy prime minister Abbas Amir-Entezam, imprisoned for 26 
years, was reported to be on leave from prison at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary is nominally 
independent from the executive and legislative branches but remained 
under the influence of executive and religious government authorities. 
The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader, who in 
turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public 
prosecutor. According to the constitution, under the supervision of the 
head of the judiciary, the Court of Administrative Justice investigates 
the grievances of citizens with regard to government officials, organs, 
and statutes. In practice, however, citizens' ability to sue the 
Government is limited. It appeared that 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 either illicitly or in a manner not in 
conformance with Islamic law. The UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on 
Adequate Housing noted religious minorities, including members of the 
Baha'i faith, were particularly affected. The U.S.'s June report noted 
the ``abusive use of [the law] is seen as an instrument for 
confiscating property of individuals as a form of retribution for their 
political and/or religious beliefs.'' The report noted documentation of 
approximately 640 Baha'i properties confiscated since 1980, instances 
of numerous undocumented cases, and court verdicts declaring 
confiscation of property from the ``evil sect of the Baha'i'' legally 
and religiously justifiable. Rights of members of the Baha'i faith were 
not recognized under the constitution, and they have no avenue to seek 
restitution of or compensation for confiscated property.

    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''; however, the Government infringed on these rights. 
Security forces monitored the social activities of citizens, entered 
homes and offices, monitored telephone conversations, and opened mail 
without court authorization. There were widespread reports that the 
homes and offices of reformist journalists were entered, searched, or 
ransacked by government agents in an attempt to intimidate.
    Vigilante violence included attacking young persons considered too 
``un-Islamic'' in their dress or activities, invading private homes, 
abusing unmarried couples, and disrupting concerts. At year's end there 
was no systematic campaign, although greater enforcement was reported 
on university campuses.
    Authorities entered homes to remove television satellite dishes, 
although the vast majority of satellite dishes in individual homes 
continued to operate. Beginning in August there were press reports that 
the Government increased its confiscation of satellite dishes. Early in 
2004 Western media reported that Islamist militia confiscated 
approximately 40,000 satellite dishes from four factories secretly 
manufacturing satellite equipment in eastern Tehran (see section 2.a.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of expression and the press, within limits. Article 23 of the 
constitution states ``investigation of individuals' beliefs is 
forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for 
holding a certain belief.'' Article 24 of the constitution states 
``publications and the press have freedom of expression except when it 
is detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the rights of 
the public.'' At the same time, the penal code states that ``anyone who 
undertakes any form of propaganda against the state'' can be imprisoned 
up to a year. The law does not define ``propaganda.'' The press law 
forbids censorship but also forbids disseminating information that may 
damage the Islamic Republic or offend its leaders and religious 
authorities. It also subjects writers to prosecution for instigating 
crimes against the state or ``insulting'' Islam; the latter offense is 
punishable by death.
    In practice the Government severely restricted freedom of speech 
and of the press. The Culture Ministry must grant permission to publish 
any book, and it inspects foreign printed materials prior to their 
domestic release. According to the Tehran-based Association for 
Advocating Freedom of Press, state pressure on journalists increased 
after President Ahmadinejad assumed office in August 2005. Journalists 
were frequently threatened and sometimes killed as a consequence of 
their work. The December 19 UNGA resolution on human rights in the 
country expressed, among other abuses, serious concern about the 
continuing harassment, intimidation, and persecution of student 
activists, human rights defenders, NGOs, clerics, journalists and 
Internet writers, parliamentarians, students, and academics. It cited 
unjustified closure of newspapers and blocking Internet sites.
    Basic legal safeguards for freedom of expression did not exist, and 
the independent press was subjected to arbitrary enforcement measures 
by elements of the Government, notably the judiciary. During 2005 
approximately 100 newspapers and magazines were closed for varying 
periods. Self-censorship, even more than formal governmental 
censorship, limited dissemination of information during the year.
    The Government, through a state-controlled entity called the Sound 
and Vision Organization, directly controlled and maintained a monopoly 
over all television and radio broadcasting facilities; programming 
reflected the Government's political and socioreligious ideology. 
Because newspapers and other print media had a limited circulation 
outside large cities, radio and television served as the principal news 
source for many citizens. Satellite dishes that received foreign 
television broadcasts were forbidden; however, many citizens owned 
them, particularly the wealthy.
    Beginning in August the Government increased confiscation of 
illegal satellite dishes in homes (see section 1.d.). The Government 
blocked foreign satellite transmissions using powerful jamming signals 
in the past. Separately, the Government ruled private broadcasting 
illegal; cooperation with private broadcasting was also illegal.
    Foreign journalists faced harassment. The Government required 
foreign correspondents to provide detailed travel plans and proposed 
stories before receiving visas. They were also required to hire 
``fixers'' inside the country at high cost. Some were denied visas.
    The 1985 press law established the Press Supervisory Board, which 
is responsible for issuing press licenses and examining complaints 
filed against publications or individual journalists, editors, or 
publishers. In certain cases the board may refer complaints to the 
press court for further action, including closure. Its hearings were 
conducted in public with a jury composed of clerics, government 
officials, and editors of government-controlled newspapers.
    The press law also allows government entities to act as 
complainants against newspapers, and often public officials lodged 
criminal complaints against reformist newspapers that led to their 
closures. Offending writers were subjected to lawsuits and fines. 
During the year there were numerous closures of newspapers and other 
press outlets, as well as arrests of journalists.
    Some human rights groups asserted that the increasingly 
conservative press court assumed responsibility for cases before press 
supervisory board consideration, often resulting in harsher judgments. 
Efforts to amend the press laws have not succeeded, although in 2003 
parliament passed a law limiting the duration of temporary press bans 
to stop the practice of extending ``temporary'' bans indefinitely.
    After the 1997 election of President Khatami, the independent 
press, especially newspapers and magazines, played an increasingly 
important role in providing a forum for debate over reform in the 
society. However, the press law prohibited the publication of a broad 
and ill-defined category of subjects, including material ``insulting 
Islam.''
    In the early part of the year, at least two student activists 
affiliated with the reformist student group Office for Consolidation of 
Unity (OSU) were expelled from their universities by the Education 
Ministry. The OSU in particular reported harassment and detention of 
its members by government authorities, often plainclothes security 
forces. Students reported facing disciplinary committees, courts, and 
even jail sentences related to their activities in student political 
groups. Student groups reported interference with their activities and 
with student elections. Several liberal and reform-minded professors 
were dismissed or forced to retire. On May 31, plainclothes security 
forces detained Abdullah Momeni, a spokesman for the OSU. The previous 
week the Government detained two students at the Amir Kabir University 
in Tehran, blogger Abed Tavanche, and fellow student Yashar Qajar, of 
the Islamic Students Union. Tavanche and Qajar were held without charge 
and released at the end of July.
    In January the Ministry of Intelligence and Security and the 
Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance jointly instructed the semi-
official news outlets Iranian Student News Agency and Iranian Labor 
News Agency to not report on the arrests and prosecution of student 
activists without coordinating with those ministries, according to the 
news Web site Rooz Online. Rooz also reported that the Supreme National 
Security Council warned editors in chief not to publish political 
analysis that differed from the country's official policy. Tehran 
Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi reportedly stated that ``freedom of 
the press and freedom of expression are not absolute and are subject to 
respect for Islamic and legal principles.''
    Domestic press reports indicated the Government attempted to limit 
the distribution of reformist campaign materials in the December 15 
municipal council elections.
    On January 8, a court in Mashhad gave blogger Ahmad Reza Shiri a 
three-year suspended jail sentence for articles published on his blog, 
according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Shiri was not jailed but 
must serve that sentence if he has further trouble with government 
authorities. According to RSF authorities often use suspended sentences 
to intimidate and silence journalists who criticize the Government.
    On January 29, Elham Afroutan and six other journalists from the 
weekly newspaper Tamadon-e-Hormozgan in the city of Bandar Abbas were 
arrested for writing an article critical of Ayatollah Khomeini. 
Afroutan and one other journalist were reportedly released in June 
after posting bail, according to RSF.
    The state-owned newspaper Iran was suspended following publication 
of a May 12 cartoon that incited riots among the country's Azeri 
minority (see section 5). On May 23, according to RSF editor Mehrdad 
Qasemfar and cartoonist Mana Nayestani were arrested and taken to Evin 
Prison. They were reportedly given a 50-day leave but returned to 
prison on October 12. At year's end both were believed to be out of 
prison.
    On July 24, the East Azerbaijan province press court revoked the 
license of provincial daily Nada-yi-Azerabadagan and sentenced its 
editor, Abolfazl Vesali, to six months in jail reportedly for 
``inciting the public.'' Vesali was released on bail after spending 45 
days in jail.
    In August the Tehran public court revoked the licenses of the two 
publications (the monthly magazine Aftab and business newspaper Akhbar-
e-Eqtesadi) and sentenced Aftab managing editor Isa Saharkhiz to four 
years in prison. Aftab was reportedly closed for ``publishing false 
information,'' specifically, a series of articles critical of the 
country's prison system.
    On August 19, the Supreme Court sentenced Saghi Baghernia, 
publisher of the business daily Asia, to six months in prison for 
``propaganda against the regime.''
    Also in August according to domestic press, government spokesman 
Gholam Hoseyn Elham wrote an open letter to Tehran prosecutor Mortazavi 
accusing some publications of a smear campaign against the Government 
and calling for legal action against publishers of ``slanderous 
reports.''
    In September according to the Committee to Protect Journalists 
(CPJ), an appeals court upheld the one-year prison sentence against 
Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, Kurdish journalist and human rights activist. 
Kabudvand, who is also secretary of the Kurdistan Organization for the 
Defense of Human Rights, wrote for the now-defunct weekly Payam Mardom 
Kordestan and was convicted of ``inciting the population to rebel 
against the central state.''
    On September 12, major reformist daily Shargh was closed by the 
Press Supervisory board. Authorities cited a satirical cartoon 
published on September 7 as the reason for the closure. Also on 
September 12, monthly publications Nameh and Hafez were closed. 
Government authorities reportedly pressured Shargh to replace its 
managing editor before the closure, but the paper did not comply. 
Following the closure of Shargh, a new publication, Rouzegar, began 
employing many of the original Shargh staff. On October 19, the new 
publication was suspended three days after it began publishing, when it 
ignored government warnings to avoid covering political topics.
    On September 19, government officials raided the office of Advar 
News, a news Web site affiliated with the student group OSU. The Web 
site was shut at that time but resumed under a different name on 
October 4.
    On October 12, three journalists from the Kurdish language weekly 
Rouji Ha Lat, Farhad Aminpour, Reza Alipour, and Saman Solimani, were 
arrested without charge. They were reportedly released one month later.
    On October 16, proreform weekly Safir Dashtestan was reportedly 
closed for publishing an article critical of Supreme Leader Khamenei, 
according to RSF. Its publisher, editor, and an editorial assistant 
were detained; however, they were later released on bail.
    In November 2005 RSF accused Ministry of Intelligence officials of 
harassing journalists, claiming government officials had summoned at 
least 10 journalists for questioning and advised them not to criticize 
the new President or write articles on sensitive issues like the 
nuclear program. HRW asserted, ``By attacking a small percentage of 
those critical of the Government, authorities have been able to silence 
a much larger body of journalists, activists, and students.''
    There were threats and prosecution against journalists writing 
about ethnic issues. For example, Yusuf Azizi was arrested in April 
2005 for writing about ethnic issues and released on bail in June 2005; 
as of year's end, he had resumed writing.
    Throughout the year the Government continued to harass senior Shi'a 
religious and political leaders and their followers who dissented from 
the ruling conservative establishment. On October 8, authorities 
arrested dissident cleric Ayatollah Boroujerdi, who had publicly 
espoused the separation of religion and politics (see section 1.e.). In 
August 2005 Hojatoleslam Mojtaba Lotfi, the aide to Ayatollah Montazeri 
arrested in 2004 for publishing a book on Montazeri's five years of 
house arrest, was reportedly released from jail.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government increased control over the 
Internet during the year as more citizens used it as a source for news 
and political debate. A 2004 poll by a domestic press outlet found many 
citizens trusted the Internet more than other news media. In 2005 
approximately 6.2 million citizens used the Internet, and there were 
683 Internet Service Providers (ISPs). All ISPs must be approved by the 
Ministry of Culture and Guidance, and the Government used filtering 
software to block access to some Western Web sites, reportedly 
including the Web sites of prominent Western newspapers and NGOs. 
During the year approximately seven million citizens used the Internet, 
although the Communications Ministry estimated as many as 16 million 
users of the ``Internet and information technology,'' according to 
domestic press reports.
    In October the Government imposed a limit of 128 kilobytes per 
second (KBps) on Internet speed and required ISPs to comply with the 
limit by decreasing Internet service speed to homes and cafes. The new 
limit made it more difficult to download Internet material and to 
circumvent government restrictions to access blocked Web sites.
    In January Arash Sigarchi, journalist and Internet author, was 
sentenced to three years in prison for ``insulting the supreme leader'' 
and ``propaganda against the regime.'' According to domestic press 
Sigarchi was reportedly released on medical leave on June 7, and on 
December 23, the Government acquitted him of all charges and declared 
the case closed.
    RSF reported that during the year that 38 journalists were arrested 
and dozens of media outlets censored. According to RSF repression of 
bloggers decreased during the year, but Internet censorship increased. 
According to RSF the news Web sites Advar and Entekhab were blocked 
during the year as well as several Web sites dealing with women's 
issues inside the country. Women's groups reportedly launched an online 
petition during the year to protest Internet filtering.
    In January 2005 Judiciary Chief Shahrudi and other judiciary 
officials met with several Internet writers about their claims of 
mistreatment. Domestic media later reported that Shahrudi instructed 
the public prosecutor's office to transfer the cases to a special 
committee. The report on the treatment of the Internet writers was 
never publicly released (see section 1.c.). Most of the writers were 
released on bail by the end of 2005. After their release, RSF reported 
authorities summoned the bloggers for questioning several times a week, 
and government officials threatened them.
    In April the Minister of Communications and Information Technology 
announced the Government's intention to establish a ``national 
Internet,'' which would improve on the costly monitoring process that 
required Web site information to exit the country and then return. A 
study published by HRW in October 2005 listed Internet sites that had 
been blocked in the country, including women's rights sites, several 
foreign-based, Farsi-language news sites, some popular sites of 
Internet writers, the Freedom Movement Party Web site, a Web site 
promoting the views of Ayatollah Montazeri, several Kurdish Web sites, 
Web sites dedicated to political prisoners, and a Baha'i Web site. In 
October 2005 government authorities also blocked access to the Baztab 
news Web site. The Web site manager said they received a judicial order 
saying the temporary ban was based on a complaint related to the 
nuclear issue. In December 2005 13 Majles deputies protested Internet 
censorship in a letter to President Ahmadinejad and urged him to end 
the ban on these three sites.
    Beginning in 2004 the Government launched a major crackdown on 
sites based in the country, including blogs (web-based publications of 
periodic articles with commentary by the author and readers), 
reportedly blocking hundreds of Internet sites. According to HRW in the 
past three years, Tehran Chief Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi reportedly 
ordered more than 20 Internet journalists and civil society activists 
arrested and held in a secret detention center in Tehran.
    In 2004 four of these detainees denied any mistreatment during a 
televised ``press conference'' arranged by Tehran's Chief Prosecutor 
Mortazavi. However, widespread and credible reports indicated that 
while in secret detention, threats, torture, and physical abuse were 
employed to obtain false confessions and letters of repentance (see 
section 1.e.). After their release, some detainees testified to a 
Presidential commission about their treatment. Commission member and 
former Presidential advisor Mohammad Ali Abtahi later wrote on his 
Internet site that detainees claimed they were beaten, held in solitary 
confinement, denied access to lawyers, and forced to make false 
confessions. In January 2005 Abtahi reported that the Government 
blocked access to his Internet site.
    According to RSF the Government claimed to have blocked access to 
10 million ``immoral'' Internet sites during the year. In 2005 the 
judiciary announced the creation of a special unit to handle Internet-
related issues. According to press reporting, the judiciary highlighted 
over 20 subject areas to be blocked, including insulting Islam, 
insulting the Supreme Leader or making false accusations about 
officials, undermining national unity and solidarity, and propagating 
prostitution and drugs.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom. In September President Ahmadinejad called for the 
removal of secular and liberal professors from universities. Reports 
indicated dozens of university professors were dismissed or forced to 
retire. Student groups reported that during the year the Government 
used a ``star'' system to rank politically active students--each star 
denoted a negative mark. Students with three stars were reportedly 
banned from university or prevented from registering for upcoming 
terms. Government informers were common on university campuses. 
Additionally, there were reports the Government maintained a broad 
network of student informants in Qom's major seminaries who reported 
teaching counter to official government positions.
    The Government censored cultural events. In November 2005 the 
Minister of Islamic Culture and Guidance promised more stringent 
controls on books, cinema, and theater, although he indicated the 
change would not be immediate. He also warned of greater surveillance 
of ``hundreds'' of cultural associations. Culture Ministry officials 
also reportedly cancelled more than 30 concerts. In December 2005 
President Ahmadinejad announced a ban on Western music, which remained 
in effect during the year. A September report by a Western NGO noted 
that censorship by authorities and a culture of self-censorship 
strongly inhibited artistic expression in the country.
    The Government also effectively censored domestic films, since it 
remained the main source of production funding. Producers were required 
to submit scripts and film proposals to government officials in advance 
of funding approval. After President Ahmadinejad assumed office in 
August 2005, the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council announced a ban of 
movies promoting secularism, feminism, unethical behavior, drug abuse, 
violence, or alcoholism. Films of some domestic directors were not 
permitted to be shown in the country.
    Admission to universities was politicized; all applicants had to 
pass ``character tests'' in which officials eliminated applicants 
critical of the Government's ideology. Some seats in universities 
continued to be reserved for members of the Basij, regardless of their 
scores on the national entrance exam. To obtain tenure professors had 
to refrain from criticism of the authorities.

    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''; however, in practice the 
Government restricted freedom of assembly and closely monitored 
gatherings to prevent antigovernment protests. Such gatherings included 
public entertainment and lectures, student meetings, labor protests, 
funeral processions, and Friday prayer gatherings.
    Paramilitary organizations such as the Ansar-e Hizballah, a group 
of vigilantes who seek to enforce their vision of appropriate 
revolutionary comportment upon society, harassed, beat, and intimidated 
those who demonstrated publicly for reform. They particularly targeted 
university students.
    On March 8, police dispersed a rally in Tehran commemorating 
International Women's Day. Participants were reportedly attacked and 
beaten by police (see section 5). On June 12, police forcefully 
dispersed a women's rights demonstration; many protesters were detained 
and arrested, including former Majles deputy and human rights activist 
Ali Akbar Musavi Khoini. Khoini was subsequently released; however, 
others reportedly remained in prison at year's end.
    On September 24, police reportedly arrested 30 activists who 
gathered in front of the UN office in Tehran to protest the death 
sentence of Kobra Rahmanpour, who was convicted of the stabbing death 
of her mother-in-law in 2000. She pled self-defense but received a 
death sentence.
    On December 11, students disrupted a speech by President 
Ahmadinejad at Amir Kabir University, shouting slogans directed against 
him. Ahmadinejad reportedly spoke with some students following his 
speech and assured them they would not be punished for expressing their 
views; however, reports indicated some student participants still 
feared retaliation.
    In December 2005 Sherkat-e-Vahed went on strike to protest 
nonpayment of wages, poor working conditions, and the arrests of 14 
association leaders. Mansour Osanloo, the head of Sherkat-e-Vahed, was 
arrested at that time, and detained in Evin Prison. On January 28, 
Sherkat-e-Vahed members demonstrated, calling for the release of 
Osanloo and attention to their grievances. Police used force to disrupt 
the protest and arrested several hundred members of the syndicate, as 
well as some of their family members, according to the International 
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Family members and some of the 
workers were released, but at year's end there was no information 
regarding other reportedly detained workers. On August 9, Osanloo was 
released on bail but re-arrested on November 19 (see section 6.b.).

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the 
establishment of political parties, professional associations, Islamic 
religious groups, and organizations for recognized religious 
minorities, provided that such groups do not violate the principles of 
``freedom, sovereignty, and national unity,'' or question Islam as the 
basis of the Islamic Republic; however, the Government limited freedom 
of association, in practice.
    The Government's 2002 dissolution of the Freedom Movement, the 
country's oldest opposition party, remained in effect.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution declares that the 
``official religion of Iran is Islam and the doctrine followed is that 
of Ja'fari (Twelver) Shi'ism.'' The constitution also states that 
``other Islamic denominations are to be accorded full respect'' and 
recognizes the country's pre-Islamic religions--Zoroastrians, 
Christians, and Jews--as ``protected'' religious minorities; however, 
in practice the Government restricted freedom of religion. Religions 
not specifically protected under the constitution, particularly the 
Baha'i Faith, did not enjoy freedom.
    The central feature of the country's Islamic republican system is 
rule by the ``religious jurisconsult.'' Its senior leadership consisted 
principally of Shi'a clergymen, including the supreme leader of the 
revolution, the President, the head of the judiciary, and the speaker 
of parliament.
    During the year, for the first time, approximately 200 Baha'i 
students were admitted to universities. However, it was not known if 
their admission resulted from changed government policy or a change in 
the use of university application forms.
    On May 19, officials arrested 54 Baha'is in Shiraz. No charges were 
made, and all but three were released on bail within a week. The 
remaining three Baha'is were released on June 14.
    On June 28, authorities re-arrested Baha'i member Pooya Mavahhed, 
who was first arrested in August 2005 on a charge of opposition to the 
Government but was released 10 days later on bail.
    On August 17, according to press reports, authorities arrested 
Babak Rouhi in Mashad on counts of having made copies of a Baha'i book 
for a Baha'i function.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The population is 
approximately 99 percent Muslim; 89 percent of the population is Shi'a, 
and 10 percent is Sunni. Baha'i, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Jewish 
communities constitute less than 1 percent of the population.
    The Government carefully monitored the statements and views of the 
country's senior Muslim religious leaders. It restricted the movement 
of several religious leaders, who had been under house arrest for 
years, and arrested and imprisoned at least one dissident cleric, 
Ayatollah Boroujerdi, during the year (see section 2.a.). All ranking 
clerics were pressured to ensure their teachings confirmed (or at least 
did not contradict) government policy and positions (see section 1.e.).
    Sunni Muslims are the largest religious minority. The constitution 
provides Sunni Muslims a large degree of religious freedom. Sunni 
Muslims claimed the Government discriminated against them, although it 
was hard to distinguish whether the cause for discrimination was 
religious or ethnic, since most Sunnis are also ethnic minorities, 
primarily Arabs, Balouchis, and Kurds. As an example of discrimination, 
Sunnis cited the lack of a Sunni mosque in the nation's capital, 
Tehran, despite over a million Sunni inhabitants.
    Members of the country's non-Muslim religious minorities, 
particularly Baha'is, reported imprisonment, harassment, and 
intimidation based on their religious beliefs. In November 2005 the 
domestic press quoted a leading cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, 
secretary of the Guardian Council, as saying humans who follow anything 
but Islam are like animals who graze and commit corruption. The comment 
was widely criticized in the country, and the Majles representative of 
the Zoroastrian community publicly condemned Janati's remarks. The 
representative was then summoned to court to face charges of spreading 
false news and showing a lack of respect for authorities, but no case 
was pursued against him.
    All religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially 
sanctioned discrimination, particularly in employment, education, and 
housing. In June the UNSR for Adequate Housing visited the country and 
reported that rural land, particularly that belonging to minorities, 
including many Baha'is, was expropriated for government use and owners 
were not fairly compensated. With the exception of Baha'is, the 
Government allowed recognized religious minorities to conduct religious 
education of their adherents, although it restricted this right 
considerably in some cases. Religious minorities are barred from 
election to a representative body, except for the five Majles seats 
reserved for minorities, and from holding senior government or military 
positions, but they were allowed to vote. Although the constitution 
mandates an Islamic army, members of religious minorities did serve in 
the military, although non-Muslim promotions were limited by a military 
restriction against non-Muslims commanding Muslims. Reportedly non-
Muslims can be officers during their mandatory military service but 
cannot be career military officers.
    The legal system previously discriminated against recognized 
religious minorities in relation to blood money; however, in 2004 the 
Expediency Council authorized collection of equal blood money for the 
death of Muslim and non-Muslim men. Women and Baha'i men remained 
excluded from the revised ruling.
    Inheritance rules favored Muslim family members over non-Muslims. 
For example, under existing inheritance laws, if a non-Muslim converted 
to Islam, that person would inherit all family holdings while non-
Muslim relatives would receive nothing.
    Furthermore, proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims is illegal. 
The Government did not ensure the right of citizens to change or recant 
their religion. Apostasy, specifically conversion from Islam, was 
punishable by death, although there were no reported instances of the 
death penalty being applied for apostasy during the year. There was no 
further information on the Internet report of a Christian killed in 
November 2005 who had converted from Islam 10 years earlier. Baha'is 
are considered apostates because of their claim to a religious 
revelation subsequent to that of the Prophet Mohammed. The Government 
defined the Baha'i faith as a political ``sect'' linked to the Pahlavi 
monarchy and Israel and, therefore, counterrevolutionary.
    Baha'i organizations outside the country warned that the Government 
intensified a strategy of intimidation against Baha'is. The country's 
estimated 300,000 to 350,000 Baha'is were not allowed to teach or 
practice their faith or to maintain links with co-religionists abroad. 
The Government continued to imprison and detain Baha'is based on their 
religious beliefs. A 2001 Justice Ministry report indicated the 
existence of a government policy to eliminate the Baha'i community 
eventually.
    In March the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and 
Belief expressed concern about allegations that security forces were 
monitoring and gathering information about the Baha'i community. Baha'i 
groups reported the Government was collecting names of Baha'is across 
the country, and there was an increase of anti-Baha'i editorials in 
progovernment newspapers.
    In December 2005 the longest held Baha'i prisoner, Zabihullah 
Mahrami, died in prison of unknown causes. Mahrami was arrested in 1995 
and faced a life sentence for apostasy. Another Baha'i, Mehran Kawsari, 
who was sentenced to three years in prison in November 2004 after 
writing a letter to then-President Khatami on the situation of Baha'is, 
was released on bail on March 18.
    On May 19, 54 Baha'is were arrested in the city of Shiraz. Those 
arrested were primarily Baha'i youths participating in a student 
volunteer program to tutor underprivileged children. All were released 
by mid-June.
    Throughout 2005 the Government arrested 65 other Baha'is, detained 
them, and later released them on high bails, often in the form of 
property deeds. While they were imprisoned, their families often were 
not informed of their location, and authorities denied any record of 
their arrests or did not indicate charges against them. Some were not 
allowed to work for several months after their release. Government 
agents also searched numerous Baha'i homes and seized possessions.
    In October the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of the United 
States reported that more than 300 Baha'i students passed the 
university entrance exam in the country and were admitted. The Baha'i 
group reported 201 students were allowed to register for university, 
but 14 were identified as Baha'is by their professors, dismissed from 
classes, and told they would need a Ministry of Education certificate 
to resume studies. At year's end they had reportedly not received 
responses from the ministry.
    The December 19 UNGA resolution on the country's human rights 
expressed serious concerns about increasing discrimination against 
religious and ethnic minorities, citing the escalation and increased 
frequency of violations against Baha'is. It called on the Government to 
implement the 1996 UNSR report of the Commission on Human Rights on 
religious tolerance, particularly in regard to the Baha'i community.
    In 2001 the U.S. estimated the Christian community at approximately 
300,000. Of these the majority were ethnic Armenians and Assyro-
Chaldeans. Protestant denominations and evangelical churches also were 
active, but they reported restrictions on their activities. The 
authorities became particularly vigilant in recent years in curbing 
proselytizing activities by evangelical Christians. Some unofficial 
estimates circa 2004 indicated that there were approximately 100,000 
Muslim-born citizens who had converted to Christianity. The U.S. 
estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 Christians emigrated each year; 
however, given the continued exodus from the country for economic and 
social reasons, it was difficult to establish the role religion played 
in the choice to emigrate.
    On September 26, authorities arrested Fereshteh Dibaj and Reza 
Montazami, Christian citizens, at their home in the northeastern part 
of the country. The Information Ministry held the couple for 10 days 
without bringing any charges against them, and agents confiscated their 
home computer and other belongings. They were released on October 5. 
Dibaj and Montazami operated an independent church in Mashhad.
    In 2004 authorities reportedly arrested a number of Christians in 
the northern part of the country and imprisoned Hamid Pourmand, a 
Protestant minister and former military officer. In February 2005 a 
military court convicted Pourmand of ``deceiving the armed forces'' for 
not declaring he was a convert to Christianity. He was sentenced to 
three years in prison and discharged from the military. A judiciary 
spokesman said Pourmand was convicted for involvement with a 
``political group'' and not because of his religion. In May 2005 the 
Bushehr Revolutionary Court cleared Pourmand of apostasy but sentenced 
him to three years in prison for espionage. At year's end there was no 
further information.
    Estimates of the size of the Jewish community varied from 15,000 to 
30,000. The Government's anti-Israel stance, in particular the 
President's speeches against Israel stating the Zionist regime should 
be eliminated, and the perception among many citizens that Jewish 
citizens supported Zionism and Israel, created a threatening atmosphere 
for the community.
    On December 11 and 12, the Government sponsored a conference 
entitled, ``Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision.'' This conference 
was widely criticized as it sought to provide a forum for those who 
deny the existence or scope of the Holocaust. Topics included: ``Nazism 
and Zionism: Cooperation or Hostility''; ``Holocaust: Concept and 
Justification/Evidence''; ``Gas Chambers: Denial or Confirmation''; 
``Aftermath and Exploitation''; ``Anti-Semitism and the Emergence of 
Zionism''; and ``Western Media and Propaganda.'' Speakers at the 
conference universally called for the elimination or delegitimization 
of the state of Israel and concluded that the Holocaust did not occur 
or was an exaggeration used by Jews for political and financial gains.
    On October 20, Channel 1 aired a science fiction film made in the 
country entitled The Land of Wishes. It featured an evil queen, adorned 
with a large Star of David and sitting on a throne in the ``Black 
House'' (which is also marked with a Star of David). The queen engages 
in a battle of ``virtual warriors'' with a young girl who seeks to free 
the masses the queen has enslaved. When the queen is defeated, her 
technicians die struggling to rescue a ``medal"--also a Star of David.
    In the fall the newspaper Hamshahri cosponsored a Holocaust cartoon 
contest in which the paper solicited submissions from around the world 
and awarded a $12,000 (approximately 111,000 rials) prize to a Moroccan 
cartoonist who drew a picture of an Israeli crane erecting a wall of 
concrete blocks around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third 
holiest site. The blocks bear sections of a photograph of the Nazi 
extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
    Within the domestic press, anti-Semitism in the media was present 
and anti-Semitic editorial cartoons depicting demonic and stereotypical 
images of Jews along with Jewish symbols were published throughout the 
year, primarily in the government-controlled owned daily newspaper, Al-
Wifaq, and occurred without government response.
    In October 2005 President Ahmadinejad told ``The World Without 
Zionism'' conference that, ``as the Imam [revolutionary leader 
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] said, Israel must be wiped off the map.'' 
While chants of ``death to Israel'' had been common at public 
gatherings prior to this declaration, Ahmadinejad's comment was the 
first public call for Israel's destruction by a high-ranking government 
official in recent years. Supreme Leader Khamenei, while not 
repudiating Ahmadinejad's remarks, said the country would not commit 
aggression against any nation.
    Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad continued in subsequent speeches to make 
similar comments, labeling the Holocaust a myth and calling for the 
removal of the Jewish state from the Middle East. For example, on April 
15, at the opening of a conference supporting Palestinians he said, 
``Like it or not, the Zionist regime is headed towards annihilation.'' 
He followed this remark on April 27 on live state television claiming, 
``The regime in Israel will one day vanish.'' On July 8, Ahmadinejad 
stated that ``the basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence 
of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must 
mobilize to remove this problem,'' and later that month stated during 
an emergency meeting with Muslim leaders that ``the real cure for the 
Lebanon conflict is the elimination of the Zionist regime, but there 
should be first an immediate cease-fire.'' On August 3, in a speech 
before the Organization of the Islamic Conference, he said, ``the 
Zionist regime is fraudulent and illegitimate and cannot survive,'' and 
on October 19 and November 13, Ahmadinejad stated, ``The regime in 
Israel will be gone, definitely. You, the Western powers, should know 
that any government that stands by the Zionist regime from now on will 
not see any result but the hatred of people.'' On December 12, he 
stated that he wished to give ``thanks to people's wishes and God's 
will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and 
this is what God has promised and what all nations want. Just as the 
Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the 
Zionist regime soon be wiped out.''
    The sole Jewish member of parliament (MP) condemned the President's 
remarks on the Holocaust, noting in a September 22 BBC News article 
that ``it is very regrettable to see a horrible tragedy so far reaching 
as the Holocaust being denied it was a very big insult to Jews all 
around the world.''
    The Jewish MP also complained in April 2005 that the state-run 
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) television network 
transmitted anti-Semitic programs, although he noted this year that 
such broadcasts were sporadic. According to local press, IRIB replied 
in a letter later in April that was read in the Majles that its 
programming was based on ``research and documentary evidence'' and 
claimed that IRIB's programming gave more attention to positive Jewish 
characters than negative ones. IRIB's statement notwithstanding, anti-
Semitic material on national television included a serial started in 
December 2004 called Zahra's Blue Eyes, in which Israelis reportedly 
kidnapped Palestinian children to harvest organs for transplant.
    In recent years the Government has made education of Jewish 
children more difficult by limiting distribution of Hebrew texts and 
requiring several Jewish schools to remain open on Saturdays, the 
Jewish Sabbath. There were limits on the level to which Jews could rise 
professionally, particularly in government. Jewish citizens were 
permitted, however, to obtain passports and travel outside the country, 
without previous limits on multiple-exit visas or restriction on 
permitting all family members to travel at once.
    In May a magazine published photos of synagogues draped in U.S. and 
Israeli flags and claimed they were in Tehran and Shiraz when in fact 
they were outside of the country. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel 
demonstrations followed in Shiraz. The Jewish MP protested in the 
Majles and was supported by the Speaker of the Majles, Gholam Ali 
Hadded Adel, who reprimanded the magazine. At the end of the year, a 
Jewish community monthly publication stopped for unknown reasons.
    The Mandeans, whose religion draws on Christian Gnostic beliefs, 
number approximately 5,000 to 10,000 persons, primarily in the 
southwest. There were reports that Mandeans experienced discrimination 
in the form of pressure to convert to Islam and problems accessing 
higher education.
    The Zoroastrian community, whose religion was the country's 
official religion before Islam, numbers approximately 30,000 to 35,000.
    Sufis are a minority Muslim sect whose practices focus on mysticism 
in Islam and involve dance and music. Sufis are sometimes regarded with 
suspicion by followers of more orthodox interpretations of Islam. Sufi 
organizations outside the country previously expressed concern about 
government repression of their religious practices, and during the year 
there were arrests in Qom, a center of orthodox Shi'ism, after calls by 
Shi'a clerics for restrictions on local Sufis.
    On February 14, according to authorities, 1,200 Sufi worshippers in 
Qom were arrested. Sufi groups and human rights activists placed the 
number of arrested at approximately 2,000. Qom officials announced that 
the worshippers were arrested following attempts by authorities to 
expel them from their place of worship. Officials in Qom said that the 
building had been illegally turned into a place of worship and 
worshippers who refused to leave had to be removed by force. 
Authorities further stated that more than 100 persons, including 30 
police officers, were injured.
    On May 4, 52 Sufis were sentenced to one year in prison, fines, and 
lashes (ultimately reduced to fines) in connection with the February 
incident. Their lawyers, Farshid Yadollahi and Omid Behrouzi, shared 
their sentence and were also banned from practicing law for five years.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The Government placed some restrictions 
on these rights. Citizens could travel within the country and change 
their place of residence without obtaining official permission. The 
Government required exit permits for foreign travel for all citizens. 
Some citizens, particularly those whose skills were in short supply and 
who were educated at government expense, had to post bonds to obtain 
exit permits. The Government restricted the movement of certain 
religious minorities and several religious leaders (see sections 1.d. 
and 2.c.), as well as some scientists in sensitive fields.
    For example, Hojjatoleslam Ezimi Qedimi was convicted of 
``propagandizing in favor of groups and organizations against the 
system.'' On August 31, he was released after serving approximately 
five months in prison; however a five-year overseas travel ban remained 
in effect. Additionally, in January 2005 according to domestic media, 
former deputy minister for Islamic culture and guidance, Issa 
Saharkhiz, was banned from foreign travel. In December 2005 Emaddedin 
Baqi, President of the Association in Defense of Prisoners Rights, was 
prevented from going to France to receive a human rights prize. There 
was no indication during the year that these travel bans were lifted.
    Citizens returning from abroad occasionally were subjected to 
searches and extensive questioning by government authorities for 
evidence of antigovernment activities abroad. Recorded and printed 
material, personal correspondence, and photographs were subject to 
confiscation.
    Women must obtain the permission of their husband, father, or other 
male relative to obtain a passport. Married women must receive written 
permission from their husbands before leaving the country.
    The Government did not use forced external exile, and no 
information was available regarding whether the law prohibits such 
exile; however, the Government used internal exile as a punishment.
    The Government offered amnesty to rank-and-file members of the 
Iranian terrorist organization, MEK residing outside the country. 
Subsequently, the ICRC assisted with voluntarily repatriating at least 
300 MEK affiliates housed in Iraq under MNF-I (Multinational Force 
Iraq) protective supervision.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides means for granting asylum 
or refugee status to qualified applicants in accordance with the 1951 
UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 
The Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. There were no reports of any forced return of persons to a 
country where they feared persecution; however, there were reports that 
the Government deported refugees deemed ``illegal'' entrants into the 
country. In times of economic uncertainty, the Government increased 
pressure on refugees to return to their home countries. The Government 
generally cooperated with the office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
refugees and refugee seekers.
    No information was available on government policy regarding 
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees 
under the 1951 Convention or its 1967 Protocol.
    In October at a UNHCR meeting on refugees in Geneva, Interior 
Minister Mostafa Purmohammadi estimated that the country hosted 950,000 
legal refugees from Afghanistan, plus another one million illegal 
Afghan refugees. Reportedly, the UNHCR complained that government 
authorities pressured Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan by 
suspending education and medical services and revoking residence 
permits. On October 12, the provincial government of East Azerbaijan 
province announced Afghan refugees could not remain in the province and 
had until October 22 to present themselves to authorities for their 
situations to ``be clarified.'' The Government accused many Afghans of 
involvement in drug trafficking.
    According to a Western NGO, in February 2005 the country passed 
regulations that increased fines for employers of Afghans without work 
permits and imposed new restrictions to make it more difficult for 
Afghans to obtain mortgages, rent or own property, or open bank 
accounts. The Government did not impose the same restrictions on Iraqi 
refugees. These rules also included new restrictions on residence in 
certain cities and regions and lifted an earlier exemption from school 
fees for Afghan refugee children. UNHCR cut all education assistance to 
Afghans. In June the Government reduced the school fees charged for 
Afghan students, according to a Western NGO. During the year government 
officials called for increased repatriation of refugees to Afghanistan.
    In January 2005 the judiciary announced amnesty for imprisoned 
Afghans, including those on death row. Following release, these Afghans 
were to be repatriated; however, there was no confirmation during the 
year that they were repatriated. There were reports in 2005 of Afghans 
being arrested and deported in the southeast of the country. Most were 
illegal migrants, seeking to stay in the country for economic reasons, 
but some had temporary residence permits. Government officials denied 
arresting refugees. A June 2005 survey by a Western NGO noted that the 
country had deported 140,000 Afghans, including some with refugee 
status. At one border crossing, the Government worked with UNHCR to 
allow deportees to claim asylum or cite other reasons why they should 
not be deported, but it did not set up similar facilities at other 
border crossings.
    The UNHCR estimated that in 2001 there were approximately 200,000 
Iraqi refugees in the country, the majority of whom were Iraqi Kurds, 
but also including Shi'a Arabs. In numerous instances both the Iraqi 
and Iranian governments disputed these refugees' citizenship, rendering 
many of them stateless.
    During the past few years, however, a large percentage of these 
refugees were voluntarily repatriated. A Western NGO estimated that 
during the year there were approximately 54,000 Iraqi refugees in the 
country.
    Although the Government claimed to host more than 30,000 refugees 
of other nationalities during the year, including Tajiks, Uzbeks, 
Bosnians, Azeris, Eritreans, Somalis, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis, it 
did not provide information about them, nor did it allow UNHCR or other 
organizations access to them. A Western NGO reported that few 
international humanitarian agencies operated in the country because the 
Government restricted their operations and did not allow UNHCR to fund 
them.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government

    Elections and Political Participation.--The right of citizens to 
change their government was restricted significantly. The supreme 
leader, the recognized head of state, is elected by the Assembly of 
Experts and can only be removed by a vote of this assembly. The 
assembly is restricted to clerics, who serve an eight-year term and are 
chosen by popular vote from a list approved by the Council of 
Guardians. There is no separation of state and religion, and clerical 
influence pervades the Government. According to the constitution, a 
Presidential candidate must be elected from among religious and 
political personalities (rejal, which is interpreted by the Council of 
Guardians to mean men only), of Iranian origin, and believe in the 
Islamic Republic's system and principles. The Council of Guardians, 
which reviews all laws for consistency with Islamic law and the 
constitution, has ``approbatory supervision,'' allowing it to screen 
candidates for election. The council only accepts candidates who 
support a theocratic state. The supreme leader also approves the 
candidacy of Presidential candidates, with the exception of an 
incumbent President. Prior to the 2004 parliamentary elections, the 
Guardian Council vetoed legislation that would have required it to 
reinstate disqualified candidates unless the council legally documented 
their exclusion. Regularly scheduled elections are held for the 
presidency, the Majles, and the Assembly of Experts, as well as 
municipal councils.
    On December 15, there were elections for the Assembly of Experts, 
municipal councils, and Majles by-elections. Hundreds of potential 
candidates, largely reformists, were disqualified by the Guardian 
Council and parliamentary electoral committees prior to the elections. 
Nonetheless, in the municipal election for the Tehran city council, 
reformists gained more seats than did supporters of President 
Ahmadinejad. In the Assembly of Experts elections, Ahmadinejad's 
political rival, Expediency Council chair Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar 
Hashemi-Rafsanjani, received the most votes in the Tehran constituency 
by a significant margin.
    The December 19 UNGA resolution on the country's human rights 
expressed serious concern at ``the absence of many conditions necessary 
for free and fair elections'' including arbitrary disqualification of 
large numbers of prospective candidates.
    On November 14, council spokesperson Abbas Ali Kadkhodai announced 
only 144 of the 492 prospective candidates were eligible to run in the 
December 15 Assembly of Experts elections. Reports indicated that 100 
candidates withdrew their applications, and all female candidates 
failed the written exam on religious interpretation (ijtihad).
    The fairness of the June 2005 Presidential election was undermined 
both before and during the polls. The Council of Guardians initially 
approved the candidacies of only six of the 1,014 persons who 
registered and excluded all 89 female candidates as well as anyone 
critical of the leadership, including former cabinet ministers.
    Many candidates and the Interior Ministry complained of 
irregularities during the polling, including interference by basiji 
forces. There were no international election observers. After the 
second round of voting, the supreme leader denied the allegations of 
basiji involvement, and the council validated the results on June 29, 
2005. Domestic press said 104 cases of alleged violations were under 
review and suspects were detained in 26 cases; however, no further 
action was taken. According to official statistics, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
won the run-off race with 61 percent of the votes.
    Elections that were widely perceived as neither free nor fair were 
held for the 290-seat Majles in 2004. The Guardians Council barred over 
a third of the more than 8,000 prospective candidates, mostly 
reformists, including over 85 sitting Majles members seeking re-
election.
    The constitution allows for the formation of parties. There were 
more than 100 registered political organizations, but these groups 
tended to be small entities, often focused around an individual and did 
not have nationwide membership. Following the June 2005 Presidential 
elections, these political groupings significantly reorganized, with 
new groups forming and existing entities changing leadership. 
Conservative groups splintered during the year; moderate conservatives 
appeared increasingly separated from fundamentalist conservatives. In 
the December 15 municipal elections, reform groups created a single 
electoral list for the Tehran municipal council elections.
    In 2002 the Government permanently dissolved the Freedom Movement, 
the country's oldest opposition party, and sentenced over 30 of its 
members to jail terms ranging from four months to 10 years on charges 
of trying to overthrow the Islamic system. Other members were barred 
from political activity for up to 10 years and fined (see section 
2.b.). Its leader, Ebrahim Yazdi, was no longer in prison; however, 
there was no information regarding the circumstances of other Freedom 
Movement members.
    There were no female cabinet ministers, although one of the nine 
vice Presidents is a woman, and several women held high-level 
positions. There were 12 women serving in the Majles during the year, 
and one woman was elected to the Majles in the December 15 by-
elections. Five Majles seats are reserved for religious minorities. 
Other ethnic minorities in the Majles include Arabs and Kurds. There 
were no non-Muslims in the cabinet or on the Supreme Court.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was widespread 
public perception of extensive corruption in all three branches of 
government, to include the judiciary, and in the bonyads (tax-exempt 
foundations designed for charitable activity that control consortia of 
substantial companies). In March Judiciary Chief Shahrudi criticized 
economic corruption in the state sector and urged creation of a central 
body with representatives from the state and private sectors to discuss 
issues of privatization and elimination of corruption; however, there 
was no known action on this body by year's end. On August 23, the 
Majles passed a law requiring all state officials, including cabinet 
ministers, and members of the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and 
Assembly of Experts to submit annual financial statements to the state 
inspectorate.
    In March 2005 Judiciary Chief Shahrudi claimed the judiciary was 
pursuing ``700 to 800'' corruption cases related to state officials. 
However, he clarified that these offenses were usually the work of 
``junior administrators'' and high officials should not be prosecuted 
for the activities of their subordinates. In October 2005 in responding 
to criticism of a government report on corruption that omitted names, 
Shahrudi said that those involved with financial crimes would not be 
publicly identified until they are found guilty or the appeals process 
exhausted. In November 2005 he also reportedly told the Majles that 
inefficient economic institutions were at the root of corrupt practices 
and the duality of the economy--both state and private ownership--
contributed to the problem. There was no information during the year 
regarding further action on these corruption cases.
    The country has no laws providing for public access to government 
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government continued to restrict the work of local human rights 
groups. The Government denies the universality of human rights and has 
stated that human rights issues should be viewed in the context of a 
country's ``culture and beliefs.''
    In 2004 the Government granted permission to the Society for the 
Defense of the Rights of Prisoners to operate as an independent 
nonpolitical NGO. The group worked to protect detainees and promote 
prison reform, established a small fund to provide free legal advice to 
prisoners, and supported the families of detainees. Founders included 
former political prisons Emaddedin Baqi and Mohammad Hassan Alipour. 
During the year the group maintained a Web site with information 
addressing human rights issues and in June published a report about 
prisons in the country. There was no indication during the year that 
Judiciary Chief Shahrudi responded to their appeal for attention to 
cases of political prisoners.
    Various 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. However, the 
Government severely curtailed these groups' ability to meet, organize, 
and effect change.
    Domestic NGOs worked in areas such as health and population, women 
and development, youth, environmental protection, human rights, and 
sustainable development. Some reports estimated that a few thousand 
local NGOs operated during the year. However, in late 2005 a more 
restrictive environment accompanied the new Presidential 
administration, including pressure on domestic NGOs not to accept 
foreign grants.
    The European Union (EU) established a human rights dialogue with 
the country in 2002 but held its last meeting in 2004. In a December 
2005 press release, the EU called the dialogue results disappointing 
and noted that the Government had not agreed to a meeting during the 
year. The EU also expressed deep concern that the human rights 
situation had not improved and, in many respects, had worsened. On 
November 16, the Ministers of the European Parliament adopted a 
resolution expressing concern about the deteriorating human rights 
situation and calling on the country to restart the human rights 
dialogue.
    International human rights NGOs were not permitted to establish 
offices in or conduct regular investigative visits to the country. On 
an exceptional basis, in 2004 AI officials visited the country as part 
of the EU's human rights dialogue, joining academics and NGOs to 
discuss the country's implementation of international human rights 
standards.
    The ICRC and the UNHCR both operated in the country. In June the 
Government allowed the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing to 
visit. The December 19 UNGA resolution on human rights in the country 
encouraged the Government to receive U.S. on extrajudicial, summary, or 
arbitrary executions; torture; independence of judges and lawyers; 
freedom of religion or belief; and freedom of opinion and expression. 
It also encouraged the Government to receive the Special Representative 
of the Secretary General on the situation of human rights defenders and 
the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
    The Islamic Human Rights Commission was established in 1995 under 
the authority of the head of the judiciary, who sits on its board as an 
observer. In 1996 the Government established a human rights committee 
in the Majles, the Article 90 Commission, which received and considered 
complaints regarding violations of constitutional rights; however, when 
the seventh Majles formed its new Article 90 Commission in 2004, the 
commission dropped all cases pending from the sixth Majles. During the 
year the commission took no effective action.
    Lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, is a founder of 
the Center for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), which represents 
defendants in political cases. On August 3, the Government banned CDHR, 
claiming it had not obtained a proper permit, declared its activities 
were illegal, and stated that those who continued its activities would 
be prosecuted. Ebadi noted that according to the constitution, 
``nongovernmental organizations that obey the law and do not disrupt 
public order do not need a permit.'' At year's end CDHR was still 
reportedly banned.
    Early in the year, a number of NGOs were left without legal status 
after they were instructed to file for new permits. Those NGOs that did 
not file the request were vulnerable to accusations of operating 
without a permit, but those that filed the paperwork had not received a 
response by year's end. In either instance they could be accused of 
operating without a permit.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    In general the Government did not discriminate on the basis of 
race, disability, or social status; however, it did discriminate on the 
basis of religion, gender, and ethnicity. It consistently denied 
minorities their constitutional right to use their language in schools. 
The poorest areas of the country are those inhabited by ethnic 
minorities, including the Baluchis in Sistan va Baluchestan Province 
and Arabs in the southwest. Much of the damage suffered by the citizens 
of Khuzestan Province during the eight-year war with Iraq has not been 
repaired; consequently, the quality of life of the largely Arab local 
population was degraded. Kurds, Azeris, and Ahvazi Arabs were not 
permitted to exercise their constitutional rights to study their 
languages.

    Women.--The constitution says all citizens, both men and women, 
equally enjoy protection of the law and all human, political, economic, 
social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic rights. Article 
21 states the Government must ensure the rights of women in all 
respects, in conformity with Islamic criteria.
    Nonetheless, provisions in the Islamic civil and penal codes, in 
particular those sections dealing with family and property law, 
discriminate against women. Shortly after the 1979 revolution, the 
Government repealed the 1967 Family Protection Law that provided women 
with increased rights in the home and workplace and replaced it with a 
legal system based largely on Shari'a practices. In 1998 the Majles 
passed legislation that mandated segregation of the sexes in the 
provision of medical care. In 2003 the Council of Guardians rejected a 
bill that would require the country to adopt a UN convention ending 
discrimination against women.
    On March 8, security forces attacked a rally in Tehran 
commemorating International Women's Day (see section 2.b.). An 
estimated 400 demonstrators gathered, and the police forcibly dispersed 
the demonstration. Many demonstrators were reportedly beaten by police, 
including septuagenarian writer and activist Simin Behbehani. According 
to one women's rights activist, the rally organizers applied for a 
demonstration permit, but it was denied minutes before the rally was 
scheduled to begin.
    On April 22, government spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi called feminist 
views and Western views of women's rights ``unrealistic'' and 
``unethical'' and stated the issue was manipulated for international 
political purposes.
    On June 12, security forces forcibly dispersed another women's 
rights demonstration and arrested approximately 70 to 80 persons, 
including former Majles deputy and activist Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini. 
Demonstrators called for gender equality under the law, including equal 
rights in divorce, child custody, inheritance, and court testimony.
    The December 19 UNGA resolution on country's human rights expressed 
serious concern at ``the continuing violence and discrimination against 
women and girls in law and in practice.'' Early in 2005 a U.S. on 
violence against women visited the country and, at her final press 
conference, spoke out against legal gender bias. The report found the 
Government had taken significant but insufficient steps to address the 
problem of violence against women, and it called on the Government to 
ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
Discrimination against Women, which was proposed by parliament in 2003.
    During recent years women fought for and received relative 
liberalization of gender-based treatment in a number of areas. However, 
many of these changes were not legally codified. The female members of 
the seventh Majles elected in 2004 rejected some previous efforts by 
their predecessors to achieve equal rights. For example, in October 
2005 the Government announced that female civil servants in the Culture 
Ministry and female journalists at the state newspaper and news agency 
should leave the office by 6 p.m. to be with their families. However, 
there was no indication that violators would be punished.
    In 2005 activists on women's issues expressed concern that the 
woman selected by President Ahmadinejad to lead the Center for Women's 
Participation, which is affiliated with the office of the President, 
did not have a background in women's issues. In addition the Government 
changed the name of the organization to the Center for Women and 
Family, raising concern that the organization sought to reorient debate 
on women's problems to focus only on those related to the home, 
concerns that proved accurate. During the year this office published 
reports on feminism with a negative slant. In one article it drew 
comparisons between feminism and prostitution.
    Although spousal abuse and violence against women occurred, 
reliable statistics were not available. Abuse in the family was 
considered a private matter and seldom discussed publicly, although 
there were some efforts to change this attitude. Rape is illegal and 
subject to strict penalties, but it remained a widespread problem. 
According to the Government's 2005 report on the rights of the child, 
the Center for Women's Participation and the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) organized the first educational workshop on women's and girls' 
human rights in January 2005. Freedom from violence was one of the 
workshop's topics. The report also stated that in 2004 the Center for 
Women's Participation established a national committee, based in the 
Health Ministry, to combat violence against women; however, during the 
year there was no information on committee activity since its 
formation.
    According to a 2004 report on the country from the Independent 
Researchers on Women's Issues, there were no reliable statistics on 
honor killings, but there was evidence of ``rampant'' honor killings in 
the western and southwestern provinces, in particular Khuzestan and 
Elam. The punishment for perpetrators was often a short prison 
sentence.
    Prostitution is illegal, but sigheh, or temporary marriage, is 
legal. Accurate information regarding the extent of prostitution was 
not widely available, although the issue received greater attention 
than in previous years. Press reports described prostitution as a 
widespread problem, with a media estimate of 300,000 women working as 
prostitutes. The problem appeared aggravated by difficult economic 
conditions and rising numbers of drug users and runaway children.
    The law requires court approval for the marriage of girls younger 
than 13 and boys younger than 15. Although a male can marry at age 15 
without parental consent, the 1991 civil law states that a virgin 
female needs the consent of her father or grandfather to wed, or the 
court's permission, even if she is older than 18. The country's Islamic 
law permits a man to have up to four wives and an unlimited number of 
temporary partnerships (sigheh), based on a Shi'a custom in which a 
woman may become the wife of a Muslim male after a simple religious 
ceremony and a civil contract outlining the union's conditions. 
Temporary marriages may last for any length of time and are used 
sometimes by prostitutes. Such wives are not granted rights associated 
with traditional marriage.
    Women have the right to divorce if their husband signed a contract 
granting that right or if he cannot provide for his family, is a drug 
addict, insane, or impotent. However, a husband is not required to cite 
a reason for divorcing his wife.
    A widely used model marriage contract limits privileges accorded to 
men by custom, and traditional interpretations of Islamic law recognize 
a divorced woman's right to a share in the property that couples 
acquire during their marriage and to increased alimony. In 2002 the law 
was revised to make adjudication of cases in which women demand 
divorces less arbitrary and costly. Women who remarry are forced to 
give the child's father custody of children from earlier marriages. 
However, the law granted custody of minor children to the mother in 
certain divorce cases in which the father was proven unfit to care for 
the child. In 2003 the Government amended the existing child custody 
law to give a mother preference in custody for children up to seven 
years of age (previously she only had preference for sons up to age 
two); thereafter, the father had custody. After the age of seven, in 
disputed cases custody of the child was to be determined by the court.
    The penal code includes provisions for stoning persons convicted of 
adultery, although judges were instructed in 2002 to cease imposing 
such sentences. In addition a man could escape punishment for killing a 
wife caught in the act of adultery if he was certain she was a 
consenting partner; the same rule does not apply for women. Women may 
also receive disproportionate punishment for crimes, including death 
sentences (see section 1.a.). In August the Government reportedly 
authorized judges to resume the sentence of stoning (see section 1.c.). 
In October human rights groups and activists called on the Government 
to end the practice. Activists reportedly published a list of 11 
persons who had been sentenced to stoning during the year and noted 
reports that two persons were stoned in May. Government officials 
continued to deny that stoning sentences were imposed or implemented.
    The testimony of two women equates with that of one man. The blood 
money paid to the family of a female crime victim is half the sum paid 
for a man. A married woman must obtain the written consent of her 
husband before traveling outside the country (see section 2.d.).
    Women had access to primary and advanced education. Reportedly over 
60 percent of university students were women; however, social and legal 
constraints limited their professional opportunities. Women were 
represented in many fields of the work force, including the legislature 
and municipal councils, police, and firefighters. However, their 
unemployment rate reportedly was significantly higher than for men, and 
they represented only 11 percent of the workforce. Women reportedly 
occupied 1.2 percent of higher management positions and 5.2 percent of 
managerial positions.
    Women cannot serve as President or as certain types of judges 
(women can be consultant and research judges without the power to 
impose sentences). Eighty-nine women registered to run for President in 
2005, but all were rejected by the Council of Guardians. This year 
women's rights activists made an effort to allow women to run for the 
Assembly of Experts. The constitution requires that Assembly of Experts 
candidates have a certain religious qualification. Citing this 
requirement, some religious leaders gave qualified support for the 
candidacy of women in the Assembly of Experts elections. Two women took 
the religious qualification exam, but neither passed.
    Women can own property and businesses in their name, and they can 
obtain credit at a bank. The law provides maternity, child care, and 
pension benefits. The number of women's NGOs has increased from 
approximately 130 to 450 in the past nine years.
    The Government enforced gender segregation in most public spaces 
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.
    The penal code provides that if a woman appears in public without 
the appropriate Islamic covering (hejab), she can be sentenced to 
lashings and/or fined. However, absent a clear legal definition of 
appropriate hejab or the punishment, women were at the mercy of the 
disciplinary forces or the judge (see section 1.c.). Pictures of 
uncovered or immodestly dressed women in the press or in films were 
often digitally altered.

    Children.--There was little current information available to assess 
government efforts to promote the welfare of children. Except in 
isolated areas of the country, children had free education through the 
12th grade (compulsory to age 11) and to some form of health care. 
Health care generally was regarded as affordable and comprehensive with 
competent physicians. Courts issued death sentences for crimes 
committed by minors (see section 1.c.).
    In January 2005 the Government delivered a presentation to the 
Committee on the Rights of the Child in compliance with its obligation 
as party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Government 
noted overall improvement in the situation of children, particularly in 
education and health. The Education Ministry reportedly paid particular 
attention to elevating the educational status of girls. It also noted 
the Government's efforts to shelter refugees, many of whom were 
children. According to the report, 195,000 Afghan and Iraqi refugee 
children were in school, and UNHCR paid only 10 percent of the 
education costs. In June the Government reduced the school fees charged 
for Afghan students, according to a Western NGO.
    At the same time, the report delivered to the Committee on the 
Rights of the Child acknowledged the need for other legislative 
protection and better enforcement of existing rules. The UN committee 
noted positively the provision of free education for all citizens up to 
secondary school. However, it expressed concern about persistent 
discrimination against girls and recommended the Government review all 
legislation to ensure it was nondiscriminatory. Among its 
recommendations, the committee urged the Government ensure all children 
were registered at birth and acquired permanent nationality without 
discrimination.
    In July 2005 UNICEF held a workshop in Tehran to explore 
alternatives to imprisoning youths, according to UN Integrated Regional 
Information Networks (IRIN) (see section 1.c.). Only a few cities had a 
youth prison, and minors were sometimes held with adult violent 
offenders (see section 1.c.). According to IRIN there were 300 boys and 
40 girls at the Tehran youth prison, with the average age of 14, but 
some were as young as age six. Children whose parents could not afford 
court fees were reportedly imprisoned for petty offenses including 
shoplifting, wearing make-up, or mixing with the opposite sex.
    There was little information available to reflect how the 
Government dealt with child abuse, including child labor (see sections 
6.c. and 6.d.). Abuse was largely regarded as a private, family matter. 
According to IRIN child sexual abuse was rarely reported. Nonetheless, 
according to the Government's January 2005 report on the rights of the 
child, the Health Ministry developed over the past few years an action 
plan with UNICEF to fight child abuse, including training Health 
Ministry officials on the rights of the child. According to UNICEF it 
operated a hot line for children and their families in the city of Bam, 
which was akin to similar services that operated in other major cities. 
The services sometimes referred callers to a Ministry of Education 
counseling program. The Government also set up hot lines for children 
in foster care to report abuse. The July 2005 UNICEF conference in 
Tehran also addressed problems relating to child sexual abuse, 
including identifying, investigating, and protecting victims.
    According to some reports, it is not unusual in rural areas for 
parents to have their children marry before they become teenagers, 
often for economic reasons. In 2002 the Majles sought marriage age 
limits of 15 for girls and 18 for boys without court approval, but the 
Council of Guardians objected, and the age was set at 13 for girls and 
15 for boys. In the Government's January 2005 report to the Committee 
on the Rights of the Child, it noted that early and forced marriages 
should be stopped.
    There are reportedly significant numbers of children, particularly 
Afghan but also Iranian, working as street vendors in Tehran and other 
cities and not attending school. In January 2005 government 
representatives told the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that 
there were fewer than 60,000 street children in the country. Tehran has 
reportedly opened several shelters for street children. The 
Government's January 2005 report on the rights of the child claimed 
7,000 street children had been resettled.

    Trafficking in Persons.--According to foreign observers, women and 
girls are trafficked from the country to Pakistan, Turkey, and Europe 
for sexual exploitation. Boys from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and 
Afghanistan were trafficked through the country to Gulf States. Afghan 
women and girls were trafficked to the country for sexual exploitation 
and forced marriages. Internal trafficking for sexual exploitation and 
forced labor also occurred. The Government did not fully comply with 
the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, nor has it 
made significant efforts to do so. The Government arrested and punished 
several trafficking victims on charges of prostitution or adultery. In 
2004 the Government conducted a study on trafficking of women, passed a 
law against human trafficking, and signed separate Memoranda of 
Understanding (MOU) with Afghanistan, Turkey, the International 
Organization for Migration, and the International Labor Organization 
(ILO). In December 2005 Iran, Pakistan, Greece, and Turkey formed a 
joint working group to fight human trafficking, according to Pakistani 
press reports. Domestic media reported that some trafficking networks 
were disrupted during the year.

    Persons With Disabilities.--In 2004 the Majles passed a 
Comprehensive Law on the Rights of the Disabled; however, it was not 
known whether there was any implementing legislation. There was no 
information available regarding whether the Government legislated or 
otherwise mandated accessibility for persons with disabilities or 
whether discrimination against persons with disabilities was 
prohibited; nor was any information available on which government 
agencies were responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities. The Government's January 2005 report on the rights of the 
child outlined health and education programs for children 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 schools. In practice, however, minority groups 
have not always been permitted to use their respective languages in 
schools. Few minority groups called for separatism. Instead, they 
complained of political and economic discrimination. Presidential 
candidates, with the exception of the winning candidate, talked more 
about problems facing minority groups in the 2005 Presidential 
elections than in the past. Conservative candidate Ali Larijani, who 
later became the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security 
and chief nuclear negotiator during the year, said all ethnic groups 
were important.
    In June the U.S. for Adequate Housing reported rural properties, 
particularly those belonging to minorities, were expropriated for 
government use without fair compensation to the owners. In August 2005 
the U.S. said that ethnic and religious minorities, nomadic groups, and 
women faced discrimination in housing and land rights, compounded by 
rising cost of housing. The Ahvazi representative in the previous 
Majles wrote a letter to then-President Khatami, complaining that Arab 
land was being bought at very low prices or even confiscated. He also 
said Arab political parties were not allowed to compete in elections, 
and Arabic newspapers and magazines were banned.
    The December 19 UNGA resolution on the country's human rights 
expressed serious concern about continuing discrimination toward 
persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, including violent 
repression of Arabs, Azeris, Baha'is, Kurds, and Sufis. There was 
societal violence in northwest, southwest, and southeast regions of the 
country, populated by various ethnic groups. Interior Minister Mustafa 
Purmohammadi ranked ethnic divisions as one of the biggest problems his 
ministry had to address. The Government blamed foreign entities, 
including a number of Western countries, for instigating some of the 
ethnic unrest. Other groups claimed the Government staged the bombs in 
Khuzestan during 2005 and early in the year as a pretext for 
repression.
    In March Kurds clashed with police, reportedly resulting in three 
deaths and over 250 arrests. There were also clashes in June 2005, and 
there were strikes and demonstrations in July and August 2005, 
following the killing of a Kurdish activist by security forces. 
According to HRW and other sources, security forces killed at least 17 
persons and wounded and arrested large numbers of others.
    In 2005 the Majles' national security and foreign policy committee 
studied the unrest in Kurdistan, and its rapporteur told domestic media 
that one factor was the comparatively high level of economic 
development in Iraqi and Turkish Kurdish areas. The representative from 
Sanandaj, Kurdistan also cited the lack of Sunni cabinet members as a 
grievance. However, the results of a government inquiry were not made 
public.
    Foreign representatives of the Ahvazi Arabs of Khuzestan, whose 
numbers are estimated to be from two to four million, claimed their 
community in the southwest section of the country suffered from 
persecution and discrimination, including the lack of freedom to study 
and speak Arabic. Early in the year, there were several bombings in 
Khuzestan (see section 1.a.). The Government blamed the violence on 
outside forces and foreign governments, although the revolutionary 
court later announced death sentences for at least 11 ethnic Arabs in 
connection with the bombings. After the first bombing in January, the 
Ahvazi Arab Revival Party, an irredentist group, criticized the 
Government for blaming its problems on foreign governments and warned 
that there would be more violence if the Government did not change its 
policies regarding ethnic Arabs.
    Provincial authorities sentenced 19 Ahvazi Arabs to death in 
connection with the October 2005 and January and February bombings. 
Human rights groups have accused the Government of torturing prisoners 
to extract confessions and unfair trial practices; they called on the 
Government to retry at least 10 of the accused bombers.
    Ahvazi and human rights groups allege torture and ill-treatment of 
Ahvazi Arab activists, including detention of the spouses and young 
children of activists.
    In April 2005 protests in Ahvazi followed the publication of a 
letter--termed a forgery by the Government--allegedly written in 1999 
by an advisor to then-President Khatami, referring to government 
policies to reduce the percentage of ethnic Arabs in Khuzestan (see 
section 1.a.). According to HRW after security forces attempted to 
break up the demonstrations and opened fire, the clashes turned violent 
and spread to other towns. The Government restricted press coverage of 
the events (see section 2.a.).
    The Ahvazi Human Rights Organization wrote a letter to the UN in 
November 2005, claiming arbitrary arrests and executions of Ahvazi 
Arabs, including a lynching by security forces and extrajudicial 
killings in Karoon prison. The group claimed that in November 2005 
three thousand Ahvazis staged a peaceful demonstration; however, 
security forces responded with tear gas grenades, and two Arab youths 
drowned as a result. The group also claimed the Government made mass 
arrests during a performance of a Ramadan play. Two persons arrested 
reportedly were sentenced to death.
    In August 2005 the U.S. for Adequate Housing reported 200,000 to 
250,000 Arabs were being displaced from their villages because of large 
development projects in Khuzestan. Land compensation was inadequate--
sometimes one-fortieth of market value. Arabs also suffered from 
importation of labor from other regions, despite high local 
unemployment.
    Azeris composed approximately one-quarter of the country's 
population and were well integrated into the Government and society, 
including the supreme leader and the head of the IRGC. However, Azeris 
complained of ethnic and linguistic discrimination, including banning 
the Azeri language in schools, harassing Azeri activists or organizers, 
and changing Azeri geographic names. The Government traditionally 
viewed Azeri nationalism as threatening, particularly since the 
dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of an independent 
Azerbaijan. Azeri groups also claimed that there were a number of Azeri 
political prisoners jailed for advocating cultural and language rights 
for Iranian Azerbaijanis. The Government has charged several of them 
with ``revolting against the Islamic state.''
    In May there were large-scale riots in the Azeri majority regions 
of the Northwest following publication of a newspaper cartoon 
considered insulting to Azeris (see section 2.a). The cartoon depicted 
a cockroach speaking in the Azeri language. Police forcibly contained 
the protests, and police officials reported that four persons were 
killed and several protesters were detained (see section 1.a). 
Authorities blamed foreign governments for inciting unrest.
    The chief of the national police said security in southeastern 
Sistan va Baluchestan Province was more problematic than elsewhere in 
the country. In March a government convoy was attacked in the province, 
and 21 government officials were killed. The province has had high 
levels of ethnic unrest. In July 2005 an armed Sunni group claimed to 
have beheaded a government security agent, presumably in the province; 
however, the report remained unconfirmed.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In 2004 the judiciary 
formed the Special Protection Division, a new unit that allowed 
volunteers to police moral crimes.
    The law prohibits and punishes homosexuality; sodomy between 
consenting adults is a capital crime. The punishment of a non-Muslim 
homosexual is harsher if the homosexual's partner is Muslim. In July 
2005 two teenage boys, one 16 and one 18 years of age, were publicly 
executed; they were charged with raping a 13-year-old boy. A number of 
groups outside the country alleged the two were executed for 
homosexuality; however, because of the lack of transparency in the 
court system, there was no concrete information. In November 2005 
domestic conservative press reported that two men in their twenties 
were hanged in public for lavat (defined as sexual acts between men). 
The article also said they had a criminal past, including kidnapping 
and rape. It was not possible to judge whether these men were executed 
for homosexuality or other crimes.
    According to Health Ministry statistics announced in October, there 
were over 13,000 registered HIV-positive persons in the country, but 
unofficial estimates were much higher; most were men. Transmission was 
primarily through shared needles by drug users, and a study showed 
shared injection inside prison to be a particular risk factor. There 
was a free anonymous testing clinic in Tehran, government-sponsored 
low-cost or free methadone treatment, including in prisons. The 
Government also started distributing clean needles in some prisons. The 
Government supported programs for AIDS awareness and did not interfere 
with private HIV-related NGOs. Contraceptives, including free condoms, 
were available at health centers as well in pharmacies. Nevertheless, 
persons infected with HIV faced discrimination in schools and 
workplaces.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to 
establish unions; however, the Government did not permit independent 
unions. A national organization known as Workers' House was the sole 
authorized national labor organization. It served primarily as a 
conduit for government control over workers. The leadership of Workers' 
House coordinated activities with Islamic labor councils, which 
consisted of representatives of the workers and a representative of 
management in industrial, agricultural, and service organizations of 
more than 35 employees. These councils also functioned as instruments 
of government control and frequently blocked layoffs and dismissals.
    The law allows employers and employees to establish guilds. The 
guilds issued vocational licenses and helped members find jobs. 
Instances of late or partial pay for government workers reportedly were 
common.
    In 2005 workers appointed a committee to lobby for the right to 
form labor associations. The committee issued a statement signed by 
5,000 workers that it did not recognize agreements signed between the 
Government and the ILO because workers had no independent 
representation at discussions. Workers criticized official unions for 
being too close to the Government.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The country's 
ILO membership requires respect for the right of freedom of 
association. However, workers did not have the right to organize 
independently and negotiate collective bargaining agreements. The ITUC 
noted the labor code was amended in 2003 to permit workers to form and 
join ``trade unions'' without prior permission if registration 
regulations are observed. The Labor Ministry must register the 
organization within 30 days.
    Workshops of 10 employees or less are exempt from labor 
legislation. According to the ITUC, over 400,000 of the country's 
450,000 workshops were exempt circa 2003.
    The law prohibits public sector strikes, and the Government did not 
tolerate any strike deemed contrary to its economic and labor policies; 
however, strikes occurred. There are no mechanisms to protect worker 
rights in the public sector, such as mediation or arbitration.
    In May members of the Syndicate of Bus Drivers of the Tehran and 
Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e-Vahed) wrote a letter to President 
Ahmadinejad, asking him to respect their constitutional rights. In July 
ITUC and the International Federation of Transport Workers (ITF) lodged 
a joint complaint to the ILO calling for Osanloo's release. On August 
9, Osanloo, head of Sherkat-e-Vahed arrested in December 2005 during a 
protest strike, was released on bail. He was re-arrested on November 19 
and again released on December 19 (see section 2.b.).
    In a May 2005 letter, ITUC protested an attack that month on a 
meeting at the Bakery Workers' Association related to founding a union 
at the Tehran Vahed Bus Company. Reportedly 300 members of Hizballah 
and the Islamic Labor Councils attacked the site.
    The ITUC also protested the detention in August 2005 of Borhan 
Divargar, a member of the Saqqez Bakery Workers' Union, and claimed he 
had been beaten. In November 2005 he was reportedly sentenced to two 
years in prison. The case was overturned on appeal, but the Government 
brought new charges of ``attempting to hold an illegal gathering for 
the purposes of committing a crime.'' A November report indicated he 
was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. At year's end there was no 
further update in this case.
    In November 2005 President of the Saqqez Bakery Workers' Union 
Mahmoud Salehi was reportedly sentenced to five years in prison and 
three years of exile. Salehi was also charged with contacting an ITUC 
delegation that visited the country in 2004.
    In May the sentences of Salehi and fellow arrested labor activist 
Jalal Hosseini were appealed and overturned by the Kurdistan Province 
Court of Appeal. The Saqqez Revolutionary Court then brought new 
charges against Salehi and Hosseini for committing crimes against the 
country's internal security. On October 16 and 18, respectively, Salehi 
and Hosseini faced closed trials in Branch One of the Saqqez 
Revolutionary Court. A November report indicated that Salehi was 
sentenced to four years' imprisonment and Hosseini to two years' 
imprisonment.
    According to the ITUC, labor legislation did not apply in Export 
Processing Zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law permits the 
Government to require any person not working to take suitable 
employment; however, this requirement did not appear to be enforced 
regularly. The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; 
however, this law was not enforced adequately, and such labor by 
children was a serious problem (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, there 
appeared to be a serious problem with child labor (see section 5). The 
law prohibits employment of minors less than 15 years of age and places 
restrictions on the employment of minors under age 18; however, the 
Government did not adequately enforce laws pertaining to child labor. 
The law permits children to work in agriculture, domestic service, and 
some small businesses but prohibits employment of women and minors in 
hard labor or night work. There was no information regarding 
enforcement of these regulations.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law empowers the Supreme 
Labor Council to establish annual minimum wage levels for each 
industrial sector and region. During the year President Ahmadinejad 
increased the minimum wage levels, but workers continued to claim that 
it was too low. There was no information regarding mechanisms to set 
wages, and it was not known if minimum wages were enforced. The law 
stipulates that the minimum wage should meet the living expenses of a 
family and should take inflation into account. However, many middle-
class citizens had to work two or three jobs to support their families.
    The law establishes a maximum six-day, 48-hour workweek, with a 
weekly rest day, normally Fridays, and at least 12 days of paid annual 
leave and several paid public holidays.
    According to the law, a safety council, chaired by the Labor 
Minister or his representative, should protect workplace safety and 
health. Labor organizations outside the country have alleged that 
hazardous work environments were common in the country and resulted in 
thousands of worker deaths annually. The quality of safety regulation 
enforcement was unknown, and it was unknown whether workers could 
remove themselves from hazardous situations without risking the loss of 
employment.
    There was anecdotal evidence suggesting some government employees 
and students voted in the 2005 Presidential election to obtain the 
stamp proving they had voted. Without this stamp, they feared they 
would have employment or enrollment problems.

                               __________

                                  IRAQ

    Iraq, with a population of approximately 25 million, is a republic 
with a freely elected government led by Prime Minister Nouri Jawad al-
Maliki. The current administration assumed office on May 20, after the 
Council of Representatives (CoR) approved a unity government composed 
of the major political parties. The December 15, 2005, CoR elections 
establishing this government met internationally recognized electoral 
standards for free and fair elections, and the results of the elections 
reflected the will of the voters, according to the final report of the 
International Mission for Iraqi Elections. During the year, sectarian 
violence increased and deepened.
    Widespread violence seriously compromised the Government's ability 
to protect human rights. Sectarian-driven violence, acts of terrorism, 
and revenge by armed groups in a climate of criminality and impunity 
undercut government efforts to establish and maintain the rule of law. 
On one side, predominantly Sunni Arab groups such as Al-Qa'ida in Iraq, 
irreconcilable remnants of the Ba'thist regime, and insurgents waging 
guerrilla warfare violently opposed the Government and targeted Shi'a 
communities. The other, predominantly Shi'a militias with some ties to 
the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), targeted Sunnis in large-scale death 
squad and kidnapping activities. While the law provides for civilian 
authorities' control over the security forces, there were many 
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently.
    The February 22 bombing of the Al-Askariya Shrine in Samarra set 
off a series of violent attacks that continued throughout the year. An 
increased level of sectarianism resulted in significant population 
displacements. Estimates of those displaced after the bombing ranged 
widely from 380,000 to 500,000 persons.
    Insurgents and terrorists increased their bombing and targeting of 
markets, mosques, and religious pilgrims, largely on a sectarian basis. 
In addition to these attacks, death squads and terrorist groups 
attacked and killed shoppers and ordinary citizens such as bakers, 
street cleaners, and storeowners, again largely on a sectarian basis. 
These attacks caused thousands of deaths, principally in Baghdad, but 
also across the country in Kirkuk, Mosul, and in the South and to the 
northwest of Baghdad, reflecting a marked increase in extrajudicial 
killings over the previous year.
    The Government was unable to diminish these violent attacks, 
although large efforts were made to implement better security measures, 
particularly in Baghdad. The Prime Minister, with the concurrence of 
the CoR, renewed each month the ``state of emergency'' originally 
declared in November 2004, excluding the provinces of the Kurdish 
Regional government (KRG). The state of emergency allows the Prime 
Minister to impose curfews and restrictions on public gatherings, 
associations, unions, and other entities; to put a preventive freeze on 
assets; to impose monitoring of and seizure of means of communication; 
and to have all armed forces directly report to him.
    On November 5, the Iraqi Higher Tribunal found Saddam Hussein, 
whose regime murdered, tortured, and caused the disappearance of 
hundreds of thousands of persons, guilty of ordering the execution of 
148 men and boys in Ad-Dujayl in 1982. On December 30, Hussein was 
executed.
    During the year, the following significant human rights problems 
were reported: Pervasive climate of violence; misappropriation of 
official authority by sectarian, criminal, terrorist, and insurgent 
groups; arbitrary deprivation of life; disappearances; torture and 
other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; impunity; 
poor conditions in pretrial detention facilities; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; denial of fair public trial; an immature judicial system 
lacking capacity; limitations on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, 
and association due to terrorist and militia violence; restrictions on 
religious freedom; large numbers of internally displaced persons 
(IDPs); lack of transparency and widespread corruption at all levels of 
government; constraints on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); 
discrimination against women, ethnic, and religious minorities; and 
limited exercise of labor rights.
    The constitution and law provide a strong framework for the free 
exercise of human rights, and many citizens contributed to efforts to 
help build institutions to protect those rights. As well, the Ministry 
of Interior (MoI) and Ministry of Defense (MoD) both increased the 
numbers of trained security forces, which can be directed to establish 
an improved rule of law environment. Nonetheless, during the year, 
government institutions were greatly stressed and faced difficulty in 
successfully responding to the challenges presented by widespread human 
rights abuses.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The year was 
characterized by a climate of increasing violence, principally carried 
out by Sunni insurgents, Shi'a militias, terrorists, criminal elements, 
death squads, and errant government agents. The level of extrajudicial 
killings increased markedly over the previous year, according to 
numerous independent studies, but there is no consensus on the correct 
figures. During the year, according to the UN Assistance Mission for 
Iraq (UNAMI), citing Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Baghdad Medical 
Legal Institute data, 34,452 civilians were violently killed (16,867 in 
Baghdad).
    There were also other estimates of violent deaths directly 
attributed to the conflict. A government report presented a total of 
14,298 violent civilian deaths directly attributed to the conflict. The 
large variation in numbers reflected different criteria for inclusion 
in the total (e.g., exclusion of deaths attributed to criminality), as 
well as uncertainty about additionality of hospital/morgue counts, 
among other possibilities.
    Unauthorized government agent involvement in extrajudicial killings 
throughout the country was widely reported. Shi'a sectarian militias 
such as the oppositionist Jaysh al-Mahdi (Mahdi's Army) and the Badr 
Corps continued to be prevalent in the ISF, particularly in the center 
and south of the country. For example, killings and kidnappings in 
Basrah were carried out by militia members wearing police uniforms and 
driving police cars.
    MoI-affiliated death squads targeted Sunnis and conducted 
kidnapping raids and killings in Baghdad and its environs, largely with 
impunity. On May 7, then minister of interior Bayan Jabr announced to 
the press the arrest of a major general and 17 other ministry employees 
implicated in kidnapping and ``death squad activities.'' Jabr also 
noted that that the MoI had found a terror group in its 16th Brigade 
that carried out ``killings of citizens". On October 4, the MoI 
announced its decision to dissolve the 8th Brigade of the police for 
its support of death squads, and sent hundreds of personnel from that 
brigade to training. No results of the investigation of the brigade, or 
of the other arrests, were available by year's end.
    In Irbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, the three provinces comprising 
the KRG area of the country, there were fewer reports of violence than 
elsewhere. However, the KRG security forces were sometimes accused of 
using excessive force that resulted in deaths. For example, on March 
16, at a student protest in Halabja, KRG security forces fired into the 
crowd when the protest turned violent, killing one student and injuring 
several others.
    Insurgent and terrorist bombings, executions, and killings were a 
daily occurrence throughout all regions and sectors of society. Apart 
from attacks in Baghdad, the Sunni insurgency and terrorists launched 
numerous attacks in Anbar and Diyala provinces, and in Mosul and 
Kirkuk--areas noted for their high level of violence. A large number of 
attacks targeting Shi'a civilians were attributable to the jihadist Al-
Qa'ida in Iraq, in furtherance of its stated goal to spark a sectarian 
conflict, weaken the Government, force the Coalition to withdraw, and 
establish a base for transnational terror operations. Other insurgent 
and terrorist groups also were involved in the violence. These groups 
targeted government workers, ordinary citizens, and members of the ISF 
among other groups.
    According to government reports, 1,455 police officers were killed 
in targeted attacks during the year. For example, in a suicide bombing 
attack January 5 against a police recruitment center in Ramadi, 82 
persons, many of whom were police, were killed, and 70 were wounded. 
Potential recruits were also widely targeted. For example, 23 potential 
police recruits were abducted, shot, and killed north of Baghdad on 
January 23.
    The February 22 terrorist bombing of the al-Askariya Shrine in 
Samarra provoked a rise in sectarian violence. The al-Askariya Shrine 
represents one of the most revered sites for those of the Shi'a faith. 
Hours after the bombing of the holy shrine, a number of attackers, 
reportedly from the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, conducted extensive raids 
and killings in Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad.
    In the months that followed the bombing, a cycle of daily sectarian 
retaliatory attacks resulted between Shi'a and Sunni. Sunni terrorist 
groups continued to engage in a number of bomb and mortar attacks on 
dense Shi'a neighborhoods. In a few examples among hundreds, on March 
12, car bombs detonated at three markets in Baghdad's Shi'a-dominant 
Sadr City while families were shopping for food. These attacks killed 
at least 58 individuals and injured 200. On July 1, a car bomb at a 
crowded market in Sadr City killed 62 and wounded 114 in an explosion 
claimed by ``the Supporters of the Sunni People,'' ('Ahl al-Sunnah al-
Munaserai), a previously unknown group.
    Terrorist attacks also targeted religious sites. On July 18, a 
suicide bomb killed 59 persons in Kufa, near the Shi'a holy city of 
Najaf, in an attack claimed by Al-Qa'ida. On August 10, 35 persons were 
killed and 122 injured by bomb blasts near the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf 
on a day commemorating the death of Zainab, the Prophet's daughter. The 
soldiers of the Prophet's Companions (Jamaat Jund al-Sahaba) claimed 
responsibility.
    The actions and apparent growth of predominantly Shi'a militias 
similarly contributed to the marked rise in violence. In particular, 
numerous reports indicated that the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia was 
responsible for a growing number of raids and killings of Sunni 
citizens in Baghdad and other parts of the country during the year.
    Throughout the country terrorist groups conducted sectarian attacks 
that appeared to be carried out with the intent of instilling fear and 
chaos in the population. On September 23, a Sadr City attack drew 
international attention when a suicide bomber killed up to 35 Shi'a 
women and children as they were waiting in line for cooking gas. On 
November 23, six car bombs in different parts of Sadr City killed 202 
and wounded 250 persons. On December 12, a suicide bomber killed 70 
persons and wounded at least 236 in Tayran Square, in Baghdad after 
attracting a crowd of day laborers to his truck with promises of work. 
There were numerous reports of terrorists attacking shoppers on the 
street, shopkeepers, garbage collectors, and others.
    There were no publicly known judicial or disciplinary developments 
in the killings reported in the 2005 Human Rights Report.

    b. Disappearance.--Kidnappings and disappearances remained a severe 
problem during the year; the majority of them appeared to be sectarian-
related. A very large number of kidnappings were also conducted for 
ransom. The police solved virtually none of these cases.
    During the year, many individuals disappeared, with frequent 
accusations directed at the police. Many Baghdad residents complained 
that family members were often taken without an arrest warrant by 
neighborhood police officers who would later call for a ransom. 
Numerous reports indicated that rogue police were involved in 
sectarian-motivated kidnappings. However, since criminals, insurgents, 
and militia members easily purchased and often wore police uniforms, 
there was no reliable data on actual police abuses.
    In Basrah reports of kidnappings and killings, often by gunmen 
wearing police uniforms and riding in police vehicles, were a regular 
occurrence. The motives were reported to be ransom and political 
intimidation.
    Kurdish security forces, including the armed forces (Peshmerga), 
internal security forces (Asayish) and intelligence services (Parastin/
Zanyari), reportedly conducted illegal police operations outside KRG 
boundaries in the provinces of Ninawa and of Tameen, whose capital is 
Kirkuk. These operations abducted individuals and detained them in 
unofficial and undisclosed detention facilities in the KRG.
    Incidents of political kidnappings also occurred during the year. 
For example, on July 1 CoR member Tayseer al-Mashhadani was kidnapped 
while driving from Diyala to Baghdad. Fellow parliamentarians protested 
the kidnapping by boycotting CoR sessions for a week. After prolonged 
negotiation between the Government and the kidnappers, she was released 
on August 26.
    Other political figures did not share the same fortune. Ali al-
Mahdawi, director of Diyala Health Directorate and Sunni nominee for 
deputy minister of health, was kidnapped on June 12 from within the MoH 
in Baghdad, where he was scheduled to meet the minister. This marked 
the first time that a kidnapping occurred inside a government ministry. 
His whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
    On March 6, Ahmed al-Mosawi, the head of the Iraq Human Rights 
Society, was kidnapped from the headquarters of the association. There 
was no information about his whereabouts at year's end.
    During the year there was a marked increase in large-scale 
kidnappings. For example, on June 5, up to 50 persons were taken from 
the Salhiya neighborhood in Baghdad. The MoI publicly denied 
involvement, although residents reported that the assailants wore 
police uniforms. Several of those taken were later released after 
having been severely beaten. The whereabouts of the others was unknown 
at year's end.
    On June 21, approximately 70 Ministry of Industry and Minerals 
employees on their way home from work were stopped at a temporary 
checkpoint. Gunmen boarded their buses, released the women, and drove 
off taking the male employees hostage. Approximately half of them were 
released, and the rest were presumed dead.
    Until its fall in 2003, the former regime murdered, tortured, and 
caused the disappearance of many thousands of persons suspected of or 
related to persons suspected of opposition politics, economic crimes, 
military desertion, and a variety of other activities. Mass graves 
continued to be discovered during the year.

    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. However, there were many, well-documented instances of 
torture and other abuses by government agents and by illegal armed 
groups. The Government's ability to respond to the violence with full 
transparency under strict adherence to the rule of law has been 
hampered by the nature and breadth of the violence perpetrated by 
terrorists and death squads, and the lack of capacity, particularly in 
terms of pretrial detention facilities and maturing but still fragile 
security forces and institutions.
    During the year, local and international human rights organizations 
continued to report that detainees held in several MoI and MoD 
detention facilities, as well as in KRG security forces detention 
facilities, were tortured and abused. Incidents of abuse included 
application of electric shocks, fingernail extractions, and other 
severe beatings. In some cases, police threatened and sexually abused 
detainees and visiting family members.
    Serious reports of torture and killings were leveled at MoI's 
Serious Crime Unit detention facility in Basrah and the Khadamiya 
National Police detention facility in Baghdad. Former detainees in both 
facilities reported that they suffered severe beatings, electrocution, 
sexual assault, and, in some cases, gunshot wounds. There were also 
similar accusations against MoD facilities, particularly against the 
5th Division, 2nd Brigade's detention facility in Baqubah.
    Reports of abuse at the point of arrest, particularly by MoI's 
National Police forces and by MoD's battalion level forces, were common 
at year's end. Accusations included extreme beatings, sexual assault, 
and threats of death. There was little indication that MoI or other 
government officials took disciplinary action in cases alleging abuses, 
apart from some transfers within the ministry.
    On December 25, British and Iraqi forces raided MoI's Serious Crime 
Unit, based at the Jameat police station in Basrah. The joint forces 
released 127 prisoners, including juveniles. Many of the prisoners 
showed signs of torture. The joint forces razed the building explaining 
that a torture chamber had been discovered in the building, and they 
did not want to risk it being re-used.
    On May 30, a joint inspection team discovered that 1,431 detainees 
were being held in extremely poor conditions in the Baghdad Central 
Detention facility, a national police detention facility known as 
``Site 4.'' Since Site 4's capacity was only approximately 500 beds, 
inmates had insufficient space to lie down and instead sat knee-to-
knee. Some detainees claimed that they were hung by handcuffs from a 
hook in the ceiling and beaten on the soles of their feet and their 
buttocks. Inmates claimed that interrogators killed some detainees. A 
number of juvenile detainees, mostly young teenagers, alleged sexual 
abuse at the hands of MoI personnel and adult prisoners. There were 
also allegations that some family members of the inmates were also 
sexually assaulted. Following the inspection of Site 4, the Government 
worked to improve conditions for the detainees, relocating many 
including juveniles to safer locations. In June arrest warrants were 
issued for over 50 suspected abusers. However, the MoI had yet to 
execute any of the arrest warrants by year's end.
    Abusive interrogation practices reportedly occurred in some 
detention facilities run by the two KRG internal security forces and 
the two KRG intelligence forces. The Parastin/Zanyari forces reportedly 
operated separate detention facilities and prohibited human rights 
organizations as well as the human rights ministry from visiting their 
facilities and inspecting the treatment of detainees.
    The KRG permitted visits to its MoI prison system by human rights 
organizations. The KRG Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) also visited 
these prisons. Conditions generally were reported to meet international 
standards.
    Insurgents, terrorists, and some militia members regularly beat, 
dismembered, beheaded, and electrically drilled and shocked their 
victims. For example, according to March 28 press reports, 30 
decapitated bodies were found near the village of Mulla Eid, near 
Baqubah, north of Baghdad. A video shown on the Ansar al-Sunna Web site 
was reported on June 10 to show the beheading of three men who appear 
to be army soldiers. The blindfolded men identified themselves and said 
that they were part of a ``death squad'' before being decapitated. 
According to Reuters, police reported that the bodies of three persons, 
including a beheaded woman showing signs of torture, were retrieved on 
September 7 from the Tigris River near the town of Suwayra, south of 
Baghdad.
    There were no developments in the November 2005 Jadriyah bunker 
investigation, in which hundreds of detainees were overcrowded and 
severely malnourished with many showing signs of severe torture and 
some reported deaths.
    The national MoHR continued its own prison inspection program; its 
reports were not publicly available.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Despite a law mandating 
that detention facilities be under the sole control of the Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ), detention facilities were operated by four separate 
ministries: Justice, Interior, Defense, and the Ministry of Labor and 
Social Affairs (MoLSA) for juvenile detention facilities. Additionally, 
the KRG operated its own detention facilities. According to the UNAMI 
March-April report, the general conditions of detention in the country 
were ``not consistent'' with international human rights standards. 
Overcrowding and lack of judicial oversight were principal problems.
    Justice ministry prison and detention facilities (otherwise known 
as the Iraqi Correctional Services or ICS) generally met 
internationally accepted standards for basic prisoner needs. Observers 
believed that, although isolated incidents of guard abuse occurred, 
this was not a systematic problem. The ICS internal affairs department 
monitored abuse or violations of UN standards for human rights in 
prisons. Medical care in MOJ/ICS facilities was satisfactory and in 
some locations exceeded the community standard. All prisoners received 
medical screening upon admission, follow up care as necessary, and had 
access to daily sick call with medical personnel.
    However, a number of detention facilities under MoI and MoD control 
did not meet international standards. There was continued overcrowding. 
Many lacked adequate food, exercise facilities, medical care, and 
family visitation. Detainee populations were high due to mass arrests 
carried out under security and military operations. Limited 
infrastructure or aging physical plants in some facilities resulted in 
marginal sanitation, limited access to water and electricity, and poor 
quality food. Medical care in MoI and MoD detention facilities was not 
consistently provided, and rape, torture, and abuse, sometimes leading 
to death, reportedly occurred in some of these detention facilities.
    The ICS system operated 11 prisons and pretrial detention 
facilities, and Kurdish authorities operated seven. The MoD operated 17 
holding areas or detention facilities in Baghdad and at least another 
13 nationwide for detainees captured during military raids and 
operations.
    At year's end the total number of MoI detention facilities was 
unknown. Including police station holding stations, official MoI 
detention locations were estimated to number over 1,000 facilities. 
Additionally, there were reports of unofficial detention centers 
throughout the country. Unlawful releases and continued detention 
beyond the date of ordered release, as well targeting and kidnapping of 
Sunni-Arab detainees were reported. However, there were indications 
during the last months of the year of emerging Jaysh al-Mahdi militia 
influence within the MOJ prison facility system.
    The law mandates that women and juveniles be held separately from 
men. Although in some cases women were housed in the same detention 
facility as men, generally they were not. Juveniles were occasionally 
held with adults. A number of juvenile detainees, mostly young 
teenagers, alleged sexual abuse at the hands of MoI personnel and adult 
prisoners. Additionally, pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners 
were often held in the same facility due to space limitations.
    The MOJ/ICS and KRG routinely permitted visits to prisons by 
representatives of the both the national and the KRG ministries of 
human rights. Access to national MoI detention and pretrial facilities, 
as well as to similar facilities of the KRG Asayish and intelligence 
forces, was generally not permitted for domestic and international 
human rights NGOs or intergovernmental organizations (see section 4).
    The KRG MoI and MoLSA detention facilities met international 
standards for prisoner needs.
    The KRG Asayish detention facilities did not provide consistent 
access to human rights organizations. The KRG MoHR did not visit these 
facilities. The KRG intelligence groups reportedly maintained separate 
detention facilities; however, there were no reports of access by 
outsiders to these facilities. The condition of prisoners and detainees 
in these facilities was unknown.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution provides 
protection against arbitrary arrest and detention, except in extreme 
exigent circumstances as provided for in a state of emergency. In 
practice, there were a number of instances of arbitrary arrest and 
detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--During the year the MOI 
exercised its responsibilities throughout the country except for the 
KRG area. Such responsibilities include providing internal security 
through police and domestic intelligence capabilities, and regulating 
all domestic and foreign private security companies. It also has 
responsibility for emergency response, border enforcement, dignitary 
protection, firefighting, and facilities protection. The army, under 
direction of the MoD, also played a part in providing domestic 
security. During the year, ISF often did not have sufficient capacity 
to prevent or respond to societal violence.
    Sectarian divisions, personnel and equipment shortages, and 
unwillingness to serve outside the areas in which they were recruited 
were problems for all security forces.
    The KRG maintained its own security forces as set forth in the 
constitution. The KRG functioned with two party-based ministries of 
interior. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party controlled the 
ministry with oversight of the province of Sulaymaniyah, and the 
Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) controlled the ministry with oversight 
of the provinces of Irbil and Dohuk. The KRG also maintained two 
separate army forces and two separate internal security units. All four 
of these security forces detained and held suspects in custody.
    Police effectiveness, particularly the national police, was 
seriously compromised by militias, sectarianism, and in the case of the 
KRG, political party influences. Corruption and a culture of impunity 
were rampant. During the year, after some investigatory efforts, the 
MoI announced the firing of hundreds of employees accused of 
corruption. Many employees accused of serious human rights abuses were 
transferred rather than fired or arrested.
    Allegations of MoD abuses increased in the last few months of the 
year. Of note were complaints against MoD battalion level units that 
carried out arrests in Baghdad as well as against the 5th Division, 2nd 
Brigade operating in Diyala Province.
    There were few documented cases of criminal proceedings brought 
against members of the security forces in connection with alleged 
violations of human rights. MoI authorities claimed that several 
policemen had been arrested and given both criminal and administrative 
punishments in cases where allegations of torture were substantiated. 
However, MoI did not provide information on individual cases.
    Efforts to increase the capacity and effectiveness of the police 
continued, including through human rights training and other forms of 
assistance. Recruits received 21 hours of human rights and rule-of-law 
training from certified instructors during their 10-week basic police 
course. Officers received an additional 10 to 15 hours of human rights 
training during the six-week basic course. After completion of the 
basic course, police officers received an additional 34 hours of human 
rights and rule-of-law training in a four-week course. The MoI also 
continued to develop and provide training to its internal affairs 
section and inspector general sections.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution prohibits ``unlawful 
detention'' and mandates that preliminary investigative documents be 
submitted to a judge within 24 hours from time of arrest, a period 
which can be extended by one day. Under the state of emergency, the 
Prime Minister has the authority under ``extreme exigent 
circumstances'' to provide authorization for suspects to be detained 
and searched without an arrest warrant.
    In practice police and the army personnel frequently arrested and 
detained suspects without judicial approval. Security sweeps sometimes 
were conducted throughout entire neighborhoods, and numerous people 
were reportedly arrested without a warrant or probable cause. Police 
often failed to notify family members of the arrest or location of 
detention, resulting in incommunicado detention. The army performed 
these law enforcement functions at the direction of the Prime Minister 
relying on authorization in the declared state of emergency.
    At year's end, according to MoHR data reported in the UNAMI 
bimonthly report, the total number of noncoalition force official 
detainees in the country was 16,308, the great majority being Sunni. 
The ICS held 8,500; the MoI, 4,034; the MoD, 1,220; and the MLSA, 456. 
The KRG total was 2,098. The MoI figures were considered to be low 
estimates.
    In practice very few detainees saw an investigative judge within 
the legally mandated time period. Many complained of not seeing the 
investigative judge until months after arrest and detention. In some 
cases, individuals identified as potential witnesses were also detained 
for months. Incommunicado detention took place.
    Lengthy detention periods without any judicial action appeared to 
be a systematic problem resulting from backlogs in the judiciary, slow 
processing of criminal investigations, an insufficient number of 
judges, and undocumented detentions.
    There were a number of reports that KRG prisoners were held 
incommunicado. KRG internal security units reportedly detained suspects 
without an arrest warrant and transported detainees to undisclosed 
detention facilities. There were many reports that family members were 
not allowed to know the location of the detainees, nor visit them. 
Reportedly, police across the country continued to use coerced 
confessions and abuse as methods of investigation.
    Although the law allows release on bond, in practice criminal 
detainees were generally retained in custody pending the outcome of a 
criminal investigation.
    Judges are authorized to appoint paid counsel for the indigent and 
did so in practice.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the judicial system is credited with efforts 
to maintain an independent stance. Exceptionally, ministers were 
legally afforded the opportunity to review and prevent the execution of 
arrest warrants against ministry employees lawfully issued by sitting 
judges presiding over criminal investigations. This provision gave 
criminal immunity to some government employees and enabled a component 
of the executive branch to terminate proceedings initiated by the 
judicial branch.
    The judiciary at all levels--investigative, trial, appellate, and 
supreme--is managed and supervised by the Higher Juridical Council, an 
administrative body of sitting judges from the Federal Supreme Court, 
the Court of Cassation, and the appeals courts. Representatives of the 
Office of the Public Defender, of a judicial oversight board (that 
hears charges of misconduct by judges), and of regional judicial 
councils also sit on the Higher Juridical Council (HJC).
    The HJC's responsibilities include formulating and administering 
budgets for the courts, nominating and assigning judges to the various 
tribunals throughout the country, managing courthouses and related 
facilities, supervising personnel matters, and establishing guidelines 
and policies for the administration of the courts. Unlike the formal 
courts, the HJC does not investigate and adjudicate cases involving 
criminal conduct or civil claims.
    Although the constitution provides for an independent judiciary in 
all regions, the KRG judiciary remained part of the KRG executive 
branch's Ministry of Justice. Judges in the KRG system were accused of 
being appointed based on party ties.
    While individual judges were viewed as objective and courageous, 
judges also were vulnerable to intimidation and violence. In some 
cases, particularly in Ninawa Province, judges refused to hear cases 
against insurgents and terrorists for fear of retribution. There were 
also reports that criminal cases at the trial level or on appeal to the 
Court of Cassation were not adjudicated on their merits, suggesting 
corruption or intimidation.
    Defense attorneys were theoretically provided, but detainees rarely 
had access to them before the initial judicial hearing, often for 
security reasons. Many detainees met their lawyers for the first time 
during the initial hearing. Defense attorneys rarely played a 
substantive role in the trials or hearings.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and judges--investigative, trial, and appellate--generally 
sought to enforce that right. An accused is considered innocent until 
proven guilty and has the right to privately-retained or court-
appointed counsel. One of the significant challenges facing the 
criminal trial courts, however, was insufficient access to defense 
attorneys.
    The criminal justice system is based on a civil law regime similar 
to the Napoleonic Code. It is fundamentally inquisitorial--and not 
adversarial--in form and content. The system is focused centrally on 
the search for the truth, initiated and pursued almost exclusively by 
judges, whose role it is to assemble evidence and adjudicate the guilt 
or innocence of accused persons.
    Investigative judges, working collaboratively with judicial 
investigators, and in some cases police officers, are responsible for 
interviewing witnesses, assembling evidence, examining suspected 
criminals, and generating files on the results of the investigative 
work. Although prosecutors and defense attorneys are frequently 
participants in these pretrial investigative hearings, their roles are 
for the most part limited to recommending that the investigative judges 
pursue certain investigative avenues, including posing suggested 
questions of witnesses and detainees. They rarely appealed decisions of 
judges about the manner and scope of their investigations.
    Three-judge panels are then responsible for trying the accused 
persons, based largely on the results of judicial investigations. 
During those trials the presiding judges question the accused 
detainees; witnesses may testify at these proceedings. The prosecutor 
and the defense attorney are afforded the opportunity to make brief 
closing statements about the issues in the case.
    After deliberation among the members of the panel, the presiding 
judge announces the verdict and, in the case of a conviction, also 
sentences the accused person(s). Criminal judgments of conviction and 
acquittal may be appealed to the Court of Cassation, a judicial panel 
that reviews the evidence assembled in the investigative and trial 
stages and renders a decision.
    The judicial system includes civil courts that address domestic, 
family, labor, employment, contract, and real and personal property 
claims. Challenges to the judgments rendered in these civil proceedings 
are first taken to the Appeals Courts of the provinces in which the 
trial courts sit; after that, secondary appeals may be made to the 
Court of Cassation.
    In addition to the criminal and civil trial and appellate courts, 
the court system includes a Federal Supreme Court, the jurisdiction of 
which is limited to resolving disputes between branches of government, 
between the federal government and the provinces (governorates), and 
reviewing the constitutionality of laws, regulations, procedures, and 
directives of the various branches and units of government throughout 
the country. The existing Federal Supreme Court was established in 
2005, and its nine members were appointed by the Presidency Council. 
The constitution requires that the CoR enact a law that will determine 
the membership of, selection, and jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme 
Court.
    In 2003 the Governing Council created the Iraqi High Tribunal 
(IHT), formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal, to try persons accused of 
committing war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and specified 
offenses under the country's law from July 17, 1968, through May 1, 
2003. On November 5, the IHT sentenced former dictator Saddam Hussein 
to death based upon his conviction for crimes against humanity relating 
to the murder of 148 villagers from Ad-Dujayl following an alleged 
assassination attempt against him in 1982. Two other regime members, 
Barzan al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar, were convicted at the same time 
of similar crimes. All three were sentenced to execution by hanging. 
Appeals were lodged on December 3, and the verdicts were confirmed on 
December 26. Saddam Hussein was hung on December 30. At year's end the 
sentences for the other two men had not been carried out.
    The Anfal trial, which started on August 21, continued at year's 
end. The charges concerned the alleged genocide of the Kurdish 
population resulting in the deaths of an estimated 182,000 men, women, 
and children, in part by the use of chemical weapons. After the 
execution of Saddam, Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely referred to as 
``Chemical Ali,'' remained the most high-profile defendant in that 
case. At year's end investigations continued into a number of different 
crimes allegedly committed by members of the former regime, including 
the 1991 uprising, the draining of the marshes in the southern part of 
the country, and the invasion of Kuwait.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports that the 
national government held political prisoners or held persons without 
charge for the peaceful exercise of human rights or personal 
characteristics, opinions, or status.
    Kurdish political activist Kamal Said Kadir had been sentenced to 
30 years' imprisonment for ``defamation of public institutions'' in 
December 2005. On April 3, after much international attention, he was 
released from prison. Members of the Parastin, the security 
intelligence service of the KDP in Irbil, had arrested and detained him 
incommunicado for two months. Scant information was available 
concerning detainees in the KRG detention facilities.
    There were detainees held in the KRG on security charges who were 
primarily held for political, sectarian, or ethnic reasons. Individuals 
were arrested for criticizing government officials. Demonstrators were 
arrested because they congregated in violation of regulations. Such 
arrests were for political reasons. The KRG minister of human rights 
stated that he did not consider these detentions to be a violation of 
human rights because they were within the law.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The legal framework 
exists, as well as an independent and impartial judiciary, for dealing 
with civil issues in lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, 
human rights violations. Administrative remedies also exist. However, 
during the year the priorities of an understaffed judiciary and 
government administration were focused on issues more directly related 
to security, and these procedures, and remedies were not effectively 
implemented

    Property Restitution.--The Commission for the Resolution of Real 
Property Disputes (CRRPD), formerly the Iraq Property Claims 
Commission, was established in 2004 by Coalition Provisional Authority 
Regulation 12 as an independent governmental commission. Its purpose is 
to resolve claims for real property confiscated, forcibly acquired, or 
otherwise taken for less than fair value by the former regime between 
July 17, 1968, and April 9, 2003, for reasons other than land reform or 
lawfully applied eminent domain. The CRRPD process is intended 
primarily to benefit those whose land was confiscated for ethnic or 
political reasons as part of the ``Arabization'' program and other 
policies of sectarian displacements. The deadline for filing claims is 
June 30, 2007. On November 30, 2005, new governing legislation was 
adopted that replaced the old CPA order and made certain changes to 
clarify the CRRPD process and make it fairer.
    There were approximately 1,300 CRRPD employees in offices located 
in all 18 provinces and led by Ahmed al-Barrak, a former member of the 
Iraqi Governing Council.
    At year's end the CRRPD had received over 124,000 claims 
nationwide. Of those claims, its regional commissions had adjudicated 
over 20 percent nationwide, with geographic variations.
    The CRRPD issued approximately 2000 decisions awarding compensation 
of $22 million (28.6 billion dinars). The Government budget for all 
CRRPD compensation awards is $200 million (260 billion dinars). After 
adjudication, the CRRPD's only role in enforcement is to send official 
notifications of decisions to the real estate registry office and 
enforcement office of the regional court, which in turn are 
responsible, respectively, for re-registering property in the name of 
successful claimants and evicting current occupants, as appropriate.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution mandates that homes not be entered or 
searched except with a judicial order issued in accordance with the 
law. The constitution also prohibits arbitrary interference with 
privacy. The Government attempted to respect these prohibitions in 
practice, although in numerous instances, the security forces did not.
    Under the state of emergency, the Prime Minister may authorize 
authorities to detain suspects, and search them, their homes, and work 
places. The law provides that all such actions must be pursuant to an 
arrest or search warrant unless there are extreme exigent 
circumstances. The police were instructed to comply with legal warrant 
requirements but reportedly often did not.
    In the KRG provinces, there was pressure on citizens to associate 
with the PUK party in the province of Sulaymaniyah, and the KDP party 
in the provinces of Irbil and Dohuk (see section 2.b.).

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The ISF operated in major military actions against insurgents, 
terrorists, and militias with the support of the Multi-National Force--
Iraq. MoI forces also coordinated with Multi-National Force--Iraq to 
ensure a synchronized approach to security within the country.
    Militia and terrorist killings were the main source of violence in 
the country. Former regime elements, local and foreign fighters, 
terrorists, and militias waged guerrilla warfare and campaigns of 
violence. According to government data, 627 army soldiers were killed 
during the year. Bomb attacks by Sunni terrorist groups against the 
Government and densely populated Shi'a areas were common and frequently 
prompted retaliatory attacks by Shi'a militias. Executions of military-
age Sunni males became common after the Samarra Mosque bombing.
    Government military and police forces under government control 
killed armed fighters or persons planning or carrying out violence 
against civilian or military targets. According to personal accounts 
and numerous press reports, these forces caused inadvertent civilian 
deaths. Treatment of detainees under government authority was poor in a 
number of cases.
    Insurgents and terrorists typically targeted individuals whose 
death or disappearance would advance their cause, particularly those 
who were suspected of being connected to government-affiliated security 
forces. Bombings, executions, killings, kidnappings, shootings, and 
intimidation were a daily occurrence throughout all regions and sectors 
of society. Al-Qa'ida in Iraq claimed responsibility for a number of 
these attacks, although other insurgent and terrorist groups played a 
role.
    Judicial security remained an overriding concern as violence and 
threats of violence affected judges in virtually all provinces. For 
example, on May 4, a female bomber removed an explosive-laden vest 
after being denied entrance to a Baghdad courthouse and left the vest 
outside the building, where it exploded killing at least nine and 
wounding 46 persons.
    Within the past two years, 15 judges have been killed and many more 
threatened, prompting the resignations of some and requests by others 
to be transferred to other venues where they may be less at risk. The 
judiciary suffered from a severe shortage of judges which has affected 
their ability to process cases.
    Throughout the year terrorists systematically damaged and destroyed 
key infrastructure, principally but not exclusively in the central 
region of the country. Sabotage against oil, electricity, and 
transportation reduced the movement of goods and availability of 
critical services to the population.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution broadly protects 
the right of free expression, provided it does not violate public order 
and morality. Despite this protection of freedom of expression, the law 
provides, if authorized by the Prime Minister, for fines or a term of 
imprisonment not exceeding seven years to any person who publicly 
insults the national assembly, the Government, or public authorities.
    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 trade by creating strong 
fears of persecution.
    The law restricts media organizations from incitement to violence 
and civil disorder, expressing support for the banned Ba'ath Party, or 
for ``alterations to Iraq's borders by violent means.'' Under this 
provision, the Council of Ministers voted on September 7 to close the 
offices of Al-Arabiya television network for one month, considering its 
reporting to be fomenting ``sectarian violence and war in Iraq.'' The 
Council of Ministers order did not provide specifics as to why it 
considered Al Arabia's coverage to be fomenting violence. On October 7, 
the station resumed broadcasting again.
    On November 5, Iraqi authorities shut down the offices of both Al-
Zawraa and Salah Al-Din television stations, charging them with 
inciting violence, terrorism, and sectarianism. The Government 
sanctioned the reopening of Salah Al-Din television station on November 
15. However, the Government recommended the continued closure of al-
Zawraa satellite channel as well as a lawsuit against the owners and 
managers for airing training videos on how to build explosive devices, 
promoting calls to join terrorists and insurgent groups, and promoting 
killings and genocide against a large segment of the populace. Despite 
the recommendation, al-Zawraa continued to broadcast as a satellite 
channel over the Egyptian-controlled Nilesat.
    Media workers often reported that politicians pressured them not to 
publish articles criticizing the Government. There were numerous 
accounts of intimidation, threats, and harassment of the media by 
government or partisan officials. In practice, the law was actively 
used against media workers. For example, Al-Wasit newspaper editor Ayad 
al-Tamimi and reporter Ahmed Mutare Abass were arrested for slander in 
April 2005 and imprisoned for six months for publishing articles 
criticizing the judicial system and police corruption in Al-Kut, 
approximately 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. In August a Baghdad court 
released them without jail sentences at the conclusion of another trial 
for libel related to publications about Al-Kut, according to the 
international NGO Reporters without Borders.
    Print publications and broadcast media were a primary source of 
news and public discourse in the KRG provinces; however, almost all 
media outlets were controlled or funded by the major political parties. 
The KDP sponsored the Kurdish-language newspaper Khabat (The Struggle), 
the Arabic-language version, Attaakhi, and KTV (Kurdistan television). 
KDP member and KRG Prime Minister Nechirivan Barzani also funded the 
popular television station Zagros. The PUK sponsored the Kurdish-
language newspaper Kurdistani-Nwe (New Kurdistan), the Arabic-language 
newspaper Al-Ittihad, and KurdSat television. Minor parties such as the 
Kurdish Islamic Union also had their own newspapers and television 
stations.
    In addition to the party press, there were a few notable 
independent media outlets that covered government and party corruption, 
for example, the weekly newspapers Hawlatee (The Citizen) and Awena 
(Mirror) and Radio Nawa. However, their journalists were subject to 
frequent criminal prosecution for libel claims and extrajudicial 
intimidation by junior or midlevel political party officials.
    Violence against the media, primarily by militia and insurgency 
groups, was commonplace, and self-censorship took place as a result. 
Media workers reported that they refrained from producing stories on 
insurgency and militia activity for fear of retaliatory attacks. During 
the year, more than 60 media workers were killed or abducted for a 
total of over 140 since 2003. One of the most reported killings of a 
media worker was that of well-known journalist and al-Arabiya 
television reporter Atwar Bahjat who was abducted February 22 and later 
killed after reporting on the attack on the Al-Askariya Shrine. Her 
technician and cameraman were killed along with her.
    There were several hundred daily and weekly publications, as well 
as dozens of radio and television stations at the national, regional, 
and local levels, broadcasting in Arabic, Kurdish (two dialects), 
Turkmen, and Syriac. Political parties strongly influenced virtually 
all media. For private media, sales and advertising revenues typically 
did not produce a reliable income stream, and lack of a constant power 
supply was often a problem.

    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 electronic 
mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However, social 
and religious as well as political pressures restricted freedom of 
choice in academic and cultural matters. In particular, Kurdish parties 
controlled the pursuit of formal education and the granting of academic 
positions in the KRG areas. There were a number of reports of threats 
by militia or insurgent groups against schools and universities, urging 
them to modify activities, close down or face violence. Educational 
institutions often complied with the threats.
    Professors at Basrah University who were considered secular 
received written threats and demands to depart Basrah. Universities in 
Baghdad received numerous threats to close down or face attack. During 
the year a series of killings targeted professors, particularly in 
Baghdad and Basrah.
    On November 14, armed gunmen in old and new police uniforms 
kidnapped as many as 100 men from a Ministry of Higher Education 
Directorate building in central Baghdad. While some hostages were freed 
by the next day, others were later found dead. The minister of interior 
ordered an investigation into the role of several high-ranking police 
officials; however, the investigation produced no results by year's 
end.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and 
peaceful demonstration, and the Government generally respected this 
right in practice, although there were reports of abusive KRG practices 
against protesters. During the year, the Prime Minister invoked the 
emergency law, which gave him the authority to restrict freedom of 
movement and assembly pursuant to a warrant or extreme exigent 
circumstances. In general, this emergency law did not prevent peaceful 
assembly from occurring, although it was used often to impose curfews. 
Police in the central and southern parts of the country generally did 
not break up peaceful demonstrations except when a curfew was violated.
    In the KRG area, particularly in the province of Sulaymaniyah, 
demonstrations took place to protest government corruption as well as 
poor services. On August 8, KRG security forces opened fire during a 
protest in Darbandikhan, killing one man. Local human rights 
organizations reported that 100 protesters were arrested before, 
during, and after the demonstration. In an August 9 demonstration in 
Kalar, security forces reportedly shot into the crowd of protesters, 
killing one person and injuring several others.
    Residents alleged that the KRG intimidated and imprisoned numerous 
participants of protests in Sulaymaniyah. In multiple demonstrations 
against poor services in the town of Chamchamal, participants reported 
that the PUK internal security forces as well as armed forces security 
carefully monitored protests, and in some cases overtly videotaped the 
proceedings. When authorities considered that the protests had become 
unruly, participants were detained, in some cases allegedly at 
undisclosed locations.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides 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. Within the KRG provinces, there was 
pressure to associate with the PUK party in Sulaymaniyah and the KDP 
party in Irbil and Dohuk.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution proclaims Islam as the 
official religion of the state. While providing for full religious 
rights for all individuals ``such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean 
Sabeans,'' the constitution also stipulates that no law may be enacted 
that contradicts the established provisions of Islam. While the 
Government generally respected the right of the individual to worship 
according to thought, conscience, and belief, private conservative and 
radical Islamic elements continued to exert tremendous pressure on 
other groups to conform to extremist interpretations of Islam's 
precepts. In addition frequent attacks on religious places of worship, 
as well as sectarian violence, hampered the ability of citizens to 
practice their religion freely.
    The Government continued to follow longstanding discriminatory 
practices against those of the Baha'i Faith. During the year MoI 
continued to adhere to its regulation prohibiting issuance of a 
national identity card to those claiming the Baha'i Faith. Without this 
official citizenship card, Baha'is experienced difficulty registering 
their children in school, receiving passports to travel out of the 
country, and proving their citizenship.
    Constitutional provisions on religious freedoms countermand the 
Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) Resolution 201 of 2001, which 
mandates the death penalty for adherents of the Salafist branch of 
Islam (Wahhabism) and Law No. 105 of 1970, which prohibits the Baha'i 
Faith. These laws were selectively enforced against Baha'is, but at 
year's end they had not been formally repealed.
    During the year, there were a number of reports indicating that 
employees and managers within ministries expressly or indirectly 
pressured women to wear veils as a requirement for work--regardless of 
the individual's religious affiliation. Reports of these coercive 
tactics were particularly widespread in the Shi'a-dominated ministries 
of health and transportation.
    There were also allegations of religiously based employment 
discrimination during the year. Several ministries reportedly hired and 
favored employees that conformed to the religious preference of the 
respective minister.
    There were numerous allegations that criminals within the ISF, 
largely Shi'a, targeted Sunnis for attack. Likewise, Sunni terrorist 
groups often targeted Shi'a in killings and displacement tactics.
    Religious groups are required to register with the Government. The 
requirements include having at least 500 followers. Non-Muslims 
complained that although the Government recognized their religious 
holidays by law, in practice they were generally disregarded. Schools 
routinely scheduled examinations during non-Muslim holy days, and no 
special dispensation was given to students wishing to observe them.
    During the year, there were allegations that the KRG continued to 
engage in discriminatory behavior against religious minorities. 
Minorities living in areas north of Mosul, such as Yazidis and 
Christians, asserted that the KRG encroached on their property, 
eventually building Kurdish settlements on the confiscated land. In 
spite of reputed KRG discrimination against religious minorities, many 
non-Muslim minorities fled to the Kurdish region to escape violence and 
religious discrimination in other parts of the country.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Extremists, including 
terrorist groups and militia members, targeted many individuals because 
of their religious identity. Others were targeted because of their 
secular leanings. Violence between Shi'a and Sunni Arabs based on 
religion continued and worsened markedly after the February 22 bombing 
of the Al-Askariya Shrine in Samarra.
    Sectarian and vigilante checkpoints began to appear most notably 
after February. They ostensibly were for neighborhood security but 
often were used to identify and kill citizens based on their religion. 
Both Shi'a and Sunni mosques were heavily attacked during the year. 
According to the Sunni and Shi'a religious endowment offices, hundreds 
of Shi'a and Sunni mosques were bombed or otherwise attacked during the 
year.
    Religious leaders were in several instances targeted for 
kidnappings and killings. For example, Ayatollah Husayn al- Husayni was 
kidnapped August 13 while in Baghdad. Mohammed Redha Mohammed, an 
Islamic religious leader in Kirkuk as well as CoR member, was killed in 
Baghdad on October 7 on his way to deliver Korans from the Sunni 
Endowment. Father Paulos Alexander was beheaded on October 11 after 
being kidnapped in Mosul, initially for ransom.
    Members of the Yazidi community reported that they continued to be 
targeted by Islamists throughout the year. They complained that the 
misperception that they were devil-worshippers was behind some attacks 
that the community had suffered in the province of Ninawa.
    Sabean Mandean leaders asserted that there was an increase in 
threats against and killings of members of their community during the 
year. Whereas in previous years Sabeans were kidnapped for ransom, 
Sabean leaders reported that they were being targeted for killings. 
Sabeans reported receiving numerous death threat letters accusing them 
of being ``sorcerers'' and urging them to leave Iraq altogether or face 
death.
    Members of the Christian community indicated that they were 
targeted throughout the year, particularly by Sunni-affiliated 
terrorists. Threats against churches, religious institutions, members 
of the clergy and religious orders and individual Christians spiked 
after comments by Pope Benedict XVI which were perceived to be anti-
Islamic but reportedly decreased after an apology was made. Both a 
Dominican convent in Mosul and the Chaldean Major Seminary of St. Peter 
in Baghdad were targeted during the year by terrorists, forcing 
followers to relocate. Several priests were kidnapped and then released 
for ransom, except Father Paulos Alexander.
    Threat letters targeting residents based on their religious 
affiliation were fairly common for almost all religious denominations. 
Numerous reports indicated that Sunni Arabs, Shi'a Arabs, and 
Christians all received death letters identifying them by sect and 
urging them to leave their homes or face death. Internal displacement 
based on religious or ethnic affiliation was fueled by these threats.
    Islamist militants continued to target stores that provided goods 
or services considered to be inconsistent with Islam, for example 
alcohol. Liquor stores in Baghdad and in other areas were bombed, 
looted, and defaced by Islamic extremists.
    According to the head of the Christian and Other Religions 
Endowment Office, the country's millennia-old Jewish population had 
dwindled to less than 20 persons in the Baghdad area as a result of 
migration over decades to Israel and other countries. There were also 
unverified reports of small numbers of Jews living in KRG areas. 
However, anti-Semitic sentiment remained a cultural undercurrent. As an 
example, a citizenship law, among other provisions, precludes Jews who 
immigrated to other countries from regaining citizenship. The law 
became effective when it was published in the Official Gazette in 
March.
    On July 13, the speaker of parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, 
accused Jews of financing violent activity in the country designed to 
undermine the Muslims who control parliament and to bring their own 
agents to power. Mashhadani stated that although Muslims are accused of 
murdering and kidnapping men and women, these acts are the actually the 
work of ``the Jew and his Jewish son'' and that Jews, Israelis, and 
Zionists are using Iraqi money and oil in order to foil the activities 
of the Islamic Movement in Iraq. No government official condemned his 
statement.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for the right 
of free movement in all parts of the country and the right to travel 
abroad and return freely. However, there were some limitations in 
practice.
    Under the state of emergency, the Prime Minister 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 
Kurdish areas, only in coordination with the KRG). The Government 
availed itself of these powers in practice in the course of the year.
    There were some reports that the KRG employed checkpoints to 
prevent Arabs from moving into that area. For example, Arab travelers 
with a large number of suitcases were reportedly turned away. Despite 
these reports, thousands of Arab displaced persons were allowed entry 
into the region.
    The MoI's Passport Office reinstated a policy to require women to 
obtain the approval of a close male relative before being issued a 
passport (see section 5, Women). Additionally, because of the 
longstanding prohibition of issuing national identity cards to those 
claiming the Baha'i Faith, some Baha'is were unable to obtain 
passports.
    The constitution expressly prohibits forced exile of all native-
born citizens. The injunction also applies to naturalized citizens, 
unless a judicial decision establishes that the naturalized citizen was 
granted citizenship on the basis of material falsifications. Forced 
exile did not occur.
    There were no known government restrictions on emigration. Exit 
permits were required for citizens leaving the country, but the 
requirement was not enforced.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The number of IDPs since the 
fall of the previous regime sharply increased following the February 22 
bombing. Estimates of the number of persons displaced after the bombing 
varied between 380,000 and 500,000. The differing estimates derived 
from various compilations by the UN High Commission for Refugees 
(UNHCR), local authorities, the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), and 
NGOs. More than 1.2 million IDPs had been displaced under the previous 
regime, the majority of whom continued in that status. According to 
UNHCR, there were a total of approximately 1.7 million IDPs at the end 
of the year, and 1 to 1.4 million Iraqis in neighboring countries, 
although a large percentage of them had left before 2003.
    These IDP movements were caused by sectarian intimidation and 
violence, a poor security situation, and poor public services. There 
were numerous reports in Baghdad and across the country of threat 
letters delivered to Shi'a, Sunni, or Christian residents warning them 
to leave their homes within a certain period of time or face death. 
Some Baghdad residents reported seeing their neighbors kidnapped or 
killed by members of terrorist or militia groups aiming to evict 
residents of the opposite sect. This overall campaign aimed at forcibly 
displacing citizens was the main reason for the increasing polarization 
of areas within Baghdad and outside of Baghdad.
    Many Baghdad residents migrated to other neighborhoods, while 
others left the city altogether. Between 40 percent and 60 percent of 
new IDP flows were estimated to have originated in Baghdad. A large 
number of Christians left Baghdad not only for Mosul but also for 
Dohuk.
    In Basrah sectarian violence caused a large number of Sunni Arabs 
to leave their homes. The estimated 30 percent of Sunni Arabs who have 
since returned to Basrah say they did so because they found hostile 
receptions in the places where they sought refuge.
    Most recent IDPs were living with host families or renting houses 
in the host community. Other IDPs have occupied abandoned buildings 
(old factories, unoccupied military facilities) public buildings 
(schools, offices, and mosques), or homes abandoned by other displaced 
families. The IOM estimated that only approximately 3 percent of these 
IDPs were moving into camps set up by the MoDM or the Iraqi Red 
Crescent Society (IRCS). IDPs used some of these camps for short 
periods, as transit points in their displacement.
    The Government, through MoDM, collected information about IDPs and 
provided some assistance to them in the form of humanitarian supplies. 
MoDM also coordinated with IRCS the provision of aid to IDPs. 
Additionally, IOM and NGOs also provided assistance to IDPs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not yet established an effective system for providing 
protection to refugees. In practice the Government provided protection 
against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution. The Government recognized as refugees more than 
23,000 Palestinian and some 2,500 Syrians in the country. The 
Government has also implicitly recognized 14,000 Turks and 5,500 
Iranians as refugees.
    The Government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. UNHCR provided 
protection and assistance to both Syrian and Palestinian refugees 
through rental subsidies, other forms of material assistance, and legal 
representation.
    The Government re-established an interministerial committee charged 
with making group and individual refugee determinations. The committee 
did not review any cases during the year. The central government and 
the KRG agreed to integrate approximately 3,000 Iranian Kurd refugees 
in northern Iraq. The Government also continued to facilitate the 
reintegration of hundreds of Iraqi Faili (Shi'a) Kurds returning from 
Iran.
    During the year, refugees were periodically targeted in attacks 
carried out by insurgents, militias, and criminals. Protection for 
Palestinian refugees remained poor. There were credible reports that 
more than a dozen Palestinian refugees were murdered, and that police 
targeted Palestinians for arbitrary arrest, detention, and house raids. 
There was a wave of increased abuse of Palestinian refugees by the 
security forces and the general public following the February 22 
bombing. Several hundred Palestinian refugees left Baghdad to seek 
refuge at the Jordanian and Syrian borders, and many more allegedly 
fled Iraq with false Iraqi passports. In April at the request of a 
Palestinian human rights group, Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-
Sistani issued a letter urging the authorities and his followers not to 
harm the thousands of Palestinian refugees living in the country.
    Groups not affiliated with the Government also reportedly 
threatened the physical safety of refugees belonging to groups favored 
or perceived to be favored by the previous regime (Palestinians, Syrian 
Ba'thists, and Iranian Arabs).
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    On October 15, 2005, citizens voted to adopt a permanent 
constitution, which included the full panoply of protections of human 
rights including the right of citizens to change their government 
peacefully through periodic, free, and fair elections based on 
universal suffrage. Citizens exercised this right at the national level 
on December 15, 2005 when they elected the 275 members of the CoR. The 
Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) had the sole 
responsibility for administering the October 2005 referendum and the 
December 2005 elections.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In spite of the threat from 
terrorist and insurgent violence, the December 2005 national elections, 
as well as the October 2005 referendum, were widely considered to have 
met international standards for free and fair elections. The IECI 
opened more than 6,000 polling centers throughout the country for a 
total of more than 30,000 polling stations available to voters. The 
December 2005 election turnout of more than 70 percent indicated that 
voters had good overall access to the polling centers.
    During the December 2005 election, observer groups and political 
entity agents submitted more than 1,800 complaints. However, many of 
these complaints were procedural and few pointed to substantive 
irregularities. Allegations of ballot stuffing or interference by local 
electoral staff, outsiders, or police, were not widespread. The April 
12 final report of the International Mission for Iraqi Elections stated 
that the December 2005 election met internationally recognized 
electoral standards for free and fair elections and the results of the 
elections reflected the will of the voters.
    Political parties and candidates had the right to freely propose 
themselves or be nominated by other groups. The Government did not 
restrict political opponents, nor did it interfere with their right to 
organize, seek votes, or publicize their views.
    The country's political parties, as a general rule, tended to be 
organized along either religious or ethnic lines--sometimes both. Shi'a 
Islamist parties, such as the Supreme Council for the Islamic 
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the al-Da'wa al-Islamiyya Party, as well 
as such Kurdish nationalist parties as the KDP and PUK, were 
predominant political forces. Other political players included the 
Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party and other ethnic minority parties, such as 
the Assyrian Democratic Movement.
    Membership in some political parties conferred special privileges 
and advantages in employment. There were some reports that the KDP and 
PUK prevented the employment of nonparty citizens and that KRG courts 
favored party members.
    By the end of the year, there had been no steps to undertake 
provincial elections. Provincial councils were not fully representative 
since many Sunni Arab groups boycotted the January 2005 election.
    In the December 2005 election, female voter turnout was reportedly 
as high if not higher than male turnout. The constitution provides for 
the election of women to the CoR, with a goal of no less than one-
quarter female representation. Female leaders, representing a broad 
spectrum of political views, expressed concern that some women were 
selected to participate in the political process only to meet this 
quota.
    There were 76 women in the CoR, 28 percent of the membership, and 
four female ministers in the Government: the minister of state for 
women's affairs and the ministers of human rights, environment, and 
housing and construction. Additionally, at least three cabinet members 
were from small religious and ethnic minority groups (see section 5, 
Women).

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Large-scale corruption 
pervaded the Government and was a severe problem. Public perception of 
government corruption continued to be high. Intimidation and politics 
were factors in some allegations of corruption, and officials sometimes 
used ``de-Ba'athification'' as a means to further political and 
personal agendas. Anticorruption institutions were fragmented and 
interaction among them was hampered by a lack of consensus about their 
role. Lack of accountability continued to be widespread and was 
reinforced by several provisions in statute as well as lack of 
transparency. The law did not provide public access to government 
information for citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.
    The constitution provides immunity from arrest to members of the 
CoR unless the member is caught in the criminal act, or the charge is a 
felony and the immunity is overturned by a majority vote. CoR member 
Mishan al-Jabouri, charged with embezzlement, enjoyed this immunity 
until October 9 when the CoR voted to overturn his immunity.
    Paragraph 136 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code provides ministers 
with the ability to prevent enforcement of the arrest of their 
employees. This law allows ministers to halt corruption proceedings 
against their employees. On 15 separate occasions, the involved 
minister reportedly halted adjudication and arrest of employees 
suspected of corruption by the Commission on Public Integrity (CPI). In 
other cases, ministries effectively stalled the investigation by 
failing to provide information.
    Despite these obstacles, there were several high-profile corruption 
cases that reached resolution. During the year, former minister of 
defense Hazem Sha'alan was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 60 
years' imprisonment. He and 27 other officials were alleged to have 
played a key role in the theft of $1 billion (1.3 trillion dinars) in 
2004. A number of other MoD officials were arrested and were pending 
trial at year's end.
    Former minister of electricity, Ayham al-Samaraii was sentenced to 
two years' imprisonment on charges of corruption on October 11. He 
subsequently escaped from detention.
    The CPI, formed in January 2004, is the Government's commission 
charged with preventing and investigating cases of corruption in all 
ministries and other components of the Government nationwide (except 
for the KRG). The CPI, with a staff of 119 investigators, reports to 
the country's chief executive and legislature and has the authority to 
refer cases for criminal prosecution. During the year, the CPI received 
more than 2,000 cases to investigate, a caseload that far outstripped 
the organization's investigative capacity. By the end of the year, it 
had adjudicated few of its cases, due to intimidation and lack of 
training.
    The Government also has a system of 31 inspectors general in the 
various ministries, the city of Baghdad, the Central Bank, and the 
religious endowments. The mandate of this program, which comprises 
2,500 total staff, is to audit, inspect, and investigate in order to 
reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. More than 50 percent of these offices 
have a human rights unit within their organization.
    The Board of Supreme Audit is responsible for conducting audits of 
all contracts that ministries undertake.
    Both the CPI and the inspection system remained vulnerable during 
the year. There was widespread intimidation, as well as killings and 
attempted attacks against CPI employees, inspection personnel, and 
witnesses and family members involved with CPI cases. CPI had 11 
employees or family members killed during the year.
    CPI received a number of high level attempts to influence 
prosecutions of members of the ruling party. Members of the legislature 
also reportedly attempted to pressure the court on numerous occasions 
to a particular ruling.
    The former deputy commissioner of CPI was dismissed for engaging in 
prosecutions along sectarian lines.
    According to UNAMI's September-October report, payroll fraud in the 
security forces was widespread. Police officers frequently required 
payment from would-be recruits to join the police force. Absenteeism 
was widespread, and in Kirkuk alone, half of the 5,000 police force and 
13,000 army soldiers were reportedly absent at any given time, and many 
were permanently absent without leave, but still received their pay 
(see section 1.d.).
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Generally, the Government was generally disposed to cooperate with 
the UN and its agencies on human rights issues. All nongovernmental 
investigation of alleged human rights violations, such as access to 
detention facilities, was highly restricted, according to the 
Government due to the security situation, as well as government policy 
(see section 1.c.).
    The former regime did not permit the establishment of independent 
human rights organizations, and as such the NGO community in the 
country was still new. During the year, NGO activity and advocacy 
continued but remained weak overall. Almost 5,000 local NGOs were 
registered, although the number of members was small. The vast majority 
of human rights NGOs affiliated with political parties or with a 
particular sect and frequently focused human rights efforts along 
sectarian lines. NGOs serving women did not generally subscribe to this 
pattern.
    The Ministry of State for Civil Society Affairs (MoSCA) continued 
its efforts to impose onerous registration processes and excessive 
documentary requirements on the NGO community. For much of the year, a 
number of local NGOs reported having their assets frozen arbitrarily 
despite compliance with burdensome reporting requirements. Women's 
rights NGOs appeared especially vulnerable to this disruption, which 
many attributed to disapproval of their activities and services. The 
ministry announced that assets were being released towards the end of 
the year; however, this claim could not be verified.
    Unannounced and intimidating visits to some NGOs by representatives 
of the MoSCA demanding photographs, passport details, names, and 
addresses of all staff and their family members continued to occur. The 
ministry also instructed all NGOs that they were no longer allowed to 
communicate directly with other ministries. Instead, all communication 
or requests were to be sent first to the MoSCA, which would then 
forward the request if deemed appropriate. In practice this instruction 
limited the ability of human rights NGOs to communicate concerns to 
various ministries, including MoI, MoD, and MoHR.
    Terrorist organizations frequently targeted human rights 
organizations, and the poor security situation severely limited the 
work of NGOs. Both local and international human rights organizations 
continued to face obstacles in gaining access to prisons and detention 
facilities.
    The Kurdish areas, which have largely been autonomous since 1991, 
were able to develop a stronger NGO community, although almost all 
Kurdish NGOs were closely linked to the PUK and KDP political parties. 
The KRG and Kurdish political parties generally supported humanitarian 
NGO activities and programs.
    Although no ombudsman existed, a national MoHR and a KRG ministry, 
focused on raising awareness and knowledge of human rights and 
conducting prison visits. Each ministry reported to its respective 
prime minister. The national MoHR also worked to monitor human rights 
abuse and advocate for and assist victims. However, limited resources 
and poor cooperation from other ministries greatly limited the 
ministry's effectiveness. The KRG MoHR was in a similar position.
    The CoR Committee on Human Rights did not play a significant role 
in developing human rights policy.
Section 5. 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 Government did not effectively enforce these 
provisions.

    Women.--The general lack of security in the country and 
increasingly conservative societal tendencies had a serious, negative 
impact on women.
    The constitution prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the 
family, school, and society. NGOs reported that domestic violence 
against women increased during the year, although no reliable 
statistics exist. Reportedly ``honor killings'' also increased based on 
anecdotal observations from NGOs in the KRG as well as the KRG MoHR. In 
its March-April report, UNAMI reported that as many as 534 women may 
have been victims of honor-related crimes--including killings, torture, 
and severe abuse--in the Kurdish area alone since the beginning of the 
year.
    Although the KRG amended its own penal code to render ``honor'' an 
aggravating rather than extenuating factor, continued reports of honor 
killings in the Kurdish region prompted the UN special representative 
to send a letter of concern to President Talabani on August 24. 
Anecdotal evidence from local NGOs and media reporting indicated that 
domestic violence often went unpunished, with such abuse customarily 
addressed within the tightly knit family and tribal structure. 
Harassment of legal personnel working on domestic violence cases, as 
well as sympathy from both police and judicial personnel, further 
hampered efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.
    Private shelters for women existed; however, space was limited and 
their locations were secret and subject to frequent change. Some NGOs 
worked with local provincial governments to train community health 
workers to treat victims of domestic violence. Victims of domestic 
violence received no substantive assistance from the Government.
    The Penal Code prohibits rape, and imposes a maximum sentence of 
seven years' imprisonment on perpetrators. It was difficult to estimate 
the incidence of rape; however, NGO sources reported a significant 
increase in the number of cases. Several NGOs documented cases of rape 
committed by government officials, most of which were alleged to have 
occurred in the MoI during the initial detention of prisoners.
    Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not illegal. Research done by 
NGOs operating in rural areas of the Kurdish region showed that FGM was 
practiced. NGOs reported few cases of FGM elsewhere. The Government 
offered no substantive assistance for victims of FGM.
    Prostitution is illegal. Reports of prostitution increased; some of 
the increase was due to an increase in trafficking for sexual 
exploitation.
    Although the constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of 
gender, in practice conservative societal standards impeded women's 
abilities to exercise their rights. Throughout the country women 
reported increasing pressure to wear veils. Many reported the presence 
of flyers in their neighborhoods threatening women who refused. Women 
were targeted for undertaking normal activities, such as driving a car, 
talking on a cell phone, and wearing trousers, in an effort to force 
them to remain at home, wear veils, and adhere to a very conservative 
interpretation of Islam. In addition to societal pressures, there were 
several reports of women at government ministries being told to wear a 
veil or lose their job.
    Islamic extremists reportedly targeted female university students 
in a number of cities, demanding that they stop wearing western-style 
clothing and cover their heads while in public. Additionally, these 
extremists allegedly called for a separation of male and female 
students in some universities.
    During the year, the MoI's Passport Office reinstated a national 
policy to require women to obtain the approval of a close male relative 
before being issued a passport (see section 2.d.). In addition the 
general lack of security in the country and increasing pressure from 
fundamental religious parties had a serious, negative impact on women.
    The Ministry of State for Women's Affairs, with a 17-person 
professional staff, functioned primarily as a policy office without an 
independent budget or the ability to hire employees.
    Women complained that weak labor laws and the lack of an equal 
opportunity employment law left them vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal. 
The deteriorating security situation disproportionately affected 
women's ability to work outside the home.
    The constitution provides that a minimum of 25 percent of the seats 
in the CoR be reserved for women. In national elections, women won just 
over 25 percent of the seats. Women hold 76 of 275 (or 28 percent) 
seats in the CoR, but they only chair two of the 24 standing 
committees. Moreover, many female politicians and civil society leaders 
complained that women were excluded from the Government formation 
process. Four women were appointed as ministers in the Government (see 
section 3).
    The MoLSA Social Care Directorate administered a variety of social 
care institutions, among them institutions for orphans and the elderly. 
No substantive shelter assistance was offered for victims of domestic 
violence. Women who were heads of single-parent households received a 
minimal cash stipend from the ministry; however, the budget for this 
assistance did not meet the need.

    Children.--The Government in general was committed to children's 
rights and welfare, although noncitizen children were denied government 
benefits. They had to pay for services that were otherwise free such as 
public schools, health services, and, except for several hundred 
Palestinian families, were not eligible for the national food rationing 
program.
    On September 21, the Higher Education Commission set up by the 
Tameen Governorate Council rejected the applications for school 
admission by pupils from newly displaced families who had fled the 
sectarian violence in other provinces, citing lack of capacity. No 
alternative education plans was made for the children by year's end.
    Free primary education is compulsory for six years, and 89 percent 
of students reach the fifth grade. The enrollment of primary school-
aged children was 83 percent for boys and 74 percent for girls. The 
percentage of children enrolled in primary schools was much lower in 
rural areas, particularly for girls, whose enrollment was approximately 
60 percent. Overall enrollment in school of those ages six to 24 is 55 
percent.
    According to a 2005 Ministry of Development and Cooperation survey, 
youth literacy (ages 15 to 24) was 74 percent and adult literacy 65 
percent. Only 56 percent of women were literate, compared to 74 percent 
of men. Both the level of education and literacy rates for women and 
girls dropped significantly in the last 15 years, especially in rural 
areas. MoH clinics provided health care, which was largely free to all 
citizens. There was no systemic distinction in the care provided to 
boys and girls.
    FGM was performed in some instances (see section 5, Women). 
Although there were no statistics, a tradition of marrying young girls 
(14 or older) continued, particularly in rural areas.
    MOLSA operated over 20 orphanages for older children in Baghdad and 
the provinces, housing a total of more than 600 children, and 40 
orphanages for young children, housing approximately 1,500 children.
    Despite efforts and laws against child labor, children often worked 
as laborers on rural farms or in street commerce. Press reports 
indicated that insurgents used children in diversionary tactics to 
distract security forces, as well as informers and messengers. Children 
sometimes participated directly in attacks as well, reportedly under 
the direction of Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, throwing rocks or other 
objects at security convoys.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution states that forced labor, 
slavery, slave trade, trafficking in women or children, and the sex 
trade should be prohibited; however, there were reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, and within the country.
    Although statistics did not exist, according to reports from 
destination countries, the country was a source for trafficking of 
women and girls to other Arab countries, especially the Persian Gulf 
and Levant states. The country, particularly in Kurdish areas, was 
considered a destination for trafficking of male laborers from 
Southeast Asia. There were also reports of girls, women, and boys 
trafficked within the country for commercial and other sexual 
exploitation.
    Anecdotal evidence and media reports suggested that some 
trafficking victims were taken from orphanages and other charitable 
institutions by employees of these organizations. The MoLSA accused 
private orphanages of being involved in these activities and called for 
all private orphanages to be under its purview and inspection 
authority. There were also reports that criminal gangs used threats and 
blackmail to sexually exploit teenage boys for commercial and other 
motives.
    Both the MoI and the KRG MoI have responsibility for trafficking-
related issues. However, the demands of the security situation 
relegated trafficking to a lesser priority. Trafficking crimes were not 
specifically enumerated in MoI statistics on criminal activity. 
However, the KRG reported instances in which it had followed up and 
resolved cases of trafficking. For example, the KRG determined that a 
Dubai construction firm had engaged in trafficking to bring 500 Indian 
and Sri Lankan laborers to the province of Irbil. The workers were not 
paid the contractually agreed-upon salary and were housed in squalid 
conditions with insufficient food. The KRG facilitated the return of 
the employees back to their home countries and pursued administrative 
penalties with the company.
    The MoI does not monitor trafficking crimes, include them in the 
police training curriculum, nor conduct trafficking-related 
investigations.
    Victims of trafficking reportedly were prosecuted for a number of 
crimes, including prostitution and document and passport fraud. There 
were also documented cases of women victims being kept in ``protective 
custody'' in detention centers to deter violence against them by their 
families and traffickers. Few shelters existed in the country; most are 
run by NGOs.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical disabilities. The Government enforced the 
law in the Government but not in the private sector.
    MoLSA operated several institutions for the education of children 
and young adults with disabilities. These institutions offered basic 
educational services; however, they did not have access to appropriate 
educational technology due to the lack of training and funding.
    Seventeen institutes operated in Baghdad and the provinces for 
persons with mental and psychological disabilities and housed 
approximately 1,000 persons. Additionally, there were 33 institutes 
throughout the country for persons with physical disabilities, 
including homes for the blind and deaf, as well as vocational/
rehabilitation homes. The Government provided benefits for thousands of 
veterans with disabilities, many of whom supplemented their benefits 
with some employment.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnically and linguistically, 
the country's population includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Chaldeans, 
Assyrians, Shabak, and Armenians. The religious mix is likewise varied.
    Assyrians and Chaldeans are considered by many to be a distinct 
ethnic group. These communities speak a different language, preserve 
Christian traditions, and do not define themselves as Arabs.
    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 in the North, including Turkman, 
Arabs, Christians, and Shabak. According to these reports, authorities 
denied services to some villages, arrested minorities without due 
process and took them to undisclosed locations for detention, and 
pressured minority schools to teach in the Kurdish language. Ethnic and 
religious minorities in Kirkuk frequently charged that Kurdish security 
forces targeted Arabs, Turkmen, and Shabak.
    Palestinians reportedly experienced arrest, detention, harassment, 
and abuse by police, by individuals pretending to be police, and by the 
general public. A law concerning citizenship came into effect in March 
(see section 2.c.). Its provisions prevent Palestinians from obtaining 
citizenship, or Jews who immigrated to other countries, from reclaiming 
it.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was societal 
discrimination and reported violence against individuals based on 
sexual orientation. Laws that criminalized sexual assault against 
minors were used in a manner that targeted homosexual youth. There were 
several reported examples of juveniles sentenced to up to 10 years in 
jail for having engaged in same-sex sexual relations.
    An advocacy group reported attacks on homosexual men by armed 
groups and militias during the year. For example, militias and men 
wearing police uniforms reportedly kidnapped at least five members of 
an advocacy group in al-Shaab, a poor Shi'a area of Baghdad in 
December. The mutilated body of one appeared several days later. Other 
reports of persons targeted because of their sexual orientation who 
were kidnapped or disappeared in Baghdad in the last months of the year 
included activists, a clothing store owner, and four barbers.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides the right 
to form and join unions and professional associations, subject to 
regulating law. The exercise of labor rights remained limited, largely 
due to insurgent and sectarian-driven violence, high unemployment, and 
maladapted labor organizational structures and laws.
    The MoLSA Labor Directorate has jurisdiction over the labor code, 
child labor, wages, occupational safety and health issues, and labor 
relations.
    The Government was the largest employer in the country, and the 
status of government workers remained unclear. Under the 1987 labor 
law, government workers were considered professionals not entitled to 
join unions. This prohibition remained unenforced, although unmodified. 
In this situation, some government agencies tacitly accepted unions, 
while others banned them. There were no legal or practical restrictions 
on who may be a union official or advisor, excessive or arbitrary 
registration requirements, or restrictions on union political activity. 
The law did not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers or 
others.
    During most of the year, MoLSA recognized and dealt with unions 
belonging to the General Workers Federation of Iraq.
    There were no reported prosecutions of unions, union federations, 
or leaders for corruption during the year.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 
constitution states that every citizen has the right to demonstrate and 
strike peaceably in accordance with the law. There were no reported 
reprisals against strikers. Typically strikes in the public sector 
occurred due to low salaries. More common than strikes were popular 
protests over unemployment or lack of basic services. The law does not 
address collective bargaining, which is prohibited in the public sector 
and was not widespread in the country. Government labor courts are 
empowered to rule on labor code violations and disagreements.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see Section 5, Trafficking in 
Persons). According to some press reports, foreign workers in the 
country were subjected to abusive treatment (see section 5, Trafficking 
in Persons).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the worst forms of child labor; however, the Government 
did not effectively enforce these laws. The law limits working hours 
for workers less than 18 years of age and prohibits their employment in 
dangerous occupations. The minimum age for employment is 15 years. The 
Child Labor Unit of MoLSA's Labor Directorate had neither enough 
inspectors nor resources to enforce the law, maintain programs to 
prevent child labor, or remove children from such labor.
    Despite the various laws and regulations, children were routinely 
used as an additional source of labor or income among the one million 
families subsisting on a daily income of less than $1.00 (1,300 
dinars). This work often took the form of seasonal manual labor in 
rural areas. In cities it often meant begging or peddling a variety of 
products, as well as working in sometimes hazardous automobile shops or 
on construction sites.
    Projects to combat child labor were few, and those that existed 
affected few children. The Government took action only as funded by the 
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) or NGOs. For example, the Italian branch of 
the international NGO Terre des Hommes and UNICEF operated a 
rehabilitation and counseling center for a small number of working 
street children in Baghdad. Kurdish authorities supported several 
small-scale projects to eliminate child labor in the KRG area. UNICEF 
had established centers for working children in Irbil.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Wages are set by contract in the 
private sector and set by the Government in the public sector. The 
average salary was approximately $1,250 per year (1,625 million 
dinars). Unskilled workers must work 357 days per year to achieve this 
figure. These earnings were barely above poverty level ($2.00 per day 
or 2,600 dinars) and did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. A teacher can provide for a spouse and three 
children at the poverty level.
    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.
    According to some press reports, foreign workers in the country 
were subjected to abusive treatment; no legal action in this area was 
reported. According to press reports, foreign workers were also 
induced, tricked, or forced to enter the country for work via nearby 
countries including Dubai, Turkey, and Kuwait. In some cases the 
foreign workers were complicit in finding ways to enter the country or 
in accepting the wage inducements when they faced travel prohibitions 
to the country from their home country; in other cases, they were the 
victim of a more compulsory fraud involving passport confiscation or 
outright fraud where they discovered their destination en route. Some 
countries of origin undertook efforts to educate and to repatriate 
workers.
    The occupational safety and health component of MoLSA had 
approximately 129 staff located throughout the country. The law 
provides that workers have the right to remove themselves from a 
situation endangering health and safety without prejudice to their 
employment. Occupational safety and health standards and programs 
existed and were sometimes enforced in state-owned enterprises. 
Enforcement of safety standards at private sector work sites was 
intermittent, and programs were rare. Most occupational safety issues 
were linked to violence and terrorism, not health.

                               __________

                                 ISRAEL

    With a population of approximately seven million, including 
approximately 5.3 million Jews, Israel is a multiparty parliamentary 
democracy. ``Basic laws'' enumerate fundamental rights. The 120-member, 
unicameral Knesset has the power to dissolve the Government and mandate 
elections. On March 28, the 17th Knesset was elected democratically. On 
May 4, Prime Minister Olmert presented his government to the Knesset.
    The judiciary is independent and has sometimes ruled against the 
executive, including in some security cases. Notwithstanding some cases 
of abuse by individuals, the civilian authorities maintained effective 
control of the security forces. (An annex to this report covers human 
rights in the occupied territories. This report deals only with human 
rights in Israel.)
    Palestinians in the occupied territories are not citizens of the 
country and do not enjoy the rights of citizens, even if living in 
areas under full Israeli authority or arrested in Israel. The 
approximately 20,000 non-Israeli residents of the Golan Heights were 
subject to Israeli authority and Israeli law.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens; however, there were problems in some areas, including serious 
abuses by some members of the security forces against Palestinian 
detainees. Poor conditions and improper application of security 
internment procedures (see annex) persisted in some detention and 
interrogation facilities. Institutional, legal, and societal 
discrimination against Israeli Arabs continued. Non-Orthodox Jews and 
other religious groups continued to face discrimination in personal and 
civil status matters. Women suffered discrimination and, in some cases, 
violence. The educational systems for Arab and Jewish students remained 
unequal. Trafficking in and abuse of women and foreign workers remained 
a problem in some areas and industries although the Government passed 
new antitrafficking legislation. De facto discrimination against 
persons with disabilities occurred. Government corruption and other 
criminal activity by political leaders was a problem.
    On July 12, the Lebanese terrorist organization Hizballah killed 
three Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers and kidnapped two others in 
northern Israel, resulting in a widened conflict in July and August. 
During that period, Hizballah fired missiles into Israel, killing 
civilians. Apart from the July-August conflict, Palestinian terrorist 
attacks killed 10 Israeli civilians and four foreigners during the 
year.
                        respect for human rights
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.
    On January 19, a border policeman killed Nadim Milham, an Israeli 
Arab, while reportedly searching for weapons in his home. A family 
member reported that police beat Milham and shot him when he attempted 
to escape; the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel 
(Mossawa) claimed to have evidence that Milham was shot twice from 
behind. On November 21, the State Prosecutor's Office indicted the 
policeman for manslaughter; however, there was no further action by 
year's end.
    On July 3, a police officer killed Mahmoud Ghanim, an Israeli Arab 
whom police suspected of stealing a car. According to police Ghanim was 
shot while attempting to run over police officers seeking to arrest 
him. Witness accounts collected by Mossawa indicated that Ghanim was 
shot in the back while sitting in his father's nonfunctioning car. At 
year's end the Police Investigation Department (PID) was investigating 
the shooting.
    On October 4, a border policeman killed Iyad Abu Aya, an illegal 
Palestinian worker, in Jaffa. Abu Aya was shot during a police 
operation to arrest illegal workers. According to press reports, 
eyewitnesses said the shooting was not justified. The police officer 
was placed under house arrest pending a PID investigation; there were 
no further developments at year's end.
    On January 6, the Government assigned a Deputy State Attorney to 
reexamine the PID decision to close its investigation into the police 
killings of 13 (12 Israeli Arabs and 1 Palestinian) protesters during 
October 2000 demonstrations (see sections 2.b. and 5). Nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) and Israeli-Arab community leaders generally 
welcomed the Government's decision to reexamine the PID investigation 
but questioned the impartiality of the Deputy State Attorney since his 
direct supervisor was among those responsible for the PID decision not 
to investigate the killings initially. At year's end the Government's 
review of the PID decision was ongoing.
    The Orr Commission of Inquiry, established in November 2000 to 
investigate the killings, recommended measures, including a Justice 
Ministry investigation to determine if criminal prosecutions should be 
initiated against police officials found responsible. The Government 
has not implemented either the Orr Commission recommendations or those 
of a follow-up interministerial committee. On May 25, the Public 
Security Minister appointed an officer implicated by the Orr Commission 
to a position seen by observers as a promotion. On October 25, in 
response to a petition from the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights 
(Adalah), the Supreme Court voided the officer's appointment.
    In July 2003 a police officer killed an unarmed Bedouin, Nasser Abu 
al Qia'an, in his car at a road junction, under disputed circumstances. 
In September 2005 the Justice Ministry indicted the police officer, who 
was subsequently tried and found not guilty on the grounds of self-
defense. An appeal filed by Mossawa was rejected during the year.
    On July 12, Hizballah terrorists killed three and abducted two IDF 
soldiers during a cross-border raid from Southern Lebanon, resulting in 
a conflict that lasted until August 14. During the fighting Hizballah 
fired 3,970 short- and medium-range rockets at Israeli population 
centers, killing 43 civilians (including four who died of heart attacks 
during bombardments) and no military personnel, according to government 
figures.
    Hizballah employed cluster munitions in these attacks on civilian 
population centers. According to Israeli police data, reported by HRW, 
Hizballah fired 113 cluster munitions rockets into northern Israel, 
killing one civilian and injuring 12. According to local media reports, 
the warheads of many of the rockets fired into northern Israel were 
loaded with ball bearings.
    During the year Palestinian terrorists killed 10 civilians and four 
foreign citizens in the country. The terrorist organization Palestinian 
Islamic Jihad carried out two suicide bomb attacks, both of them at the 
same restaurant in Tel Aviv. The first attack, on January 19, wounded 
31 persons. The second, on April 17, killed 11 and wounded over 60. On 
February 5, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed one person to death and 
injured five others in a shared taxi traveling on a highway outside Tel 
Aviv.
    During the year Palestinian terrorists routinely fired rockets from 
the Gaza Strip into neighboring Israeli communities. According to the 
Government, the number of Qassam rockets fired at Israeli targets 
increased during the year to 901, as compared to 377 in 2005. The 
Government reported that four civilians were killed and 83 wounded in 
the attacks. Two Sderot residents were killed in Qassam rocket attacks 
on November 15 and 21.
    In 2005 in the wake of the Shfaram attack, after Eden Natan-Zada, a 
member of the illegal right-wing Jewish movement Kach, killed four 
Israeli Arabs and wounded others when he fired on a bus, then Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the amendment of existing legislation 
which authorized compensation only for victims of terrorist actions 
perpetrated by regular military forces or by an organization hostile to 
the State of Israel or the Jewish people. On July 19, the Government 
amended the 1970 Compensation Law for Victims of Hostile Acts to 
include any persons victimized by violence deriving from the Israeli-
Arab conflict. Under the amended law, the Natan-Zada victims and their 
families were recognized as victims of terrorism and eligible for 
compensation.
    In May 2005 the Haifa District Court convicted Alexander 
Rabinovitch of involvement in several years of terrorist activity 
against Israeli Arabs in Haifa. In September 2005 Rabinovitch was 
sentenced to four years in prison for assisting in the 2004 
assassination attempt of Israeli-Arab Knesset Member Isaam Makhoul.

    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, during the year 
reputable NGOs filed numerous complaints with the Government alleging 
that security forces tortured and abused Palestinian detainees. The 
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) filed complaints 
with the Government on behalf of alleged victims of torture, who, PCATI 
reported, were almost all Palestinian security detainees and prisoners 
at detention facilities in Israel. According to PCATI Israel Security 
Agency (ISA) agents used torture in about 20 percent of their 
interrogations. ISA and State Prosecutor's Office representatives 
stated that all torture complaints are examined by an ISA complaints 
examiner, under supervision of the state prosecutor, and disciplinary 
action or criminal charges can result if the examiner finds agents 
tortured a prisoner who was not suspected of holding time-sensitive and 
life-threatening information.
    PCATI stated that no ISA officials had been tried on torture 
charges during the past five years. PCATI claimed the Government took 
insufficient action to hold accountable ISA interrogators against whom 
PCATI filed complaints and failed to take any actions during the year 
to investigate seriously or reprimand interrogators. According to the 
Government, no ISA agents were indicted or convicted for mistreatment 
or abuse of detainees during the year.
    In August PCATI filed a complaint with the Attorney General on 
behalf of a Palestinian resident of the West Bank village of Koud. The 
complaint alleged the ISA detained the Palestinian in the Kishon 
Detention Center for 25 days without access to a lawyer. During that 
time he was subjected to illegal means of interrogation, including 
simulated choking, painful positioning, sleep deprivation, beatings, 
and threats to arrest his family or destroy his home. At year's end the 
case was being examined by the State Attorney's Office.
    In September 2005 PCATI notified the Israel Prison Service (IPS) 
and the ISA about treatment of a Palestinian resident of Tulkarm held 
in the Kishon Detention Center. The detainee alleged he was subjected 
to painful positioning, beatings, long periods of interrogation, 
threats, and food and sleep deprivation. On February 27, as part of a 
plea bargain, he was convicted and sentenced to 26 months' 
imprisonment. On May 7, the State Attorney's Office responded that the 
ISA suspected the detainee was involved in life-endangering terrorist 
acts to occur in the near future. Consequently, the Attorney General 
decided not to initiate legal action against the ISA interrogators. The 
state's response did not refute the complainant's allegations.
    In December 2005 the Tel Aviv District Court rejected the state's 
petition to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Lebanese citizen Mustafa Dirani, 
who charged that Israeli security forces tortured and raped him during 
interrogations between 1994 and 2004, while seeking information on the 
whereabouts of Israeli Air Force navigator Lieutenant Colonel Ron Arad. 
According to media reports, an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) doctor who 
examined Dirani prior to his 2004 release--as part of a prisoner 
exchange--found evidence to support Dirani's claim. The state appealed 
the ruling of the Tel Aviv District Court to the Supreme Court, which 
was scheduled to hear the case on January 29, 2007.
    During the year IDF soldiers and Border Police officers were 
indicted and convicted for abuse of Palestinians. On November 6, for 
example, the PID indicted three Border Police officers for abusing a 
Palestinian in Jerusalem. The three allegedly beat the Palestinian 
before making him kiss the police insignia on their uniforms. The case 
was ongoing at year's end.
    Police and IPS officers were also disciplined for abuse or 
mistreatment of detainees. According to the Government, during the year 
courts convicted seven police officers and two prison officials for 
unlawful use of force, while 13 criminal indictments were handed down 
against police officers and IPS officials for this offense. According 
to government statistics, there were over 100 additional legal and 
disciplinary actions taken against police and IPS officers during the 
year.
    On March 8, the PID commander told the annual Border Police 
convention that complaints against its officers had fallen by 36 
percent in 2005, to 187. However, in a 2005 report, the State 
Comptroller's Office criticized the PID for failing to investigate 
cases of police abuse against foreign workers thoroughly. According to 
PID data cited in the State Comptroller's Report, 6,702 complaints were 
filed against the police in 2003, of which 3,916 were for improper use 
of force; 64 percent of complaints for improper use of force were not 
investigated.
    Between January and November, the Hotline for Migrant Workers 
(Hotline), an NGO foreign workers advocacy group, helped six foreign 
workers to file complaints with the PID, accusing police officers of 
excessive violence during apprehension. Hotline reported that foreign 
workers usually decided not to file complaints or to testify, due to 
fear of prolonged detention while their cases were investigated. 
According to Hotline during the year, fewer migrants were arrested than 
in 2005. A Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers monitored excessive 
force by immigration police when detaining foreign workers.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The law provides detainees 
the right to live in conditions that do not harm their health or 
dignity. However, interrogation facilities for Palestinian detainees 
were overcrowded and had austere conditions. Conditions and treatment 
at the Russian Compound interrogation center in Jerusalem remained 
harsh.
    On November 7, a Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHR) 
representative reported medical staff in detention facilities often 
failed to follow up with prisoners who refused medical treatment. 
According to PHR prisoners who needed medical attention sometimes 
refused treatment for reasons such as mental illness or a fear of 
making the difficult journey--sometimes as long as nine hours--to a 
medical facility.
    On March 3, the IDF transferred control of the Ofer Military 
Detention Camp to the IPS, leaving only two temporary detention centers 
in the West Bank under IDF control. Conditions in IPS facilities, which 
house common law criminals and convicted security prisoners (primarily 
Palestinians), and in the two IDF-controlled Provisional Detention 
Centers, which hold convicted Palestinian security prisoners, generally 
met international standards. The International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) had access to IPS and IDF facilities.
    On August 13, in response to a case dating to 2003 regarding 
providing each detainee with a bed, the Government announced to the 
Supreme Court that, barring unusual circumstances, a bed would be 
provided for every inmate no later than July 1, 2007. In July the 
Public Defender's Office reported some detention centers were so 
crowded that there was no privacy for performing personal bodily 
functions.
    In 2005 a reputable international organization reported receiving 
information that doctors examined prisoners to determine whether the 
prisoners could withstand further interrogation. The organization 
reported it intervened with the Government about this practice, but by 
year's end, it had received no further information.
    While Israeli citizen prisoners 17 years and younger were separated 
from adult prisoners, Palestinian prisoners 16 years and older were 
treated and housed as adults. The ICRC reported that, as of October 31, 
the Government held 522 Palestinians of age 17 or younger; the youngest 
was 12 years old. The ICRC reported that most Palestinian minors were 
held in Hasharon and Ofek prisons; all had access to organized 
education provided by the Ministry of Education. Not all minors were 
separated from adults, but according to the ICRC, this situation was 
designed to keep families together or for minors to be close to home. 
The ICRC examined such cases on an individual basis.
    The ICRC regularly monitored IPS facilities, as well as most IDF 
security prisoner and detention facilities; it did not monitor 
detention facility ``1391.'' Pursuant to a 1979 ICRC-Israel agreement, 
it could not visit interrogation facilities but could meet detainees 
who had been interrogated in designated areas of these units.
    The Government permitted some NGOs to monitor some prison or 
detention facilities. In addition NGOs can send lawyers and 
representatives to meet prisoners in those facilities. PHR was allowed 
to inspect police detention facilities and make several inspection 
tours per year but was not given comparable access to IPS facilities. 
The Israel Bar Association (IBA) and public defenders were permitted to 
inspect IPS facilities. The IBA has arrangements with the Government 
allowing selected lawyers to inspect prison, detention, and IDF 
facilities within the country.
    In 2004 in response to a petition by the Center for the Defense of 
the Individual (HaMoked) to compel the Government to release 
information on facility 1391, a secret IDF detention facility, the 
Supreme Court gave the Government 60 days to respond to its undisclosed 
suggestions related to the facility. The court ruled that the 
Government must inform the court should any detainee be imprisoned in 
that facility. On January 22, the court ruled that the facility was 
legal but asked the Government to restrict its use. On August 8, the 
Government informed the court that it was holding two Hizballah 
detainees, captured during the summer conflict, in the facility. 
Details of the court's ruling remain classified.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions for citizens. Palestinian security internees fell under 
the jurisdiction of military law even if detained in Israel (see 
annex). Non-Israeli residents of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan 
Heights are subject to the same laws as Israeli citizens.
    An arrested person is considered innocent until proven guilty, has 
the right to habeas corpus, to remain silent, to be represented by an 
attorney, to contact family members without delay, and to a fair trial. 
A bail system exists for Israelis and Palestinians; decisions denying 
bail can be appealed. As a general practice, according to B'Tselem, 
Palestinians detained for security violations were not granted bail. A 
citizen may be held without charge for 24 hours before being brought 
before a judge (96 hours for those suspected of a ``security 
offense''). If the detainee is suspected of committing a security 
offense, the basis on which most Palestinians are detained, the police 
and courts can delay notifying legal counsel for up to 31 days. The 
Government may withhold evidence from defense lawyers on security 
grounds; however, the evidence must be made available to the court. In 
July in its annual report, the Public Defender's Office charged that 
the police often violated detainees' legal rights to meet in 
appropriate conditions with counsel without delay. The IPS responded 
that efforts were underway to remedy such problems; it cited budgetary 
constraints as a major impediment.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISA (or Shin Bet), 
under the authority of the Prime Minister, combats terrorism and 
espionage in the country and the occupied territories. The National 
Police, including the Border Police and the Immigration Police, are 
under the authority of the Minister of Internal Security. An office in 
the Justice Ministry reviews complaints against police officers and may 
impose disciplinary charges or recommend indictments against officers.
    The National Police were generally effective, but, according to the 
NGO Movement for Quality in government, lacked sufficient resources to 
address government corruption. Police corruption was generally not a 
problem. The police utilized training programs, often in coordination 
with human rights NGOs, to promote human rights awareness and cultural 
sensitivity. For example, police commanders regularly were issued human 
rights training kits for use in weekly seminars for subordinates; these 
include modules on religious and cultural sensitivity, diversity 
awareness and free speech.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that foreign nationals 
detained for suspected violations of immigration law be afforded an 
immigration hearing within four days of detention. They have the right 
to, but no guarantee of, legal representation. According to Hotline 
appropriate interpreters were not always present at the hearings, 
despite a 2002 commitment to provide them. For example, according to 
Hotline in October hearings were held without appropriate 
interpretation for Chinese and Thai detainees in the Zohar detention 
center. According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), 
voluntary organizations must obtain a power of attorney from the 
individual they seek to represent before being permitted to work with 
him. Attorneys now can meet at Ben Gurion Airport with clients denied 
admission to the country and awaiting deportation; they can also meet 
clients who are illegal residents scheduled for deportation, before 
their clients have undergone the airport departure security check. A 
lawyer can seek an injunction to delay deportation; however, the client 
must subsequently wait in the Ben Gurion detention center to await the 
appeal decision.
    According to Hotline foreign detainees were rarely released pending 
judicial determination of their status. Moreover, if the detainee's 
country of origin had no diplomatic or consular representation, 
detention could last months. This problem worsened during the year, 
according to Hotline, which in October recorded 118 detainees from such 
countries held for over six months in the Ma'asiyahu detention center 
alone, including asylum seekers awaiting a UNHCR decision. During the 
year Hotline documented a case of arrest and detention of an asylum 
seeker carrying protection papers issued by the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR). An Administrative Tribunal later released the 
person after UNHCR intervention.
    During the year the country continued to be a destination for 
Sudanese nationals; some were fleeing violence in Darfur and others 
were leaving Egypt following problems with Egyptian authorities. The 
circumstances of the approximately 280 Sudanese detainees prompted 
criticism from human rights organizations. Detainees were held either 
in detention centers or sent to controlled facilities, such as 
kibbutzim. During the year none received refugee status in Israel (see 
section 2.d.).
    On May 8, responding to a petition from Hotline and the Tel Aviv 
University Refugee Rights Clinic, the Supreme Court gave the Government 
30 days to create a new policy to deal with Sudanese detainees. In 
response the Government appointed an advisor to recommend to the 
Minister of Defense whether to release individuals held under the 
Infiltration Law. As of November 1, the advisor had reviewed 
approximately a third of the 280 Sudanese cases and recommended 
releasing seven detainees, who were paroled into the country to await 
judicial determination of their status. At year's end 80 Sudanese 
detainees were being held in kibbutzim and women's shelters, while 
approximately 200 remained in prison facilities. The Supreme Court 
scheduled a further hearing for January 2007.
    Foreign embassies frequently received belated notification, or none 
at all, of their citizens' arrests, especially in the cases of foreign 
nationals alleged to have committed security-related offenses. Pursuant 
to the 1979 Emergency Powers Law, the Defense Ministry may detain 
persons without charge or trial for up to six months, renewable 
indefinitely, subject to district court review. Such detainees are 
permitted legal representation, but the court may rely on confidential 
information denied to detainees and their lawyers. Detainees can appeal 
their cases to the Supreme Court. As of December 23, according to 
B'Tselem there were 782 administrative detainees in IPS detention 
centers, while the IDF held two administrative detainees as of November 
1.
    On January 11, a PCATI field researcher from Hebron, Hassan Zaga, 
was imprisoned in the Ketziot Detention Center under an administrative 
detention order. In May a court extended the order for four months. In 
September a court refused a government request for further detention, 
and Zaga was released on November 15. According to PCATI Zaga had no 
opportunity to deny or refute the charges brought against him.
    The Illegal Combatant Law allows the IDF to detain persons 
suspected of ``taking part in hostile activity against Israel, directly 
or indirectly'' or who ``belong to a force engaged in hostile activity 
against the State of Israel.'' Under this law persons may be held for 
up to 14 days without access to an attorney. In the past human rights 
groups alleged abuse of administrative security detention orders and 
claimed such orders were used even when the accused posed no clear 
danger.
    In 2005 the Government reported that it had detained Hassin Makded 
in facility 1391 for over 18 months under ``extraordinary circumstances 
and exceptional grounds.'' He was subsequently released. The Government 
did not identify the period during which he was detained. On January 
22, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of this secret facility but 
asked the Government to minimize its use (see section 1.c.). On August 
8, the Government informed the court that it was holding two Hizballah 
detainees in the facility.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The Judicial Branch is organized into three levels: magistrate 
courts, six district courts, and the Supreme or High Court of Justice. 
District courts prosecute felonies and adjudicate civil disputes, and 
magistrate courts prosecute misdemeanors and adjudicate lesser civil 
disputes. There are military, religious, labor relations, and 
administrative courts, with the High Court of Justice as the ultimate 
judicial authority. The High Court of Justice is both a court of first 
instance and acts as an appellate court when it sits as the Supreme 
Court. Religious courts, representing the main recognized religious 
groups, including Christian communities, have jurisdiction over matters 
of personal status for their adherents (see section 2.c.).

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The 
country's criminal justice system is adversarial, and professional 
judges decide all cases.
    Trials are public except when, in the opinion of the court, the 
interests of the parties are determined to be best served by privacy. 
The legal justifications for holding a closed trial include potential 
risk to state security, damage to foreign relations of the state, 
violation of a party's or witness's right to privacy, and to protect a 
sexual offense victim. Security or military trials are open to 
independent observers at the discretion of the court, but not to the 
general public. The law provides for a hearing with legal 
representation, and authorities generally observed this right in 
practice. In cases of serious felonies--crimes subject to penalties of 
10 years imprisonment or more--indigent defendants receive mandatory 
legal representation. According to the Government, counsel represented 
approximately 60 to 70 percent of defendants in lesser cases brought 
before the Magistrate Courts.
    Military courts provide a number, but not all, of the rights 
granted in civil criminal courts. The 1970 evidentiary rules governing 
trials under military law of Palestinians and others applicable in the 
occupied territories are the same as evidentiary rules in criminal 
cases. Convictions may not be based solely on confessions; however, 
according to PCATI in practice security prisoners have been sentenced 
on the basis of their coerced confessions, coerced testimony of others, 
or both. Counsel may assist the accused in such trials, and a judge may 
assign counsel to those defendants. Indigent detainees do not 
automatically receive free legal counsel for military trials, although 
they do in most civilian criminal trials. The defendant and the public 
receive the charges in Hebrew, and the court can order an Arabic 
translation. Military and criminal court sentencing procedures were 
consistent. Defendants in military trials can appeal through the 
Military High Court and also petition the civilian High Court in cases 
in which they believe there were procedural or evidentiary 
irregularities.
    There are also custodial courts and four deportation courts to 
address the removal of illegal immigrants. These courts handle 
thousands of cases annually.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees. (See annex for discussion of 
Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.)

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and 
impartial judiciary functions for civil issues in lawsuits seeking 
damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation. Administrative 
remedies also exist; domestic court orders are enforced.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Laws and regulations provide for protection of privacy 
of the individual and the home. In criminal cases the law permits 
wiretapping under court order; in security cases the Defense Ministry 
must issue the order. Under emergency regulations authorities may open 
and destroy mail based on security considerations.
    Separate religious court systems adjudicate personal status 
matters, such as marriage and divorce, for the Jewish, Muslim, 
Christian, and Druze communities. Jews can marry only in Orthodox 
Jewish services. Jews and members of other religious communities who 
wish to have civil marriages, Jews who wish to marry according to 
Reform or Conservative Judaism, those not recognized by Orthodox 
authorities as being Jewish, and those marrying someone from another 
faith must marry abroad to gain government recognition.
    In July the Knesset extended the 2003 law that prohibits citizens' 
Palestinian spouses from the occupied territories from residing in the 
country. The extension applied also to the 2005 amendment allowing 
Palestinian men aged 35 and older and women aged 25 and older to apply 
for temporary visit permits (see sections 2.d. and 5). Civil rights 
groups criticized the amended law for continuing to deny citizenship 
and residency status to spouses of Israeli Arabs, who constitute the 
majority of those who marry Palestinians from the occupied territories. 
On May 14, the Supreme Court rejected petitions brought by Adalah, 
ACRI, and others challenging the law and its amendments. In its ruling 
the court observed that the law was within the bounds of 
proportionality with regard to the balance between individual rights 
and state security.
    The authority to grant status to a non-Israeli spouse, including 
Palestinian and other non-Jewish foreign spouses, resides with the 
Minister of the Interior. An ACRI report indicated that the ministry 
refused to register children in the population registry born to an 
Israeli father and foreign national mother without detailed proof of 
the father's Israeli citizenship; the child would receive a birth 
certificate but not be eligible for certain state benefits. At year's 
end an ACRI petition against this policy was pending with the Supreme 
Court.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice, subject to restrictions concerning security issues. 
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 November 23, according to a report from Adalah, the State 
Prosecutor's Office announced it would open a criminal investigation 
for racial incitement over an article in the Hassidic World magazine 
critically describing Arab Muslims and Christians in insulting terms 
(see section 2.c.).
    Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, released in 2004 after 
serving 18 years in prison for treason and espionage, continued to be 
subjected to detailed restrictions on speech and movement (see section 
2.d.). In April and October, the IDF renewed the prohibition on 
contacts with the foreign press. In November the Supreme Court 
continued to consider Vanunu's third petition to annul his 
restrictions. According to his lawyer, at year's end Vanunu's criminal 
trial on charges that he violated his restrictions in 2005 was ongoing.
    In 2001 Arab Knesset Member (MK) Azmi Bishara was indicted, after 
the Knesset lifted his immunity, for making allegedly pro-Hizballah 
statements in 2000 in Syria and later in the city of Umm al-Fahm (see 
section 2.d.). In January after four years of legal proceedings, the 
Supreme Court dismissed all criminal charges and ruled Bishara's 
speeches were protected by parliamentary immunity.
    The country has 12 daily newspapers, 90 weekly newspapers, more 
than 250 periodical publications, and a number of Internet news sites. 
All newspapers in the country were privately owned and managed. 
Political parties and religious bodies owned three minor dailies 
designed for Orthodox Jewish readers. The 1933 Journalism Ordinance and 
the British Mandate Defense Regulation for the Emergency Time Period 
were adopted upon establishment of the state; subsequently, the 
ordinance was never amended. The Ministry of Interior has no authority 
over the military censor. According to the Journalism Ordinance, anyone 
wishing to publish a newspaper must apply for a license from the 
locality where the newspaper will be published. The ordinance also 
allows the Minister of Interior, under certain conditions, to close a 
newspaper. In 2004 the High Court heard a petition filed by ACRI 
challenging the ordinance. ACRI withdrew its petition after the 
Interior Ministry pledged to prepare legislation effectively canceling 
the ordinance. At year's end legislation had not been enacted.
    The Israel Broadcast Authority, the country's state broadcasting 
network, controls the Hebrew-language Israel Television (Channel 1) and 
an Arabic-language channel, as well as Kol Israel (Voice of Israel) 
radio, which airs news and other programming in Hebrew, Arabic, and 
many other languages. Both Israel Television and Israel Radio are major 
sources of news and information. The Second Television and Radio 
Authority, a public body, supervises the two privately owned commercial 
television channels and 14 privately owned radio stations. In February 
2005 the authority prohibited advertisements for the so-called Geneva 
Accords in which Palestinian public figures told Israelis, among other 
points, ``You have a partner for a peace agreement.'' The authority 
claimed that its regulations on television commercial ethics prohibited 
it from airing commercials on ``controversial issues.'' A consolidated 
cable company and one satellite television company carried 
international networks and programs produced for domestic audiences.
    The law authorizes the Government to censor on national security 
grounds any material reported from the country or the occupied 
territories regarded as sensitive. An agreement between the Government 
and media representatives provides for military censorship only in 
cases involving issues that the armed forces believe could likely harm 
the country's security interests. All media organizations must submit 
materials covered by the agreement to the censor for approval. This 
agreement deals with specific military issues as well as strategic 
infrastructure issues such as oil and water supplies. Media 
organizations may appeal the censor's decision to the High Court, and 
they cannot be closed by the military censor for censorship violations. 
The military censor cannot appeal a court judgment. Foreign journalists 
must agree to submit sensitive articles and photographs to the military 
censor. In practice they rarely complied.
    Following an intensive public debate on the role of the media 
during wartime, as a consequence of censorship concerning, for example, 
specific locations of Katyusha rocket strikes, the Israeli Press 
Council established a Special Committee to Examine Journalistic Ethics 
and Conduct During War. Its conclusions were scheduled for publication 
following the final committee meeting on February 2, 2007.
    On July 16, Walid al-Omary, the Jerusalem bureau chief of Al-
Jazeera, was detained by police in the northern coastal city of Acre 
for six hours. Police accused him of providing information to the enemy 
by giving specific information on Katyusha rockets landing in Haifa; he 
was released on bail, and no charges were subsequently filed.
    All journalists operating in the country must be accredited by the 
Israeli government Press Office (GPO). On September 20, ACRI appealed 
to the Supreme Court on behalf of a journalist residing in the Golan 
Heights who alleged that he had been denied a GPO card since 2003 based 
on political and security considerations.
    News printed or broadcast abroad may be reported without 
censorship. There were no recent reports that the Government fined 
newspapers for violating censorship regulations.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on 
Internet access or reports of the Government monitoring e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. 
Approximately 3.7 million persons had Internet access through dial-up, 
broadband, and mobile services.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government respected 
academic freedom. There were no government restrictions on 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.

    Freedom of Assembly.--In April according to press reports, the 
Ministry of Internal Security released a study criticizing the police 
for lacking a clear, explicit policy on appropriate use of force to 
disperse riots and demonstrations. According to the study, violent 
confrontations between police and demonstrators occurred in 70 percent 
of major cases examined during recent years. On November 5, the 
Attorney General authorized a gay pride parade scheduled for November 
10 in Jerusalem, and the Supreme Court rejected several petitions to 
cancel the parade (see section 5).
    In December 2005 Adalah filed complaints with the PID against 
border policemen for allegedly using excessive force against a 
demonstration in the Bedouin community of Al-Mashash in November 2005. 
The demonstration and ensuing police raid were prompted when government 
officials arrived in the Negev village to deliver demolition orders for 
illegally constructed buildings. According to Adalah 12 protesters, 
including a pregnant woman, were injured during the clashes. At year's 
end the PID had not responded to the allegations.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
association, and the Government generally respected this provision in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice. The 
Basic Law and Declaration of Independence recognize the country as a 
``Jewish and democratic state,'' establishing Judaism as the country's 
dominant religion. Consequently, the Government implements certain 
policies based on Orthodox Jewish interpretation of religious law, 
including marriage, burial, and work on the Sabbath. Government 
allocations of state resources favor Orthodox Jewish institutions.
    The law confers recognition on some religious communities, granting 
them legal authority over their members in personal status matters, 
such as marriage and divorce. These communities include: Eastern 
Orthodox; Latin (Roman Catholic); Gregorian-Armenian; Armenian-
Catholic; Syrian (Catholic); Chaldean (Uniate); Greek Catholic Melkite; 
Maronite; Syrian Orthodox; and Orthodox Jewish (both Ashkenazic and 
Sephardic rites). Since the founding of the country, the Government has 
recognized three additional religious communities--the Druze in 1957, 
the Evangelical Episcopal Church in 1970, and the Baha'i faith in 1971. 
The Government has defined the status of several other Christian 
denominations by means of individual arrangements with government 
agencies.
    Several religious communities were not recognized, including 
Protestant groups; however, unrecognized communities practiced their 
religion freely and maintained communal institutions, but were 
ineligible to receive government funding for religious services.
    According to government figures, during the year the budget for 
religious services and religious structures for the Jewish population 
was approximately $326 million (1.4 billion NIS). Religious minorities, 
which comprised approximately 20 percent of the population, received 
about $26 million (112 million NIS), or just over 7 percent of total 
funding.
    The Government does not explicitly codify recognition of a Muslim 
community. Lack of codified recognition did not affect the religious 
rights of Muslims. Legislation enacted in 1961 afforded Muslim courts 
exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status concerning 
Muslims, although the state regulates judicial appointments to these 
courts. Secular courts have primacy over questions of inheritance, but 
parties, by mutual agreement, may bring cases to religious courts. 
Muslims also can bring alimony and property division matters associated 
with divorce to civil courts.
    Under the Law of Return, the Government grants citizenship and 
residence rights to Jewish immigrants and their immediate family 
members. In March 2005 the High Court ruled that, for the purpose of 
conferring citizenship rights, the Government must recognize non-
Orthodox conversions of noncitizen legal residents that were begun in 
Israel but formalized abroad by acknowledged Jewish religious 
authorities, even if not Orthodox. In 2004 the High Court held that 
non-Jews who immigrate to the country and convert according to Orthodox 
requirements can become citizens under the Law of Return. However, in 
October conversion officials charged that the Interior Ministry was 
obstructing such prospective immigrants who had undergone Orthodox 
conversion courses in the country. The Government does not recognize 
non-Orthodox conversions in the country for the purpose of immigration 
under the Law of Return. In November 2005 the Israel Religious Action 
Center challenged this practice in court; on November 12, the Supreme 
Court held its first hearing on this petition, and the case was ongoing 
at year's end.
    In 2004 ACRI released a report charging that the Interior 
Ministry's population authority sought to prevent non-Jews--
particularly spouses of Israeli citizens--from obtaining resident 
status. ACRI charged that the Interior Ministry's population registry 
subjected non-Jewish spouses and non-Jewish adopted children of Jewish 
immigrants to unfair and at times arbitrary requirements for residency, 
including having to leave the country before filing a residency 
application. On March 16, in response to an ACRI petition, the Supreme 
Court ordered the Interior Ministry to process residency applications 
for common-law spouses of citizens, without requiring them to leave the 
country. Most cases involved persons who immigrated under the Law of 
Return from the former Soviet republics and their non-Jewish spouses 
and non-Jewish adopted children.
    In April 2005 then Prime Minister Sharon established an 
interministerial committee to draft legislation outlining guidelines by 
which foreigners might become citizens. At year's end the 
interministerial committee had not taken action.
    Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox control over 
aspects of their personal lives. Approximately 300,000 citizens who 
immigrated either as Jews or as family members of Jews are not 
considered Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate. They cannot be married, 
divorced, or buried in Jewish cemeteries within the country. Jews who 
wish to marry in Reform, Conservative, or secular ceremonies must do so 
abroad. According to Central Bureau of Statistics figures, more than 
32,000 citizens married outside the country between 2000-04; almost 
half were couples in which both husband and wife were Jews. In 1995 the 
Government asked foreign consular officials to stop performing 
marriages in the country, citing potential legal problems for its 
citizens who marry in consular services. In April 2005 the High Court 
instructed the Government to inform it within three months of its 
position on recognizing marriages performed by officials of foreign 
embassies in the country; at year's end the Government reportedly 
continued to review its policy. On November 21, the High Court issued a 
ruling requiring the Government to recognize same-sex marriages legally 
performed in foreign jurisdictions (see section 5). A 1996 law 
requiring the Government to establish civil cemeteries has not been 
implemented adequately.
    The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law protects all holy sites, but 
the Government has issued implementing regulations only for Jewish 
sites. In 2004 Adalah petitioned the Supreme Court to compel the 
Government to protect Muslim sites; it charged that all of the 
locations designated as holy sites were Jewish, and the Government's 
failure to implement regulations had resulted in desecration and 
conversion of individual Muslim sites. Responding to a 2004 Supreme 
Court order to respond within 60 days, the Government said on January 1 
that it had appointed an interministerial committee to examine the 
administrative and budgetary management of holy sites. The Supreme 
Court, which repeatedly rescheduled the initial hearing since 2004, set 
it for May 2007. At year's end there were 135 designated holy sites in 
the country, all of which were Jewish.
    According to representatives of Christian institutions, visa 
issuance rates for some of their religious workers significantly 
declined from rates in previous years. Religious workers based in 
Jerusalem or the occupied territories were denied entry or re-entry 
under a general tightening of government criteria for foreign nationals 
(see section 2.d.). At year's end the Government's stricter entry 
policies were unclear.
    The Knesset has not ratified the Fundamental Agreement establishing 
relations between the Holy See and Israel negotiated in 1993. 
Government negotiations with the Holy See addressed the continuation of 
tax exemptions for Roman Catholic institutions and property (churches, 
monasteries, convents, educational, and social welfare organizations) 
and the access of the institutions to Israeli courts. Under current 
law, property disputes involving religious institutions are handled by 
the executive branch of the Government. On November 27, the Government 
and the Holy See agreed to hold further negotiations of the Bilateral 
Permanent Working Commission. Further discussions were held on December 
12.
    Missionaries were allowed to proselytize, although offering or 
receiving material inducements for conversion, as well as converting 
persons under 18 years old remained illegal unless one parent was of 
the religion to which the minor wished to convert. The Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints voluntarily refrained from proselytizing 
under a longstanding agreement with the Government.
    In July 2005 the Messianic congregation in Arad published a letter 
in Iton HaTzvi that reported harassment by members of an ultra-Orthodox 
community. In September 2005 the High Court heard a petition by ultra-
Orthodox Jews seeking the right to demonstrate at the house of a family 
of Messianic Jews and reversal of a police decision prohibiting such a 
demonstration. At year's end there was no further information on a 
court ruling. According to Messianic Jews resident there, since 2004 
the Gur Hassidim have demonstrated regularly in front of the homes of 
Christians and Messianic Jews in Arad to protest alleged Christian 
proselytizing by this group. In interviews with Ha'aretz newspaper on 
November 14, the mayor and several officials of Arad objected to 
Messianic Jews in their city, but acknowledged having no legal basis to 
expel them.
    In December 2005 approximately 200 ultra-Orthodox Jews disrupted 
the religious service of a Messianic congregation in Be'er Sheva, 
assaulting the congregation's pastor, damaging property, and harassing 
members of the congregation. In June a Be'er Sheva magistrate's court 
rejected an appeal by the congregation for a restraining order against 
ultra-Orthodox protesters. At year's end there were no further 
developments.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to a spring poll 
conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, some 62 percent of Jewish 
citizens believed that the Government should encourage Arab citizens to 
emigrate.
    During the campaign for the parliamentary elections in March, the 
Herut party used campaign posters depicting a traditionally veiled Arab 
woman in campaign posters captioned ``This demographic will poison 
us.''
    On March 3, during a prayer service, three members of a mixed 
Jewish-Christian family from Jerusalem attacked the Basilica of the 
Annunciation in Nazareth. According to the police and witnesses, after 
barricading themselves inside, the attackers ignited firecrackers, 19 
flammable canisters, and a number of bottles filled with flammable 
liquid. The attack resulted in a local riot, during which several 
police and protesters suffered minor injuries and police cars were 
burned. On September 13, two attackers were convicted of conspiracy to 
commit a crime, arson, rioting, and disorderly conduct.
    In May vandals spray painted approximately 20 swastikas on the Ark, 
Torah scroll, and walls of the Great Synagogue in the city of Petah 
Tikva. Neo-Nazi graffiti was also sprayed on monuments honoring, and 
actual gravesites of, several well-known historical figures, including 
the grave of the country's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. On 
December 1, vandals destroyed property and painted swastikas on an 
ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Acre.
    In May Israeli youths celebrating Lag Ba'Omer, a holiday 
traditionally marked by lighting bonfires, allegedly attempted to burn 
an abandoned mosque in the northern city of Acre. According to press 
reports, they also spray painted ``Death to Arabs'' on neighboring 
buildings. The individuals claimed they were simply preparing a 
bonfire, but police found indications of attempted arson. The case was 
closed at year's end with none of the individuals publicly identified.
    On June 28, approximately 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews assaulted 
approximately 50 Christian tourists in a Jerusalem neighborhood, 
injuring three of them. Police arrested two attackers, and in October 
the case was being prepared for indictment.
    The national public bus service operated sex-segregated 
transportation in and between cities for ultra-Orthodox Jews. On 
November 24, a group of ultra-Orthodox men reportedly attacked and beat 
a woman for refusing to move to the rear of a Jerusalem bus that was 
not officially sex-segregated. None of the attackers was arrested; 
however, at year's end the case was under investigation.
    There were also incidents throughout the year in which ultra-
Orthodox Jews threw rocks at motorists to protest their driving on the 
Sabbath.
    On November 23, according to a report from Adalah, the State 
Prosecutor's Office announced it would open a criminal investigation 
for racial incitement over an article in the Hassidic World magazine 
critically describing Muslims and Christians in insulting terms (see 
section 2.a.).
    In August 2005 police arrested Shimon Ben Haim and Victoria 
Shteinman for desecrating a Muslim holy site by throwing a pig's head, 
wrapped in a Keffiyeh with ``Mohammed'' written on it, into the 
courtyard of a mosque near Tel Aviv. Ben Haim and Shteinman were 
subsequently convicted of insulting a religion. On December 6, Ben Haim 
was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment and Shteinman was sentenced 
to two months' community service.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice for citizens. (See 
annex for discussion of restrictions on movement within the occupied 
territories, between the territories and Israel, and the construction 
of a security barrier.)
    Citizens generally were free to travel abroad and to emigrate, 
provided they had no outstanding military obligations and no 
administrative restrictions. The Government may bar citizens from 
leaving the country based on security considerations. Citizens, 
including dual nationals, must enter and leave the country using their 
Israeli passports only. In addition no citizen is permitted to travel 
to states officially at war with the country without government 
permission.
    Pursuant to the terms of his release after having served 18 years 
in prison on espionage and treason charges (see section 2. a.), 
Mordechai Vanunu continued to be prohibited from obtaining a passport, 
traveling outside the country, going within 500 meters of airports and 
overland border crossings, and entering any foreign diplomatic offices. 
On April 20, the Interior Minister extended these prohibitions for 
another year. At year's end Vanunu's criminal trial on charges that he 
violated these restrictions in 2005 continued.
    In December 2005 the Interior Minister imposed a 12-month travel 
ban on Israeli journalist and literary critic, Antwan Shalhat. In 
January Adalah petitioned the High Court to revoke the ban, arguing it 
violated Shalhat's basic rights. In March on the recommendation of the 
court, which reviewed secret evidence in a meeting with government 
representatives, Adalah withdrew the petition but protested using 
secret evidence in the case.
    In 2001 the Knesset forbade parliamentarians from visiting enemy 
states without permission from the Interior Minister. In February the 
Attorney General ordered police to investigate Israeli-Arab MKs Azmi 
Bishara and Taleb a-Sanaa for their separate trips to Syria and Lebanon 
at the end of 2005. In early September following the conflict with 
Lebanon, Bishara and fellow Israeli-Arab MKs, Wasal Taha and Jamak 
Zahalka, plus two former Israeli-Arab MKs, visited Syria and Lebanon 
again, prompting the Attorney General to order a new criminal 
investigation. The Interior Minister also called on the Foreign 
Minister to revoke their passports and asked the Attorney General for 
authority to restrict their international travel. At year's end police 
investigations continued, but there was no action to bar them from 
leaving the country.
    The 2003 Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law bars Palestinians 
from the occupied territories from acquiring residence or citizenship 
rights through marriage to Israelis or to Palestinian residents of 
Jerusalem. In July 2005 the Knesset amended the law so that Palestinian 
men aged 35 and older and women aged 25 and older were eligible for 
temporary visitor permits to visit spouses and family in Israel. The 
Mossawa Center, citing Ministry of Interior statistics, claimed that 
the law affected ``at least 21,298 families,'' including couples with 
long-standing marriages whose requests for residence permits were 
pending. Advocacy groups claimed that, despite the amendment, the law 
discriminated against Arab citizens and residents. In November 2005 
during ongoing Supreme Court hearings on a petition by civil rights 
NGOs challenging this law, the Government informed the court that since 
2001, 25 Palestinian spouses of Israeli Arabs had been involved in 
terrorist activity. In May the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the 
law, and in July the Knesset extended it for another six months (see 
sections 1.f. and 5).
    During the year there were numerous credible reports of foreign 
nationals arbitrarily denied entry into the country or the occupied 
territories and subjected to harsh and abusive treatment. Most, but not 
all, were foreign nationals of Palestinian heritage, who sought to 
visit family or pursue business interests in the West Bank; previously 
such visits had occurred freely on ``tourist'' visas. During the year 
hundreds of foreign nationals attempting to renew visas were denied. 
Religious workers were also denied entry (see section 2.c.). By year's 
end the Government had not clarified its policies on West Bank entry 
for foreign nationals.
    The law prohibits forced exile of citizens, and the Government 
generally respected this prohibition in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government provides some refugees the 
protections available under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and had established a system 
whereby persons can apply for refugee status. According to the Refugee 
Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University, the Government receives 
approximately 1,000 asylum applications annually. Palestinians were 
registered by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees 
and, therefore, not eligible for refugee status.
    According to UNHCR's local office, the Government received 
approximately 1,600 asylum applications during the year, of which 250 
received temporary protection, with a total of 700 individuals in 
temporary protection at year's end. UNHCR reported that 100 asylum 
seekers left the country during the year after UNHCR declared their 
countries safe for return.
    The Government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting Jewish refugees. The Government also 
provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as 
refugees under the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. The 
Government provided temporary humanitarian protection to persons from 
``conflict countries'' in Africa.
    During the year the Government continued to detain approximately 
200 Sudanese asylum seekers under the 1954 Infiltration Prevention Law, 
which does not provide for judicial oversight (see section 1.d.). Of 
the detained Sudanese, 88 were previously recognized as refugees by the 
UNHCR in Cairo, and another 137 had been registered by the UNHCR in 
Cairo but not granted refugee status. According to the Tel Aviv 
University Refugee Clinic, a UNHCR representative visited the country 
in the spring and determined the threat posed by a return to Sudan 
qualified all 280 Sudanese in the country as refugees ``sur place.''
    The UNHCR referred eligible refugee applicants to the National 
Status Granting Body (NSGB), and the Interior Ministry made final 
adjudication. The Tel Aviv University Refugee Rights Clinic charged 
that the NSGB's procedures were not transparent, that the NSBG did not 
publish data on its activities, and applicants were not permitted legal 
counsel during hearings. During the year the NSGB modified guidelines 
and provided detailed explanation for individual denials. According to 
the Refugee Rights Clinic, this new procedure aided rejected applicants 
in petitions for NSGB reconsideration.
    The Government did not generally return those denied refugee status 
to their home countries against their will, and they reportedly could 
remain in detention facilities for months. For asylum seekers from 
states with which the country was at war, the Government attempted to 
find a third country to accept them. The Government provided asylum 
seekers with temporary work permits but not social or medical benefits. 
Children of asylum seekers could enroll in the public education system, 
according to the Refugee Rights Clinic. Persons granted refugee status 
received six month visas that can be extended until procedures are 
complete.
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.--The country is a 
parliamentary democracy with an active multiparty system. Relatively 
small parties, including those primarily supported by Israeli Arabs, 
regularly win Knesset seats. On March 28, the Kadima Party, founded in 
2005 by former Likud leader Ariel Sharon, won a plurality of Knesset 
seats, and Kadima leader Ehud Olmert formed a coalition government in 
which he became Prime Minister. In October the Government added a fifth 
party, Yisrael Beiteinu, to the governing coalition.
    The Basic Law prohibits the candidacy of any party or individual 
that denies either 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.
    The law requires that a party obtain 2 percent of the vote to win 
Knesset seats.
    At year's end the 120-member Knesset had 17 female members, and its 
speaker was a woman. The 24-member cabinet included two women. The 
President and six members of the 15-member High Court were women. The 
Knesset included 11 Arabs and one Druze. Nine of the 11 Arabs 
represented parties supported largely or entirely by the Arab 
community. In 2004 for the first time since the establishment of the 
state, an Arab Christian was appointed as a permanent justice to the 
High Court. No Muslim or Druze citizens have served on the court.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Investigations of numerous 
allegations of corruption and misconduct among senior political figures 
and government ministries occurred during the year.
    In August President Moshe Katsav was placed under investigation for 
sexual harassment, illegal wiretapping, and fraud, after he complained 
to police about an alleged extortion attempt. During the investigation 
several women presented complaints against Katsav, spanning many years, 
while they worked on his staff. The investigation was ongoing at year's 
end (see section 5).
    In October Tzachi Hanegbi, Chair of the Knesset's Foreign and 
Defense Committee, was put on trial for allegedly appointing political 
associates to positions in the public sector when he was Environment 
Minister in a previous government. Hanegbi's trial was ongoing at 
year's end.
    Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was investigated during the year by the 
State Comptroller and Attorney-General for alleged irregularities in 
political appointments and bank and real estate actions in previous 
years. The investigations were ongoing at year's end.
    Criminal investigations of other politicians, including Minister 
for Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman, MK Omri Sharon, and Opposition 
Leader Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, continued throughout the year. On 
March 14, former Likud MK Naomi Blumenthal was sentenced to eight 
months in prison for bribery and obstructing legal proceedings during 
the 2002 Likud party primaries. On April 27, former Likud MK Yair Hazan 
was sentenced to four months community service and a two month 
suspended sentence for his role in a 2003 double voting incident.
    The law affords the public access to government information, and 
citizens could petition for such access. According to ACRI the 
Government does not effectively implement its Freedom of Information 
Law. ACRI charged that many government bodies do not disclose their 
internal regulations, as the Freedom of Information Law requires, and 
that others failed to publish annual reports. During the year ACRI won 
a legal case to ensure public disclosure of documentation relating to 
the Government's first prison privatization tender.
Section 4. 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. Government officials were generally 
cooperative and responsive to their views. A Foreign Affairs Ministry 
liaison unit develops and maintains relations with international and 
domestic NGOs.
    NGOs must register with the Government by submitting an application 
and paying registration and annual fees. They operated under the laws 
covering nonprofit organizations. Some registered NGOs were eligible to 
receive state funding. According to Mossawa Israeli-Arab NGOs received 
only approximately 1 percent of the nearly $580 million (NIS 2.5 
billion) spent annually by the Government on NGOs. Mossawa alleged the 
Government discriminated when determining NGO eligibility for state 
funds.
    During the year the Interior Ministry, operating under a 2002 
order, barred entry to all foreign nationals affiliated with certain 
Palestinian human rights NGOs and solidarity organizations.
    According to media reports, at year's end the Government held six 
Hizballah detainees from the July-August conflict in Lebanon, but had 
barred the ICRC from visiting them after allowing two initial visits.
    (See annex regarding NGOs in the occupied territories.)
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
marital status, political beliefs, or age. These laws sometimes were 
not enforced, either due to institutionalized discrimination or to lack 
of resources. In September 2005 then Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz 
termed the country's policy toward its Arab citizens ``institutional 
discrimination'' and called for affirmative action.

    Women.--The Equality of Women Law provides for equal rights for 
women and protection from violence, sexual harassment, sexual 
exploitation, and trafficking; however, violence against women was a 
problem. The Government reported that between January 1 and November 
30, some 18,280 cases of spousal violence were filed with the police. 
Approximately 78 percent of these were complaints by women against 
their husbands. The Government reported that in 2004 it convicted 1,297 
persons of spousal abuse. The Social Affairs Ministry provided battered 
women with shelter care and operated a national hot line for battered 
women. The police operated a nationwide computerized call center to 
inform victims about their cases and employed a computerized database 
to link sex crime cases and to assist in identifying and locating 
offenders. A wide variety of women's organizations and hot lines 
provided services, such as counseling, telephone crisis intervention, 
legal assistance, and shelters for abused women.
    In April two cases of husbands killing their wives and then 
committing suicide and the conviction of a man for murdering his wife 
by stabbing her repeatedly drew national attention to the problem of 
spousal abuse. The director of the Hotline for Battered Women reported 
spousal violence against women was a growing problem among new 
immigrants, especially those from Ethiopia and Russia.
    Rape is illegal; nevertheless, NGOs considered the incidence of 
rape a concern. The number of rape and gang rape cases rose by 28 
percent from 2004 to 2005, according to a report issued in March by an 
association of victim assistance NGOs. NGOs noted that a culture of 
blaming the victim contributed to underreporting rape.
    In past years women's organizations reported instances of Arab 
women killed by male relatives in ``honor'' cases, although there was 
no accurate estimate of the number. In 2005 the Women Against Violence 
Organization reported that annually an average of 10 Israeli-Arab women 
were victims of family honor killings. According to Israeli-Arab 
women's rights group Kayan, there were seven or eight honor killings in 
the country during the year.
    For example, on April 6, police arrested five Israeli-Arab brothers 
from the town of Lod for murdering their 19-year-old sister. Police 
suspected the oldest brother, a local pediatrician, of helping to plan 
the murder and providing anesthetics; the young woman's drugged and 
strangled body was found in late March in a well near the town of 
Rehovot. At year's end the five brothers were indicted and pending 
trial.
    On May 23, the brother of a 26-year-old Israeli-Arab woman from the 
town of Ramle stabbed and killed her in a bank parking lot. The crime 
was witnessed by numerous passersby and recorded on a bank security 
camera. On June 6, police arrested the brother on murder charges; he 
reportedly confessed to police, claiming his sister had disgraced the 
family by raising her daughter in an ``improper'' way. At year's end, 
the case was pending trial.
    On August 18, Justice Minister Chaim Ramon resigned after charges 
that he forcibly kissed a female soldier at a party. Ramon's trial was 
ongoing at year's end.
    Prostitution is not illegal. The law prohibits operation of 
brothels and organized sex enterprises, but brothels operated in 
several major cities.
    The Prevention of Stalking Law and the Prevention of Family 
Violence Law require that suspected victims be informed of their right 
to assistance. During the year 7,324 restraining orders were issued in 
cases involving allegations of family violence. In a March 2005 report 
to the UN Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, several 
women's NGOs stated that approximately 130,000 women in the country 
between the ages 25 and 40 had been sexually harassed in the workplace. 
During the period between January 1 and November 30, the police opened 
215 cases involving sexual harassment and forwarded 40 cases for 
prosecution.
    The law provides for class action suits and requires employers to 
provide equal pay for equal work; however, significant wage gaps 
remained. According to a report released in July by the College of 
Management, women earned 66 percent as much as men. The study, which 
only examined Jewish workers, also found that Orthodox and ultra-
Orthodox women received salaries 10 to 20 percent lower than their 
secular counterparts.
    Religious courts adjudicate personal status law, and these courts 
restricted the rights of Jewish and Muslim women. Jewish women are not 
allowed to initiate divorce proceedings without their husbands' 
consent. Consequently, thousands of so-called agunot--literally 
``chained women"--may not remarry or have legitimate children because 
their husbands either disappeared or refused to grant divorces. 
Rabbinical tribunals may sanction husbands who refuse to divorce wives, 
but may not grant a divorce without his consent.
    On November 3, the country's Chief Sephardi Rabbi cancelled without 
explanation an international conference on the agunot scheduled for the 
following week in Jerusalem. The conference had been organized in part 
by Jewish women's organizations, which expressed disgust and 
disappointment, calling the cancellation a ``tragedy.''
    A Muslim woman may petition for and receive a divorce through the 
Shari'a courts without her husband's consent under certain conditions, 
and may, through a marriage contract, provide for certain cases where 
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.

    Children.--The law provides for the overall protection of 
children's rights and welfare, and the Government was generally 
committed to ensuring enforcement of these laws. The Government has 
continued to legislate against sexual, physical, and psychological 
abuse of children and has mandated comprehensive reporting. In 2005 
there were five shelters for children at risk of abuse.
    According to the 2005 report issued by the National Council for the 
Child, the number of reported cases of child abuse and neglect totaled 
39,000 for 2004 and had risen by 130 percent in the previous decade. 
The police reported to a Knesset committee in December 2005 that 
children constituted more than 50 percent of the victims of sexual 
offenses each year.
    In May the written comments of a tribunal of Nazareth judges 
prompted controversy. After sentencing a man to 16 years in prison for 
raping his stepdaughter over a 10-year period, the judges wrote that 
since the plaintiff had not complained sooner, she might have ``enjoyed 
and wanted'' the sexual relations.
    In June researchers at a Hebrew University conference reported that 
approximately one-sixth of Israeli-Arab children were in ``danger and 
crisis.'' Researchers also found that the poverty rate for Israeli-Arab 
children was 2.5 times higher than for Jewish children, and their 
infant mortality rate was double that of Jewish infants. Infant 
mortality among Bedouin Israelis was highest, at 15 percent of all 
births. A report released by the Van Leer Institute of Jerusalem 
reported that 54 percent of Israeli Arabs lived below the poverty line 
in 2005, compared to 18 percent of Israeli Jews. Among the Bedouin 
communities of the Negev, the poverty rate in legal villages was 66 
percent, while in the unrecognized villages it was 79 percent.
    Education is compulsory through the ninth grade. The Government 
operated separate school systems for Hebrew-speaking children, Arabic-
speaking children, and Orthodox Jews. However, per capita government 
spending on and services for children was significantly less in Arab 
areas than in Jewish areas. According to a 2005 study at Hebrew 
University, three times as much money was invested in Jewish children 
as in Arab children.
    Ultra-Orthodox political parties, such as United Torah Judaism, 
continued to oppose government interference in its school system. The 
only nonpublic schools receiving government funding were ultra-Orthodox 
Jewish schools.
    Jewish children attended schools where the language of instruction 
was Hebrew and the curriculum included Jewish history. Israeli-Arab 
children, almost without exception, chose schools with instruction in 
Arabic in which the curriculum had a less Jewish focus. Israeli-Arab 
advocacy groups charged that the education of Arab children was 
inferior to that of Jewish children in the secular system. According to 
an Education Ministry report released in May, only 54 percent of 12th 
graders passed their matriculation exams in 2005, a drop of 2.4 percent 
from 2004. The decline was sharpest in the Arab sector, where the 
number of students passing the exams dropped by 6.6 percent; the 
decline for Jewish students was 1.3 percent. The NGO Sikkuy stated in 
its 2004-05 report that the high school dropout rate in Arab schools 
was twice as high as in Jewish schools. A separate, credible NGO report 
suggested that the Israeli-Arab dropout rate was three times that of 
the Jewish dropout level. In September 2005 the Education Ministry 
informed the Knesset Education Committee there was a shortage of 1,800 
classrooms in the Arab sector.
    According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 43 percent of 
Jews between the ages of 25 and 34 had attended an institution of 
higher education, while only 15 percent of Arabs had done so. More than 
a quarter of all Arab citizens in the same age range left school before 
the ninth grade. While 90 percent of Jewish three- and four-year-old 
children attended preschool, only 56 percent of Arab three- and four-
year olds did so, according to CBS figures. In June the Follow Up 
Committee for Arab Education for Toddlers said that there was a 
shortage of 2,250 preschools in the Arab sector. Preschool attendance 
for Bedouin children was the lowest in the country, and the dropout 
rate for Bedouin high school students was the highest. Arab Knesset 
members have criticized the lower academic achievements of Arab 
students and charged that it indicated discrimination in the system.
    The minimum legal age of marriage is 17 for both boys and girls.

    Trafficking in Persons.--During the year the Government gave the 
problem of trafficking higher priority. The trafficking law was amended 
to criminalize trafficking offenses not only for the purpose of sexual 
exploitation but also for slavery, forced labor, prostitution, 
pornography, and sexual abuse. Trafficking, for the purpose of labor as 
well as for prostitution, remained a serious problem, although the 
estimates of the extent of these problems varied greatly between the 
Government and some NGOs. The penal code stipulates that coercion to 
engage in prostitution is a criminal offense, punishable by between 
four and 20 years' imprisonment.
    The law guarantees foreign laborers legal status, decent working 
conditions, health insurance, and a written employment contract; 
however, some employers forced individual laborers who entered the 
country, both legally and illegally, to live under conditions that 
constituted involuntary servitude. The country did not severely 
penalize labor agencies for trafficking because then current law did 
not criminalize trafficking for purposes other than prostitution. While 
law enforcement agencies have successfully prosecuted employers for 
labor law violations, including for violations that were tantamount to 
trafficking, the sentences applied did not meet minimum standards for 
sufficient penalties. There were numerous documented cases of foreign 
laborers living in harsh conditions, subjected to debt bondage, and 
restricted in their movements. The new amendments to the trafficking 
law went into force on October 29; no information on enforcement was 
available at year's end.
    The NGO Hotline stated that it knew of only one case of a 
government investigation and prosecution of trafficking for purposes 
other than prostitution.
    Organized crime groups trafficked women, primarily from Eastern 
Europe, sometimes luring them by offering service sector jobs. NGOs and 
the Government reported that traffickers generally transported victims 
across the Egyptian border. Some traffickers reportedly sold foreign-
origin women to brothels. According to the police, the number of women 
trafficked into the country for the purpose of commercial sexual 
exploitation declined from a high of approximately 3,000 in 2003 to ``a 
few hundred'' during the year. The NGO Isha L'Isha reported providing 
direct assistance to 141 victims in detention centers or shelters 
during the year. Under a policy enacted in July, the Government placed 
women suspected of being victims of trafficking for prostitution in the 
Maggan shelter directly, without first holding them in detention 
centers.
    During raids on brothels, police reported finding fewer foreign 
nationals than in previous years; they attributed this to heightened 
antitrafficking activity during 2005-06.
    Between January 1 and October 1, the courts convicted or upheld the 
convictions of 12 persons for trafficking in women. Sentences ranged 
from one to 12 years, with the average sentence being 4.4 years. 
However, most sentences were suspended. Under the amended law, the 
maximum allowable prison sentence is 16 years, or 20 years if the 
offense is committed against a minor.
    The Justice Ministry has a guideline that investigations of 
complaints by foreign workers should be concluded within 45 days. When 
prosecutors gathered sufficient evidence for indictment, they filed the 
indictment through an accelerated procedure to ensure that the 
proceedings would continue even if the foreign worker left the country.
    The government-run shelter with a 50-person capacity for victims of 
trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation was often completely 
filled; NGOs claimed additional shelters were needed.
    On May 31, the Government officially appointed an interministerial 
coordinator to combat trafficking in persons. Concurrently with its new 
antitrafficking legislation, the Government drafted an antitrafficking 
plan. On December 11, the coordinator met with the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and an institute for judges' training to arrange training 
classes.
    The Government worked closely with officials in source countries, 
especially in Eastern Europe, to investigate and extradite individuals 
on charges of trafficking in persons.
    In May 2005 Sergey Matotov reached a plea bargain resulting in 33 
months' imprisonment and 18 months' suspended sentence. Matatov was not 
convicted of trafficking but of aiding a person to engage in 
prostitution. Shota Shamelashvili was sentenced to seven years 
imprisonment (suspended) and $590 (2,500 NIS) compensation to each 
complainant. The Government appealed the sentence's leniency, and 
Shamelashvili appealed its severity. The appeal was scheduled to be 
heard in February 2007.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The Government provided a broad range 
of basic benefits for persons with disabilities. The law provides for 
protection and equality of the rights of persons with disabilities. 
Persons with disabilities continued, however, to encounter difficulties 
in areas such as employment and housing. According to the Government, 
the Commission for Equal Rights of People with Disabilities, within the 
Justice Ministry, took legal action in 98 discrimination cases during 
the year, mainly in the areas of accessibility and employment. 
Additionally, the commission intervened in 175 cases involving 
complaints by persons with disabilities. In March 2005 the Government 
enacted a law to require greater building and public area access for 
persons with disabilities. Other laws passed in 2005 required 
television stations to include subtitles and sign language for the 
hearing impaired and directed the courts to accommodate testimony from 
persons with intellectual disabilities or mental illness. During the 
year these laws were in the process of implementation. Accessibility to 
public transportation was not mandated by law.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The 2003 report of the Orr 
Commission, which the Government established following the police 
killing of 12 Israeli-Arab demonstrators and a Palestinian in October 
2000 (see sections 1.a. and 2.b.), stated that government handling of 
the Arab sector was ``primarily neglectful and discriminatory,'' was 
not sufficiently sensitive to Arab needs, and that the Government did 
not allocate state resources equally.
    In 2004 the Government adopted an interministerial committee's 
proposals to act on some of the Orr Commission's findings, including: 
establishment of a government body to promote the Arab sector; creation 
of a volunteer, national civilian service program for Arab youth; and 
the creation of a day of national tolerance. At year's end the 
Government implemented neither these proposals nor the original Orr 
Commission recommendations. On January 6, the Government directed a 
Deputy State Attorney to reexamine the 2005 decision by the PID to 
close its investigation into the 2000 killings (see sections 1.a. and 
2.b.). At year's end there had been no further action.
    The Knesset subcommittee, chaired by an Israeli-Arab member to 
monitor Israeli-Arab sector needs and advocate alterations in the 
budget to benefit that sector, was disbanded following the March 
elections.
    Advocacy groups charged government officials with making racist 
statements. Yisrael Beitenu party chairman Avigdor Lieberman repeatedly 
called for removing citizenship of some Israeli Arabs and exchanging 
some Arab towns in the country for Jewish settlements in the occupied 
territories. In February Supreme Court Vice President Mishael Cheshin 
said during a hearing on the 2003 Citizenship Law that if Israelis 
wanted to marry Palestinians, they should move to the West Bank rather 
than seek permits for their spouses to join them.
    Although Arabic is an official language of the country, the 
National Insurance Institute (NII) required documents submitted for 
claim be translated into Hebrew. On November 28, Adalah protested this 
policy in a letter to NII, noting that the Shari'a courts are also 
government courts and should have their Arabic rulings accepted by 
other government organizations.
    In September MK Effie Eitam called for expulsion of most 
Palestinians from the West Bank and removal of Israeli Arabs, whom he 
called ``traitors in the first degree,'' from the political system. 
According to the Israel Democracy Institute's annual Democracy Index, 
released on May 9, 62 percent of Jewish citizens believed the 
Government should encourage Arab citizens to emigrate.
    Figures for 2005 showed approximately 93 percent of land in the 
country is public domain, the majority of which is owned by the state, 
with approximately 12.5 percent owned by the Jewish National Fund 
(JNF). All public lands and that owned by the JNF are administered by 
the Governmental body, the Israel Lands Administration (ILA). By law 
public land may only be leased, and the JNF's statutes prohibit land 
sale or lease to non-Jews. In January 2005 the Attorney General ruled 
the Government cannot discriminate against Israeli Arabs in marketing 
and allocation of lands it manages, including lands the ILA manages for 
the JNF. The Attorney General also decided that the Government should 
compensate the JNF with land equal in size to any plots of JNF land won 
by non-Jewish citizens in government tenders.
    Israeli-Arab advocacy organizations have challenged the 
Government's policy of demolishing illegal buildings in the Arab 
sector. They claimed that the Government restricted issuance of 
building permits for Arab communities, thereby limiting Arab natural 
growth. According to statistics published by the Arab Center for 
Alternative Planning, the Government issued tenders for the 
construction of 1,820 housing units in northern Israel, which has an 
Arab majority, during a five month period in 2004. Only 140 of these 
were designated for Arab communities, despite a shortage of housing in 
the Arab sector. In October 2005 the Government also launched a 
development program for all 104 communities in the north, both Jewish 
and Arab, to attract new residents and investment.
    In February 2004 security forces demolished several homes in the 
Arab village of Beineh, claiming that they were built illegally. In 
April 2005 Adalah appealed to the Attorney General requesting that he 
reverse a decision not to indict police officers for alleged assault 
and property damage involved in the house demolition operation. Adalah 
claimed the police investigation was negligent and that it was 
unreasonable not to indict the police officers. At year's end the 
appeal remained pending.
    The Orr Commission found that ``suitable planning should be carried 
out [in the Arab sector] as soon as possible to prevent illegal 
construction.'' An interministerial committee, created to advise the 
Government on implementing the Orr Commission recommendations, called 
on the ILA to complete master plans for Arab towns. In 2004 the Supreme 
Court ruled that omitting Arab towns from specific government social 
and economic plans is discriminatory. At year's end according to the 
Government, master plans had been completed for 23 of the country's 128 
Arab communities; another 81 communities were being planned. New 
construction is illegal in towns that do not have master plans or in 
the country's 37 unrecognized Bedouin villages.
    On August 30, according to a Bedouin advocacy group, the Regional 
Council for Unrecognized Villages in the Negev (RCUV), security forces 
demolished all Bedouin homes in the unrecognized village of Twiel Abu-
Jarwal. During September according to RCUV, security forces demolished 
several homes in the unrecognized villages of Um Nmaila, Um Mitnan, Um 
Ratam, and Al-For'a.
    On February 27, the Supreme Court ruled that a 1998 government 
development policy illegally discriminated against Israeli Arabs. The 
policy designated certain areas to receive special funding for 
projects, including education; however, it included only four of more 
than 500 Arab communities. The court agreed with the petitioners, 
Adalah and the Arab Higher Follow Up Committee, that the policy was 
discriminatory and could not be continued without Knesset legislation. 
The court gave the Government a year to cancel the program.
    During and after the July-August conflict involving Israel and 
Lebanon, Arab municipalities and advocacy groups complained that unlike 
Jewish communities, Arab communities in the north had no bomb shelters 
or warning sirens to protect from rocket attacks. In August according 
to media, the government-supervised Small Business Development Center 
created an expedited loan program to help businesses damaged by the 
conflict, but announced that only Jewish businesses were eligible. 
Under longstanding government policy, ``front line'' communities in the 
north were eligible to receive full compensation for economic losses 
from armed conflict. All northern communities except four Arab towns 
along the Lebanese border were so designated. During the conflict the 
Finance Minister listed five additional Jewish towns, but still omitted 
the four Arab towns. On September 13, Adalah petitioned the Supreme 
Court to include these towns, all of which were damaged during the 
conflict. At year's end the case was pending.
    On September 26, the Finance Minister established a work team to 
develop a five-year plan to narrow the economic gap between Jewish and 
Arab communities. The minister also announced that one-quarter of the 
$930 million (NIS four billion) allocated for post-conflict 
rehabilitation would be for the Arab sector.
    Israeli Arabs were underrepresented in most universities, 
professions, and businesses. In June a researcher from Haifa University 
and Sikkuy reported only 2.8 percent of the country's high technology 
workers were Arab. The Haifa University researcher also noted 70 
percent of Arabs with college degrees in high technology fields failed 
to find work in the country between 2001 and 2005.
    Well educated Israeli Arabs often were unable to find jobs 
commensurate with their qualifications. According to a Civil Service 
Commission report on Israeli-Arab representation in government, in 2004 
only three of 809 Finance Ministry employees were Israeli Arabs, while 
the Foreign Ministry, with 933 employees, employed seven. Approximately 
56 percent of all Israeli-Arab government workers were employed by the 
Health Ministry, including government hospitals.
    In 2003 the Government approved an affirmative action program to 
promote hiring Israeli Arabs in the civil service. However, according 
to current government figures, only 5.5 percent of civil service 
employees were from the Arab sector. On March 12, the Government 
ordered the Civil Service Commission to allocate 37.5 new positions 
annually through 2008 to government offices that employ qualified 
Arabs, Druze, and Circassians.
    A 2000 law requires minorities have ``appropriate representation'' 
in the civil service and on the boards of government corporations. As 
of November according to the Government, Arabs filled 54 out of 
approximately 550 board seats of 105 state-run companies. In April 
media reported that approximately 1 percent of employees in state-run 
companies were Arabs.
    Israeli Arabs complained during the year of discriminatory 
treatment by airlines and airport security officials. On December 11, 
the Arab Association for Human Rights and the Center Against Racism 
published a joint report detailing degrading treatment of Arabs by 
security officials at airports and airlines. It alleged security 
officials regularly subjected Israeli-Arab travelers to humiliating, 
abusive inspections and interrogations. In June the newspaper Ha'aretz 
reported a policy of accepting only Jewish passengers for flights by 
Tamir airlines between Tel Aviv and the northern town of Kiryat Shmona. 
According to Ha'aretz the Transportation Ministry, acting on guidance 
from the ISA, barred Israeli Arabs from these flights as the northern 
airport lacked sufficient luggage screening equipment. Subsequently, in 
June the ministry installed a temporary screening device at Kiryat 
Shmona airport and resumed allowing Israeli-Arab travelers on Tamir 
flights.
    The law exempts Israeli Arabs from mandatory military service, and 
in practice only a small percentage of Israeli Arabs so served. 
Citizens who did not perform military service enjoyed less access to 
social and economic benefits for which military service was either a 
prerequisite or an advantage. Israeli Arabs generally were restricted 
from working in companies with defense contracts or in security-related 
fields. In 2004 the Ivry Committee on National Service recommended 
Israeli Arabs be given an opportunity to perform national service. On 
December 13, the Government announced procedures to offer a civilian 
service program to citizens not drafted for military service. Beginning 
in June 2007, Israeli Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews would have the 
opportunity to serve for one to two years as volunteers in health, 
education, or welfare sectors. After completing service volunteers 
would be eligible for the same national benefits accorded military 
veterans.
    The Israeli Druze community numbered approximately 100,000 and the 
Circassian community numbered some 3,000. Males were subject to the 
military draft, and the overwhelming majority accepted service 
willingly. Some Bedouin and other Arab citizens not subject to the 
draft also served voluntarily.
    The Bedouin sector of the population was the country's most 
disadvantaged. The Orr Commission report called for ``special 
attention'' to the living conditions of the Bedouin community. 
Approximately 140,000 Bedouin lived in the Negev, half in seven state-
planned communities and eight recognized communities, and the rest in 
37 unrecognized villages. Recognized Bedouin villages received basic 
services but remained among the poorest communities in the country. 
Unrecognized villages paid taxes to the Government but were not 
connected to the national water and electricity infrastructure and not 
eligible for government educational, health, and welfare services. On 
August 23, PHR reported that 80,000 Bedouin citizens lacked running 
water. On September 13, the Water Tribunal decided not to connect 
unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev to the national water 
system. On November 18, Adalah petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn 
the decision; the case was ongoing at year's end.
    In 2004 the Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction to prevent 
the ILA from spraying herbicide on Bedouin crops on state-owned land. 
In February 2005 the ILA admitted to the court that it sprayed Bedouin 
agricultural fields with chemicals not approved by the Agriculture 
Ministry and banned from aerial spraying. As of November 1, according 
to Adalah the injunction remained in force, but the court had not ruled 
on the case.
    Government planners noted there were insufficient funds to relocate 
Bedouin living in unrecognized villages to new townships, and the 
average Bedouin family could not afford to purchase a home there. 
Clashes between authorities and residents of unrecognized villages 
continued during the year.
    In July the Knesset extended for six months the 2003 law 
prohibiting citizens' Palestinian spouses from the occupied territories 
from residing in the country. The extension applied also to the 2005 
amendment allowing Palestinian men aged 35 and older and women aged 25 
and older to apply for temporary visit permits (see section 2.d.). On 
May 14, the Supreme Court ruled the law legal and rejected all 
petitions challenging it.
    There are approximately 20,000 non-Israelis living in the Golan 
Heights; they have been subject to Israeli military authority since 
1967 and to Israeli civil law since Israel annexed this Syrian 
territory in 1981. They are primarily ethnic Druze; however, Syria 
regards them as its citizens, and they largely have refused Israeli 
citizenship. Israel accords them permanent resident status; they 
receive Israeli travel documents and hold identity cards that entitle 
them to the same social benefits as Israeli citizens. Israeli-Druze, 
like all citizens, were prohibited from visiting Syria, including 
making pilgrimages to Druze holy sites in Syria; noncitizen Druze 
(approximately 95 percent of the Druze population) were not so 
prohibited. During the year the Government allowed Druze pilgrims to 
stay in Syria for 72 hours rather than 24, as was the previous limit.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In October and November, 
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders protested plans for a 
gay pride march in Jerusalem on November 10. On November 5, the 
Attorney General refused a police recommendation to cancel the parade, 
and the Supreme Court subsequently rejected several petitions to cancel 
it. Members of Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community threatened to 
attack parade participants. On November 9, the organizers cancelled the 
parade and instead held a peaceful rally in a university stadium the 
following day (see section 2.b.).
    During the June 2005 gay pride parade, an ultra-Orthodox Jew 
stabbed three participants. Police arrested Yishai Shlisel and charged 
him with three counts of attempted murder. On January 31, Shlisel was 
convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
    On November 21, the High Court required the Government to recognize 
same-sex marriages legally performed in foreign jurisdictions (see 
section 2.c.). In April 2005 the Government announced a policy of 
recognizing same-sex couples with children as a family for purposes of 
receiving housing aid.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Citizens may join and establish labor 
organizations. Most unions belong to Histadrut (the General Federation 
of Labor in Israel) or to a much smaller rival federation, the 
Histadrut Haovdim Haleumit (National Federation of Labor), both of 
which are independent of the Government.
    The law permits legal foreign workers and nonresident Palestinians 
to join Israeli trade unions and organize their own unions in Israel, 
according to the Government and Histadrut. Benefits and protections in 
Histadrut work contracts and grievance procedures extend to legal 
nonresident workers in the organized sector, but they cannot vote in 
Histadrut elections.
    Labor laws apply to noncitizens. Documented foreign workers are 
entitled to many of the same benefits as citizens, such as vacation, 
maternity leave, severance pay, and compensation for injuries, although 
not national health care. (Employers are legally required to provide 
insurance.) However, undocumented foreign workers receive no benefits.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Citizens 
exercised their legal rights to organize and bargain collectively. The 
law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination. No antiunion 
discrimination was reported.
    According to the Government and Histadrut, nonresident workers 
could organize unions and engage in collective bargaining. Foreign 
workers must pay an agency fee, and they can also pay union dues, 
entitling them to employment protection and some entitlements won by 
collective bargaining agreements. Collective bargaining agreements are 
extended to nonunionized workplaces in the same industrial sector.
    Unions have the right to strike, and workers exercised this right. 
If essential public services are affected by a strike, the Government 
may appeal to labor courts for back-to-work orders during continued 
negotiations. Worker dismissals and the terms of severance arrangements 
have traditionally been the central issues of disputes.
    There are no Export Processing Zones. In 2004 the Government 
established a Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) with Egypt, creating 
duty-exempt zones for joint Israel-Egypt manufacturing for exports. The 
Government established a comparable QIZ with Jordan in 1998. Since the 
factories are located in Egypt and Jordan respectively, Egyptian and 
Jordanian labor laws apply.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred. Civil rights groups charged that 
unscrupulous employers exploited adult non-Palestinian foreign workers, 
both legal and illegal, and held them in conditions that amounted to 
involuntary servitude (see section 6.e.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws 
protect children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibit forced 
or compulsory labor; the Government effectively implemented these laws.
    Children at least 15 years old who have completed their education 
through grade nine may be employed only as apprentices. Children who 
are 14 years old may be employed during official school holidays in 
light work that will not harm their health. Working hours for those 
between the ages of 16 and 18 are restricted to ensure time for rest 
and education.
    There was no reliable data regarding the incidence of child labor, 
although NGOs suspected in 2005 that it occurred to a limited degree. 
In December Histadrut estimated the number of illegal child workers in 
the country at between 5,000 and 10,000. At year's end Histadrut 
reported that child labor occurred primarily in restaurants, markets, 
cleaning, and as apprentices in small factories. During the year 
Hotline reported no cases of children under the age of 15 working year-
around in agriculture. Although in previous years, the Government, 
Histadrut, and NGOs received reports of illegal child labor in the 
undocumented Palestinian population, they did not report instances of 
Palestinian child labor during the year.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 
approximately 45.6 percent of the average wage, approximately $835 
(3,585 NIS) per month for a 40-hour week. The Government considered the 
minimum wage, often supplemented by special allowances for citizens, to 
provide a citizen worker and family with a decent standard of living. 
Some union officials, NGOs, and social commentators disputed this 
claim. However, during the year Histadrut reported that a noncitizen 
worker, who was paid the minimum wage, even absent the special 
allowances for citizens, received a decent standard of living.
    By law the maximum hours of work at regular pay are 42.5 hours per 
week.
    Employers are required to obtain a government permit to hire 
Palestinian workers from the occupied territories. Most Palestinians 
from the occupied territories working legally in the country were 
employed on a daily basis and, unless employed on shift work, were not 
authorized to spend the night in the country. However, according to 
Histadrut there were very few legal Palestinians working in the country 
on a regular basis during the year.
    Palestinian employees whose local employers recruited them through 
the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor received their wages and 
benefits through that ministry. Palestinian workers were not eligible 
for all National Insurance Institute (NII) benefits although the 
ministry deducted a union fee and required contributions to the NII. 
For example, they did not receive unemployment insurance, disability 
payments, or low-income supplements although their contributions 
covered such benefits. Histadrut reported that a legal mechanism 
established in 2005 for non-Palestinian migrant workers employed in the 
construction sector assures workers' rights and social benefits such as 
convalescence pay, severance pay, and annual leave). When a migrant 
construction worker leaves the country, he receives all his payment at 
a bank in Ben Gurion airport after presenting his passport. In other 
sectors such as agriculture and care giving, there was no comparable 
mechanism. Israeli employers paid Palestinian employees not employed 
through the ministry directly after deducting the union fee and NII 
contribution; workers paid by employers received the same benefits as 
workers paid through the ministry.
    According to agreement between the Government and the Palestinian 
Authority (PA), employers paid an ``equalization fee'' to the Israeli 
Treasury, in the amount of the difference in cost between employing a 
(lower paid) foreign worker and an Israeli worker. The Government 
stated that these sums would be forwarded to the PA when it established 
a national insurance institute.
    Government officials continued to withhold all of the PA payments 
pending its creation of a social security department to distribute the 
fees.
    Since 2000 the Government's closure policy on the occupied 
territories prevented nearly all Palestinians from getting to 
employment in the country (see section 2.d. and annex). Closures have 
continued periodically for the past six years. During periods of 
nonclosure, Palestinians required Israeli-issued permits to enter the 
country. Permits may be issued for a single day or for periods of 
several months. Frequently during closures government authorities 
invalidated some or all existing valid permits, requiring even long-
established travelers to secure new permits, often multiple times 
during the year. Accordingly, statistics on permit issuance and use do 
not reflect actual numbers of individual travelers allowed into the 
country. Many Palestinian laborers may have used the permits to make 
numerous entries; the Government did not provide data as to how many 
different individual Palestinian laborers received work permits.
    The Labor Inspection Service, along with union representatives, 
enforced labor, health, and safety standards in the workplace, although 
resource constraints affected overall enforcement. A November media 
report cited more than 2,000 complaints and reports had been filed at 
the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor against employers that have 
violated labor laws, but there were only 18 inspectors to enforce labor 
laws that affected approximately 2.5 million workers.
    Foreign workers could not legally remove themselves from dangerous 
work situations without jeopardy to continued employment. Additionally, 
illegal foreign workers risked immediate deportation. On March 30, in 
response to a petition filed by Hotline, Kav LaOved (an Israeli NGO for 
protecting worker rights), and other NGOs, the Supreme Court ruled the 
policy of employer-dependent status for foreign workers leads to abuse. 
The court ordered the Government to create a new legal mechanism for 
employing foreign workers; however, the Government had not complied by 
year's end.
    All workers could challenge unsafe work practices through 
government oversight and legal agencies, although according to Hotline, 
employees in sectors other than construction were not provided 
information on how to contact the authorities. Hotline also reported 
that most agencies lacked interpreters. Between March 1 and September 
1, the Enforcement Division of the Foreign Workers Department opened 
2,087 investigations of employers for suspected violations and issued 
1,567 fines for abuses of the rights of foreign workers. Prosecutors 
filed 35 criminal indictments against employers during the same period.
    Brokers and employers are permitted to collect hiring fees from 
migrant workers. The Government limited such fees to about $710 (3,050 
NIS) per worker, but NGOs charged that many foreign workers continued 
to pay more, up to $15,000 (63,000 NIS). In a significant number of 
cases according to NGOs, employers dismissed workers shortly after 
arriving. Between March 1 and September 1, the Ministry of Industry, 
Trade, and Labor investigated approximately 85 complaints against 
agencies licensed to recruit foreign workers and revoked 25 licenses. 
Dismissed foreign workers who were not deported often sought illegal 
employment.
    Public debate continued regarding non-Palestinian foreign workers. 
According to the Government, between January 1 and October 1, the 
Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor issued 86,072 permits for 
foreigners to work in the country. CBS figures released in September 
showed that at the end of 2005 there were 178,000 legal migrant 
workers. During the year according to the Government, non-Palestinian 
foreign workers, both legal and illegal, constituted approximately 7 to 
8 percent of the labor force. The Immigration Authority estimated that 
there were about 70,000 to 80,000 illegal foreign workers in the 
country. According to Hotline, most legal foreign workers came from the 
Philippines, Thailand, China, Turkey, and Romania, while most illegal 
foreign workers were from African countries. Many foreign workers came 
from India and Nepal, some legally, others not.
    The law does not permit foreign workers to obtain citizenship or 
permanent residence status unless they are Jewish. In May responding to 
a Supreme Court order, the Interior Minister announced plans to broaden 
a provisional 2005 program under which the children of foreign workers 
would be eligible for citizenship under certain conditions. Under the 
revised program, a child of at least six years of age who had spent at 
least five years in the country and whose parents entered the country 
legally would be eligible for citizenship. In December 2005 responding 
to a petition filed by ACRI, the Supreme Court ordered the Government 
to lower the minimum naturalization age to six. The Supreme Court also 
ordered the Government not to deport parents of such children eligible 
for citizenship.
    Workers may contest deportation orders in a special court, but 
often lacked fluency in Hebrew, placing them at a considerable 
disadvantage. According to Hotline, appropriate interpreters were not 
always present at the hearings, despite a 2002 commitment to provide 
them (see section 1.d.).
    In 2004 in response to judicial criticism concerning protracted 
detention of foreign workers, the Attorney General ordered that they be 
brought before the court within four days of arrest. The Government 
generally honored the Attorney General's directive. Advocacy groups 
generally were allowed to assist workers facing deportation (see 
section 1.d.).

 THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES (INCLUDING AREAS SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION 
                     OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY)

    Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and East 
Jerusalem during the 1967 War. In 2006 the population of Gaza was 
approximately 1.4 million, of the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) 
approximately 2.4 million, and of East Jerusalem about 415,000, 
including approximately 177,000 Israelis. Approximately 250,000 
Israelis resided in the West Bank. Various agreements transferred civil 
responsibility to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for Gaza and parts of 
the West Bank and divided the territories into three types of areas 
denoting different levels of PA and Israeli control. However, after 
Palestinian extremist groups resumed violence in 2000, Israeli forces 
resumed control over a number of these areas, citing the PA's failure 
to abide by its security responsibilities. During the year both 
violence and Israeli-imposed internal and external access restrictions 
increased.
    The PA has a democratically elected President and legislative 
council, which select and endorse a prime minister and cabinet. In 
January 2005 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Mahmud 
Abbas won approximately 62 percent of the popular vote in a 
Presidential election regarded as generally free and fair. Palestinian 
Legislative Council (PLC) elections were held on January 25; 
international observers concluded the elections generally met 
democratic standards, despite some irregularities.
    Israel exercised occupation authority through the Ministry of 
Defense's Office of Coordination and Liaison.
    During the year 660 Palestinians were killed during Israeli 
military operations. On December 28, the Israeli nongovernmental 
organization (NGO) B'Tselem claimed that of the 660 Palestinians 
killed, at least 322 were not engaged in hostilities when killed and 
141 were minors. A total of 23 Israelis, including six Israeli Defense 
Force (IDF) soldiers, and six foreigners were killed by Palestinians in 
terrorist attacks in both Israel and the occupied territories.
    Since formation of the Hamas government in March, the Preventive 
Security Organization (PSO), Civil Police, and Civil Defense came under 
the authority of the Minister of Interior. The National Security Forces 
(NSF) and General Intelligence Services (GI) remained under the 
authority of President Abbas. President Abbas and his subordinates 
maintained control of security forces in the West Bank and over some 
forces in Gaza. The Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry created a new 
security branch, the ``Executive Force,'' in Gaza, over which President 
Abbas had no authority. The Executive Force killed or injured several 
Palestinians affiliated with security forces loyal to President Abbas 
or the Fatah movement. Neither the President nor the Interior Ministry 
maintained effective control over security forces under their 
respective authorities, and there were reports that members of security 
forces committed numerous, serious abuses. The Israeli government 
maintained effective control of its security forces; however, there 
were reports that Israeli security forces used excessive force, abused, 
and tortured Palestinian detainees.
    In September 2005 the Israeli Supreme Court reaffirmed its earlier 
decision that the separation barrier is permissible under both 
international law and Israeli law, however, the Israeli Supreme Court 
questioned whether the segment of the barrier at issue (in the West 
Bank, near Jerusalem) utilized the least intrusive route available, and 
it asked the Government to consider whether there was an alternative 
route. In a 2004 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice 
concluded that the barrier was contrary to international law in a 
number of respects.
    Regarding the PA there were reports of torture, arbitrary and 
prolonged detention, poor prison conditions, insufficient measures to 
prevent attacks by terrorist groups either within the occupied 
territories or within Israel, corruption and lack of transparency, 
domestic abuse of women, societal discrimination against women and 
persons with disabilities, and child labor.
    Regarding the Israeli occupying forces, there were reports of death 
and injuries to civilians in the conduct of military operations, 
numerous serious abuses of civilians and detainees, failure to take 
disciplinary action in cases of abuse, improper application of security 
internment procedures, temporary detention facilities that were austere 
and overcrowded, and limited cooperation with NGOs.
    Regarding Palestinian terrorist organizations, there were several 
instances of terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, resulting in 
deaths and injuries in the West Bank and Israel.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Killings by 
Palestinian and Israeli security forces and by Israeli settlers and 
Palestinian militant groups remained a serious problem.
    According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), as of June 2005, the IDF 
reported 131 ongoing criminal investigations into the use of weapons 
that resulted in injury or death, resulting in 28 indictments and seven 
convictions, with the remaining cases still in process. In the same 
time frame, the IDF also reported that 611 investigations had been 
opened in response to complaints of physical abuse, such as beatings, 
and complaints of property destruction. These investigations have led 
to 77 indictments. There was no further IDF reporting during the year.
    According to B'Tselem Israeli security forces killed 22 
Palestinians in targeted killings during the year and an undetermined 
number of bystanders. On December 14, the High Court ruled that 
targeted killings are not per se illegal; however, the legality of a 
particular case must be meticulously examined. Other Palestinians were 
killed by IDF at security check points or during military operations 
(see section 1.g.).
    On February 13, IDF soldiers shot and killed Nafia Abu Musaid, a 
25-year-old Palestinian shepherdess, near the Kissufim checkpoint in 
Gaza. On March 29, the IDF Military Advocate General began an 
investigation into her death; at year's end there were no results.
    On August 9, an IDF helicopter attacked and killed two Palestinian 
men (20 and 27 years old) in the Jenin Refugee Camp. The men were 
sought by Israeli security forces and found hiding in a home with other 
wanted men.
    On November 8, IDF artillery shelled the Gazan town of Beit Hanoun, 
killing 19 Palestinians and injuring others. Israeli authorities 
announced an investigation, stating that the shells missed the intended 
target. In a November letter to the Judge Advocate General, B'Tselem 
claimed that the action should be investigated as a possible war crime; 
however, at year's end no investigation results had been released.
    In August 2005 Asher Weisgan, from the settlement of Shvut Rachel, 
shot and killed four Palestinian workers and wounded two others. On 
September 28, the Jerusalem District Court convicted him of murder and 
sentenced him to four consecutive life sentences plus an additional 12 
years in prison.
    In July 2005 an Israeli security guard at the separation barrier 
shot and killed a 15-year-old boy. According to Palestinian witnesses, 
he was working in his family's fields in the West Bank. Israeli 
authorities placed the guard under house arrest pending police 
investigation. At year's end there were no results from the 
investigation.
    There were no developments in the September 2005 case of IDF 
soldiers who shot and killed an unarmed 13-year-old Palestinian boy 
during a predawn raid on the Askar refugee camp, near Nablus. An 
initial IDF inquiry concluded the soldiers violated rules of 
engagement. At year's end the findings of a military police 
investigation had been forwarded to the Military Attorney General.
    In November 2005 an Israeli border police officer killed Samir 
Ribhi Da'ari, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities 
initially claimed Da'ari attempted to drive his vehicle over the 
officer. An autopsy revealed Da'ari was shot in the back; at year's end 
court action against the police officer was scheduled for closing 
arguments on January 2, 2007.
    On March 29, an Israeli motorist picked up a hitchhiker who 
detonated a bomb concealed in a suitcase at the entrance of the Kedumim 
settlement south of Nablus killing the four Israelis in the car. The 
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility.
    On March 31, Abu Yusif, Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) 
military leader, was killed by a bomb as he walked past a parked car. 
The PA created a committee to investigate the killing although it was 
believed to be the result of factional rivalry. At year's end the 
investigation had not concluded.
    On June 25, Eliyahu Asheri, an 18-year-old Israeli resident of the 
Itamar West Bank settlement, was kidnapped and subsequently killed; the 
Palestinian PRC admitted responsibility.
    On September 15, unknown assailants shot and killed Brigadier 
General Jad al-Tayeh of the Palestinian GI and his four bodyguards in 
Gaza. On October 10, media published the names of five Palestinian 
suspects. The PA Interior Ministry confirmed the names, but stated that 
the suspects had not yet been indicted, and at year's end no one had 
been arrested.
    In early October Palestinians clashed in Gaza and West Bank cities 
over unpaid public sector wages. Public buildings were damaged, 12 
persons were reportedly killed, and over 130 injured.
    On October 14, members of the Hamas-led Ministry of Interior's 
Executive Force (EF) shot and killed Ali Shikshik, a GI officer, while 
traveling in his car in Gaza City.
    On December 11, unknown assailants fired on a car carrying the 
school children of the senior intelligence officer in the PA; three 
boys and their driver were killed, and a number of bystanders injured. 
At year's end the attackers had not been individually identified or 
arrested.
    There were no developments in the February 2005 case of Palestinian 
gunmen that attacked the Gaza Central Prison and killed three 
prisoners. The gunmen took one individual from the prison to the al-
Burayj refugee camp and killed him publicly. At year's end there had 
been no arrests.
    In October 2005 Israeli security forces arrested Abed Al-Muaz Div 
Joaba, a Palestinian from Hebron, who confessed to stabbing two yeshiva 
students and killing one in August 2005. He was indicted by the 
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court later that month. On July 10, Joaba was 
sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and an additional 20-year 
imprisonment for attempted murder.
    There were no developments in the September 2005 killing of Musa 
Arafat, former PA Gaza National Security Forces chief. At year's end 
the PA had issued but not served an arrest warrant for one PRC member.
    There were no developments in the December 2005 case of a 
Palestinian on trial for stabbing and killing an Israeli soldier at the 
Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem.
    In 2004 an Israeli settler, Boaz Albert, killed Salman Yussuf 
Safadi; Albert claimed self defense. On January 31, the case was 
dismissed for lack of evidence; however, on June 22, Albert was 
prohibited from living in the West Bank. After violating this order, 
Israel detained him administratively in Ramla at year's end.
    In 2004 an Israeli settler, Yehoshua Elitzur, shot and killed Sa'al 
Jabara near Nablus. Witnesses stated Elitzur shot Jabara at close range 
after he slowed his car to ask whether Elitzur needed assistance. In 
June 2005 an Israeli court convicted Elitzur of manslaughter. 
Subsequently, Elitzur fled and therefore had not been sentenced at 
year's end.
    In 2004 unidentified assailants threw grenades into a room holding 
suspected Palestinian ``collaborators'' (providing potential 
information to Israel), killing two prisoners. Palestinian security 
officials arrested two policemen, who allegedly carried out the attack 
on behalf of Hamas. At year's end the officers had been released and no 
legal action taken.
    Three U.S. security personnel in a diplomatic convoy were killed in 
an attack in Gaza in October 2003. At year's end there was no progress 
by the PA, and the case remained unsolved. During the year the U.S. 
government continued to press the PA to resolve the case.

    b. Disappearance.--There were several reports of politically 
motivated disappearances during the year (see section 1.g.).
    On February 9, in Gaza City two masked gunmen fired at a diplomatic 
vehicle and kidnapped Egypt's military attache to the PA. He was 
released on February 11. A previously unknown Palestinian militant 
group ``the al-Ahrar Brigades'' claimed responsibility.
    On March 14, unknown militants kidnapped over a dozen international 
workers in Gaza to protest an Israeli arrest operation at Jericho 
prison. They were released several hours later. On the same day, 
unidentified gunmen kidnapped a Western citizen in Jenin and held him 
hostage for several hours.
    On June 19, a Western student was kidnapped in Nablus and released 
to the IDF on June 20. He told police that he was forced to videotape 
an appeal to release Palestinian prisoners.
    On June 25, PRC and HAMAS militants tunneled from Gaza to Israel 
and attacked an IDF outpost. They killed two soldiers and abducted a 
third, Gilad Shalit. By year's end Shalit had not been released.
    On December 28, the NGO Reporters Without Borders issued a report 
that 10 foreign journalists had been kidnapped in the occupied 
territories since August 2005. It also noted that during the year six 
foreign journalists were kidnapped in Gaza. For example, on August 14, 
in Gaza City armed Palestinians kidnapped two FOX News journalists (see 
section 2.a.). After PA official intervention, the kidnappers released 
their victims, but the kidnappers were not apprehended. On October 24, 
an unidentified armed group kidnapped an Associated Press 
photojournalist but released him on the same day.
    The PA neither prevented nor adequately investigated kidnappings of 
Palestinians or foreign nationals in the West Bank and Gaza.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--PA Basic Law prohibits torture or use of force against 
detainees; however, international human rights groups stated that 
torture was a significant problem, and its use was not restricted to 
persons detained on security charges.
    Torture by PA security forces reportedly was widespread. 
Documentation of abuses by PA security forces was very limited, due 
partly to hesitancy by alleged victims to make public claims of torture 
or abuse against PA authorities. Palestinian security officers have no 
formal guidelines regarding legal interrogation conduct; most 
convictions were based largely on confessions.
    Israeli law, as interpreted by an Israeli High Court decision, 
prohibits torture and several interrogation techniques but allows 
``moderate physical pressure'' against detainees considered to possess 
information about an imminent terrorist attack.
    During the year the Israeli NGO the Public Committee Against 
Torture in Israel (PCATI) noted it submitted more than 40 cases of 
torture to the Attorney General (AG); however, in every case the AG 
responded that these persons had information deemed vital for state 
security and no further action would be taken. Specifically, PCATI 
noted the case of Rafah resident Mustafa Abu Ma'amar who was arrested 
in June and reportedly extensively abused by Israeli security 
officials. Israeli human rights organizations reported that during the 
year Israeli security forces used psychological abuse more frequently, 
including threats of house demolition or of questioning elderly 
parents, and kept prisoners in harsh conditions, including solitary 
confinement for long periods, instead of subjecting them to direct 
physical abuse. Israeli law prohibits forced confessions, but most 
security case convictions were based on confessions made before 
defendants had legal representation.
    A detainee by Israel may not have legal representation until after 
interrogation, a process that may last weeks. The International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is notified of arrests 12 days after 
they occur, and the ICRC is allowed to visit detainees 14 days after 
arrest. Detainees sometimes stated in court that their confessions were 
coerced, but there were no instances in which judges excluded such 
confessions.
    During the year there were a number of claims of abuse by IDF 
soldiers. For example, on February 9, according to Palestinian 
statements given to B'Tselem, two IDF soldiers at the al-Fawwar 
checkpoint in the southern Hebron area blindfolded, beat, and 
threatened two Palestinian men. B'Tselem requested an IDF 
investigation; however, at year's end the IDF had not replied.
    In July and August, B'Tselem gathered testimony from Palestinians 
who detailed beatings and other abuse by IDF soldiers in the West Bank 
area of the Ramin Plain. B'Tselem petitioned the Judge Advocate 
General, and on September 13, the IDF Central Command informed B'Tselem 
the military police would investigate eight of the incidents. At year's 
end there was no further information.
    On August 11, an Israeli Border Police soldier fired a rubber 
bullet at the head of Lymor Goldstein, an Israeli demonstrator 
protesting construction of the separation barrier in the West Bank 
village of Bil'in, injuring him and requiring surgery to remove the 
bullet. No action was taken against the police.
    There were no developments in the September 2005 case in which IDF 
soldiers forced residents of a home in Tulkarm to undress in the street 
or the November 2005 report that IDF soldiers assaulted Palestinian 
students in Hebron.
    There were numerous credible reports of violence by settlers 
against Palestinians, particularly by residents of the Ma'on settlement 
in the southern Hebron Hills. On May 9, more than 30 Israeli artists 
and intellectuals sent a letter to the Israeli prime minister urging 
IDF protection for Palestinian children in the area. According to 
Ha'aretz, on May 10, the defense minister reportedly instructed IDF and 
police to increase the security for these Palestinian children on their 
way to and from school. However, settler harassment of the children 
continued without police response. On May 31, the Ma'on farm settlers 
reportedly were ordered to evacuate due to their attacks on 
schoolchildren; however, at year's end the Ma'on settlement remained.
    On April 1, four settlers reportedly attacked and severely beat 72-
year-old Palestinian Saber Shtiyeh as he was working in his field near 
the West Bank village of Salem, near Nablus. On April 7, 
representatives from Rabbis for Human Rights and the Kibbutz Movement 
requested IDF protection for the Palestinian farmers; however, the 
request reportedly was refused.
    A June report by the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din 
stated there was a ``general phenomenon of absence of adequate law 
enforcement by the authorities upon settlers who commit offenses 
against Palestinians.'' For example, on November 19, settlers attacked 
a group of escorts for Palestinian school children in Hebron, seriously 
injuring a Western woman. At year's end, none of the attackers was 
charged (see section 2.d.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--PA prison conditions were 
poor; most were destroyed during the Intifada and have not been 
reconstructed; prisoners were kept informally incarcerated and subject 
to intrusions by outsiders. The PA generally permitted the ICRC access 
to detainees and allowed regular inspections of prison conditions; 
however, the PA denied access to some detainees for 14 days following 
their arrests. The PA permitted monitoring of its prisons, but human 
rights groups, humanitarian organizations, and lawyers reported 
difficulties gaining access to specific detainees. Human rights 
organizations stated their ability to visit PA prisons and detention 
centers varied depending on which organization ran the facility, and 
they rarely could see inmates being interrogated.
    Conditions of Israeli permanent prison facilities generally met 
international standards. Provisional detention centers were less likely 
to meet standards. According to the 2004 Israel Public Defender's 
Office report on detention facilities of the Prison Service and Police, 
detainees in the Jerusalem Russian Compound facility endured 
overcrowded cells and suffocating conditions. Detention and 
interrogation facilities for Palestinian detainees, including the four 
interrogation centers (Shikma, Kishon, Petah Tikva, and the Jerusalem 
Internment Center), were austere, overcrowded, and provisional. 
According to the Mandela Institute, in December Israel held 93 
Palestinian prisoners in some form of solitary confinement. Israel 
permitted monitoring of prison conditions by the ICRC and other groups, 
although human rights groups reported delays and difficulties in 
gaining access to specific detainees. Human rights groups reported 
frequent, unnotified transfers of detainees and significantly limited 
ability by families of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel to visit.
    According to the Israeli Prison Service, its regulations require 
separation of minors and adults; however, at year's end at least one 
person, age 16, was kept with adults in Ofer Prison.
    In November the NGO Palestinian Prisoners Club reported that there 
were approximately 1,259 medical cases in Israeli prisons. Since 2004 
Israeli authorities increased medical attention and authorized several 
private doctors to visit prisoners; however, prisoners continued to 
claim that medical attention was inadequate.
    There was no official response to the July 2005 PCATI demand for an 
investigation of the death in detention of Jawab Abu Maghasib.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Palestinian law prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, it allows police to hold 
detainees without charges for 24 hours. Courts may approve detention 
without charges for up to 45 days. A trial must start within six months 
of arrest or the detainee must be released. In practice the PA detained 
many Palestinians without charge for months.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Israeli security forces 
in the West Bank and Gaza consisted of the IDF, the Israel Security 
Agency (Shin Bet), the Israeli National Police (INP), and the Border 
Police, an operational arm of the INP that is under IDF command when 
operating in the occupied territories. Israeli military courts tried 
Palestinians accused of security offenses.
    Operational control over Palestinian security forces was divided 
between President Abbas and the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry. 
Palestinian police were normally responsible for security and law 
enforcement for Palestinians and other non Israelis in PA-controlled 
areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian security forces included 
the National Security Forces (NSF), the Preventive Security 
Organization (PSO), the General Intelligence Service (GI, or 
Mukhabarat), the Presidential Guard (PG), and the Coastal Police. Other 
quasi-military security organizations, such as the Military 
Intelligence Organization, exercised the equivalent of law enforcement 
powers. The 2005 General Intelligence Law placed the Mukhabarat under 
President Abbas's authority.
    The PSO, the civil police, and the civil defense fall under the 
legal control of the Interior Minister. Subordinates of President Abbas 
retained operational control over all security branches in the West 
Bank and some forces in Gaza. Armed militias played a major role in 
both local security and abuses of human rights. For example, Hamas 
Executive Force members attacked PA government installations in Gaza on 
several occasions and killed opponents in the Fatah movement or 
Palestinian security forces.
    PA security forces detained persons without informing judicial 
authorities and often ignored laws protecting detainee rights and court 
decisions calling for release of alleged security criminals. At year's 
end Palestinian sources estimated the PA imprisoned approximately 263 
suspected of collaboration with Israel. Alleged collaborators often 
were held without evidence and denied access to lawyers, their 
families, or doctors.

    Arrest and Detention.--Under applicable occupation orders, Israeli 
security personnel may arrest without warrant or hold for questioning a 
person suspected of having committed or being likely to commit a 
security-related offense. Israeli Military Order 1507 permits Israeli 
security forces to detain persons for 10 days, during which period they 
cannot see a lawyer or appear before court. Administrative security 
detention orders could be issued for up to six-month periods and 
renewed indefinitely by judges. The law expressly authorizes an appeal 
of the circumstances of each security detention order to the Israeli 
Supreme Court. No detainee has ever successfully appealed a detention 
order under this process.
    Israeli Military Order 1369 provides for a seven year prison term 
for anyone not responding to a summons in security cases. Suspects are 
entitled to an attorney, but this right can be deferred during 
interrogation, which can last up to 90 days. Israeli authorities stated 
that they attempted to post notification of arrests within 48 hours, 
but senior officers may delay notification for up to 12 days.
    Additionally, a military commander may request a judge to extend 
this period in security cases indefinitely. On June 26, the Knesset 
passed a law permitting detention and arraignment of a security suspect 
to be held without the individual present and that a person can be 
interrogated without judicial oversight for 96 hours. The Israeli 
military orders required notification of family members of specific 
cases of detention; however, many families reported serious problems in 
learning of the status and whereabouts of prisoners. Evidence for 
administrative detentions in security cases was often unavailable to 
the detainee or his attorneys due to security classification, but it 
was made available to the court.
    Palestinians claimed that security detainees held under Israeli 
security detention military orders were in fact political prisoners. At 
year's end the Mandela Institute estimated Israel held 10,633 
Palestinian security prisoners. B'Tselem's end of year report said 
there were 9,075 Palestinians in custody as of November, 738 of whom 
were in administrative detention. One illustrative case reportedly was 
Ziyad Hmeidan, an employee of Al-Haq, a Palestinian NGO, arrested in 
May 2005 and subsequently detained without charge. His petition for 
release in September was rejected by the High Court; at year's end Al-
Haq planned further petitions in Hmeidan's behalf. Also, Hassan Zaga, 
field worker for PCATI, was released on November 15 after his January 
11 arrest and detention without charge.
    During the year Israel conducted some mass arrests in the West 
Bank; however, most arrests targeted specific persons. On June 29, the 
IDF arrested approximately 90 Hamas members in the West Bank, including 
eight PA cabinet ministers and more than 29 PLC members. At year's end 
four ministers and 32 PLC Hamas members remained in jail in Israel.
    Palestinians transferred to prisons in Israel had difficulty 
obtaining legal representation because only Israeli citizens or 
Palestinian lawyers with Jerusalem identification cards were permitted 
to visit them. Lawyers said they had better access to clients than in 
previous years. Israeli authorities in some instances scheduled 
appointments but then moved the prisoners to other prisons to delay 
lawyer client meetings for as long as 90 days.
    The Israeli government frequently failed to notify foreign consular 
officials in a timely manner after detaining their citizens.
    During the year Israel transferred two Palestinian from the West 
Bank to Gaza. On June 21, the IDF deported Hamas activist Rasmi Sbeih 
to Gaza after having held him for two years as an administrative 
detainee. On December 26, the IDF deported Abdullah Saadi, a Fatah 
activist from Jenin, to the Gaza strip after releasing him following 
six months of administrative detention. At year's end approximately 40 
other persons awaited permission to return to the West Bank from Gaza. 
These are previous West Bank residents deported to Gaza and not 
permitted to return.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The PA court system is based on PA 
legal codes as well as Israeli military orders and Jordanian and 
Ottoman Law that predate the 1967 occupation. A High Judicial Council 
maintained authority over most court operations. In June 2005 PA 
President Abbas ordered retrials for those sentenced to death by the 
state security courts; no retrials were held during the year, but the 
security courts were abolished. Military courts, established in 1995, 
have jurisdiction over police and security force personnel as well as 
crimes by civilians against security forces. In November 2005 President 
Abbas established a court for election issues composed of nine judges. 
Following the January elections, it examined petitions; however, it 
took no action that changed election results.
    PA courts were inefficient, lacked staff and resources, and often 
did not ensure fair and expeditious trials. A severe shortage of funds 
and judges and an absence of lawyers and witnesses, due to check points 
and other travel restrictions, resulted in one estimate of a 70,000 
misdemeanor and felony case backload in Gaza and the West Bank. 
Although these problems predated PA jurisdiction, they were aggravated 
by continued lack of PA attention. PA executive and security services 
frequently failed to implement court decisions and otherwise inhibited 
judicial independence.
    Continued violence adversely affected PA administration of justice. 
Many police stations and incarceration facilities were damaged or 
destroyed, including the Jericho Prison on March 14 following an 
Israeli raid. Travel restrictions, curfews, and closures significantly 
impeded administration of justice.
    Israeli law provides for an independent judiciary, and the 
Government generally respected this in practice. The IDF usually tried 
Palestinians accused of security offenses in the occupied territories 
in military courts in the West Bank. The law comprehensively defined 
security offenses and may include charges as varied as rock throwing or 
membership in terrorist organizations. Military prosecutors brought 
charges. Israeli military courts rarely acquitted Palestinians charged 
with security offenses; sentences occasionally were reduced on appeal.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials of Palestinians before Israeli military 
tribunals follow the same evidentiary rules as in regular criminal 
cases. The accused is entitled to counsel, and a judge may assign 
counsel. Charges are made available to the defendant and the public in 
Hebrew, but the court may order an Arabic translation. The court may 
hear evidence in security cases denied to the defendant or his 
attorney; however, a conviction may not be based solely on such 
evidence. Convictions may not be based solely on the defendant's 
confession, although in practice some security prisoners were convicted 
on the basis of allegedly coerced confessions by themselves and others. 
Defendants can appeal through the Military High Court or to the 
civilian high court in certain instances.
    The Israeli government sometimes delayed trials for very extended 
periods, occasionally for years, because Israeli security force 
witnesses did not appear, the defendant was not brought to court, files 
were lost, or travel restrictions delayed attorneys (see section 2.d.). 
Palestinian legal advocates alleged that delays were designed to 
pressure defendants to settle their cases.
    Crowded facilities, poor arrangements for scheduling and holding 
attorney client consultations, and confessions prepared in Hebrew 
hindered defense efforts.
    Israeli settlers were tried under Israeli law in the nearest 
Israeli district court. Civilian judges presided; Israeli law (not 
military orders) governed the standards of due process and 
admissibility of evidence. The Israeli government rarely prosecuted 
settlers for crimes against Palestinians and, in the rare instances 
when convicted, they regularly received lighter punishment than 
Palestinians convicted in Israeli courts (see section 1.a.). According 
to B'Tselem during 2005 the Israeli police claimed that it had 
conducted 299 investigations into reported settler attacks on 
Palestinians; indictments were filed in 65 of these investigations. 
According to a June study by Yesh Din, for investigations relating to 
offenses committed by Israeli civilians against Palestinians in 2005-
06, more than 90 percent of complaints and investigations were closed 
without indictments. Of the files on trespassing (including all the 
cases of damaging or destroying trees) in which the investigation was 
completed, 96 percent were closed without indictments as were 100 
percent of the property offenses and 79 percent of assault files. Yesh 
Din determined that approximately 5 percent of the complaints filed 
were lost and apparently never investigated.
    In 2004 a Tel Aviv District Court convicted West Bank Fatah leader 
and PLC member, Marwan Barghuti, of murder and attempted murder 
involving terror attacks. Barghuti rejected the court's jurisdiction, 
did not mount a legal defense, and did not appeal his five consecutive 
life sentences. There was no further legal action during the year.
    Pursuant to law the PA can impose the death penalty on a person 
convicted of any of 42 offenses. Military courts and state security 
courts have imposed most death sentences attributed to the PA. There is 
no judicial procedure to appeal these sentences, and only the PA 
President has the authority to ratify or alter the sentence. If he does 
not act, the individual remains in jail; the President took no action 
during the year.
    In June 2005 the PA executed four men; the state security courts, 
established by the Presidential decree in 1995 but terminated by the PA 
Justice Ministry in 2003, convicted one of the four. There have been no 
subsequent executions.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Palestinian sources estimated 
the PA imprisoned approximately 263 persons suspected of collaboration 
with Israel. Palestinians claimed that security detainees held under 
Israeli security detention military orders were in fact political 
prisoners (see section 1.d.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil lawsuits are handled 
by the PA civil and magistrate courts. Any citizen can file a petition 
or a lawsuit against the Government and, in some cases, the President 
personally. However, because of general problems in the judicial 
system, the execution of court orders was not systematic.
    Palestinians were not permitted to file cases in the Israeli court 
system; however, Israeli NGOs have done so for them.

    Property Restitution.--The Palestinian Authority sometimes enforced 
court orders with respect to restitution or compensation for taking 
private property under domestic law. Individuals reported that their 
property was taken by government officials without compensation. At 
year's end some cases were being tried in the PA judiciary.
    The Israeli government confiscated Palestinian property for 
construction of the separation barrier or military installations; it 
offered some compensation to landowners, however, Palestinians largely 
declined to accept compensation out of concern that this would 
legitimize the Israeli land confiscations. Specific cases document the 
exceptional difficulty Palestinians have in attempting to prove their 
land ownership to the standards demanded in Israeli courts.
    In an October study, the Israeli NGO Peace Now concluded that 38.7 
percent of the land occupied by Israeli settlements, outposts, and 
settler industrial zones in the West Bank, comprising 15,271 acres, is 
privately owned Palestinian property. The study, reportedly based on 
official government data, contended that West Bank settlements violated 
Israeli law and juridical decisions. The Israeli Yesha settlement 
council condemned the report on technical and substantive grounds.

    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 frequently ignored these requirements. Police 
searched homes without the consent of their owners. In some cases 
police forcibly entered premises.
    Under occupation orders an IDF officer of the rank of lieutenant 
colonel or above could authorize entry of private homes and 
institutions without a warrant, based upon military necessity. On some 
occasions IDF personnel beat occupants and destroyed or looted 
property. Israeli authorities stated these were punishable violations 
of military regulations with compensation due.
    There was no change in Israeli policy regarding punitive home 
demolitions. Since February 2005 there have been no punitive home 
demolitions. Previously, Israel demolished and sealed homes of 
Palestinians suspected of terrorism or their relatives. Under this 
policy according to B'Tselem, 666 homes were demolished between October 
2001 and January 2005 as punishment.
    Following the withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005, Israel directed 
air strikes against homes in Gaza suspected of concealing tunnels or 
weapons. According to human rights groups and media, the Israeli 
government notified residents and warned them to evacuate prior to 
impending air attack. Israeli forces reoccupied portions of northern 
Gaza between June 28 and November 25. On September 6, the UN 
Development Program estimated damage to the Gaza infrastructure between 
June 28 and August 27 to be approximately $46 million (197 million 
NIS).
    Israeli authorities limited Palestinian home construction, notably 
in East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities generally restricted Palestinian 
home building elsewhere in the West Bank and near Israeli settlements. 
According to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, 
approximately 12,000 structures in East Jerusalem were defined by the 
Israeli government as illegal. Consequently, during the year Jerusalem 
municipal authorities and the Interior Ministry systematically 
demolished such structures including 81 buildings (63 residential) in 
East Jerusalem.
    During the year the IDF destroyed numerous citrus, olive, and date 
groves and irrigation systems in Gaza, stating that Palestinians had 
been firing Qassam rockets from those areas. Human rights groups 
reported that over the past five years, Israeli settlers and the IDF 
destroyed thousands of Palestinian olive trees.
    According to media reports, Israeli human rights groups praised a 
September announcement by Minister of Defense Amir Peretz promising 
action against anyone interfering or harassing farmers during 
harvesting. The announcement followed a two-year legal effort by the 
Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Rabbis for Human 
Rights. Still, Palestinians complained that the IDF measures gave 
insufficient time to complete the harvest and that they were limited in 
their ability to protect their property by curfews and travel 
restrictions. According to Yesh Din, settlers committed 18 major 
instances of olive theft and violent disruptions of the harvest during 
the year.
    The IDF also cleared and took permanent control of privately owned 
Palestinian land to construct the separation barrier. According to the 
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the 
separation barrier route has been extended from 670 kilometers (416 
miles) to 703 kilometers (437 miles) upon completion. OCHA noted as of 
July the Israeli authorities, through military orders, had confiscated 
approximately 8,887 acres of West Bank land to construct the separation 
barrier. According to Israel it sought to build the barrier on public 
lands where possible, and where private land was used, provided 
opportunities for compensation. Palestinians largely declined to seek 
compensation out of concern that this would legitimize the Israeli land 
confiscations. Additionally, numerous cases were filed in Israeli 
courts challenging the route of the fence.
    On December 13, the High Court rejected the petition filed by ACRI 
and the human rights organization Bimkom against the section of the 
separation barrier that severs the Palestinian community a-Ram from 
East Jerusalem. On November 26, the High Court approved a barrier route 
around five Palestinian villages northwest of Jerusalem, creating an 
enclave that will separate them from East Jerusalem and neighboring 
Palestinian villages. The five villages in the enclave have a total 
population of more than 15,000 persons.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal and External 
Conflicts.--Palestinian members of Hamas, Fatah-affiliated militant 
groups, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad attacked and killed Israeli 
civilians, foreign nationals, and soldiers, both in Israel and in the 
occupied territories. They inflicted casualties on noncombatants by 
suicide bombs, rockets, and mortars. In addition they often fired at 
Israeli security forces from civilian population areas, increasing the 
risk that Israeli return fire would harm noncombatants. PA President 
Abbas made repeated public statements calling for an end to violence, 
but these steps did not prevent numerous attacks.
    During the year Palestinian militants repeatedly fired rockets from 
northern Gaza into Israel, killing two and wounding a number of 
persons, and destroying property. For example, on November 15, a Qassam 
rocket killed an Israeli woman in Sderot and wounded two other Israeli 
civilians. Palestinian militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
    According to the PA Health Ministry, the Palestine Red Crescent 
Society (PRCS), and Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups, at 
least 660 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel 
during Israeli military and police operations through year's end. The 
IDF stated that the majority of Palestinians killed were armed fighters 
or persons engaged in planning or carrying out violence against Israeli 
civilian and military targets. On December 28, B'Tselem contended that 
``at least 322 of those killed did not take part in the hostilities at 
the time they were killed.'' According to the PRCS, IDF operations and 
clashes with Palestinians resulted in injuries to approximately 1,805 
Palestinians.
    During the year according to B'Tselem, 22 Palestinians directly 
died in targeted killings. According to Palestinian security and media 
reports, IDF forces killed at least 60 bystanders in these operations. 
Some were civilians; others were affiliated with terrorist 
organizations.
    According to a June 2005 HRW report, Israeli military investigative 
practices were not ``impartial, thorough, or timely.'' The report 
charged the IDF had criminally investigated less than 5 percent of 
civilian deaths between September 2000 and November 2004, fostering a 
climate of impunity within the IDF. In response in 2005, IDF stated it 
conducted 130 investigations and issued 28 indictments, with seven 
convictions and one acquittal; the remaining 20 court cases were 
ongoing. The other incidents were still under investigation.
    The IDF conducted numerous military incursions into Palestinian 
population centers in response to Palestinian mortar and antitank fire 
from the centers. These actions often resulted in civilian casualties. 
Israeli forces fired tank shells, heavy machine-gun rounds, and rockets 
from aircraft at targets in residential and business neighborhoods 
where they believed Palestinian gunfire originated. Palestinian gunmen 
fired upon Israeli forces and booby-trapped homes and apartment 
buildings. In response throughout the year, the IDF usually raided and 
often destroyed these buildings and raided other locations allegedly 
harboring militants. In February the IDF launched a large-scale 
military operation into the city of Nablus and the UN Relief and Works 
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)-run Balata 
refugee camp; five Palestinians were killed and more than 24 injured. 
During this operation the IDF and Border Police entered an UNRWA-run 
girls' school in Balata Camp and used it for three days as a detention 
center and firing position, causing extensive damage. UNRWA staff 
sought compensation and assurances of nonrepetition of similar conduct 
from the Israeli government; however, the Government had not responded 
as of year's end.
    From June 28 until August 21, the IDF undertook operation ``Summer 
Rains'' in Gaza, following the PRC kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, 
Gilad Shalit, on June 25. Summer Rains involved numerous Israeli air 
and ground attacks and incursions throughout Gaza. The attacks killed 
over 200 Palestinians, including civilians; four IDF soldiers also were 
killed. Subsequently, operation ``Autumn Clouds'' between November 1 
and 7, according to PA medical sources, killed at least 56 Palestinians 
and injured approximately 220. On November 26, a ceasefire was agreed 
in Gaza whereby militant factions halted firing rockets towards Israel 
and the IDF withdrew from northern Gaza. Despite nearly 70 rockets 
fired from northern Gaza into Israel by year's end, the IDF did not 
resume operations in Gaza. The ceasefire was not extended to the West 
Bank by year's end.
    On April 10, IDF artillery fire killed an eight-year-old 
Palestinian girl in the northern Gaza suburb of Beit Lahiya.
    On June 9, an explosion on a Gaza beach killed eight Palestinians. 
Palestinian witnesses claimed the explosion resulted from Israeli naval 
artillery fire. An IDF investigation denied the charge; however, a 
senior IDF officer said on June 13 that IDF forces fired 17 artillery 
shells into an area approximately 700 meters from the incident. HRW 
described the IDF investigation as ``incomplete'' and called for an 
independent investigation.
    On June 20, the Israeli Air Force killed three Palestinian children 
and injured others in an air strike in Gaza City.
    On July 8, missiles from an Israeli aircraft struck a Palestinian 
home in the al-Muntar area east of Gaza City, killing three and 
injuring four family members.
    On November 6, a minibus at the Jabaliya-Beit Lahia intersection 
north of Gaza City was struck by Israeli shelling; three Palestinians 
were killed and seven others wounded.
    At year's end there were no results from the IDF investigation of 
the July 2005 incident in which the IDF fired in the direction of 
Palestinians waiting to cross the Abu Holi checkpoint in Gaza, killing 
a 14-year-old boy.
    In January 2005 IDF gunfire killed a 10-year-old Palestinian girl 
and injured a second inside their UNRWA school in Rafah. The IDF opened 
an investigation into the shooting; however, at year's end there was no 
public report of the investigation results.
    IDF soldiers reportedly fired without warning on trespassers in or 
near restricted areas. Israeli security personnel operating checkpoints 
also killed a number of Palestinians. On January 26, IDF soldiers shot 
and killed a Palestinian girl, Aya al-Astal, near the Kissufim 
checkpoint in Gaza.
    There was no resolution of the April 2005 case in which IDF 
soldiers killed three Palestinian teenagers near the border fence 
separating Gaza from Egypt or the August 2005 case in which an IDF raid 
of the Tulkam refugee camp killed five unarmed Palestinians. 
Investigations remained incomplete at year's end.
    In 2004 IDF soldiers shot and killed Iman al-Hams, a 13-year-old 
schoolgirl, as she approached an IDF outpost in southern Gaza carrying 
a bag of schoolbooks that troops suspected contained explosives. After 
the girl had been shot from a distance, the IDF company commander 
allegedly repeatedly fired his automatic weapon into her at close 
range. In February 2005 a military court released the company commander 
after soldiers who witnessed the incident recanted testimony. On 
December 14, the High Court accepted the petition of the girl's parents 
and PCATI and ordered an investigation to determine whether illegal 
open fire orders were given in the area of the military post which led 
to the killing.
    While protecting construction of the separation barrier, Israeli 
security personnel killed a number of Palestinians. In May 2005 Jamal 
Jaber Ibrahim Assi, age 15, and Odai Mufid Mahmud Assi, age 14, were 
shot and killed near Bayt Liqya, west of Ramallah, during clashes 
between protesters and soldiers. According to Palestinian witnesses, 
IDF soldiers initially used nonlethal weapons, but subsequently fired 
live ammunition. The IDF ordered a military police investigation and 
suspended the deputy company commander from operational duty until the 
completion of the investigation. At year's end there were no 
conclusions from the investigation. Weekly clashes continued in Bil'in 
village in the West Bank; there were injuries but no fatalities.
    On June 28, as part of the Summer Rains operation, the Israeli Air 
Force destroyed three bridges and the transformers of the only 
electricity plant in Gaza. After several months the plant was repaired.
    During the year Israeli forces delayed the movement of, and 
occasionally fired upon, medical personnel and ambulances. HRW claimed 
that between May 30 and June 20, IDF forces attacked Palestinian 
medical emergency personnel on at least six separate occasions in Gaza, 
including two attacks by missile-firing drone aircraft.
    The IDF abuse of Palestinians or their vehicles at checkpoints 
continued. In its monthly reports during the year, Machsom Watch (an 
Israeli women's organization that monitors checkpoints in the West Bank 
and Jerusalem) alleged a series of abuses. On January 3, a Machsom 
Watch volunteer observed IDF soldiers strip and search Palestinians, 
including an ambulance-attending doctor, at the Jubara checkpoint.
    Israeli forces continued to use Palestinians as ``human shields'' 
in violation of Israeli law despite High Court rulings in 2002 and 2005 
and an IDF Chief of Staff order in 2005.
    On July 20, B'Tselem announced its initial investigation into a 
July 17 incursion by Israeli forces into Beit Hanun in northern Gaza 
indicated that soldiers seized control of two buildings in the town and 
used six residents as human shields. The Military Police Investigation 
Unit informed B'Tselem it was investigating the case; however, at 
year's end there were no developments.
    Media reported that in a series of incidents in November, local 
officials from Fatah, Hamas, the Popular Front for Liberation of 
Palestine, and other groups urged civilians to surround homes of 
militants targeted for attack by Israeli forces, which resulted in them 
acting as human shields.
    In a December 12 ruling, the High Court struck down part of a 2005 
amendment to the Civil Wrongs Law prohibiting Palestinians residing in 
the occupied territories from seeking compensation for death, injury, 
or property damage at the hands of the IDF, even for acts that were not 
part of combat action. The ruling held that section 5c, which almost 
totally prevented Palestinians injured by actions of security forces in 
the occupied territories from suing for compensation, was illegal.
    Palestinians frequently threw stones and Molotov cocktails, and on 
occasion fired live ammunition at Israeli security forces. Israeli 
security forces on various occasions responded with tear gas, rubber 
bullets, and live fire, including tank fire.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The PA does not have laws 
providing for freedom of press; however, the law permits every person 
the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and expression, and the 
right to express opinions orally, in writing, or through any other 
form. However, a 1995 Presidential decree included injunctions against 
writing anything critical of the PA or the President. Although the PA 
did not restrict freedom of speech or press, members of the ruling 
Hamas faction restricted freedoms of speech and press.
    Working conditions for journalists in the West Bank and Gaza 
deteriorated noticeably during the year. Following the January 
Palestinian legislative elections, tension between the Hamas-led 
government and the Fatah movement resulted in polarization of the 
Palestinian press, with reduced press freedom, notably for local-level 
journalists. Numerous incidents against journalists, particularly those 
working in Gaza, included assaults, intimidation, and abduction in 
retaliation for reporting perceived as biased by one faction or the 
other.
    In April several Palestinian journalists, including Muwafaq Matar, 
a reporter for the pro-Fatah al-Hurriya radio station in Gaza, received 
death threats for their critical coverage of Hamas. Reuters reported 
the Palestinian Journalists' Union received complaints from seven 
journalists in Gaza who had been threatened by e-mail, telephone, or 
fax for their writings.
    On May 20, masked arsonists burned three cars belonging to the Al-
Jazeera satellite station in Ramallah. According to an Associated Press 
report, the attack was carried out by Fatah supporters against the 
station for not reporting an anti-Hamas demonstration in Ramallah.
    On September 19, unknown assailants attacked three journalists, 
including a photographer for the pro-Fatah Al-Hayat Al-Jadida daily 
newspaper, during a Hamas demonstration in Gaza. Also on September 19, 
masked men attacked the offices of the official pro-Fatah news agency 
WAFA in Khan Younis in Gaza, assaulting journalist Amr Al Farra and 
destroying the contents and furniture of the outlet.
    There were three Palestinian daily and several Palestinian weekly 
newspapers. There also were several monthly magazines and three 
tabloids. The PA operated one television station and one radio station. 
There were approximately 30 independently owned television stations and 
approximately 25 such radio stations.
    In 2005 the PA took steps to end incitement to violence in 
Palestinian media; however, no additional action was taken during the 
year. During 2005 the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation reduced its 
inflammatory material, including incitement to violence.
    The Israeli occupation authorities limited freedom of expression. 
In East Jerusalem Israeli authorities prohibited display of Palestinian 
political symbols; displays were punishable by fines or prison, as were 
public expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment and of support for Islamic 
extremist groups. Israeli authorities censored press coverage of the 
Intifada and reviewed Arabic publications for security-related 
material.
    As a general rule, Israeli media covered the occupied territories, 
except for combat zones where the IDF temporarily restricted access. 
The Government claimed such restrictions were necessary for 
journalists' security.
    Closures and curfews limited the ability of Palestinian and foreign 
journalists to do their jobs. Journalists complained of area closures, 
long waits at the Gaza border crossing, and the Government's inadequate 
transportation provisions.
    During the year IDF soldiers beat journalists on several occasions, 
detained others, and confiscated their press cards in Bil'in village 
where there were weekly protests over construction of the separation 
barrier (see section 1.g.).
    There were reports by foreign and Israeli media that the IDF fired 
upon journalists.
    On July 12, media reported that Ibrahim Atla, a cameraman with 
Palestinian public television broadcasting, was seriously injured by 
shrapnel from a tank shell, and two other journalists were also 
injured.
    On July 19, Al-Hurra reporter Fatin Elwan was struck by two rubber 
bullets fired by an Israeli soldier while covering the Israeli siege of 
the Presidential compound in Nablus. Reporters Without Borders also 
noted that three other journalists, including Al-Jazeera television 
technician Wael Tantous, were injured when Israeli soldiers fired 
rubber bullets at local reporters covering the event.
    On August 27, according to press reports, Israeli aircraft fired 
two missiles at an armored Reuters vehicle, wounding five persons, 
including two cameramen. A spokesman stated the Israeli Air Force did 
not realize journalists were in the car and attacked because it was 
being driven in a suspicious manner.
    On November 3, Hamza Al Attar, a cameraman for Palestinian news 
agency Ramattan, reportedly while wearing an orange vest marked 
``Press'' was shot in the back and critically wounded while filming a 
protest by Palestinian women in Beit Hanun, Gaza.
    In January 2005 Majdi al-Arabid, a journalist working for Israeli 
Channel 10 TV in the Gaza Strip, was shot near Bayt Lahia while 
reporting on IDF operations against Palestinians suspected of firing 
rockets into Israel. An IDF spokesperson stated soldiers were unaware 
journalists were in the area and fired only on Palestinian gunmen. The 
IDF reportedly opened an investigation; however, at year's end there 
was no information on the status of an investigation.
    In 2003 James Miller, a British national, was killed by the IDF 
while filming a documentary in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. In April 2005 a 
disciplinary military court acquitted an IDF officer on charges of 
illegal use of firearms; subsequently, he was cleared of all charges. 
On April 6, a coroner's court in London ruled Miller's death was an 
``unlawful killing.'' Miller's family urged the British government to 
seek extradition of the IDF officer who killed him.
    On May 24, Israeli authorities released Awad Rajoub, a reporter for 
the Arabic language Web site of Al Jazeera, reportedly after being 
detained since November 2005; no reason was given for his detention.
    On October 6, IDF officials arrested Reuters cameraman Emad 
Mohammad Bornat in the West Bank village of Bil'in and detained him for 
two weeks. Bornat was charged with ``attacking an officer''; however, 
according to Reuters he was subsequently found innocent by an Israeli 
court.
    Rising levels of lawlessness in the Gaza Strip subjected 
journalists to harassment and kidnappings.
    On March 15, three foreign journalists (Caroline Laurent, Alfred 
Yaghobzadeh, and Yong Tae-young) were taken at the Al-Dira hotel in 
Gaza by unidentified gunmen. On March 16, according to news reports, 
all three were released.
    On August 14, unidentified gunmen in the Gaza Strip kidnapped two 
Fox News journalists. They were released on August 27.
    On October 24, photojournalist Emilio Morenatti of AP was abducted 
by unidentified Palestinian gunmen in Gaza City; he was later released.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. 
According to a poll conducted by the Ramallah-based Near East 
Consulting public opinion firm, approximately 50 percent of 
Palestinians reported using the Internet.
    On November 29, four Internet cafes in Gaza City were bombed, and 
reportedly other Internet cafes were threatened. The Islamic militant 
group ``Swords of Right'' claimed responsibility.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were government 
restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events. During the year 
the PA did not interfere with education; however, the violence and 
restrictions on the movement of Palestinians by Israeli security forces 
adversely affected academic institutions. Israeli closures, curfews, 
and the separation barrier restricted access to Palestinian academic 
institutions. The separation barrier also prevented some students from 
taking examinations. Israeli shelling and gunfire during military 
operations damaged a number of schools and, in some cases, killed 
schoolchildren (see section 1.g.). According to the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF), 269 school buildings were damaged between 2000 and the end of 
2005. The PA Education Ministry calculated physical damage to schools 
and universities at more than $10.7 million (46 million NIS). In some 
instances Israeli authorities entered campuses to arrest students.
    The PA did not restrict cultural events; however, the separation 
barrier limited access to some such events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--PA law permits public meetings, processions, and assemblies, 
within legal limits; however, the PA imposed some formal limits on 
freedom of assembly. While it required permits for rallies, 
demonstrations, and large cultural events, it rarely denied these 
permits. In Gaza police approval was required for political meetings at 
specific halls and for buses to transport passengers to attend such 
meetings. The PA prohibited calls for violence, displays of arms, and 
racist slogans, although it rarely enforced these provisions.
    Israeli military orders banned public gatherings of 10 or more 
persons without a permit. Although previously Palestinians could ignore 
this order without punishment, during the January PLC election 
campaign, Israeli authorities arrested candidates and broke up 
meetings.
    Israeli security forces used force against Palestinians involved in 
demonstrations (see section 1.c.). Israeli and Palestinian authorities 
disputed whether Palestinians attacked security forces during such 
demonstrations. In 2001 the IDF authorized gunfire to suppress rock-
throwing.
    Since February 2005 Palestinians and Israelis nonviolently 
demonstrated each week in the village of Bil'in, west of Ramallah, 
against construction of the separation barrier. During the past two 
years, confrontations between the IDF and protesters resulted in 
numerous injuries. Since 2005 soldiers beat, injured with rubber 
bullets, or tear gassed at least 187 protesters.

    Freedom of Association.--PA law allows for the freedom of 
association. In practice the PA limited freedom of association; 
however, charitable, community, professional, and self-help 
organizations operated.
    In 2001-03 Israeli officials closed prominent Palestinian centers 
and offices in East Jerusalem, claiming they operated under PA 
supervision in violation of signed agreements. At year's end all 
remained closed.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--Palestinian law provides for religious 
freedom, and the PA generally respected this right in practice.
    Islam is the official religion of the PA. Religion must be declared 
on identification papers, and personal status legal matters must be 
handled in ecclesiastical courts. The PA's Ministry of Waqf and 
Religious Affairs constructed and maintained mosques and paid salaries 
of imams. Christian clergymen and charitable organizations received 
limited financial support. The PA did not provide financial support to 
any Jewish institutions or holy sites in the occupied territories; 
these areas were generally under Israeli control.
    The PA judiciary failed to adjudicate numerous past cases of 
seizures of Christian-owned land in the Bethlehem area by criminal 
gangs. There were credible reports that PA security forces and judicial 
officials colluded with gang members to extort property from 
Christians. During the year several attacks against Christians in 
Bethlehem remained unaddressed by the PA, but authorities investigated 
attacks against Muslims in the same area.
    On September 14, following Pope Benedict's remarks on Islam, 
Palestinians attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza with 
firebombs and gunfire. Damage was minor; however, after investigation 
no one was charged with the attacks.
    The PA required that religion be taught in PA schools and provided 
separate instruction for Muslims and Christians.
    Israeli authorities generally respected religious freedom and 
permitted all faiths to operate schools and institutions. There were 
reports that the Israeli government seized land belonging to several 
religious institutions to build its separation barrier. According to 
the Israeli government, where private land was used, it provided 
opportunities for compensation; however, Palestinians generally refused 
compensation, arguing that acceptance would recognize Israeli right to 
take the land.
    Religious workers from Christian organizations in Jerusalem, the 
West Bank, and Gaza found it increasingly difficult to obtain or renew 
visas from the Israeli government. The shortage of foreign clergy 
impeded the functioning of Christian congregations and other religious 
and educational institutions.
    Internal and external closures prevented tens of thousands of 
Palestinians from reaching places of worship in Jerusalem and the West 
Bank, particularly during religious holidays. Citing security reasons 
the Israeli government frequently prevented nearly all West Bank 
Palestinians and most male Muslim worshippers with Jerusalem blue 
identification cards under the age of 45 from attending Friday prayers 
inside the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, the third holiest site in 
Islam. Israeli authorities restricted most West Bank residents and 
virtually all Gaza residents from entering Jerusalem during Ramadan.
    Israeli police continued to escort tourists to the Haram al-Sharif/
Temple Mount to assert the right of non-Muslims to visit the shrine. 
Non-Muslims were not permitted to worship publicly at the shrine; 
however, Waqf officials accused Israeli police of permitting Jewish 
groups to worship publicly.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Palestinian media frequently 
published and broadcast material about the Israeli occupation that 
included anti-Semitic content. Rhetoric by Palestinian terrorist groups 
included expressions of anti-Semitism. Some Muslim religious leaders 
preached sermons on the official PA television station that included 
expressions of anti-Semitism. Some Palestinian religious leaders 
rejected the right of Israel to exist. Observers interpreted such 
attitudes as de facto anti-Semitism. Conversely, in October 2005 
Israeli media quoted PLO Chief Negotiator Sa'eb Erekat's statement that 
the Iranian President's declaration that Israel should be wiped off the 
map was ``unacceptable.''
    The PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) continued 
to revise its primary and secondary school textbooks. International 
academics concluded Palestinian textbooks did not cross the line into 
incitement; however, critics noted the new textbooks did not recognize 
Israel on its maps and often ignored historical Jewish connections to 
Israel and Jerusalem.
    For more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International Religious 
Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Occupied Territories, Foreign 
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation.--The PA generally did not 
restrict freedom of movement. The Israeli occupation authorities 
restricted the daily movement of Palestinians and frequently heightened 
these restrictions citing military necessity.
    The Israeli government continued construction of a security barrier 
along parts of the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice line) and in the West 
Bank. Palestinians filed a number of cases with the Israeli Supreme 
Court challenging the routing of the barrier. In June 2004 the court 
ruled that a section of the barrier must be rerouted; determining that 
the injury caused by the routing of the barrier did not stand in proper 
proportion to the security benefits; various portions of the barrier 
route were rerouted. In July 2004 the International Court of Justice 
issued an advisory opinion, concluding that the construction of the 
barrier was in a number of aspects contrary to international law.
    In September 2005 the Israeli Supreme court reaffirmed its earlier 
decision that the separation barrier is permissible under both 
international law and Israeli law; however, it questioned whether the 
segment of the barrier at issue (near Jerusalem in the West Bank) 
utilized the least intrusive route available, and it asked the 
Government to consider whether there was an alternative route.
    On March 22, the Tel-Aviv Magistrate Court voided a section of the 
barrier that would have cut off the residents of Sheikh Sa'ed from East 
Jerusalem. On June 15, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the Israeli 
government to dismantle the eastern portion of the barrier surrounding 
the Zufin settlement. The court ruled that an earlier petition on the 
issue was rejected after ``the complete picture was not presented to 
the court'' and ``the court rejected the petition on the basis of 
information, only part of which was well-founded.'' On July 17, the 
High Court rejected a petition by Palestinian residents of villages 
around the Ariel settlement opposing the section of the separation 
barrier that surrounds the settlement. On November 26, the High Court 
approved the plan to construct a barrier around five Palestinian 
villages northwest of Jerusalem, enclosing them in a ``Bir Nabalah'' 
enclave that will separate them from East Jerusalem and neighboring 
Palestinian villages. On December 13, the High Court rejected a 
petition filed by ACRI and the human rights NGO Bimkom against the 
section of the barrier that severs the Palestinian community al-Ram 
from East Jerusalem.
    At year's end over 40 petitions remained active.
    By year's end the route of the barrier divided approximately 
142,130 acres with a population of 60,500 Palestinians from the rest of 
the West Bank. According to OCHA the barrier impeded Palestinians from 
reaching their land to harvest crops and graze animals. Residents' 
access to schools, medical care, and other services was also impeded. 
Israeli military orders require the approximately 5,000 Palestinians 
residing in ``seam zones'' between the separation barrier and the Green 
Line to obtain residency permits to remain in these areas. Permits are 
valid for up to a year for residents and only for one gate.
    Areas near the barrier or its projected route have been designated 
as military zones; Palestinians had no expectation they could obtain 
permits to build near Israeli communities or the barrier.
    During periods of unrest (in the aftermath of terrorist attacks or 
during military exercises), Israeli authorities prohibited travel 
between some or all towns within the West Bank. Such ``internal 
closures'' were supplemented, during periods of potential unrest and 
during major Israeli and Muslim holidays, by ``comprehensive, external 
closures,'' which precluded Palestinians from leaving the West Bank. 
During the year there were more comprehensive closures than in 2005. A 
B'Tselm report through July identified 78 days of closure versus 44 in 
the same period of 2005. During the year there were blanket closures 
during Israeli religious holidays, and several Gaza crossing points 
were simultaneously closed for extended periods, completely closing off 
Gaza. During the year Israeli authorities prohibited passage between 
Gaza and the West Bank except for a very limited number of Palestinians 
holding permits issued by Israel. Palestinian travel from Jericho and 
in the Jordan valley was extensively limited in early April and 
remained restricted by ad hoc checkpoints throughout the year. In 
February B'Tselem claimed that Israel in effect had annexed the Jordan 
Valley thru residency restrictions and road closures.
    In December 2005 Israeli authorities, in response to Qassam rocket 
fire, implemented a ``buffer zone'' in the northern Gaza Strip 
encompassing former Israeli settlements. Palestinian militants had used 
the area to fire rockets at Israeli communities.
    West Bank Palestinians can enter Jerusalem only with an Israeli-
issued travel permit. Israel also imposed curfews in some areas, which 
confined Palestinians to their homes in areas where the IDF conducted 
military operations. During the year the frequency of curfews remained 
the same but their duration lessened. The IDF imposed temporary curfews 
during almost all of its arrest operations--which were conducted 
virtually daily in the West Bank. However, in contrast to previous 
years, there were fewer extended curfews.
    Beginning in September Israeli authorities required thousands of 
Palestinian schoolchildren, who resided on the eastern side of the 
separation barrier around Jerusalem, to transit gated checkpoints to 
attend school in East Jerusalem.
    In 2004 a terrorist attack extensively damaged the Rafah terminal 
and killed five Israeli soldiers. The IDF closed the terminal and the 
crossing until February 2005. Following the kidnapping of IDF soldier 
Shalit on June 25, the Rafah terminal was closed 127 of the next 149 
days. In a report on the first year of operation of the Agreement on 
Movement and Access (AMA), OCHA reported Israel did not act 
consistently with its provisions, severely restricting movement of 
persons and goods in and out of Gaza. Since June the Rafah crossing was 
open only 14 percent of the time. The Karni/al-Mintar crossing opened 
erratically and at significantly reduced capacity for most of the year. 
Exports from Gaza averaged less than 20 truckloads per day. Exports in 
December averaged 44 truckloads a day, in comparison with the AMA goal 
of 400 per day.
    The PA issued passports for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. 
Because there are no commercial flights from the territories, travelers 
must depart by land into Jordan or Egypt. Transit passes for travelers 
using Ben Gurion airport were not available, except for a few 
humanitarian cases. NGOs claimed that Israeli authorities harassed 
their representatives who were attempting to enter via Ben Gurion 
airport. In repeated incidents throughout the year, Western citizens of 
Palestinian ethnicity had difficulty obtaining or renewing visas 
permitting them to enter the West Bank and Israel both from Ben Gurion 
airport and land entry points.
    Palestinians with Jerusalem identification cards issued by the 
Israeli government needed special documents to travel abroad. Israeli 
Arabs required a special permit to enter area A (the area, according to 
the Interim Agreement, in which the PA exercises security 
responsibility). However, they could travel abroad using their Israeli 
passports without restrictions. Upon request the Jordanian government 
issued passports to Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 
Palestinians in East Jerusalem who wish to travel to Jordan must leave 
their Israeli identification documents with Israeli authorities at the 
Allenby Bridge. Travelers could obtain applications for bridge-crossing 
permits to Jordan at East Jerusalem post offices. Israeli officials 
conducted screening at Allenby Bridge.
    External and internal closures contributed to increased 
unemployment and poverty. According to World Bank figures, 
approximately 61,000 West Bank and Gaza workers, representing 
approximately 9 percent of the Palestinian work force, depended on 
daily employment in Israel, the settlements, and Jerusalem in the first 
quarter of the year. Closures also impeded Palestinians from reaching 
jobs or markets in the occupied territories and disrupted internal and 
external trade. In December UNICEF reported that there was a 31 percent 
unemployment rate in the Palestinian territories. In December UNRWA 
reported that 87 percent of Gaza and 56 percent of West Bank residents 
lived below the official poverty line and were unable to support 
themselves and their families without international assistance. In 
addition Israel's strict closure policies frequently restricted the 
ability of Palestinians to reach places of worship.
    Since 2000 many of the 350 Gazans enrolled in Birzeit University 
returned home after West Bank permits expired. During the year there 
were approximately 35 Gazans studying at the university, many of whom 
had not seen their families in five years. According to Haaretz on 
September 8, the IDF stated it would continue to ban Palestinian 
students from Gaza from studying in the West Bank. Hundreds of 
Palestinian students petitioned the Israeli High Court to instruct the 
state to allow them to complete their studies. At year's end the IDF 
was preparing its response to the petition. Media reported that Israeli 
authorities also limited West Bank Palestinians from university study 
in East Jerusalem; dozens of students had difficulty obtaining permits 
to attend schools in Israel.
    Apart from closures, delays at checkpoints and roadblocks affected 
all aspects of life, particularly emergency health care. According to 
OCHA approximately 1,661 kilometers (1,000 miles) of roads and sections 
of roads (including military roads) are used primarily for Israelis in 
the West Bank. Most Palestinians were not permitted to use these roads. 
According to OCHA in the West Bank at year's end, there were 527 
obstacles to movement, including 71 fully manned checkpoints, 11 
occasionally manned checkpoints, 207 earth mounds blocking roads, 62 
cement roadblocks, 83 road gates, 14 earthen walls, 12 trenches, and 67 
road protection fences. In addition there were 73 gates along the 
separation barrier. Of the gates along the separation barrier, 38 were 
accessible to Palestinians in possession of permits. Some gates were 
not opened even during the harvest season. The operating hours of the 
accessible gates to Palestinians were short and sometimes irregular; 
although schedules were announced in advance, openings and closings 
were erratic and different for every region.
    According to OCHA the 527 obstacles to movement in the West Bank 
compared with 463 at the end of 2005. Ambulances continued to have 
difficulty attempting to reach remote West Bank villages.
    For example, villagers from Jayyus in the West Bank had difficulty 
exiting the village to tend fields or graze sheep. In April 2005 the 
IDF confiscated eight dunums (approximately three acres) of their 
farmland along the Palestinian side of the separation barrier to create 
a security road. There were two operational gates in the barrier 
between their village and their fields. One gate was open for 35 
minutes, three times per day. The other gate was open 12 hours per day, 
but the IDF announced that this gate would close once another gate is 
opened. Palestinians said the confiscation and closures would bar them 
from land they own and rely on for income. Approximately 500 
Palestinian farmers have land on the west side of the barrier. Only 
those farmers with valid permits from the civil administration could 
access Jayyus lands west of the barrier; during the year Israeli 
authorities rejected between 115 and 120 applications for access 
permits.
    Israeli settlers abused Palestinians. According to B'Tselem on 
March 26, settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds sleeping in tents in 
the southern Hebron hills. Also in March settlers beat Jamal al 
Nawaja'a and his wife in Susiya. In October settlers attacked olive 
pickers in front of IDF soldiers in the Bethlehem District. Israeli 
authorities have not implemented effective measures to prevent such 
abuses. A June study by Yesh Din noted that more than 90 percent of 
complaints submitted against settlers were closed without an indictment 
being filed. There was no resolution of the cases in March 2005 in 
which Israeli settlers beat and shot at Palestinian shepherds.
    Palestinians residing in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron 
(H2), which includes the Old Arab Market and areas adjacent to four 
Israeli settlements, faced extensive restrictions on movement. 
According to OCHA there were 87 significant obstacles to movement in 
H2. Access for Palestinians to the Old City was limited to six IDF-
controlled gates. IDF closures of businesses, prolonged curfews, and 
settler harassment forced Palestinian shopkeepers to relocate. Of the 
1,610 shops officially licensed in H2 before September 2000, more than 
a thousand closed, one-third by military order. In November the IDF 
Civil Administration extended the closure of nearly 650 Palestinian 
shops in the center of the city for an additional six months. Hebron-
based companies attempting to send products to Gaza through the Karni/
al-Mintar crossing reportedly faced extended delays.
    Attendance at three Palestinian schools near four Israeli 
settlements in Hebron has declined by almost 50 percent. Settlers 
harassed children when they attempted to walk to school. In April 
according to a human rights worker, there were at least eight attacks 
by settlers on Palestinians, including school children. On November 19, 
Israeli settlers attacked a group of human rights workers escorting 
school children, seriously injuring a 19-year-old Western woman. IDF 
soldiers intervened after the attack; however, by year's end none of 
the attackers was charged (see section 1.c.).
    In the early 1970s and again in the early 1990s, Israel offered 
Palestinian residents citizenship following its 1967 occupation of East 
Jerusalem. Most chose not to accept Israeli citizenship but instead 
sought a residence permit, known as a Jerusalem identification card. 
Under the law such residents risk loss of status if their ties with 
Jerusalem lapse, although human rights groups reported that such 
revocations were infrequent and selectively enforced. In July 2004 an 
Israeli ministerial committee reportedly adopted an unpublished 
resolution calling for the application of the 1950 Absentee Property 
Law to East Jerusalem. In February 2005 the Israeli Attorney General 
ordered the Government not to apply the Absentee Property Law to land 
and buildings in East Jerusalem owned by Palestinians living in the 
West Bank. The Government apparently had not attempted to implement 
that law in East Jerusalem.
    The Israeli government, under the Interior Ministry, and the 
Jerusalem municipality continued to demolish Palestinian houses and 
other structures in East Jerusalem constructed without building 
permits. It was a slow and expensive process for Palestinians to 
receive permits to build in East Jerusalem; 120 permits were issued 
during the year compared with 100 in 2005.
    Residency restrictions affected family reunification. Israeli 
authorities did not permit Palestinians who were abroad during the 1967 
War, or who subsequently lost residence permits, to reside permanently 
with their families in the occupied territories. It was difficult for 
foreign-born spouses and children of Palestinian residents to obtain 
residency. Palestinian spouses of Jerusalem residents must obtain a 
residency permit and reported delays of several years before being 
granted residency. According to B'Tselem there were 120,000 outstanding 
family reunification requests to permit Palestinians to live with 
foreign spouses in the occupied territories; some have been outstanding 
for years. The Israeli government occasionally issued limited-duration 
permits, but renewing the permits could take up to eight months, which 
resulted in many Palestinians falling out of status. Palestinians in 
East Jerusalem also reported extensive delays in registering newborn 
children with Israeli authorities.
    Neither the Israeli government nor the PA used forced exile or 
forcibly deported anyone from the occupied territories during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government

    Elections and Political Participation.--On January 25, the 132-
member PLC was elected in a process that international observers 
concluded generally met democratic standards, despite some 
irregularities. On February 19, Hamas formed a new government with 
Ismael Hanniyah as the Prime Minister.
    In November 2005 violence and reported fraud disrupted voting in 
primary elections to determine Fatah candidates for the January 25 PLC 
elections; primary elections were suspended in Gaza and the West Bank. 
They were completed in the West Bank in December 2005, amidst 
allegations of fraud and irregularities, but never completed in Gaza. 
Efforts to organize the electoral system, candidate and party lists, 
and campaign rules continued until the January election. Israeli 
authorities restricted campaigning for the PLC elections in Jerusalem. 
Hamas candidates participated in the January PLC elections, but only 
under the name ``Reform and Change Movement'' not ``Hamas.''
    In January 2005 Palestinians elected Mahmud Abbas as PA President. 
Seven candidates competed in a vigorous election campaign. In both the 
2005 Presidential election and the PLC election, the Israeli government 
and the PA followed the 1996 parameters for Palestinians residing in 
East Jerusalem to vote, but inadequate arrangements kept turnout in 
Jerusalem low.
    Three Hamas PLC members and one Hamas minister have been jailed 
since January 28; all hold Jerusalem residency. They have petitioned 
the High Court regarding their imprisonment on charges of membership in 
an illegal organization (Hamas); at year's end a threatened Israeli 
revocation of their Jerusalem residency was pending a court decision.
    While Palestinians with residency permits were eligible to vote in 
Jerusalem municipal elections, most did not recognize Israeli 
jurisdiction in Jerusalem and did not participate. There were no 
Palestinians on the Jerusalem City Council.
    During the year there were 17 women in the 132-member PLC, and a 
woman served in a ministerial-level position. There were seven 
Palestinian Christians in the PLC.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of PA corruption, notably within the security forces. 
Many social and political elements called for reform. The PA security 
forces made little progress in rationalizing the security forces' 
payroll and rooting out corruption in the services. In September 2005 
President Abbas appointed a new attorney general to focus on 
corruption. Local NGOs praised the appointment and hoped he would 
effectively address PA corruption. The Attorney General had announced 
investigations into several corruption cases; however, there was little 
progress on the cases. At year's end there were no proceedings at any 
of the PA courts on corruption charges. PA members and the general 
Palestinian public widely criticized the growing lawlessness inside the 
West Bank and Gaza and the failure by PA security forces to provide 
security.
    On April 13, Fatah-associated militants briefly seized government 
offices in Ramallah; media reported the action was prompted by corrupt 
practices associated with distribution of taxi permits. On June 13, 
gunmen attacked the PLC building in Gaza, damaging and setting ablaze 
the third floor of the building.
    The law requires official PA institutions to ``facilitate'' 
acquisition of requested documents or information to any Palestinian; 
however, the law does not require any PA agency to provide such 
information. Many Palestinians cited the law when seeking to acquire 
information; however, there were no PA court cases. NGOs sought to make 
it mandatory to provide information to Palestinians; however, there was 
no action during the year.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Local Palestinian human rights groups and several international 
organizations monitored the PA's human rights practices. By the end of 
2005, approximately 305 NGOs were registered; another 45 remained in 
processing. In May the PA Ministry of Interior froze new NGO 
registration, reflecting general government paralysis.
    PA officials usually met NGO representatives. Since the beginning 
of the Intifada, several NGOs voluntarily decided to defer criticism of 
the PA's human rights performance. Observers noted documentation of 
abuses was very limited. NGOs, however, criticized the PA's inadequate 
security performance.
    At year's end the killers and their motives remained unknown in the 
2004 Gaza City shooting death of Khalil al-Zaban, a journalist and 
advisor on human rights and the media to then PA President Arafat. Al-
Zaban headed the PA's government-appointed NGO Council and published 
its monthly newsletter.
    Some PA security organizations, including the General Intelligence 
Service in the West Bank and the police, appointed officials as 
liaisons with human rights groups. These officers met human rights 
organizations and diplomats to discuss human rights cases.
    Israeli, Palestinian, and international humanitarian and human 
rights NGOs monitored the Israeli government's practices in the 
occupied territories. The Israeli government permitted human rights 
groups to publish and hold press conferences and provided the ICRC and 
other groups with access to detainees (see section 1.c.). Some 
organizations criticized Israeli government practices and cooperation. 
During the year Israel established direct contact with NGOs and human 
rights groups. Human rights groups, however, continued to report that 
Israeli closures impeded and, at times, completely prevented their 
work.
    At year's end the assailants in the 2004 attack on members of the 
Christian Peacemakers Teams, Amnesty International, and an Italian NGO 
(``Operation Dove'') remained unidentified and had not been 
apprehended. The group escorted Palestinian children from the village 
of Tuwani to a nearby school. While walking past the settlement of 
Ma'on, masked settlers attacked the escorts, seriously injuring a 
volunteer.
    On April 10, a London coroner's court concluded that Thomas 
Hurndall was unlawfully killed. In 2004 Hurndall, a British 
International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist, died from injuries 
sustained in 2003 when an IDF soldier shot him as he attempted to move 
Palestinian children to safety during clashes in Rafah. In August 2005 
an IDF court sentenced Sergeant Wahid Taysir, earlier convicted of 
manslaughter and obstruction of justice in Hurndall's killing, to eight 
years in prison. On February 7, the military prosecution appealed 
Taysir's sentence, requesting a 20-year sentence instead; at year's end 
there was no decision on the appeal.
    In 2003 gunfire from an undetermined source struck ISM activist 
Brian Avery, while he was walking during curfew in Jenin. The IDF 
denied responsibility for the incident. Following a 2004 legal petition 
to investigate Avery's shooting, in February 2005 the High Court 
ordered the IDF to investigate the incident further; however, the Judge 
Advocate General, after interviewing civilian eyewitnesses, decided not 
to launch a criminal investigation. On September 20, the High Court 
instructed the Government to explain why it opposed an investigation of 
the shooting. On November 23, the Government stated the chief military 
prosecutor saw no reason to change the previous decision; however, ``to 
remove any doubt,'' he ordered a military police criminal 
investigation. The Government agreed to pay Avery's court costs of 
$3,495 (15,000 NIS).
    UNRWA and other groups reported increased difficulties transporting 
goods to Palestinian refugees in Gaza due to frequent closures of 
Karni, the main commercial crossing between Israel and Gaza, as well as 
the inability of local staff to acquire border crossing permits. UNRWA 
also reported experiencing frequent delays at checkpoints and 
roadblocks throughout the West Bank. UNRWA estimated that during the 
year, it incurred over $2 million (8.582 million NIS) in excess charges 
because of an inability to transport humanitarian supplies through 
during border closures as well as substantial staff delays at 
checkpoints and roadblocks throughout the West Bank and exiting Gaza at 
the Erez Crossing. For example, in December UNRWA international staff 
was delayed for approximately 97 hours at estimated cost of more than 
$70,000 (300,000 NIS).
    UNRWA staff in the West Bank and Gaza, and refugees receiving 
assistance were harassed by Palestinians. On October 19, seven 
Palestinian gunmen broke into the UNRWA Relief Office in Rafah and 
fired shots in the air and inside the building, demanding assistance to 
reconstruct their family's home, which was destroyed by an Israeli Air 
Force attack five days earlier.
    On September 4, reportedly for the first time in six years, a 
delegation from the Israeli human rights organization, Physicians for 
Human Rights was permitted to travel to Gaza to meet with Palestinian 
counterparts.
    The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights serves 
as the PA's ombudsman and human rights commission. It enjoys the 
cooperation of the PA and issues an annual report detailing violations 
of citizens' rights in the occupied territories by both Palestinian and 
Israeli authorities. The report documents complaints the organization 
has received and the recommendations it makes to the appropriate 
Palestinian authorities.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law states that all Palestinians are equal without 
discrimination because of race, gender, color, religion, political 
views, or disability. However, the law does not cover a number of 
areas, and there was societal discrimination against women, persons 
with disabilities, and homosexuals; child abuse also persisted.

    Women.--There were no reliable data on the incidence of violence 
against women. PA law does not explicitly prohibit domestic violence, 
but assault and battery are crimes; however, according to HRW few cases 
were successfully prosecuted. Rape is illegal, but its legal definition 
does not address spousal rape.
    There were reports that Palestinian domestic violence had increased 
since 2000. Human rights groups reported continued family ``honor'' 
killings during the year.
    During the year family members killed three women in so-called 
honor crimes, according to human rights groups. On August 10, PA police 
discovered the bodies of two Palestinian women in their twenties in the 
Gaza Strip. The police stated the women had been shot and killed. The 
police noted that they were investigating the incident and that the 
women were victims of honor killings. At year's end there were no 
arrests.
    On August 21, the body of an unidentified woman was found in an 
abandoned water well near Qalqilia. PA police investigated, and initial 
findings indicated it was an honor killing. On August 21, the police 
arrested and briefly questioned the woman's brother; however, at year's 
end there was no further legal action.
    On November 3, according to media and HRW reporting, civilian women 
were human shields for Hamas militants as they exited a mosque in Gaza 
where they had been cornered by IDF forces.
    Prostitution is illegal. There was no openly practiced 
prostitution.
    There were no special laws regarding women's rights in the 
workplace. Before 2000 women increasingly worked outside the home, 
often encountering discrimination and, occasionally, sexual harassment. 
Women were underrepresented in professional life, although a small 
group was prominent in politics, medicine, law, teaching, and NGOs.
    There were a handful of NGO-funded women's shelters in the West 
Bank; there were no shelters in Gaza. Women generally approached 
village or religious leaders for assistance.
    Palestinian women endured social prejudice and repression. 
Education and cultural restrictions associated with marriage 
occasionally prevented women from completing mandatory schooling or 
attending college. Families often disowned Muslim and Christian women 
who married outside their faith. Local officials sometimes advised such 
women to leave their communities to prevent harassment. Media reported 
sporadic instances of women being attacked in Gaza for not wearing 
Islamic dress.
    For Muslims personal status law is derived from Shari'a (Islamic 
law). Ecclesiastical courts rule on personal status issues for 
Christians. Shari'a pertaining to women is part of the 1976 Jordanian 
Status Law, which includes inheritance and marriage laws. Women can 
inherit under Shari'a but not an equal share. Legally, men may take 
more than one wife; the practice was rare. Women may make 
``stipulations'' in marriage contracts to protect their interests in 
divorce and child custody; however, only an estimated 1 percent did so. 
Children often stayed with the mother after divorce. Until a child 
reached legal maturity, men paid child support and alimony, depending 
on the man's income.

    Children.--Although MOEHE's stated commitment is to provide 
children access to educational facilities and ensure their welfare, it 
must rely on the international community for assistance to build 
capacity for child protection and development.
    The September World Bank Education Sector Report stated that in 
2005, 88.4 percent of girls age 16 to 17 and 81 percent of boys of the 
same age were enrolled in school for an average increase of 13.2 
percent from 2000. According to the same report, student enrollment for 
five- and six-year-olds decreased by 7.7 percent from 2000-06. Girls 
who married before the ninth grade left school at the behest of 
husbands, and in rural areas and refugee camps, boys left school to 
help support their families.
    In September 90 percent of West Bank PA public school teachers went 
on strike, and most Palestinian students were unable to attend classes. 
In some districts teachers who taught the final year of high school 
held classes despite the strikes. West Bank teachers returned to work 
in November, following agreement with the Government concerning 
immediate payment of salaries. In Gaza most PA teachers also struck in 
September but returned to work within a month.
    Internal closures, checkpoints, and the separation barrier 
significantly impeded students and teachers in reaching educational 
facilities (see sections 2.a. and 2.d.).
    Also according to the September World Bank Education Sector Report, 
in 2005 the average student-teacher ratio in government schools was 26 
to one. According to that report, class sizes in the West Bank were 
much smaller than in Gaza where 56 percent of elementary school classes 
had more than 40 students, in contrast to 18 percent of classes in the 
West Bank. In 2005 UNRWA schools' average student-teacher ratio was 33 
to one.
    Education and health care professionals judged that the violence 
produced lack of focus, nightmares, and behavioral problems. OCHA 
reported during 2005 that 42 percent of students in Gaza recorded lower 
school achievement since 2000. One-third of Palestinian children have 
had their education disrupted.
    According to a 2003 report by the Jerusalem Center for Social and 
Economic Rights, Palestinians constituted 33 percent of the city's 
total population, but the municipal budget accorded only 10.9 percent 
to East Jerusalem.
    In 2001 the Israeli High Court ordered the municipality to build 
245 new classrooms within the next four years. According to a September 
report by the Jerusalem-based NGO Ir Amim, 48 new classrooms were built 
in East Jerusalem between 2001-06.
    The PA Health Ministry immunized children, and PA insurance 
provided basic children's medical care for a small monthly fee. The 
latest available figures showed a slight improvement in nutrition from 
2003 when 3.4 percent of Palestinian children suffered from acute 
malnutrition and 10.7 percent suffered from chronic malnutrition.
    Unlike in previous years, child abuse was reported to be a 
widespread problem. A November study by HRW cited the preliminary 
findings of a PA statistics bureau survey of domestic violence 
indicating high levels of violence perpetrated by family members, 
aggravated during times of political violence. The Basic Law prohibits 
violence against children and sanctions parents who failed to protect 
children from abuse; however, PA authorities rarely punished familial 
violence. PA courts may protect children in cases of neglect or abuse.
    The law provides that no one under 14 can work. Those between 15 
and 18 can be employed under limited conditions (see section 6.d.). 
There is no juvenile court system, but certain judges specialized in 
juvenile cases.
    International and domestic NGOs promoted educational, medical, and 
cultural services for children, and other groups specialized in the 
needs of children with disabilities.
    The IDF allegedly used minors as human shields; Palestinian 
terrorist groups used minors to conduct attacks, smuggle weapons, or 
act as human shields. On July 17, according to B'Tselem, during an 
incursion by Israeli forces into Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip, 
IDF soldiers seized control of two buildings and used six residents, 
two of whom were minors (ages 14 and 16) as human shields (see section 
1.g.). On February 2, the IDF arrested a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old 
Palestinian boy at the Huwwara checkpoint, near Nablus, as they 
attempted to smuggle 11 pipe bombs into Israel.

    Trafficking in Persons.--Palestinian law does not specifically 
prohibit trafficking in persons; however, there were no reports that 
persons were trafficked to, from, or within the occupied territories.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The Basic Law states all Palestinians 
are equal under the law and before the judiciary, without 
discrimination because of race, sex, color, religion, political views, 
or disability. Access to public facilities was not mandated in the 
occupied territories. There was societal discrimination against 
Palestinians with disabilities in most spheres, including education, 
employment, transportation, and access to public facilities. In 2005 
the Health, Development, Information, and Policy Institute estimated 
that 10 percent of the approximately 29,000 Palestinians injured in the 
past five years would have permanent disabilities.
    Poor quality care for Palestinians with disabilities was a problem. 
Some underfunded institutions cared for persons with disabilities. The 
PA depended on NGOs to care for persons with physical disabilities and 
offered substandard care for those with mental disabilities.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no legal 
discrimination against homosexuals, and there were no specific reports 
of abuse because of sexual orientation. However, cultural traditions 
and religion reject homosexuality, and Palestinians alleged that public 
and PA security officers harassed, abused, and sometimes arrested 
homosexuals because of their sexual orientation.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law permits workers to form and 
join unions of their choice without previous authorization. Birzeit 
University conducted a project to disseminate the 2001 labor law and to 
draft bylaws. By the end of 2005, the PA approved all the bylaws, which 
were published in the Palestinian Gazette.
    Workers may establish unions without government authorization. The 
two most active union organizers were the General Union for Palestinian 
Workers and the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). 
The PGFTU was a member of the International Trade Union Confederation. 
Both were registered with the Labor Ministry.
    Workers in Jerusalem may establish unions but may not join West 
Bank federations; however, this restriction was not enforced. Workers 
holding Jerusalem identity cards may belong simultaneously to West Bank 
unions and the General Federation of Labor (Histadrut).
    Palestinians working in Israel or Jerusalem prior to 2000 were 
partial members of Histadrut; 1 percent of their wages was withheld. 
Partial membership entitled them to limited benefits. Histadrut and 
West Bank union officials negotiated an agreement in 1995 to transfer 
half of this fee to the PGFTU, which claimed it was owed $6.96 million 
(29.9 million NIS). One Palestinian official, however, claimed 
Histadrut owed Palestinians $2.35 million (10.1 million NIS) over the 
same period. At year's end no money had been transferred.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law 
provides for the right to strike. Prospective strikers must provide 
written warning to the other party and the Ministry of Labor two weeks 
in advance of the basis for the strike. (Strikes affecting public 
utilities require four weeks notice.) In practice strikers had little 
protection from retribution. Unions seeking to strike must accept Labor 
Ministry arbitration and are subject to disciplinary action if they 
reject the result. If the ministry cannot resolve a dispute, it can be 
referred to a special committee and, eventually, to a special court. 
Accordingly, in practice the right to strike remained questionable.
    On September 2, PA employees launched a general strike to protest 
the PA's failure to pay salaries. On November 11, teachers returned to 
work after the PA agreed on partial salary payments. Health sector 
workers secured a similar agreement in early December. Although 
receiving partial salary payments, most West Bank PA employees remained 
on strike at year's end. The general strike was not strictly observed 
in Gaza.
    There were no functioning Export Processing Zones in the occupied 
territories.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law states that 
work is a right, duty, and honor and that the PA will strive to provide 
it to any individual capable of performing it. According to a Labor 
Ministry official, the PA also interpreted this law to mean that forced 
and compulsory labor is prohibited.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age of Employment.--The 
minimum employment age is 15, and there are special conditions for 
employment between 15 and 18. The law states that children shall not be 
exploited or allowed to perform work which might damage their safety, 
health, or education. The law also prohibits minors from working at 
night, hard labor, and travel beyond their domicile. However, many 
underage children worked in family farms and shops, as street vendors, 
or in small manufacturing enterprises. Representatives from the PA 
Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs stated that Palestinian children 
working in Israeli settlements faced security problems, exploitation, 
and harassment since there was no enforceable law to monitor and 
protect child laborers. The Israeli government estimated that 16,800 
Palestinians worked in Israeli West Bank settlements and industrial 
areas; however, it was unclear how many were minors. Officials stated 
Palestinian child workers illegally entered green-line Israel where 
they could be exploited.
    In 2005 the PA had 10 child labor inspectors for the West Bank and 
Gaza. Although generally Palestinian students continued their 
education, thousands who left school sought work and were potentially 
subject to exploitation.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage. Prior 
to 2000 average wages for full-time workers provided a decent living 
standard; however, the living standard dropped significantly over the 
past six years.
    The normal workweek was 45 to 48 hours, but maximum workweek laws 
were not effectively enforced. The PA observed religious holidays, but 
they were not formally incorporated in labor law. Although it is not 
obligatory for an employer to provide Christians with Sunday off, 
employers are required to allow Christians to attend church on Sunday 
if the employee desires. In some establishments employers offered 
Christians the option of taking Sunday off, rather than Friday.
    The PA Labor Ministry was responsible for safety standards, but its 
enforcement ability was limited. The ministry stated new factories and 
workplaces met international health and safety standards, but older 
ones did not. Palestinians who worked in Israel must contribute to the 
National Insurance Institute and received limited benefits.

                               __________

                                 JORDAN

    The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled 
by King Abdullah II bin Hussein, with a population of approximately 5.9 
million. The constitution concentrates executive and legislative 
authority in the King. The parliament consists of the 55-member House 
of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan), appointed by the King, and a 110-member 
elected lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwwab). The 
2003 multiparty parliamentary elections were generally considered to be 
free and fair; however, the election law significantly underrepresented 
urban areas. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective 
control over the security forces, although there were some instances in 
which members of the police and security forces were accused of 
committing human rights abuses.
    While the Government respected human rights in some areas, its 
overall record continued to reflect problems. The following human 
rights problems were reported: Restrictions on the right of citizens to 
change their government; torture, arbitrary arrest, and prolonged 
detention; impunity; denial of due process of law; limited judicial 
independence; infringement on citizen's privacy rights; harassment of 
members of opposition political parties; restrictions on freedom of 
speech, press, assembly, association, movement, and on some religious 
practices; legal and societal discrimination against women, 
discrimination against persons of Palestinian origin; restrictions on 
labor rights; and abuse of foreign workers.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year, 
there were no reports that the Government or its agents committed any 
politically motivated killings; however, on April 13, one prisoner died 
in a prison riot at Gafgafa (see section 1.c.).
    In 2004 five men accused in the 2002 killing of an American 
diplomat were convicted, some in absentia. One suspect, Muammar al-
Jaghbir, convicted and sentenced to death in absentia, was in custody 
as of year's end and was retried in accordance with the law, which 
provides for a new trial in such circumstances. At his retrial, he was 
also charged with the 2003 bombing of Jordan's embassy in Baghdad.
    In November 2005 a group of Iraqis carried out suicide bombings at 
three hotels in Amman, killing 60 and injuring over one hundred. On 
September 20, one attacker in custody was sentenced to be hanged, along 
with six others who were tried in absentia and convicted of plotting 
terrorist acts and possessing explosives with illicit intent. Her 
sentence was under review by the Court of Cassation; at year's end she 
has refused to appeal.

    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. Following his July visit 
Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel and 
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, described police and 
security forces practices using torture as ``widespread.'' He stated 
there were many ``consistent and credible'' allegations of torture, 
which Nowak claimed were substantiated by forensic medical evidence. He 
noted that a number were difficult to verify because of incommunicado 
detention (see section 1.d.) by the Criminal Investigation Department 
(CID) of the Public Security Directorate (PSD) and the General 
Intelligence Directorate (GID).
    Additionally, the Special Rapporteur reported that detainees at the 
Al Jafr Correctional and Rehabilitation Center were routinely subjected 
to corporal punishment. The Special Rapporteur also received many 
allegations of torture at various local police stations.
    In a July 24 report, Amnesty International (AI), an international 
nongovernmental organization (NGO), alleged the systematic torture of 
political suspects. The most frequently alleged methods of torture 
included severe and prolonged beating with sticks, plastic pipes, ropes 
or whips, on the soles of the feet and elsewhere, sleep deprivation, 
extended solitary confinement, forced standing in painful positions for 
prolonged periods, threats of extreme violence or sexual or physical 
abuse of family members, and physical suspension. In the AI 
publication, Your Confessions are Ready for You to Sign, defendants 
charged with security-related offenses before the State Security Court 
claimed that they were tortured to obtain confessions and subjected to 
physical and psychological abuse while in detention.
    According to AI, suspected Islamists and Palestinian-origin 
citizens were more likely to be tortured.
    Government officials denied many allegations of detainee abuse, 
pointing out that many defendants claimed abuse in order to shift the 
focus away from their crimes.
    During the year defendants in nearly every case before the State 
Security Court claimed that they were tortured while in custody. At 
times the courts requested that prison administrators treat inmates in 
accordance with the law. A May 21 report issued by government-funded 
National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) covering 2005 reported 70 
mistreatment or torture complaints at prisons and detention centers 
administered by the PSD; there were 250 reported in 2004. The NCHR 
report did not specifically provide information on complaints regarding 
GID facilities.
    NCHR's May report covering 2005, The State of Human Rights in the 
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, stated that the court system does not 
provide sufficient guarantees to prevent torture and other forms of 
abuse at the hands of authorities.
    In December 2005 NCHR sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Bakhit 
calling for the adoption of a series of legislative and procedural 
arrangements to combat torture. In response, the Government formed a 
committee to study the report and consider its recommendations.
    During a June 29 press conference, UN Special Rapporteur Manfred 
Nowak, visiting at the Government's invitation, stated he had observed 
indications that torture had taken place, and urged the Government to 
criminalize torture, dissolve private police and intelligence courts, 
investigate torture allegations and create mechanisms to prevent 
torture. The Government responded publicly by highlighting its 
invitation to Nowak as evidence of its commitment to addressing human 
rights issues.
    During the year human rights activists alleged a number of cases of 
beatings and other abuses of individuals in police custody.
    On January 10, three men were arrested entering a mosque during the 
'Eid al-'Adha holiday, according to AI. Their families learned that 
they were being detained by the GID in the Gafgafa prison and were 
permitted to visit them eight days after their arrest. The three men 
alleged they had been beaten and forced to sign confession statements. 
The men were charged with ``belonging to an illegal organization", 
namely the Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami, which openly calls for the 
overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy. On December 6, the State Security 
Court sentenced two of the men to one year in prison and the third to 
six months.
    On March 23, the State Security Court sentenced nine men to death 
in connection with an uprising that took place in Ma'an in 2002. They 
were charged with possessing weapons and making explosives for illegal 
use. The defendants alleged that they were beaten, kept naked in cold 
cells, and forced to sign pre-written testimonies.
    On September 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international NGO, 
published Suspicious Sweeps: The General Intelligence Directorate and 
Jordan's Rule of Law Problem. The report states that the GID arrests 
``radical Islamists who support use of violence and who consider others 
to be infidels and therefore legitimate targets of violent attacks,'' 
and documents cases of 16 detainees. Some of the detainees alleged that 
the GID abused and tortured them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons were overcrowded 
and understaffed with poor sanitary conditions and inadequate food and 
health care, according to the NCHR. The Government permitted visits, 
with private interviews by independent local and international human 
rights observers, except to some GID detainees. There were instances of 
torture and harsh and inhumane treatment, according to the UN special 
rapporteur and human rights organizations.
    On November 1 NCHR, a quasi-governmental body with educational, 
protective, and reporting responsibilities, issued its fourth report on 
the condition of the country's prisons. The report noted that although 
the Government has improved some facilities, more needed to be done, 
particularly with regard to health and safety conditions at the 
prisons. NCHR recommended that the Government close Al Jafer prison, 
located in the desert 155 miles south of Amman. Since the prison is 
geographically isolated, NCHR contended that the inmates have limited 
access to lawyers. The report also mentioned high illiteracy rates 
among inmates overall in the country, which contributed to their 
ignorance of their rights to seek legal assistance. On December 17, the 
King announced the immediate closing of the facility and its conversion 
to a vocational training school.
    The Government generally held men, women, and juveniles in separate 
prison and detention facilities. The GID held some persons, detained on 
national security grounds, in separate detention facilities, and the 
Government held other security detainees and prisoners in regular 
prisons. While security prisoners often were separated from common 
criminals, conditions for such prisoners did not differ significantly.
    The police regularly placed potential victims of honor crimes in 
protective custody (see section 5).
    Local human rights monitors were allowed to visit prisons. NCHR 
made 19 visits to prisons in the 12 month period beginning in October 
2005. During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) was permitted access to prisoners and detainees in all prisons.
    In March and April disturbances erupted at prisons in Jweideh, 
Swaqa, and Gafgafa. On April 13, riots occurred in Gafgafa prison, 
which resulted in the death of one prisoner and 35 injured inmates as 
well as some prison guards (see section 1.a.).
    In August and September inmates in Swaqa and Jweida prisons staged 
hunger strikes. These strikes attracted a great deal of media attention 
but ended peacefully.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Criminal laws generally require 
warrants; however, in most cases, suspects may be detained for up to 48 
hours in the absence of a warrant. Police made several arrests during 
the year prior to obtaining warrants. The penal code allows for a 
functional bail system of conditional release. Detainees were not 
always allowed prompt access to a lawyer of their choice. There were 
allegations of incommunicado detention (see section 1.c).
    The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the 
Government did not always observe these prohibitions. The law provides 
that citizens are subject to arrest, trial, and punishment for the 
defamation of heads of state or public officials and dissemination of 
``false or exaggerated information outside the country that attacks 
state dignity.''
    After approval by parliament on August 27, the Prevention of 
Terrorism Act was published in the official gazette. Some Jordanian 
commentators and human rights groups complained that its definition of 
terrorism might lead nonviolent critics of the Government to be 
arrested or detained indefinitely under the provisions of the act. At 
year's end, the Government had not made use of the new act.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Public Security 
Directorate (PSD) controlled general police functions. The PSD, GID, 
and the military shared responsibility for maintaining internal 
security and maintained authority to monitor security threats. The PSD 
reports to the interior minister with direct access to the King when 
necessary, and the GID in practice reports directly to the King. 
Security and policing activities were effective.
    Corruption within the PSD was not a significant issue, and there 
were mechanisms in place to investigate police abuses. There were 
allegations of police impunity for both the PSD and GID. In 2005 28 
police officers were tried in courts on torture charges. Of them, 14 
were convicted and 14 were acquitted. During the year, eight police 
officers were tried, three were convicted, two acquitted, and two were 
awaiting verdict at year's end. The PSD's preventative security office 
investigated officers' performance. Incidents of poor officer 
performance ultimately were reported to the PSD director's office (see 
section 1.c.). Citizens may file a complaint about police abuse or 
corruption to the office of complaints and human rights. During the 
year citizens filed 425 complaints (see section 4). The head of this 
office reported directly to the PSD director. New officers in training 
received special instruction on preventing corruption.

    Arrest and Detention.--The criminal code requires that police 
notify legal authorities within 48 hours of an arrest and that legal 
authorities file formal charges within 10 days of an arrest; however, 
the courts routinely granted requests from prosecutors for 15-day 
extensions as provided by law. This practice generally extended 
pretrial detention for protracted periods.
    The State Security Court gives the judicial police authority to 
arrest and keep persons in custody for a period of seven days, when 
necessary, in any crimes under the jurisdiction of the court, which 
includes many misdemeanors. In cases involving state security, the 
security forces arrested and detained citizens without warrants or 
judicial review. The authorities frequently held defendants in lengthy 
pretrial detention, did not provide defendants with the written charges 
against them, and did not allow defendants to meet with their lawyers, 
at times until shortly before trial. Defendants before the State 
Security Court usually met with their attorneys only one or two days 
before their trial. The criminal code prohibits pretrial detentions for 
certain categories of misdemeanors. At years end, according to the 
NCHR, 590 inmates were in detention without charge.
    In June 2005 extremist Issam al-Barqawi, also known as Abu Mohammad 
al-Maqdisi, was released after having been held for six months 
following his acquittal on charges of plotting subversive acts and 
possessing explosives as part of an alleged terrorism plot. In July 
2005, he was rearrested and charged for allegedly contacting terrorist 
groups and charged with plotting subversive acts. At year's end he was 
awaiting trial by the State Security Court. On December 12, a jihadist 
website posted a letter claiming that Maqdisi was ``physically abused'' 
by an officer and six prison guards in Jordan (see section 1.c).
    In the past human rights activists reported that the Government 
detained journalists (see section 2.a.) and Islamists for varying 
amounts of time for what appeared to be political reasons. Detainees 
were kept in solitary confinement and were denied access to lawyers.
    Local governors have the authority to invoke the Crime Prevention 
Law, which allows them to place citizens under house arrest for up to 
one year without formally charging them (see section 2.d.). House 
arrest may require persons to report daily to a local police station 
and impose a curfew. Persons who violate the terms of their house 
arrest may be imprisoned for up to 14 days.
    The Government used the threat of detention to intimidate 
journalists into practicing self-censorship, according to the Center 
for Protecting the Freedom of Journalists (see section 2.a.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary. In practice there was an independent decision-
making body; however, the judiciary was subject to family and tribal 
influence. The higher judiciary council, a committee led by the 
President of the Court of Cassation, and comprised of other high-
ranking officials from the various courts and the Ministry of Justice, 
determines judicial appointments, assignments, and evaluations. The 
higher judiciary council remains under the administration of the 
Ministry of Justice.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no allegations that judges 
were ``reassigned'' in order to remove them from particular 
proceedings.
    The judicial system consists of civil, criminal, commercial, 
security, and religious courts. Most criminal cases are tried in 
civilian courts, which include the Court of Appeal, the High Court of 
Justice, and the Court of Cassation. The State Security Court, composed 
of both military and civilian judges, has jurisdiction over offenses 
against the state and drug-related crimes. Penal laws grant the same 
rights to defendants arrested by the security agencies as others who 
are arrested. The religious courts are subdivided into Shari'a (Islamic 
law) courts and tribunals for non-Muslim religious communities. Shari'a 
courts have jurisdiction over all matters relating to the personal 
status of Muslims, including marriage, divorce, and inheritance. 
Christian courts have jurisdiction over marriage and divorce cases 
among Christians, but Shari'a law is applied in inheritance cases (see 
section 5).

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides that all civilian court trials 
are open to the public unless the court determines otherwise. 
Defendants were entitled to legal counsel, may challenge witnesses, and 
had the right to appeal. Defendants who faced the death penalty or life 
imprisonment were represented by legal counsel. Public defenders were 
provided if the defendant was unable to hire legal counsel. All 
citizens were accorded these rights. Civil, criminal, and commercial 
courts accord equal weight to the testimony of men and women; however, 
in Shari'a courts the testimony of two women was equal to that of a man 
in most circumstances (see section 5). Defense attorneys were 
guaranteed access to government-held evidence relevant to their 
clients' cases.
    The State Security Court consisted of a panel of three judges, two 
military officers and one civilian. Approximately two dozen cases were 
tried or were ongoing in the State Security Court during the year. Like 
the civilian courts, proceedings of the court were open to the public. 
Defendants tried in this court were often held in lengthy pretrial 
detention and refused access to legal council until just before the 
trial. State security court judges inquired into allegations that 
defendants were tortured and allowed the testimony of physicians 
regarding such allegations (see section 1.c.). The Court of Cassation 
ruled that the State Security Court may not issue a death sentence on 
the basis of a confession obtained as a result of torture. Defendants 
in this court have the right to appeal their sentences to the Court of 
Cassation, which is authorized to review issues of both fact and law, 
although defendants convicted of misdemeanors in the State Security 
Court had no right of appeal. Appeals were automatic for cases 
involving the death penalty.
    The press and publications law permits journalists to cover state 
security court proceedings unless the court rules otherwise. The press 
routinely reported on cases before the court, including all cases heard 
during the year. Such reporting routinely covered defense arguments and 
allegations of torture.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year, there were 
reports of political detainees (see section 1.d.). On June 11, four 
Islamic Action Front (IAF) members of Parliament were arrested and 
charged with violating Article 150 of Jordan's Penal Code, which 
prohibits writing or speech that is ``intended to, or results in, 
stirring up sectarian or racial tension or strife among different 
elements of the nation,'' after visiting the condolence tent of the 
family of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi (see section 2.a.).
    In August four men were arrested while distributing leaflets 
condemning the July to August conflict between Israel and Lebanon. The 
leaflets were prepared by the outlawed Hizb al-Tahrir, a political 
party dedicated to restoring the Islamic Caliphate and ending the 
Hashemite monarchy. Charged with membership in an illegal group and 
distributing illegal material, on December 6, two of the four men were 
sentenced to one year prison terms. One man was sentenced to 6 months 
for distributing illegal material only and the fourth man was acquitted 
on both charges.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
judiciary in civil matters. The Supreme Court of Justice hears 
administrative complaints. The courts are open to all residents. Courts 
also have jurisdiction over any person in a civil or criminal matter, 
including in lawsuits where the Government is a plaintiff or a 
defendant.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary interference; however, in 
practice the Government restricted the rights to be free of arbitrary 
interference. The law requires that security forces obtain a warrant 
from the prosecutor general or a judge before conducting searches or 
otherwise interfering with these rights; however, in security cases, 
authorities obtained pre-approved warrants. Security officers monitored 
telephone conversations and Internet communication, read private 
correspondence, and engaged in surveillance of persons considered to 
pose a threat to the Government or national security. The law permits 
these practices if the Government obtains a court order.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and press; however, the Government imposed 
significant restrictions on these rights in practice.
    The 1998 Press and Publications Law is foremost among the laws that 
impose restrictions on the operation of newspapers. Government 
intimidation also led to self-censorship of journalists. The Penal Code 
provides that ``insulting the King and stirring sectarian strife and 
sedition,'' could be invoked to punish journalists. According to the 
Penal Code the punishment for defamation of the King or royal family is 
three years in prison and a fine not exceeding $700 (500 dinars). 
Additionally, citizens may be prosecuted for slandering the Government, 
or foreign leaders, and for offending religious beliefs. Citizens 
generally did not hesitate to criticize the Government openly. 
Allegedly government officials delayed publications at the printer. 
However, journalists exercised caution with regard to the King, the 
royal family, and the GID. Membership in the Jordan Press Association 
(JPA) is required for persons to be considered journalists or editors; 
the JPA can exercise control over content or threaten disciplinary 
measures. The law gives the association the authority to hold 
disciplinary councils against any journalists that violate the rules or 
ethics of the profession.
    The Press and Publications Law provides the Government with limited 
ability to issue fines, transfers the power to withdraw licenses to the 
judiciary, limits significantly the Government's power to order 
shutdowns of printing presses, allows journalists to cover court 
proceedings unless the court ruled otherwise, and requires publications 
to be licensed. Article 35 of the Press and Publications Law gives the 
Prime Ministry the right to withhold publishing any printed material. 
The law imposes strict limits on publications, which gave the 
Government broad leeway to impose sanctions. During the year the 
Government used informants and censors at printing presses to inform it 
if particularly objectionable material was slated for print.
    Journalists also may be prosecuted before the State Security Court 
for criminal and security violations. There were no cases during the 
year. Although historically some past cases were dismissed before 
trial, in the past some cases lingered in the courts for years. 
According to the National Center for Defending the Freedom of 
Journalists, the Government used detention and prosecution or the 
threat of prosecution to generate journalistic self-censorship (see 
section 1.d.).
    The Prevention of Terrorism Act enacted on November 1 was 
criticized as limiting free speech. Some human rights groups alleged 
that the broad definition of terrorist speech and opinion under the Act 
could lead to arrest and detention of government critics. However, the 
Government has not to date used the Act.
    During the year there were several reported instances of arrest and 
government harassment of journalists. On May 30, Amman's conciliation 
court sentenced two editors, Jihad Momani and Hashem al-Khalidi, to two 
months imprisonment for ``attacking religious sentiment'' over their 
publication of the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet 
Muhammad. The court immediately released the editors on bail pending 
their appeals. Following the death in Iraq of terrorist Abu Musab al-
Zarqawi, on June 8, the Government interrupted a live interview with 
Zarqawi's brother-in-law, broadcast on Al-Jazeera satellite television. 
Police briefly detained the station's Amman bureau chief, Yasir Abu 
Hilalah.
    On June 11, four members of parliament were arrested after visiting 
the condolence tent of the family of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. The four 
men were Muhammad Abu Faris, Ali Abu Sukkar, Ja`far al-Hurani, and 
Ibrahim al-Mashukhi, all members of the IAF. They were charged with 
violating Article 150 of the penal code, which prohibits writing or 
speech that is ``intended to, or results in, stirring up sectarian or 
racial tension or strife among different elements of the nation.'' Abu 
Faris praised al-Zarqawi as a martyr in a television interview and 
disparaged the victims of the November 2005 Amman suicide bombings, in 
which 60 died and over 100 were injured. In August Abu Faris and Abu 
Sukkar were sentenced to 13 months in prison and fines of 100 JD. The 
others arrested were released in July and August. King Abdullah 
pardoned Abu Faris and Abu Sukkar on September 30 and all fines were 
dropped.
    During the year, several journalists interviewed by the Committee 
to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international NGO, reported that 
authorities pressured printers to delay publication of several 
newspapers until editors agreed to remove critical articles. Editors 
reportedly received telephone calls from security officials instructing 
them how to cover certain events.
    In April Tammer Smadi, a reporter for the Islamist weekly As-
Sabeel, and a photojournalist from the same publication were detained 
for several hours for covering a street protest organized by an 
Islamist organization. They were interrogated, and the reporter alleged 
he was beaten. The photojournalist's camera was taken from him and 
later returned. Later in the month the GID allegedly arrested another 
journalist from As-Sabeel and detained him for three days after he 
returned for an interview with Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas leader living 
in Damascus.
    On April 4, Ahmad Ali Abdullah al-Yamani, a bookshop owner in 
Aqaba, claimed he was harassed by the GID, who confiscated newspapers 
and books from his shop. They allegedly detained his son for several 
hours for questioning and instructed him not to keep newspapers in the 
glass window of his shop before releasing him.
    In May Fahd Rimawi, editor of the weekly Al-Majd, was held by GID 
for over eight hours the day after he printed a story quoting Prime 
Minister Bakhit as saying accusations that Hamas was smuggling weapons 
through Jordan lacked credibility. He was also allegedly called by the 
Prime Minister's office and asked to issue a retraction.
    On November 1, former royal advisor Adnan Abu Odeh was sued by a 
group of private citizens for saying in an October 28 interview with Al 
Jazeera that Palestinians are underrepresented in Jordan. The complaint 
included allegations Abu Odeh had ``stirred unrest'' and ``insulted the 
King". On November 5, the State Security court dismissed the suit.
    The Press and Publications Department continued to enforce bans on 
the publication of selected books. Books were banned for religious, 
moral, and political reasons.
    In January authorities banned the distribution of A. S. Bishtawi's 
book, History of Injustice in the Arab World.
    During the year, the Government passed a law that requires sermons 
and classes in mosques to be under government control. Muslim imams and 
teachers required written approval from the Ministry of Religious 
Affairs (See section 2.c.).
    In September the Press and Publications Department, a government 
censorship office, withdrew a number of books from Amman's 11th annual 
International Book Fair. Among these was The English in Faisal's Life, 
a book about King Faisal of Iraq, Exposed Secrets dealing with Israel 
and nuclear weapons, and A Feast for Seaweeds, a novel banned for 
containing themes contrary to Islamic laws.
    High taxes on media and tariffs on paper caused journalists to 
reduce the size of their publications. Journalists also criticized the 
Government for advertising predominantly in newspapers in which the 
Government owned shares.
    The law provides foreign media operations freedom of expression. 
Radio and television news broadcasts, more restricted than the print 
media, underwent limited liberalization during the year. Jordan 
Television reported only the Government's position on controversial 
matters. International satellite television and Israeli and Syrian 
television broadcasts were available and unrestricted.
    In July King Hussein Bin Talal University signed an agreement to 
begin broadcasting on an FM frequency. Its license excludes news and 
political content.
    On October 1, Yarmouk University began broadcasting Yarmouk FM, 
with support from Internews, an international NGO. The licensed format 
is that of a community-radio station; while social issues are 
discussed, news and political content are not allowed.

    Internet Freedom.--During the year, the Government allowed Internet 
news sites to operate in the country, including those that presented 
news critical of the Government.
    In the past the Government opened investigations attempting to 
determine who was responsible for Internet sites that allegedly libeled 
the King; however, no one was known to have been prosecuted in such 
cases during the year. In the past there were reports of government 
interference with Internet access, including several Web sites that 
appear to have been blocked.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government limited 
academic freedom. Some academics claimed that they received frequent 
threats of dismissal. During the year members of the academic community 
claimed that there was an ongoing intelligence presence in academic 
institutions. During the year the University of Jordan continued to 
grant its President authority to appoint half of its 80-member student 
council, including the chair. This measure was viewed widely as an 
effort to curb the influence of campus Islamists. Many students, 
including non-Islamists, continued to object to the university's 
policy.
    On May 16, 700 students at the University of Jordan demonstrated to 
oppose the university administration's appointment of the head of the 
Student Union. A counter-demonstration supporting the administration 
took place on the same day.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the Government restricted this right. Citizens must obtain permits for 
public gatherings. The Government generally granted permits for 
protests it finds objectionable only after extensive negotiations with 
the organizers. The law requires that the organizers of rallies and 
demonstrations request permission from provincial governors at least 
three days prior to any event. Under the law no protest may be held 
without the governor's consent, and violators face imprisonment from 
one to six months and a fine not to exceed $4,230 (3000 dinars). In 
some cases the Government granted approval at the last moment, making 
it difficult for organizers to plan the demonstrations. Other requests 
were denied outright.
    The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Law No 5520, provides for 
punishment of those involved in peaceful demonstrations which could be 
interpreted as ``disrupting of public order,'' or ``endangering public 
safety", both of which fall under the definition of ``terrorist acts'' 
in the newly promulgated law.
    On March 7, the Government banned a planned demonstration of 
professional unions against a draft law barring professional 
associations from engaging in politics and deployed security forces to 
prevent the protest.
    On April 9, the security services briefly detained several dozen 
IAF activists for promoting an unsanctioned general strike opposing 
cuts in fuel subsidies. Although reports differ on the number of 
activists detained and the length of their detentions, authorities 
released all of the activists within days.
    On August 19, approximately 1000 citizens marched to protest 
alleged threats to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The governor of 
Amman initially refused the event organizers a permit on technical 
grounds, but a second request was approved the day before the march was 
scheduled to occur.
    On September 19, the IAF requested the Governor of Amman's 
permission to organize a demonstration to protest statements by Pope 
Benedict XVI. Permission was denied.
    On November 14, the acting Governor of Irbid Walid Abda rejected a 
request by the National Opposition Parties Coordination Committee to 
organize a demonstration in Irbid to express solidarity with the 
Palestinian people.
    In 2004 the Government detained protestors at the al-Wihdat refugee 
camp in the southern suburbs of Amman, claiming that the demonstration 
was not licensed. According to media reports, more than 60 persons were 
detained for burning the national flag and destroying property. Human 
rights activists claimed more than 200 demonstrators were detained in 
the demonstration following the killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed 
Yassin. The Government claimed it filed formal charges against some of 
the detainees while releasing those under 18.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association; however, the Government limited freedom of association by 
law. The law prohibits the use of associations for the benefit of any 
partisan organization. The Government required and routinely granted 
approval for nonpolitical conferences, workshops, and seminars.
    The Government prohibits membership in unlicensed political parties 
but routinely licensed political parties and other associations. During 
the year there were 33 licensed political parties. The Government may 
deny licenses to parties that it decides do not meet the political and 
other criteria contained in the Political Parties Law (see section 3). 
In practice, the Government sometimes rejected applications by 
political parties to organize rallies and demonstrations. The High 
Court of Justice may dissolve a party if it violates the constitution 
or the law.
    The Labor Law prohibits some groups from joining labor unions, such 
as noncitizens and agricultural and domestic workers. (see section 6)

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom to 
practice the rites of one's religion, provided that religious practices 
are consistent with ``public order and morality''; however, the 
Government continued to impose some restrictions on freedom of 
religion. The state religion is Islam. The Government does not 
officially recognize all religious groups. Groups obtain recognition 
with the approval of the Prime Minister. In order to be recognized, the 
group must have citizens among its constituency, and the Ministry of 
the Interior must also conduct a background investigation. Recognition 
allows a religious group to purchase land with a tax exemption.
    During the year the parliament approved a law that required 
preachers and teachers in mosques to have licenses issued by the 
Ministry of Religious Affairs (see section 2.a.).
    Members of unrecognized religious groups and converts from Islam 
faced legal discrimination and bureaucratic difficulties in personal 
status cases. The Government prohibits non-Muslims from proselytizing 
Muslims.
    Persons enjoy freedom of belief, and there were no reports that the 
practice of any faith was prohibited. Some religious groups, while 
allowed to meet and practice their faith, complained of societal and 
official discrimination. In addition not all Christian denominations 
have been accorded legal status.
    Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are the religions formally 
recognized by the Government. The Government did not accord the Druze 
or Baha'i faiths the status of officially recognized religions but did 
not prohibit the practice of these faiths. The Government did not 
record the bearer's religion on national identity cards issued to Druze 
or Baha'is.
    The Government did not recognize Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of 
Christ, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but each of 
these denominations conducted religious services and activities without 
interference.
    The Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary (JETS), a training 
school for pastors and missionaries, had not been accredited as an 
educational institution by year's end, although the Government granted 
it ``registration,'' allowing it to operate as a cultural center. 
During the reporting year, the Government confiscated a shipment of 
approximately one hundred books ordered by JETS. The Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs intervened and secured the release of the books to 
JETS.
    Conversion to Islam by Christians was allowed; however, a Muslim 
may not convert to another religion. Muslims who convert to other 
faiths complained of social and government discrimination. Under 
Shari'a converts are regarded as apostates and legally may be denied 
their property and other rights.
    Converts from Islam to Christianity faced possible loss of civil 
rights, loss of child custody, and economic hardship. However, courts 
have shown a willingness to decide mixed religion child custody cases 
in the best interests of the child.
    On January 20, a Shari'a court received a complaint against Mahmoud 
Abdel Rahman Mohammad Eleker for apostasy, following his conversion 
from Islam to Christianity. On April 14, the complainant, the convert's 
brother-in-law, dropped the case after the convert's wife renounced in 
the presence of a lawyer any claims she might have to an inheritance 
from her own parents.
    Converts from Islam are still considered Muslims under Shari'a in 
matters of personal status. The constitution provides that religious 
community trusts, or awqaf, and matters of personal status fall within 
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Shari'a courts for Muslims, and 
separate non-Muslim tribunals exist for each religious community 
recognized by the Government. Civil marriage is not recognized by the 
Government. The head of the department that manages Shari'a court 
affairs (a cabinet-level position) appoints Shari'a judges, while each 
recognized non-Muslim religious community selects the structure and 
members for its own tribunal. All judicial nominations are approved by 
the Prime Minister and commissioned officially by royal decree. The 
Protestant denominations registered as ``societies'' come under the 
jurisdiction of one of the recognized Protestant church tribunals. 
There are no tribunals assigned for atheists or adherents of 
unrecognized religions. These persons must request one of the 
recognized courts to hear their personal status cases.
    Men may divorce their spouses more easily than women; however, 
since 2004 Shari'a courts have granted over 239 divorces sought by 
women (see section 5). Some Christians are unable to divorce under the 
legal system because they are subject to their denomination's religious 
court system, which does not allow divorce. Such individuals sometimes 
convert to another Christian denomination or to Islam to divorce 
legally.
    The legal system regards minor children of a male Muslim who 
converts to another religion to be Muslims. Adult children of a male 
Christian who has converted to Islam become ineligible to inherit from 
their father if they do not themselves convert to Islam. Muslim 
converts to Christianity and minor children of male converts to 
Christianity are not recognized legally as Christians and continue to 
be treated as Muslims in matters of family and property law.
    The Government noted individuals' religions (except for Druze, 
Baha'is, and other unrecognized religious groups) on the national 
identity card and ``family book'' (a national registration record 
issued to the head of every family that serves as proof of citizenship) 
of all citizens. Atheists must associate themselves with a recognized 
religion for official identification purposes.
    Government policy requires that foreign missionary groups refrain 
from public proselytizing. The Government has taken action against some 
Christian proselytizers in response to the complaints of recognized 
Christian groups, who charge that the activities of these missionaries 
are disruptive to society.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Anti-Semitism.--Relations 
between Muslims and Christians generally were amicable.
    Anti-Semitism in the media was present and editorial cartoons, 
articles, and opinion pieces critical of Israel sometimes depicted 
negative images of Jews throughout the year in the newspapers Al-Rai, 
Al-Dustur, and Al-Ghad. There was no government response to these 
pieces.
    Aside from expatriates and diplomats, there was no resident Jewish 
community in the country.
    Muslims who convert to other religions often faced social 
ostracism, threats, and abuse from their families and Muslim religious 
leaders. Families usually strongly discouraged interfaith romantic 
relationships. Such relationships may lead to ostracism and, in some 
cases, violence against the couple or feuds between members of the 
couple's families. Baha'is faced some societal discrimination.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights; 
however, there were some restrictions. The law requires that all minors 
obtain written permission from a guardian to apply for a passport. 
Unlike in previous years, there were no cases of mothers reporting they 
were prevented from departing with their children because authorities 
enforced requests from fathers to prevent their children from leaving 
the country (see section 5). The GID sometimes withheld passports from 
citizens on security grounds.
    Local governors may use the Preventing Crimes Law to place citizens 
under house arrest for up to one year without formally charging them 
(see section 1.d.). House arrest may involve requiring persons to 
report daily to a local police station while under curfew. Persons who 
violate the terms of house arrest may be imprisoned for up to 14 days.
    Citizens receive passports that are valid for five years. Most 
persons of Palestinian origin living in the country were citizens and 
received passports; however, the Government estimated that there were 
150,000 Palestinian refugees, mostly of Gazan origin, who do not 
qualify for citizenship. They received two-year passports valid for 
travel but which do not connote citizenship. West Bank residents 
without other travel documentation are eligible to receive five-year 
passports which do not connote citizenship.
    Human rights activists continued to charge that the Government did 
not consistently apply citizenship laws, especially in cases in which 
passports were taken from citizens of Palestinian origin. The 
Government maintained this policy was in line with its efforts to 
implement the Government's disengagement from its former claims to the 
West Bank. However, activists complained that the process is not 
transparent and the appeal process virtually nonexistent. Claimants or 
families filed appeals with the Ministry of Interior, which were not 
resolved to their satisfaction. The Government asserted that all cases 
it closed involved persons without valid claims to citizenship or 
travel documents.
    Human rights activists claimed that approximately 10,000 to 12,000 
former residents of Palestinian origin remained outside the country, 
and that the Government refused to renew their passports at embassies 
overseas. The Government asserted that only nonresident Palestinians 
who sought to renew travel documents, which required proof of residence 
in the country, have been refused.
    The law prohibits internal and external forced exile, and the 
Government did not use forced exile in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government is not a party to the 1951 
UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol 
and does not have any national legislation pertaining to the status and 
treatment of refugees. It generally cooperated with the office of the 
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Relief and Works 
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in assisting 
refugees and asylum seekers. The Government respected the UNHCR's 
eligibility determinations regarding asylum seekers, including those 
who entered the country clandestinely. An April 1998 Memorandum of 
Understanding between the Government and the UNHCR contains the 
definition of a refugee, confirms the principle of non-refoulement, and 
allows recognized refugees a maximum stay of six months during which 
period a durable solution must be found. In practice the Government 
provided protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a 
country where they feared persecution. However, during the year some 
Iraqis detained for alleged criminal offenses were returned to Iraq 
before UNHCR could determine their refugee status.
    The UNHCR continued to train law enforcement officials and judges 
in international refugee law, including instructors from the NCHR, 
which conducted a course for entry-level government officials during 
the year. However, in March the UNHCR reported that approximately 200 
Palestinians formerly residents of Baghdad were refused entry. In July 
the UNHCR reported that approximately 200 Iranian refugees formerly 
resident in a UNHCR camp in Ramadi, Iraq, who had been refused entry in 
2005 were again refused entry. It also reported in several instances 
that it intervened to prevent the deportation of persons issued UNHCR 
asylum seeker cards.
    As of December 31, approximately 1.86 million Palestinian refugees 
were registered with the UNRWA. The UNRWA and the Government continued 
to provide assistance to these Palestinian refugees during the year. 
Approximately 700,000 persons displaced from former Jordanian 
territories during the 1967 war have been granted nationality. An 
additional 120,000 persons displaced during the 1967 war hold temporary 
residency permits. A further 200,000 Palestinian refugees were also 
estimated to be living in the country without any direct assistance.
    Since 1991 many Iraqis have applied for refugee status and received 
legal and material assistance from the UNHCR. An estimated 500,000 to 
700,000 Iraqis were living in the country. Most had not requested 
refugee status. The Government has tolerated the prolonged stay of many 
Iraqis beyond the expiration of the visit permits, under which they 
entered the country.
    The Government generally recognized UNHCR's requests that states 
continue to grant temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers, 
including new arrivals, rejected cases, and recognized refugees whose 
cases had been suspended by resettlement countries. In April 2005, 
however, the Ministry of Interior formally declined UNHCR's request to 
renew an expired informal Temporary Protection Regime (TPR), which had 
committed the Government to continue tolerating Iraqis in the country 
illegally. The lapsed TPR had no basis in the law and conferred no 
rights on recognized refugees. Despite expiration of the TPR, with few 
exceptions the Government has continued to tolerate the large number of 
illegal Iraqis residing in the country. Thousands continued to enter 
the country each month; however, UNHCR reported that some Iraqis were 
refused entry into the country. UNHCR also reported that it intervened 
to prevent the deportation of persons issued UNHCR asylum seeker cards 
in several instances. Access of Iraqi children to Jordanian public 
schools varied from cases to case; many schools ran second shifts in 
order to accommodate Iraqis, while some school administrators declined 
to admit the children of Iraqis residing in the country illegally.
    According to UNHCR figures, during the year, 822 persons, primarily 
from Iraq, Russia, and Syria, recognized as refugees awaited 
resettlement. An additional 90 Chechens were allowed to remain 
indefinitely pending repatriation. By year's end approximately 20,850 
persons, primarily Iraqis, were seeking asylum.
    The Government also continued to provide temporary protection to 
recognized refugees formerly resident in a UNHCR camp in Ramadi, Iraq, 
who fled Iraq in 2003. By mid-December 97 Palestinians, 16 Iraqis and 4 
Iranians remained in a UNHCR-managed camp in Ruweished, having 
relocated there following the Government's closure in May 2005 of a 
UNHCR reception camp in the ``no man's land'' between Jordanian and 
Iraqi frontier posts at the Trebil/Karama crossing. Most Palestinians 
at the Ruweished camp were expected to depart for resettlement 
countries by year's end.
    According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
statistics, between January 1 and December 7, the Government granted 
temporary protection to 340 third country nationals fleeing Iraq en 
route to Sudan and Nigeria. The Government also facilitated the transit 
of 692 Iraqis voluntarily returning to Iraq from third-countries, 
primarily from Europe. IOM verified that all repatriations to Iraq and 
to third countries were voluntary.
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. Citizens may participate in the political system 
through their elected representatives in parliament; however, the King 
may use his discretion to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister, 
cabinet, and upper house of parliament; dissolve or extend parliament; 
establish public policy; and approve the appointment of all mayors.

    Elections and Political Participation.--After being appointed by 
the King, a prime minister is required to submit his cabinet to a 
parliamentary vote of confidence, if there is a seated parliament. 
Executive power is vested in the King (or, in his absence, in the 
regent), who exercised his power through his ministers in accordance 
with the provisions of the constitution. The June 2003 multiparty 
parliamentary elections were generally considered to be free and fair; 
however, the election law significantly underrepresented urban areas 
and some observers considered electoral districting unfair, claiming 
that it was intended to reduce the representation of areas heavily 
populated by citizens of Palestinian origin. There were some 
speculations of fraud. Many observers considered electoral districting 
unfair because of a lack of balance between the population and the 
number of seats per district, and claimed that it was intended to 
reduce the representation of areas heavily populated by Jordanians of 
Palestinian origin. The law allows voters to choose one candidate in 
multiple-seat districts. In the largely tribal society, citizens tended 
to cast their vote for family members. In practice, candidates who 
lacked tribal credentials generally received fewer votes in tribal 
districts. The Islamic Action Front boycotted the 2003 municipal 
elections in all districts outside greater Amman to protest the 
provisional law on appointing municipal officials.
    The election law requires judiciary verification of polling 
results, and establishes the number of lower house seats at 110 with 
six reserved for women. The voting age is set at 18 years for all 
citizens.
    Citizens may freely nominate themselves and register as candidates 
if they have a ``certificate of good conduct'' issued by the GID. 
Persons who have been sentenced to over one year in prison are 
ineligible for election. The King proposes and dismisses extraordinary 
sessions of parliament and may postpone regular sessions for up to 60 
days. If the Government amends or enacts a law when parliament is not 
in session, it must submit the law to parliament for consideration 
during the next session; however, such ``provisional'' laws do not 
expire and, while technically subject to action by parliament when it 
returns to session, in practice remain in force without legislative 
approval.
    Women have the right to vote and were encouraged to vote and be 
active in the political process. Seven women serve in the senate, six 
in the Chamber of Deputies, and one in the cabinet. Of the 110 seats in 
the lower house, the quota provisions reserve nine for Christians and 
three for either the Circassian or Chechen ethnic minorities.
    Citizens of Palestinian origin, estimated to be more than half of 
the total population, comprised four of the 26 ministers. In 
parliament, 9 of 55 senators and 18 of 110 lower house deputies were of 
Palestinian origin. There were no Palestinians in any of the country's 
12 governorships. The electoral system gives greater representation to 
areas that have a majority of inhabitants of non-Palestinian origin.
    Four women have been elected to the councils of the country's 11 
professional associations. Of these women, three sit on the Nurses and 
Registered Midwives Syndicate and one on the Jordan Press Association 
Council. An estimated 31,000 women are registered as members of these 
associations, representing approximately 23 percent of the membership.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption is a crime. 
There was a public perception of corruption in the executive and 
legislative branches. Influence peddling and a lack of transparency 
have been alleged in government procurement and dispute settlement. The 
use of family, business, and other personal connections to advance 
personal business interests was widespread. The GID has an 
anticorruption department.
    On November 1, the Financial Disclosure law was published in the 
official gazette. Under this law, specified government officials must 
declare their assets in a sealed envelop to the newly formed Financial 
Disclosure Department of the Ministry of Justice. This envelope will be 
opened by the Chief Justice in the event of a complaint.
    In November the parliament brought charges against former Minister 
of Municipalities Abdul Razzaaq Thbeshat for corruption. The case 
involves a 2002 purchase of waste-management vehicles from Germany, 
which an Audit Bureau later found to be faulty. On December 3, a 
special committee in Parliament was formed to investigate the 
allegations. As Thbeshat was an acting minister when the alleged felony 
took place, he cannot be tried in a regular court. However, four other 
men implicated in the case were being tried in the Court of First 
Instance at year's end.
    In January 2005 Haider Mahmoud, a respected poet, wrote a thinly-
veiled poem to the King warning him of the corruption surrounding him. 
Mahmoud was vilified in the press as a traitor, and then-prime minister 
Faisel al-Fayez called for the mayor of Amman to fire Mahmoud from his 
position as head of the Al Hussein cultural center; Mahmoud resigned. 
Mahmoud's son also resigned from his job with the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs.
    In May 2005 MP Ghazi Zaben opened an investigation into awqaf 
(religious endowments) funding, and into allegations that a former 
minister of awqaf and Islamic affairs, Ahmad Hilayel, was illegally 
profiting from travel packages to Mecca for the annual Muslim 
pilgrimage.
    Under a December 4 law an official committee will be established 
entrusted with combating corruption. The committee will have a free 
mandate to pursue current and former officials who are suspected of 
being involved in corrupt activities. The law also states that this 
body will be autonomous and its officials immune from prosecution.
    The law provides for public access to government information once 
it becomes a matter of legal record, and the Government enforced this 
law in practice.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Several domestic and international human rights groups generally 
operated with restricted permission from the Government, investigating 
and publishing their findings on human rights cases alleging torture 
and other abuses committed by the security forces. Within these limits 
government officials were cooperative and responsive to their views. 
The Press and Publications Law removed restrictions on the publication 
of information about the military and security forces, which had 
prevented the publication by domestic groups of reports alleging 
torture and other abuses committed by the security forces; however, 
similar restrictions still exist in the penal code and other laws (see 
section 2.a.).
    The NCHR's activities, which began in 2003, included training 
government and international organization personnel on human rights 
standards and conditions in the country and collection and analysis of 
citizens' complaints. The Government cooperated with and funded the 
center; some human rights activists complained that it was too 
influenced by the Government. On May 21, the NCHR issued its second 
annual report on the state of human rights in the country, covering 
2005. According to the NCHR, it continued to face legal hindrances 
which impinge on the Center's ``moral and financial privileges'' 
necessary for its work. The 2005 report also stated that the 
Government's response to the 2004 discussion of legislation on the 
right to associate and the freedom of expression was negative. In the 
2005 57-page report, the NCHR ranked the country ``good'' at the 
planning and policy level; ``acceptable'' in economic, social, and 
cultural rights; and ``poor'' in civil and political rights. A 
ministerial committee was formed after the report's release to study 
the report and formulate a response. At year's end the committee had 
met but had not yet produced a response.
    There were eight PSD human rights complaints offices in each of its 
eight regional directorates. Persons charging police misconduct may 
submit complaints to the relevant office. Plaintiffs may file 
compensation claims for damages, and convicted officers reportedly also 
were subject to disciplinary action. During the year citizens filed 425 
complaints against PSD personnel.
    The Government generally cooperated with international NGOs, but 
human rights observers claimed that they were unable to meet with some 
security detainees because they were held incommunicado. The ICRC was 
permitted full access to all detainees and prisoners, including those 
held by the GID and the military intelligence directorate (see section 
1.c.). The Government did not respond to HRW requests to allow its 
researcher to investigate torture. Some high level officials did meet 
with HRW after the release of their report, Suspicious Sweeps.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution does not distinguish between citizens on the basis 
of race, disability, language, or social status; however, the law 
treats women unequally and some minorities faced discrimination in 
employment, housing, and other areas.

    Women.--Women experienced legal discrimination in pension and 
social security benefits, inheritance, divorce, ability to travel, 
child custody, citizenship, and in certain limited circumstances, the 
value of their Shari'a court testimony (see section 1.e.). Violence and 
abuse against women continued, although the full extent of the problem 
was difficult to determine. In rural areas violence against women was 
reported more frequently than in major cities; however, women's rights 
activists speculated that many incidents in cities went unreported. 
Although in recent years the Government has taken steps to increase the 
resources available to help abused women including opening a safe house 
for women, cultural norms continued to discourage victims from seeking 
medical or legal assistance.
    Abused women have the right to file a complaint in court against 
their spouses for physical abuse; however, in practice familial and 
societal pressures discouraged them from seeking legal remedies. 
Marital rape is not illegal. NGOs such as the Jordanian Women's Union, 
which had a telephone hotline for victims of domestic violence, 
provided assistance in such matters. The Family Protection Unit of the 
Public Security Directorate also offered a comprehensive support 
program for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. During the 
year the PSD reported 644 cases of sexual assault and 141 cases of 
domestic violence. Spousal abuse is technically grounds for divorce, 
but a husband may seek to demonstrate that he has religious authority 
to strike his wife.
    On May 30, the Communication Partnership for Family Health (CPFH), 
in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Tulane University, 
published results of a survey of 1,847 households regarding attitudes 
towards domestic violence. The study revealed that 40 percent of men 
and 53 percent of women believed that wife beating was acceptable under 
certain circumstances.
    Authorities prosecuted all 18 reported instances of honor crimes 
that resulted in death of the victim. These killings derive from 
customary notions of family honor among some communities, both Muslim 
and Christian. According to women's rights activists, there was 
evidence of a societal trend toward condemnation of honor crimes. The 
police regularly placed potential victims of honor crimes in protective 
custody. Activists estimated that at year's end more than 25 women were 
in protective custody. At least one NGO was working in conjunction with 
the Government to establish a shelter where the women could live in 
relative anonymity as an alternate to protective custody.
    In ordinary cases the maximum penalty for first-degree murder is 
death, and the maximum penalty for second-degree murder is 15 years in 
prison. Article 340 of the penal code provides for lenient treatment in 
cases where the accused personally witnessed the victim of an honor 
crime engaging in sexual relations or in bed with a nonspouse. Article 
98 of the penal code specifically states that ``an extenuating 
justification can be invoked by anyone who commits a crime in a fit of 
rage as a result of an unrightful and dangerous act carried out by 
[the] victim,'' and, as a result, may significantly reduce penalties 
for murder. Although the defendants are almost universally found 
guilty, a successful article 98 defense results in the defendants 
receiving token sentences.
    For example, on January 4, a woman was allegedly shot by her 
brother after her family threatened her life for reasons of family 
honor. The woman survived and her brother was taken into custody and 
charged with attempted murder.
    In June a brother allegedly shot his sister to death after an 
argument over her alleged ``immoral behavior". He was charged with 
premeditated murder and detained for 14 days before being released on 
bail. His case is still pending.
    On October 24 in Madaba, a man allegedly shot and stabbed his 31 
year old sister because of her ``bad conduct". He turned himself into 
the police, who arrested and detained him.
    In a widely reported case, two brothers were convicted of murdering 
their pregnant sister. The woman had become pregnant out of wedlock 
with an Egyptian man. She confronted her family with the pregnancy and 
received her father's blessing to marry in Egypt. Upon her return to 
the country to give birth, her brothers killed her and her unborn 
child.
    By invoking Article 98, the charges for honor crimes are often 
reduced from premeditated murder to manslaughter. Most men convicted of 
an 'honor crimes' were given no more than 6 month prison sentences. The 
most common perpetrator is often a father or brother of a woman who 
acquires a gun and shoots the women to death to restore the family 
honor. Pregnant women have been killed, along with unborn children. The 
perpetrators may receive minimal punishments.
    According to the law, sexual harassment is strictly prohibited and 
subject to criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment. 
Prostitution is illegal. The Government provided men with more generous 
social security benefits than women. The Government continued pension 
payments of deceased male civil servants but discontinued payments of 
deceased female civil servants to their heirs. Laws and regulations 
governing health insurance for civil servants do not permit women to 
extend their health insurance coverage to dependents or spouses. 
However, divorced and widowed women may extend coverage to their 
children.
    Under Shari'a as applied in the country, female heirs receive half 
the amount that male heirs receive, and non-Muslim widows of Muslim 
spouses have no inheritance rights. A sole female heir receives half of 
her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male relatives. A 
sole male heir inherits both of his parents' property. Male Muslim 
heirs have the duty to provide for all family members who need 
assistance. Men were able to divorce their spouses more easily than 
women, although a provisional law introduced in 2002, which was in 
effect at year's end, permitted women to initiate divorce on any 
grounds, provided they give up the financial settlement normally 
granted in divorce cases. The existing permanent divorce law allows 
women to seek divorces and retain their financial rights only under 
specific circumstances, such as spousal abuse. In these cases there is 
a burden of proof that the women must overcome (see section 2.c.). 
Special courts for each denomination adjudicate marriage and divorce 
matters for Christians (see section 2.c.). During the year, there were 
25 female judges, an increase of six from 2004.
    The 2003 Passport Law states that women and their minor children 
have the right to obtain passports without the written permission of 
their husbands (see section 2.d.). Married women do not have the legal 
right to transmit citizenship to their children; however, female 
citizens married to noncitizen men can pass citizenship to their 
children upon the permission of the council of ministers. In practice 
this permission was usually granted, except in cases where the father 
was Palestinian origin. Furthermore women may not petition for 
citizenship for their noncitizen husbands. The husbands themselves must 
apply for citizenship after fulfilling a requirement of 15 years of 
continuous residency. Once the husbands have obtained citizenship, they 
may apply to transmit the citizenship to their children. However, in 
practice such an application may take years, and in many cases 
citizenship still may be denied to the husband and children. Such 
children become stateless and, if they do not hold legal residency, 
lose the right to attend public school or seek other government 
services.
    Civil law grants women equal pay for equal work; however, in 
practice this was not consistently enforced.
    Traditional social pressures discouraged many women from pursuing 
professional careers, especially after marriage. Nonetheless, women had 
employment opportunities in many professions, including government, 
engineering, medicine, education, the military, and law. Women's groups 
stressed that the problem of discrimination was not only one of law but 
also of women's lack of awareness of their rights or unwillingness to 
assert them. A professional women's association, the royal family, and 
the Government promoted improvements for women's civil and economic 
life. Official figures at year's end show that 48 percent of students 
enrolled in higher education institutions were female, and in some 
disciplines, women comprised 80 percent of the student body.
    At year's end, while unemployment for the population as a whole 
reached 15.4 percent, for women the number was 31.4 percent.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare in the areas of education and health; however, government 
efforts in these areas were constrained by limited financial resources. 
Education is compulsory from ages six through 16; however, no 
legislation exists to enforce the law or punish guardians for violating 
it, and absence from school goes without penalty. A student may be 
absent from school for up to two years and the Ministry of Education 
will still allow the student to return to school. Public education was 
free from age six through completion of high school (age 18). The 
overall school attendance and total secondary school attendance rates 
remained at 92 percent. Several domestic and foreign religious groups 
operated private schools throughout the country. Since 1999 the 
Government denied Iraqi children admittance to public schools unless 
they were legal residents of the country or recognized as refugees by 
the UNHCR. In September the MOI decided to bar enrollment of Iraqi 
children at private schools in the country unless their parents have 
residency permits; however, in practice most are allowed to attend. 
(see section 2.d.).
    The Government attempted to address the issues of educational 
development and quality and the relevance of education to job-market 
demand. The Government did not charge tuition for public education, and 
it granted food and transportation supplements to families with many 
children and to very poor families.
    Students must obtain a good behavior certificate from the GID to be 
admitted under the university quota system. Activists reported that the 
GID sometimes withheld these certificates from deserving students due 
to a family member's allegedly problematic record.
    The Government provided free inoculation programs typically 
administered through the school system for children. In addition 
children had access to government-subsidized public clinics, which 
offer reduced fees for most services.
    The National Council for Family Affairs coordinated all issues 
concerning family safety. Since 2005 the government-funded ``Dar al 
Amman,'' the country's first child protection center, provided 
temporary shelter, medical care, and rehabilitation for abused children 
age six to 12. At year's end, approximately 25 children were residing 
temporarily in the shelter.
    During the year authorities received complaints of 59 cases of 
physical abuse and 475 cases of sexual abuse of children (a decrease 
from 2005). The law specifies punishment for abuses against children. 
Conviction for rape or sodomy of a child under 15 years of age 
potentially carries the death penalty.
    The current minimum age for marriage is 18 years. However, with the 
consent of a judge and a guardian, children as young as 15 may be 
married. In most cases the guardian made the decision that the child 
should be married, and it was not the child's choice. One partner, 
almost exclusively the male, is most times significantly older than the 
15-year-old. The Government attempted to safeguard some other 
children's rights, especially regarding child labor (see section 6.d.). 
Although the law prohibits most children under the age of 16 from 
working, child vendors worked on the streets of Amman. Economic 
conditions and social disruption have caused the number of these 
children to increase over the last 10 years.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in children; 
however, it does not specifically prohibit trafficking in other persons 
and there were reports that persons were trafficked to Jordan primarily 
from Bangladesh, China, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan to work in the 
Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs), according to a report released by 
the National Labor Committee, an American NGO (see section 6.e.) Other 
criminal statutes prohibit slavery and indentured servitude.
    Since August the Government has undertaken a cooperative program 
with the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to raise foreign 
domestic workers'(FDW) awareness of protections and rights under the 
law.
    On May 14 the Ministry of Labor (MOL) opened a new directorate 
specifically to address the needs of the approximately 70,000 FDWs. In 
addition to sponsoring stricter legislation regulating the recruitment 
and hiring measures used by the recruitment agencies, the MOL also 
established a 24-hour telephone hotline that FDWs could call to report 
abuses. Further, the Ministry produced booklets on the FDWs' rights, 
published in their own languages and distributed them to the workers 
when they arrived in Jordan. Regular announcements in local newspapers 
advise employers of their responsibilities towards their domestic help.
    In the past, reports have alleged that workers suffered abuses that 
amounted to human trafficking, including nonpayment of wages, excessive 
hours, and withholding of passports. In 2005 the Human Rights 
Directorate of the Foreign Ministry created the position of Deputy 
Director of Trafficking issues.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides persons with 
disabilities equal rights and there were no reports of discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
health care, or in the provision of other state services.
    The law mandates that companies reserve 2 percent of their 
positions for people with disabilities. According to education 
officials, there are 4,000 blind teachers currently employed. The law 
further focuses on accessibility measures and individual support. This 
includes infrastructure modifications on new buildings and roads. The 
Government generally enforced these provisions, although many private 
and public office buildings still have limited or no access for persons 
with disabilities. High unemployment restricts job opportunities for 
persons with disabilities, who officially numbered 220,000 although UN 
estimates placed the number closer to 500,000. Thirteen percent of 
citizens with disabilities received monetary assistance from the 
Government. A Special Building Code Department was established in 1997, 
to oversee the retrofitting of existing buildings to make them 
accessible to disabled persons.
    There were three groups of Palestinians residing in the country. 
Those that migrated to the country and the Jordan-controlled West Bank 
after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war were given full citizenship. Those 
still residing in the West Bank after 1967 were no longer eligible to 
claim citizenship, but were allowed to obtain temporary passports 
without national numbers, provided they did not also carry a 
Palestinian Authority travel document. In 1995 then-King Hussein 
announced that West Bank residents without other travel documentation 
would be eligible to receive full-validity passports, although still 
without national numbers. Refugees who fled Gaza after 1967 were not 
entitled to citizenship and were issued temporary passports without 
national numbers.
    Human rights activists maintained that despite the codified 
passport issuance procedures, many citizens of Palestinian origin have 
had their Jordanian national numbers revoked at the whim of the 
interior ministry employees. Others claimed that their temporary 
passports have been confiscated after spending time in the West Bank. 
Human rights activists claim glass ceilings inhibit Palestinians from 
receiving appointments to many senior positions in the Government and 
the military, as does a quota system for admittance to public 
universities and the granting of university scholarships. Citizens of 
Palestinian origin complain of under-representation in parliament (see 
section 2.d.).
    During the year there were reports of societal discrimination 
against Iraqis living in the country. According to a December 7 UN 
Integrated Regional Information Networks report, the number of reports 
of discrimination against Iraqis living in the country rose following 
the Amman hotel suicide bomb attacks in November 2005 (see section 
1.d.). The Iraqi Association for Nationals Living in Jordan received 
hundreds of complaints from Iraqis living in Amman of discrimination in 
the streets, in shops, and in public places. Several beatings of Iraqis 
were reported in the days immediately following the bombings.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against homosexuals existed. There are no laws that addressed 
discrimination against homosexuals.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers in the 
private sector, in some state-owned companies, and in certain 
professions in the public sector the right to form and join unions 
without excessive requirements; in practice the Government allowed 
unions in these sectors. Unions must be registered to be legal. The 
labor law limits membership to citizens, effectively excluding the 
country's more than 218,000 registered foreign workers. However, some 
unions represented the interests of foreign workers informally.
    According to official figures, more than 30 percent of the 
workforce was organized into 17 unions. Although the Solidarity Center, 
a global NGO, put the actual number closer to 10 to 15 percent, the 
number approaches 30 percent when the professional associations are 
included Unions are required by the Government to be members of the 
General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU), the sole trade 
union federation. The Government subsidized and audited the GFJTU's 
salaries and activities. Union officials are elected by secret ballot 
to five-year terms, when elections actually take place. More often than 
not, the number of candidates equals the number of seats. Members have 
three days to file a nomination application, which is reviewed by the 
union. Elections are only held if there are more candidates than seats. 
In recent election cycles, when the number of candidates exceeded the 
number of seats, some candidates were persuaded to withdraw. The 
Government monitors the elections in the event of a complaint to ensure 
compliance with the law.
    The constitution prohibits anti-union discrimination, but the 
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) claimed in 
late 2005 that the Government did not protect adequately employees from 
anti-union discrimination. Workers may lodge complaints of anti-union 
discrimination with the MOL, which is authorized to order the 
reinstatement of employees discharged for union activities. There were 
no complaints of anti-union discrimination lodged with the MOL during 
the year.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions have and 
exercise the right to bargain collectively. Labor laws mandate that 
workers must obtain government permission to strike. Unions generally 
did not seek approval for a strike, but workers used the threat of a 
strike as a negotiating tactic. Strikes are prohibited if a labor 
dispute is under mediation or arbitration. If a settlement is not 
reached through mediation, the MOL may refer the dispute to an 
industrial tribunal with agreement of both parties. The tribunal is an 
independent arbitration panel of judges appointed by the MOL. The 
decisions of the panel are legally binding. If only one party agrees, 
the MOL refers the dispute to the council of ministers and then to 
parliament. Labor law prohibits employers from dismissing a worker 
during a labor dispute. There are no special laws or exemptions from 
regular labor laws in export processing zones.
    Many of the workers in the QIZs are non-Jordanians. As a result, 
under the current labor law, they are not permitted to form or 
participate in unions.
    On February 16, 230 employees from Magnesia Jordan held a sit-in 
before the MOL to protest the fact that they were not transferred to 
the Arab Potash Company after Magnesia Jordan halted production. On 
March 9, the employees held another sit-in before the Prime Ministry to 
protest nonreceipt of wages for over three months.
    On March 10, over 3,500 workers at the Jordan Petroleum Refinery 
Company went on strike demanding the resignation of the JPRC Board of 
Directors. They also demanded improved working conditions. Their 
salaries were raised but the Board of Directors remained in place.
    On September 28, 1,000 Bengali workers in a textile factory in ad-
Dulayl staged a strike over the imposition of long and unpaid overtime 
hours by the factory manager. On October 1, 1,400 workers at two other 
factories also went on strike over unpaid wages.
    On October 1, workers at the Rainbow Textile Factory in ad-Dulayl 
went on strike to protest an MOL decision to deport six workers who 
were thought to be ``troublemakers". On October 5, the MOL reversed its 
decision and let the workers stay in the country.

    c. 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 throughout 
the year that such practices occurred. Foreign domestic servants, 
almost exclusively female, were subject to coercion and abuse and, in 
some cases, worked under conditions that amounted to forced labor (see 
section 6.e.). Also, some workers in the QIZs were allegedly forced to 
work without wages, amounting to indentured servitude. The law does not 
prohibit specifically forced or compulsory labor by children; however, 
such practices were not known to occur.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Labor law forbids children under the age of 16 from being employed, 
except as apprentices; however, there were reports of child labor 
throughout the country, mostly in urbanized areas. Children under the 
age of 18 may not work for more than six hours continuously between the 
hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., or during weekends, religious celebrations, 
or national holidays. Children under 18 may not work in hazardous 
occupations. Provisions in the labor laws do not extend to children in 
the informal sector, which consists of agriculture, domestic labor, and 
small family businesses.
    The law provides that employers who hire a child under the age of 
16 must pay a fine ranging from $140 to $710 (100 to 500 dinars). The 
fine is doubled if the offense is repeated. The Government, however, 
provided little training on child labor to the 72 MOL inspectors 
responsible for enforcing the relevant laws. When investigating child 
labor, inspectors generally acted to ameliorate the situation of the 
involved families, including directing some adult family members toward 
job training programs. In the past some government officials claimed 
that if children were barred from working, they would lose important 
income, on which their families depended, and might turn to more 
serious activities, such as drug trafficking and prostitution, for 
income.
    The MOL's Child Labor Unit (CLU) received, investigated, and 
addressed child labor complaints (although it has no formal mechanism 
for doing so) and coordinated government action regarding child labor. 
The CLU received less than 40 complaints this year. Anecdotal evidence 
suggested that child labor, especially of street vendors, was more 
prevalent during the year than it was 10 years ago. Despite the 
difficulty in accurately measuring the extent of child labor, child 
labor was particularly noticeable in big cities, where children work in 
mechanical workshops or as peddlers at traffic lights. A 2002 official 
study estimated that 32 thousand children were working.
    The law does not specifically prohibit forced or bonded labor by 
children; however, such practices were not known to occur (see section 
6.c.).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On June 1, the Government 
increased the national minimum wage by 5.7 percent, from $127 to $154 
(95 to 110 dinars) per month, to become effective July, 2007. The 
minimum wage applies to all workers except domestic servants, those 
working in small family businesses, those in the agricultural sector, 
and those in the QIZs. Inspectors from the MOL enforced the minimum 
wage, but due to limited resources were unable to ensure 100 percent 
compliance. The national minimum wage did not provide a decent standard 
of living for a worker and family. The Government estimated that the 
poverty level was at a monthly wage of approximately $47 (33 dinars) 
per month per capita.
    The law requires overtime pay for hours worked in excess of the 
standard work week, which generally is 48 hours. Workers may not work 
more than 10 hours in any continuous period or more than 60 hours of 
overtime per month. Employees are entitled to one day off per week. 
Labor law does not apply to small family businesses, domestic servants, 
and nonprofessional and non-technical workers in the agriculture 
sector. However, it does apply to citizens and noncitizen workers in 
other sectors. There is a separate civil service law. The law specifies 
a number of health and safety requirements for workers, which the MOL 
is authorized to enforce. The law requires employers to report 
industrial accidents to the ministry within 48 hours. Although 
employers are not required to report occupational diseases to the 
ministry, the law stipulates that if the medical authority determines 
that a worker suffers an occupational accident or disease as a result 
of his work, the employer is liable for compensation. The ministry 
mediates disputed amounts of compensation in cases of occupational 
disease. Workers do not have a statutory right to remove themselves 
from hazardous conditions without risking the loss of their jobs.
    According to the MOL, there were approximately 200,000 registered 
noncitizen workers in the country, the majority of whom were engaged in 
low-wage, low-skill activities in the textile, agriculture, 
construction, and industrial sectors. According to the Government and 
independent surveys, approximately 30,000 of these workers were 
employed in the QIZs. Foreign workers in the QIZs were recruited 
through a vetted process involving registered recruitment agencies.
    The May report by the American NGO, the National Labor Committee 
(NLC), brought the QIZs under international scrutiny, as the NLC 
claimed that foreign workers were subject to conditions that amounted 
to human trafficking (see section 5). In response the Government 
conducted immediate inspections and closed some factories that were 
found to be in violation of internationally recognized labor standards. 
Workers from these factories were moved to factories with standards 
that met the guidelines set forth by the ILO. At year's end 10 
factories had been closed, of which 2 were subsequently re-opened after 
complying with updated government standards. Many workers were moved 
from non-compliant factories to factories that the Government had 
recently identified as complying with updated standards. However, at 
year's end a number of factories continued to violate international 
standards. Additionally, on September 17, the Cabinet exempted 2,300 
QIZ workers who had been moved from one factory to another from the 
fines associated with that move, as well as the fines that accumulated 
for remaining in the country after their work permits have expired. The 
total estimated value of these fines is 1.2 million Jordanian Dinars.
    Abuse of domestic servants, most of whom were foreign, was 
widespread, although not thoroughly documented. Employers routinely 
limited their domestic employees' freedom of movement, and often 
illegally confiscated travel documents. Victims, who feared losing 
their employment and being returned to their home country, generally 
did not report complaints to government officials. In May in 
cooperation with UNIFEM and several source country embassies, the 
Government also introduced a new standard work contract with greater 
protections that applied to all FDWs arriving since July 2003.

                               __________

                                 KUWAIT

    Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary emirate ruled by the Al-
Sabah family, with a population of approximately three million, of whom 
approximately one million are citizens. On January 29, Sheikh Sabah Al-
Ahmad Al-Sabah became the emir following the January 15 death of Sheikh 
Jabir Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The 1962 constitution grants the emir 
executive authority and authorizes the emir to appoint a Crown Prince 
as well as a Prime Minister who selects a cabinet for emiri approval. 
The Government and an elected National Assembly share legislative 
authority. According to the constitution, the emir may dissolve the 
elected National Assembly by decree, but must call elections within two 
months. While not technically illegal, the Government effectively 
barred political parties in practice. Although there were reports of 
vote-buying by the Government and certain candidates, the June 29 
parliamentary elections were considered generally free and fair by 
local observers and the press. Unlike in previous years, civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    During the year the main human rights abuses included: no right to 
change the Government or to form political parties; unlawful 
deprivation of life; maltreatment in prisons, including abuse of 
detainees; incomplete independence of the judiciary; restricted 
freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion; limits 
on freedom of movement for certain groups of people; corruption; and 
trafficking in persons. Serious human rights problems also included the 
difficult conditions faced by expatriate workers in the domestic and 
unskilled service sectors, the unresolved status of stateless Arab 
residents (bidoon), and the unequal rights of women.
    During the year, women voted and ran for office for the first time 
in the country's history. The Government also passed a new press and 
publications law that may enhance freedom of speech.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--As in 2005, there 
were reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings. In November a Pakistani who was taken into custody 
reportedly called his family to say that he was being beaten. He died 
in police custody shortly thereafter. In October an Asian man arrested 
on drug charges died in police custody. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) 
ordered an investigation into the incident.
    There were no updates on the February 2005 case of Amer Khlaif al-
Enezi, who died in custody after his group, the Peninsula Lions, 
carried out a violent attack.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    The fate of 544 citizens and 61 other residents taken prisoner 
during Iraq's occupation of the country in 1990-91 remained a highly 
emotional issue. Of the 605 missing persons, the remains of 227 have 
been identified by DNA tests, the majority exhumed from mass graves in 
Iraq after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. Since 2003 Iraqi 
authorities have participated in the Tripartite Commission on Gulf War 
Prisoners of War and Missing Persons.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, some police and 
members of the security forces reportedly abused detainees. Police and 
security forces were more likely to inflict such abuse on noncitizens, 
particularly non-Gulf Arabs and Asians, than on citizens. The 
Government stated that it investigated all allegations of abuse and 
punished at least some of the offenders; however, in most cases the 
Government did not make either the findings of its investigations or 
punishments it imposed public.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of alleged torture 
during interrogation during the year.
    In February 2005 a citizen journalist claimed security officers 
beat him with sticks after he was arrested in January 2005 on charges 
of spreading news that harmed the national interest (see section 2.a.). 
In May 2005 six Islamic militants, whose leader died in custody (see 
section 1.a.), suspected of engaging in deadly gun battles with 
security forces, alleged they had been tortured and abused, including 
beatings to their backs and on their feet, while in police custody. In 
September 2005, a court-appointed, independent medical commission 
confirmed that the suspects had scars from beatings; however, it did 
not indicate the presumed cause or estimated date of the injuries. 
There were no public developments in the case by year's end.
    In March news sources reported that a police sergeant raped a 
Filipina woman, and that the policeman was remanded into custody 
pending results of an investigation.
    In 2004 three policemen were arrested for allegedly raping a female 
domestic employee of Asian origin at a police station and at another 
location. Police launched an investigation; however, there were no 
public developments at year's end.
    Defendants have the right to present evidence in court that they 
were mistreated during interrogation; however, the courts frequently 
dismissed abuse complaints because defendants were unable to provide 
physical evidence of abuse. Members of the security forces routinely 
concealed their identities during interrogation, complicating 
confirmation of abuse.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied, 
and some were poor.
    In its April 2005 report, the National Assembly's Human Rights 
Defense Committee (HRDC) reported severe overcrowding, poor sanitation, 
inadequate containment of infectious diseases, and lack of sufficient 
medical staff as common problems in the old prison complex.
    A new men's prison building reduced previously severe overcrowding 
conditions. The new facility met all international standards for 
prisons.
    There were reports that authorities mistreated prisoners and failed 
to prevent inmate-on-inmate violence. During the year foreigners at the 
deportation facility in Shuwaikh were incarcerated between 10 days and 
two months, on average, awaiting deportation. Some were held there for 
much longer periods, often due to delays in the court system or 
bureaucracy.
    The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs (MAIA) offered job skills 
and societal values training to inmates, and the Social Reform Society, 
an Islamist nongovernmental organization (NGO), provided drug 
rehabilitation programs for incarcerated Muslim addicts. Other NGOs, 
such as the Social Work Society, and religious leaders were allowed to 
run programs and visit prisoners.
    The Government permitted visits by independent human rights 
observers. In previous years, the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) had standard access to inmates in some categories, such 
as: Iraqi prisoners of war, bidoon (Arabic for ``without'' meaning 
``without citizenship'') (see section 5), citizens of states without 
diplomatic relations with the country, and a returned citizen detainee 
from Guantanamo (see section 4). During the year the Government did not 
prevent the ICRC, which maintains an office in the country, access to 
inmates. However, due to internal problems, the ICRC did not carry out 
prisoner monitoring during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions. In general police officers must obtain an arrest warrant 
from state prosecutors or a judge before making an arrest (see section 
1.f.), although in misdemeanor cases or if the police are in hot 
pursuit the arresting officer may issue them. There were credible 
reports of police arresting and detaining foreigners without a warrant, 
based on accusation by a third party.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police have sole 
responsibility for the enforcement of laws not related to national 
security. The Kuwait State Security oversees intelligence and national 
security-related matters. Both are under the purview of civilian 
authorities of the MOI. The military is responsible for external 
security.
    Overall, the police are effective in carrying out their core 
responsibilities. For instance, in October and November, they carried 
out a series of highly publicized raids to crack down on prostitution 
rings. However, there were reports that some police stations did not 
take the requests of complainants, especially foreigners, seriously and 
obstructed their access to the justice system.
    During the year there were credible reports of police corruption 
and abuse of detainees during interrogation (see section 1.c.). In 
April the HRDC demanded an answer from the interior minister as to what 
action had been taken against Criminal Investigation Department 
employees who allegedly tortured another MOI employee to pressure him 
to drop a case against a police officer. Unlike in the past, no 
security officials were relieved of their duties as a result of 
credible allegations of abuse of detainees during interrogation. In 
cases of alleged police abuse, the district chief investigator examines 
abuse allegations and refers worthy cases to the courts for trial. 
There were no reported government efforts during the year to reform the 
police or security forces.

    Arrest and Detention.--According to the penal code, suspected 
criminals may be held at a police station for up to four days without 
charge, during which time security officers may prevent lawyers and 
family members from visiting them. In such cases lawyers are permitted 
to attend legal proceedings but are not allowed to have direct contact 
with their clients. If charges are filed, prosecutors 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. Detainees were 
allowed prompt access to a lawyer of their choice after the initial 
four-day waiting period.
    Of the approximately 3,500 persons serving sentences or detained 
pending trial, approximately 150 were held in the ``state security 
ward'' on security grounds, including some held for collaborating with 
Iraq during the 1990-91 occupation. Arbitrarily lengthy detention 
before trial was a problem, and approximately 10 percent of the prison 
population consisted of pretrial detainees.

    Amnesty.--The emir issued an amnesty to 850 prisoners in February, 
some of whom were freed outright while others had their sentences 
reduced. The prisoners consisted of men and women, both citizens and 
noncitizens.

    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 of the judges were noncitizens who held 
one- to three-year renewable contracts. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 
may remove judges for cause but rarely does so. Foreign residents 
involved in legal disputes with citizens frequently claimed that the 
courts showed bias in favor of citizens.
    The secular court system tries both civil and criminal cases, all 
of which originate with the court of first instance, composed of a 
three-judge panel. Both defendants and plaintiffs may appeal a verdict 
to the high court of appeals, with a three-judge panel, which may rule 
on whether the law was applied properly as well as on the guilt or 
innocence of the defendant. High court of appeals decisions may be 
presented to the Court of Cassation, which conducts a limited, formal 
review of cases by five judges to determine only whether the law was 
applied properly. The emir has the constitutional authority to pardon 
or commute all sentences.
    Sunni and Shi'a Shari'a (Islamic law) courts have jurisdiction over 
family law cases for Muslims. Secular courts allow anyone to testify 
and consider male and female testimony equally; however, in the family 
courts the testimony of a man is equal to that of two women. The 
constitutional court has the authority to issue binding rulings 
concerning the constitutionality of laws and regulations. The court, 
whose members are senior judges from the civil judiciary, also rules in 
election disputes. The martial court convenes in the event the emir 
declares martial law. The law does not specifically provide for a 
military court or provide any guidelines for how such a court would 
operate. The military operates tribunals that can impose punishments 
for offenses within the military.

    Trial Procedures.--By law criminal trials are public unless a court 
or the Government decides that ``maintenance of public order'' or 
``preservation of public morals'' necessitates closed proceedings. 
There is no trial by jury.
    Defendants, who enjoy a presumption of innocence, have the right to 
confront their accusers and appeal verdicts. Defendants in felony cases 
are required by law 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. Virtually all 
indigent criminal defendants asked for and received free counsel, 
totaling approximately 15 referrals per day. Very few indigent civil 
and commercial plaintiffs requested this service. The law affords these 
protections to all citizens. Once the case went to trial, defendants 
and their attorneys had access to government-held evidence relevant to 
their cases.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, 
enforcement of rulings has been a significant problem. Individuals can 
bring suits against other individuals for a wide array of offenses. 
Administrative punishments in civil matters are available, such as bans 
on sponsoring foreign workers if the Government has evidence that a 
sponsor has violated the law. However, there were widespread, reliable 
reports that it was extremely difficult for those who have been awarded 
monetary compensation in courts to collect their awards.

    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 generally requires police to obtain a 
warrant to search both public and private property; however, it permits 
searches without warrant if alcohol or narcotics are suspected on the 
premises or if police are in pursuit of a suspect fleeing the scene of 
a crime. A warrant may be obtained from the state prosecutor or, in the 
case of searches of private property, from a judge (see section 1.d.). 
The security forces occasionally monitored the activities of persons 
and their communications.
    The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men 
and requires male citizens serving in the military to obtain government 
approval to marry foreign nationals. In practice the Government only 
offered nonbinding advice in such matters (see section 2.c.).
    When a bidoon resident applied for citizenship, the Government 
generally considered any security or criminal violations committed by 
his or her family members as a barrier to that resident getting 
citizenship.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and the press ``in accordance with the conditions and 
in the circumstances defined by law''; however, the Government 
restricted these rights in practice, and journalists and publishers 
practiced self-censorship.
    Individuals were able to criticize the Government freely in private 
and in informal gatherings. Individuals were able to criticize the 
Government in public gatherings as well, as long as they did not attack 
Islam, the emir, or the Crown Prince. Pointed criticism of ministers 
and other high-ranking government officials was widespread, and 
individuals were not subjected to punishments as a result.
    The country had five Arabic and three English-language daily 
newspapers, all of which were privately owned. The Government owned 
nine local radio and four television stations. A private satellite 
television news channel, Al-Rai, was affiliated with its sister 
company, Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper. International media outlets operated 
bureaus in the country. In May 2005 the Government permitted Qatar-
based Al-Jazeera to reopen its office after having closed the operation 
in 2002 for the channel's ``hostile'' stance toward the country and for 
security reasons.
    A large contingent of international media representatives generally 
covered the June parliamentary elections without restriction. During 
the elections the Government attempted to shut down several satellite 
channels that started broadcasting election-related programming in 
support of particular political blocs.
    Unlike in 2005 there were no reports of security forces arresting 
journalists during the year. Journalists practiced self-censorship, 
although the Government ended legal prepublication censorship in 1992.
    On March 6, parliament passed a new press and publications law, 
which most observers predicted would ease the process of licensing new 
newspapers and which moved some of the regulatory control of print 
media from the Ministry of Information to the courts. At the same time, 
the law kept many of the old law's prohibitions.
    The law prohibits the publication of material that criticizes 
Islam, the emir, the constitution, or the neutrality of the courts or 
public prosecution. It also forbids incitement to acts that will offend 
public morality. Revealing information about classified information or 
secret government communications is illegal, as is trying to undermine 
the country's currency, economic stability, or external relations 
through the media. Slandering or revealing the secrets of people or 
groups is also against the press and publications law. Depending on 
which provision of the law is broken, punishments range from one year 
imprisonment and a fine of $69,000 (20,000 dinars) for criticizing 
Islam to $1,725 (500 dinars) for less serious offenses. The law widened 
the scope of protection and strengthened the punishments for criticism 
of Islam. The court can impose administrative punishments also, 
including confiscation, closure, and withdrawal of licenses. Previously 
the minister of information imposed these punishments. The criminal law 
also contains an array of press-related charges, such as offense to 
religious sensibilities, public morality, and the ``basic convictions 
of the nation.''
    The law requires jail terms for journalists who defame religion 
(see section 2.c.). The law provides that any Muslim citizen may file 
criminal charges against an author whom a citizen believes to have 
defamed Islam, the ruling family, or public morals. Citizens often 
filed such charges for political reasons.
    Two journalists were jailed because of articles they wrote in daily 
newspapers. On May 15, Hamid Buyabis was imprisoned for having quoted 
direct criticism of the emir. On November 20, Khalid Obaysan al-Mutairi 
was imprisoned for writing an article that seemed to support Saddam 
Hussein as the legitimate leader of Iraq. Both journalists were 
released after only a day in jail. On November 18, a journalist was 
found guilty under the new press and publications law of questioning 
the independence of the jury. She was given a three-month suspended 
sentence and three years' probation. Numerous law suits were filed by 
citizens and government officials against local newspapers. The courts 
frequently ruled in favor of the newspapers.
    Satellite dishes were widely available and operated without 
restriction. However, the MOI censored all books, films, periodicals, 
videotapes, and other imported publications deemed morally offensive. 
The MOI censored media for political content and did not grant licenses 
to political magazines. The MOI controlled the publication and 
distribution of all informational materials.
    According to the new press and publications law, publishers must 
obtain an operating license from the MOI to begin publishing a 
newspaper. If the MOI refuses to grant the license, the publisher may 
appeal to the courts. Publishers may lose their license if their 
publications do not appear for three months in the case of a daily 
newspaper or six months in the case of a less-frequent publication, a 
stipulation preventing publishers from publishing sporadically. 
Individuals also must obtain permission from the MOI before publishing 
any printed material, including brochures and wall posters.
    The MOI's Technical Compilations Department-Cinema Censorship 
Section censored movies shown in theaters based on objectionable 
content such as sexual scenes, including kissing; extreme violence; and 
profanity.

    Internet Freedom.--Ministry of Communications officials reported in 
October that there were some 200,000 Internet subscribers and that the 
total number of users was approximately 700,000. Since 2005 the 
Ministry of Communications (MOC) has blocked Web sites that the 
Government considered to ``incite terrorism and instability.'' The 
Government required Internet service providers to block some political 
sites and Web pages deemed immoral. Internet cafe owners were obligated 
to obtain the names and civil identification numbers of customers and 
to submit the information to the MOC upon request.
    During the year the Government blocked several Web sites. For 
example, it closed down a citizen's website that had criticized the 
emir.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law provides for freedom 
of opinion and of research; however, academic freedom was limited by 
self censorship, and academics were legally prohibited from criticizing 
the emir or Islam. On April 24, an opposition journalist was prevented 
by the Government from delivering a talk on a university campus with no 
explanation.
    The Ministry of Information reserved the right to approve or reject 
public events. It rejected events if it deems the political or moral 
character of the event inappropriate. The ministry reported that it 
rejected many applications for events, but did not release the names of 
these events. Some hotels and performance halls displayed increased 
hesitance to host musical functions because of what they perceived as a 
rise in the power of cultural conservatives. The Ministry of Education 
(MOE) canceled all graduation parties and high school dances because it 
deemed a singer's performance at one such party inappropriate.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly. A 1979 law on 
public gatherings restricted this right in practice, however, by 
requiring groups to apply for a permit from the MOI in order to hold a 
public gathering of more than 20 people. The Government issued such 
permits routinely. On May 1, the Court of Cassation struck down the 
public gatherings law as unconstitutional in reviewing a case in which 
two lawyers held a meeting to criticize the Government. Gathering 
organizers still must inform the ministry of their plans, but they no 
longer need permission. The law also protects diwaniyas (informal 
weekly social and political gatherings). Many adult male citizens, 
including members of the Government and of the National Assembly, and 
increasing numbers of female citizens hosted or attended diwaniyas to 
discuss current events. The diwaniya system provided an important forum 
for public debate on economic, political, and social issues. Women also 
held diwaniyas of their own, but such diwaniyas were uncommon; a few 
diwaniyas were open to both sexes.
    There were orderly public demonstrations during the year, and the 
police either did not intervene or acted appropriately to contain the 
demonstrations. In July and August, several demonstrations protested 
Israel's actions in Lebanon. The police maintained order and responded 
appropriately, including during one incident when protesters crossed 
police barriers. Throughout the year numerous peaceful demonstrations 
took place in front of the National Assembly and in other prominent 
places to support reducing the number of electoral districts. There 
were no serious violent incidents or cases of inappropriate 
intervention by the police during these events.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government restricted this right in practice. 
The law prohibits associations from engaging in political activities. 
The Government refused to recognize political parties; however, several 
unofficial parliamentary blocs existed and were active in the National 
Assembly (see section 3).
    The Government used its power to license associations as a means of 
political control. There were 72 officially licensed NGOs in the 
country, including a bar association, professional groups, and 
scientific bodies. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) 
licensed seven NGOs during the year compared with 19 the year before 
and only one in 2004. There were 149 NGOs pending licensing by the 
MOSAL; many had been waiting years for approval.
    The 45 NGOs licensed prior to 2004 continued to receive an annual 
government subsidy of $41,400 (12,000 dinars) for their operating 
expenses, including travel to international conferences. Newly licensed 
NGOs, however, do not receive financial assistance. MOSAL rejected some 
license requests on the grounds that established NGOs already provided 
services similar to those proposed by the petitioners. MOSAL also can 
reject an NGO's application if it deems that the NGO does not provide a 
public service. The minister has discretion to change a proposed NGO's 
name prior to licensing, and sometimes did so on the grounds that the 
name was too close to that of an already existing NGO. Members of 
licensed NGOs must obtain permission from MOSAL to attend international 
conferences as official representatives of licensed NGOs (see sections 
2.d. and 4).
    There were hundreds of unlicensed civic groups, clubs, and 
unofficial NGOs in the country. These unofficial associations did not 
receive government subsidies and had no legal status.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion; however, the Government limited this right. The constitution 
protects the freedom to practice religion in accordance with 
established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public 
policy or morals. The constitution declares that Islam is the state 
religion and that Shari'a is ``a main source of legislation.'' Non-
Muslim religious groups unanimously reported that freedom of belief is 
respected, but non-Muslim religious organizations had much more 
difficulty operating than Muslim ones. Shi'a faced some disadvantages 
in comparison with Sunnis.
    The MAIA has official responsibility for overseeing religious 
affairs. Many religious groups gathered informally for worship without 
societal or governmental interference. Officially recognized Christian 
churches must deal with a variety of governmental entities, including 
MOSAL (for visas and residence permits for clergy and other staff) and 
the local municipality (for building permits). While reportedly there 
was no official government ``list'' of recognized churches, seven 
Christian churches had some type of official recognition enabling them 
to operate openly. These churches--Anglican, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic 
Orthodox, Greek Catholic (Melkite), Greek Orthodox, National 
Evangelical (Protestant), and Roman Catholic--were allowed by MOSAL to 
have resident visas for expatriate staff.
    Four denominations were widely understood to benefit from full 
government recognition and were allowed to operate compounds officially 
designated as churches: Anglican, Coptic Orthodox, National 
Evangelical, and Roman Catholic (including Latin Catholic, Maronite, 
and other groups). However, there were quotas on the number of clergy 
and staff they could bring into the country, which some churches found 
sufficient and others found insufficient. Most existing facilities were 
inadequate to serve their respective communities.
    Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran, such as Baha'is, 
Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs, may not operate official places of 
worship, but they were allowed to worship in their homes without 
government interference.
    Most Christian groups have found it impossible to build new 
churches to serve the ever-growing community of expatriate Christians 
in the country--who number over 300,000. The Greek Catholic (Melkite) 
Church went through a protracted struggle with the Municipal Council to 
secure a piece of land on which to build a new church. After it 
received an initial offer in December 2005, the Municipal Council 
eventually denied its request on July 8. The debate within the 
Council's technical committee left little doubt that the problem was 
more religious than technical. The issue caused a number of prominent 
parliamentarians and religious figures to vociferously condemn the idea 
of building more churches in the country.
    Shi'a complained of the difficulty of obtaining licenses for 
mosques. Whereas Shi'as were estimated at approximately 30 percent of 
the population, there were fewer than 40 Shi'a mosques and over 1,000 
Sunni mosques. The MAIA said that it will license and pay for Shi'a 
mosques, but also wants to control the religious donations paid by 
Shi'as. Shi'as have resisted this requirement. According to the MAIA, 
the Shi'a preferred to practice their religion in their husseiniyas 
(religious meeting places for Shi'a) in order to avoid government 
interference. The MAIA also said that new residential areas in the 
country will all be allocated Shi'a mosques. Shi'a Muslims have not 
been able to set up an institution for training clergy.
    Muslims who wished to convert from Islam to another religion faced 
intense societal pressure and generally had to hide their new religious 
affiliation.
    The Government prohibited non-Muslim missionaries from 
proselytizing to Muslims, although they may serve non-Muslim 
congregations. The Islamic Presentation Committee, under the authority 
of the MAIA, actively proselytized to non-Muslims.
    Islamic religious instruction is mandatory in all government 
schools and in any private school that has one or more Muslim students. 
The law prohibits organized religious education other than Islam; 
however, in practice the Government allowed non-Muslim religious 
instruction as long as it was assured that no Muslim students were 
taking part in the education. The Government did not try to interfere 
with religious instruction inside private homes. Government inspectors 
reportedly visited public and private schools outside church compounds 
periodically to ensure that no religious teaching other than Islam took 
place. Government inspectors monitored religious worship services for 
possible antigovernment, extremist, or proselytizing rhetoric.
    One church petitioned the Government to license its school. After 
going through a two-year process in which the school passed all the 
technical requirements for licensing, the Municipal Council blocked its 
request on April 5. Credible reports of the Committee's discussion of 
the school made clear that the decision not to accredit the school was 
religiously based.
    The Government does not permit the establishment of non-Islamic 
religious publishing companies. A private company, the Book House 
Company Ltd., was permitted to import a significant number of Bibles 
and other Christian religious materials, including videotapes and 
compact discs, for use solely by government-recognized church 
congregations. The Book House Company Ltd. was the only company that 
had an import license to bring in such materials, which requires 
approval by government censors. The company supplied only bookstores 
operated within the Christian compounds.
    In April the Government banned 18 books from being displayed at an 
Islamic book festival organized by the Social Reform Society, a 
religiously conservative NGO affiliated with the Kuwaiti Muslim 
Brotherhood. The banned books were authored by or contained the 
writings of individuals associated with the Wahhabi/Salafi movement in 
Islam.
    Bidoon Arabs faced difficulty in obtaining travel documents, which 
made it difficult for them to participate in the hajj (pilgrimage). The 
Government declared that it would facilitate the obtaining of travel 
documents by bidoon, but whether these declarations had a tangible 
effect remained unclear. The Government announced it would allow 1,250 
bidoon to make the hajj, but in November it declared that Saudi Arabia 
had reduced the number it would allow to 500.
    A 1980 law prohibits the naturalization of non-Muslims; however, 
citizens who were Christians before 1980 were allowed to transmit their 
citizenship to their descendents.
    By law a non-Muslim man must convert to Islam when he marries a 
Muslim woman. The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non 
Muslim men (see section 1.f.). A non-Muslim woman is not required by 
law to convert to Islam to marry a Muslim man. In practice, however, 
many non-Muslim women faced tremendous economic and societal pressure 
to convert. Failure to convert may mean that, should the couple later 
divorce, the Muslim father would be granted custody of any children. 
Failure to convert may also result in a wife not being eligible to 
inherit her husband's property or to be naturalized.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Shi'a were free to worship 
without government interference; however, the Shi'a minority remained 
disadvantaged in the provision of mosques, access to Shi'a religious 
education, and representation in higher levels of the Government.
    There were no facilities in the country to educate Shi'a imams. The 
MOE reviewed a Shi'a proposal to establish a private college to train 
Shi'a clerics in the country rather than in Iran, Iraq, or Syria; 
however, no action had been taken by year's end. In January 2005 a 
Shi'a leader called on the MOE to remove references declaring Shi'a as 
nonbelievers from high school Islamic education textbooks, which are 
based on the Sunni interpretation of Islam. A parliamentary committee 
was formed to look into the issue but no action was taken by year's 
end.
    During the year the Government did not provide permits for Shi'a to 
reenact the martyrdom of Husayn, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, on 
the occasion of Ashura. However, the Government did not interfere with 
reenactments and provided police protection for Shi'a celebrations and 
marches. This was a change from the previous year when the Government 
provided police protection for Ashura celebrations but did not permit 
martyrdom reenactments. In 2004, the Government allowed Shi'a to 
reenact the martyrdom of Husayn and provided police protection.
    While discrimination based on religion reportedly occurred on a 
personal level, most observers agreed that it was not widespread. 
Sunni-Shi'a relations are good overall and while tensions from regional 
conflicts led to increased attention to the issue, few if any tangible 
problems resulted. However, there was institutionalized discrimination 
against Shi'a. Some Shi'a reported that they had been passed over for 
promotions and suspected their religious affiliation was the reason. 
Shi'a were underrepresented in certain branches of the military and 
security apparatuses.
    A few Muslim converts to Christianity reported harassment and 
discrimination by employers. There was a perception among some domestic 
employees and members of the unskilled labor force that there would be 
better treatment from employers as well as from society as a whole if 
they converted to Islam; however, others did not see conversion to 
Islam as a factor in this regard.
    The law prohibits organized religious education for religious 
groups other than Islam, although this law was not enforced rigidly. 
Informal religious instruction occurred inside private homes and on 
church compounds without government interference; however, there were 
reports that government inspectors from the Ministry of Awqaf and 
Islamic Affairs periodically visited public and private schools outside 
of church compounds to ensure that religious teaching other than Islam 
did not take place.
    There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts sponsored by or endorsed 
by the Government. Unofficial anti-Semitic commentary from 
parliamentarians, the media, and from mosque preachers did occur. The 
Government took no action to enact laws relating to the protection of 
the rights to religious freedom of Jews. There were no known Jewish 
citizens and very few expatriates. There had been past examples of 
anti-Semitic rhetoric in government-sponsored education curricula, 
specifically in reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
    The MAIA promoted its ``moderation'' project, which aims to 
discourage extremism among Muslims and improve the image of Muslims 
among non-Muslims. The moderation project's activities during the year 
included conferences in the country and abroad, as well as training 
throughout the year for imams. Special moderation activities were also 
carried out by the Government in some secondary schools.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights; 
however, the Government placed some limits on freedom of movement in 
practice. Citizens have the right to travel freely within the country 
and to change their residence and workplace as desired.
    Unmarried women must be 21 years of age or older to obtain a 
passport and travel abroad without permission of a male relative. 
Married women must obtain their husbands' permission to apply for a 
passport. A married woman with a passport does not need her husband's 
permission to travel. Immigration authorities, at the husband's 
request, may prevent her departure from the country by a 24-hour travel 
ban, after which a court order is required to prevent the wife from 
leaving the country. In practice, however, many travel bans were issued 
without court order, effectively preventing citizens and foreigners 
from departing.
    All minor children under 21 years of age require their father's 
permission to travel outside the country.
    The law permits the Government to place a travel ban on any citizen 
or foreigner who has a legal case pending before the courts. The law 
also permits any citizen to petition authorities to place a travel ban 
against any other person suspected of violating local law. In practice 
this resulted in citizens and foreigners being prevented from departing 
the country without investigation or a legal case going before a court 
of law. Persons who believe a travel ban has been issued against them 
can bring a civil suit against the person who initiated the travel ban 
request.
    Although illegal, many citizen employers routinely confiscated the 
travel documents of foreign employees, forcing them to remain in the 
country against their will. No government effort prevented employers 
from engaging in this practice.
    Members of licensed NGOs must obtain government approval to attend 
international conferences as NGO representatives (see sections 2.b. and 
4). The Government severely restricted the ability of its bidoon 
population to travel abroad (see section 5). However, the Government 
permitted some bidoon to travel to Saudi Arabia during the year for the 
annual hajj. In accordance with the law, the MOI issued limited numbers 
of bidoon a single-use passport for hajj travel.
    The law prohibits the deportation or forced exile of citizens, and 
there were no reports of such practices during the year. The penal code 
stipulates that noncitizens convicted of felonies be deported after 
finishing their jail terms. Under this provision, citizens can lose 
their citizenship if sentenced for a felony during the first 10 years 
of obtaining citizenship, discharged from a public job for ``acts 
against integrity'' during the first 10 years after obtaining 
citizenship, or determined to have established residence in a foreign 
country and have joined an authority designed to undermine the country.
    Bidoon residents who were able to obtain travel documents 
surrendered these documents on their return to the country from abroad. 
Once they wished to travel again outside the country, they had to 
obtain permission from the MOI to collect their passports.
    The law says that the state ``grants'' citizenship, rather than 
citizens inherently having a right to it. Therefore, the state can 
revoke citizenship as well. Furthermore, the law states that issues of 
citizenship cannot be appealed to a court of law. In practice 
revocation did not occur during the year and in the past occurred very 
infrequently, and only in political cases.

    Protection of Refugees.--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 refoulement, the return of persons to a 
country where they feared persecution. The Government did not grant 
refugee status or asylum. The law prohibits the extradition of 
political refugees. The Government stated that it did not deport 
persons who claimed to fear persecution in their home countries; 
however, it often kept such persons in detention rather than grant them 
permission to live and work in the country. The Government cooperated 
with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
    The Government did not permit the ICRC to verify whether deportees 
objected to returning to their countries of origin and detained those 
with objections until they either changed their minds or made 
alternative travel arrangements.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution states that ``The System of government in Kuwait 
shall be democratic, under which sovereignty resides in the people, the 
source of all powers.'' However, citizens did not have the right to 
change their government. The constitution stipulates that the country 
is a hereditary emirate, and that the emir will be a descendant of 
Mubarak Al-Sabah, the country's ruler from 1896 to 1915. The elected 
National Assembly must approve the emir's choice of crown prince (the 
future emir). If the assembly rejects the emir's nominee, the emir then 
submits three names from which the assembly must choose. The assembly 
may remove the emir from power if it declares him unfit. On January 24, 
the National Assembly exercised this power for the first time in the 
country's history.
    Under the law the emir holds executive power and shares legislative 
authority with the elected National Assembly. The emir appoints the 
Prime Minister who presides over a 16-member cabinet (Council of 
Ministers), whom the Prime Minister chooses in consultation with the 
emir. At least one of the cabinet members must be an elected member of 
parliament.
    The law empowers the emir to suspend the National Assembly's 
provisions and rule by decree in a state of emergency when martial law 
is declared. The constitution provides that cabinet members sit in the 
National Assembly and vote on legislation. There are 50 elected 
National Assembly members, each of whom serves a four-year term. The 
appointed cabinet members also serve as ex-officio members. The 
National Assembly must approve all legislation. If the emir promulgates 
a law while the assembly is not in session, it must be approved when 
the assembly returns to work.
    Members regularly require ministers to appear before the full 
National Assembly for formal inquiries, known as ``grillings,'' when 
MPs are dissatisfied with a ministry's performance. In the past 
pressure exerted by the National Assembly, including through votes of 
no confidence, led to the resignation or removal of ministers. On 
December 18, the parliament was scheduled to grill the Minister of 
Information, who resigned at the last minute rather than enduring the 
ordeal.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On May 21, the emir 
exercised his constitutional right to dissolve the National Assembly. 
The move came after the assembly reached an impasse over reducing the 
number of electoral districts from 25 to five. According to the 
constitution, the emir must call elections within two months of the 
dissolution, and he set elections for June 29.
    In order to vote in National Assembly elections, citizens must be 
at least 21 years of age, have been citizens for at least 20 years, and 
not be members of the armed forces, police, or other MOI uniformed 
personnel with the exception of the National Guard. Candidates must be 
citizens who read and write Arabic and who are at least 30 years old.
    The June 29 parliamentary elections were the first national 
elections in which women had the right to vote and run for office. The 
2005 law granting women full political rights requires women to conduct 
themselves according to the stipulations of Shari'a when participating 
in political activities. This formulation was not used to limit women's 
rights to vote or run in elections during the year. There were no 
political parties, and there were reports of vote-buying by the 
Government and the opposition. Nonetheless, local observers and the 
press considered the elections generally free and fair since there was 
genuine competition for seats and no significant reports of 
irregularities in voting procedures or counting. The political blocs 
opposing the Government increased their representation from 29 to 34 
seats.
    Approximately 30,000 citizens were not allowed to vote because they 
lived outside of the official boundaries of the electoral districts. 
Citizens from most branches of the military and police were also barred 
from voting, a primary reason for the large discrepancy between the 
number of male and female voters. The electorate consisted of 340,248 
citizens, 57 percent of whom were women. A total 249 candidates, 
including 27 women, competed for the 50 seats. Media sources reported 
that 66 percent of registered voters voted, including 58 percent of 
eligible female voters. Women were registered to vote automatically, 
therefore all eligible women voters were registered.
    Thirty-two female candidates entered the race. A number withdrew 
for various reasons (as did many male candidates), but 27 remained on 
the ballot. None won a seat in parliament. Elections had been 
previously scheduled for the fall of 2007. The change in dates meant 
candidates had one month to organize their campaigns. Many cited this 
as a factor that disadvantaged women's chances since they had less 
experience campaigning than men. Several women faced harassment. One 
candidate's campaign posters were defaced. Another candidate withdrew 
as a result of death threats, reportedly from members of her own tribe. 
Some female candidates complained that election officials treated them 
dismissively. Overall, however, women were able to compete freely.
    Female voters also influenced the campaign process. Male 
candidates, even those who had voted against female suffrage, held 
special rallies for female voters. Issues perceived as important to 
women, such as education and the bidoon, received more attention than 
they might otherwise have received. Women volunteered as campaign 
workers at all levels for both male and female candidates. Some men 
reportedly instructed their female relatives to vote for particular 
candidates, although voting was by secret ballot.
    In a special April 4 election for a seat on the Municipal Council, 
women voted and ran for the first time in the country's electoral 
history. The council, with a four-year term, is composed of 16 members, 
10 popularly elected and six appointed by the Government. It wields 
extensive power in the country because it controls land allocation for 
public and private uses. Two female candidates ran, with one placing 
second. Media reports put female turnout at 29 percent, compared with 
the overall turnout of 38 percent. Women faced some difficulty in 
breaking social taboos, but there were no direct barriers to their 
participation in the election. The winning candidate was criticized for 
holding a pre-election primary, which is illegal; however, according to 
local observers and the press, the election was considered free and 
fair.
    There is an informal ban on political parties, though there is no 
law permitting or prohibiting their formation. Nevertheless, several 
well-organized and unofficial blocs, acting much like political 
parties, existed and were active in the National Assembly elections. 
Assembly candidates must nominate themselves as individuals and may run 
for election in any of the country's electoral districts. During the 
June elections, there were 25 electoral districts and the top two 
finishers in each constituency were elected in single-round balloting. 
On July 17, the National Assembly passed a law to reduce the number of 
electoral districts from 25 to five in order to reduce the opportunity 
for vote-buying. Under the new law each voter will choose up to four 
candidates and the top 10 vote getters from each district will win 
seats in parliament.
    In January 2005, Salafi Islamist leaders, an opposition faction, 
held a press conference announcing the establishment of a political 
party, Hizb al-Ummah (The Nation's Party). In February 2005 in response 
to the group's pronouncement, the public prosecutor charged all the 
party's leaders with plotting to overthrow the Government and violating 
association and press laws, crimes carrying a maximum sentence of 15 
years in prison. On May 1, the Court of Cassation nullified the public 
gatherings law, and the party's leaders were acquitted of the charges 
stemming from that law.
    The two women on the Municipal Council were appointed in June 2005. 
On July 10, the Prime Minister appointed Maasouma al-Mubarak as 
minister of communications. She became the first female minister in 
June 2005 when she was appointed minister of planning and minister of 
state for administrative development. Women also held some relatively 
senior nonpolitical positions within certain ministries.
    Minister of Communications al-Mubarak is one of two Shi'as 
represented in the 16-member cabinet appointed in July, which is the 
same number as in the previous cabinet. Of 50 elected National Assembly 
members, four were Shi'a, as opposed to five in the previous assembly.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--During the year corruption 
at the national level by citizens and noncitizens was a problem. There 
was widespread perception of corruption in the executive, legislative, 
and, to a lesser extent, judicial branches. Combating corruption was 
the main theme of the June parliamentary elections.
    MOSAL, which issues permits necessary for many business projects 
such as importing foreign workers, forbade candidates from getting 
permits, fearing that they would be used as favors to be distributed in 
exchange for votes. On July 17, the National Assembly reduced the 
number of electoral districts because the large number of small 
districts led to widespread complaints that MPs were able to buy enough 
votes to stay in parliament and that their positions in parliament 
allowed them access to lucrative financial opportunities. MOSAL and the 
MOI discovered numerous cases during the year of ministry employees 
forging documents enabling the importation of foreign workers. Police 
arrested numerous individuals, launched investigations, and announced 
they would strengthen measures to prohibit further occurrences of 
document fraud. MOSAL also closed down companies who were illegally 
importing workers.
    In March the Government granted a license to the Kuwait 
Transparency Society, an NGO focused on combating corruption. In 
February, a coalition of 11 local NGOs formed the Transparency and 
Reform Alliance, which promised to fight corruption.
    The law provides for public access to unclassified government 
information by citizens and noncitizens alike. The Government enforced 
this law.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The law permits the existence of NGOs; however, the Government 
continued to deny licenses to some NGOs. NGOs may not engage in overtly 
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 Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) and the 
Kuwaiti Society for Fundamental Human Rights (KSFHR). The KHRS, which 
operated since the early 1990s and received its official license in 
2004, produced an annual report on human rights in the country in the 
past, sporadically published a magazine, and met with senior government 
officials. The KSFHR came into existence in 2005. It aims to approach 
human rights from an Islamic perspective. Its leaders have spoken out 
on human rights issues such as the treatment of foreign workers and the 
bidoon, but it had not published anything other than a booklet 
describing the organization and had not conducted any activities. Other 
local licensed NGOs devoted to specific groups of people--such as 
women, children, foreign workers, prisoners, persons with 
disabilities--are permitted to work without government interference. 
Also, an unknown number of local unlicensed human rights groups 
operated without government restriction during the year.
    The Government permits international human rights organizations to 
visit the country and establish offices, although none operated in the 
country.
    The Government has cooperated fully in the work of the UN Special 
Rapporteurs for Iran and Iraq and the high-level representative of the 
secretary general on the issue of its citizens missing in Iraq since 
the end of the Gulf War. The Government permitted visits by 
international governmental organizations, but none visited during the 
year except the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Regional 
Director for Arab States. The ILO operated a local office in the 
country. In July the Arab Labor Organization visited the country and 
criticized the Government for insufficient protection of child workers, 
noting concerns about working hours, safety, and remuneration.
    The National Assembly's Human Rights Defense Committee is an 
advisory body. Its work was disrupted by other political events during 
the year. However, on July 15, it established for the first time an 
expatriate workers' affairs subcommittee.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, disability, 
or language; however, in practice the Government did not uniformly or 
consistently enforce laws against discrimination. A number of laws and 
regulations discriminated against women, noncitizens, and domestic 
workers.

    Women.--Violence against women continued to be a serious and 
overlooked problem. The law does not specifically prohibit domestic 
violence, although cases are tried as assault. Each of the country's 83 
police stations reportedly received weekly complaints of domestic 
abuse. The courts have found husbands guilty of spousal abuse; however, 
most domestic abuse cases were not reported, especially outside of the 
capital. Abusive husbands, if convicted, rarely faced severe penalties, 
and there was no criminalization of spousal rape.
    There are no shelters or hot lines for victims of domestic 
violence. Some noncitizen women married to citizens reported domestic 
abuse and inaction or discrimination by police during the year. By law 
a victim of domestic violence may file a complaint with the police and 
request that formal charges be brought against the abuser. In practice, 
however, even with documented evidence of the abuse such as eyewitness 
accounts, hospital reports, and social worker testimony, police 
officials rarely took into custody perpetrators of domestic violence. 
An abused woman may petition for divorce based on injury, but the law 
does not provide 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 suffered. 
Individuals reportedly bribed police officials to ignore charges of 
domestic abuse.
    The law provides that citizens found guilty of crimes that violate 
moral integrity, such as rape or incest, are forbidden from public 
employment. However, rape and sexual assault remained serious problems, 
particularly for domestic servants and other foreign workers. Local 
newspapers highlighted numerous rape and sexual assault incidents 
during the year, mostly against female expatriates.
    The police occasionally arrested rapists, and several were tried 
and convicted during the year; however, laws against rape were not 
always enforced effectively. Victims reported that some police stations 
and hospitals handled their cases in a professional way, but that many 
did not. No new developments in the 2005 cases of alleged rape of two 
female medical personnel and a foreign maid were made public.
    Honor crimes are prohibited; however, article 153 of the penal code 
reduces penalties for these crimes to misdemeanors. The maximum 
sentence is three years in prison. During the year there were at least 
three reported cases of honor crimes. The perpetrators of two of the 
three crimes were convicted and given prison sentences. The criminal 
court pursued a case during the year against three brothers who were 
charged several years previously with killing their sister because of 
their suspicions about her behavior. The case was still pending at 
year's end. The courts sentenced two men to seven and 10 years, 
respectively, for killing their daughters.
    The police actively enforced laws against pandering and 
prostitution, with arrests reported regularly. Prostitutes generally 
were deported to their countries of origin; some, however, were 
released after signing a pledge of good conduct. Pimps received stiff 
jail terms. Some unemployed, runaway foreign domestic workers were 
recruited or kidnapped into prostitution (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The country is a destination for trafficked women, and instances of 
trafficking were reported during the year (see section 5, Trafficking).
    There is no specific law that addresses sexual harassment. Human 
rights groups characterized sexual harassment against women in the 
workplace as a pervasive but unreported problem.
    Women continued to experience legal, economic, and social 
discrimination. Shari'a discriminates against women in judicial 
proceedings, freedom of movement, and marriage (see sections 1.e., 
1.f., 2.d., and 2.c.). Inheritance is governed by Shari'a, which 
differs according to the branch of Islam. In the absence of a direct 
male heir, Shi'a women may inherit all property, while Sunni women 
inherit only a portion, with the balance divided among brothers, 
uncles, and male cousins of the deceased. Citizen families (a 
``family'' must always include a male) are entitled to receive either a 
house or a plot of land and a $240,400 (70,000 dinars) interest-free 
government loan (``housing allowance'') to purchase a house. The 
Government registers the house in the names of both the husband and the 
wife. However, in case of divorce, a female citizen loses her right to 
the house regardless of any payments she may have made on the loan. She 
may continue to reside in the house if she has custody of any minor 
children resulting from the marriage, but she must move once the 
children reach age 18. A divorced single mother and her minor children 
or a female citizen married to a noncitizen cannot, by law, qualify for 
the Government housing allowance.
    The law provides for female ``remuneration equal to that of a man 
provided she does the same work.'' The law prohibits women from working 
in ``dangerous industries'' and trades ``harmful'' to health. Educated 
women maintained that the conservative nature of society limited career 
opportunities. An estimated 40 percent of female citizens of working 
age were employed. A few women have been appointed to senior positions 
in the Government and the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, 
including one female minister and two municipal council members.
    The law discriminates against female citizens married to noncitizen 
men. These women, unlike male citizens, are not entitled to government 
housing subsidies and are required by law to pay annual residence fees 
of $684 (200 dinars) for their husbands and children. The law does not 
recognize marriage as the basis for granting residency to noncitizen 
husbands. Instead the law grants residency only if the husband is 
employed. By contrast, male citizens married to noncitizen women do not 
have to pay residency fees for their spouses, and their spouses' right 
to residency derives from marriage. Noncitizen women can obtain 
citizenship from their husbands, but citizen women cannot pass 
citizenship to their noncitizen husbands or their children.
    The law requires that classes at all universities, private and 
public, be segregated by gender. Public universities enforced this law 
more rigorously than private universities.
    Polygamy is legal but more common among tribal elements of the 
population.

    Children.--The Government is generally committed to the rights and 
welfare of citizen children for whom education is free through the 
university level. Primary and secondary education are compulsory and 
universal. The MOE estimated primary enrollment at 89 percent for the 
2004-05 academic year. Both boys and girls had equal access to the same 
quality of education.
    The Government provides free healthcare and a variety of other 
services to citizen children; noncitizen children must pay a small fee 
to be admitted into a health facility and pay additional fees for 
specialized care. Government hospitals made certain medicines available 
to citizens but would not dispense them to noncitizens. Both boys and 
girls had access to the same quality of medical treatment.
    There was no societal pattern of child abuse, although there were 
isolated instances.
    Citizen girls younger than 15, the legal age, continued to marry 
within some tribal groups. The MOJ estimated the incidence of underage 
marriage ranged from 2 to 3 percent of total marriages. The Government 
attempted to educate the rural community via the MAIA and through imams 
in local mosques.
    Underage Asian girls worked as domestic servants (see section 
6.d.).
    In October 2005, the Government banned the use of underage camel 
jockeys. Unlike in the previous year, there were no credible reports of 
underage camel jockeys during the year.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons, and there were reports that persons were 
trafficked to the country. Laws against coercion, forced labor, 
kidnapping, prostitution, rape, slavery, and other acts can be used to 
prosecute trafficking crimes. In March the parliament ratified the UN 
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. On 
October 1, the MOI put into effect a standardized domestic labor 
contract. The contract, which specifies a minimum wage and forbids 
passing fees on to workers, must be signed by the worker, the Kuwaiti 
recruitment agency, and the employer. Violators can be prosecuted in a 
court of law and the Domestic Workers Agency (DWA) can also apply 
administrative punishments--such as a ban on employment of domestic 
workers--on those who violate the contract.
    Trafficking is a serious problem. Victims were trafficked primarily 
from South and East Asia--especially India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, 
Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia--although smaller numbers 
from other countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea also reportedly were 
trafficked.
    The primary purpose of trafficking was to provide cheap labor. Some 
foreign workers were abused by their employers or coerced into 
situations of debt bondage or involuntary servitude. Instances of 
laborers associated with visa trading schemes were reported during the 
year. Some women were trafficked into prostitution. The most prevalent 
cases involved female domestic laborers, but uneducated workers in 
unskilled service jobs were also victims of trafficking. There were 
reports of foreign workers under age 18 being employed in homes in the 
country, but most victims were adults. Those at highest risk for 
trafficking tended to be less educated, to come from countries with a 
relatively undeveloped set of controls for monitoring the flow of 
workers from the country, and to work in domestic or menial labor.
    Many domestic workers reported that they were compelled to work 
more than their agreement provided for, or that they were not allowed 
to leave their houses. One of the most common complaints was lack of 
payment.
    The physical or sexual abuse of foreign women working as domestic 
servants was a problem. Some employers physically abused foreign women 
working as domestic servants, and despite economic and social 
difficulties for a domestic servant to lodge a complaint, these women 
continued to report such abuse. The local press devoted considerable 
attention to the problem, and both the police and courts took action 
against employers when presented with evidence of serious abuse. 
Occasionally domestic workers were charged with assaulting or otherwise 
harming their employers; in such cases the workers claimed that they 
acted in response to physical abuse or poor working conditions.
    There were dozens of reports of domestic workers allegedly 
committing or attempting suicide because of desperation over poor 
working conditions or abuse. Numerous prostitution rings were uncovered 
by police, in which women were being held captive. In some cases women 
were working illegally because the working conditions with their legal 
sponsors were unacceptable. They were then vulnerable to resorting to 
or being coerced into prostitution.
    The principal traffickers were labor recruitment agencies and 
sponsors (employers) of foreign workers. Both citizens and noncitizens 
were involved in trafficking. Officials reported that foreign embassies 
were involved in hiring out the workers who came to embassy shelters 
because they were being harassed or were not receiving their salaries.
    The primary method used to obtain and transport victims was 
employers offering valid contracts to workers and then not honoring 
those contracts. There were reports that workers were given new 
contracts at lower salaries than the ones they signed in their 
countries, or that multiple fees were deducted from their salaries. 
Nondomestic laborers had their salaries automatically deposited in 
their bank accounts. Some companies reportedly kept workers' cash cards 
and withdrew part of the money so that the salary deposit looked 
sufficient but the worker actually received a smaller amount. The 
workers found it difficult to leave these situations for several 
reasons: employers frequently withheld the passports of their workers, 
making it difficult for them to travel; employees often paid exorbitant 
sums to come to the country and were in so much debt that they could 
not afford to return home; employers could file or threaten to file 
criminal charges against workers for absconding if the worker tried to 
leave a bad work situation. Workers had only limited ability to 
transfer from the sponsorship of one employer to another.
    Many traffickers, some citizens and some noncitizens, ``sold'' 
visas, often via ``sham'' companies. The trafficker would set up a 
business and get permission to import a certain number of foreign 
workers for that business. He or she would have an agent in a foreign 
country collect high fees from workers for the right to come to the 
country to work. When the workers arrived, they often found there was 
no work for them. In some cases, the employer would file an absconding 
charge or simply report that the employee was no longer employed. 
Victims were left without means of support and were thus vulnerable to 
trafficking, while the employer could then import more workers and 
charge them the same fees. In other cases, the workers knew that they 
were merely paying for sponsorship and that it was up to them to find 
work.
    Penalties for trafficking-related crimes range from fines and 
incarceration for assault and battery to life sentences for rape. 
During the year the courts made a number of convictions for crimes 
clearly related to trafficking: 258 people were convicted of importing 
workers without providing them with work, and there were 276 
convictions for illegal selling of residence permits to foreigners. The 
Government also took legal action in cases where trafficking may have 
been a factor: it reported 19,908 convictions during the year for 
violations of workers' rights, and MOSAL closed down 1,818 companies 
for violating the terms of their business licenses. Companies who trade 
in visas or otherwise abuse their privileges to import workers can be 
temporarily or permanently closed. Companies are required to keep a 
deposit with MOSAL so that if they are found to have not paid salaries, 
MOSAL can use the deposit to remunerate the worker.
    The Government put more emphasis on trying to resolve conflicts 
through mediation rather than prosecution. The DWA, which has perhaps 
the most direct role in rectifying cases of trafficking of domestic 
workers, has little enforcement power and therefore tries to convince 
the employer and employee to come to an informal agreement. The DWA is 
often able to broker solutions. As of October 1, with the 
implementation of the new standardized domestic labor contract, the DWA 
can blacklist employers to prevent them from importing more workers. 
Employees often feel pressured to accept less than what they are owed 
because they know that it can take a year or more to pursue their cases 
in court, and they generally will not be permitted to stay and work in 
the country during that time. Although domestic workers avoid courts 
due to the length of time cases take and due to their lack of knowledge 
of local legal structures, the courts have frequently ruled in favor of 
domestic workers who brought cases.
    The Government announced in August that it would forbid the 
transferring of a domestic worker from one sponsor to another, a policy 
designed to prevent the ``selling'' of domestic workers. The policy was 
cancelled almost immediately for further study in response to an outcry 
from employers and the huge increases in the fees paid for employment 
agencies to procure a domestic worker.
    The Government has an interministerial committee to deal with 
expatriate worker issues. The committee met several times during the 
year but did not take any actions that would have an effect on 
trafficking.
    During the year the Government was not asked to cooperate with 
international investigations nor to extradite citizens for trafficking-
related crimes.
    During the year, there were no specific reports of government or 
police involvement in trafficking.
    Runaway servants, including those alleging physical or sexual 
abuse, often sought shelter at their country's embassy pending 
repatriation or a change in employer (see sections 6.c. and 6.e.). Of 
an estimated 450--540,000 domestic servants in the country, an 
estimated 800 women were reported to be in informal shelters run by 
source country embassies on any given day during the year. One source 
country embassy reported that during the first 10 months of the year, 
2,600 domestic workers had stayed for one or more nights in the embassy 
shelter.
    The Government and NGOs took steps to assist trafficking victims. 
In December 2005 police arrested a bidoon on charges of enslaving a 
domestic worker. The man reportedly confessed to the crime, although 
the case had not been resolved at year's end. The Government 
occasionally paid for airline tickets or chartered planes to repatriate 
runaway or abused domestic servants when their employers refused to 
repatriate them. In 2004 some NGOs, such as KHRS and the Kuwait 
Friendship Society, also paid for return airline tickets or legal fees 
on behalf of runaway or abused domestics. An NGO and a legal firm 
offered free legal aid to domestic workers in embassy shelters.
    Employers often accused their runaway domestics of theft or other 
crimes to avoid furnishing tickets. In such cases the domestics often 
were deported without the compensation. The MOI blacklisted some 
delinquent employers from sponsoring new domestics, but some used 
personal connections to circumvent the prohibition.
    The MAIA initiated a public awareness project to inform domestic 
workers and their employers of the rights and responsibilities of both 
parties. The project's first public activity was a community meeting on 
May 15 to hear employers' and employees' ideas about problems relating 
to domestic workers. At year's end the program was in the information-
gathering stage, having nearly completed several studies on problems in 
the domestic labor sector.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and imposes penalties against 
employers who refrain from hiring persons with disabilities without 
reasonable cause. The law also mandates access to buildings for persons 
with disabilities. The Government generally enforced these provisions. 
There was no reported discrimination against persons with disabilities; 
however, noncitizens did not have access to government-operated 
shelters or receive stipends paid to citizens with disabilities, which 
covered transportation, housing, job training, and social welfare.
    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 
financial aid to the disabled, and facilitates the integration of the 
handicapped into schools, jobs, and other social institutions. The 
Government supervised and contributed to schools, and job and training 
programs that catered to people with special needs.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The legal status of tens of 
thousands of bidoon residents remained unresolved. The bidoon are 
people who have residency ties to the country, some persisting for 
generations and others for briefer periods, but who either lack or 
conceal documentation of their true nationality. The exact number of 
bidoon residents was unknown. The Executive Committee on Illegal 
Residents, an administrative body that is part of the MOI, is charged 
with dealing with bidoon affairs. It has files on 90,000 bidoon, but 
the total numbers are over 100,000, according to most estimates. A 2004 
government census, for instance, estimated 107,000 persons to be 
bidoon. Since the mid-1980s, the Government actively discriminated 
against the bidoon in areas such as education, employment, medical 
care, and mobility.
    A member of the royal family initiated a charitable fund in 2004 to 
pay for bidoon children to attend private schools; however, according 
to bidoon informants and activists, the fund was insufficient to cover 
the needs of many bidoon children. The bidoon also began to receive 
free health care. A partially government-funded program concluded 
contracts with several insurance companies to pay the fees for bidoon 
health services.
    Beginning in the mid-1980s, and especially after the country's 
liberation in 1991, the Government did not allow bidoon to work in most 
government jobs. The bidoon had freely worked in all government 
ministries before that period, with especially high concentrations in 
the Ministries of Interior and Defense. Some served in the nonofficer 
ranks of the armed forces, although bidoon enlistees are now barred 
from joining. The Government made it very difficult for bidoon to 
obtain official documents such as birth certificates, civil 
identification, driving licenses and marriage certificates, which made 
it difficult for many unregistered bidoon, particularly younger bidoon, 
to find employment. In March the Government allowed bidoon to renew 
their identity documents. Many bidoon had not been able to renew these 
cards in five or more years. Some bidoon complained that the card in 
itself did not allow the bidoon to work or obtain other documents and 
that issuing of the cards was simply a way for the Government to track 
them. Reports circulated early in the year that the Prime Minister 
ordered the easing of the difficult situation many bidoon face. By 
year's end it was not clear what effect these orders may have had. The 
Government did not issue travel documents to bidoon routinely, and if 
bidoon traveled abroad without documentation, they risked being barred 
from returning to the country without advance permission from 
immigration authorities. The children of male bidoon inherit their 
father's undetermined legal status, even if born to citizen mothers.
    Only bidoon registered by June 27, 2000, could begin the process 
under which they could be documented as citizens. According to this 
law, bidoon who were able to prove sufficient ties to the country (that 
is, their presence, or the presence of their forebears, in the country 
prior to 1965) were eligible to apply for citizenship directly. The 
Government maintained that the vast majority of the bidoon were 
concealing their true identities, and that most were citizens of Iraq, 
Saudi Arabia, and Iran who wanted to enjoy the generous social benefits 
offered to its citizens. The Government granted citizenship to 
approximately 1,769 bidoon during 2005, but only about 400 gained 
citizenship during the year. In recent years a total of 10,600 bidoon 
received citizenship. There were 89,779 bidoon citizenship requests 
pending.
    Many bidoon were unable to provide documentation proving sufficient 
ties to the country or present evidence of their original nationality, 
as they were truly stateless. Others--the Government claims 26 thousand 
over the past several years--disclosed their true nationalities and 
obtained passports from their countries of origin: Iraq, Iran, Syria, 
Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Once documented, bidoon are able to obtain 
residency permits and other official papers. However, bidoon who 
declare another nationality lose their chance for citizenship, as do 
their family members. During the year many bidoon were caught with 
forged passports from countries such as the Dominican Republic and 
Nigeria. They claimed they were from countries they had no connection 
to in order to facilitate getting documents and work.
    The political, economic, and long-term budgetary implications 
associated with extending citizenship, and the generous welfare 
benefits that come with it, to the equivalent of roughly 10 percent of 
the citizen population rendered the issue highly divisive. Some 
observers also note that tribal rivalries may also explain why some 
citizens oppose naturalization of the bidoon.
    There were no reports during the year of the Government deciding 
the nationality of any bidoon without a hearing. There continued to be 
reports of bidoon obtaining false documents in order to apply for 
citizenship.
    On July 12, the National Assembly formed a committee for bidoon 
affairs to address the bidoon issue. The committee did not take any 
specific actions although it issued recommendations in November to 
issue driving licenses, improve education and housing conditions, and 
increase employment rights for bidoon.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was discrimination 
against homosexuals in societal attitudes and legal issues. In February 
2005 police charged a group of 28 alleged homosexuals with creating a 
public disturbance after they met outside a fast-food restaurant. On 
October 27, police raided a party where homosexuals were allegedly 
celebrating a wedding. On December 10, the legislative committee of the 
National Assembly unanimously approved a law to impose a fine of $3,450 
(1,000 dinars) and/or one year's imprisonment for those imitating the 
opposite sex.
    Unmarried men faced housing discrimination based solely on marital 
status. Emiri decree 125 of 1992 prohibits single men from obtaining 
accommodation in many urban residential areas as determined by the 
Municipal Council. In September 2005 the Council of Ministers approved 
a plan to construct housing for noncitizen single males on the 
outskirts of the capital and remove them from urban residential areas. 
At year's end the Government had not completed the project. In April 
the Municipal Council sent teams to warn bachelors that they must move 
out of areas where families lived.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--With the notable exceptions of the 
country's approximately 450-540,000 domestic servants and an unknown 
number of maritime employees, the labor law provides that most workers 
have the right to join unions without previous authorization. Foreign 
laborers employed as domestics constitute one-third of the noncitizen 
workforce and are specifically excluded from the right to associate and 
organize. An estimated 80,000 persons, or 5 percent, of a total 
workforce of 1.6 million were organized into unions.
    For those workers who may join unions, the Government restricts the 
right of freedom of association to only one union per occupational 
trade and permits unions to establish only one federation, the Kuwait 
Trade Union Federation (KTUF), which is composed of 15 unions. The Bank 
Workers Union and the Kuwait Airways Workers Union were independent of 
the KTUF. The law stipulates that any new union must include at least 
100 workers, 15 of them citizens. Both the ILO and the International 
Trade Union Confederation have criticized this requirement because it 
discourages unions in sectors that employ few citizens, such as the 
construction industry and much of the private sector.
    The Government essentially treated workers' unions as parastatal 
organizations. After vetting and approval, MOSAL provides as much as 90 
percent of their budgets and may inspect the financial records of any 
union. The expanded unions mainly benefited citizen laborers employed 
in the public sector, while expatriate workers continued to face 
restrictions.
    The Government licensed no new unions during the year, compared 
with three during 2005 and 20 in 2004, including the Central Bank of 
Kuwait Laborers Union, Public Authority for Applied Education and 
Training Labor Union, and Public Environment Authority Laborers Union. 
At year's end there were 47 officially sanctioned workers' unions.
    June 30 statistics cited 1,534 million noncitizen laborers in the 
country, comprising 82 percent of the total workforce of 1,870 million. 
However, foreign workers constituted approximately 20 percent of KTUF 
members. The labor law discriminates against foreign workers by denying 
them union voting rights, barring them from leadership positions, and 
permitting them to join unions only after five years of residence, 
although the KTUF stated that this requirement was not widely enforced 
in practice.
    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. The emir also may dissolve a 
union by decree. By law the MOSAL is authorized to seize the assets of 
any dissolved union. The law subordinates the legal existence of the 
unions to the power of the state; however, no union was dissolved 
during the year. Several unions' applications for official recognition 
were denied.
    Unions may affiliate with international bodies. The KTUF applied 
for membership in the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 
in 2005 (the International Trade Union Confederation), and was accepted 
on June 26. Unions maintained their established relationships with the 
ILO.
    The labor law prohibits antiunion discrimination. Any worker 
alleging antiunion discrimination has the right to appeal to the 
judiciary. Employers found guilty of such discrimination must reinstate 
workers fired for union activities. There were no reports of 
discrimination against employees based on their affiliation with a 
union.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law 
provides workers, with the important exception of domestic servants and 
maritime workers, with the right to organize and bargain collectively, 
subject to certain restrictions; the Government generally respected in 
practice the rights of those workers covered by the law. The law limits 
the right of workers to strike. There were numerous strikes during the 
year, but they were organized by workers outside the framework of 
unions. Workers frequently held sit-ins as well. Security forces 
responded to these strikes; they tried to mediate the dispute and did 
not resort to violence. There are no export processing zones.
    The law provides for direct negotiations between employers and 
``laborers or their representatives'' in the private sector. Most 
disagreements were resolved in such negotiations; if not, either party 
may petition the MOSAL for mediation. If mediation fails, the dispute 
is referred to a labor arbitration board composed of officials from the 
Court of Appeals, the office of the Attorney General, and the MOSAL.
    The civil service law makes no provision for collective bargaining 
between government workers and their employers. Technically, the 
Government is responsible for establishing wages and employment 
conditions for civil service workers, but it generally determined 
benefits in consultation with civil service unions, such as the 
Government Workers Union. Union officials resolved most issues at the 
working level and had regular access to senior officials.
    The law requires all labor disputes to be referred to compulsory 
arbitration if labor and management are unable to reach a solution. The 
law does not contain any provision ensuring strikers' freedom from 
legal or administrative action taken against them by the state. 
However, the MOSAL was responsive to sit-ins or protests by workers who 
faced obvious wrongdoing by their employers. On November 5, civilian 
employees of the MOI staged a sit-in to protest work conditions. The 
Federation of governmental Unions undertook an information campaign and 
a sit-in that resulted in the Civil Service Council acceding to its 
labor demands.

    c. 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 that such practices occurred (see section 5).
    The law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children younger 
than 18; however, there were credible reports of underage girls working 
as domestic servants (see sections 5 and 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor law prohibits child labor, forced or compulsory labor, and 
exploitation of workers; however, there were credible reports of some 
underage domestic servants.
    The legal minimum age is 18 years for all forms of work, both full- 
and part-time. Employers may obtain permits from the MOSAL to employ 
juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 in nonhazardous trades. 
Juveniles may work a maximum of six hours a day on the condition that 
they work no more than four consecutive hours followed by a one-hour 
rest period.
    Some underage workers reportedly falsified their ages in order to 
enter the country. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of 
underage boys used as camel jockeys during the year.
    During the year underage Asian girls reportedly worked as domestic 
servants after entering the country on false travel documents obtained 
in source countries.
    The Labor Inspection Department monitored private firms routinely 
for labor law compliance, including laws against child labor. MOSAL 
claimed that it carried out an extensive campaign in January and 
February to ensure that children were not working in industrial jobs 
but did not provide evidence of having taken any action to solve the 
problem.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--An institutionalized, two-tiered 
labor market ensured high wages for citizen employees, most of whom 
were in government white collar or executive positions, while 
noncitizen workers, even those in skilled positions, received 
substantially lower wages. A national minimum wage was in effect for 
public sector employees. Citizens were guaranteed at least $690 (200 
dinars) per month, while the noncitizens' wage was $310 (90 dinars). 
The public sector minimum wage provided a decent standard of living for 
a worker and family. There was no legal minimum wage in the private 
sector. The MOSAL is responsible for implementing the minimum wage, 
which was effectively enforced.
    Private sector wages ranged from $17,250 (5,000 dinars) per month 
for top managers of large companies to an average of $1,380 (400 
dinars) to $3,450 (1,000 dinars) for other skilled professionals and 
workers. Wages of unskilled workers in the private sector did not 
always provide a decent standard of living, with housemaids often 
making less than $138 (40 dinars) monthly, which was stipulated in the 
MOI's standard contract for domestic workers set the minimum wage. Some 
foreign countries would not let their workers travel to the country 
unless they had signed a contract for at least a minimum wage the 
country found reasonable. To be eligible to sponsor family members for 
residency, workers must receive a minimum wage of $863 (250 dinars) per 
month, reduced from $1,380 (400 dinars) in 2004 for both government and 
private sector employees. Many foreign workers who met the minimum 
income threshold often waited months for government approval to sponsor 
their immediate family members to the country. The Government exempted 
public school teachers from the minimum salary threshold for sponsoring 
family members.
    The law establishes general conditions of work for the private 
sector, with the oil industry regulated separately. The law limits the 
standard workweek to 48 hours with one full day of rest per week, one 
hour of rest after every five consecutive hours of work, provides for a 
minimum of 14 workdays of leave each year, and establishes a 
compensation schedule for industrial accidents. The Government had 
amended the law to extend the weekly one-day rest period to temporary 
workers employed less than six months and to workers in enterprises 
employing fewer than five persons. Domestic servants and other 
unskilled foreign workers in the private sector frequently worked in 
excess of 48 hours, often with no day of rest and no annual leave.
    The law pertaining to the oil industry provides for a 40 hour 
workweek, 30 days of annual leave, and sick leave. Laws establishing 
working conditions were not applied uniformly to foreign workers. The 
civil service law also prescribes additional working conditions for the 
public sector, which consisted almost entirely of citizen workers.
    The Government has issued occupational health and safety standards; 
however, compliance and enforcement 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 the pollution resulting from certain dangerous industries, 
trained workers who used new machines in specialized institutes, 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. However, government 
attention to worker safety issues remained insufficient, 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 when the temperature 
rises above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit); however, media sources 
alleged that the Government falsified official readings to allow work 
to proceed. The Meteorological Division consistently denied these 
allegations. In the past recorded temperatures reached 122 degrees 
Fahrenheit, but work reportedly continued at many outdoor locations. 
Although there were fewer complaints than in past years, the MOSAL 
announced that it had conducted at least 208 inspections and found 61 
companies were employing 580 laborers in the sun. Reinspections of 116 
of these companies found that four companies, employing 30 workers, 
continued to violate the law.
    The law provides for employer-provided medical care and 
compensation to both citizen and foreign workers disabled by injury or 
disease due to job-related causes. Once a worker files a claim, the 
courts decide the amount of compensation, typically paid in a lump sum. 
Workers, especially noncitizens, had difficulty enforcing such 
decisions. The law also requires that employers provide periodic 
medical examinations for workers exposed to environmental hazards on 
the job, such as chemicals and asbestos. Adequate and affordable health 
care was a serious problem for many foreign workers. The best medicines 
and certain kinds of specialized treatment officially were reserved for 
citizens. Noncitizens must pay an annual, government-mandated medical 
coverage premium to the Ministry of Health, required to obtain 
residency, and additional user fees for medical care, medication, 
required tests, or specialized procedures. Many employers deducted the 
medical fees from employees' salaries.
    Employers often exploited workers' willingness to accept 
substandard conditions. Noncitizen workers, especially less-skilled 
South Asian laborers, lived and worked much like indentured servants, 
were unaware of their legal rights, and generally lacked the means to 
pursue legal remedies. They faced contractual disputes, poor working 
conditions, and at times physical and sexual abuse (see sections 5 and 
6.c.). Most were in debt to their employers or to recruiters before 
they arrived in the country, and they had little choice but to accept 
the employer's conditions, even if they breached the contractual terms. 
It was common for wages to be withheld for a period of months or to be 
decreased substantially in violation of their labor contracts. Many 
foreign workers were forced to live in ``housing camps,'' which 
generally were overcrowded and lacked adequate cooking and bathroom 
facilities. Laborers were housed 10 or more to a room in squalid 
conditions, a number without access to adequate running water. These 
workers were allowed off the camp compound only on company transport or 
by permission of the employer. Many foreign workers went heavily into 
debt and could not afford to return home.
    Any foreign worker covered under the law, which excluded maritime 
workers and an estimated 450,000 domestic servants, could submit a 
grievance to the Labor Office in the governorate where he worked 
regardless of union status; however, such services were not utilized 
widely. The KTUF administered an Expatriate Labor Office, which was 
authorized to investigate complaints of foreign laborers and provide 
them with free legal advice. However, these services were not utilized 
widely.
    The courts ruled in favor of employees in an estimated 90 percent 
of the labor disputes they heard; however, no legal mechanism existed 
to enforce judgments. There was no compulsion for employers to obey 
court rulings, and workers often did not receive court ordered 
compensation. Employers also reportedly used illegal methods to 
pressure foreign employees to drop cases against them, such as 
withholding their passports, encouraging police intimidation and 
brutality, threatening deportation, and filing criminal charges against 
workers for fabricated crimes, such as theft.
    In 2005 the Government implemented measures designed to protect the 
welfare of workers. The MOSAL implemented a 24-hour hot line for 
nondomestic laborers to file complaints if their companies were more 
than 15 days delinquent in salary payments. The law requires companies 
to make a bank deposit for each (nondomestic) expatriate worker hired, 
which the Government could confiscate to reimburse employees for unpaid 
wages. The Government compensated Bangladeshi workers by this method in 
at least one dispute over unpaid back wages during the year. 
Recruitment agencies are responsible for resolving labor disputes 
between employers and domestic laborers that occur within six months of 
the worker's hiring date. If problems continue, the sponsor and worker 
must resolve them.
    The MOI investigates and resolves labor disputes in cooperation 
with the laborers' representative embassies. The DWA assigned officers 
to liaise with the Indian, Indonesian, Philippine, and Sri Lankan 
embassies on domestic labor problems.

                               __________

                                LEBANON

    Lebanon, with a population of approximately 4 million, is a 
parliamentary republic in which the President is a Maronite Christian, 
the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the chamber of 
deputies a Shi'a Muslim. President Emile Lahoud, who is the head of 
state, was elected in 1998 for a six year term; however, in September 
2004 the Syrian regime pressured parliamentarians to pass a 
constitutional amendment that extended President Lahoud's term until 
November 2007. The latest legislative elections took place in four 
phases between May 29 and June 19, 2005. According to international 
observers, the elections were considered generally free and fair, 
although most political observers considered the boundaries of the 
electoral districts to be unfair. The elections resulted in a new 
majority in the parliament opposed to Syrian interference in the 
country.
    The July-August conflict involving Israel and the terrorist 
organization Hizballah erupted on July 12, when Hizballah entered 
Israel from Lebanese territory and kidnapped and killed Israeli 
soldiers. Israeli military forces responded by entering Lebanese 
territory. Both Hizballah fighters and Lebanese civilians died during 
the conflict. The conflict ended with a UN-sponsored cessation of 
hostilities on August 14.
    Despite the cessation in hostilities and the deployment of Lebanon 
Armed Forces (LAF) and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon 
(UNIFIL) in the south, Hizballah retained significant influence over 
parts of the country, and Palestinian militias retained control of 
refugee camps, beyond the reach of state authorities. UN Security 
Council (UNSC) resolutions 1559, 1614, and 1701 call upon the 
Government to take effective control of all Lebanese territory and 
disarm militia groups operating in Lebanese territory. Due to several 
factors, including internal political differences and lack of capacity 
on the part of its security forces, the Government has not taken the 
necessary steps to disarm extralegal armed groups, including Hizballah.
    There were limitations on the right of citizens to peacefully 
change their government. In a climate of impunity, there were instances 
of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life, torture, and other abuse. 
Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, while 
poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention and long delays in 
trials remained serious problems. The Government violated citizens' 
privacy rights in an atmosphere of government corruption and lack of 
transparency. There were some restrictions on freedoms of speech and 
press, including intimidation of journalists. There were limitations on 
freedom of movement for unregistered refugees, while widespread, 
systematic discrimination against Palestinian refugees continued. 
Domestic violence and societal discrimination against women continued. 
Violence against children and child labor were also problems.
    During the year before the conflict broke out, the Government took 
significant steps to increase freedom of assembly and association at 
mass demonstrations and by facilitating the formation of new political 
associations and parties. The Government also took concrete measures to 
prevent unauthorized eavesdropping on private citizens.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Excluding the period 
of conflict between Hizballah and Israel, there were no reports of 
arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life by the Government or its 
agents.
    On July 12, Hizballah killed three and abducted two Israeli Defense 
Force (IDF) soldiers during a cross-border attack from southern 
Lebanon, resulting in a conflict that lasted until August 14. According 
to the UN, Israel's air and ground operations in Lebanon killed 1,191 
persons, and injured 4,409 persons. Hizballah group leaders 
unofficially indicated that more than 250 of their fighters were killed 
during the conflict.
    During the year the UN International Independent Investigation 
Commission (UNIIIC), established under U.S. resolution 1595, continued 
its investigation into the February 2005 assassination of former Prime 
Minister Rafiq Hariri. While preliminary reports over the last year 
have pointed to possible linkages to Syrian intelligence services, no 
firm conclusion was reached by year's end.
    The following deaths by car bombings were reported during the year: 
On May 26, Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother were 
killed in Sidon by a bomb placed in his car. The cabinet condemned the 
killing asserting that it had ``the fingerprints of the Israeli 
occupation.''
    On September 5, two roadside bombs exploded in Rmeileh injuring 
Internal Security Forces (ISF) Lieutenant Colonel Samir Shehade and 
killing four of his bodyguards. Shehade was deputy head of the 
information department in the ISF; Shehade handled many sensitive cases 
including the investigation into the late Prime Minister Hariri's 
assassination. The explosion came on the eve of the arrival of UN 
Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Michel to Beirut to discuss the 
formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri 
assassination. Investigations into the incident continued at year's 
end.
    On November 21, a team of gunmen killed industry minister and 
prominent anti-Syrian Christian politician Pierre Gemayel while driving 
his car in a northern suburb of Beirut. Although a group called the 
``Fighters for the Unity of Al-Sham (Greater Syria) and its Liberty'' 
claimed responsibility, the identity of the gunmen remained unknown at 
year's end. The UN approved the expansion of the UNIIIC probe to 
include Gemayel's murder. Investigations into the incident continued at 
year's end.
    Investigation into 2005 bombings continued, but there were no 
further developments in the following cases: The June 2005 killings of 
Samir Kassir, a prominent anti-Syrian journalist, and George Hawi, 
former head of the Lebanese Communist Party, who were killed in Beirut 
when bombs placed under their cars exploded; the July 2005 car bomb 
which blasted the motorcade of Lebanon's defense minister and incoming 
Deputy Prime Minister, Elias Murr, injuring him and killing one person; 
the September 2005 explosive planted under the car of proreform 
journalist May Chidiac which seriously injured her; and the December 
2005 car bomb that killed the popular prodemocracy journalist and 
politician Gibran Tueni, along with a bodyguard and a bystander.
    There were no developments in the 2004 car bombing that killed 
Hizballah member Ghalib Awwali in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
    During the year violent cross-border attacks by Hizballah, 
Palestinian, and other unidentified armed elements against the IDF 
continued.
    Before the July-August conflict, the country's landmine and 
unexploded ordinance (UXO) problem was estimated by the National 
Demining Office (NDO) at more than 550,000 landmines and UXO throughout 
the country. During the portion of the year prior to the conflict there 
were seven deaths attributable to landmines, and after the conflict an 
additional 19. Eight of those killed were deminers. After the conflict 
an additional 800 cluster bomb strike locations had been identified in 
the south. The United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center in 
Southern Lebanon estimated in November that 40 percent of Israeli 
cluster munitions fired during the conflict failed to explode, leaving 
an estimated 560,000 to 1.1 million unexploded submunitions in southern 
Lebanon. According to UN figures, between August 14 and December 19, 18 
Lebanese civilians were killed and 145 were wounded by unexploded 
submunitions.
    After further investigation, the potential mass grave discovered in 
December 2005 at the site of a former Syrian Intelligence headquarters 
in the town of Anjar turned out to be a 600-year-old communal burial 
site.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances caused by government forces.
    On July 12, Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on Israeli 
territory. Hizballah had yet to allow access or communications with the 
two soldiers at years end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law does not specifically prohibit torture, and 
security forces abused detainees and in some instances used torture. 
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International (AI) and Human 
Rights Watch (HRW), reported that torture was a common practice.
    The Government acknowledged that violent abuse of detainees usually 
occurred during preliminary investigations conducted at police stations 
or military installations, in which suspects were interrogated without 
an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws that prevent 
judges from accepting confessions extracted under duress. For example, 
on February 5, according to international human rights organizations, 
authorities arrested 42 Syrian nationals in the wake of violent 
protests outside the Danish Embassy in Beirut (see section 2.b.) and 
allegedly beat some of them in an apparent attempt to force confessions 
about their involvement in the protests. On February 10, a military 
court in Beirut ordered their release. No investigations into the abuse 
were carried out by year's end.
    In its October 2005 report, the UNIIIC investigation of the 
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri noted that some 
unidentified security personnel had abused witnesses in the aftermath 
of Hariri's assassination.
    Abuses also occurred in areas outside the Government's control, 
including in Palestinian refugee camps. During the year, there were 
reports that members of the various groups that controlled specific 
camps detained their Palestinian rivals (see section 1.d.). Rival 
groups, such as Fatah and Asbat al-Nur, regularly clashed over 
territorial control in the various camps, sometimes leading to 
exchanges of gunfire and the detention of rival members.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor and did not meet minimum international standards. Prisons were 
overcrowded, and sanitary conditions in the women's prison, in 
particular, were very poor. There were no serious threats to health, 
but indirect threats were noted, such as physical and mental stress; 
the latter were especially noteworthy in Yarze prison, southeast of 
Beirut. The Government did not consider prison reform a high priority. 
The number of inmates was estimated to be 5,971, including pretrial 
detainees and remand prisoners. The Government made a modest effort to 
rehabilitate some inmates through education and training programs.
    During the year there were no reports of men and women being held 
together in the same prison facility. While there were no government 
reports on juveniles being held in the same prison facilities as adults 
during the year, it could not be confirmed that the situation did not 
occasionally happen due to limited prison facilities.
    Although there was some effort to keep pretrial detainees separate 
from convicted prisoners, overcrowding often prevented such separation. 
Unlike in the previous year there were no reports of political 
detainees or prisoners held in regular prisons.
    The police institution in charge of border posts and internal 
security, the Surete Generale (SG), operated a detention facility for 
detainees pending deportation. Detention was supposed to be for one to 
two months, pending the regularization of their status. However, some 
persons, primarily asylum seekers, were detained for more than a year 
and eventually deported.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local and international human rights groups and the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, due to the 
July-August conflict, many human rights groups focused their priorities 
on providing humanitarian assistance rather than monitoring prison 
conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the law requires 
judicial warrants before arrests, except in immediate pursuit 
situations, the Government arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security forces 
consist of the LAF under the Ministry of Defense, which may arrest and 
detain suspects on national security grounds; ISF under the Ministry of 
the Interior (MOI), which enforces laws, conducts searches and arrests, 
and refers cases to the judiciary; the State Security Apparatus, which 
reports to the Prime Minister; and the SG under the MOI. Both of the 
latter two collect information on groups deemed a possible threat to 
state security.
    Laws against bribery and extortion by government security officials 
and agencies also apply to the police force. In practice, however, due 
to a lack of strong enforcement, their effectiveness was limited. The 
Government acknowledged the need to reform law enforcement, but 
security issues and lack of political stability hampered these efforts. 
The ISF maintained a hotline for complaints.

    Arrest and Detention.--Military intelligence personnel made arrests 
without warrants in cases involving military personnel and those 
involving espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion 
(see section 1.e.). The 2004 report by the Parliamentary Commission for 
Human Rights estimated that of the over 5,000 persons being held in 
prison, one third had not been convicted of crime.
    The law provides the right to a lawyer, to a medical examination, 
and referral to a prosecutor within 48 hours of arrest. If a detainee 
is held more 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. A suspect caught in hot pursuit 
must be referred to an examining judge, who decides whether to issue an 
indictment or order the release of the suspect. Bail is available in 
all cases regardless of the charges. Many provisions of the code were 
not observed in practice.
    While there was no state-funded public defender's office, the bar 
association operated an office for those who could not afford a lawyer, 
and a lawyer was often provided for indigent defendants.
    Security forces continued the practice of arbitrary arrest and 
detention.
    There were no new developments in the 2005 arrest of four security 
chiefs. In August 2005 authorities arrested four Lebanese security 
chiefs with the rank of general after the UNIIIC declared them suspects 
in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri. In April 
President Lahoud called for their release unless they are formally 
charged with involvement in the assassination in a timely manner. The 
suspects remained imprisoned at year's end.
    Protesters were also arbitrarily detained and arrested. On February 
5 and 6, according to an international human rights organization, 
authorities arrested and detained more than 400 individuals in the wake 
of violent protests outside the Danish Embassy in Beirut (see section 
2.b.). Six days following their arrest, approximately 250 of these 
individuals were brought before the Military Court in Beirut and were 
ordered released. The whereabouts of the remaining detainees was 
unknown at year's end.
    Since the withdrawal of Syrian forces in April 2005, there appeared 
to be no indication that the Government detained, interrogated, or 
harassed journalists (see section 2.a.).
    Palestinian refugees were subject to arrest, detention, and 
harassment by state security forces and rival Palestinian factions (see 
section 2.d.).
    Unlike in previous years there were no allegations that the 
Government transferred citizens to Syria. Human rights activists 
believed that there were numerous Lebanese, Palestinians, and 
Jordanians in prolonged and often secret detention in Syria. In 2005 a 
number of human rights organizations estimated that there were between 
25 and 250 remaining Lebanese prisoners in Syria. Unlike in the 
previous year there were no reports of Syrian forces operating in the 
country carrying out searches, arrests, or detentions of citizens 
outside any legal framework.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was subject to 
political pressure, particularly in the appointments of key prosecutors 
and investigating magistrates. With the support of the UNIIIC, however, 
the judiciary began judicial proceedings against once-powerful security 
and intelligence chiefs who had cooperated with Syria's occupation. The 
law provides for a fair public trial and for an independent judiciary; 
however, influential politicians as well as Syrian and Lebanese 
intelligence officers at times intervened and protected their 
supporters from prosecution. The judiciary still suffered from 
intimidation generated by a series of unresolved political 
assassinations committed by unidentified assailants beginning in 2004. 
Despite this intimidation, the aftermath of the February 2005 
assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri led to significant progress in 
eliminating political and security influence over the judiciary. Unlike 
in the previous year authorities did not harass critics of the judicial 
system.
    The judicial system consists of a Constitutional Council to 
determine the constitutionality of newly adopted laws upon the request 
of 10 members of parliament; the regular civilian courts; the Military 
Court, which tries cases involving military personnel and civilians in 
security-related issues; and the Judicial Council, which tries national 
security cases. There are also tribunals of the various religious 
affiliations, which adjudicate matters of personal status, including 
marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody (see section 5). The 
religious Shari'a courts are often used by both the Shi'a and Sunni 
religious communities to resolve family legal matters. There are also 
religious courts in the various Christian sects and Druze communities; 
these tribunals were also restricted to family legal matters.
    The Judicial Council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges 
that adjudicates threats to national security. Upon the recommendation 
of the minister of justice, the cabinet decides whether to try a case 
before this tribunal. In 2005 the cabinet referred several high-profile 
cases to this tribunal, including the 2005 assassination of former 
Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and the 2004 attempt on the life of then 
telecommunications minister Marwan Hamadeh. Verdicts from this tribunal 
may not be appealed.
    The Ministry of Justice appoints all other judges, taking into 
account the sectarian affiliation of the prospective judge. A shortage 
of qualified judges impeded efforts to adjudicate cases backlogged 
during the years of internal conflict. Trial delays were aggravated by 
the Government's inability to conduct investigations in areas outside 
of its control, specifically in the Hizballah-controlled areas in the 
south and in the 12 Palestinian-controlled refugee camps throughout the 
country.

    Trial Procedures.--There is no trial by jury; trials were generally 
public, but judges had the discretion to order a closed court session. 
Defendants have the right to be present at trial and the right of 
timely consultation with an attorney. Defendants have the right to 
confront or question witnesses against them, but they must do so 
through the court panel, which decides whether or not to permit the 
defendant's question. Defendants and their attorneys have access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and the right of 
appeal. These rights generally were observed.
    Defendants on trial for security cases, which were heard before the 
Judicial Council, have the same procedural rights as other defendants; 
however, there was no right to appeal in such cases. Trials for 
security cases were generally public; however, judges had the 
discretion to order a closed court session.
    The Military Court has jurisdiction over cases involving the 
military as well as those involving civilians in espionage, treason, 
weapons possession, and draft evasion cases. Civilians may be tried for 
security issues, and military personnel may be tried for civil issues. 
The Military Court has two tribunals--the permanent tribunal and the 
cassation tribunal--the latter hears appeals from the former. A 
civilian judge chairs the higher court. Defendants on trial under the 
military tribunal have the same procedural rights as defendants in 
ordinary courts.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that Hizballah 
subjected former Southern Lebanese Army soldiers who returned to their 
villages to harassment.
    Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and 
arbitrary system of justice not under the control of the state. For 
example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to solve 
disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a 
killing, the committees occasionally used their good offices to hand 
over the perpetrator to Lebanese authorities for trial.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there were no 
reports of political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While there is an 
independent judiciary in civil matters, in practice it was seldom used 
for bringing civil lawsuits for seeking damages for human rights 
violations committed by the Government. During the year there were no 
examples of a civil court awarding an individual compensation for human 
rights violations committed against them by the Government.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--While the law prohibits such actions, authorities 
frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies 
of the Government. The law requires that prosecutors obtain warrants 
before entering homes, except when the security forces are in close 
pursuit of armed attackers; these rights were generally observed.
    The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and 
activities of members of opposition groups (see section 2.b.). Despite 
a law regulating eavesdropping, security services continued to 
eavesdrop without prior authorization.
    Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of 
central government authority frequently violated citizens' privacy 
rights. Various factions also used informer networks and monitoring of 
telephones to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.
    The Siniora government took steps to roll back the violation of 
privacy rights. In September 2005 the Government passed two 
implementation decrees. The first decree called for creating an 
independent judicial committee chaired by the chairman of the Judicial 
Council. This committee would receive complaints from parties who 
believed that their phones were tapped. The committee would also give 
permission for security services to monitor the telephones of 
criminals. The committee members were appointed by the Siniora 
government in December 2005 but did not start their duties by year's 
end.
    The second decree concerned the operations of security intelligence 
and called for the creation of a centralized unit that would have 
supervision over tapping phones related to military personnel only. The 
committee would report to the minister of interior and the Prime 
Minister. The ministry would review the procedure regularly and 
eventually bring all phone tapping into this centralized unit. This 
centralized unit had not been put into effect by year's end.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. The law limited materials that can be censored to 
pornography, political opinion, and religion when they are a threat to 
national security. Since the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces from the 
country, journalists operated in a more free media environment. 
However, due to the tense political atmosphere and a weak judiciary, 
journalists continued to exercise self-censorship, although to a far 
lesser degree than in previous years. The 2005 killings of prominent 
journalists and the failure to apprehend those responsible created a 
climate of intimidation. There were no reported killings of journalists 
during the year.
    The Government arrested observers who expressed their criticism of 
the judicial system. For example, on April 13, an international human 
rights group reported on the 2003 detention of human rights lawyer 
Mohammad Mugraby, charged in 2003 with slandering the ``military 
establishment and its officers.'' The charge related to a statement he 
made to the European Parliament in Brussels in 2003 in which he 
criticized the military court system in Lebanon, including the 
inadequate legal training of the courts' judges, and for the torture 
suffered by suspects tried before military courts to extract 
confessions. Mugraby was released in August 2003 and was still awaiting 
trial at year's end.
    The Government retained and utilized several legal mechanisms at 
its disposal to control freedom of expression. The SG reviews and 
censors all foreign newspapers, magazines, and books before they enter 
the country. The SG must also approve all plays and films. The law 
prohibits attacks on the dignity of the head of state or foreign 
leaders. The Government may prosecute offending journalists and 
publications in the Publications Court. The 1991 security agreement 
between the Government and Syria, still in effect, contains a provision 
that prohibits the publication of any information deemed harmful to the 
security of either state. The withdrawal of Syrian troops and a 
decrease in Syrian influence, however, encouraged Lebanese journalists 
to be open in their criticism of Syrian and Lebanese authorities alike.
    Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals were published 
throughout the country and were financed by and reflected the views of 
various local, sectarian, and foreign interest groups.
    On February 28, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists 
(CPJ), Beirut prosecutor Joseph Me'mari filed criminal charges against 
the daily Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal, its editor in chief Tawfiq 
Khattab, and staff reporter Fares Khashan for defaming President 
Lahoud. The charges were filed four days after Al-Mustaqbal published 
an interview with former Lebanese ambassador to France and former army 
intelligence chief Johnny Abdo, who criticized Lahoud's performance. 
Their cases had not yet gone to trial by year's end.
    On June 1, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBCI) broadcast 
an episode of weekly political satire Basmat Wattan that ridiculed 
Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. The program prompted 
violent demonstrations in Beirut. On June 2, the National Media 
Council, under the Ministry of Information and responsible for 
monitoring television programs, ruled that LBCI was guilty of 
broadcasting offensive material and forwarded the case to the cabinet. 
No action was taken by the cabinet by years end.
    In October the minister of justice filed a complaint in the 
Publications Court against Al-Akhbar daily for alleging that two 
members of the Judicial Council had met with the head of the ISF 
Intelligence Department to discuss judicial appointments. The complaint 
named reporter Antoine El-Khoury Harb and the Al-Akhbar director 
Ibrahim Awad. The case continued at years end.
    Judicial cases launched in previous years against journalists were 
not pursued during the year. Investigations into the killings of Samir 
Kassir in June 2005 and Gibran Tueni in December 2005, and into the 
attack on May Chidiac in September 2005 continued at years end. There 
were no developments in the June 2005 case against Al-Mustaqbal 
reporter and Future TV anchor Zahi Wehbe. Likewise, the 2003 defamation 
case against Ad-Diyar newspaper's editor in chief Charles Ayoub for 
defaming President Lahoud was pending at year's end.
    Films that offended religious or social sensitivities are often 
blacklisted. In May the SG prohibited the film ``The Da Vinci Code'' 
from being shown in the country because of religious sensitivities.
    Also in May the SG obliged Lebanese playwright Lina Khoury to make 
numerous revisions to her adaptation of the play ``Hakeh Niswan'' 
(``Women's Talk'') inspired by the ``Vagina Monologues'' before it 
could be performed in Beirut.
    Throughout the year the film ``Naked Gun'' was prohibited from 
being shown on Lebanese television because it included a brief scene 
mocking Ayatollah Khomeini. There were seven television stations and 33 
radio stations. The Government owned one television and one radio 
station; the remaining stations were owned privately. Inexpensive 
satellite television was widely available.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms, and the Government promoted Internet usage. 
Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views 
via the Internet, including by electronic mail and internet discussion 
groups, such as Naharnet. However, Internet usage and access was 
reportedly restricted by Hizballah in areas that it controlled in 
southern Lebanon.

    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; however, the 
Government sometimes restricted this right. The prior approval of 
rallies by the MOI was required, and groups opposing government 
positions sometimes were not granted permits.
    Demonstrations occurred during the year without government 
approval, and there were instances where military personnel used force 
to disperse the protesters. On February 5, in response to the September 
2005 publication in a Danish newspaper of a series of cartoons that 
caricatured the Prophet Muhammed, thousands of demonstrators rallied 
outside Beirut's Danish embassy and set the building on fire. According 
to media reports, approximately 2,000 riot police and army troops fired 
tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd and fired their 
weapons into the air. According to an international human rights 
organization, authorities arrested and detained more than 400 
individuals in the wake of the violent protests (see section 1.d.).
    Beginning on December 1 and continuing to the end of the year, a 
few thousand demonstrators, composed of Shiites loyal to Hizballah and 
to the allied Amal movement, and Christian supporters of Michel Aoun, 
maintained a ``sit-in'' punctuated by a few larger rallies in central 
Beirut outside the Government office of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, 
calling for the resignation of his government. Army and police forces 
closed off the Prime Minister's office and other key buildings with a 
police cordon, physical obstacles, and security force vehicles. 
Isolated violence between Sunnis and Shi'a occurred during the period 
of the demonstration; one incident resulted in the death of protester 
Ahmad Mahmoud on December 3. The opposition called for the protests in 
an attempt to force the Government to resign or expand the number of 
cabinet seats belonging to Amal, Hizballah, and Michel Aoun's Free 
Patriotic Movement to a one-third-plus-one minority, sufficient to 
block legislation or force the cabinet's dissolution.
    Coinciding with the protests, a number of progovernment rallies 
were held in several areas around the country. For example, on December 
10, according to the press, hundreds of thousands of peaceful 
demonstrators rallied in Tripoli in solidarity with the Siniora 
government. There were no reports of violence, police brutality, or use 
of force.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government did not interfere with most 
organizations; however, it imposed limits on this right. The law 
requires every new organization to submit a notification of formation 
to the MOI, which issues a receipt. In addition to what is provided by 
law, the MOI imposed on organizations further restrictions and 
requirements that were not enforced consistently. The ministry in some 
cases sent notification of formation papers to the security forces, 
which then conducted inquiries regarding an organization's founding 
members. The ministry may use the results in deciding whether to 
approve the group. The ministry at times withheld the receipt, 
essentially transforming a notification procedure into an approval 
process.
    In August 2005 the Government changed the policy such that the 
formation of any association no longer required licensing. According to 
civil rights organizations, the time needed for registration had in 
some cases dropped to as little as 10 working days.
    Organizations must invite MOI representatives to any general 
assembly where votes are held for by-law amendments or elections are 
held for positions on the board of directors. The ministry also 
required every association to obtain its approval for any change in by-
laws; failure to do so could result in the dissolution of the 
association.
    The cabinet must license all political parties. The Government 
scrutinized requests to establish political movements or parties and to 
some extent monitored their activities. The Army Intelligence Service 
monitored the movements and activities of members of some opposition 
groups (see section 1.f.).
    Under popular pressure, following the April 2005 withdrawal of 
Syrian military and security forces, the Government ceased to monitor 
groups critical of Syrian policies, and the Government stopped 
harassing members of such groups.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for absolute 
freedom of belief and guarantees the freedom to practice all religious 
rites provided that the public order is not disturbed. The constitution 
declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without 
discrimination or preference but stipulates a balance of power 
distributed among the major religious groups. The Government generally 
respected these rights; however, there were some restrictions. The law 
does not provide for freedom to have no religion. The Government 
subsidized all religions and appointed and paid the salaries of Muslim 
and Druze judges.
    Although there is no state religion, politics were based on the 
principle of religious representation, which has been applied to nearly 
every aspect of public life.
    A group seeking official recognition must submit its principles for 
government review to ensure that such principles did not contradict 
``popular values'' and the constitution. The group must ensure the 
number of its adherents is sufficient to maintain its continuity.
    Alternatively, religious groups may apply for recognition through 
existing religious groups. Official recognition conveys certain 
benefits, such as tax-exempt status and the right to apply the 
recognized religion's codes to personal status matters. Each recognized 
religious group has its own courts for family law matters, such as 
marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance (see section 1.e.). 
State recognition is not a legal requirement for religious worship or 
practice. For example, although Baha'i, Buddhists, Hindus, and some 
protestant Christian groups were not recognized officially, they were 
allowed to practice their faith without government interference; 
however, their marriages, divorces, and inheritances in the country 
were not recognized under the law.
    Protestant evangelical churches are required to register with the 
Evangelical Synod, which represents those churches to the Government. 
Representatives of some churches complained that the Synod has refused 
to accept new members since 1975, thereby preventing their clergy from 
ministering to adherents in accordance with their beliefs. The last 
group registered was the Coptic Church in 1997. The Pentecostal Church 
applied for recognition from the Evangelical Sect, but the leadership 
of the Evangelical Sect, in contravention of the law, refused to 
register new groups. The Pentecostal Church pursued recourse through 
the MOI; however, at years end, it had not been registered.
    The unwritten ``National Pact'' of 1943 stipulates that the 
President, the Prime Minister, and the speaker of parliament be a 
Maronite Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shi'a Muslim, respectively. 
The 1989 Taif Accord, which ended the country's 15-year civil war, 
reaffirmed this arrangement, but also codified increased Muslim 
representation in parliament and reduced the power of the Maronite 
President. The LAF, through universal conscription and an emphasis on 
professionalism, significantly reduced the role of confessionalism (or 
religious sectarianism) in the armed forces.
    The Government required that religious affiliation be indicated on 
civil status registry and on national identity cards, but not on 
passports.
    Many family and personal status laws discriminated against women. 
For example, Sunni inheritance law provides a son twice the inheritance 
of a daughter. Although Muslim men may divorce easily, Muslim women may 
do so only with the concurrence of their husbands. The law provides 
that only religious authorities may perform marriages; however, civil 
marriage ceremonies performed outside the country were recognized by 
the Government.
    There were no legal barriers to proselytizing; however, traditional 
attitudes and edicts of the clerical establishment strongly discouraged 
such activity. Religious authorities appointed the clerical 
establishments to which they are affiliated.
    Although the law stipulates that any one who ``blasphemes God 
publicly'' may face imprisonment for up to one year, no prosecutions 
were reported under this law during the year.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Sectarian rhetoric increased 
in intensity during the year. Lebanese media outlets regularly directed 
strong rhetoric against Israel and its Jewish population and commonly 
characterized events in the region as part of a Zionist conspiracy. 
Moreover, anti-Semitic literature was published and distributed with 
the cooperation of Hizballah. Hizballah also controlled and operated 
Al-Manar TV. On October 20, Al-Manar broadcast an interview with the 
head of the Lebanese Islamic Action Front in which he stated that the 
resistance and Lebanon were victorious, and that defeat was the lot of 
Israel and this accursed Israeli people--this accursed nation, the 
offspring of apes and pigs.
    In addition the pan Arab satellite station, New TV, aired several 
anti-Semitic programs and interviews, including an interview on June 21 
with a known Holocaust denier whose interview was introduced by the 
narrator with never has there been an issue subject to as many 
contradictions, lies, and exaggerations regarding the number of victims 
as the issue of the Jewish Holocaust.
    Writing a new curriculum for the public schools was one of the 
requirements included in the Taif Accord of 1989. The new curriculum, 
which began to be implemented in 2004, included antibias and tolerance 
education. There is no specific reference to or designation of crimes 
as hate crimes in legislation.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them with some limitations. The law 
prohibits direct travel to Israel. All men between 18 and 21 years of 
age are required to obtain a travel authorization document from the 
Government before leaving the country.
    The Government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in 
military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints 
on main roads or in populated areas. The security services used 
checkpoints to conduct warrantless searches for smuggled goods, 
weapons, narcotics, and subversive literature.
    On several occasions, Hizballah operatives interfered with the 
freedom of movement of UNIFIL personnel. According to the UN Secretary 
General's 2004 report, no action had been taken against the 15 
Hizballah operatives who injured three UNIFIL observers in 2002, 
despite government assurances that the perpetrators would be arrested 
and brought to trial.
    The law prohibits forced exile and it was not used.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Following the August 14 
cease-fire between Israel and Hizballah, the Government encouraged the 
return to their homes of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced 
persons. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, at 
the height of the conflict, up to one million persons fled their homes; 
approximately 735,000 were internally displaced while some 230,000 fled 
to neighboring countries. In addition, some 16,000 Palestinian refugees 
were secondarily displaced. According to the Governments Higher Relief 
Council, more than 700,000 displaced persons and refugees had returned 
to their homes. However, the office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that 550,000 displaced had returned to their 
preconflict residences and that up to 200,000 persons remained 
displaced at years end. UNHCR reported on November 1 that many of the 
displaced had been unable to return because of unexploded ordinance 
(see section 1.a.) and because of the lack of basic infrastructure, 
such as water and electricity, in some areas.
    The Government continued to encourage the return of IDPs displaced 
during the 1975-90 civil war to reclaim their property and rebuild 
their homes. During the year there were no substantiated reports that 
the Government deliberately attacked IDPs or made efforts to obstruct 
access of international humanitarian organizations from assisting IDPs 
in returning to their residence. Also, there were no reports that the 
Government forcibly resettled IDP's.
    According to international humanitarian organizations, a 
significant number of people still remain displaced from the 1975-90 
civil war and as a result of the Israeli invasions and occupation of 
part of south Lebanon that ended in 2000. No updated reliable survey 
exists to determine the current number, and estimates varied hugely, 
ranging between 16,750 and 600,000. While the Government has encouraged 
the return of IDPs to their homes, many have not attempted to reclaim 
and rebuild their property due to the hazardous social and economic 
situation in some areas.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the 
Government has found mechanisms to provide assistance. In practice, the 
Government provided some protection against refoulement, the return of 
persons to a country where they feared persecution, and granted refugee 
status to a limited number of Sudanese. The Government cooperated with 
the office of the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The Government also provided 
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees 
under the 1951 Convention/1967 Protocol to approximately 3,000 persons 
during the year. In 2003 the SG signed an agreement with the UNHCR 
recognizing and granting protection to non-Palestinian refugees, 
providing temporary relief for those seeking determination of refugee 
status. Those wishing to claim refugee status do so within two months 
of arriving in the country. The SG issues residence permits, valid for 
three months, during which time UNHCR must make a refugee status 
determination. The SG extended residency permits for up to 12 months 
for those accorded refugee status by UNHCR. The Government granted 
admission and temporary (six months) refuge to asylum seekers, but not 
permanent asylum.
    Most refugees were Palestinians. The UN Relief and Works Agency 
(UNRWA) reported that the number of Palestinian refugees in the country 
registered with the UNRWA was 394,532. This figure, which represented 
refugees who arrived in 1948 and their descendants, was presumed to 
include many thousands who resided outside of the country. During the 
year there were 223,956 Palestinian refugees in UNRWAs 12 refugee camps 
throughout the country. Credible sources estimated that the actual 
number in the country was between 250,000 and 300,000. According to SG 
records, the number of registered Palestinian refugees was 
approximately 427,000.
    Most Palestinian refugees were unable to obtain citizenship and 
were subject to governmental and societal discrimination, particularly 
in the area of employment; however, Palestinian women who married 
Lebanese men could obtain citizenship (see section 5). According to a 
credible international human rights group, Palestinian refugees faced 
severe restrictions in their access to work opportunities and 
diminished protection of their rights at work. Very few Palestinians 
received work permits, and those who found work usually were directed 
into unskilled occupations. Some Palestinian refugees worked in the 
informal sector, particularly in agriculture and construction. 
Palestinian incomes continued to decline. The law prohibited 
Palestinian refugees from working in 72 professions. However, in June 
2005 the minister of labor issued a memorandum authorizing Palestinian 
nationals born in the country and duly registered with the MOI to work 
in 50 (out of 72) professions banned to foreigners. However, there were 
no indications that this memorandum was implemented consistently.
    The law does not explicitly target Palestinian refugees, but bars 
those who are not bearers of nationality of a recognized state from 
owning property. Palestinians no longer may purchase property, and 
those who owned property prior to 2001 are prohibited from passing it 
on to their children. The parliament justified these restrictions on 
the grounds that it was protecting the right of Palestinian refugees to 
return to the homes they fled after the creation of the state of Israel 
in 1948. Other foreigners may own a limited-size plot of land but only 
after obtaining the approval of five different district offices. The 
law applies to all foreigners, but it was applied in a manner 
disadvantageous to the 25,000 Kurds in the country.
    Most Palestinian refugees lived in overpopulated camps that 
suffered repeated heavy damage as a result of fighting during the civil 
war, during the 1980s Israeli invasion of the country, during 
continuing camp feuds, and during the July-August conflict between 
Israel and Hizballah. The Government generally prohibited the 
construction of permanent structures in the camps on the grounds that 
such construction encouraged refugee settlement in the country. 
Refugees frequently feared that the Government might reduce the size of 
the camps or eliminate them completely.
    Children of Palestinian refugees faced discrimination in their 
access to adequate housing, social security, education, and in their 
right to be registered. The Government did not provide health services 
or education to Palestinian refugees, who relied on UNRWA for these 
services. Many Palestinian children reportedly had to leave school at 
an early age to help earn income. Other reasons for dropouts were 
marriage (especially for minor girls), frustration, and hopelessness. 
Poverty, drug addiction, prostitution, and crime reportedly prevailed 
in the camps, although reliable statistics were not available.
    In 2003 the State Consultative Council invalidated the 1994 
naturalization decree in which several thousand Palestinian nationals 
were naturalized. As a result, approximately 4,000 persons, some of 
which are families including several siblings, may lose their Lebanese 
citizenship. The council referred the issue to the MOI to review the 
files and decide their legal status. The ministry continued to review 
the files, but it had not issued a decision by years end.
    The Government issued travel documents to Palestinian refugees to 
enable them to travel and work abroad. The Government did not issue 
visitors visas to Jordanian nationals who were born in the country and 
were of Palestinian origin.
    In October 2005 according to the Government, a new office in the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established to address the Palestinian 
refugee issue in a more comprehensive and just manner. One of the 
principal objectives of this office was to approve and increase the 
number of humanitarian projects designed to assist the Palestinian 
refugee population, with an emphasis on health and education. This 
office will seek additional donor assistance and cooperation from the 
international community and NGOs.
    According to the UNHCR there were 2,541 non-Palestinian refugees, 
primarily Iraqis, Somalis, and Sudanese, registered with the UN and 
residing in the country. However, this number did not include a 
substantial number of refugees from Iraq who entered the country 
illegally in search of jobs, education, and security. According to the 
UN an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 Iraqis were living in the country. 
During the year the Government provided very limited services for them 
and no process for regularizing their status. At years end the 
Government failed to institute a temporary protection regime for Iraqi 
asylum seekers, as advocated by UNHCR, and it regularly deported Iraqis 
who may well have had valid persecution claims.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government in 
periodic, free, and fair elections; however, lack of control over parts 
of the country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in 
public office significantly restricted this right.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The law provides that 
elections for the parliament must be held every four years. In turn the 
parliament elects the President every six years. The President and the 
parliament nominate the Prime Minister, who, with the President, 
chooses the cabinet. According to the unwritten National Pact of 1943, 
the President must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni 
Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shi'a Muslim (see section 
2.c.).
    During May and June 2005 parliamentary elections were held for the 
first time in three decades without Syrian interference. International 
observers were invited to monitor these elections and reported fewer 
incidents of voter fraud and tampering with ballots than previous 
elections. According to the European Union monitoring team, the 
elections were well managed and took place in a peaceful manner within 
the existing framework for elections. The process was flawed, 
particularly because the elections were carried out according to the 
2000 electoral law, which reflected Syrian government influence.
    The last Presidential election was conducted in 1998. In 2004 amid 
evidence of heavy Syrian manipulation and coercion, parliament voted 
for a constitutional amendment extending the term of President Lahoud 
to November 2007. Many citizens considered this amendment to violate 
the constitution.
    Individual citizens and parties can freely declare their candidacy 
and stand for election. Parties may organize, seek votes, and publicize 
their views with limited government restriction. The political system 
is based on confessional lines, and all parliamentary seats are 
primarily allotted on a sectarian basis. The smallest recognized 
confessions are allotted at least one seat in parliament.
    There are four major political parties and numerous smaller ones. 
The largest party in the parliamentary majority is the Future Movement, 
led by Saad Hariri. Its membership is predominantly Sunni, but Hariri's 
parliamentary bloc includes a number of members from other sects. The 
Progressive Socialist Party, led by Walid Jumblatt, predominantly 
represented Druze interests and allied itself with the Future Movement. 
The Free Patriotic Movement, led by Michel Aoun, represented a 
significant portion of the Christian community. The party's leadership 
decided to remain outside the cabinet. Two smaller Christian parties 
were the Lebanese Forces, led by Samir Ja'ja', and the Phalange party, 
led by former President Amin Gemeyal. The largest party representing 
the Shi'a community was Hizballah, led by Hassan Nasrallah. A smaller 
Shi'a party, Amal, was led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. A 
number of smaller parties existed, or were in the process of forming, 
but the larger, sectarian-based parties still maintained the greatest 
influence in the country's political system.
    There were significant cultural barriers to women's participation 
in politics. Prior to October 2005 no woman had held a cabinet 
position; however, at years end there was one woman in the cabinet.
    Palestinian refugees had no political rights. An estimated 17 
Palestinian factions operated in the country and were generally 
organized around prominent individuals. Most Palestinians lived in 
refugee camps controlled by one or more factions. Refugee leaders were 
not elected, but there were popular committees that met regularly with 
UNRWA and visitors.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
perception of corruption at all levels of government. During the year 
the NGO Transparency International's composite index of the degree to 
which corruption is perceived to exist among a country's politicians 
and public officials indicated a perception that the country had a 
serious corruption problem.
    There are no laws regarding public access to government documents, 
either allowing or denying access. In practice the Government did not 
respond to requests for documents.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of local and international human rights groups generally 
operated freely without overt government restriction, including the 
Lebanese Association for Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and 
Humanitarian Rights-Lebanon, the National Association for the Rights of 
the Disabled, ICRC, and Amnesty International, investigating and 
publishing their findings. In the past, some human rights groups 
reported harassment and intimidation by the Government or Hizballah. 
During the year there was no known report of a concerted effort of 
harassment by the Government of nongovernmental human rights 
organizations working in the country.
    Government officials generally were cooperative, except when some 
of these groups sought to publicize the alleged detention in Syria of 
hundreds of Lebanese citizens. The bar association and other private 
organizations regularly held public events that included discussions of 
human rights issues.
    The Government cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other 
organizations such as the ICRC.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equality among all citizens; however, in 
practice, some aspects of the law and traditional beliefs discriminated 
against women. Although the law reserves a percentage of private sector 
and government jobs to persons with disabilities, there were few 
accommodations made for them. Discrimination based on race, language, 
or social status is illegal and was not widespread among citizens; 
however, foreign domestic servants often were mistreated. Foreign 
domestic servants sometimes suffered physical abuse, had pay withheld 
or unfairly reduced, or were forced to remain locked within their 
employer's home for the duration of their contracts.

    Women.--The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, 
and domestic violence against women was a problem. There were no 
authoritative statistics on the extent of spousal abuse; however, most 
experts noted that it was a problem. Despite a law prohibiting battery 
with a maximum sentence of three years in prison for those convicted, 
some religious courts legally may require a battered wife to return to 
her home in spite of physical abuse. Women were sometimes compelled to 
remain in abusive marriages because of economic, social, and family 
pressures.
    The Government had no separate program to provide medical 
assistance to battered women; however, it provided legal assistance to 
victims who could not afford it regardless of their gender. In most 
cases police ignored complaints submitted by battered or abused women. 
A local NGO, the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, 
worked actively to reduce violence against women by offering 
counseling, legal aid, and raising awareness about domestic violence.
    Foreign domestic servants often were mistreated, abused, and in 
some cases, raped or placed in slavery-like conditions (see section 5, 
Trafficking). Asian and African female workers had no practical legal 
recourse available to them because of their low status, isolation from 
society, and because labor laws did not protect them (see section 
6.e.). Because of such abuse, the Government prohibited foreign women 
from working if they were from countries that did not have diplomatic 
representation in the country.
    The law prohibits rape, and the minimum prison sentence for a 
person convicted of rape is five years in prison. The minimum sentence 
for a person convicted of raping a minor is seven years. The law was 
effectively enforced.
    The legal system was discriminatory in its handling of honor 
crimes. According to the Penal Code, a man who kills his wife or other 
female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates that 
he committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual 
relationship conducted by the victim. For example, while the Penal Code 
stipulates that murder is punishable by either a life sentence or the 
death penalty, if a defendant can prove it was an honor crime, the 
sentence is commuted to one to seven years imprisonment. While several 
honor crimes were reported in the media, no person was convicted in a 
case legally considered an honor crime.
    Although the law on prostitution requires that brothels be 
licensed, including regular testing for disease, government policy was 
not to issue new licenses for brothels in an attempt to gradually 
eliminate legal prostitution in the country. In practice most 
prostitution was unlicensed and illegal. The SG reported issuing 3,744 
visas in 2005 to mostly eastern European women to work in adult clubs 
as artistes. Although prostitution is illegal, virtually all of these 
women engaged in prostitution with the implicit consent of the 
Government. The country was a destination for trafficked persons, 
primarily women (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, 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. Women may own property, but often ceded control 
of it to male relatives for cultural reasons and because of family 
pressure.
    The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men and women, 
but in the private sector there was some discrimination regarding the 
provision of benefits.
    Only men may confer citizenship on their spouses and children. 
Accordingly, children born to citizen mothers and foreign fathers are 
not eligible for citizenship. Citizen widows may confer citizenship on 
their minor children.

    Children.--Education was free in public schools and compulsory 
until the completion of the elementary level at age 12. However, 
implementation decrees were not issued. Public schools generally were 
inadequate, lacking proper facilities, equipment and trained staff. 
Although private schools were widespread in the country, the cost of 
private education was a significant problem for the middle and lower 
classes. In its latest report, the UN Childrens Fund reported that 
approximately 91 percent of children between the ages of three and 
five, and approximately 98 percent of children between the ages of six 
to 11 were enrolled in school. In some families with limited incomes, 
boys received more education than girls.
    Boys and girls had equal access to medical care. The Government 
provided vaccination and other pediatric health services in 
dispensaries operated by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of 
Social Affairs. Access to hospitals was provided to all free of gender 
discrimination.
    Children of poor families often sought employment and took jobs 
that jeopardized their safety (see section 6.d.).
    Children of Palestinian refugees were limited in their access to 
government services (see section 2.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons, and although the Government made progress in 
stemming some forms of trafficking in persons, it remained a problem. 
The Penal Code stipulates that ``any person who deprives another of 
freedom either by abduction or any other means shall be sentenced to 
temporary hard labor.'' The country was a destination for East European 
and Russian women, contracted as dancers in adult clubs. Most of these 
women engaged in voluntary illegal prostitution, but some reported 
facing intimidation or coercion and having their movements restricted 
while others were at risk as targets of abuse.
    The country was also a destination for women from Africa and Asia, 
usually contracted as household workers. Women are required by law to 
have good-faith work contracts and sponsors, but often found themselves 
in situations of involuntary servitude with little practical legal 
recourse.
    If forced prostitution or forced rendering of sexual services 
occurred as a result of abduction, the Penal Code stipulates that the 
abductor be sentenced to at least one year in prison; however, this law 
was applied inconsistently. Many women became illegal workers because 
their employers did not renew their work and residency permits or 
because they ran away from their employers' house, therefore becoming 
subject to detention and deportation. Workers' illegal immigration 
status was also used by abusive sponsors as a tactic to intimidate 
employees and coerce them into labor. Unscrupulous employers sometimes 
falsely accused the employee of theft to relinquish responsibility for 
the employee as well as the taxes and a return airline ticket (see 
section 6.e.).
    Restrictions of movement and withholding of passports were common 
practices. A small number of exploited foreign workers won cases 
against their employers, but nonjudicial action resolved the majority 
of these cases. As a result of that process, workers frequently were 
repatriated without further judicial action. A few cases were referred 
to the judiciary for further action, although the Government took 
minimal steps to prosecute traffickers.
    There were no new developments in the investigations of the 2004 
deaths of Herra Olandres and Luella Montenegro, two Filipinas allegedly 
attempting to flee abusive work environments when they died.
    The Ministry of Labor (MOL) regulates local employment agencies 
that place migrant workers with sponsors. During the year the MOL 
closed 10 employment agencies for a specified period and warned a 
number of others for noncompliance with MOL regulations.
    The Government's 2004 decision to deny visas to workers from 
Ethiopia to prevent fraud was suspended, and the Government began 
issuing visas effective February 1 for a trial period.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports during the year of 
any attempt to smuggle persons into the country.
    The country made some progress in protecting victims of 
trafficking. The Government did not provide foreign workers with relief 
from deportation, shelter, or access to legal, medical, or 
psychological services. The SG and Caritas/International Catholic 
Migration Commission (ICMC) cooperated to create a safe house for 
protection of trafficking victims. Social workers were allowed to 
accompany victims during the interviews by immigration authorities. The 
SG also granted out-of-visa status for workers who were victims of 
abuse and permission to stay up to two months to assist in the 
investigation of their cases and the prosecution of their abusers. The 
SG also implemented screening and referral procedures for trafficking 
cases. Social workers from Caritas Lebanon Migrants Center were also 
allowed unrestricted access to the SG's holding center for foreign 
persons. These social workers provided detainees with counseling, 
assistance, and legal protection.
    In 2005 the SG began endorsing an alternative for migrant workers 
who did not wish to be repatriated to their home country to legally 
change their sponsor. It started allowing migrant workers to change 
employers, but only if they have a ``release paper'' from the original 
employer. A court may order an abusive employer to provide such a 
release paper as part of a decision, or this may be part of a 
negotiated out-of-court settlement.
    NGOs indicated that the Government still did not have a zero-
tolerance policy for physical abuse of domestic workers.
    However, according to Caritas/ICMC, in one case, a judge awarded an 
Ethiopian migrant worker financial compensation to be paid by her 
abusive employer. This decision marked the first time a domestic worker 
in the country was awarded compensation for physical abuse.
    Two types of booklets explaining regulations governing migrant 
workers, including descriptions of their rights and responsibilities, 
were available upon request, or distributed as needed.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Discrimination against persons with 
disabilities continued. For example, the Civil Service Board, which is 
in charge of recruiting government employees, refused to receive 
applications from disabled persons. The law mandates disabled access to 
buildings; however, the Government failed to take steps to amend 
building codes to conform to this law. Approximately 100,000 persons 
were disabled during the civil war. Families generally cared for their 
own family members with disabilities. Most efforts to assist persons 
with disabilities were made by approximately 100 private organizations. 
These organizations were relatively active, although poorly funded.
    The law on persons with disabilities stipulates that at least 3 
percent of all government and private sector positions should be filled 
by persons with disabilities, provided that such persons fulfill the 
qualifications for the position. However, there was no evidence that 
the law was enforced in practice.
    In 2002 the Ministry of Finance informed all firms and companies 
that it would not settle obligations with them unless they proved that 
3 percent of their workforce was composed of persons with disabilities. 
However, the ministry failed to enforce this decision.
    Many persons with mental disabilities were cared for in private 
institutions, many of which were subsidized by the Government.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports that Syrian 
workers, usually employed in manual labor occupations, suffered 
discrimination following the withdrawal of Syrian forces in April 2005. 
Many Syrian laborers also reportedly left Lebanon out of fear of 
harassment. There had been no further data collected on this situation 
during the year, and the true extent of the problem was unknown.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Discrimination against 
homosexuals persisted during the year. The law prohibits unnatural 
sexual intercourse, which is punishable by up to one year in prison. 
The law was sometimes applied to homosexuals. Citizens sexual 
preferences reflected societal norms, not legal rulings. There are no 
discriminatory laws against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers, 
except government employees, may establish and join unions, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. The General Confederation of Labor 
(GCL) estimated that there were 900,000 workers in the active labor 
force. Approximately 5 to 7 percent of workers were members of some 450 
to 500 labor unions and associations, half of which were believed to be 
inactive. Most unions belonged to federations. At year's end 43 
federations were voting members of the GCL. However, some unionists 
continued to claim that some of these federations were ``virtual,'' 
that is, created by political interest groups to offset the votes of 
the 13 established labor confederations that actually represented 
workers. The GCL remained the only organization recognized by the 
Government as an interlocutor that represented workers.
    Antiunion discrimination by private employers was a common 
practice. While the Government does not have a good mechanism for 
measuring such practices, it appeared prevalent in many sectors of the 
economy.
    Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions; however, 
because of restrictions on their right to work, few Palestinians 
participated actively in trade unions (see section 2.d.).

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The right of 
workers to organize and to bargain collectively exists in law and 
practice. Most worker groups engaged in some form of collective 
bargaining with their employers. Stronger federations obtained 
significant gains for their members and on occasion assisted nonunion 
workers. No government mechanisms promoted voluntary labor-management 
negotiations, and workers had no protection against antiunion 
discrimination.
    The law provides for the right to strike. On May 1, the Communist 
Party held a Labor Day march to protest the deterioration of living 
conditions, and on May 10 teachers protested government economic reform 
policies.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children; however, articles within the law prohibit behavior that 
constitutes forced or compulsory labor. Nevertheless, children, foreign 
domestic workers, and other foreign workers sometimes were forced to 
remain in situations amounting to coerced or bonded labor (see sections 
5 and 6.e.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor was a problem. The minimum age for child employment is 14 
years. Under the law juveniles are defined as children between 14 and 
18 years of age. The law prohibits the employment of juveniles before 
they undergo a medical exam to ensure their fitness for the job for 
which they are hired. The labor code prohibits employment of juveniles 
under the age of 18 for more than six hours per day, and requires one 
hour of rest if work is more than four hours. The law entitles them to 
21 days of paid annual leave.
    Juveniles are prohibited from working between the hours of 7 p.m. 
and 7 a.m. The law prohibits juveniles under the age of 17 from working 
in jobs that jeopardize their health, safety, or morals. It also 
prohibits the employment of juveniles under 16 in industrial jobs or 
jobs that are physically demanding or harmful to their health. The MOL 
was responsible for enforcing these requirements; however, it did not 
enforce the law effectively. In cooperation with the UN Office for Drug 
Control and Crime Prevention, the Government inaugurated the Center for 
Juvenile Victims of Physical Abuse in 2005. As such, juveniles would no 
longer be interrogated at police stations but rather at the center, 
which was equipped according to international norms, in the presence of 
a social worker.
    Children worked in predominantly trade-related jobs. The percentage 
of working children between the ages of 10 and 14 was estimated at 1.8 
percent. The percentage of working children between the ages of 15 and 
18 was 11.3 percent. There were no recent reliable statistics on the 
number of child workers.
    A 2004 MOL study on working street children provided a snapshot of 
the condition and nature of street children in the country. The report 
showed that the average street child was a boy (9 percent were girls), 
foreign (only 15 percent were citizens, the others were most often 
Palestinian and Syrian), 12 years of age, and poorly educated or 
illiterate. Street children were concentrated in large urban centers 
where approximately 47 percent of them were forced to work long hours 
on the streets by adults. The most common types of work were selling 
goods, including lottery tickets; shoe polishing; and washing car 
windshields. The children earned between $2 and $15 (3,000 to 25,000 
pounds) per day. Only 19 percent of the children interviewed said they 
kept their income.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government sets a legal 
minimum wage; during the year it was approximately $200 (300,000 
pounds) per month, but it was not enforced effectively in the private 
sector. The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living 
for a worker and family. Trade unions attempted to ensure the payment 
of minimum wages in both the public sector and the large-scale private 
sector.
    The law prescribes a standard 48-hour workweek, with a 24-hour rest 
period per week. 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. The law includes specific occupational 
health and safety regulations. Labor regulations require employers to 
take adequate precautions for employee safety. The MOL was responsible 
for enforcing these regulations but did so unevenly. Labor organizers 
reported that workers did not have the right to remove themselves from 
hazardous conditions without jeopardizing their continued employment.
    Some private sector firms failed to provide employees with family 
and transport allowances as stipulated under the law and to register 
them at the National Social Security Fund. Some companies also did not 
respect occupational health and safety regulations stipulated by the 
law. Workers are permitted to complain about violations to the GCL, an 
umbrella organization for trade unions, the MOL and the National Social 
Security Fund. In most cases, however, they preferred to remain silent 
fearing arbitrary dismissal.
    Foreign domestic workers, mostly of Asian and African origin, were 
mistreated, abused, raped, or placed in situations of coerced labor or 
slavery-like conditions (see section 5). Recruitment agencies and 
employers are required to have signed employment contracts with the 
foreign worker. According to NGOs assisting migrant workers, however, 
these agreements were often undermined by second contracts signed in 
the source countries that stipulated lower salaries. Employers and 
agencies used these changes to pay the migrant a lower salary. 
Anecdotal evidence suggested that some employers did not pay their 
workers on a regular basis, and some withheld the salary until the end 
of the contract, which was usually two years. Government regulations 
prohibit employment agencies from withholding foreign workers' 
passports for any reason. However, in practice it continued to be 
common for employment agencies and household employers to withhold 
maids' passports. These measures were used to control the outside 
activities of the workers, specifically, to keep them from running 
away.
    The law does not protect foreign domestic workers. Domestic workers 
often worked 18 hours per day and, in many cases did not receive 
vacations or holidays. There was no minimum wage for domestic workers. 
Although official contracts stipulate a wage ranging from $100 to $300 
(150,000 to 450,000 pounds) per month, depending on the nationality of 
the worker, the actual salary was much less. Victims of trafficking or 
abusive labor situations may file civil suits or seek legal action, but 
most victims, often counseled by their embassies or consulates, settled 
for an administrative solution, which usually included monetary 
compensation and repatriation. The Government did not release 
information on legal actions filed, but NGOs indicated that fewer than 
10 legal actions were undertaken during the year.
    During the year the MOL, which regulates the activities of 
employment agencies, closed 15 agencies for violations of workers' 
rights, including physical abuse. Perpetrators of the abuses, however, 
were not further prosecuted for a number of reasons, including the 
victims' refusal to press charges or a lack of evidence. The MOL, which 
also has jurisdiction in cases where the labor contract has been 
violated, reported adjudicating 57 such cases during the year. 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 returning to their countries.

                               __________

                                 LIBYA

    The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is an 
authoritarian regime with a population of approximately six million, 
ruled by Colonel Mu'ammar Al Qadhafi since 1969. The country's 
governing principles are derived predominantly from Colonel Qadhafi's 
Green Book ideology. In theory citizens rule the country through a 
pyramid of popular congresses communes, and committees, as laid out in 
the 1969 Constitutional Proclamation and the 1977 Declaration on the 
Establishment of the Authority of the People. However, in practice 
Qadhafi and his inner circle monopolized political power. On March 5, 
Secretary of the General People's Congress (GPC) al-Baghdadi al-
Mahmoudi and the remaining delegates of the 760-member GPC began a 
three-year term. Revolutionary Committees are nominally extragovern- 
mental organizations that monitor adherence to revolutionary ideology, 
but in practice the committees' role was unclear and increasingly 
marginal. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective 
control of the security forces.
    The Government's human rights record remained poor. Citizens did 
not have the right to change their government. Reported torture, 
arbitrary arrest, and incommunicado detention remained problems. The 
Government restricted civil liberties and freedoms of speech, press, 
assembly, and association. The Government did not fully protect the 
rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Other problems 
included poor prison conditions; impunity for government officials; 
lengthy political detention; denial of fair public trial; infringement 
of privacy rights; restrictions of freedom of religion; corruption and 
lack of transparency; societal discrimination against women, ethnic 
minorities, and foreign workers; trafficking in persons; and 
restriction of labor rights.
    The Government took a positive step during the year. On March 2, 
the Government released 132 political prisoners, including 86 members 
of the Muslim Brotherhood held since 1988 and journalist Abd Al Raziq 
Al Mansuri.
                        respect for human rights
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 a September 13 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, 
witnesses interviewed in April and May 2005 claimed that abuse by 
detention center guards led to the deaths of three detainees (see 
section 1.c.).
    The Government did not release publicly any information on its 
investigation into the May 2005 abduction, abuse, and killing of Daif 
Al Ghazal, a prominent opposition journalist and anticorruption 
activist. According to HRW the Government stated that it could not 
provide information about the case without compromising its 
investigation. In August the Government stated it had detained two 
suspects. Some human rights groups raised concerns that a government 
autopsy in the Al Ghazal case omitted key details necessary for a 
police investigation.

    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 security personnel 
routinely tortured prisoners during interrogations or as punishment. 
Government agents reportedly detained and tortured foreign workers, 
particularly those from sub Saharan Africa. Reports of torture were 
difficult to corroborate since many detainees were held incommunicado.
    The reported methods of torture and abuse included chaining 
prisoners to a wall for hours, clubbing, applying electric shock, 
applying corkscrews to the back, pouring lemon juice in open wounds, 
breaking fingers and allowing the joints to heal without medical care, 
suffocating with plastic bags, prolonged deprivation of sleep, food, 
and water, hanging by the wrists, suspension from a pole inserted 
between the knees and elbows, cigarette burns, threats of dog attacks, 
and beatings on the soles of the feet.
    According to HRW the Government claimed that it prosecuted 
officials who mistreated detainees in detention facilities. The 
Government stated that it investigated 43 cases of alleged torture and 
brought 48 defendants to trial in 2004. The Government did not specify 
the outcome of the trials or provide similar statistics for 2005 or 
this year.
    Since 2000 six foreign medical personnel charged with deliberately 
infecting children in a hospital in Benghazi with the HIV virus 
testified repeatedly that they had been tortured with electric shocks 
and beatings to extract confessions. The medical personnel also 
testified to two cases of rape. In June 2005 a court acquitted 10 
security officials accused of torture (see section 1.e.).
    In March 2005 representatives of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) 
and the International Federation of Health and Human Rights 
Organizations visited political detainee Fathi Al Jahmi and reported 
that his isolated confinement and sporadic and inadequate medical 
treatment constituted cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment (see 
section 1.e.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to foreign 
diplomats and international organizations, prison and detention center 
conditions ranged from poor to adequate. Pretrial detainees and 
convicts were held in the same facilities. Reportedly more than half of 
the prisoners in the country were pretrial detainees. Prison officials 
frequently held pretrial detainees for long periods (see section 1.d.).
    Security forces reportedly subjected detainees to cruel, inhuman, 
or degrading conditions and denied adequate medical care, which led to 
several deaths in custody.
    On October 4, according to press accounts, clashes between 
prisoners and guards at the Abu Salim prison killed one prisoner, Hafed 
Mansour Al-Zwai, and injured 17.
    For three weeks in April and May 2005, HRW visited the country 
after a 15 year absence and received access to police stations, 
prisons, and prisoners. According to HRW prison conditions appeared 
generally adequate, but overcrowding and abuse by security forces as 
punishment were problems. According to HRW witnesses reported that 
physical abuse by guards led to the deaths of three detainees (see 
section 1.a.); one interviewee said that he saw what he believed to be 
rape, while three witnesses reported that security officials threatened 
women detainees with sexual violence. HRW stated that some detention 
conditions for migrants and refugees reportedly improved since some of 
the interviewees were detained.
    In February 2004 the Government permitted Amnesty International 
(AI) to visit some prisons and speak with inmates that it considered 
``prisoners of conscience.'' During its visit AI raised concerns with 
the Government about the health of 86 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners in 
Abu Salim prison who undertook a seven day hunger strike to protest 
lengthy delays in their appeal process. On March 2, the Government 
released these 86 prisoners. In March 2005 the Government also allowed 
PHR representatives to examine a limited number of detention 
facilities.
    In May 2005 the authorities established a committee to investigate 
the 1996 Abu Salim prison riot, in which a large but unknown number of 
prisoners died. According to HRW the Government did not provide 
information on the timing of the investigation and has not responded to 
subsequent HRW requests for details on the investigation's progress. 
Similarly, AI did not receive a reply from the Government to its formal 
request for information. AI officials reported that they continued to 
receive inquiries from family members of prisoners possibly involved in 
the 1996 incident. Since 2001 according to the Switzerland-based Libyan 
Human Rights Solidarity (LHRS), government officials notified 112 
families that a family member died in the incident, but officials did 
not provide a body or explain the cause of death. An additional 238 
families have not received confirmation from the Government on the 
status of their family members.
    According to LHRS, Muhammad Bosadra, a prisoner who reportedly 
negotiated with guards during the incident, has been held incommunicado 
since 2005, when government officials moved him from Abu Salim to an 
unknown facility.
    Unlike in previous years, the Government allowed the United 
National High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) local office regular 
access to detention facilities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, the Government did not observe these 
prohibitions. There were reports that security forces arbitrarily 
arrested and detained citizens during the year.
    On April 19, authorities reportedly released Kamel Mas'ud Al 
Kilani, who was arrested, taken to an unknown destination, and detained 
for 10 months, according to the Libya Watch for Human Rights. 
Authorities arrested Al Kilani despite government assurances of safety 
upon his 2005 return to the country, but the Government did not bring 
charges against him. At year's end authorities had not yet returned his 
passport.
    According to a December 4 HRW report, security forces detained an 
outspoken regime critic, Idrees Mohammed Boufayed, on November 5. On 
September 30, Boufayed returned after living in Switzerland for 16 
years. HRW reports that security agents confiscated Boufayed's passport 
upon his arrival in the country. Security agents came to Boufayed's 
home and ordered him to report to the local Internal Security Agency 
office where they then ordered him to report to the agency's main 
office in Tripoli. On December 29, security forces subsequently 
released Boufayed.
    AI reported that security officials detained Mahmoud Mohammed 
Boushima, a government critic resident in the UK since 1981, during a 
July 2005 trip to the country. He remained in custody at year's end.

    Role of Police and Security Apparatus.--The country maintains an 
extensive security apparatus that includes police and military units, 
multiple intelligence services, local revolutionary committees, 
people's committees, and ``purification'' committees. The result is a 
multilayered, pervasive surveillance system that monitors and controls 
the activities of individuals. The legal basis of security service 
authority is unclear; citizens have no obvious recourse if they believe 
security services have exceeded their authority. Frequently cited laws 
are the 1971 and 1972 ``Protection of the Revolution'' laws, which 
criminalize activities based on political principles inconsistent with 
revolutionary ideology. Although the law prohibits arbitrary arrest and 
detention, in practice security services can detain individuals without 
formal charges and hold them indefinitely without court convictions. 
Security forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses with 
impunity, including the detentions of al-Kilani, Boufayed, and Boushima 
(see section 1.d.).
    Many citizens perceived corruption as a severe problem. Perceptions 
of favoritism based on family or personal connections were widespread 
(see section 3).

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that detainees can be held 
after arrest for up to 48 hours at a police station. They must then be 
brought before a prosecutor, who can hold them for six days for 
investigation. While the law requires that detainees be informed of the 
charges against them, this law was not enforced in practice. Detainees 
must then be brought before a judicial authority at regular intervals 
of 30 days to renew their detention order.
    By law bail must be set for pretrial detainees, detainees must have 
access to counsel, and public defenders represent those who cannot 
afford a private attorney. Detainees reportedly did not receive 
information on their rights to legal representation during 
interrogation. According to authorities detainees have access to family 
members.
    Incommunicado detention was a problem. The Government held many 
political detainees incommunicado for unlimited periods in unofficial 
detention centers controlled by members of the revolutionary 
committees. The Government reportedly held hundreds of political 
detainees, many associated with banned Islamic groups, in prisons 
throughout the country, but mainly in the Abu Salim prison. Some human 
rights organizations estimated there were approximately two thousand 
political detainees, many held for years without trial. Hundreds of 
other detainees may have been held for periods too brief (three to four 
months) to permit confirmation by outside observers.
    According to a September 13 HRW report, in 2005 migrants and 
refugees in detention centers complained consistently of not being 
informed of the reason for their arrest, lengthy periods of pretrial 
detention, and restricted access to a lawyer.
    Women and girls suspected of violating moral codes reportedly were 
detained indefinitely in ``social rehabilitation'' homes (see section 
5).

    Amnesty.--On September 3, as part of its annual Revolution Day 
commemoration, the Government reportedly pardoned 1,700 prisoners, 
including foreigners, serving sentences related to civil matters. The 
Government regularly pardons prisoners during the September holiday.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, it was not independent in practice. The 
law stipulates that every person has the right to resort to the courts; 
however, security forces had the authority to pass sentences without 
trial, particularly in cases involving political opposition. The legal 
basis for security force authority is unclear. Some NGOs cited the 1971 
and 1972 ``Protection of the Revolution'' laws (see section 1.d.). 
Security services intimidated, harassed, and detained individuals 
without formal charges and held them indefinitely without court 
convictions, particularly in cases involving political opposition. The 
Government used summary judicial proceedings to suppress domestic 
dissent. Qadhafi may interfere in the administration of justice by 
altering court judgments, replacing judges, or manipulating the appeal 
system. The judiciary failed to incorporate international standards for 
fair trials, detention, and imprisonment.
    The judicial system is composed of four tiers. The summary courts 
hear cases involving misdemeanors. The decisions of this court may be 
appealed to the courts of first instance. These courts are composed of 
chambers of three judges and have the authority to adjudicate in all 
civil, criminal, and commercial cases. In addition, the jurors apply 
the Shari'a principles in cases involving personal status. Cases from 
the courts of first instance may be appealed to the three courts of 
appeal, which are composed of panels of three judges. The Shari'a court 
of appeals hears cases from the lower Shari'a court.
    The final court of appeal is the Supreme Court, composed of five 
separate chambers of five judges, which rules by majority decree. The 
court has chambers for civil and commercial, criminal, administrative, 
constitutional, and Shari'a. The GPC elects the presiding President and 
other members of the Supreme Court.
    The Supreme Council for Judicial Authority is the administrative 
authority of the judiciary that handles appointments, transfers, and 
disciplinary matters.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of 
innocence, informing defendants of the charges against them, and the 
right to legal counsel. In practice defendants often were not informed 
of the charges against them and usually had little contact, if any, 
with their lawyers. Defense lawyers automatically were appointed, even 
if the defendant declined to have one.
    In January 2005 the GPC abolished the People's Court, a special 
tribunal outside of the judicial system, which violated fair trial 
standards during the prosecution of political cases. However, in the 
past the revolutionary committees convened national security courts to 
try political offenses. Such trials often were held in secret or in the 
absence of the accused. The Government must review all past cases of 
prisoners found guilty by the People's Court. Reviews were ongoing at 
year's end.
    In 2004 a court sentenced to death six foreign health workers 
accused of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV tainted blood 
in 1999. The sentences reportedly were based on confessions that the 
accused made under torture (see section 1.c.). International observers 
reported serious concerns about the lack of investigation into 
allegations of torture and delays in bringing the case to a conclusion. 
In December 2005 the Supreme Court accepted the appeal of the medics 
and ordered a retrial by the criminal court, which began on May 11. 
Authorities denied the defendants and their lawyers the right to call 
witnesses or present evidence while giving wide latitude to the 
prosecution. Defendants and their lawyers had limited access to 
government held evidence. At the December 19 conclusion of the retrial, 
the court announced sentences of death for the six health workers. At 
year's end the Supreme Court was reviewing the verdict.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--A large but unknown number of 
individuals were convicted and imprisoned for engaging in peaceful 
political activity over a number of years for belonging to an illegal 
political organization. The law bans any group activity based on any 
political ideology contrary to the principles of the 1969 revolution.
    At year's end political activist and Qadhafi critic Fathi Al-Jahmi 
remained in incommunicado detention. In 2002 security forces detained 
Al-Jahmi after he called publicly for democratic reforms and released 
him in March 2004. The Government detained him again two weeks later 
after he gave several interviews to foreign press calling for reforms. 
In May 2005 HRW visited Al Jahmi, and he stated that he faced three 
charges: trying to overthrow the Government, slandering Qadhafi, and 
contacting foreign authorities. According to HRW the Government 
contended it arrested Al-Jahmi both for telephoning foreign officials 
and ``providing them with information with the purpose of making their 
countries hate the Great Jamahiriya,'' and also for conspiring to serve 
the interests of a foreign country. HRW reported that Al-Jahmi's lawyer 
believes these charges could carry the death penalty. According to a 
May 4 HRW report, the Government had not brought formal charges against 
Al-Jahmi, and the case was still under investigation.
    On March 2, the Government released journalist Abd Al Razia Al 
Mansuri, whom it reportedly held incommunicado after his January 2005 
arrest. According to HRW Al Mansuri wrote Internet articles critical of 
the Government and society. The Government claimed to have arrested and 
sentenced Al Mansuri in October 2005 for illegal possession of a 
handgun.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Courts of first instance 
have the authority to hear civil, criminal, and commercial cases. Civil 
cases, like criminal cases, may be appealed. The Supreme Court is the 
court of appeals for all civil cases and has a separate chamber devoted 
to civil matters. In practice citizens did not have access to courts to 
seek damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation. Security 
services intimidated, harassed, and detained individuals outside of the 
legal system and without judicial oversight. In practice individuals 
did not have the right to seek redress for security service actions in 
civil court.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the 
Government did not respect these prohibitions. The security agencies 
often disregarded the legal requirement to obtain warrants before 
entering a private home. They routinely monitored telephone calls and 
reportedly monitored the Internet.
    The security agencies and the revolutionary committees oversaw an 
extensive network of informants engaged in surveillance for the 
Government. The Government threatened to seize and destroy property 
belonging to ``enemies of the people'' or those who ``cooperate'' with 
foreign powers. Exiles reported that family members of suspected 
government opponents were harassed and threatened with detention.
    Collective punishment was inflicted on the relatives of 
individuals, particularly oppositionists convicted of certain crimes. 
The law provides for punishments including the denial of access to 
utilities (water, electricity, and telephone), fuels, food supplies, 
official documents, participation in local assemblies, and the 
termination of new economic projects and state subsidies.
    There were no reports of the application of the purge law that 
provides for the confiscation of private assets above a nominal amount, 
describing wealth in excess of such undetermined amounts as ``the 
fruits of exploitation or corruption.''
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech ``within the limits of public interest and principles of the 
Revolution''; however, in practice the Government severely limited the 
freedoms of speech and press, particularly any criticism of government 
officials or policy. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 
press freedom slightly improved since 2005. The Government tolerated 
some difference of opinion in people's committee meetings and at the 
GPC.
    The Government prohibited all unofficial political activities. By 
law many forms of speech or expression may be interpreted as illegal. 
Pervasive self-censorship stemmed largely from the wide reach of 
security services and broad networks of informants throughout society 
(see section 1.f.).
    On March 2, the Government released Abd Al Raziq Al Mansuri, who 
was arrested in January 2005 after publishing articles critical of the 
Government and society on a foreign Web site (see section 1.e.).
    At year's end the Government continued to detain political activist 
Fathi Al-Jahmi after he denounced the regime to foreign media (see 
section 1.e.).
    In May 2005 unidentified individuals abducted and killed journalist 
and out-spoken government critic Daif Al Ghazal. In June 2005 
authorities found his body and later detained two men in connection 
with an open investigation (see section 1.a.).
    The Government owned and controlled virtually all print and 
broadcast media. The official news agency, JANA, was the designated 
conduit for official views. The Government did not permit the 
publication of opinions inconsistent with official policy. A single 
privately-owned radio station, broadcasting popular music and hourly 
JANA news reports, reportedly opened with government permission. Local 
revolutionary committees published several small newspapers.
    Few foreign publications were available. The Government routinely 
censored foreign publications and at times prohibited their 
distribution. On July 1, an offshoot of the semi-official Qadhafi 
International Development Foundation began distributing foreign 
publications for the first time within the country. While the 
publications law in theory restricts publishing rights to public 
entities, in practice, private companies were able to publish.
    Satellite television was widely available, although the Government 
censored foreign programming at times.

    Internet Freedom.--A sole service provider offered Internet access. 
The number of Internet users was small but growing. According to the 
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), approximately four percent 
of citizens regularly used the Internet. The Government occasionally 
blocked certain Internet sites, chiefly political opposition Web sites, 
and reportedly monitored Internet communications.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government severely 
restricted academic freedom. Professors and teachers who discussed 
politically sensitive topics faced the risk of government reprisal.
    The Government must approve all cultural events in advance. Any 
group or individual seeking to organize a cultural event required a 
government sponsor. The Government at times denied permission for 
musical performances.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law stipulates that ``individuals may meet peacefully, 
and no police personnel are entitled to attend their meetings; 
moreover, they are not obliged to notify the police of such 
gatherings.'' The law also provides for the right to hold public 
meetings in accordance with the regulations set by the law. However, 
the Government severely restricted these rights in practice. The 
Government permitted public assembly only with its express approval and 
only in support of the Government's positions.

    Freedom of Association.--The Government restricted the right of 
association to institutions affiliated with the Government. The 
Government did not allow the formation of groups based on political 
ideology (see section 3). Political activity deemed treasonous by the 
Government carries the death penalty. Such an offense may include any 
activity inconsistent with the principles of the 1969 revolution.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--There is no explicit law addressing 
religious freedom; however, the Great Green Charter on Human Rights of 
the Jamahiriya Era of 1988 provides a basis for some degree of 
religious freedom.
    The Government regulates mosques, religious schools, and clerics 
operating within the country to insure all views are in line with the 
state-approved form of Islam. The Government strongly opposes militant 
forms of Islam, which it views as a threat. The Government was tolerant 
of other religious groups but prohibited the proselytizing of Muslims. 
The World Islamic Call Society (WICS), an international education 
institute headquartered in Tripoli, aimed to provide Muslims from 
outside the Arab world with a broad education in literature, history, 
science, and religion. In addition, WICS also organizes vocational 
training programs and brings academic speakers to the country. WICS 
also maintains relations with non-Muslim religious groups in the 
country, including Christian churches.
    Christian churches operated openly and were accepted by the 
authorities; however, the Government imposed a limit of one church per 
denomination per city and prohibited proselytizing of Muslims. There 
were no official places of worship for minority religions such as 
Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Baha'i Faith.
    A noncitizen female who marries a Muslim citizen was not required 
to convert to Islam; however, a noncitizen male must convert to Islam 
in order to marry a Muslim woman. The Government supported the position 
that all citizens are Muslim, and marriages between non Muslims were 
unacceptable. Burial of non-Muslims was not possible in Tripoli.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of 
religious groups.
    Although no current statistics were available, the country's Jewish 
population was extremely small and possibly nonexistent. In 1974 the 
World Jewish Congress reported no more than 20 Jews resident in the 
country.
    The Government renovated a former Jewish school in Tripoli, which 
now serves as a city archive. In the absence of a Jewish community, 
there was no functioning synagogue.
    In 2004 Qadhafi called for compensation for Jews whose property was 
nationalized by the Government after 1948. Discussions regarding 
possible compensation for confiscated communal property have been 
ongoing since 2004.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law stipulates that ``each citizen, 
during the time of peace, may move freely, choose the place where he or 
she wishes to live, and may return to the country and leave whenever he 
or she chooses.'' The law on travel documents provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally did not restrict the freedom of 
movement within the country. Authorities routinely seized the passports 
of foreigners married to citizens upon their entry into the country.
    The law does not allow, nor does the Government impose forced exile 
as a punishment. The Government continued to encourage dissidents 
resident abroad to return and publicly promised their safety; however, 
HRW and AI reported two examples where the Government detained 
dissidents returning from exile despite promises to the contrary (see 
section 1.d.). The Government reportedly interrogated students 
returning from study abroad.

    Protection of Refugees.--There was no established system to protect 
refugees or national legislation to determine refugee and asylum 
status; therefore, the Government did not grant refugee status or 
asylum. The country is not a party to the 1951 UN Convention Relating 
to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; however, it is a party 
to the former Organization of African Unity's Convention Governing the 
Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. In practice the 
Government provided some protection against refoulement, the return of 
persons to a country where they feared persecution.
    While the Government has not signed a formal cooperation agreement 
with the UNHCR, the local UNHCR office had regular access to government 
officials and facilities and was able to conduct its work without 
significant restrictions.
    The law prohibits the extradition of political refugees. Unlike in 
previous years, the Government did not forcibly return any refugees. 
According to UNHCR the Government started to differentiate between 
legitimate refugees and asylum seekers and other economic migrants; 
however, most Libyans failed to distinguish legitimate refugees and 
asylum seekers from the large immigrant population.
    During 2005 approximately 12,600 refugees were registered with the 
UNHCR, although UNHCR estimates there were 30,000 refugees in the 
country. During the year UNHCR reported an increase in the number of 
refugee applications, which contributed to an eight month waiting 
period for asylum seekers to receive an appointment with the 
organization. The majority of refugees are Palestinians and Somalis, 
followed by smaller numbers from Chad, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra 
Leone.
    The Government stipulates that any foreigner who enters the country 
illegally shall be deported. The Government maintained detention camps 
to hold noncitizens pending deportation and did not inform diplomatic 
representatives when their nationals were detained. There were reports 
of authorities leaving noncitizens in the desert without any aid. 
According to government figures, officials repatriated approximately 
145,000 foreigners between 2003 and 2005.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law makes no provisions for elections, and citizens do not have 
the right to change their government. The country's governing 
principles stem from Qadhafi's Green Book, which combines Islamic 
ideals with elements of socialism and pan Arabism. The Green Book 
states that direct popular rule is the basis of the political system 
and that citizens play a role in popular congresses; however, in 
practice Qadhafi and his close associates monopolized government 
decisions.
    In August 2005 the quasigovernmental Qaddafi International 
Development Foundation, headed by Qadhafi's son Saif Al-Islam, launched 
an initiative calling for political reform, including greater press 
freedom, the release of political prisoners, and compensation for those 
who had been unfairly harmed by state actions. At year's end there were 
no new developments to the foundation's initiatives.

    Elections and Political Parties.--The Government prohibits the 
creation of and subsequent membership in political parties. The 1977 
Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People 
dictates how citizens exercise their political rights. The Government 
is structured in a pyramid of committees, communes, and congresses, 
each layer of which is involved in the selection of the next highest 
level. Citizens participate through numerous organizations, which 
include vocational, production, professional, and crafts congresses. 
Voting for the leaders of the local congresses is mandatory for all 
citizens over the age of 18.
    The elected secretaries of these various congresses and committees 
select the members of the highest legislative organization, the GPC, 
which is composed of 760 members serving three year terms.
    In theory Revolutionary Committees, composed primarily of youth, 
guard against political dissent and ensure that citizens adhere to 
sanctioned ideology. These committees approve candidates for the GPC. 
In practice Revolutionary Committees played an unclear role in 
enforcing official ideology and appeared to be increasingly 
marginalized.
    Elections occur every three years when the people's congresses, the 
local bodies comprised of all citizens, choose their leadership 
committees. The last renewal of people's congresses took place in 
March. The election process continues through the hierarchy of people's 
congresses, until the GPC chooses the General People's Committee, which 
manages the daily affairs of the Government.
    According to this year's UNDP report, women held 4.7 percent of the 
760 seats in the General People's Committee. There was no reliable 
information on the representation of minorities in the Government.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Government corruption was 
perceived to be a severe problem and favoritism, based on family ties, 
contributed to government inefficiency.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, and the Government did not provide access in practice to 
citizens or foreign media.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Numerous charitable associations approved by the Government operate 
in the country; however, the Government prohibited the establishment of 
independent human rights organizations. Individuals wishing to carry 
out human rights work were forced to operate abroad due to restrictive 
laws that impose imprisonment for forming or joining international 
organizations without government authorization (see section 2.b.).
    Associations engaging in unauthorized political activity are 
illegal. The Government body known as the Libyan Arab Human Rights 
Committee did not release any public reports. The Libyan Society for 
Human Rights, operating under the sponsorship of the semiofficial 
Qaddafi International Development Foundation, followed government 
policy priorities rather than operating an independent entity.
    The Government slowly began to allow foreign nongovernmental 
organizations greater access. From April 17 to 25, a National 
Democratic Institute delegation visited for the first time to assess 
its political system and to gather information on the state of civil 
society. RSF conducted a fact-finding mission from September 13 to 17. 
The Government permitted a three week visit by a HRW delegation in May 
2005 and a PHR delegation in March 2005. In 2004 AI visited after a 15 
year absence.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion, 
disability, or social status; however, the Government did not enforce 
these prohibitions effectively, particularly with regard to women and 
minorities.

    Women.--The 1969 Constitutional Proclamation granted women total 
equality; however, traditional attitudes and practices continue to 
discriminate against women. Shari'a law governs inheritance, divorce, 
and the right to own property.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, but there was no reliable 
information on the penalties for punishment. There was little detailed 
information regarding the extent of violence against women; however, it 
reportedly remained a problem. Abuse within the family rarely was 
discussed publicly.
    The law prohibits rape. The convicted rapist of a girl must marry 
the girl, with her agreement, or serve a prison term of up to 25 years.
    The law does not distinguish between rape inside or outside of 
marriage. According to testimony by government officials before the 
United Nations, spousal rape occurred and was resolved by ``social 
solutions.''
    The law does not prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM), which is 
foreign to the culture and society; however, there were reports that 
FGM occurred in remote areas of the country within African migrant 
communities.
    The law prohibits prostitution; however, the authorities tolerated 
it.
    Women and girls suspected of violating moral codes reportedly were 
detained indefinitely in ``social rehabilitation'' homes, which provide 
social services, including education and healthcare. Many detained in 
these facilities had been raped and then ostracized by their families. 
The Government also stated that a woman was free to leave the homes 
when she reaches the ``legal age'' of adulthood (18 years old); if a 
male relative takes custody of her; or if she consents to marriage. 
According to HRW the Government routinely violated women and girls' 
human rights in the home, including violations of due process, freedom 
of movement, personal dignity, and privacy.
    The law criminalizes sexual harassment; however, there were no 
reports on how this law was enforced in practice.
    The Department of Women's Affairs, under the GPC secretariat, 
collects data and oversees the integration of women into all spheres of 
public life. The General Union of Women's Associations, established by 
the Government as a network of nongovernmental organizations, addresses 
women's employment needs. Traditional restrictions discourage women 
from playing an active role in the workplace and inhibit employment by 
women.
    In general the emancipation of women was a generational phenomenon. 
Educational differences between men and women have narrowed; however, a 
significant proportion of rural women did not attend school and were 
inclined to instill in their children such traditional beliefs as 
women's subservient role in society.

    Children.--The Government generally protects children's rights and 
welfare. Libya ratified the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child in 
1993.
    The Government subsidized primary, secondary, and university 
education, and primary education was compulsory until age 15. According 
to a 2003 UNDP report, 96 percent of school age children attended 
primary school and most reached at least a sixth grade level. Only 53 
percent of girls and 71 percent of boys attended secondary school. The 
Government subsidized medical care, and improved the welfare of 
children; however, general economic mismanagement led to a low standard 
in medical services.
    The law prohibits child abuse, and that prohibition was respected 
in practice.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prescribes punishments for 
trafficking in persons.
    Women were believed to be trafficked through the country from 
Africa to Europe. Traffickers sometimes coerced persons into commercial 
sexual exploitation or forced labor in the country. Moroccan women 
reportedly were trafficked to the capital for commercial sexual 
exploitation. International organizations heard frequent complaints 
from foreign workers whose employers confiscated their passports or 
failed to pay their salaries (see section 6.e.). The Government engaged 
in joint collaborations with other affected countries to combat illegal 
migration but did not address trafficking. Authorities did not screen 
illegal immigrants and those arrested for prostitution for evidence of 
trafficking prior to deportation or prosecution.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law safeguards the rights of 
persons with disabilities and provides for monetary and other types of 
social care; however, the Government had limited effectiveness 
implementing provisions. There are a number of government approved 
societies that care for persons with disabilities. Access to 
employment, education, health care, and other state services were 
generally protected.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arabic speaking Muslims of 
mixed Arab Amazigh ancestry constituted 97 percent of Libyan citizens. 
The principal minorities were Amazighs and sub Saharan Africans.
    There were frequent allegations of discrimination based on tribal 
status, particularly against Amazighs in the interior and Tuaregs in 
the south.
    The law, as well as the Names Correction Committee, discriminates 
against non Arabic languages and does not recognize the right of 
individuals to use their tribal names. The ban on the registration of 
non Arabic names prevented the Amazighs from naming children in their 
language.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions without previous authorization or excessive requirements, 
and the Government respected this right in practice. Members of each 
profession may form their own unions and syndicates to defend their 
professional rights. Workers may join the National Trade Unions' 
Federation, which is administered by the people's committee system; 
however, the Government prohibited foreign workers from joining this 
organization. The federation played an active role in the International 
Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, the Organization of African Trade 
Union Unity, and the World Federation of Trade Unions.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
circumscribes unions' conduct of their activities. For example, the 
Government must approve all collective agreements made between unions 
and employers to ensure that they were in line with the country's 
economic rights. The law does not provide workers with the right to 
strike, and there were no reports of strikes during the year. In 
January the Government shortened the standard work week from six days 
to five days.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
any form of forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and 
there were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law provides that children under the age of 18 may not be employed in 
any form of work, unless it is done as a form of apprenticeship. There 
was no information available on the prevalence of child labor.
    There was no information regarding whether the law limits working 
hours or sets occupational health and safety restrictions for children. 
The Ministry of Manpower is responsible for preventing child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor law defines the rights 
and duties of workers, including matters of compensation, pension 
rights, minimum rest periods, and working hours. During the year the 
Government shortened the legal work week from 48 to 40 hours. The law 
stipulates the minimum wage, standard working hours, night shift 
regulations, dismissal procedures, and training requirements. 
Employment laws generally favor the employee. The law does not 
specifically prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
    Wages are forbidden by the Green Book and paid in the form of 
``entitlements,'' which frequently were in arrears. A public sector 
wage freeze imposed more than a decade ago continued. The highest 
salary under the wage freeze was $227 (300 dinars) per month; many 
families lived on a significantly lower income. In July the World Bank 
reported that the Government enforced the minimum wage of $68 (85 
dinars) per month. Although there was no information available 
regarding whether the average wage was sufficient to provide a worker 
and family with a decent standard of living, the Government heavily 
subsidized rent, utilities, and food staples.
    Labor inspectors were assigned to inspect places of work for 
compliance with government-defined health and safety standards, and the 
law grants workers the right to court hearings regarding health and 
safety standards. Certain industries, such as the petroleum sector, 
attempted to maintain standards set by foreign companies. There was no 
information regarding whether workers may remove themselves from an 
unhealthy or unsafe work situation without jeopardizing their 
employment.
    Foreign workers reportedly constituted 1.6 million of the 3.2 
million workforce; however, the labor law does not accord foreign 
workers equal treatment. Foreign workers were permitted to reside in 
the country only for the duration of their work contracts, and they 
could not send more than half of their earnings to their home 
countries. They were subjected to arbitrary pressures, such as changes 
in work rules and contracts, and had little option other than to accept 
such changes or depart the country. Many foreign workers were deported 
arbitrarily for not having newly required work permits for unskilled 
jobs they already held.

                               __________

                                MOROCCO

    Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, an elected parliament, 
and a population of approximately 30 million. According to the 
constitution, ultimate authority over all branches of government rests 
with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the council of ministers and 
appoints or approves members of the Government. The King may dismiss 
ministers, dissolve the parliament, call for new elections, and rule by 
decree. In the bicameral legislature, the lower house may dissolve the 
Government through a vote of no confidence. The 2002 parliamentary 
elections for the lower house were widely regarded as free, fair, and 
transparent. There were 35 political parties in the country. The 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the 
security forces.
    Citizens did not have the right to change fully their form of 
government. Reports of torture by various branches of the security 
forces persisted. Prison conditions remained below international 
standards. Reports of arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and 
police and security force impunity continued. Judicial independence 
from the executive branch of the Government remained a problem. The 
Government restricted freedoms of speech, press, and religion. 
Trafficking in persons continued, and child labor, particularly in the 
unregulated informal sector, remained a problem. Security forces 
disbanded, sometimes with excessive force, monthly demonstrations by 
unemployed university graduates in front of the parliament.
    In March the Government enacted an anti-torture law, which defines 
torture as a criminal offense punishable by long prison terms. In 
accordance with recommendations made by the Equity and Reconciliation 
Commission (IER), the Consultative Council on Human Rights(CCDH), paid 
compensation to victims of human rights abuses and identified some of 
the graves of those who disappeared during the period between 1956 and 
1999. During the year, the CCDH promoted adherence to human rights 
laws.
                        respect for human rights
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.
    On July 3, 50 to 70 Africans attempted to cross illegally into 
Melilla. According to press reports, three migrants were killed, and 
eight were injured seriously. The Government confirmed the deaths of 
only two migrants; the cause of the third migrant's death remained 
unknown at year's end.
    In October 2005 government border guards shot and killed four 
African migrants trying to enter illegally the Spanish enclave of 
Melilla. According to a government report, two other migrants later 
died from multiple wounds. In November 2005 the Government stated that 
11 migrants died. The Government repatriated the remains of the illegal 
migrants killed in the incident.
    At year's end the cases against the two policemen arrested for 
being complicit in the killing of Hamdi Lembarki were being adjudicated 
in the court system. In October 2005 Lembarki died in Laayoune, Western 
Sahara, during a demonstration in support of Western Saharan 
independence. According to media reports, eyewitnesses claimed that 
police beat Lembarki to death.
    In December 2005 in Casablanca the Government identified between 80 
and 100 individuals in a mass grave. The individuals were some of those 
who disappeared during the 1981 demonstrations against increases in 
food prices. On September 14, in Er-Rachidia, the CCDH identified the 
graves of the two leaders of the 1973 antigovernment riots.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    In 2004 King Mohammed VI formed the IER to investigate forced, long 
term disappearances of individuals who opposed the Government and its 
policies between independence in 1956 and 1999. Prior to the formation 
of the IER, authorities confirmed only 100 disappearance cases.
    From January 2004 to November 2005, the IER investigated egregious 
human rights abuses and determined levels of compensation for specific 
cases of arbitrary detention and disappearance. From December 2004 to 
April 2005, victims of human rights abuses and/or their families 
testified before the IER. The IER received 22,000 applications and 
assessed 16,861 of these to determine appropriate compensation. Human 
rights groups and families continued to claim that the IER did not 
acknowledge many cases of disappearances, many from the Western Sahara 
(see section 4).
    The IER's final report announced that the IER resolved 742 
disappearance cases and 66 outstanding cases would be investigated 
further by a follow-up committee of the CCDH. In total, the IER 
responded with compensation packages to 9,779 victims, and it 
recommended assistance for those in need of medical attention or 
rehabilitation as a result of the violations they had suffered. The 
IER's mandate did not allow the names of individuals responsible for 
the human rights abuses to be made public. The IER report included a 
series of recommendations to advance ongoing reform, including 
consolidating constitutional guarantees of human rights, combating 
impunity, strengthening judicial independence, and creating follow-up 
mechanisms.
    On July 12, members of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Forum 
for Truth and Justice (FVJ) planned a demonstration in Rabat where some 
graves of victims of forced disappearance are thought to be located. 
The press reported that the police prevented the FVJ members and the 
families of the victims from accessing the site (see section 2.b.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices and the Government denied 
the use of torture; however, according to local and international human 
rights organizations, lawyers, prisoners, and detainees, members of the 
security forces tortured or otherwise abused detainees. The penal code 
stipulates sentences up to life imprisonment for public servants who 
use or allow the use of violence against others in the exercise of 
their official duties.
    On March 16, the Government amended the penal code by enacting a 
specific anti-torture law. By law pretrial investigating judges must 
refer a detainee to a forensic medicine expert if asked to do so or if 
judges notice suspicious physical marks on a detainee.
    On April 4, Brahim Dahane, a Sahrawi prisoner, who is President of 
the Sahrawi Association for the Victims of Human Rights Abuses 
(SAVHRA), accused the judicial police of beating him severely when he 
was being transported from the Laayoune (Western Sahara) prison to the 
courthouse. Spanish press reported that Dahane showed no evidence of 
beating prior to being placed in the transport vehicle. According to 
the Ministry of Justice, Dahane never officially claimed that he had 
been beaten.
    On December 10, International Human Rights Day, a demonstration 
took place in Laayoune to support Western Saharan independence. The 
demonstration was not approved by the Government. According to SAVHRA, 
security forces beat six individuals, including Dahane. The Ministry of 
Justice determined that five people were beaten.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor and generally did not meet international standards, despite some 
improvements in medical care. Extreme overcrowding, malnutrition, and 
lack of hygiene continued to aggravate the poor health conditions 
inside prisons. During the year the Government made progress in 
building new prison facilities and rehabilitating existing prisons. In 
August new visitor facilities were inaugurated in a Casablanca prison. 
During the year, six education centers, primarily for vocational 
training, were completed. Pretrial detainees were not held separately 
from convicts. The Government allocated a larger part of its budget to 
address health and sanitation issues in prisons.

    c. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law does not prohibit 
arbitrary arrest or detention, and police used both practices. Police 
did not always observe due process; for example, they sometimes did not 
identify themselves at the time of arrest of suspects, nor always 
obtain warrants, according to local NGOs and associations. The police 
held some detainees without charging them, according to local NGOs and 
lawyers; or, if charged, the detainees were sometimes denied a public 
preliminary judicial hearing within a reasonable period.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security apparatus 
includes several police and paramilitary organizations with overlapping 
authorities. The National Police (DGSN), the General Directorate of 
Territorial Security (DGST), the Mobile Intervention Corps, and the 
Auxiliary Forces are independent entities. The Royal Gendarmerie 
reports to the Ministry of Defense and was responsible for law 
enforcement in rural regions, including national highways. The 
Department of Royal Security reports to the palace.
    The DGSN managed the border and immigration services. The main 
federal investigative body, the National Brigade, investigated 
violations of the penal code, terrorism, organized crime, and white 
collar crime. The DGST and the Auxiliary Forces had security functions.
    While the police were effective, corruption and impunity remained a 
problem. The Ministry of the Interior investigated accusations of 
police abuse and corruption. On September 15, it removed eight security 
force members and four government officials accused of illegal 
behavior. The Ministry of the Interior disbanded the Urban Security 
Group (GUS), which had developed a reputation for abuse. GUS personnel 
became part of the general police ranks.
    All aspects of police training, funded by a variety of sources, 
occurred throughout the year and were effective.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police may make an arrest following a 
general prosecutor's issuance of an oral or written warrant, although 
in practice authorities sometimes issued warrants after the fact. 
Authorities denied defendants access to counsel or family members 
during the initial 96-hour period of detention, which was when police 
interrogated detainees and abuse or torture was most likely to occur 
(see section 1.c.).
    Under the 2003 antiterrorism law, those arrested may be held for 96 
hours, with two additional 96-hour extensions allowed at the 
prosecutor's discretion.
    The law provides for a limited system of bail; however, it was 
rarely granted. The law does not require a 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. This provision 
was respected in practice. The police were required to notify a 
person's next of kin of an arrest as soon as possible after the initial 
48-hour incommunicado detention, but this provision was not always 
respected in practice. Because of delays in contacting family, lawyers 
were not always informed promptly of the date of arrest and were not 
able to monitor compliance within the administrative detention limits. 
Unlike the previous year, there were no reports that some members of 
the security forces extended detention limits.
    On August 7, the Ministry of the Interior announced it had 
dismantled a terrorist cell. By the end of August, the Government 
arrested 52 individuals, including four women. The women were accused 
of being financiers of the cell. The cell members were detained with 
formal charges at year's end.
    The Government held an unknown number of individuals because of 
suspected links to terrorist groups or for suspected involvement in the 
2003 Casablanca attacks.

    Amnesty.--On March 25, the King pardoned 216 prisoners in Laayoune 
(Western Sahara). In this group were 18 individuals identified as human 
rights activists by national and international NGOs. On July 31, the 
King granted royal pardons and commutation of sentences to 1,215 
prisoners; on August 20, the King released 679 more; and on December 
31, he released 549 more prisoners.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; nevertheless, the courts were subject to 
extrajudicial pressures. According to observers, corruption remained 
prevalent.
    In June 2005 the supreme council of the judiciary initiated 
disciplinary proceedings against seven judges for possible corruption. 
The Government dismissed one of the judges; it temporarily dismissed 
three; two retired early; and the Government found one not guilty. At 
year's end the Government had not conducted any new disciplinary 
proceedings against judges; however, nine cases were adjudicated 
against legal professionals. In accordance with the 2004 law, judges 
who committed crimes were tried under the penal code. Since 2004 the 
Ministry of Justice sued 3,948 individuals in accordance with the 2004 
law.
    There are four levels in the common law court system: communal and 
district courts, courts of first instance, the appeals court, and the 
supreme court. All decisions made in criminal and civil matters in 
which the penalty exceeds approximately $33 (330 dirhams) may be 
appealed to the courts of first instance (regional courts). The 
regional courts are subdivided into civil, commercial, administrative, 
penal, and rabbinical sections. Cases may be appealed from the regional 
courts to the appeals court.
    The supreme court is subdivided into five chambers: constitutional, 
penal, administrative, social, and civil. The constitutional chamber is 
composed of the President of the supreme court, three judges appointed 
by the King, and three judges appointed by the President of the chamber 
of representatives, the lower house. The supreme court is not a venue 
for criminal appeals cases.
    There is a single court system under the Ministry of Justice, 
including administrative courts, commercial courts, and family courts. 
Military tribunals existed only for military personnel. The central 
audit court, which is the supreme audit institution, and nine regional 
audit courts also had judicial powers. Appeals courts heard cases 
against government officials accused of abuse of power.
    At the Government's discretion, serious state security cases such 
as those relating to the monarchy, Islam, or territorial integrity (in 
practice advocating independence for the Western Sahara) may be brought 
against any person. A tribunal, responsible to the Ministry of 
Interior, is constituted in these cases. The cases against the two 
policemen charged with Hamdi Lembarki's death were adjudicated in this 
manner (see section 1.a.).

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public 
trial for all citizens; however, according to human rights NGOs, this 
did not always occur in practice, especially for those protesting the 
inclusion of the Western Sahara into the country. Juries are not used.
    Although accused persons generally are brought to trial within an 
initial period of two months, prosecutors may request up to five 
additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention; thus, an accused 
person may be kept in detention for up to one year prior to 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 is provided. The Ministry of 
Justice is required to provide an attorney at public expense for 
serious crimes when the offense carries a maximum sentence of more than 
five years. Attorneys were not always appointed, however, or, if 
provided, they were poorly paid, resulting often in inadequate 
representation. Judges sometimes denied defense requests to question 
witnesses. Defendants are given the right to be present and to timely 
consultation with an attorney.
    Detainees are arraigned before a court of first instance. 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 decided cases often on the basis of forced confessions, 
especially in cases of Islamists accused of terrorism (see section 
1.c.) or in the cases of some Sahrawis. Police statements about 
detainees were sometimes used rather than defendants' confessions.
    In some cases appeals courts may be used as a second reference for 
courts of first instance, although they primarily handled cases 
involving crimes punishable by five years or more in prison. In 
practice defendants before appeals courts who are implicated in crimes 
with such a punishment have no method of appeal. The supreme court does 
not review and rule on cases sent to it by the appeals court; the 
supreme court may overturn an appellate court's ruling on procedural 
grounds only. As a result, defendants in crimes whose penalty was long 
periods of confinement did not often appeal. An investigation by an 
examining magistrate was mandatory only when life imprisonment or the 
death penalty was a probability.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of unfair 
trials.
    Family courts adjudicated divorce and child custody cases according 
to the family law. These courts addressed family issues for Muslim 
citizens, and judges were trained in Shari'a (Islamic law) as applied 
in the country and in the requirements of the 2004 family law. By the 
end of the year, the Ministry of Justice, often in cooperation with 
international NGOs, had trained 1571 judges and 2,303 legal clerks. 
Family matters for Jews were handled by the parallel legal system 
available to them (see section 2.c.).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The law does not distinguish 
political and security cases from common criminal cases. The Government 
did not consider any of its prisoners to be political prisoners. The 
Government stated that it detained individuals under criminal law only.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The national ombudsman 
resolves civil matters when the judiciary is unable to do so. The 
ombudsman reports the cases to the King, who has the final decision.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution states that the home is inviolable 
and that no search or investigation may take place without a search 
warrant; however, authorities sometimes ignored these provisions in 
practice. The law stipulates that a prosecutor may issue a search 
warrant on good cause, particularly in cases of terrorism. Plainclothes 
security officers who did not identify themselves or present search 
warrants conducted home searches. During the year the press reported 
that authorities searched and closed the homes of members of the 
Islamist Justice and Charity Organization (JCO) when these homes were 
being used for ``open houses,'' places where JCO members allegedly held 
politically-oriented meetings, according to the press.
    Government security services monitored without authorization 
certain persons and organizations, both foreign and domestic.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law generally provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press. The Government generally respected 
these rights in practice, as long as Islam, the monarchy, and 
territorial integrity (the inclusion of the Western Sahara) were not 
criticized. Throughout the year several publications tested the 
boundaries of press freedom.
    The 2003 antiterrorist law and the press code impose financial 
penalties on journalists and publishers who violate the restrictions 
related to defamation, libel, critical discussion of the monarchy, 
territorial integrity (advocating independence for the Western Sahara), 
and Islam. Prison sentences can be imposed on those convicted of libel, 
which resulted in self-censorship. The press code lists threats to 
public order as one of the criteria for censorship. Within these 
limits, politically diverse newspapers and weeklies published news and 
commentary and were often critical of government policies. The 
Government punished some persons who violated limitations on free 
speech.
    On January 4, the Spanish-language daily La Manana, part of the 
Maroc Soir group, which includes Le Matin, Assahara Al-Magribiyya, and 
Maroc Soir, published an article criticizing the origins of King Hassan 
II's fortune and questioning the country's claims to the Western 
Sahara. The story was reprinted from the Web site ``Spanish Friends of 
Morocco.'' On March 6, the courts fined the director of the Maroc Soir 
group, Hicham Snoussi, and the author of the article, Mohamed Douma, 
$20,000 (200,000 dirhams).
    On January 29, authorities released Anas Tadili, the director of 
the Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Al-Ousbouaa. He had been in prison 
since 2004 for libeling a minister.
    There were no other reports of journalists in prison.
    On February 16, the courts fined Le Journal editors Aboubakr Jamai 
and Fahd Iraqi $305,000 (3.05 million dirhams) in a Rabat civil court 
for defamation against the European Strategic Intelligence and Security 
Centre (ESISC). Le Journal had published an article on December 3, 
2005, questioning the objectivity of a report the ESISC published on 
the Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el 
Hamra and Rio de Oro). On April 16, this fine was followed by a 
criminal court fine of $5,000 (50,000 dirhams). The criminal court fine 
was paid December 26.
    On February 15, the courts reduced the damages assessed in 2005 
against TelQuel and three other Arabic-language newspapers, Al-Ahdath 
Al-Maghribiya, Al-Alam, and Al Ousbouiya Al-Jadida, from approximately 
$90,000 (900,000 dirhams) to approximately $50,000 (500,000 dirhams). 
The newspapers were accused of falsely accusing the President of the 
NGO the Moroccan Association for Aid to Children in Precarious 
Situations, Touria Bouabid, of embezzling funds. The newspapers claimed 
the articles were based on police records. Reporters without Borders 
(RSF) supported TelQuel by stating that the courts wanted to strangle 
the weekly financially. The dispute was settled privately between the 
parties in March.
    On May 9, the court sentenced Driss Chaatan, the director of the 
Arabic-language weekly Al-Mishal, to a one-year suspended prison term 
and fined him approximately $10,000 (100,000 dirhams) for defaming a 
foreign President. Article 52 of the press code states that no head of 
a foreign state can be defamed.
    On December 25, the Government charged Driss Ksikes, editor, and 
Sanaa Al-Aji, journalist, of the Arabic-language weekly magazine 
Nichane of defaming Islam and damaging public morality. An article the 
previous week explored humor about religion, sex, and politics. At 
year's end the publication remained banned.
    On October 31, Nadia Yassine's trial was postponed until April 19, 
2007. In June 2005 authorities summoned Yassine, the daughter of the 
JCO's founder, before the courts for publicly stating her belief that 
the country would be healthier as a republic than as a monarchy.
    The Ministry of Communication issued directives and guidance and 
subsidized publications. The Government temporarily suspended 
publications it judged offensive, yet allowed suspended publications to 
continue operation. Unlike in past years, the Government did not censor 
newspapers directly by ordering them not to report on specific items or 
events. The newspapers, however, practiced self-censorship. The 
Government registered and licensed domestic newspapers and journals. 
Unlike the previous year, there were no reports that the Government 
used the licensing process to prevent the establishment of new 
publications or the publication of materials that exceeded its 
threshold of tolerable dissent. Similarly, there were no reports that 
the Ministry of Communication controlled foreign publications by 
removing banned publications from circulation.
    In 2005, according to the Ministry of Communication's 2005 print 
and broadcast media report, there were 468 newspapers: 260 Arabic, 151 
French, six Tamazight (Berber), and one Spanish. There were also six 
electronic newspapers: three French, two Arabic, and one English. 
Circulation is estimated at 13 copies per 1,000 readers; only 1 percent 
of the population buys newspapers, although each newspaper is 
reportedly read by as many as five people. The Government owned the 
official press agency, Maghreb Arab Press. Through the Ministry of 
Communication, the Government subsidized most newspapers, including 
those critical of the Government. Government subsidies vary according 
to the percentage of the population reading the publication. There are 
five national independent Arabic daily newspapers (Assabah, Al Ahdath 
Al Magribiyya, Al-Massae, Assahifa, Annhara al-Magrigiyya), two French 
language daily newspapers (L'Economiste and Aujourd'hui le Maroc), five 
Arabic language weekly publications (Al-Watan, Al-Ayyam, Al-Osboua, 
Asdae, and Nichane), and four French language weekly publications 
(TelQuel, Le Journal, La Gazette du Maroc, La Vie Economique).
    The Government owned Societe Nationale de la Radiodiffusion et de 
la Television, formerly Moroccan Radio Television. While nominally 
private and independent, the French-backed Medi 1 practiced self 
censorship. A government appointed committee monitored broadcasts. The 
Government owned the only television stations whose broadcasts could be 
received in most parts of the country without decoders or satellite 
dish antennas. During the year the Government licensed a new television 
and 10 radio stations. The Government phased the introduction of the 
radio stations during the year. Satellite dish antennas were widely 
used. The Government did not impede the reception of foreign 
broadcasts.
    The Government did not allow the JCO newspaper, Rissalat Al 
Foutuwa, to be sold on newsstands.
    According to a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report, in 
January 2005 authorities told editors of the Oujda-based weeklies Al-
Sharq and Al-Hayat Al-Maghribiya to cease publication of their weeklies 
immediately for three months because of an article published in support 
of the 2003 terrorist attacks. Authorities imprisoned the editors for 
three months before they received a royal pardon. By the end of 2005, 
the publications resumed.
    In June 2005 an appeals court upheld a 10-year ban on Ali Lmrabet's 
writing and a fine of $5,000 (50 thousand dirhams) after his April 2005 
conviction of defaming a pro-government Sahrawi group. Lmrabet was 
obligated to publish the first verdict for 21 days in an Arabic-
language newspaper at a cost of up to $120,000 (1.2 million dirhams). 
Lmrabet's newspapers, the French language Demain and the Arabic 
language Doumain, remained banned at year's end.
    In August 2005 a court sentenced Ahmed Benchemsi, director of an 
independent French-language weekly magazine, TelQuel, and Karim 
Boukari, a journalist for TelQuel, to two months in jail for an article 
that allegedly defamed a parliament member. The magazine was also fined 
$100,000(one million dirhams). The case was appealed, the prison 
sentence was suspended, and the fine was reduced to the equivalent of 
$80,000 (800,000 dirhams) in December 2005.
    The law requires the Ministry of Interior to justify to the courts 
any seizure or banning of domestic or foreign publications, suspension 
of the publisher's license, or destruction of equipment. The law 
provides for three to five year jail sentences, fines, and payment of 
damages for newspaper officials found guilty of libeling public 
officials.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government generally did not block Internet 
access, although it did sometimes block selected Web sites. In November 
2005 according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), authorities began blocking 
access to Internet sites advocating independence for the Western 
Sahara. Periodically until March, these sites continued to be blocked. 
In April authorities blocked the JCO Web site and continued to block it 
sporadically through year's end. During the year the Government blocked 
the site ``Google Earth.''

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom. There was limited open debate on the monarchy, Islam, 
or the country's incorporation of the Western Sahara. Islamist groups 
controlled many student unions and sometimes acted to constrain 
academic freedom. The Ministry of Interior approved the appointments of 
university rectors.
    There were no restrictions on cultural events.
    From March 15-30, during the annual book fair in Casablanca, the 
Government banned extremist Islamist literature.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, it also 
permits the Government to suppress any demonstration or mass gathering.
    On July 12, the press reported that the police prevented members of 
the FVJ from accessing the site in Rabat where some graves of victims 
of forced disappearance may be located (see section 1.b.).

    Freedom of Assembly.--The Ministry of Interior requires permission 
for public assemblies. During the year the police forcibly prevented 
and disrupted some peaceful demonstrations and mass gatherings; these 
occurrences were fewer than in previous years. There were numerous 
demonstrations held throughout the year on a variety of issues. 
Unemployed diploma holders demonstrated monthly in front of the 
parliament. Intervention by the security forces was sometimes 
excessive.
    On December 8, approximately 50 family members of Islamist 
prisoners demonstrated in front of the CCDH offices to protest the 
treatment of imprisoned family members. The police did not interfere.
    On March 15, police intervened in a demonstration by the union of 
unemployed postgraduates outside of the parliament. The press reported 
that the police intervention was brutal. Attempts at self-immolation 
continued during demonstrations throughout the year; no individuals 
died.
    In December 2005 during a police assault on a demonstration by the 
National Dependent Group of Unemployed Moroccans, five protesters 
attempted a collective self-immolation using gasoline; one of the 
protesters died after being hospitalized for burns.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association. The Government reported that more than 600 NGOs and 
associations are registered. According to a 2003 decree, new 
organizations are required to register with the Ministry of Interior. 
An organization must first submit its bylaws to the ministry. If the 
bylaws support the monarchy, Islam, and territorial integrity, i.e., 
the inclusion of the Western Sahara, the ministry issues a receipt to 
the organization, which signifies formal approval. The organization may 
apply for tax exemption and government funding. If the organization 
does not receive a receipt within one week, it is not formally 
registered. Many organizations function without the receipts.
    From March through July, the Government curtailed JCO activities 
throughout the country as unauthorized public gatherings, including 
closing JCO ``open houses.'' On August 17, authorities arrested Mohamed 
Abbadi, the JCO leader in Oujda. The courts fined him $15,000 (150,000 
dirhams), determined his house was illegally constructed, and 
demolished it.
    The Ministry of Interior must approve political parties. In 
December 2005 the parliament passed legislation placing stringent 
conditions on political parties. The political party law requires 
parties to hold frequent national congresses and to include women and 
youth in party leadership structures. Public funding of parties is 
based on a party's total representation in parliament and the total 
number of votes received nationally. Under the law a party can be 
disbanded if it does not conform to the provisions of the law. To 
create a new party, a declaration must be submitted to the Ministry of 
Interior and signed by at least 300 co-founding members from one-half 
of the 16 regions of the country. The law reflected changes and 
revisions suggested by existing political parties and members of civil 
society.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. According to the constitution, Islam is the official state 
religion and the King is the ``Commander of the Faithful and the 
Supreme Representative of the Muslim community.'' Non Muslim 
communities openly practiced their faiths with varying degrees of 
official restrictions.
    The Government prohibited the distribution of Christian religious 
materials for the purpose of proselytism and tolerated several small 
religious minorities.
    The Government did not license or approve religions or religious 
organizations. The Government provided tax benefits, land, building 
grants, subsidies, and customs exemptions for imports necessary for the 
observance of the major religions.
    The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs continued to monitor 
Friday mosque sermons and the Koranic schools, religious training 
schools, to ensure the teaching of approved doctrine. During the year 
the ministry provided 38,000 mosques with television sets and satellite 
dishes to receive programs from the ministry. It placed restrictions on 
individual Muslims and Islamic organizations whose activities were 
deemed to have exceeded the bounds of religious practice or have become 
political in nature. The Government strictly controlled the 
construction of new mosques, requiring a permit for construction. 
Authorities instituted these measures to avoid exploitation of mosques 
for political propaganda, such as distributing pamphlets and raising 
funds, or for disseminating extremist ideas.
    The Government generally tolerated activities limited to the 
propagation of Islam, education, and charity. From March through July, 
security forces disallowed JCO activities for being political rather 
than religious in nature. Security forces commonly closed mosques to 
the public after Friday services to prevent their use for unauthorized 
political activity. On August 29, the Ministry of Endowments and 
Islamic Affairs announced in the press and on television the closure of 
17 mosques across the country. These mosques were reportedly closed for 
administrative reasons and to maintain the security of the population 
from religious extremism.
    On May 3, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs assigned 
the first group of 50 female guides (mourshidates) to mosques as part 
of a new course it designed to train men and women to be counselors and 
teachers in mosques throughout the country. Beginning in 2005 the 
Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs also initiated a graduate-
level theological course, part of which focused on Christianity and 
Judaism.
    The Government's annual education budget provided funds for 
teaching Islam in public schools and religions instruction in separate 
Jewish public schools.
    The small foreign Christian community operated churches, 
orphanages, hospitals, and schools without restrictions or licensing 
requirements. Missionaries who conducted themselves in accordance with 
cultural norms could largely work unhindered, but those who 
proselytized publicly faced expulsion. Unlike the previous year, there 
were no reports of police questioning foreign missionaries because they 
carried Christian materials. The number of local Christians, apart from 
foreign spouses of citizens, was unknown.
    The Government permitted the importation, display, and sale of 
bibles in French, English, and Spanish, but not in Arabic, despite the 
absence of any law banning Arabic-language bibles.
    Islamic law and tradition calls for punishment of any Muslim who 
converts to another faith. Any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert is 
illegal.
    On November 28, a foreign Christian was fined $50 (500 dirhams) and 
given a six-month prison sentence for attempting to convert a Muslim to 
Christianity. The prison sentence was suspended and the individual left 
the country of his own accord.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts, publications, or incitements to violence or hatred.
    Representatives of the Jewish minority, estimated by community 
leaders to number approximately about four thousand, generally lived in 
safety throughout the country. The Jewish community operated a number 
of schools and hospitals whose services were available to all citizens. 
The Government provided funds for religious instruction to the small 
parallel system of Jewish public schools. Jews continued to hold 
services in synagogues throughout the country.
    There are two sets of laws and courts one for Muslims and one for 
Jews pertaining to marriage, inheritance, and family matters. Under the 
family code, which applies to Muslims, the Government began retraining 
judges and recruiting new civil judges, while rabbinical authorities 
continued to administer family courts for Jews. There were no separate 
family courts for other religious groups. The Government continued to 
encourage tolerance and respect among religions.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
movement; however, the Government restricted this right in the 
government-administered Western Sahara in areas regarded as militarily 
sensitive. Unlike the previous year, there were no reports that 
authorities denied passports to some persons opposed to government 
policy in the country.
    The Ministry of Interior restricted the freedom to travel outside 
the country for all civil servants, including teachers, and military 
personnel. Civil servants must obtain written permission from their 
ministries to leave the country.
    The law provides for forced exile; however, there were no known 
instances of its use during the year.
    The Government welcomed voluntary repatriation of Jews who had 
emigrated. Jewish emigres, including those with Israeli citizenship, 
freely visited the country. The Government also encouraged the return 
of Sahrawis who had departed the country due to the conflict in the 
Western Sahara, provided that they recognized the Government's claim to 
the territory.

    Protection of Refugees.--The 2003 Emigration and Immigration law 
provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance 
with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 
1967 Protocol. It provides for the rights of asylum seekers and the 
temporary residency of persons who do not qualify for refugee status or 
asylum. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is currently the 
sole agency in the country entitled to grant refugee status and verify 
asylum cases. The Government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and 
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees. The UNHCR 
continued to evaluate claims of refugee status in its office in Rabat.
    In practice the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement, the forced return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution, and provided refugee status and asylum. The 
Government worked with the UNHCR to identify individuals seeking refuge 
and asylum. At years end, the Government of Morocco was very close to 
resolving the status of 76 sub-Saharan asylum seekers temporarily cared 
for by UNCHR in Oujda.
    In October 2005 the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) found 
approximately 500 illegal migrants in the Sahara desert, abandoned by 
the Government without food or water. The Government repatriated many 
of the migrants at its own expense prior to and following the MSF 
report.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides for regular, free elections on the basis of 
universal suffrage, although citizens did not have the full right to 
change their government.
    The King as head of state appoints the Prime Minister, who is the 
titular head of government. The constitution authorizes the Prime 
Minister to nominate all government ministers, although the King may 
nominate ministers and has the power to replace any minister. The 
Government consists of 35 cabinet level posts, including five sovereign 
ministerial posts traditionally appointed by the King (interior, 
foreign affairs, justice, Islamic affairs, and defense). The Ministry 
of Interior nominates provincial governors (walis) and local district 
administrative officials (caids) to the King, who appoints them. The 
King also appoints the constitutional council that determines whether 
laws passed are in accordance with the constitution.
    The constitution may not be changed without the King's approval, 
and only he has the power to put constitutional amendment proposals to 
a national referendum. Amendments can be proposed directly by the King 
or by parliament, which must pass a proposal with a two-thirds majority 
of both houses before sending an amendment to the King for a royal 
decree. Once there is a royal decree, the amendment can be sent to a 
national referendum; however, the King has the authority to bypass any 
national referendum. Citizens elect municipal councils directly; 
citizens elect regional councils through representatives.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2003 the Government held 
elections for positions on approximately 25,000 municipal councils. The 
Government listed official turnout at 54 percent. By most accounts the 
balloting was well organized, but there were allegations of corruption 
and vote buying in some races. The Government limited the participation 
of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), the only Islamist party 
to participate in the elections, running candidates in 18 percent of 
the municipalities. Female candidates won 1.7 percent of municipal 
council seats while fielding 5 percent of the candidates. Following the 
elections council members elected new mayors in all cities.
    In 2002 the Government held the first free and fair parliamentary 
elections. The election took place under a revised electoral code, 
including a proportional list system, which meant voters voted for 
parties and not individual candidates. There were candidates from 26 
parties, and 52 percent of those eligible voted, according to 
government statistics. Observers noted that the absence of fraud and 
manipulation generally enhanced the credibility of overall reform 
efforts.
    The parliament included 30 women who won seats reserved for women 
on the national list, plus five who won seats in their local districts. 
There were three female members of the upper house and two women on the 
council of ministers.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a general 
perception in the country that corruption existed in the executive and 
legislative branches of government.
    During the year Transparency International's (TI's) corruption 
perception index indicated that corruption was a serious problem. 
According to TI, in the past four years, the Inspection Generale de 
Finances (ICF), the Ministry of Finance's auditing office, has 
documented, but not made public, reports showing evidence of gross 
financial fraud in banking, social security, the agricultural sector, 
public housing, state contracts, public companies, municipal councils, 
and in international aid projects.
    In June 2005 the supreme council of the judiciary initiated 
disciplinary proceedings against seven judges (see section 1.e.). No 
new disciplinary proceedings against judges took place during the year; 
however, nine proceedings took place against legal professionals. The 
Ministry of Justice adjudicated 3948 cases in 2005.
    On August 4, in preparation for the September 8 indirect elections 
for the chamber of counselors (upper house), the Ministry of the 
Interior and the Ministry of Justice issued a communique discouraging 
corrupt practices and reinforced regulatory laws. In the last quarter 
of the year, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice 
charged 35 candidates for seats in the upper house of parliament with 
fraud relating to the September 8 elections. Accused parliamentarians 
were barred from attending the opening session of parliament on October 
8.
    There was no freedom of information law.
    The Government publishes new laws and regulations in the official 
gazette within 30 days after their passage or promulgation.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated 
without government restriction, and investigated and published findings 
on human rights cases. Government officials were generally cooperative 
with the groups.
    National human rights NGOs recognized by and cooperating with the 
Government included: the OMDH, the Moroccan League for the Defense of 
Human Rights (LMDDH), and the AMDH. The AMDH did not cooperate 
officially with the Government but usually shared information. Since 
2000 the Government has subsidized OMDH and LMDDH. There were also 
numerous regional human rights organizations. According to the 
Government, there were more than 600 registered NGOs and associations 
in the country.
    The FVJ and the Moroccan Prison Observatory were two additional 
national human rights NGOs. Created by victims of forced disappearance 
and surviving family members, the FVJ's principal goal was to encourage 
the Government to address openly the issue of past forced 
disappearances and arbitrary detention. The OMP's main purpose was to 
improve the treatment and living conditions of prisoners.
    Six human rights activists, who were arrested following the 
demonstrations in Laayoune (Western Sahara) in May 2005, were members 
of the FVJ, according to an Amnesty International (AI) report in August 
2005.
    The Government's attitude toward international human rights 
organizations depended on the sensitivity of the areas of the NGO's 
concern. During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC), AI, and HRW visited the country.
    Human rights training continued based on a 2002 agreement between 
AI and the Government for a 10 year human rights education program. The 
Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of National Education provided 
human rights education for teachers and, in cooperation with the ICRC, 
provided a curriculum for teaching international humanitarian law in 
schools. The Ministry of Justice provided increased human rights 
training to prison officials, and other sections of the Government 
provided human rights training to military officers, police, and 
medical personnel. The CCDH advised the King on human rights issues and 
began implementing the IER's recommendations.
    In July 2004 the CCDH produced its first annual report on human 
rights, a report mandated in 2002 by the Government. The CCDH report 
focused at length on prison conditions and prison overpopulation. In 
December 2002 the King established a nonjudicial ombudsman to consider 
allegations of governmental injustices and thereby ensure respect for 
the rule of law and justice. The last report submitted was in 2004 and 
the CCDH reviewed it.
    In January 2004 the IER began work. The authorities tasked the IER 
with determining reparations for families of disappeared persons and 
other victims of abuse, restoring the dignity of victims, providing for 
their rehabilitation and medical care to victims, and creating a 
thorough accounting of the events which led to human rights abuses and 
the circumstances of the crimes. The IER, headed by former political 
prisoner Driss Benzekri, had a one year mandate that was extended until 
November 30, 2005, due to the larger than expected number of petitions.
    The IER staff interviewed petitioners, held public hearings on 
torture and disappearances, visited former prisons, met with 
individuals from regions that were particularly victimized, met with 
the families of victims, and interviewed witnesses of violations. The 
press widely publicized the IER's activities. Under agreement with the 
IER, participants in public hearings did not disclose the names of 
persons they considered responsible for violations. While the IER had 
prepared for public hearings in the Western Sahara, they were not held.
    In December 2005 the IER submitted its final report to the King, 
who released it to the public on January 15. A newly formed section of 
the CCDH was charged with ensuring compensation to victims and 
continued to follow through on the final IER recommendations. The IER's 
final report announced it had resolved 742 disappearance cases and 66 
outstanding cases would be investigated further by a follow-up 
committee. In total, the IER responded with compensation packages to 
9,779 victims, and it recommended assistance for those in need of 
medical attention or rehabilitation as a result of the violations they 
had suffered.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, 
disability, language, or social status; however, traditional practice 
discriminated against women, particularly in rural areas.

    Women.--The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence 
against women, but the general prohibitions of the criminal code 
address such violence. Physical abuse was legal grounds for divorce, 
although for other legal and societal reasons, few women reported abuse 
to authorities.
    There was substantial progress in making the public aware of 
problems concerning women, although public awareness was uneven. In 
2004 the Ministry of Family Solidarity set up toll free numbers for 
victims of domestic violence in 20 centers throughout the country. The 
Government established the centers based on statistics relating to each 
category of violence as compiled by the Ministry of Justice and the 
size of the urban area. In March the Government established a National 
Observatory for Violence Against Women.
    The law provides for severe punishment for men convicted of rape or 
sexual assault, and the authorities enforced the provisions. The 
defendants in such cases bear the burden of proving their innocence. 
Sexual assaults often go unreported because of the stigma attached to 
them. While not provided by law, victim's families may offer rapists 
the opportunity to marry their victims to preserve the family honor. 
Spousal rape was not a crime.
    The law is lenient toward husbands with respect to crimes committed 
against their wives. Police are reluctant to become involved in what 
are considered private matters between husband and wife. Honor crimes, 
or assaults against women with the intent to kill are committed because 
of the perception that a woman's behavior brings shame on the family. 
No such crimes were reported during the year.
    At the end of 2005, authorities discovered an international 
prostitution ring in the Ifrane area with links to Jordan. Trafficking 
in persons was a problem (see sections 5, Trafficking, and 6.c.).
    Sexual harassment in the workplace is a criminal offense. There 
were no reliable statistics reporting on the extent of the problem.
    The 2004 changes to the family law introduced a number of changes 
to the status of women. The family law 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. There is no longer a requirement for a 
marital tutor for women as a condition to marry; divorce is available 
by mutual consent; and limitations are imposed on the practice of 
polygyny.
    The Ministry of Justice agreed to establish 70 family courts and 
trained judges to implement the reforms. At year's end the 70 courts 
existed (see section 1.e.). The family law relies much more heavily on 
the court system than the previous law. Time limits were established 
for the family courts to pronounce judgments; for example, a month for 
alimony cases and six months for divorces. The law generally accorded 
women the same treatment as men. The family law did not change 
inheritance rights; these continue to be based on Shari'a (Islamic 
law).
    While many well educated women pursued careers, some of whom were 
chief executive officers and two were in the council of ministers, few 
women rose to the highest ranks in their professions. Women constituted 
approximately 35 percent of the workforce, with the majority in the 
industrial, service, and teaching sectors. Government statistics 
indicated that 22 percent of women were the primary wage earners for 
their families. The Government reported that the illiteracy rate for 
women was 39.5 percent in urban areas (74.5 percent in rural areas), 
compared with 19 percent for men (46 percent in rural areas). Women in 
rural areas were most affected by inequality. In July the Prime 
Minister announced a nationwide illiteracy rate of 39 percent. Women 
who earned secondary school diplomas had equal access to university 
education. During the last academic year, over 80 percent of the 
attendees at government supported literacy programs were women, 45 
percent of whom were in rural areas.
    Many NGOs worked to advance women's rights and to promote women's 
issues. Among these were the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women, 
the Union for Women's Action, and the Moroccan Association for Women's 
Rights; all advocated enhanced political and civil rights. There were 
numerous NGOs that provided shelters for battered women; taught women 
basic hygiene, family planning, childcare, and promoted literacy.

    Children.--The constitution provides for compulsory, free, and 
universal education for children between the ages of six and 15, and 
the Government increasingly sought to enforce the law. The Government 
was committed to the protection of children's welfare. Under the 
National Action Plan for Children (2006-15), the Government began 
improving the quality of education and teaching, particularly in rural 
areas. In the last academic year, 51 percent of kindergarten-aged 
children were enrolled; for the current academic year, 61 percent were 
enrolled. The number of students enrolled after six years of age 
increased from 53.5 percent to 91 percent in the past year, according 
to the Ministry of National Education.
    A May 2004 report from the Secretariat for Literacy and Non Formal 
Education estimated that as many as 1.5 million children between the 
ages of nine to 15 were not in school. During the academic year 2005-
06, 216,200 students were enrolled in government remedial and 
vocational education programs.
    According to the Ministry of National Education, 60 percent of the 
children completed ninth grade in the academic year 2005-06 (62 percent 
girls; 58 percent boys). The drop out rate for the lower grades was 
between three and four percent. The reduction in the rate was a result 
of boarding schools established in small towns and rural areas.
    There were no reliable statistics on the number of girls married 
below the age of 18. In 2004 UN Children's Fund reported that 18 
percent of all marriages were child marriages; 24 percent of these 
occur in rural areas and 13 percent in urban areas. Using the family 
status law, the Government, in coordination with international and 
national NGOs, informed women of their rights, partially in order to 
combat child marriages.
    Child labor was a serious problem (see section 6.d.).
    In 2003 the Government signed an accord with Spain to repatriate 
more than 6,000 unaccompanied minors. Upon returning to the country, 
the children encountered material difficulties and abuse on the 
streets, as well as abuse by border officials. Spain pledged funds for 
a rehabilitation center in the Tangier area to assist with the 
reinsertion of minors. At year's end, the center was not yet 
functional.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The 2003 Immigration and Emigration law 
prohibits trafficking in persons; however, there were reports that 
persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country. In 2005 the 
Government, international organizations, and numerous NGOs claimed the 
number of minors trafficked to Europe increased.
    The 2003 Immigration and Emigration Act specifically prohibits 
trafficking in persons and fines and imprisons those, including 
government officials, who are involved in or who fail to prevent 
trafficking in persons. Under the law, perpetrators are prosecuted 
either for fraud, kidnapping, corruption of minors, or for forcing 
others into prostitution. The Government's anti-trafficking statutes 
punish traffickers and complicit public officials with penalties 
ranging from six months to 20 years imprisonment and the forfeiture of 
assets.
    According to the law, human trafficking and migrant smuggling are 
illegal. Government statistics did not differentiate between trafficked 
individuals and voluntary economic migrants. UNHCR protection was 
available to trafficked individuals. The Government continued to 
repatriate trafficking victims.
    The country was a source country for men, women, and children 
trafficked to Italy, Spain, and other parts of Europe for forced labor 
and sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking remained a problem. The 
two most commonly trafficked groups were girls sent involuntarily to 
serve as child maids and women forced to perform sexual services. Women 
were trafficked to Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates to 
become sex workers after being promised jobs as domestics.
    The country was a transit point for trafficked persons. Men and 
women from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan were 
trafficked to Europe or Near Eastern countries. Sub-Saharan Africans 
transiting the country to Europe were also victims of traffickers. 
Females were often pressured into commercial sexual exploitation and 
involuntary servitude to pay for food and shelter.
    Internal trafficking was a problem, particularly of women and young 
girls. According to the UNICEF and national NGOs, recruiters habitually 
visited isolated rural villages in the Atlas Mountains where they 
persuaded parents that their daughters would be better off as child 
maids.
    Trafficking of minors for commercial sexual exploitation attracted 
sex tourists from Europe and the Arab Gulf states (see section 5).
    Organized criminal gangs coordinated some of the clandestine 
migration to Europe, particularly the sub-Saharans transiting the 
country. Some of this activity may also include trafficking. Unlike the 
previous year, there were no reports that members of the security 
apparatus, such as border officials or police, ignored trafficking for 
financial gain. Most trafficking rings were small crime groups. There 
were unofficial reports that hotel personnel arranged to transport 
girls and young women from rural areas to cities to be used in 
commercial sexual exploitation.
    In February officials dismantled a large international network 
which was trafficking and smuggling migrants from India, and arrested 
70 suspects, including a police officer. At year's end the cases were 
being adjudicated.
    In 2005, according to the Ministry of Interior, the Government 
adopted a strategy to fight trafficking based on five major pillars: 
security measures, legislation, the creation of institutions 
specializing in fighting illegal migration, international cooperation, 
and public awareness campaigns.
    In 2005 the Government established two interagency coordinating 
bodies, the National Observatory of Migration, which served as an anti-
trafficking in persons task force and formulated policy, and the 
National Agency for Migration and Border Surveillance. Anti-trafficking 
activities were primarily implemented by the Ministry of Interior. 
Clandestine migration was the purview of immigration officials; 
prostitution was a police issue; and child bride cases are reviewed by 
local authorities, who ultimately report to the Ministry of Interior. 
Law enforcement officers often participated in training and seminars 
relating to trafficking and human rights in general.
    In 2005 the Government convicted three policemen for trafficking. 
The policemen served four months in prison and paid $100 (1,000 
dirhams) fines. Eight members of the Force Auxiliares were also 
convicted of trafficking. They received four-year prison sentences, 
according to the Ministry of Justice. Four members of the military 
received from three months to one year for engaging in trafficking.
    In the first half of the year, the Ministry of Interior reported 
that 90 criminal trafficking rings were disbanded. In June the Ministry 
of Justice announced that arrests of foreigners for perversion and 
pedophilia had increased by 26 percent compared to 2005.
    In 2005, according to Ministry of Interior reports, the Government 
disbanded more than 300 criminal rings, some of which may have included 
traffickers. In 2005 the Government convicted three foreign citizens 
for engaging in child sex tourism and 10 other foreigners for 
trafficking in children.
    According to the Ministry of Justice, there are numerous agreements 
with other countries regarding investigation and prosecution of 
traffickers. Although the Government has bilateral treaties with 
relevant countries, it did not extradite nationals charged with 
trafficking in accordance with Article 721 of the penal code.
    The Government and the International Organization for Migration 
cooperated to conduct a survey that identified the most vulnerable 
persons, pinpoint the regions from which persons are trafficked, and 
propose the most effective methods of prevention.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws to assist persons 
with disabilities. The Government has guidelines on how to deal with 
persons with disabilities, but these procedures have no legal status. 
Specifically, the law does not mandate access to buildings for persons 
with disabilities. While the Office of the Secretary of State for 
Families, Children, and the Handicapped attempted to integrate them 
into society, in practice integration largely was left to private 
charities. Typically, families supported persons with disabilities, and 
some survived by begging.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The official language was 
Arabic; however, both French and Arabic were used in the news media and 
educational institutions. Science and technical courses were taught in 
French, thereby preventing the large, monolingual Arabic speaking or 
Tamazight (Berber)-speaking populations from participating. Educational 
reforms in the past decade emphasized the use of Arabic in secondary 
schools. Failure to transform the university system similarly led to 
the disqualification of many students from higher education in advanced 
technical fields. The poor lacked the means to obtain additional French 
instruction to supplement the few hours per week taught in public 
schools.
    Approximately 60 percent of the population claimed Amazigh (Berber) 
heritage, including the royal family. Amazigh cultural groups contended 
that their traditions and language were being lost rapidly. In 2005, 
responding to this concern, official media broadcasts in Tamazight 
(Berber) language increased from four to eight hours a day. In 
September television programs were added for the first time in 
Tamazight. Tamazight language classes were included in the curriculum 
of 350 primary schools, affecting approximately 25,000 students.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution permits workers to 
establish and join trade unions, although the laws reportedly have not 
been implemented in some areas. Most union federations were allied with 
political parties, but unions were free from government interference. 
Approximately 5.5 percent of the country's workers were organized.
    The labor law details restrictions on the number of overtime hours 
worked per week and the rate of pay for holidays, nightshift work, and 
routine overtime. According to national and international NGOs, workers 
sometimes worked more than 44 hours per week and overtime hours were 
often required.
    The law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination but 
prohibits some public employees, e.g., members of the armed forces, 
police, and judiciary, from forming unions. The law expressly prohibits 
companies from dismissing workers for participating in legitimate union 
organizing activities, and prescribes the Government's authority to 
intervene in strikes. Employers cannot initiate criminal prosecutions 
against workers participating in strikes. Unlike the previous year, 
there were no reports that union officers were subject to government 
pressure.
    The courts have the authority to reinstate arbitrarily dismissed 
workers and are able to enforce rulings that compel employers to pay 
damages and back pay. Unions may sue to have labor laws enforced, and 
employers may sue unions when they believe unions have overstepped 
their authority.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law 
mandates the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the 
Government generally upheld this right. Trade union federations 
competed among themselves to organize workers. Any group of eight 
workers may organize a union, and a worker may change union affiliation 
easily. A work site may contain several independent locals or locals 
affiliated with more than one labor federation; however, only unions 
having 35 percent of the workforce as members may be recognized as 
negotiating partners.
    Collective bargaining was a longstanding tradition in some parts of 
the economy, such as the industrial sector, and was becoming more 
prevalent in the service sector, including banking, health, and the 
civil service. The wages and conditions of employment of unionized 
workers generally were set in discussions between employer and worker 
representatives; however, employers set wages for the vast majority of 
workers unilaterally. Labor disputes arose in some cases as the result 
of employers failing to implement collective bargaining agreements and 
withholding wages.
    The law requires compulsory arbitration of disputes, prohibits sit 
ins, establishes the right to work, calls for a 10-day notice of a 
strike, and allows the hiring of 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 break up 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. Any striking employee who prevents a replacement worker 
from working is subject to a seven-day suspension. A second offense 
within one year is punishable by a 15-day suspension.
    Employers wishing to dismiss workers are legally required to notify 
the provincial governor through the labor inspector's office. In cases 
in which the employer plans to replace dismissed workers, a government 
labor inspector provides replacements and mediates the cases of workers 
who protest their dismissal.
    The Government generally ensured the observance of labor laws in 
larger companies and in the public sector. In the informal sector, such 
as in the family workshops that dominated the handicrafts sector, 
employers routinely ignored labor laws and regulations, and government 
inspectors lacked the resources to monitor violations effectively.
    In the Tangier Free Trade Zone, an export processing zone, the 
country's labor laws and practices fully apply. The proportion of 
unionized workers in the export zone was comparable to the rest of the 
economy, at approximately 6 percent.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5). In practice the 
Government lacked the resources to inspect the many small workshops and 
private homes where the vast majority of such employment occurred. 
Forced labor persisted in the practice of adoptive servitude in 
households (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, the Government had difficulty 
effectively implementing these laws, except in organized labor markets. 
Noncompliance with child labor laws was common, particularly in the 
agricultural sector. In 2004 the International Program on the 
Elimination of Child Labor reported that 80 percent of the country's 
underage workers worked on family farms.
    In 2005 the Government reported that there were 600,000 child 
workers, and 1.5 to 2 million children were not registered in school. 
Of those children between the ages of 12 to 14, 18 percent worked. In 
rural areas 19 percent of children between the ages of seven to 14 
worked; in urban areas children composed 2 percent of the labor force.
    In practice children were apprenticed before age 12, particularly 
in small, family-run workshops in the handicraft industry. Children 
also worked in the informal sector in textile, carpet, and light 
manufacturing activities. Children's safety and health conditions and 
wages were often substandard. Many young girls were exploited as 
domestic servants (see section 5).
    The labor law sets the minimum age for employment in all sectors at 
15 years. According to the law, children under the age of 16 are 
prohibited from working more than 10 hours per day, which includes at 
least a one-hour break. Children under the age of 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 agricultural activities. It is 
prohibited to employ children under the age of 18 in stone quarries or 
underground work carried out in mines.
    The labor law prohibited forced or compulsory labor, but these 
provisions were difficult to enforce.
    The family law protects and gives rights to illegitimate and 
abandoned children, who have often found themselves in desperate 
situations leading to child labor. The same law changed the minimum age 
for conscription into the armed forces from 18 to 20 years.
    The country was a destination for children trafficked from sub-
Saharan Africa, North Africa, and Asia and served as a transit and 
origin point for children trafficked to Europe. Children were also 
trafficked internally for exploitation as child domestic workers, 
beggars, and for prostitution.
    The number of children working illegally as domestic servants was 
approximately 66 thousand, and all of these workers were under the age 
of 15 according to the 2005 Secretariat of Families, Children, and the 
Handicapped report. Of this number 89 percent were recruited from rural 
areas, and 84 percent were illiterate. According to a December 2005 HRW 
report, the country denied child maids basic labor rights, and 
authorities rarely punished employers who abused children. In 2005 the 
Government arrested two employers of child maids on abuse charges. The 
court sentenced one employer to 18 months in jail. There was no further 
government information available on punishments for abusive employees.
    The practice of adoptive servitude, in which urban families 
employed young rural girls and used them as domestic servants, was 
widespread. Credible reports of physical and psychological abuse in 
such circumstances were common. Some orphanages were charged as 
complicit in the practice. The public generally accepted the concept of 
adoptive servitude. According to HRW, the majority of child domestics 
worked 14 to 18 hours per day without breaks, seven days a week, for 
salaries of U.S. $0.40 to $0.11 (0.4 to 1 dirham) per hour. Most child 
domestics did not receive any money directly; rather, they worked for 
food, lodging, and clothing. Children were also ``rented'' out by their 
parents or other relatives to beg.
    The Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs, and Solidarity is 
responsible for implementing and enforcing child labor laws and 
regulations, which were generally observed in the industrialized, 
unionized sector of the economy. The labor law provides for legal 
sanctions against employers who recruit children under the age of 15 
ranging from approximately $2,800 to $3,300 (25,000 to 30,000 dirhams). 
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 a period of five to 10 years. The Government passed laws 
prohibiting begging that exploits children and the buying and selling 
of child brides.
    HRW reported that police, prosecutors, and judges rarely enforced 
legal provisions on child abuse or 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 unlikely to 
provide any direct benefit.
    In 2005 the Government committed $4.2 million (37.6 million 
dirhams) to a joint program of the Ministries of Employment, Health, 
and Social Welfare, through which the ministries will join with private 
organizations to offer vocational training, job placement, and micro-
credits to assist adult beggars and the parents of child beggars.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 
approximately $223.30 (2,023 dirhams) per month in the industrialized 
sector. It was approximately $5.60 (56 dirhams) per day for 
agricultural workers; however, businesses in the informal sector with 
60 percent of the labor force often ignored the minimum wage 
requirements.
    The lowest wage of the Government pay scale exceeded the minimum 
wage.
    Neither the minimum wage for the industrialized sector nor the wage 
for agricultural workers provided a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family, even with government subsidies. 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. They generally were paid between 13 and 16 months salary, 
including bonuses, each year.
    The law provides for a 44 hour maximum workweek, with no more than 
10 hours in any 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. Employers 
did not observe these provisions universally, and the Government did 
not enforce them effectively in all sectors.
    Occupational health and safety standards were rudimentary, except 
for a prohibition on the employment of women and children in certain 
dangerous occupations. Labor inspectors attempted to monitor working 
conditions and investigate accidents, but they lacked sufficient 
resources. While workers in principle had 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.

                             WESTERN SAHARA

    Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory, with a population of 
approximately 267,000, and administers Moroccan law and regulation in 
the estimated 85 percent of the territory it controls; however, Morocco 
and the Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia 
el Hamra and Rio de Oro), an organization seeking independence for the 
region, dispute its sovereignty. Since 1973 the Polisario has 
challenged the claims of Spain, Mauritania, and Morocco to the 
territory. The Moroccan government sent troops and settlers into the 
northern two thirds of the territory after Spain withdrew in 1975 and 
extended its administration over the southern province of Oued Ed Dahab 
after Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979. Moroccan and Polisario 
forces fought intermittently from 1975 until the 1991 ceasefire and 
deployment to the area of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping 
contingent, known by its French initials, MINUS (the United Nations 
Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara).
    In 1975 the International Court of Justice advised that during the 
period of Spanish colonization, legal ties of allegiance existed 
between Morocco and some of the Western Saharan tribes, but the court 
also found that there were no ties indicating ``territorial 
sovereignty'' by Morocco. The court added that it had not found ``legal 
ties'' that might affect UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 regarding 
the de-colonization of the territory and in particular the principle of 
self-determination for its persons. Sahrawis, as the persons from the 
territory are called, live in the area controlled by Morocco, as 
refugees in Algeria near the border with Morocco, and, to a lesser 
extent, in Mauritania. A Moroccan constructed sand wall, known as the 
``berm,'' separates most Moroccan-controlled territory from Polisario 
controlled sections.
    In 1988 Morocco and the Polisario accepted the joint Organization 
of African Unity/UN settlement proposals for a referendum allowing the 
Sahrawis to decide between integration with Morocco or independence for 
the territory. Disagreements over voter eligibility were not resolved, 
however, and a referendum has not taken place.
    In 1997 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed James Baker as 
his personal envoy to explore options for a peaceful settlement. Baker 
visited the territory, consulted with the parties, offered proposals to 
resolve the problem, and in 2001 presented a ``framework agreement,'' 
which Morocco accepted but the Polisario and Algeria rejected. In 2003 
Baker proposed a peace plan, which the UN Security Council endorsed. 
The plan proposed that a referendum consider integration with Morocco 
or independence, and addressed other questions agreed to by the 
parties, such as self-government or autonomy. Morocco ultimately 
rejected the plan, while the Polisario accepted it.
    In August 2005 the UN Secretary General appointed Peter Van Walsum 
to oversee the political process as the personal envoy replacing Baker, 
who resigned in June 2004.
    On October 31, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1720, 
extending MINUS and its 227-member military staff until April 30, 2007. 
The resolution called on member states to consider making contributions 
to fund confidence-building measures to allow for increased contact 
between family members separated by the dispute, which UN Secretary 
General Kofi Annan called ``deadlocked'' in a report to the Security 
Council. Confidence-building measures stalled in June because of the 
inability of the parties to agree on locations and schedules of 
meetings. The measures resumed November 3. The United Nations High 
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) maintains a separate office in Laayoune 
to coordinate these measures.
    On October 9, an internal report by the Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) criticizing the Moroccan 
government for denying the right of self-determination to the Sahrawi 
people was unexpectedly made public. The report accused Morocco of 
abusing the rights of pro-independence activists in the disputed 
territory and using excessive force against protestors. The Moroccan 
government claimed that the report did not cover violations of human 
rights attributable to the Polisario, as OHCHR was denied access to 
areas controlled by the Polisario. Sahrawi NGOs, including the 
Association des Portes Disparus au Polisario (the Association for those 
who Disappeared Because of the Polisario, APDP), also criticized the 
report in an October 19 letter to the United Nations. The APDP claimed 
there are 800 missing persons; however, it can verify only 294. The 
Moroccan press claimed the report was biased toward Algeria.
    A substantial Moroccan government subsidy aided migration to and 
development in the portions of the territory under its control. The 
Moroccan government subsidized incomes, fuel, power, water, housing, 
and basic food commodities for its citizens living in the Western 
Sahara and Sahrawis. In 2004 the Moroccan government initiated a five 
year approximately $800 million (7.2 billion dirhams) development 
program for all of what it called its ``southern provinces,'' most of 
which are the territory.
    The Moroccan constitution and laws applied to the civilian 
population living in the territory under Moroccan administration. 
Political rights for the residents remained circumscribed, and citizens 
did not have the right to change their government. UN observers and 
foreign human rights groups maintained that the Moroccan government 
subjected Sahrawis suspected of supporting independence and the 
Polisario to various forms of surveillance.
    Since 1977 the Western Saharan provinces of Laayoune, Smara, 
Awsard, and Boujdour (and Oued Ed Dahab since 1983) have participated 
in Moroccan national elections. In the 2002 Moroccan parliamentary 
elections, Sahrawis with political views aligned with the Moroccan 
government filled all the seats allotted to the territory. In 2003 the 
Moroccan government conducted municipal elections in Morocco and the 
Western Sahara. No Sahrawis opposed to Moroccan sovereignty were 
candidates in the elections. According to Moroccan government 
statistics, the national election turnout was 54 percent, including 68 
percent in the territory.
    On March 25, King Mohammed VI appointed a new Royal Consultative 
Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS). The council, which met throughout 
the year, was charged with developing an autonomy plan for the 
territory within the context of the Moroccan state.
    On April 11, a delegation of Spanish regional parliamentarians from 
Murcia, who supported independence for the Western Sahara, were denied 
entry by the local authorities.
    Demonstrations limited in size continued intermittently throughout 
the year. On March 19, Hammoud Iguilid, President of the Laayoune 
branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), was 
arrested and, according to AMDH, tortured.
    On April 4, Brahim Dahane, a Sahrawi prisoner, who is President of 
the Sahrawi Association for the Victims of Human Rights Abuses 
(SAVHRA), accused the judicial police of beating him severely when he 
was transported from the Laayoune prison to the courthouse. Spanish 
press reported that Dahane showed no evidence of abuse prior to being 
placed in the transport vehicle. According to the Ministry of Justice, 
Dahane never claimed officially that he had been beaten.
    On March 27, the King pardoned 219 Sahrawi prisoners held in 
Morocco and the territory. Among them was Aminatou Haidar. Upon 
release, she was free to travel unimpeded both inside and outside the 
territory. Sahrawi activists claimed that 30 of those released were 
political prisoners and that there were 37 other political prisoners 
still detained. The Moroccan authorities do not identify any prisoners 
as ``political prisoners.'' On April 23, the King pardoned 26 of the 
remaining 37 prisoners. Among them were Dahane and Ali Salem Tamek.
    On May 10, the anniversary of the foundation of the Polisario 
Front, the Polisario Web site reported that demonstrations were held in 
Laayoune, Smara, Dakhla and Boujdour. Reportedly 26 students were 
expelled from various colleges for wearing traditional Sahrawi dress.
    On August 17, according to SAVHRA, 18 prisoners in the Laayoune 
prison began a hunger strike. Moroccan government sources stated that 
no hunger strike occurred. Throughout the year, local NGOs reported 
intermittent hunger strikes by prisoners.
    During the year the Polisario claimed that the Moroccan government 
violently repressed demonstrations on a regular basis throughout the 
territory.
    On September 19, authorities sentenced Tamek Mohamed and Najiaa 
Bachir to four years in prison and Kajot Brahim and Driss Mansouri to 
three years. The cases against Waissi Elkharchi, Bougaraa Sheikh and 
Banga Sheikh were dismissed. All of these prisoners were charged with 
participating in illegal demonstrations in Laayoune but were charged in 
Agadir (Morocco).
    The SAVHRA reported that Mohammed Tahlil, President of the Boujdor 
branch of the NGO, was arrested and allegedly drugged by security 
forces. On October 20, he was transported to the Laayoune prison. Pro-
independence NGOs reported that this incident was one of several in 
Western Saharan cities during the month. The incidents allegedly 
included arrests, torture, intimidation, and provocation.
    On December 10, on International Human Rights Day, a demonstration 
occurred in Laayoune in support of the independence of the Western 
Sahara. Six demonstrators were beaten, others were briefly detained, 
but no one was arrested.
    In May 2005 and sporadically thereafter, 300 to 1300 individuals 
demonstrated in Laayoune, ostensibly protesting the transfer of a 
Sahrawi prisoner to Agadir. The Moroccan government arrested 37 
demonstrators during and after the May 2005 demonstrations. Of those 
arrested, 12 received jail terms up to five years for damaging public 
property and using weapons against officials. Amnesty International 
(AI) claimed that demonstrators received prison terms up to 20 years. 
In May 2005 further demonstrations occurred in Dakhla. The Spanish 
press reported the number of participants to be as high as 1,500.
    Demonstrations broke out again in Laayoune in October 2005 
initially in support of the independence of the Western Sahara, and 
later to draw attention to the thirtieth anniversary of the Green 
March. One Sahrawi, Hamdi Lembarki, died of wounds from the previous 
day's demonstration. Authorities arrested two policemen in connection 
with Lembarki's death. At year's end the disposition of the cases was 
unknown.
    The AMDH reported that the trials of the demonstrators in the May 
2005 disturbances were unfair because charges were never clearly 
articulated, lawyers were denied access to their clients, and 
allegations of torture by Moroccan authorities were not investigated.
    In December 2005 Human Rights Watch (HRW) sent an open letter to 
Moroccan King Mohammed VI concerning the detention of seven human 
rights activists. The activists were Ali Salem Tamek, Mohamed El 
Moutaouakil, Houssein Lidri, Brahim Noumria, Larbi Messaoud, Aminatou 
Haidar, and H'mad Hammad. The letter also raised concerns about seven 
other teenaged detainees. While the 14 had been arrested following the 
May through June 2005 demonstrations, in October 2005, during a 
subsequent demonstration, police arrested Brahim Dahane, the fifteenth 
person mentioned in the HRW letter. HRW visited Laayoune, examined case 
files of the defendants, and concluded that ``little if any of the 
evidence implicating them in inciting, directing or participating in 
the violence [that is, the earlier demonstrations] appears to be 
credible.''
    In December 2005 the Laayoune Court of Appeal sentenced the seven 
human rights activists to jail terms ranging from seven months to two 
years. AI reported that the proceedings lasted only a few hours and 
that the defendants were not given the opportunity to challenge alleged 
oral confessions that police provided to the court. The defendants said 
that any alleged confessions were extracted only after torture or ill-
treatment while they were held in detention. Those sentenced included 
Ali Salem Tamek, Mohamed El Moutaouakil, Houssein Lidri, Brahim 
Noumria, Larbi Messaoud, Aminatou Haidar, and H'mad Hammad. Seven other 
individuals were also sentenced in the same trial.
    After holding Dahane for 48 hours following his arrest in October 
2005, police reportedly charged him with belonging to an unauthorized 
organization, the SAVHRA, of which he is the President. AI considered 
Dahane and the other seven defendants to be prisoners of conscience.
    Some prisoners arrested after the May 2005 demonstrations launched 
sporadic hunger strikes; the Polisario claimed the figure was 37. While 
initially the Moroccan government said that only seven prisoners were 
on hunger strikes, it later stated that all 37 of the prisoners 
participated. The hunger strikes ceased in September 2005, but resumed 
sporadically until the end of 2005 and into 2006. AMDH wanted the 
Government to negotiate with those who had launched the hunger strike. 
The Government did not negotiate but provided medical attention to 
those on the hunger strike. Prisoners continued to participate in 
hunger strikes during 2006, although these were not the same prisoners 
as those in 2005.
    Following the May 2005 demonstrations, Spanish delegations composed 
of journalists and regional politicians attempted to visit the Western 
Sahara. Moroccan authorities, who charged that the visits were 
politically motivated, prevented several delegations from disembarking 
from their aircraft. Morocco negotiated with Spain to agree to 
guidelines for visits to the territory. In 2005 Spanish journalists 
based in Morocco had regular access to the territory, although they 
complained of surveillance and harassment by the Moroccan authorities.
    In April 2005 Moroccan authorities detained three Norwegian 
journalists in Laayoune who were covering a demonstration. The 
authorities interrogated two of the journalists and deported all three. 
Prior to the trial of 16 teenagers who participated in the May 2005 
demonstrations in Laayoune, five Norwegians traveled overland to 
Laayoune from Morocco to show support for the teenagers, but Moroccan 
authorities stopped them and escorted them back to Morocco.
    During the year, there were no confirmed reports of politically 
motivated disappearances in the territory under Moroccan 
administration. The SAVHRA, however, maintained a list of persons who 
allegedly disappeared or had been tortured since 1999. SAVHRA's total 
is over 500 persons; however, this number cannot be verified. In 1997 
the Government pledged that such activities would not recur and agreed 
to disclose as much information as possible on past cases. Authorities 
stated that they had released information on all 112 confirmed 
disappearance cases. Human rights groups and families, however, claimed 
hundreds of cases remained outstanding, many from the territory. 
International human rights organizations estimated that between 1,000 
and 1,500 Sahrawis disappeared in the territory. The disappeared 
persons were both Sahrawis and Moroccans who challenged the 
Government's claim to the territory or other government policies. Many 
individuals reportedly were held in secret detention camps.
    In 2000 the Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH), a 
government organization, began paying reparations to Sahrawis or the 
family members of those Sahrawis who had disappeared or been detained. 
Urgent medical or financial needs were also paid. The Government 
announced that reparations would continue to be paid following the 
review of Sahrawi petitions.
    In January 2004 the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), 
established by the King, began to investigate egregious human rights 
violations that occurred between 1956 and 1999 throughout the country. 
The appointed members of the IER included human rights activists, 
members of civil society, and university professors. The IER's mandate 
was to assess the claims of individuals and/or their families, 
recommend reparations to victims and/or their families, restore dignity 
to the victims, provide for medical care and rehabilitation, and give a 
thorough accounting of the events that led to the human rights abuses 
and of the circumstances surrounding the abuses. By the conclusion of 
its mandate in November 2005, the IER had received 22,000 applications, 
many of which had to do with the territory. Investigative teams from 
the IER visited the territory on several occasions.
    From January 2004 to November 2005, the IER assessed 16,861 cases. 
It held public hearings in Morocco and planned for hearings in the 
territory. Due to internal IER time constraints compounded by 
demonstrations, hearings in the territory did not take place. The IER 
mandate did not include the disclosure of names of individuals 
responsible for the violations nor did it include a mechanism for 
bringing violators to trial. AMDH criticized the IER and its findings. 
During the documentation phase of its work, the Moroccan government 
identified approximately 63 of these as Sahrawi graves; however, AMDH 
claimed that many more Sahrawis died during detention.
    In December 2005 the IER submitted the final report to the King. 
The report calculated how much compensation victims would receive and 
outlined recommendations on how to prevent similar abuses in the 
future. It also delineated the reasons for the abuses and the 
institutional responsibilities for the violations. In December 2005 the 
King ordered the publication and public release of the report. On 
January 15, the report was made available.
    Both the 1991 settlement plan and the 1997 Houston Accords called 
for the Polisario to release all remaining Moroccan prisoners of war 
(POWs) after the parties completed the voter identification process. In 
1999 MINUS completed the provisional list of eligible voters. The 
Moroccan government continued to contest the identification process. 
The Western Sahara, a traditionally tribal area populated by nomadic 
peoples, continued to experience migration and emigration following 
1975. Tribal members who left the region were eligible to vote, but 
their direct heirs are not. The Moroccan government disagreed with this 
determination.
    In August 2005 the Polisario released 404 Moroccan POWs, which 
accounted for all remaining Moroccan POWs, according to the UN.
    There were credible reports from international organizations, 
Moroccan NGOs, and the released POWs that Moroccan POWs suffered 
serious physical and psychological health problems due to prolonged 
detention, abuse, and forced labor.
    According to the Polisario, the Moroccan government continued to 
withhold information on approximately 150 Polisario missing combatants 
and supporters whom the Polisario listed by name. Morocco formally 
denied that any Sahrawi former combatants remained in detention. The 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued to 
investigate such Polisario claims in addition to Moroccan claims that 
the Polisario had not fully divulged information on the whereabouts of 
213 Moroccan citizens. In a few cases, the ICRC found that individuals 
on the Polisario list were living peacefully in Moroccan territory or 
in Mauritania.
    Morocco and the Polisario disputed the number of persons in refugee 
camps. The Moroccan government continued to claim that the Polisario 
detained 45,000 to 50,000 Sahrawi refugees against their will in camps 
near Tindouf, Algeria. The Polisario claimed that refugee numbers at 
Tindouf were much higher, but it denied that any refugees were held 
against their will. The UNHCR and the World Food Program appealed 
regularly to donors for food aid, and distributed it to a population of 
approximately 155,000 in the refugee camps. The UN, however, reduced 
the planning figure to 90,000, partially in response to concerns about 
inflated refugee numbers. During February floods humanitarian aid to 
the camps increased; in August the amount of aid reverted to prior 
levels. Local advocacy groups in the Western Sahara protested against 
the treatment of the Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps throughout 
the year.
    In 2004 the UNHCR completed a six month program of confidence-
building measures, highlighted by family visits that brought 1200 
persons to meet for five days with long separated relatives. Most 
participants were Sahrawi refugees from the camps in Algeria visiting 
relatives in the Moroccan controlled territory. In 2005 approximately 
19,000 Sahrawis registered to participate in the program, and the UNHCR 
transported 1,476 persons for visits. The confidence-building measures 
also included telephone exchanges between relatives in the territory 
and refugee camps in Algeria. The program was interrupted in August 
2005 due to a lack of funding but resumed briefly in November and 
December 2005. On November 3, the UN resumed family reunion flights 
after a five month suspension with the intent to continue through the 
end of 2007, provided funding is available.
    The Moroccan government restricted freedoms of expression, 
assembly, and association. In late November 2005 the Government blocked 
several Sahrawi-based Internet Web sites; the sites remained blocked 
until the King's visit to the Western Sahara on March 25. Sahrawi 
activists claimed that they were unable to form political associations 
or politically oriented NGOs. Moroccan authorities claimed that they 
did not intervene in any demonstrations until the demonstrators became 
violent and destroyed personal property.
    The laws and restrictions regarding religious organizations and 
religious freedom in the territory are the same as those in Morocco. 
The constitution provides that Islam is the state religion and that the 
state provides the freedom to practice one's religion.
    The Moroccan government and the Polisario restricted movement in 
areas regarded as militarily sensitive.
    Some Sahrawis continued to have difficulty obtaining Moroccan 
passports. According to NGOs, eleven Sahrawis whose passports were 
confiscated more than three years ago were unable to regain them.
    The Moroccan penal code imposes stiff fines and prison terms on 
individuals involved in or failing to prevent trafficking in persons. 
The territory was a transit region for traffickers of persons.
    The Moroccan labor code applied in the Moroccan controlled areas of 
the territory. Moroccan unions were present in those areas but were not 
active. The Polisario sponsored labor union, Sario Federation of Labor, 
was not active because the Polisario controlled territory did not 
contain major population centers or economic activity.
    There were no strikes, other job actions, or collective bargaining 
agreements during the year. Most union members were employees of the 
Moroccan government or state owned organizations. These individuals 
were paid 85 percent more than their counterparts in Morocco as an 
inducement to relocate to the territory. The Moroccan government 
exempted workers from income and value added taxes.
    The Moroccan labor code prohibited forced or bonded labor, 
including by children, and there were no reports that such practices 
occurred.
    Regulations on the minimum age of employment were the same as in 
Morocco. Child labor did not appear to be a problem.
    The minimum wage and maximum hours of work were identical to those 
in Morocco. In practice, however, during peak periods, workers in some 
fish processing plants worked as many as 12 hours per day, six days per 
week, which was well beyond the 10-hour day, 44-hour week maximum 
stipulated in the 2004 Moroccan labor code. Occupational health and 
safety standards were the same as those enforced in Morocco and were 
rudimentary, except for a prohibition on the employment of women in 
dangerous occupations.

                               __________

                                  OMAN

    The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy with a population of 
approximately 2.5 million, ruled by Sultan Qaboos Al Bu Sa'id. In 1996 
Sultan Qaboos, who acceded to the throne in 1970, issued a royal decree 
promulgating a ``Law of the State,'' characterizing the country as 
``Arab'' and ``Islamic.'' Only the sultan can amend the country's laws, 
through royal decree. The 83 member Consultative Council (Majlis al 
Shura) is a representative advisory institution whose members were 
elected in 2003 by approximately 194,000 voters directly, freely, and 
fairly. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control 
of the security forces.
    Significant human rights problems remained. Citizens did not have 
the right to change their government, which is a ``hereditary 
sultanate.'' The Government restricted freedoms of speech, the press, 
assembly and association, and religion. Despite legislated equality for 
women, discrimination and domestic violence persisted due to social and 
cultural factors. There were no registered domestic human rights NGOs 
and no government controlled or autonomous human rights entities in the 
country. There was a lack of sufficient legal protection and 
enforcement to secure the rights of migrant workers, particularly 
domestic servants. There were reports that migrant laborers in private 
firms and domestic servants were placed in situations amounting to 
forced labor, and that some suffered abuse.
    Between July and November, the Government passed comprehensive 
legislation to improve workers' rights, allowing workers to create more 
than one union per firm and allowing more than one federation to 
represent workers in international fora. Decrees explicitly allow 
collective bargaining and the right to strike, while prohibiting 
dismissal of workers for union activity, raising penalties for child 
labor violations, providing stronger measures to enforce the 
prohibition of forced and coerced labor, and allowing unions and 
federations to practice their activities without outside interference. 
The Ministry of Manpower subsequently issued a legally enforceable 
administrative circular that prohibits employers from withholding 
workers' passports.
                        respect for human rights
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.--Article 20 of the Basic Law prohibits such practices, and 
there were no reports that government officials employed them, unlike 
the previous year when there were accusations of police employing 
unnecessary force to disband protestors and of investigative judges 
threatening physical harm to uncooperative detainees.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, although there 
were reports that some prison cells lacked proper sanitation. No 
international observers requested to visit prisons or detention centers 
during the year. The Government permitted volunteers from local 
religious groups to visit prisons. The Government also allowed 
diplomatic representatives to tour two deportation centers for illegal 
immigrants; these centers generally met international standards.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Article 18 of the Basic Law 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; unlike previous years, there 
were no reports that police handling of arrests and detentions 
constituted incommunicado detention.

    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 internal 
security, and the sultan's Special Force has limited border security 
and anti-smuggling responsibility. The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also 
part of the cabinet, performs regular police duties, provides security 
at airports, serves as the country's immigration agency, and operates 
the coast guard. The Ministry of Defense, and in particular the Royal 
Army of Oman, is responsible for border security and has limited 
domestic security responsibilities.
    Corruption was not perceived to be a widespread problem. The ROP's 
Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigation is charged 
with investigating allegations of police abuse, and its findings are 
turned over to the Director General of Human Resources for disciplinary 
action. There is no public information about the ROP's internal 
disciplinary action. Officers receive human rights training at the 
police academy. There were no instances in which the police failed to 
respond to societal violence.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law does not require the police to 
obtain warrants prior to making an arrest. The law provides that within 
48 hours of arrest, the police must either release the accused or refer 
the matter to the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor must, within 
24 hours, formally arrest or release the person. Public attorneys were 
provided to indigent detainees. Authorities must obtain court orders to 
hold suspects in pretrial detention. Judges may order detentions for 14 
days to allow investigation and may grant extensions if necessary. The 
authorities post the previous week's trial results near the magistrate 
court building. There was a functioning system of bail.
    The police sometimes failed to follow legal procedures in practice. 
Unlike previous years, there were no reports that police handling of 
arrests and detentions constituted incommunicado detention. The police 
did not always inform detainees of the charges against them; nor did 
they always notify a detainee's family or, in the case of a foreign 
worker, the worker's sponsor, of the detention.
    In some cases, foreign workers were detained without charges 
pending investigation of immigration status. Beginning May 8, and 
continuing throughout the year, police detained several thousand 
suspected illegal migrant laborers. Using police checkpoints and 
profiling, military and civilian security agencies detained persons 
unable to document their legal status in the country upon request, 
which required displaying both a valid labor card and a valid passport 
with visa. Women and children were deported, while the Government 
prosecuted men suspected of criminal activity. The Government stated 
its intention to deport all illegal aliens. The migrant workers were 
held in a special detention center until authorities could determine 
their immigration status or arrange deportation. Representatives of 
foreign diplomatic missions and local religious groups alleged that 
conditions in the deportation camp were harsh (see sections 2.d. and 
5).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Article 60 of the Basic Law 
provides for an independent judiciary; however, the sultan can 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 with the 
power to review all judicial decisions. Members of the Supreme Judicial 
Council included the President of the supreme court, the minister of 
justice, the public prosecutor and the inspector general. An 
Administrative Affairs Council approves all judicial nominations, with 
the exception of the posts of the Supreme Court President, deputy 
President, and judge, who are appointed by a royal decree based on the 
council's nomination.
    The Ministry of Justice administers all courts. The magistrate 
court system is composed of courts of first instance, courts of appeal, 
and the Supreme Court. There are 42 courts of first instance located 
throughout the sultanate that hear civil, criminal, commercial, labor, 
and personal status cases. One judge presides over each court of first 
instance. There are six courts of appeal, each with a panel of three 
appointed judges. The Supreme Court standardizes legal principles, 
reviews decisions of lower courts, and monitors judges in their 
application and interpretation of the law. The sultan can pardon or 
reduce sentences but not overturn a Supreme Court verdict. The Supreme 
Judicial Council can hear appeals beyond the Supreme Court.
    Principles of Shari'a help form the civil, commercial, and criminal 
codes. Laws governing family and personal status are based on the 
Government's interpretation of Shari'a.

    Trial Procedures.--Article 22 of the Basic Law provides for the 
right to a fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right. 
The General Prosecutor's Office operates independently within the 
Ministry of Justice. All felonies are adjudicated in courts of first 
instance. All appeals to a judge's ruling must be made within 30 days. 
The criminal appeals panel hears appeals of rulings made by all courts 
of first instance. Appeals of appellate court decisions go to the 
Supreme Court, which consists of five judges.
    A 1974 royal decree with subsequent amendments established rules of 
procedure for criminal cases, provided rules of evidence and procedures 
for entering cases into the criminal system, and detailed provisions 
for a public trial. In criminal cases, the police are required to 
provide defendants with the written charges against them, and 
defendants have the right to present evidence and confront witnesses. 
The prosecution and defense counsel question witnesses before a judge 
in court.
    The law provides for the presumption of innocence and the right to 
counsel. For defendants facing prison terms of three years or more, the 
law provides legal defense. Judges often pronounced the verdict and 
sentence within a day of the completion of a trial. Those convicted may 
appeal jail sentences longer than three months and fines over the 
equivalent of $1,250 (480 rials).
    The administrative court, under the authority of the Diwan of Royal 
Court, reviews complaints about the misuse of governmental authority. 
It has the power to reverse decisions made by government bodies and can 
also award compensation. Appointments to the administrative court are 
subject to approval of the Administrative Affairs Council, with the 
exception of the posts of the court President and the court deputy 
President, who are appointed by a royal decree based on the council's 
nomination.
    The State Security Court, created by royal decrees in 2003, tries 
cases involving national security and criminal matters that require 
expeditious or especially sensitive handling. The security court 
procedures mirror closely those applicable elsewhere in the criminal 
system. The sultan has exercised his powers to extend leniency, 
including in cases involving state security.
    Ministry and security personnel are subject to a military tribunal 
system of justice.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
arrests of political prisoners or detainees. Former parliamentarian 
Taybah al-Ma'wali was released from prison on January 30 after having 
been convicted on July 13, 2005, for insulting a public official and 
using a mobile phone to send allegedly slanderous and libelous text 
messages which criticized the Government's arrest of Ibadhi activists 
(see section 2.a.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil cases are governed 
by applicable civil procedure codes. Citizens and third-country 
nationals were able to file cases in the courts. There were instances 
in which courts ruled in favor of domestic servants against their 
sponsors, requiring sponsors to return the workers' passports and allow 
them to break the employment contract. In some of these instances, the 
courts issued orders to apprehend the sponsor and force his appearance 
before the court. Both citizen and foreign workers can lodge complaints 
regarding working conditions with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for 
administrative redress. The MOM may refer cases to the courts if it is 
unable to negotiate a solution (see section 6.e.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for broad governmental discretion, 
which the Government utilized in practice.
    The law does not require police to obtain search warrants, although 
the police often obtained them; the public prosecutor, not the court, 
issues them. The Government monitored both oral and written 
communications, including mobile phones, e mail, and Internet chat room 
exchanges (see section 2.a.). Citizens were required to obtain 
permission from the Ministry of Interior to marry foreigners, except 
nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and 
permission was not granted automatically. Marriages to foreigners may 
lead to the foreign spouse being denied entry into the country and 
prevent a legitimate child from claiming citizenship rights.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Article 29 of the Basic Law 
provides for freedom of speech and of the press ``within the limits of 
the law''; however, the law and government practice generally 
restricted freedom of speech and of the press. The law prohibits 
criticism of the sultan in any form or medium, or ``material that leads 
to public discord, violates the security of the state, or abuses a 
person's dignity or his rights.'' Articles 61 and 62 of the 2002 
Telecommunications Act make it illegal to knowingly send a message via 
any form of communication that violates public order and morals or is 
harmful to a person's safety. Courts have interpreted these articles as 
meaning that it is also illegal to insult a public official. On January 
30, the Government released Taybah al-Ma'wali, a former parliamentarian 
convicted of violating these articles based on her mobile phone 
messages that criticized the Government (see section 1.e.).
    Journalists and writers generally exercised self censorship due to 
fear of government reprisal, while various media companies reportedly 
refused to publish articles by several journalists who previously had 
criticized the Government. Some journalists alleged that the Government 
maintained a ``black list'' of journalists and writers who cannot be 
published in the country. The authorities tolerated a limited degree of 
criticism of policies, government officials, and agencies, particularly 
on the Internet; however, such criticism rarely appeared in the mass 
media. The Government used libel laws and concerns for national 
security as grounds to suppress criticism of government figures and 
politically objectionable views.
    Censors enforced the Press and Publication Law, which authorizes 
the Government to censor all domestic and imported publications. 
Government censorship decisions were changed periodically without any 
declared reason. Ministry of Information censors acted against material 
regarded as politically, culturally, or sexually offensive. Some 
journalists stated that customs officials at the border followed an 
unwritten policy to confiscate books and tapes containing material 
considered offensive. Although there were no published reports of such 
seizures taking place during the year, journalists claimed that customs 
officials targeted those writers on the alleged ``black list.'' 
Editorials generally were consistent with the Government's views, 
although the authorities tolerated some limited criticism regarding 
foreign affairs issues, including GCC policies, which the country 
participates in determining.
    There were six daily newspapers: three in Arabic and three in 
English. Arabic language dailies Al Watan and Shabiba and English 
dailies Times of Oman and Oman Tribune were privately owned. There were 
31 state owned and privately owned magazines published in the country.
    The Government owned three radio stations and two television 
stations, the second of which began operations in October. The stations 
generally did not air politically controversial material. In October 
2005 the Ministry of Information approved licenses for one private 
television station and three private radio stations, which were 
expected to begin operations in early 2007. Access to foreign broadcast 
information via satellite was widespread in the major urban areas, and 
satellite subscribers even were able to view Israeli Arabic-language 
programming.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government's national telecommunications 
company made Internet access available for a fee to citizens and 
foreign residents. However, it blocked numerous Web sites that it 
considered pornographic, politically sensitive, or competitive with 
local telecommunications services. The rules and criteria for blocking 
Internet sites were not transparent. Growing use of the Internet to 
express views normally not permitted in other media led the Government 
to take additional measures to monitor and censor it. The Government 
placed warnings on Web sites that criticism of the sultan or personal 
criticism of government officials would be censored and could lead to 
police questioning, which increased self censorship. The Government 
also blocked voice over Internet protocol.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom, particularly regarding publishing or discussing 
controversial matters, such as domestic politics, through the threat of 
dismissal if a teacher's work exceeded government boundaries. In 2005, 
Sultan Qaboos University did not renew a professor's contract after he 
made comments critical of the country's politics and culture. As a 
result, professors often practiced self-censorship. There were no 
reported cases during the year, however, in which the Government 
dismissed a professor or other teacher or academic for writings or 
speech.
    The appropriate government authority, the police, or a relevant 
ministry must approve all public cultural events. Most organizations 
avoided controversial issues due to belief that the authorities might 
not approve such events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Article 32 of the Basic Law provides for circumscribed 
freedom of assembly ``within the limits of the law,'' and the 
Government restricted the exercise of this right in practice. Prior 
government approval was necessary for all public gatherings. The 
authorities enforced this requirement with rare exceptions, allowing 
workers to strike, for instance, over the circumstances and conditions 
of work. While the Government has not released updated statistics on 
the number of strikes that occurred during the year, the MOM reported 
six strikes in 2005.

    Freedom of Association.--Article 33 of the Basic Law provides for 
freedom of association ``for legitimate objectives and in a proper 
manner.'' Under the Law of National Associations, the Council of 
Ministers approves the establishment of NGOs--officially recognized as 
associations--to work on a set of acceptable issues, including women, 
children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and others approved 
by the council. The council 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. Through either outright denial 
or imposition of burdensome bureaucratic requirements, the Government 
effectively blocked the formation of even the most benign 
organizations. In January 2005 the Government denied a request by 
citizens to establish a domestic human rights center. Associations were 
not permitted to engage in politics, form parties, or interfere with 
religious matters (see section 3).
    Formal registration of nationality based associations was limited 
to one association for any nationality. The law states that 
associations must register with the Ministry of Social Development, 
which is responsible for approving association by laws. The average 
time required to register an association was about two years. Some 
social or charitable groups functioned informally before being 
registered, but the Government sent letters to several groups in 2004 
threatening sanctions unless they completed the registration process.
    Women's associations, which total 47, were able to register 
somewhat more quickly because the associations require approval only by 
the minister of social development, not the Council of Ministers. In 
all other ways, however, they are subject to the Law of National 
Associations. Some of the women's associations received limited 
government funding or in kind support, while others were self funded. 
With the inclusion of women's associations, a total of 66 registered 
associations exist in the country. The Ministry of Social Development 
registered at least one new charitable association during the year.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--Article 28 of the Basic Law provides for 
freedom of religion ``within the limits of the law''; however, the 
Government generally restricted this right in practice. The law 
provides that Islam is the state religion and that Shari'a is the 
source of all legislation. Most citizens were Ibadhi or Sunni Muslims, 
with some Shi'a and a few non Muslim citizens. The Government permits 
worship by non Muslim residents. All religious organizations must be 
registered with the Government, and some of their activities were 
restricted.
    Non Muslims were free to worship at churches and temples built on 
land donated by the sultan. However, the Government prohibited 
religious gatherings and practice in private residences. Although the 
law does not prohibit proselytizing, the Government prohibited non 
Muslims from proselytizing Muslims, while proselytizing of non Muslims 
by Muslims was allowed. The Government also prohibited non Muslim 
groups from publishing religious material, although religious material 
printed abroad could be brought into the country.
    Members of all religions and religious groups were free to maintain 
links with members abroad and undertake foreign travel for religious 
purposes.
    The Government required all imams to preach sermons within the 
parameters of standardized texts distributed monthly by the Ministry of 
Religious Affairs and Endowments. The Government monitored mosque 
sermons to ensure that imams did not discuss political topics or 
instigate religious hatred or divisions and stayed within the state 
approved interpretation of Islam. Imams may be suspended or dismissed 
for exceeding government boundaries; there were no reported suspensions 
or dismissals during the year. The Government also monitored sermons of 
non Muslim clergy.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no Jewish population 
and no reports of anti-Semitic acts or public statements by community 
or national leaders that vilified Jews. Anti-Semitism in the media was 
present, however, and anti-Semitic editorial cartoons depicting 
stereotypical and negative images of Jews along with Jewish symbols, 
and comparisons of Israeli leaders to Hitler and the Nazis, were 
published during the year. These expressions occurred primarily in the 
privately owned daily newspaper, Al-Watan, and occurred without 
government response.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law does not provide for these 
rights; however, the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The law prohibits exile, and there were no reported cases 
during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, although the 
country is not party to either the convention or the protocol. In 
practice, the Government provided protection against refoulement, the 
return of persons to a country where they feared persecution, but did 
not routinely grant refugee or asylum status. The Royal Oman Police is 
responsible for determining refugee status, but did not accept refugees 
for resettlement during the year. The law does not specify a timeframe 
in which the ROP must adjudicate a resettlement application.
    The law prohibits the extradition of political refugees, and there 
were no reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution. The issue of temporary protection for refugees and 
asylum seekers did not arise during the year. Government officials 
reported that during the year several hundred Somalis holding UN 
refugee cards entered the country illegally via Yemen to look for work 
or to transit to other Gulf countries. The authorities stated that 
Yemen already had granted the Somalis refugee status, and that none of 
the Somalis applied for protection or resettlement before being 
deported.
    Tight control over the entry of foreigners effectively limited 
refugees and prospective asylum seekers. Besides Somalis, authorities 
apprehended and deported hundreds of Yemenis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans 
who sought to enter the country illegally by land and sea in the south, 
and Afghanis and Pakistanis who generally came to the country by boat 
via Iran in the north. Authorities generally detained these persons in 
camps in Salalah or the northern port city of Sohar, where they stayed 
an average of one month before being deported to their countries of 
origin (see sections 1.d. and 5).
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.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The law does not provide 
for political parties. There are direct elections only for the 
Consultative Council (Majlis as-Shura). Citizens 21 years or older 
(except military and security personnel) may vote. In 2003 
approximately 74 percent of registered voters, or about 194,000 
persons, voted. The Government did not allow candidates to advertise or 
actively campaign for office. A total of 506 candidates, including 15 
women, competed in generally free and fair elections for the 83 council 
seats. Of the 15 female candidates, 2 were elected. In 2003 a royal 
decree also reappointed the incumbent President of the Consultative 
Council, although the council elected two vice Presidents from within 
its membership. The sultan did not influence the nomination of the 
Consultative Council candidates.
    The Consultative Council serves as a conduit of information between 
the citizens and the Government ministries; however, it has no formal 
legislative powers. Government ministries or the cabinet author all 
draft legislation. No serving government official is eligible to be a 
consultative council member. The Consultative Council may question 
government ministers in public or in private, review all draft laws on 
social and economic policy, and recommend new laws or legislative 
changes to the sultan, who makes the final decision. Any five members 
of the Council can make an official request for information from a 
minister, who has two weeks to respond to the request, generally in 
person. In 2005 and during the year, members of the council held 
regular meetings with their constituents regarding conditions in the 
various regions and the effect of laws and regulations. In 2005 
representatives from the southern state of Dhofar used information from 
these public meetings to challenge regulations that set electricity 
duties. In January the Cabinet of Ministers, over which the sultan 
presides, amended the regulations to lower duties significantly.
    The 58 members of the State Council (Majlis ad-Dawla) are all 
appointed by the sultan. It serves as an advisory body that reviews 
draft laws proposed by the Government and presents its opinions to the 
sultan and his ministers in cooperation with the Consultative Council. 
The State Council President is appointed by royal decree and its two 
vice Presidents are elected from within its membership. The membership 
of the State Council included nine women.
    The State Council and the Consultative Council together form the 
142-seat Council of Oman. In 2003, a royal decree extended the term of 
office to four years for members of both councils. There are no term 
limits, although state council members historically have served two 
terms.
    Citizens had indirect access to senior officials through the 
traditional practice of petitioning their patrons, usually the 
appointed local governor, for redress of grievances. Successful redress 
depended on the effectiveness of a patron's access to appropriate 
decision makers. Citizens can contest decisions of government ministers 
in the administrative court. A court awarded a private citizen damages 
of $1.04 million (400,000 rials) in a land dispute against the Minister 
of the Diwan of the Royal Court.
    There were 11 women in the 142 seat Council of Oman. There were 
four female ministers appointed to the 42 member cabinet.
    The Council of Oman and the Cabinet of Ministers are composed of 
representatives from a variety of linguistic, religious, racial, and 
other backgrounds.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were isolated 
reports of government corruption during the year. In 2005, several 
high-ranking government officials, including an undersecretary and a 
member of the State Council, were sentenced to between three and five 
years in prison for bribery, misuse of public office, and breach of 
trust. The officials currently are serving their prison sentences. Such 
sentences allegedly lowered the perception of corruption among citizens 
during the year.
    The law does not provide public access to government information. 
All royal decrees and ministerial decisions are published in the 
Official Gazette for public access.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government restricted NGO activity. There were no registered 
domestic human rights NGOs and no government controlled or autonomous 
human rights entities in the country. In January 2005, the Government 
denied a request by citizens to establish a domestic human rights 
center. Activists involved in foreign registered organizations were 
threatened with arrest or loss of government employment or 
scholarships. No association may receive funding from an international 
group without government approval. Individuals convicted of doing so 
could receive up to six months in jail and a $1,310 (500 rials) fine. 
Heads of domestic NGOs reported that the Government periodically asked 
to review their financial records to confirm sources of funding and 
required that NGOs inform the Government of any meetings with foreign 
organizations or diplomatic missions. There were no reported cases 
during the year of individuals charged with receiving unauthorized 
funding.
    In November, the Government allowed the UN special rapporteur for 
trafficking in persons to visit the country on a fact-finding mission, 
the first visit of a UN official with a human rights portfolio. The 
special rapporteur was allowed to meet with government officials, 
representatives of NGOs, and migrant workers, and to hold a press 
conference to summarize her findings. The special rapporteur called 
attention to the Government's need to increase efforts to combat 
trafficking in persons (see section 5).
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Article 17 of the Basic Law prohibits discrimination against 
citizens on the basis of sex, ethnic origin, race, language, religion, 
place of residence, and social class. However, the Government did not 
effectively enforce it. Societal and cultural discrimination based on 
gender, race, social class, and disability existed.

    Women.--The law does not specifically address domestic violence 
against women; however, the Government's interpretation of Shari'a 
prohibits all forms of physical abuse. There was no evidence of a 
pattern of spousal abuse, although allegations of such abuse in civil 
courts handling family law cases were reportedly common. Battered women 
may file a complaint with the police but often sought family 
intervention to protect them from violent domestic situations. 
Likewise, families sought to intervene to keep such problems from 
public view, which is the cultural norm. Some employers reportedly 
sexually abused domestic servants. There were no government programs 
for abused women.
    The law prohibits rape, and the Government enforced the law 
effectively. Spousal rape is not criminalized.
    According to a 2003 UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health 
Organization study, female genital mutilation (FGM) was broadly 
socially accepted. There is no law prohibiting FGM; however, the 
Ministry of Health prohibited doctors from performing the procedure in 
hospitals. The problem remained sensitive and was not discussed 
publicly. Planners at the Ministry of Health have not taken action to 
eliminate FGM. Local women primarily performed FGM on young girls in 
villages.
    Prostitution was illegal. Despite strict cultural norms and 
immigration controls, observers reported that women from Eastern 
Europe, South Asia, some Middle Eastern countries, and China--some of 
whom may have entered Oman on legal tourist or work visas--engaged in 
prostitution.
    While progress has been made in changing laws and attitudes, 
including the appointment of women as ministers, ambassadors, and 
senior government officials, women continued to face many forms of 
social discrimination. Aspects of Islamic law and tradition as 
interpreted in the country discriminated against women. The 
Government's interpretation of Shari'a, as contained in civil codes, 
favors male heirs in adjudicating inheritance. Many women were 
reluctant to take an inheritance dispute to court for fear of 
alienating the family. Women married to non-citizens may not transmit 
citizenship to their children.
    Although women may own property, government officials applied 
different standards to female applicants for housing loans, resulting 
in fewer approvals for women. Women were forbidden from receiving free 
government housing unless they were divorced, widowed, or listed in the 
registry of social affairs as fatherless or extremely poor. Illiteracy 
among women 45 and older also hampered their ability to own property, 
participate in the modern sector of the economy, or educate themselves 
about their rights.
    Government policy provided women with equal opportunities for 
education. Half of all first degree university students were women, and 
women comprised 35 percent of all post-graduate students at Sultan 
Qaboos University.
    Educated women have attained positions of authority in government, 
business, and the media; however, many educated women still faced 
culturally based job discrimination. Approximately 31 percent of all 
civil servants were women, and women held 56 percent of the teaching 
positions in government schools. In both the public and private 
sectors, women were entitled to maternity leave and equal pay for equal 
work. The Government, the country's 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 through the Oman Women's 
Association and local community development centers.

    Children.--Primary school education for children, including non-
citizen children, was free and universal but not compulsory. In 2004-05 
the ratio of female to male enrollment was equal in primary education. 
Primary school enrollment was 65 percent. Most children attended school 
through secondary school. The Government provided free health care for 
all children up to age six. The infant mortality rate continued to 
decline, and the reported rate of infant immunization against diseases 
such as TB, polio, and hepatitis B remained above 90 percent. There 
were no public reports of violence against children; however, the 
Government called publicly for greater awareness and prevention of 
child abuse. FGM was performed on some girls ages one to nine.
    There were no reports of child prostitution. Child labor existed in 
the informal, subsistence, and family business sectors of the economy; 
however, it was not a problem in the organized labor market (see 
section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in 
persons; however, trafficking crimes are prosecuted under Article 261 
of the Penal Code, which prohibits ``slavery and the transportation, 
receiving, or in any way handling someone in a state of slavery or 
semi-slavery.'' Those convicted face three to five years in prison. The 
sultanate is a destination country for men and women primarily from 
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India, who migrate willingly but subsequently 
may become victims of trafficking when subjected to conditions of 
involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers. Oman also is a 
transit country for migrants to the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf 
countries.
    The UN special rapporteur for trafficking in persons, who visited 
on a fact-finding tour in November, said that trafficking victims 
predominantly were domestic servants and casual laborers. The special 
rapporteur received reports that some local recruitment agencies and 
source countries brought domestic servants and casual laborers to the 
country under fictitious contracts and sponsor relationships. Some 
workers complained of long working hours, the withholding or nonpayment 
of wages, lack of access to means of communication, and other forms of 
physical, mental, and verbal abuse. The special rapporteur also heard 
reports that some sponsors confined workers and confiscated passports 
and other labor documents.
    The local UNICEF representative cited no reports that foreign 
children were trafficked and employed as camel jockeys during the year. 
Citizen children as young as seven continued to ride camels in 
competitive events despite recent legislation that gradually raises the 
minimum age of riders to 18 (see section 6.d.).
    The Government deported thousands of illegal migrant workers during 
the year, but did not use special screening procedures to distinguish 
illegal migrants from trafficking victims (see sections 1.c. and 2.d.). 
There are no government protective services for victims of trafficking.
    The Government operated a 24 hour hotline to register complaints of 
potential victims and also worked with foreign governments to prevent 
trafficking in persons. The MOM is tasked with investigating reports of 
labor abuse.

    Persons With Disabilities.--During the year there were no reported 
acts of discrimination committed by the Government against persons with 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services; however, there was societal and 
cultural discrimination against persons with disabilities. The labor 
law states that persons with disabilities are to be provided with the 
same rights prescribed for other citizens. Although the labor law 
stipulates that private enterprises employing more than 50 persons 
should have at least 2 percent of the jobs reserved for persons with 
disabilities, this regulation was not widely enforced.
    The Ministry of Social Development is responsible for protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities, and it implemented legislation 
during the year to ensure access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities. The Government actively enforced the law through the 
construction permit process. There was one government sponsored 
rehabilitation center in the capital area and 17 private rehabilitation 
centers throughout the country. The law does not require the Government 
to reserve a percentage of jobs for persons with disabilities. While 
the Government did not provide statistics on the number of persons with 
disabilities it employed, a few persons with disabilities, including 
visually impaired persons, worked in government offices. Persons with 
physical disabilities, who numbered 40,000 to 45,000 according to 2003 
census figures, generally were not charged for physical therapy and 
prosthetics.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--While there were no 
reports of official discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, 
societal attitudes in the country remained fearful toward persons with 
the disease. The Ministry of Health initiated and promoted a ``Peer 
Education'' pilot project in the Muscat area to improve awareness of 
and education about the disease among youth. An outreach center opened 
in the town of Sur in June and provided free HIV/AIDS testing and 
counseling. The Ministry of Health, in conjunction with UNICEF, also 
performed outreach and free testing at several large cultural festivals 
held during the year. A toll free AIDS hot line fielded several hundred 
calls during the year and approximately 2,000 calls in 2005. The hot 
line also provided information on sexually transmitted diseases.
    The Penal Code criminalizes homosexuality. Individuals can be 
prosecuted based on complaint, and sentenced to a jail term of six 
months to three years.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Between July and November, the 
Government passed comprehensive legislation to improve worker rights. 
On July 9, Royal Decree 74 officially recognized worker rights to form 
unions, formerly called ``representative committees,'' and a General 
Federation, formerly called ``The Main Representative Committee,'' to 
represent unions at regional and international fora. The decree also 
amended Articles 108 and 110 of the 2003 Labor Law to allow more than 
one union per firm. Royal Decree 113 amended Article 109 of the 2003 
Labor Law to allow unions to form more than one federation. The royal 
decrees further stated that unions and their representative bodies are 
free to act as independent entities without interference in their 
affairs by government or other parties. The MOM issued implementing 
regulations covering union organizing that reduced the level of 
government control over the formation and activities of unions. The 
ministry removed the requirement that unions notify the Government at 
least one month in advance of union meetings. The regulations also 
dropped the requirement that union leaders speak and write Arabic.
    Some government control over union activities remained. The new 
regulations maintained, for instance, the prohibition on accepting 
grants or financial assistance from any source without the ministry's 
prior approval. The new regulations also added that union formation 
requires 25 workers regardless of the size of the firm.
    Royal Decree 74 amended Article 110 of the 2003 Labor Law to 
prohibit employers from firing or imposing penalties for union 
activity. The provisions of the 2003 Labor Law and recent amendments 
apply to women and foreign workers. The law does not grant members of 
the armed forces, public security institutions, employees of the state, 
or domestic workers the right to form unions. Conditions of employment 
of these categories of workers are covered by the Civil Service Law and 
individual ministerial decrees.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Article 107 of 
the Labor Law explicitly allows for collective bargaining and 
guarantees the right to strike. Royal Decree 74 provided unions and 
federations with the right to practice their activities freely and 
without interference from outside parties. In November, the MOM issued 
implementing regulations covering collective bargaining and strikes. 
The regulations require employers to engage in collective bargaining 
over the terms and conditions of employment, including wages and hours 
of work. The regulations also affirm workers' right to strike, although 
they stipulate that unions or worker representatives must inform the 
employer at least three weeks in advance of a scheduled strike. The 
regulations also state that strikes must cease at the start of 
collective bargaining procedures.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Basic Law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including of children; however, 
there were reports that such practices occurred. Royal Decree 74 
amended the 2003 Labor Law to prohibit forced labor and set penalties 
not to exceed more than one month in prison and/or a fine of $1,300 
(500 rials).
    At times foreign workers were reportedly placed in situations 
amounting to forced labor (see section 5). Employers sometimes withheld 
documents that released workers from employment contracts and allowed 
them to change employers. Without such a letter, a foreign worker must 
continue to work for his current employer or become technically 
unemployed and consequently a candidate for deportation. In November, 
the MOM issued a legally enforceable administrative circular that 
prohibited employers from withholding workers' passports.
    Many foreign workers were not aware of their right to take such 
disputes before the Labor Welfare Board (LWB). Others were reluctant to 
file complaints for fear of retribution from unscrupulous employers. In 
most cases the LWB released the worker from service without deportation 
and awarded compensation for time worked under compulsion. In addition 
to reimbursing the worker's back wages, guilty employers were subject 
to fines.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law specifically prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children, and 
there were no reports of the practice. Royal Decree 74 amended Article 
118 of the 2003 Labor Law to raise the fines from $260(100 rials) per 
violation to $1,300 (500 rials), and increased possible prison terms 
for repeat offenders from one week to one month.
    In 2003 the Government raised the minimum age for children to work 
from 13 to 15 years. For certain hazardous occupations, the minimum 
employment age is 18. Children 15 to 18 years of age may be employed 
but can only work between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Minors are 
prohibited from working in hazardous occupations, for more than six 
hours per day, on weekends, or on holidays. The MOM generally enforced 
the law; however, in practice, enforcement often did not extend to some 
small family businesses that employed underage children, particularly 
in the agricultural and fishing sectors.
    Child labor did not exist in any formal industry. As a cultural 
practice, Bedouin children participated in camel racing for their 
families. In August 2005 the Government raised the minimum age of camel 
riders from 12 to 18 years, to rise annually by one year until the 18 
year minimum is achieved in 2009. The initial minimum age was set at 14 
years in 2005.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Work regulations, including 
rules governing the workplace and the rights and duties of both workers 
and employers, must be approved by the MOM and posted conspicuously in 
the workplace by employers of 15 or more workers. Government inspectors 
performed random inspections to enforce implementation of these 
regulations; there were more than 4,541 inspections in 2005. Similarly, 
any employer with 50 or more workers must establish a grievance 
procedure. All employees, including foreign workers, have the right to 
take disputes to the LWB and are encouraged to contact the MOM's 24 
hour hot line to report labor abuse or violations. The LWB attempts to 
mediate disputes between employers and employees. In some cases, worker 
representatives were able to file collective grievances. If a 
settlement cannot be reached, the parties may seek recourse in the 
appropriate courts.
    The Labor Care Directorate of the MOM is responsible for 
enforcement of, and compliance with, workplace laws and regulations. 
Its responsibilities include occupational safety and health, labor 
inspections, dispute settlement, women's employment, issues related to 
child and forced labor, and the resolution of individual and collective 
labor disputes. The MOM employed 82 inspectors who worked throughout 
the sultanate. The MOM also operated a 24-hour complaint hotline in 
English and Arabic. According to midyear government statistics, the MOM 
received more than 2,900 calls to the hotline, 938 of which it resolved 
through direct negotiations between workers and their employers, and 
470 that it referred to the courts for action.
    The MOM issues minimum wage regulations for various categories of 
workers. The minimum wage for most citizens is approximately $260 (100 
rials) per month, plus $52 (20 rials) for transportation and housing. 
Minimum wage regulations did not apply to a variety of occupations and 
businesses, including small businesses that employed fewer than five 
persons, the self employed, domestic servants, dependent family members 
working for a family firm, and some categories of manual labor. There 
were reports that migrant laborers in some firms and households worked 
more than 12-hour days for as little as $90 (35 rials) per month.
    The private sector workweek was 40 to 45 hours and included a rest 
period from Thursday afternoon through Friday. Government workers have 
a 35 hour workweek. While the law does not designate the number of days 
in a workweek, it requires at least one 24 hour rest period per week 
and mandates overtime pay for hours in excess of 48 per week. 
Government regulations regarding hours of employment were not always 
enforced. Employees who worked extra hours without compensation could 
file a complaint with the LWB; however, the LWB rulings were not 
binding.
    Every worker has the right to 15 days of annual leave during the 
first year of continual employment and 30 days per year thereafter.
    The 2003 Labor Law states that an employee may remove himself from 
dangerous work without jeopardy to his continued employment if the 
employer was alerted to the danger and did not implement corrective 
measures. All employers are required by law to provide first aid 
facilities. Employees covered under the 2003 Labor Law could recover 
compensation for job related injury or illness through employer 
provided medical insurance. Medical professionals reported that some 
employers did not provide low-skilled, migrant workers with medical 
insurance, or provided them with coverage as low as $12 (5 rials) per 
month with any excess costs deducted from their salaries. Inspectors 
from the Department of Health and Safety of the Labor Care Directorate 
generally enforced the health and safety standard codes. As required by 
law, they made regular onsite inspections. Some companies found guilty 
of withholding salaries were fined and prohibited from receiving 
commercial services, such as labor clearances. Such actions resulted in 
the immediate payment of salaries.

                               __________

                                 QATAR

    Qatar is a monarchy ruled by the Al-Thani family, headed by Emir 
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The population is approximately 
840,000 of whom approximately 200,000 are citizens. The emir exercises 
full executive power. Shari'a (Islamic law) is a main source of 
legislation, and the emir legislates by issuing a decree, generally 
after consultation with leading citizens, an arrangement 
institutionalized in the appointed 35-member Advisory Council (Majlis 
al-Shura) that assists the emir in formulating policy. The 
constitution, which came into force in June 2005, provides for 
continued hereditary rule by the emir's branch of the Al-Thani family. 
In 2003 citizens elected the 29 members of the advisory central 
municipal council in elections generally regarded as free and fair, 
although only 30 percent of eligible voters participated. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    While there were improvements in the overall human rights 
practices, some serious problems remained. Citizens lacked the right to 
change their government peacefully. There were judicially sanctioned 
corporal punishments. Civil liberties, such as the freedoms of speech 
(including the use of the Internet), press, assembly, and association 
continued to be restricted, and limitations existed on freedom of 
religion. There were also some restrictions on foreign travel, as well 
as arbitrary deportation, sometimes after detention for several years. 
Government corruption was perceived to be a problem along with lack of 
public access to government information. Trafficking in persons, 
primarily in the labor and domestic worker sectors, was a problem. 
Discrimination against women, both legally and culturally based, 
limited their full participation in society. Bidoons (Arabic for 
``without'' meaning ``without citizenship''; people with residency ties 
by not documented nationals) unresolved legal status resulted in 
discrimination against these noncitizens with residency ties. Worker 
rights were severely restricted, especially for expatriate laborers and 
domestic servants.
    On February 3, the emir issued orders to begin to reinstate 
citizenship for as many as 6,000 persons, which the Government revoked 
between October 2004 and June 2005. Each case was reviewed separately, 
and by year's end approximately 90 percent of those persons had their 
citizenship restored.
                        respect for human rights
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 the criminal law prohibit such 
practices. There was one case reported in 2005 in which a policeman 
had, according to prosecutors, tortured a suspect; the perpetrator was 
subsequently charged and convicted of misuse of power and abuse during 
the year. He was sentenced to two years in prison. During the year 
there were two complaints of torture reported to the National Human 
Rights Committee (NHRC). The two complaints were investigated by the 
Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry concluded that one was without 
merit, while the other remained under investigation at year's end.
    In June the National Health Authority (NHA) ordered all clinics and 
medical practitioners to report to authorities any cases of torture or 
maltreatment on patients brought about by domestic violence or physical 
abuse.
    The Government administered corporal punishment (lashes) prescribed 
by its interpretation of Islamic law in cases of alcohol consumption. 
Amputation was not allowed. Punishments were not administered publicly.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards. In previous years the Government 
permitted visits by independent human rights observers. During the 
year, however, authorities prevented the Solidarity Center (a foreign 
labor nongovernmental organization (NGO) from visiting the Deportation 
Detention Center during their visit to the country in September. In 
November the UN Special Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons and 
foreign diplomatic representatives visited the Deportation Detention 
Center (DDC). In addition representatives visited the Capital Police 
Detention Center (CPDC) in October. Additional requests by diplomatic 
representatives to visit the Central Prison and the State Security 
Prison were not approved. The NHRC conducted at least three visits to 
prisons and detention centers during the year.
    The DDC held thousands of detainees without legal justification for 
extended periods, sometimes more than four years. The CPDC held a large 
number of detainees in cells without beds; mattresses were placed on 
the floor. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizen detainees were held 
separately from foreigners and under better conditions. At the DDC, at 
least nine newborn and infant children were detained with their 
mothers.
    The State Security Prison was used to hold prisoners convicted of 
security crimes, including espionage. The conditions in the State 
Security Prison were generally better than those at the Central Prison. 
Some men and women awaiting civil or criminal trial as plaintiffs were 
held with others waiting deportation at the DDC. Some female defendants 
awaiting trial were held with convicted female criminals at the Central 
Prison because of overcrowded conditions at the CPDC.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention. While the Government generally observed 
these prohibitions, these rights were restricted in practice. Thousands 
of noncitizens were apprehended and held at the DDC without charges or 
legal justification awaiting deportation, some for more than four 
years. Individuals were also arrested and detained at the State 
Security Prison for indefinite periods under the society protection and 
antiterrorism laws.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the 
Interior (MOI) controls the police forces, which include the coast 
guard, border police, fire department, and immigration authorities. 
They were generally effective. NGOs did not perceive corruption and 
impunity to be serious problems. The Government intelligence service 
reported directly to the emir and performed internal security 
investigations, gathered intelligence, and had primary responsibility 
for sedition and espionage cases.
    The MOI investigated alleged cases of police abuse and publicized 
at least some results.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law requires that persons be apprehended 
openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence, issued by a duly 
authorized official, be charged within 24 hours, and be brought before 
a court. As exceptions the law permits for detention without charges 
for up to two years (six month periods which can be extended) and 
allows detention for up to six months without charges for investigation 
purposes, but could be extended indefinitely by a special court order.
    In normal cases the judge may order the suspect released, remanded 
to custody to await trial, held in pretrial detention pending 
investigation, or released on bail. Judges may also extend pretrial 
detention for one month at a time to allow authorities to conduct 
investigations. The accused was entitled to legal representation 
throughout the process and prompt access to family members in 
nonsecurity cases. There were provisions for state-funded legal counsel 
for indigents in criminal cases. Suspects detained in security cases 
generally were afforded access to counsel, but access to family members 
was delayed. Unlike the previous year, there were no reported cases of 
incommunicado detention by the Government.
    However, the society protection law provides for official exemption 
from the prohibition of arbitrary arrest and detention and the Code of 
Criminal Procedure. Although detainees may have access to counsel, 
under this law criminal charges are not filed, therefore, there are no 
charges to refute. Counsel may only petition the Prime Minister for 
reconsideration. Decisions taken under this law are not appealable in 
court. The law empowers the Minister of Interior to detain a defendant 
for crimes related to national security, honor, or impudence upon the 
recommendation of the Director General of Public Security. Under this 
statute the detention period can range from two weeks to six months. 
Moreover, that period can be extended up to two years at the discretion 
of MOI officials. The law normally allows for detention for up to six 
months without charges; but it could also allow for indefinite 
detention upon order of the court. This provision has not been used. 
The Prime Minister adjudicates complaints against these detentions. 
There was at least one known case of a citizen that had been arrested 
at years end, had been detained for more than one year under this 
statute. According to the NHRC, there are undoubtedly more unreported 
cases.
    In May Amnesty International (AI) alleged that 18 persons had been 
detained in 2005 under the laws for the ``protection of society'' and 
``combating terrorism", although few details were available. There is a 
report that at least one person remained in custody at year's end under 
these conditions.
    In accordance with custom on the occasion of the Holy Month of 
Ramadan, the emir granted amnesty to 29 prisoners and another 56 
prisoners were granted amnesty on the annual ``International Human 
Rights Day'' in November. The cases were recommended for amnesty by the 
NHRC. No criminals convicted of violent crimes were granted amnesty. An 
additional 23 prisoners were released by the court after serving at 
least three-quarters of their sentence.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, although in practice it is not since all judges 
held their positions at the ultimate discretion of the emir. 
Nevertheless, there were no reports of political or governmental 
interference in the courts. Approximately 25 percent of the judges were 
foreign nationals dependent on residence permits granted by the civil 
authorities. The emir appoints all judges based on the recommendation 
of the Supreme Judiciary Council.
    The law provides for a three-tiered court system: the courts of 
first instance, appeal, and cassation. The court of appeal hears 
appeals of decisions from the court of first instance. The Court of 
Cassation hears cases from the appeals court that may have been 
contradictory to established law or where the law may have been 
mistakenly interpreted. The Court of Cassation is the court of final 
appeal. It consists of two wings, civil and criminal, with a five-judge 
panel chaired by a President or deputy.
    There are no provisions in the law for the establishment of 
security tribunals. The established court system would handle such 
cases. The constitution provides for the establishment of military 
tribunals, but their use is restricted except under martial law, and 
only military crimes committed by staff of the armed forces and the 
security forces may come before such tribunals. There are provisions 
for non judicial proceedings for administrative discipline of military 
and security personnel.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and the judiciary generally enforced this right.
    Both Muslim and non-Muslim litigants are tried under the unified 
(Shari'a and secular justice) court system. Trials are by jury and open 
to the public, but the presiding judge can close the courtroom to the 
public if the case is deemed sensitive. Lawyers prepare litigants and 
speak for them during the hearing. Non-Arabic speakers are provided 
with interpreters. Defendants are entitled to legal representation 
throughout the trial and pretrial process. In matters involving 
religious issues, Shi'a and Sunni judges may apply their 
interpretations for their respective group. There was an adequate 
number of both Shi'a and Sunni judges.
    Criminal cases normally were tried within five to seven months 
after suspects were detained. Although infrequently used in practice, 
suspects are entitled to bail, except in cases of violent crime. 
Foreigners charged with minor crimes can be released to their citizen 
sponsor, although they are prohibited from departing the country until 
the case is resolved. While the law allows for detention without 
charges, once charges are filed, the case would be tried under existing 
criminal or civil law. Defendants have the right to be present and the 
right of appeal. Their attorneys have access to government-held 
evidence relevant to their cases, once the case has been filed in the 
court.
    Defendants may consult with an attorney in a timely manner. 
Defendants have the right to confront and question witnesses against 
them and present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. Defendants are 
presumed innocent. In practice, however, those charged with a crime 
continue to carry the burden of the charge against them by state 
security forces before, during, and after trial, even if found 
innocent. In either case, for noncitizens, deportation normally 
follows. Citizens are forbidden from continued service in or 
acquisition of sensitive positions.
    The law pertaining to civil cases restricts the right to appeal, 
since the appellant must deposit with the court $5,495 (20,000 riyals) 
for the appeal if the case has been decided by the court of appeal, and 
$1,374 (5,000 riyals) for the appeal if the case has been decided by 
the court of first instance. An additional $1374 (5000 riyals) must be 
paid to the court in each case to proceed. Sums may be seized, in whole 
or in part, should the competent court decide to reject the right of 
appeal. The law extends these rights to all residents.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Of the 27 individuals involved 
and convicted in the 1996 planned counter-coup, 26 remained in prison 
at year's end. Of the 26 in prison, 19 remain in prison under sentence 
of death, while eight carry life sentences. One of the eight, a member 
of the ruling family, has been remanded to house arrest. During the 
year at least one military member was arrested and accused of 
communicating with foreign political groups. The outcome of his case 
was unresolved at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law and judiciary 
generally permit persons with civil grievances to seek redress in the 
court system, rather than through traditional personal contact with 
members of the ruling family. There are civil and criminal remedies 
available for those seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights 
violations. There was one reported case of a lawsuit by a laborer 
against his sponsor for suppression of the right of freedom of 
movement. The case is unresolved at year's end.

    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. Traditional attitudes of respect for the 
sanctity of the home and the privacy of women provided protection 
against arbitrary intrusion for both citizens and noncitizens. Judicial 
authorities must grant warrants before police may search a residence or 
business, except in cases involving national security or emergencies, 
of which there were none reported during the year. There were no 
reports of unauthorized searches of homes during the year. Police and 
security forces were believed to monitor the telephone calls and e-
mails of suspected criminals, of those considered to be security risks, 
and of selected foreigners (see section 2.a.).
    Citizens must obtain government permission to marry foreigners and 
may apply for residence permits or citizenship for their spouses. Such 
permission generally was granted for male citizens. Under the law 
marriage to a female citizen does not entitle the husband to 
citizenship.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press but the Government limited these 
rights in practice. Journalists continued to self-censor due to 
political pressures when reporting on government policies, the ruling 
family, and relations with neighboring states. There were reports that 
security authorities threatened both individuals and organizations 
against publishing undesirable articles.
    The law provides for criminal penalties and jail sentences for 
libel and slander. One non-citizen was sentenced to one year in prison 
under this law. The individual allegedly slandered a citizen in public. 
All cases involving the media fall under the jurisdiction of the 
criminal courts.
    Although citizens expressed many of their views freely and in 
public, they avoided discussing sensitive political and religious 
issues. The much larger foreign population did not express itself as 
freely or as publicly. The Government did not prosecute anyone for 
expression of views. During the year the Qatar Foundation continued to 
support a series of public debates on a website called the ``Doha 
Debates".
    While the six daily newspapers are not state-owned, the owners are 
members of the ruling family or have close ties to government 
officials. Copies of foreign newspapers and magazines were reviewed and 
censored for religious, political, and explicit sexual content.
    The censorship office in the Qatar Radio and Television Corporation 
and customs officials screened and censored material deemed hostile to 
Islam, reports on government policies, the ruling family, and 
pornography. There were no specific reports of political censorship of 
foreign broadcast news media or foreign programs. Foreign movies, 
however, were censored for sexual content, vulgarity, and political 
views. Officials did not block the personal importation of non-Islamic 
religious items (see section 2.c.).
    State-owned television and radio reflected government views. Doha-
based Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel focused on coverage and commentary 
on international news topics. Al-Jazeera and the Government claimed the 
channel to be independent and free of government influence, but it was 
government-subsidized and avoided critical commentary of government 
policies. On domestic issues Al-Jazeera covered local news generally 
only if there was an international aspect to it. Callers to a popular 
morning show on the state-owned radio station frequently discussed 
topics such as government inefficiency and the lack of responsiveness 
by various ministries to citizens' needs, such as poor schools and 
roads, failure to deliver adequate water and sewage services, and 
problems with the health care system.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government 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 (ISP). For example, the Arab 
Times, an Arab-American online newspaper, which at times published 
articles critical of the Government, was not available to users in the 
country. A user who believed that a site was censored mistakenly could 
submit the web address to have the site reviewed for suitability. In 
some cases the ISP responded by unblocking the site after an internal 
investigation. Statistics, however, were not available.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom was 
exercised in accordance with the general legal framework, but 
instructors at Qatar University noted that they often exercised self-
censorship.
    There were no reported government restrictions on cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for but regulates freedom of assembly which 
requires a permit for public gatherings. A number of restrictions and 
conditions must be met in order to acquire a permit, for example, the 
permission of the director general of public security, whose decision 
is not subject to appeal. In practice the Government generally does not 
allow political demonstrations. The Government permitted at least one 
during the year: in June there was a peaceful demonstration arranged by 
the Central Municipal Council to show support for Palestinians in the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides the right to form private 
societies and professional associations, but the Government severely 
limited this right in practice. The law forbids formation of and 
membership in political parties (see section 3). The law allows 
noncitizens to participate in private societies only in cases where 
their participation is deemed necessary to the work of the society. 
However, the Prime Minister must approve their participation, and their 
number cannot exceed 20 percent of the total membership. The law also 
imposes strict conditions on the establishment, management, and 
function of these societies and associations. They are prohibited from 
engaging in political matters and must get approval from the Ministry 
of Civil Service Affairs and Housing, which can deny their 
establishment if deemed a threat to the public interest. Also, in the 
case of professional societies, they must pay $13,736 (50,000 riyals) 
in licensing fees and $2,747 (10,000 riyals) in annual fees and their 
permits are valid for only a three-year period, after which they must 
renew their license and again pay the same fees. Also, a single 
application form not applicable to all potential organizations 
restricts registration. Since this law was enacted, less than 20 
requests to form new associations have been submitted to the ministry. 
Some requests were approved during the year, among them the Fishermen 
Association, the Authors Association, and the Musicians Association. 
The remaining applications were either under review or have been sent 
for cabinet approval. Applications to establish a Journalists 
Association and a Teachers Association were pending at the end of the 
year. One human rights organization designed to support persons with 
disabilities was also pending review.
    The regulations prohibit international affiliation of associations.
    The Government prohibited international professional organizations 
critical of the Government or of any other Arab government. There were 
no reports that security forces monitored the activities of proposed or 
established professional or other groups.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
worship and forbids discrimination based on religion in accordance with 
the law and the requirements of protecting the public order and 
morality; however, the Government continued to prohibit proselytizing 
of Muslims by non-Muslims and placed some restrictions on public 
worship. Among non-Muslims, only Christians have requested and been 
allowed to rent space for public worship. Adherents of other faiths may 
privately practice their religion without harassment.
    The state religion is Islam, as interpreted by the Wahhabi order of 
Sunni Islam. Both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims practiced Islam freely. Shi'a 
Muslims organized traditional Shi'a ceremonies and performed their 
rites in their own mosques. Shi'a Muslims were permitted to build and 
decorate Shi'a mosques without restrictions.
    The Government and the ruling family are linked inextricably to 
Islamic institutions and practices. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs 
administers the construction of mosques, clerical affairs, and Islamic 
education for adults and new converts. The Ministry of Education 
administers Islamic education in the public schools. The emir 
participated in public prayers during both Eid holiday periods and 
personally financed the Hajj journeys of poor pilgrims.
    Shi'a Muslims were well represented in the bureaucracy and business 
community.
    The Government has given legal status to Catholic, Anglican, 
Orthodox, Coptic, and many Indian Christian denominations; other 
religious congregations may request recognition, but none are known to 
have done so. The Government does not allow the building of any new 
places of worship without permission. The Government provided 
congregations with registration numbers that allow them to open bank 
accounts and sponsor clergy for visas. In January construction began on 
what is expected to be six Christian churches on a large tract of 
property leased from the Government. No new requests have been 
reported.
    The Government regulated the publication, importation, and 
distribution of non-Islamic religious literature. Individuals were 
allowed to import Bibles and other religious items for personal use. 
Government officials only monitored Islamic religious literature and 
copies of the Koran. Religious materials for use at Christmas and 
Easter were readily available in local shops. Bibles were not readily 
available in Arabic.
    Islamic instruction was compulsory in public schools. While there 
were no restrictions on non-Muslims providing private religious 
instruction for children, most foreign children attended secular 
private schools. There were no religious private schools.
    From April 25 to 27, the Fourth Conference for Religious Dialogue 
took place in Doha. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim representatives 
attended.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no indigenous Jewish 
community; the few Jews in the country were expatriates with no 
restrictions on their traveling to or working in the country. On 
occasion in response to political events and developments in the 
region, some of Qatar'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, and Al-Raya, and drew no government response. The 
Government does not officially collect or publish statistical data on 
the religious affiliation of the population.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice, with 
some notable exceptions. There were no restrictions on internal travel, 
except around sensitive military and oil and industrial installations. 
Under a 2003 law for Protection of State Security, the Government 
prevented some citizens from foreign travel. In general, women under 
the age of 30 required permission from male guardians to travel, 
whereas women over age 30 did not require permission to travel. Men may 
prevent females and children under their guardianship from leaving the 
country by providing their names to immigration officers at ports of 
departure, but no such cases were reported during the year. The 
Government did not allow noncitizen custodial parents to take their 
children out of the country without the permission of the citizen 
parent. Citizens critical of the Government could face restrictions on 
their right to travel abroad, but there were no specific cases reported 
during the year.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile -internal or external- of 
citizens, and exile was not used in practice.
    On February 3, the emir issued orders to begin to reinstate 
citizenship for as many as 6,000 persons whose citizenship the 
Government revoked between October 2004 and June 2005. Each case was 
reviewed separately, and by year's end citizenship was restored to 
approximately 90 percent of those who had lost it. According to the 
NHRC, those among the remaining 10 percent accused of being involved in 
the planned 1996 countercoup attempt, whether found guilty or innocent, 
will not regain citizenship.
    The constitution provides that citizens who have left the country 
have the right to return. Foreigners were subject to restrictions on 
entry and exit designed principally to control the size of the local 
labor force (see sections 6.c. and 6.d.). Foreign women who were 
married to citizens were granted residence permits and could apply for 
citizenship; however, they were required to relinquish their foreign 
citizenship.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution prohibits the extradition 
of political refugees; however, the country is not a party to the 1951 
UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
and the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. Those attempting to enter the country 
illegally, including persons seeking asylum from nearby countries, were 
refused entry. Asylum seekers who were able to obtain local sponsorship 
or employment were allowed to enter and could remain as long as they 
were sponsored.
    The Government was not asked to cooperate with the office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees or other humanitarian organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The Government issued 
deportation orders for Qatari-born stateless residents and at least one 
Qatari-born resident of Somali origins to Somalia, a case possibly 
constituting attempted refoulement. These cases remained unresolved at 
year's end.
    Arbitrary deportations were reportedly used to reduce the number of 
guest workers in nationalities that the Government considered to be 
over-represented. This action was designed to increase the portion of 
citizens in the workforce (Qatarization). They were also used to expel 
foreigners who had extended their original period of residence or had 
been accused of a crime, whether found guilty or not. Deportations are 
also reported to have occurred to comply with the GCC agreement to 
limit the residency of foreigners to less than five years.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution does not provide citizens the right to change 
their government peacefully. The constitution provides for hereditary 
rule by the emir's branch of the Al-Thani family. The constitutional 
provision for legislative authority vested in an advisory council with 
30 elected members and 15 members appointed by the emir has not yet 
been implemented. The influence of Bedouin tribal traditions was still 
strong, and the Government did not permit political parties or 
opposition groups to organize.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The emir exercises most 
executive powers, including appointment of cabinet members. In 2003 
citizens elected the 29 members of the Central Municipal Council for 
four-year terms. The elections were generally regarded as free and fair 
although only 30 percent of eligible voters participated. The council 
addresses local issues such as street repair, green space, trash 
collection, and public works projects. Its role is to advise the 
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture. The council does not 
have the authority to change policy.
    Influence of traditional attitudes and roles continued to limit 
women's participation in politics; however, some women served in public 
office as: minister for education; President of the Permanent Election 
Committee; head of the General Authority for Health, vice President of 
the Supreme Council for Family Affairs with ministerial rank, and 
President of Qatar University. Also, one woman served on the central 
municipal council.
    Approximately 75 percent of total residents could not participate 
in elections or hold public office, which is limited to families that 
were in the country prior to 1930. The total electorate is believed to 
be less than 50,000. Limits on political participation also exist for 
persons whose citizenship was withdrawn but subsequently restored. 
According to Law 38 of 2005, they are denied the right to candidacy or 
nomination in any legislative body for a period of 10 years from the 
date of restoration of their citizenship.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Government corruption was 
perceived to be a problem. During the year the Attorney General 
referred one of his deputies to the judiciary for investigation of 
fraudulent stock purchases. On February 16 the deputy was dismissed 
from his post and an additional 64 citizens involved in the same 
scandal were investigated and convicted. The affair involved 
fraudulently using identities of dead citizens to buy more shares of 
Qatar Gas Transport Company than the official allocation permitted.
    The law does not provide public access to government information, 
and little was readily available, particularly financial data. The 
Government publishes its laws in the official gazette; however, it did 
not facilitate access to certain economic statistics, judicial 
decisions, or draft legislation being analyzed or considered by the 
Government or advisory council. At their discretion government 
officials shared draft legislation with selected industry 
representatives for comment. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce and 
the Central Bank provided published materials on laws and procedures 
for the public, but these efforts were not consistent throughout the 
Government. Although there is a mechanism for individuals and private 
institutions to request this information from the ministries and the 
planning council, information regarding the budget, government 
expenditures, and draft laws was generally not available.
    The lack of clarity in government procurement, such as the 
conditions and criteria of the tender and proper notification or 
explanation concerning bidders' qualifications, remained an issue of 
concern.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    No international or domestic NGO or international governmental 
organizations dealing with human rights operated in the country. 
Representatives from Oxfam as well as the Solidarity Center and the 
National Democratic Institute visited the country.
    The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) is a semi-independent 
organization aligned with and funded by the Government. The law 
provides for the right to form private independent societies and 
associations; however, since the law was enacted, only one application 
was submitted to establish an independent human rights organization to 
support persons with disabilities, and that request was under 
government review at year's end.
    The NHRC was established in 2002 to investigate and improve local 
human rights conditions, with 12 members, five from government 
ministries and seven from civil society. Since May votes by government 
members do not count. The committee released a report highlighting 
numerous human rights violations identified during 2005. The report was 
published in all local newspapers and was made available on their Web 
site (see sections 5, and 6. c., 6.d., and 6.e.). During the year the 
NHRC visited prisons, the Police Detention Center, and the Deportation 
Detention Center at least three times to investigate conditions and 
issued recommendations to the MOI and the ministerial council.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on nationality, 
race, language, religion, and disability. However, in practice 
government actions were heavily influenced by local custom and legal, 
cultural, and institutional discrimination existed based on gender. 
There were no reports of discrimination based on religious affiliation. 
Noncitizens were afforded fewer rights under the law. Although there 
were no reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation, sodomy 
(whether male or female) is a criminal offense.

    Women.--According to a local quasi-governmental organization 
dealing with family issues, domestic violence against women was a 
problem. A total of 197 cases of domestic abuse against women were 
reported during the first six months of the year. According to the 
organization, the increase was due to increased awareness among the 
community, the requirement that all health care facilities report 
suspected abuse cases, and the use of the established hot line system. 
There were no arrests or convictions for family domestic violence among 
citizens publicized in the press, although cases involving noncitizens 
appeared. The law criminalizes rape, but does not address spousal rape. 
There were cases of rape publicized between expatriates, but not 
reported involving citizens.
    Many foreign domestic servants were sexually harassed and 
maltreatment. Most domestic servants did not press charges for fear of 
losing their jobs (see section 6.e.).
    While the legal system allows leniency for a man found guilty of 
committing a ``crime of honor'' or a violent assault against a woman 
for perceived immodesty or defiant behavior, no cases were reported 
during the year. Prostitution is illegal and was considered a problem 
by the Government. Government officials reported 24 cases involving 
prostitution before the courts. Sexual harassment is also illegal and 
carries penalties of imprisonment and/or fines. In the eight reported 
cases of sexual harassment, there were five convictions and three cases 
were still pending at year's end.
    Traditions and the interpretation of Shari'a restricted activities 
of women. The Government adhered to an interpretation of Shari'a that 
recognizes Muslims have the automatic right to inherit from their 
Muslim spouses. Non-Muslim spouses (invariably wives, since Muslim 
women cannot legally marry non-Muslims) do not inherit unless their 
spouse formally wills them a portion (up to one-third of the total) of 
their estates. Similarly a Muslim husband does not automatically 
inherit the property of a non-Muslim wife. Muslim wives have the right 
to inherit from their husbands. The proportion that women inherit 
depends upon their relationship to the deceased; however, 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. According 
to the new Family Status Law, in the case of divorce, the age of 
children who remain in the custody of the mother has been raised to 13 
years for males and to 15 years for females. In certain conditions the 
court may extend the age of maternal custody to 15 years for males and 
to the time of marriage for females. As an exception, the mother 
retains custody of children with disabilities with no age limit 
stipulated.
    Women may attend judicial court proceedings and may represent 
themselves, but they were generally represented by a male relative. The 
testimony of two women equals that of one man, but the courts routinely 
interpreted this requirement on a case-by-case basis. 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 to be Muslim.
    Women made up 14 percent of the overall workforce and 30 percent of 
the citizen workforce, serving 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 did not receive equal allowances, which 
generally covered transportation and housing costs.
    Although women above age 30 were legally able to travel abroad 
alone (see section 2.d.), tradition and social pressures caused most 
women to travel with male escorts.
    The Supreme Council for Family Affairs, a government department, 
seeks to improve the status of women and the family under both civil 
and Islamic law. The council contributed to a number of national and 
international conferences, studies, and reports on the status of women 
in the country. The council played an integral role in the drafting of 
legislation affecting women and children. Women were being empowered to 
tackle issues once considered taboo, such as violence. The council 
advocated the successful enactment of the new family law.
    The Supreme Council established five organizations that deal with 
women and children issues: the Qatar Foundation for the Protection of 
Women and Children; the Family Consulting Center; the Motherhood and 
Childhood Cultural Center; the Orphans Care Center; and the Qatar 
Society for Senior Citizens Care. The Qatar Foundation for the 
Protection of Women and Children handled 197 cases involving women and 
190 cases involving children during the year. Most of the women's cases 
concerned custody and alimony issues, while there were five cases of 
physical abuse. Health authorities informed the center about cases of 
physical abuse. Children's cases included maltreatment, psychological 
abuse, and neglect, while two cases involved sexual harassment. Most of 
the children's cases were referred to the center from schools, 
hospitals, and the neighborhoods. Approximately 30 percent of the cases 
handled by the foundation were solved through mediation, and all of the 
30 percent were resolved in favor of the women and children. The 
foundation operated a telephone hot line to receive complaints of 
family violence; however, the line was normally answered only during 
the work day and statistics were not kept on its use.

    Children.--The Government is committed to the welfare of citizen 
children. The Government provided for a well-funded, free public 
education system (elementary through university) and a complete medical 
protection program. Education was compulsory for citizen children 
through the age of 15 and was free through primary school (the 
equivalent of ninth grade) for all citizen children and for noncitizen 
children whose parents worked in the Government sector. Based on 2004 
figures from the Planning Council, approximately 60 percent of school-
age children attended school, and most children completed primary 
school. Medical coverage for noncitizen children was limited. The lack 
of primary educational and medical services to noncitizen children 
caused hardship for a substantial part of the expatriate population 
living in the country.
    There was generally no difference in attendance of girls and boys 
at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. There was no 
societal pattern of child labor or abuse of children, apart from the 
trafficked, juvenile camel jockeys (see section 5).
    There was no societal pattern of child labor or abuse of children. 
There were isolated cases of children used by their families or by 
organized groups for begging, especially during religious occasions. 
There were also some cases of children who had suffered from various 
forms of family violence and physical and sexual abuse.
    The Qatar Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children 
maintained a children's hot line called the ``Friendly Line'' for use 
by children and conducted awareness campaigns on the rights of the 
child. The system 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 hot 
line was operated in conjunction with the family abuse hot line; 
statistics on use were not available.

    Trafficking in Persons.--There is no specific antitrafficking law. 
Nonetheless, the law of bans forced or coerced labor and a July 2005 
ban on the use of camel jockeys under the age of 18 (see section 6.c.). 
Those caught breaking the law may receive six months' imprisonment or a 
fine of approximately $825 (3,000 riyals). In cases involving the 
employment of minors, the punishment is three years imprisonment or a 
fine of approximately $2,700 (10,000 riyals). No antitrafficking cases 
against employers or labor recruitment agencies were prosecuted during 
the year.
    In July 2005 a human rights department was established in the MOI 
to receive and process victims of human rights abuses and trafficking 
in persons.
    The country is a destination for trafficked persons. Men and women 
were trafficked into situations of coerced labor. Legislation guiding 
the sponsorship of expatriate laborers has created conditions 
constituting forced labor or slavery.
    Under the law expatriate laborers were not allowed to leave the 
country without a signed exit sponsorship or change employment without 
a written release from their sponsor. The dependence of foreign 
laborers on their employer for residency rights and the inability to 
change employment or to travel without the sponsor's permission leaves 
them vulnerable to abuse. Some sponsors have used this power against 
their workers. They have withheld their consent to force foreign 
employees to work for longer periods, avoid having to pay salary owed 
to the worker, and extract money from the laborer. Some workers were 
detained in the deportation center due to their employers withholding 
their passports and failing to renew their work visas. There were 
between 1,100 and 1,500 detainees at the Deportation Center at all 
times. The workers were apprehended by law enforcement officials 
because their work visas had expired or because they were deemed to be 
a ``threat to society".
    The country also was a destination for some women and girls who 
traveled to the country to work in hotels, cafes and restaurants but 
were forced by their employers into prostitution. Most often, rather 
than prosecuting them for prostitution, the women were arbitrarily 
issued a deportation order and sent to the Deportation Center. Women 
and girls also traveled to the country to work as domestic servants, 
where they were vulnerable to domestic servitude and sexual 
exploitation and unprotected by labor legislation. Two embassies 
reported that more than 600 of their nationals had been forced into 
these conditions.
    In July 2005 Law 22, banning the transport, employment, training, 
and involvement of children under the age of 18 in camel races, came 
into force. As an alternative robot camel jockeys were introduced. 
According to the law, violators face three to 10 years imprisonment and 
a fine ranging between $13,700 (50,000 riyals) and $55,000 (200,000 
riyals). There were no cases reported during the year.
    According to the NHRC, some children camel jockeys have still been 
retained in the country; however, there were no additional reports of 
children being used or held for the purpose of camel racing.
    In September 2005 the Government opened a shelter for trafficking 
victims to serve the needs of abused domestic workers, other laborers 
and children. The shelter was under the management of the National 
Trafficking in Persons Coordinator, and referral by police or other 
government agencies for access was not required. During the year twenty 
cases were accommodated at the shelter.
    Although the Government has identified various agencies to 
implement antitrafficking reforms, it did not systematically monitor 
its antitrafficking efforts.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law requires the allocation of 
resources for persons with disabilities and prohibits discrimination 
against such persons. The Government acts on complaints from 
individuals and from the NHRC and enforces compliance. The law requires 
that 2 percent of all jobs in government agencies and public 
institutions be set aside for persons with disabilities. Also, private 
sector businesses employing a minimum of 25 persons were required to 
hire persons with disabilities. Employees who violated these employment 
provisions were subject to fines. There were no reported cases during 
the year.
    According to the NHRC, some violations with regard to persons with 
disabilities occurred in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and 
Agriculture in 2005, in which a number of employees were transferred 
from their jobs because they were categorized as persons with 
disabilities. Although authorities concerned were notified, no action 
was taken. The Supreme Council for Family Affairs was charged with 
ensuring compliance with the rights and provisions mandated under the 
law.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government discriminated 
based on nationality in the areas of employment, education, housing, 
and health services. Noncitizens did not receive the same benefits as 
citizens. They were required to pay for residence permits, health care, 
electricity, water, and education (services that were provided without 
charge to citizens). Noncitizens generally could not own property; 
however, the law provided for property ownership in two designated 
areas. The largest noncitizen groups were Indian, Nepalese, 
Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and other Arab nationals. In the private 
sector, Iranians occupied some of the highest positions.
    Although born, raised and schooled in the country, noncitizen 
residents and Bidoon are afforded no more rights under the law than 
temporary migrant laborers. They were discriminated against in medical 
care, education, employment, and mobility.
    The 2005 nationality law allows noncitizen residents to apply for 
citizenship after residing in the country between five and 20 
consecutive years, but only 50 may be granted per year, and none have 
been granted under this provision. There were reports of summary 
deportation orders issued against long-term residents and bidoon, 
although all family and economic ties remained in the country.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law prohibits same-
sex relations between both males and females. Penalties for adults 
range from a maximum of seven to 15 years imprisonment. There were at 
least two cases that come before the court during the year. One case 
involved a Qatari male and an Asian expatriate male. The case remained 
before the court as of years end. The other involved a 41-year old 
Turkish male who was acquitted in a case involving a 21-year old 
Turkish male.
    There was no discrimination reported against HIV patients if they 
were citizens or were in the country with a legal residence permit. 
They were usually reported to the Preventive Health Department to 
maintain statistical records about the extent of contagious diseases in 
the country and to receive treatment. Foreigners who contracted the 
disease were deported if they had not stamped their residence permits 
yet. In the case of AIDS patients, foreigners were deported to their 
home country. In case of citizens, they were quarantined and received 
treatment. Specific statistics on diseases were not available and such 
information was classified by the Government as critical and sensitive.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The 2004 labor law and subsequent 
regulations provide for the right of workers' association for citizens 
over 18 years of age in private enterprises with more than 100 citizen 
workers. Noncitizens were not eligible to form worker committees. 
Foreign workers *can only be members of joint labor-management 
committees. Those working in the Government sector are prohibited from 
joining a union. Further, the law and regulations permit only a single 
national trade union composed various worker committees at individual 
firms and forbid affiliation with groups outside the country.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--No labor unions 
existed during the year. Under the labor law, workers are granted the 
right to bargain collectively and to sign joint agreements, i.e., 
agreements reached between employer and worker regarding a work-related 
issue. The right was circumscribed by the Government's control over the 
rules and procedures of the bargaining and agreement processes. 
Collective bargaining was not freely practiced, and there were no 
workers under collective bargaining contracts. The law also grants 
workers the right to strike, but the restrictive conditions imposed by 
the statute make the likelihood of a strike extremely remote. 
Nevertheless, expatriate workers staged at least seven strikes during 
the year to seek redress and improvement in their work situation from 
employers.
    Government employees, domestic servants, and those in the public 
utility, health, and security services are prohibited from striking. 
However, legally they can seek permission to hold a public gathering. 
Private employers set wages unilaterally without government 
involvement. Local courts handled disputes between workers and 
employers; however, foreign workers avoided drawing attention to 
problems with their employers for fear of repatriation. According to 
resident embassies of expatriate workers and some individual migrant 
workers, the Labor Department was widely perceived to be objective 
within its narrow mandate when dealing with the nonpayment of wages. 
The Labor Department claimed that it resolved 80 percent of worker 
complaints amicably with a very small percentage referred to the labor 
courts for judgment.
    A new secretariat for labor relations was established during the 
year charged with collective bargaining and overseeing labor relations. 
The Labor Inspection Section was restructured and staffed with 
sufficient numbers of trained inspectors who were provided with the 
power of law enforcement. A limited number of labor camps were 
inspected randomly and when found to be below minimum standards, the 
operators received a warning. Upon second inspections all camp 
violations were correctly promptly for fear of repercussions under the 
law. Statistics on the number of inspections are not available, but 
foreign labor attaches reported that most labor camps in the country 
remained below minimum standards.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, foreign 
workers in some cases were employed under circumstances that 
constituted forced labor (see section 5). More than three-quarters of 
the workforce were foreign workers who, entirely dependent on their 
employer for residency rights, were vulnerable to abuse. For example, 
employers must give consent before exit permits are issued to any 
foreign employee seeking to leave the country. Some employers 
temporarily withheld this consent to force foreign employees to work 
for longer periods than they wished. Unskilled workers and domestic 
servants were particularly vulnerable to nonpayment or late payment of 
wages. During the year compulsory labor by children occurred (see 
section 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the 
Government generally enforced this prohibition with respect to citizen 
children; however, some child labor occurred. The Labor Law stipulates 
the minimum age for employment as 16 years.
    The labor law provides that minors between the ages of 16 and 18 
can be employed with parental or guardian permission, and some children 
worked in small, family-owned businesses such as small markets or as 
office clerks. 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 that are 
judged dangerous to the health, safety, or morals of minors.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Although the labor law provides 
the emir with authority to set a minimum wage, he did not do so. The 
average 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, although 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 were entitled to 
overtime pay. Government offices and major private sector companies 
adhered to this law; however, it was not observed with respect to 
unskilled laborers and domestic and personal employees, the majority of 
whom were foreigners. Many such workers frequently worked seven days 
per week, and more than 12 hours per day with few or no holidays, no 
overtime pay, and no effective way to redress grievances.
    Some employers mistreated foreign domestic servants, predominantly 
those from South Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Some foreign 
embassies provided temporary shelter for 48 hours to their nationals 
who left their employers as a result of abuse or disputes before 
transferring the case to local government officials. According to their 
embassies, the majority of cases were resolved within 48 hours. Those 
not resolved within 48 hours were transferred to the Criminal Evidence 
and Investigation Department of the MOI for a maximum of seven days. 
Cases not resolved within seven days were transferred to the labor 
court, a special section of the first instance civil court. During the 
year the embassies of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka 
received a combined total of more than 3,400 complaints from male and 
female workers; more than 900 from housemaids alleging mistreatment by 
their employers. The Nepalese Embassy reported that they received 14 to 
20 complaints per day. Complaints included sexual harassment, delayed 
and nonpayment of salaries, forced labor, contract switching, holding 
of passports, poor accommodation, nonrepatriation, physical torture or 
torment, overwork, imprisonment, and maltreatment. Abused domestic 
servants usually did not press charges for fear of losing their jobs. 
According to Indonesian officials, 30 to 50 Indonesian housemaids fled 
from their sponsors each month during the year.
    The Government has enacted regulations regarding worker safety, but 
enforcement, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy and 
Industry, the Ministry of Health, and the Labor Department, was lax due 
to insufficient training and lack of personnel. Diplomatic 
representatives visited labor camps and found the majority of unskilled 
foreign laborers living in cramped, dirty, and hazardous conditions, 
often without running water or electricity. Inspections by labor 
inspectors of labor camps became more numerous and public during the 
year resulting in mandatory compliance of minimum standards by camp 
managers and owners at a limited number of camps that were either 
chosen randomly for inspection or were inspected as a result of 
complaints of violations. According to foreign labor attaches, most 
camps remained below minimum standards.
    On April 12, two foreign construction workers reportedly died from 
exposure to toxic gases at a labor camp at Ras Laffan. An estimated 
1,000 workers violently protested their deaths, and the organizers were 
detained and deported. Because the incident was considered a state 
security matter involving an oil or gas facility, officials from the 
NHRC were prevented by security authorities from inspecting the camp 
after the incident to help ensure respect for workers' health and 
safety. For this reason compliance with standards was not documented.
    According to the Nepalese Embassy, 141 of their approximately 
179,000 nationals died in the country during the year, 45 percent of 
whom reportedly died of heart attacks. Another 25 percent died in 
traffic accidents, while 17 percent died in work-related accidents. 
Suicide claimed six percent, while the remaining died of other non-
specified causes.
    The Department of Public Safety oversaw safety training and 
conditions, and the state-run petroleum company had its own safety 
standards and procedures. The regulations listed partial and permanent 
disabilities for which compensation may be awarded, some connected with 
handling chemicals and petroleum products or construction injuries. The 
law does not specifically set rates of payment and compensation. The 
Government provided free medical treatment to workers who suffered 
work-related sickness or injuries.
    Foreign workers may enter the country on a visitor's visa, but a 
sponsor is needed to convert a visitor's visa to a work visa, and the 
worker must have a sponsor's permission to depart the country. The 
Government also fined individual sponsors and employers who severely 
violated residence and sponsorship laws by prohibiting them from 
importing labor until they rectified the situation. Employers 
mistreated some foreign domestic servants. Such mistreatment generally 
involved the nonpayment or late payment of wages; in some cases, it 
involved rape and physical abuse.
    The law does not provide workers the specific right to remove 
themselves from hazardous work conditions, and workers often hesitated 
to do so for fear of dismissal. The law provides any worker with the 
right to seek legal relief from onerous work conditions; however, 
pursuing such relief risked repatriation, and there were no reports of 
workers seeking such relief during the year.

                               __________

                              SAUDI ARABIA

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al Saud 
family with a population of 22.7 million, including 6.1 million 
foreigners. Since August 2005 King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud has 
ruled as custodian of Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. 
The Government bases its legitimacy in governance according to its 
interpretation of Islamic law (Shari'a) and the 1992 Basic Law. The 
Basic Law sets out the system of government, rights of citizens, the 
powers and duties of the Government, and provides that the Koran and 
the Traditions (Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country's 
constitution. The only elected representatives were half of the 
municipal counselors, elected by men in December 2005 on a nonparty 
basis. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control 
of the security forces.
    The following significant human rights problems were reported: no 
right to peacefully change the Government; infliction of severe pain by 
judicially sanctioned corporal punishments; beatings and other abuses; 
inadequate prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention, sometimes incommunicado; denial of fair public trials; 
exemption from the rule of law for some individuals and lack of 
judicial independence; arbitrary interference with privacy, family, 
home, and correspondence; and significant restriction of civil 
liberties--freedoms of speech and press, including the Internet; 
assembly; association; and movement. The Government committed severe 
violations of religious freedom. There was a widespread perception of 
serious corruption and a lack of government transparency, as well as 
legal and societal discrimination and violence against women. Other 
religious, ethnic, and minority groups faced discrimination. There were 
strict limitations on worker rights, especially for foreign workers.
    There was greater involvement in government activities by the 
Majlis Al-Shura (the Consultative Council) and the 178 municipal 
councils. Despite increased public and media discourse about human 
rights, the overall human rights environment remained poor.
                        respect for human rights
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; however, the Government executed persons for 
criminal offenses after closed trials, making it impossible to assess 
whether legal protections were applied (see section 1.e.). The 
country's highest court, the Supreme Judicial Council, is responsible 
for reviewing cases involving sentences of stoning, amputation, or 
death, and sentences can only be enforced pursuant to a royal decree 
issued by the King.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The Basic Law prohibits torture and Shari'a prohibits 
judges from accepting confessions obtained under duress; however, there 
were reports that some authorities practiced physical abuse and 
torture.
    The Government reserved its position on Article 20 of the 
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the 
Committee against Torture to investigate allegations of systematic 
torture.
    Ministry of Interior (MOI) officials were responsible for most 
alleged incidents of physical abuse and torture of prisoners, including 
beatings, lashings, and suspension from bars by handcuffs. According to 
a 2005 report by the international nongovernmental organization (NGO), 
Amnesty International (AI), these practices were used to force 
confessions from prisoners. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), a 
former prisoner in Mecca general prison alleged that prison guards 
regularly abused him during his time in prison between 2002 and the end 
of the year by beating him, burning his back on a hot metal block, and 
keeping him in solitary confinement for six months.
    During the year the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and 
Prevention of Vice, known as the religious police (Mutawwa'in) 
harassed, abused, and detained citizens and foreigners of both sexes. 
These incidents were most common in the central region, including the 
capital of Riyadh, and relatively less frequent in the eastern and 
western regions of the country. However, there was an increase in 
reported religious police abuse in the Eastern Province and Jeddah.
    The Government sentenced criminals to punishment according to its 
interpretation of Shari'a. Corporal punishments provided by law 
included public execution by beheading, amputation, lashing, and other 
measures deemed appropriate by the judicial authorities. According to 
HRW, judges routinely issued sentences of thousands of lashes as 
punishment, often carried out in public. HRW reported that the beatings 
lead to severe mental trauma and physical pain, and the victims do not 
receive medical treatment.
    During the year the press reported approximately 38 executions. The 
Government executes individuals who have been convicted of murder, 
apostasy, narcotics-related offenses, rape, and armed robbery. Twenty 
of these executions were for crimes related to illegal drugs. There 
were no executions for apostasy during the year. The authorities 
punished repeated thievery and other repeated offenses by amputation of 
the right hand and left foot. The Government also punished people for 
various offenses with lashings, including for alcohol-related offenses 
or for being alone in the company of an unrelated person of the 
opposite sex. According to press reports, lashings were generally 
administered with a thin reed by a man who must hold a book under his 
arm to prevent him from lifting the arm too high. The strokes, 
delivered through a thin shirt, are not supposed to leave permanent 
damage but are designed to leave painful welts that bleed and bruise. 
According to the NGO National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), there 
were unauthorized and excessive lashings in the women's prisons.
    On September 9, a Nigerian man had his right hand amputated after 
he was convicted of stealing in the Great Mosque in Mecca. He was found 
guilty of ``committing the crime of pickpocketing.''
    On November 1, a Nigerian woman was executed in Jeddah for 
smuggling drugs into the country. Similarly, on November 1, a male 
citizen was executed in Riyadh for the same crime.
    On January 23, the media reported that Naif Al-Otaibi pardoned 
Puthen Veetil Abdul Lateef Naushad, an Indian citizen, for his role in 
a fight allegedly blinding Al-Otaibi in one of his eyes. Due to the 
pardon, Naushad's right eye was not gouged out as punishment. Naushad 
had served three years in prison for this assault.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions at prisons and 
detention centers were generally acceptable, according to international 
standards. However, there were some prisons with below-acceptable 
standards in hygiene, food, medical, and social services, and prolonged 
detention of prisoners in poor health. Many jails remained overcrowded, 
and some detainees were allowed family visits only after a significant 
period of time after their initial incarceration. The Government 
permitted visits to detention centers and prisons in accordance with 
international modalities. These visits were made by the Human Rights 
Commission (HRC) and NSHR, an NGO originally endowed by King Fahd. The 
HRC visited three prisons in the Eastern Province.
    The NSHR visited and reported abuses in 18 prisons, including four 
women's prisons. It found that pretrial detainees were held together 
with convicted prisoners. NSHR reported that drug abuse is increasing 
inside at least one prison. There were reports that nonviolent 
criminals (e.g., debtors) were held in the same facilities as violent 
criminals. NSHR also reported unauthorized and exaggerated lashings in 
the women's prisons, as well as the mixing of HIV positive with HIV 
negative inmates. At the prison in Mecca for noncitizens, NSHR found 
inadequate sleeping facilities, inadequate provision of medical 
services, and a nonfunctioning air conditioning system.
    On November 27, HRW made its first official visit, in addition to 
an unofficial visit in February, to the country in four years with the 
intent of visiting specific detention and prison facilities and 
specific detainees and prisoners. While HRW visited four prisons, it 
was not allowed to visit all of the prisons and all of the prisoners it 
requested. HRW visited a small group of prisoners on November 30 at the 
Al-Ha'ir correction facility south of Riyadh, but the delegation's 
attempt to return and revisit the facility on December 2 was blocked.
    There were also reports that consular visits to noncitizens were 
restricted.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The Basic Law prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention and limits the period of arrest to five 
days without charges being filed; however, ambiguities in 
implementation of the law and lack of due process give the interior 
minister broad powers to detain persons indefinitely. In practice, 
persons were held weeks or months and sometimes longer.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The King, the interior 
minister, the defense minister, and the national guard commander have 
responsibility in law and in practice for law enforcement and 
maintenance of order. King Abdullah remained in command of the National 
Guard. Crown Prince Sultan remained the defense and aviation minister 
with responsibility over all of that ministry's armed forces. The 
interior minister, Prince Naif, exercised control over government 
internal security forces, the internal security service or secret 
police (Mabahith), and border forces. Prince Muqrin was appointed 
secretary-general of the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP), which 
has its own forces. The religious police constitute a semiautonomous 
agency, reporting to the King via the Royal Diwan (the king's royal 
court). The MOI also has undefined oversight role of the religious 
police. The religious police monitor public behavior to enforce strict 
adherence to conservative Islamic norms. The media reported the 
Government arrested and punished police and border guards involved in 
smuggling and corruption.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and 
detention and limits the period of arrest; however, in practice, 
persons were held weeks, months, and sometimes longer, and the law 
gives the interior minister broad powers to detain persons 
indefinitely. The regular police, the secret police, and the religious 
police can arrest and detain persons.
    There were reports the authorities arrested and detained persons 
without following explicit legal guidelines. The religious police 
intimidated, harassed, and arrested persons based on their own 
religious interpretations of ``crimes of vice'' including arrests for 
``witchcraft'' and ``sorcery'' (see section 2.c.). These instances 
included men with ``strange'' haircuts or wearing improper clothes (see 
section 1.f.), men tailoring or taking measurements of women for 
women's clothes, and men dressing in female clothing (see section 5).
    The regulations provide bail for less serious crimes, although 
authorities sometimes released detainees on the recognizance of a 
patron or sponsoring employer without payment of bail. Throughout the 
country, several Committees for Collection of Donations for 
Impoverished Prisoners raised funds to pay fines stemming from traffic 
accidents and civil cases because prisoners remain in custody until the 
fines are paid, regardless of length of sentence. There were also 
reports the King and other members of the royal family paid fines on 
behalf of nonviolent prisoners to enable their release.
    If accused persons were not released, authorities typically 
detained them for two months before sending the case to trial or, in 
the case of some foreigners, summarily deporting them. There were no 
established procedures providing detainees the right to inform their 
family of their arrest. There were no established procedures providing 
for appeal of deportation.
    By royal decree, the religious police have the authority to detain 
persons for no more than 24 hours for violations of the strict 
standards of proper dress and behavior; however, they often exceeded 
this limit before delivering detainees to the police (see section 
1.f.).
    The religious police generally complied with the requirement that a 
police officer accompany them at the time of an arrest; however, there 
were cases in which religious police detained persons without the 
presence of a police officer. During the year in the more conservative 
Nejd region that includes Riyadh, reports continued of religious police 
accosting, abusing, arresting, and detaining citizens and noncitizens, 
especially women, for allegedly violating dress and behavior standards. 
There were also a number of reports of religious police in Mecca taking 
similar actions. The risk of harassment was substantial. The religious 
police detained men for offenses that included eating in restaurants 
with women not related to them, making lewd remarks to women in 
shopping malls, following cars lawfully transporting women, or walking 
in groups through family-only sections of shopping centers. Young 
unmarried men are prohibited from entering most shopping malls. 
Religious police detained women of many nationalities for actions such 
as riding in a taxi with a man who was not her relative, appearing with 
her head uncovered in shopping malls, and eating in restaurants with 
males who were not her relatives. Many such detainees were held for 
days, sometimes weeks, without officials notifying families or, in the 
case of noncitizens, embassies.
    According to a December 23 press report, the religious police beat 
up a mother and her daughter's driver, abducted the women using their 
car, then abandoned the women, who were locked in the trunk of the car 
after the car broke down. The religious police claimed the women had 
been visiting male friends and accused them of promiscuity. At year's 
end the courts had not yet decided on the women's suit against the 
religious police.
    In spite of the law, although to a lesser extent than in the past, 
the religious police continued to raid private religious ceremonies, 
notably arresting and detaining Christians as well as the Ahmadiyya 
religious group (see section 2.c.).
    On December 29, the religious police raided a gathering for food 
and prayer involving members of the Ahmadiyya religious group. 
Authorities consider them ``non-Muslim'' and heretical. Reportedly, the 
religious police detained 49 members, including approximately 19 women 
and children and 14 youths. Of the 49 individuals, there were 25 
Indians, 23 Pakistanis, and one Syrian. At year's end, all 49 remained 
in police custody.
    The authorities may detain without charge, or charge with 
attempting to destabilize the Government, persons who publicly 
criticize the Government (see sections 2.a. and 3).
    Political detainees arrested by the internal security service were 
reportedly held incommunicado in special prisons during the initial 
phase of the investigation. This period may last weeks or months under 
the MOI's broad legal authority. Access to detainees by family or 
lawyers was restricted.
    The Government continued to discriminate against and detain members 
of the Shi'a Muslim minority. Government security forces, mostly 
religious police, reportedly arrested Shi'a based on scant suspicion, 
held them in custody for lengthy periods, and subsequently released 
them without explanation.
    Citizens can report abuses by security forces at any police 
station; however, no information was publicly available regarding how 
complaints are handled.

    Amnesty.--The Government continued its tradition of pardoning or 
granting amnesty to more than 9,000 prisoners on special occasions, 
including holy days and during Ramadan. The Government temporarily 
released prisoners on special occasions so they could visit family; 
some were permanently released. On October 12, according to HRW, the 
Government released 700 detainees who were not involved in terrorist 
acts but had been suspected of harboring extremist thoughts.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The Basic Law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice. Members of the royal family were not required 
to appear before the courts, and their associates have influenced 
judges. The Supreme Judicial Council, whose members are appointed by 
the King, appoints, transfers, and removes judges. The Ministry of 
Justice disciplines judges. The Basic Law allows for a public trial; 
however, most trials were closed to the public. Juries are not used. 
Despite 2002 laws providing for suspects' rights to legal counsel and 
requiring public trials, most trials reportedly were held in secret and 
without defense lawyers.
    There are two types of courts: Shari'a and special. Special courts 
include commercial courts. The legal system is based on the 
Government's interpretation of Islamic law in all courts. Courts 
exercise jurisdiction over common criminal cases and civil suits 
regarding marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Their 
jurisdiction extends to non Muslims for crimes committed in the 
country. Cases involving relatively small penalties were tried in 
summary courts. More serious crimes are adjudicated in courts of common 
pleas from which appeals may be made to the courts of appeal.
    Other civil proceedings, such as those involving claims against the 
Government and enforcement of foreign judgments, were held before 
various specialized administrative tribunals including the Commission 
for the Settlement of Labor Disputes. The Board of Grievances hears 
complaints against government actions, including against the religious 
police. Plaintiffs have won their cases against government actions in 
these tribunals and have been able to enforce foreign judgments.
    The Government continued to reorganize the judiciary to improve 
administration of justice. Businessmen complained courts were 
ineffective and slow, court procedures were not well established, and 
that judges possessed religious rather than legal training. They also 
complained that judges often acted capriciously and did not base 
judgments on precedent, leading to widely divergent rulings.
    The Government permitted Shi'a to use their own legal tradition to 
adjudicate cases involving domestic issues, inheritance, and Islamic 
endowments. However, there were only two courts and two Shi'a judges. 
The two courts, one in Al-Hasa and the other in Qatif, handled cases of 
Shi'a family law. These courts did not have adequate resources to serve 
the large Shi'a population in the Eastern Province. Either party in a 
dispute can appeal the Shi'a court's decision to a Shari'a (Sunni) 
court based on Hanbali jurisprudence.
    There was no comparable right for non-Muslims or foreigners; cases 
of non-Muslims and foreigners were handled in Shari'a courts.
    The military justice system has jurisdiction over uniformed 
personnel and civil servants who are charged with violations of 
military regulations. The defense minister and the King review the 
decisions of courts-martial.
    According to the Justice Ministry, judges are free to base their 
decisions on any of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. In 
practice, judges usually follow Hanbali jurisprudence.
    The Supreme Judicial Council may not reverse decisions made by 
courts of appeal; however, the Council may review lower-court decisions 
and refer them back to a lower court for reconsideration.
    The Council of Senior Religious Scholars (Ulema) is an autonomous 
advisory body of 20 senior religious jurists, including the minister of 
justice, which interprets Shari'a thereby establishing the legal 
principles to guide lower-court judges.

    Trial Procedures.--The Criminal Procedure Law provides persons 
under investigation the right to a lawyer and permits lawyers to 
present arguments in criminal courts. The law also provides that 
convicted persons be informed of their right to appeal rulings.
    A woman's testimony does not carry the same weight as a man. In a 
Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of two women. Under 
the Hanbali interpretation of Shari'a, judges may discount the 
testimony of persons who are nonpracticing Muslims or who do not adhere 
to Hanbali doctrine. Legal sources reported that testimony by Shi'a was 
often ignored in courts of law or was deemed to have less weight than 
testimony by Sunnis.
    Female parties in court proceedings such as divorce and family law 
cases generally had to deputize male relatives to speak on their 
behalf. In the absence of two witnesses, or four witnesses in the case 
of adultery, confessions before a judge were almost always required for 
criminal conviction--a situation that has led prosecuting authorities 
to coerce confessions from suspects by threats and abuse (see section 
1.c.).
    Laws and regulations state that defendants should be treated 
equally; however, sentencing was not uniform and crimes against Muslims 
received harsher penalties than those against non Muslims. In wrongful 
death cases, the amount of indemnity or ``blood money'' awarded to 
relatives varied with the nationality, religion, age, and sex of the 
victim. A sentence may be changed at any stage of review, except for 
punishments stipulated by the Koran.
    Islamic law considers Hindus to be polytheists and on this basis 
justifies discrimination in calculating accidental death or injury 
compensation. According to the country's Hanbali interpretation of 
Shari'a, once a court determines fault, a Muslim male receives 100 
percent of the amount of compensation determined, a Jew or Christian 
male receives 50 percent, and all others receive one-sixteenth of the 
amount a Muslim male receives. Women receive 50 percent of what men 
receive in each of these categories.
    Provincial governors, all of whom were members of the royal family, 
have authority to reduce a sentence. In cases between two individuals, 
the wronged party has the right to accept money or impose no punishment 
instead of the punishment decreed by the judge. In general, members of 
the royal family and other powerful families were not subject to the 
same rule of law as ordinary citizens.
    The King and his advisors review cases involving capital 
punishment. The King has the authority to commute death sentences and 
grant pardons, except for capital crimes committed against individuals. 
In such cases, he may request the victim's next of kin pardon the 
killer--usually in return for compensation from the family of the 
convicted person or from the king.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--According to press accounts, 
Deputy Minister of the Interior Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz said the 
kingdom did not imprison persons on political grounds, but because they 
were terrorists or collaborators with terrorists or had violated 
Shari'a or civil regulations. The Government did not provide 
information regarding political prisoners or detainees or respond to 
inquiries concerning political prisoners. The Government conducted 
closed trials for persons who may have been political prisoners or 
detainees and in other cases has detained persons incommunicado for 
long periods while under investigation.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The Basic Law provides for 
an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. There were 
reports of lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights 
violations. There were administrative and judicial remedies available 
for alleged violations. There were reports of problems enforcing 
domestic court orders, primarily when a foreigner won a judgment 
against a citizen.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The Basic Law guarantees the inviolability of homes 
and the privacy of correspondence. The Criminal Procedure Law requires 
authorities obtain a warrant prior to searching a residence, or a court 
order prior to perusing personal correspondence and documents. The 
Government generally respected this inviolability; however, there were 
some cases in which the Government infringed on these rights, notably 
religious police raids on private residences. Royal decrees include 
provisions for the Government to defend the home from unlawful 
intrusions, while laws and regulations prohibit officials from 
intercepting mail and electronic communications except when necessary 
during criminal investigations. The police generally must demonstrate 
reasonable cause and obtain permission from a provincial governor 
before searching a private home.
    Despite these provisions, customs officials routinely opened mail 
and shipments to search for contraband, including material deemed 
pornographic or that appeared to be non-Sunni Islamic religious 
material. There were far fewer reports that some customs officials 
arbitrarily confiscated or censored materials including Christian 
Bibles and religious videotapes (see section 2.c.). The authorities 
also opened mail and used informants and wiretaps in internal security 
and criminal matters. Informants and, in some districts, an informal 
system of ward bosses reported ``seditious ideas,'' antigovernment 
activity, or ``behavior contrary to Islam'' in their neighborhoods to 
the MOI.
    The Government enforced most social and Islamic religious norms. 
Citizens have the right to sue to enforce these laws. For example, 
citizens sued to dissolve ``unequal'' marriages between tribal and 
nontribal individuals or between tribal members in which the status of 
one tribe was perceived to be superior to another. Citizens also sued 
to punish those who ``insulted Saudi values and norms.'' Women may not 
marry noncitizens without government permission; men must obtain 
government permission to marry noncitizen women outside the six states 
of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In accordance with Shari'a, 
women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims; men may marry 
Christians and Jews, as well as Muslims (see section 2.c.). The 
Government does not refuse marriage licenses between Sunni and Shi'a 
couples; tradition and culture, not law, restrict marriages between 
Sunni and Shi'a citizens.
    According to the law, men who work in certain government positions, 
such as the military, cannot marry noncitizens, although exceptions are 
made in practice. The Government subjects top civil servants and 
security officials to extensive questioning when applying to marry 
foreigners. In response to certain cultural norms, the Government was 
more lenient when approving marriages of foreigners to elderly and 
disabled citizens. The marital restrictions also applied to citizens 
studying overseas on government scholarships. Violators risked 
disciplinary action; however, this policy was frequently violated, and 
there were no reports of sanctions being imposed.
    Religious police practices and incidents of abuse varied widely. 
According to an official report, during the year there were 3,227 field 
officers working in 1,310 centers in all 13 provinces. They reported 
390,117 incidents involving 402,725 persons of which only 101,143 were 
citizens. The religious police referred 6.4 percent of these incidents 
to the regular police and the courts. In certain areas, the religious 
police and freelance religious vigilantes harassed, abused, arrested, 
and detained citizens and foreigners (see section 1.d.).
    Religious police enforcement of strict standards of social behavior 
included closing commercial establishments during the five daily prayer 
observances, insisting upon compliance with strict norms of public 
dress, and dispersing gatherings of women in public places designated 
for men, as well as preventing unaccompanied men from entering public 
places designated for families. Religious police frequently reproached 
both citizen and foreign women for failure to observe strict dress 
codes and arrested men and women found together who were not married or 
closely related.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Basic Law does not provide for 
freedom of speech or the press, and the Government generally did not 
respect these rights in practice. According to the Basic Law, the 
media's role is to educate the masses and promote national unity. Media 
outlets can be banned if they promote mischief and discord, compromise 
the security of the state and its public image, or offend man's dignity 
and rights. The Government continued to restrict freedom of speech and 
press and censored articles critical of the royal family or Islam. The 
authorities routinely censored foreign print sources. However, during 
the year, there was regular discussion in the media of social, 
economic, and political issues previously considered taboo such as 
reform, trafficking in persons, prostitution, homosexuality, the 
religious establishment, women's rights, and human rights.
    The print media were censored and privately owned; some had close 
ties to members of the royal family. Journalists practiced self-
censorship by refraining from direct criticism of government officials. 
A media policy statement and a national security law prohibit the 
dissemination of criticism of the royal family and the Government. The 
Government media policy statement urged journalists to uphold Islam, 
oppose atheism, promote Arab interests, and preserve cultural heritage. 
The Ministry of Information must approve the appointment of, and may 
remove, all senior editors. The Government also provided guidelines to 
newspapers regarding controversial issues. The government-owned Saudi 
Press Agency expressed official government views. All newspapers in the 
country must be licensed by the Government. With a license, newspapers 
are allowed to carry government advertisements which accounted for the 
largest sources of revenue for the newspapers.
    The Saudi Journalist Association was founded in 2004 under a 
government charter granted in 2003. Membership was voluntary and open 
to both men and women. Noncitizen journalists working in the kingdom 
were eligible to join as nonvoting members. The organization's board of 
directors, which was elected in 2004, had nine members, including two 
women. At year's end the organization was inactive.
    Authorities continued to ban government employees from criticizing 
the Government. The Government enforced existing laws based on Article 
12 of the Basic Law that provides the state with the authority to 
``prevent anything that may lead to disunity, sedition, and 
separation.'' Accordingly, all public employees are enjoined from 
``participating, directly or indirectly, in the preparation of any 
document, speech or petition, engaging in dialogue with local and 
foreign media, or participating in any meetings intended to oppose the 
state's policies.''
    Newspapers routinely investigated and published stories on crime 
and terrorism. Two London-based Arabic dailies, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and 
Al Hayat, continued to be owned by members of the royal family and were 
widely distributed and read in the country. Both newspapers practiced 
self-censorship.
    According to HRW, in June the secret police arrested Sa'ad bin 
Zu'air for 20 days for saying in an interview on Al-Arabiya television 
that the death of Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi was ``sad for most Muslims.''
    In December 2005 a new youth-focused paper appeared on domestic 
newsstands, called Al-Shams (The Sun). Printed in Bahrain, the paper is 
sold with tacit approval of the Government. Initially, the paper had 
only limited success, until it published the controversial Danish 
cartoons and was briefly shut down. On March 21, Al-Shams reappeared 
after a new editor in chief, Khalaf Al-Harbi, was appointed, and its 
success continued. The newspaper pledged to staunchly advocate the 
rights of young persons in the country for whom education, jobs, social 
services, and freedoms were key concerns.
    The Government owned and operated most domestic television and 
radio companies. Government censors removed any reference in foreign 
programs and songs to politics, religions other than Islam, pork or 
pigs, alcohol, and sex.
    On August 4, award-winning writer and women's rights activist, 
Wajiha Al-Howaider, was arrested on the causeway to Bahrain because she 
was holding a sign that read, ``Give women their rights.'' She was 
released with a warning. On September 20, she was summoned and 
interrogated for six hours by the secret police for planning a peaceful 
protest on September 23, national day, by women demanding their rights. 
The secret police threatened her with the loss of her job at Saudi 
Aramco. Al-Howaider was released only after she signed a written pledge 
to cease human rights activities in the kingdom, including writing 
articles, organizing protests, and talking to the media. She was not 
allowed to leave the country for her home in Bahrain until September 
28.
    On September 27, the Court of Grievances dismissed the charges 
against the author of the popular novel, ``Girls of Riyadh.'' A group 
of citizens filed charges against the author because she allegedly 
slandered society by writing a novel about socially unacceptable 
behavior by female citizens.
    During the year the Consultative Council continued partial, delayed 
television coverage of its proceedings and allowed journalists to 
attend sessions.
    Although technically illegal, there were several million satellite-
receiving dishes in the country, which provided citizens with foreign 
television programming. Access to outside sources of information, such 
as Arabic and Western satellite television channels and the Internet 
was widespread.
    The Government banned books, magazines, and other materials that it 
considered sexual or pornographic. The Ministry of Information compiled 
and updated a list of publications prohibited from being sold in the 
country.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted access to the 
Internet, and there were reports that the Government monitored e-mail 
and Internet chat rooms. However, within limits, individuals and groups 
could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, 
including by electronic mail. The Government blocked access to Internet 
Web sites deemed sexual, pornographic, politically offensive, ``un-
Islamic", or disruptive because of controversial religious and 
political content.
    Access to the Internet was available through local government 
monitored servers. There were as many as one million Internet 
subscribers. Some citizens circumvented controls by accessing the 
Internet through servers in other countries. The Government had a 
process through which citizens could request reconsideration of a 
decision to block a particular Web site, and authorities reportedly at 
least partially unblocked some Web sites.
    On October 9, the Consultative Council approved the country's first 
law to combat electronic crimes such as defamation on the Internet, 
hacking, unauthorized access to government Web sites, and stealing 
information related to national security.
    On March 10, Mohsen Al-Awajy was arrested for criticizing the 
king's alleged heavy reliance on the advice of liberals on the Web site 
Wassatyah.com. On March 21, he was released after the NGO Reporters 
Without Borders petitioned for his release.
    On April 4, Rabah El-Queay, a 23-year-old journalist of Al-Shams, 
was arrested in relation to content he posted on online forums using 
his real name. Prior to his arrest, El-Queay was involved in a car 
accident, allegedly part of the continuing harassment he endured 
because of his postings. The official investigation into the accident 
indicated that El-Queay was at fault because his writings had driven 
good men to harass him.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to 
restrict academic freedom. The Government prohibited the study of 
evolution, Freud, Marx, Western music, and Western philosophy. Some 
professors believed informants monitored their classroom comments and 
reported to government and religious authorities.
    The Government continued to restrict cultural events. Citing a 2003 
royal decree that stated the King Abdul Aziz Center for National 
Dialogue obviates the need for individual cultural forums, the 
Government closed Shi'a and Sunni cultural forums in the area of al-
Ahsa in the Eastern Province. Cultural forums, particularly in Qatif, 
continue to operate. The Government does not allow movie theaters and 
restricted the public showing of films. Public performance of plays and 
music were allowed if they are traditional and part of a special event.
    According to HRW, conservatives including the religious police 
harassed visitors and authors, especially women, at the February Riyadh 
International Book Fair, which displayed a Bible and works by banned 
author Turki Al-Hamad for the first time.
    Starting on July 12, for four weeks the Jeddah Visual Shows 
Festival held the country's first film festival which showed 16 films, 
including documentaries, short-subjects, and one animated feature. 
Eight movies were domestic productions, seven were from the United Arab 
Emirates, and one was from Kuwait. The public forum was open to men and 
women. Cinemas have been banned since the 1980s.
    On July 30, a fiction group at the Riyadh Literary Club organized a 
discussion that featured the showing of two domestic short-subjects 
from the Jeddah Visual Shows Festival. This screening was allegedly the 
first of its kind in Riyadh, and was attended by 40 males and the two 
male directors of the films.
    On November 27, Al Riyadh, Al Hayat, and Al Watan reported that a 
``group of extremists'' (ultra-conservatives) raided the theater, 
disturbed an audience, and forcibly ended a play at Al Yamamah College. 
The play was ``A Moderate Who Lacks Moderation,'' by Ahmad Al-Eissa, 
President of Al Yamamah College. Security forces intervened to end 
clashes between the audience and the extremists. The extremists refused 
to leave the theater after the show was cancelled. The police fired 
shots to disperse them. The extremists continued their physical attacks 
on the organizers, reporters, and photographers. A number of them were 
arrested. Al Watan reported the Ministry of Culture and Information's 
deputy minister for cultural affairs said literary clubs can show 
films, if suitable for the public.
    The Government censored most forms of public artistic expression 
and prohibited cinemas and public musical or theatrical performances, 
except those considered folkloric.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The Basic Law does not address freedom of assembly, which 
the Government strictly limited in practice and prohibited in the form 
of public demonstrations.
    Public meetings were usually segregated by gender. The authorities 
monitored large nonfamily gatherings, particularly if women were 
present. The religious police dispersed any large nonfamily groups 
found in public places, such as restaurants. However, men and women can 
mix in some public places that cater to noncitizens. In Jeddah, a local 
Saudi-American business group routinely holds its general meetings in a 
hotel where male and female citizens and noncitizen participants mix 
freely.
    In August the Government allowed the Shi'a of the Eastern Province 
to assemble to conduct three small, peaceful demonstrations centered in 
the Qatif oasis protesting Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

    Freedom of Association.--The Basic Law does not address freedom of 
association, and the Government strictly limited it in practice.
    The Government prohibited the establishment of political parties or 
any group that the Government considered opposing the regime, or 
possibly overstepping the bounds of criticism by challenging the king's 
authority (see section 3). Any associations must be licensed by the MOI 
and comply with its rules and regulations.
    The Human Rights First Society (HRFS) continued to operate without 
a government license. In December the interior ministry stopped the 
HRFS from holding its first membership meeting in Najran. Otherwise, 
the interior ministry seldom interfered with the HRFS, although it 
harassed its leader, Ibrahim Al-Mugaiteeb.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The Basic Law states that Islam is the 
official religion and all citizens are required to be Muslims. The 
legal system is based on the government-sanctioned interpretation of 
Islamic law. Government leaders called for tolerance and moderation, 
and King Abdullah and other leaders made public pronouncements 
condemning religious extremism. Government leaders also asserted that 
individuals have the right to practice their religion privately without 
government interference. On June 17, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported that 
the King gave a speech in Buraida in which he said that labeling 
citizens as secular, liberal, hypocrite, or extremist was divisive and 
contrary to the country's two key principles, Shari'a and national 
unity.
    There is no legal recognition or protection of religious freedom, 
and it is severely restricted in practice. The Government limits the 
practice of all but the officially sanctioned version of Islam and 
prohibits the public practice of other religions. The Government 
continued to prohibit public practice of non-Muslim religions and 
limited religious practices of Shi'a and Sufi sects. As a matter of 
policy, the Government confirmed it ensures and protects the right to 
private worship for all, including non-Muslims who gather in homes for 
religious practice; however, this right was not always respected in 
practice and was not defined in law.
    Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is widely considered 
apostasy, a crime punishable by death if the accused does not recant. 
There were no executions for apostasy during the reporting period, and 
there have been no reports of such executions for several years.
    Citizens and especially foreigners widely believed in and sometimes 
practiced ``magic'' and ``superstition.'' However, under the 
Government's interpretation of Shari'a, magic was regarded as one of 
the worst forms of polytheism, and is an executable offense; however, 
in practice, individuals convicted of magic are not always executed. An 
unknown number of detainees were held in prison on the charge of 
``sorcery'' or the alleged practice of ``black magic'' or 
``witchcraft.''
    The practice of other schools of Sunni Islam was unsupported by the 
Government, and adherents of the Shi'a branch of Islam faced various 
forms of discrimination condoned by the Government, including 
restrictions on religious practice and on the building of mosques and 
community centers (see also sections 1.e., 3, and 5).
    The Shi'a Muslim minority, estimated to be between 10 and 15 
percent of the citizen population, lived mostly in the Eastern 
Province, although a significant number resided in Medina in the 
Western Province and in Najran in the southwest. Members were subjected 
to officially sanctioned discrimination of various forms. Many Shi'a 
view the ultimate jurisdiction of Shari'a (Sunni) courts over intra-
Shi'a family matters as impinging on their religious freedom (see 
section 1.e.).
    An estimated 700,000 Sulaimani Ismailis, a subset of Shi'a Islam, 
live in the country, primarily in Najran. According to HRW and media 
reports, on October 31, the King pardoned 10 of the at least 57 
Sulaimani Ismailis Shi'a jailed following rioting in Najran in 2000. 
There were reports that the Government discriminated against Sulaiman 
Ismailis Shi'a by prohibiting them from having their own religious 
books, allowing religious leaders to declare them unbelievers, denying 
them government employment, restricting them to lower level jobs, and 
relocating them from the southwest to other parts of the country or 
encouraging them to emigrate.
    According to HRW, during August and September, a Sulaimani Ismaili 
Shi'a, Hadi Al-Mutif, conducted a hunger strike to protest his 
continued imprisonment for ``insulting the Prophet Mohammed.'' In his 
first trial, Al-Mutif was reportedly sentenced to death. Reportedly the 
Government never sentenced Al-Mutif to a certain term in prison; 
however, he has served at least 12 years. Reports that the King was 
going to pardon him during a December visit to Najran proved incorrect. 
At least one other man, a Sunni, who committed the same offense, was 
sentenced to life imprisonment, which was commuted to 14 years.
    In September approximately 300 Sulaimani Ismaili Shi'a in Najran 
protested their ``repression'' and demanded the release of Ismailis 
held in jail since 2000 and an apology from a cleric and judge who 
labeled them ``infidels.'' They also demanded the cessation of attempts 
by local authorities to resettle Yemeni tribesmen given citizenship on 
land owned by Ismailis.
    Sulaimani Ismailis Shi'a in Najran reportedly were charged with 
practicing magic; however, the Shi'a Ismailis maintained that their 
practice was not magic as it adheres to their interpretation of Islam. 
Some conservative Sunnis disagree with this interpretation and claim 
that the Shi'a Ismailis believe in and practice magic.
    The Government tolerated the public celebration of the Shi'a 
holiday of Ashura and other Shi'a holidays in the Eastern Province city 
of Qatif. The police monitored the celebrations. No other public Ashura 
celebrations were allowed in the country, including in cities where 
Shi'a were in the majority, and many Shi'a traveled to Qatif or Bahrain 
to participate in Ashura celebrations. The Government continued to 
exclude Shi'a perspectives from the state's extensive religious media 
and broadcast programming but appeared to have more sporadically 
enforced restrictions banning the importation and sale of Shi'a books 
and audio and video products. Shi'a were not allowed to teach religion 
to classes higher than the elementary grade level, and the Government 
did not allow Shi'a to open private schools for girls.
    The media reported that the Government allowed the celebration of 
Gargean on the fifteenth day of Ramadan (i.e., children dress in 
traditional clothes going door-to-door asking for nuts and candies). 
This celebration reportedly began in the Eastern Province among the 
Shi'a but spread to the central, southern, and northern parts of the 
kingdom.
    There was discrimination in the availability of facilities for 
religious activities. The Government issued permits to construct a few 
Shi'a mosques, including a large mosque in Qatif, although the process 
was more cumbersome and took far longer for the Shi'a community than 
for Sunnis. The Shi'a have declined government offers to build state-
supported mosques because the Government prohibits the incorporation 
and display of Shi'a motifs in state-supported mosques.
    Significant numbers of Sufis in the Western Province engaged in 
technically illegal practices such as celebrating the Mawlid, or 
Prophet's birthday, without government interference.
    On December 7, prominent Sunni religious commentator and former 
professor at Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Abdul 
Rahman Nasser Al-Barak, issued a fatwa attacking Shi'a, calling them 
``rejectionists'' and ``bearing all the characteristics of infidels.''
    The Government confirmed its policy to protect the right to private 
worship and the right to possess and use personal religious materials. 
However, it did not legally provide for this right, and there were 
reports of religious police raids on private residences and detentions 
of non-Muslims for alleged religious violations, such as possession of 
non-Muslim literature or holding non-Muslim worship services; however, 
there were fewer reports than in 2005. Many non-Muslims continued to 
worship in fear of harassment and in manners that avoided discovery by 
police or religious police. For the first time, the Government issued a 
report on the activities of the religious police during the year, which 
stated 1,652 individuals were arrested for being in public without 
praying during prayer time. The report also stated that there were 
301,173 individuals arrested for working during prayer time. However, 
the report did not provide statistics on the numbers of individuals 
arrested for practicing non-Muslim religions. Anecdotal evidence 
suggested there was a decrease in both long-term and short-term 
detentions, and in arrests and deportations of non-Muslims. However, 
there were also reports that religious police, using both Muslim and 
non-Muslim informants, targeted non-Muslim religious leaders, 
organizers, and religious groups for harassment, arrest, and 
deportation in an effort to deter groups from conducting private, non-
Muslim religious services (see section 1.f.).
    During the year there were raids, arrests, and detentions of 
Christians throughout the country, although fewer than in the past. On 
October 15, the religious police raided a hall in Tabuk where a 
Filipino priest was preaching. The religious police confiscated bibles 
and detained the priest but no other churchgoers. The religious police 
turned the priest over to the ``concerned authorities'' to complete the 
investigation.
    On June 9, 10 regular and religious police officers armed with 
wooden clubs raided a private Christian worship service in Jeddah. 
Approximately 100 Eritreans, Ethiopians and Filipinos were present. The 
police arrested the church leaders, two Ethiopians and two Eritreans. 
The church leaders were deported in July. In Jeddah, a Christian 
evangelical leader reported that religious police attended one of his 
services without disrupting the service but later in response to a 
complaint closed the church and detained one of the pastors.
    The Government did not officially permit non-Muslim clergy to enter 
the country for the purpose of conducting religious services, although 
some did under other auspices, and the Government generally permitted 
discreet religious functions. Such restrictions made it difficult for 
most non-Muslims to maintain contact with clergymen and attend services 
but did not prevent them from gathering to practice their faith. 
Catholics and Orthodox Christians, who require a priest on a regular 
basis to receive sacraments required of their faith, were particularly 
affected.
    Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non 
Islamic religious materials such as bibles, was illegal. The promotion 
of nonofficial interpretations of Islam was less restricted than it was 
in previous years. Anyone wearing religious symbols in public that were 
considered idolatrous within the Hanbali school risked confrontation 
with the religious police.
    Under the Hanbali interpretation of Shari'a, judges may discount 
the testimony of non-Muslims or those who do not adhere to ``correct 
doctrine'' (see section 1.e.). Islamic religious education was 
mandatory in public schools at all levels. Regardless of the Islamic 
tradition to which their families adhere, all public school children 
receive religious instruction that conforms to the conservative Hanbali 
tradition of Sunni Islam. Expatriate non-Muslim students in private 
schools were not required to study Islam. In accordance with the 
religious establishment's interpretation of Shari'a, women were 
prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, but men were permitted to marry 
Christians and Jews (see section 1.f.).
    The Government required noncitizens to carry legal resident 
identity cards (Iqamas), which contained a religious designation for 
``Muslim'' or ``non-Muslim.'' There were reports that individual 
religious police pressured sponsors and employers not to renew legal 
resident identity cards of non-Muslims whom they had sponsored for 
employment if it was discovered or suspected that those individuals had 
either led, sponsored, or participated in private non-Muslim worship 
services. Additionally, there were reports that religious police 
pressured employers and sponsors to reach verbal agreements with non-
Muslim employees that they would not participate in private or public 
non-Muslim worship services.
    During the month of December the press reported shopkeepers in 
Riyadh sold Christmas cards under the counter. During the year the 
religious police prohibited the sale of cards and flowers for 
Valentine's Day.
    On December 29, the religious police raided a gathering for food 
and prayer involving members of the Ahmadiyya religious group. 
Authorities consider them non-Muslim and heretical. Reportedly, the 
religious police detained 49 members, including approximately 19 women 
and children and 14 youths. Of the 49 individuals, there were 25 
Indians, 23 Pakistanis, and one Syrian. At year's end, all 49 remained 
in police custody (see Section 1.d.).

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no public places of 
worship for non-Muslims. Although significant numbers of Christians, 
Hindus, and Buddhists, and a few Jews resided in the country, there 
were no public churches, temples, or synagogues. There were reports of 
violence against and harassment of Christians, due to societal 
discrimination against foreigner workers coupled with religious 
discrimination.
    There was anti-Semitism and criticism of the policies of the 
Government of Israel and Zionism in the media. For example, on January 
13, an anti-Semitic cartoon in the Al-Yawm newspaper depicted Jews as 
thieves, calling them ``God's Cheater People,'' a pun in Arabic on the 
expression ``God's Chosen People.''
    According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there was anti-
Semitism in the media characterized by stereotypical images of Jews 
along with Jewish symbols, and comparisons of Israeli government 
actions to those of the Nazis. For example, on April 24, a cartoon in 
the Al-Medina newspaper depicted an Israel Defense Forces tank's treads 
forming a swastika. According to the ADL, further anti-Semitic material 
appeared in the Ar-Riyadh newspaper on February 9 to the effect that 
``the only ones to benefit from inciting strife and wars between the 
Christian and Muslim world are the Jews in Europe and in the West. If 
you do not believe that, then read the Protocols of the Elders of 
Zion.'' Another example provided by the ADL came from an article in the 
Al-Hayat newspaper on June 6 comparing the Israeli government actions 
toward Palestinians to ``the Nazi manner of killing, starvation, and 
racial segregation.''
    In May Freedom House released a report that stated that its review 
of textbooks revealed examples of hate speech and in particular noted 
that religious textbooks emphasized intolerance and hatred of religious 
traditions, especially Christianity and Judaism. In November the 
Government announced a multi-year project to revise textbooks, 
curricula, and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content 
disparaging religions other than Islam. Many recently utilized 
textbooks still contain language that was blatantly anti-Semitic and 
intolerant of Judaism, Christianity, and the Shi'a tradition (see 
section 5).
    During the year the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue 
held 13 preparatory meetings throughout the country for the November 30 
sixth national dialogue, which focused on education. According to the 
Government the dialogue, meetings and preparations promoted tolerance 
and understanding, including for non-Muslim religions. During the year 
there were articles in local media reminding Muslims that Jews are 
``people of the book,'' that Jewish prophets such as Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jesus are shown due respect by Muslims, and that Mary was a Jew and 
is due respect by Muslims.
    The Government took no reported action against anti-Semitic 
cartoons and articles which appeared in the media.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The Basic Law does not provide for these 
rights. Freedom of movement was restricted. The Government must issue 
an exit visa for an individual to leave the country. Male citizens have 
the freedom to travel within the country and abroad unless they are 
under the age of 21, in which case they require the permission of their 
guardian if they want to travel outside the country. The Government 
restricted these rights for women based on its interpretation of 
Islamic Law. All women in the country were prohibited from driving. 
They must obtain written permission from a male relative or guardian 
before the authorities allow travel abroad (see section 5). The 
requirement to obtain permission from a male relative or guardian 
applied also to foreign women married to citizens or to minor and 
single adult daughters of citizen fathers. Since 2001, women have been 
able to obtain their own identity cards; however, the Government 
required permission from a male relative or guardian to receive a card 
(see section 5). The Government has quietly begun to issue individual 
identification cards with a photograph to every female citizen, 
terminating the current practice of women carrying family cards only 
listing their names. Citizen women who have valid passports can obtain 
identity cards without needing verification from a male guardian; 
however, if a woman does not have a passport, she needs a male guardian 
to verify her identity (see section 5). During the year the Government 
continued to issue national identity cards to women, despite a national 
campaign against the practice by some religious conservatives.
    Restrictions on travel applied to dual national children of citizen 
fathers. In cases involving custody disputes between foreign citizen 
women and their citizen husbands, the husband was legally able to 
prevent the travel of the children out of the country. All women, 
including adult female citizens, require the written consent of a male 
guardian to travel outside the country. The Government has worked with 
foreign consular officials to overcome a husband's refusal to permit 
travel by his female children and/or wife or ex-wife. During the year 
senior officials considered, on a case-by-case basis, allowing adult 
foreign citizen women to travel despite objections by their husbands, 
fathers, or other male relatives or guardians. However, government 
officials delayed issuing decisions and caused additional burdens and 
security concerns to those individuals attempting to leave the kingdom.
    Noncitizen women married to citizens required permission from their 
husbands or fathers to travel. If a husband refused to grant permission 
to travel to his noncitizen wife, she could divorce her husband or not 
travel. If she divorced her husband, the Government could issue her an 
exit visa, but she was unlikely to be allowed to re-enter the country.
    Foreigners typically were allowed to reside or work in the country 
under the sponsorship of a citizen or business. Media reports in 
October announced an easing of this restriction for businessmen.
    The Government required citizens and foreign residents to carry 
identification cards. It did not permit foreigners to change their 
workplace without their sponsor's permission.
    During the year the Government continued to provide citizenship 
under Article 9 of the law on naturalization to some of the thousands 
of native residents who live in the country without possessing 
citizenship.
    Collectively known as Bidoons (``without'' in Arabic), these native 
born residents lack citizenship due to an ancestor's failure to obtain 
nationality, including descendents of nomadic tribes such as the Anaiza 
and Shammar, some of whose ancestors were not counted among the native 
tribes during the reign of the kingdom's founder, King Abd al-Aziz; 
descendants of foreign born fathers who emigrated to the country before 
citizenship was institutionalized; and rural migrants whose parents 
failed to register their births. They were denied employment and 
educational opportunities because of their lack of citizenship, and had 
limited ability to travel. Bidoons are among the poorest residents of 
the country because of their marginalized status.
    The Basic Law prohibits employers from retaining foreign workers' 
passports; however, in practice most sponsors reportedly retained 
possession of foreign workers' passports. Foreign workers must obtain 
permission from their sponsors to travel abroad. If sponsors were 
involved in a commercial or labor dispute with foreign employees, they 
may ask the authorities to prohibit the employees from departing the 
country until the dispute is resolved. In some contract disputes, 
sponsors used this as a pressure tactic to resolve disputes in their 
favor, forcing employees to accept nominal amounts of the money owed to 
them or by having foreign employees deported (see sections 5 and 6.c.).
    The Government seized the passports of all potential suspects and 
witnesses in criminal cases and suspended the issuance of exit visas to 
these individuals until the case was concluded. As a result, some 
foreign nationals were forced to remain in the country for lengthy 
periods against their will.
    The Government did not use forced exile; however, it previously 
revoked the citizenship of opponents of the Government who reside 
outside the country (see section 3).
    Citizens may emigrate. The Government prohibited dual citizenship; 
however, children who hold other citizenship by virtue of birth abroad 
were permitted to leave the country using noncitizen passports. An 
October 2005 citizenship law allows certain long-term residents and 
other foreigners to obtain citizenship.
    The Government imposed travel bans on some reformers. The 
authorities sometimes confiscated passports of suspected oppositionists 
and their families. In addition, the Government revoked the rights of 
some citizens to travel outside the country. In several cases the 
Government revoked the right to travel for political reasons without 
notifying the individual or providing opportunities to contest the 
restriction.
    During the year there were reports that some Shi'a activist writers 
and other public figures were banned from traveling and the Government 
had confiscated their passports. However, a Shi'a professor, who faced 
a travel ban for his 2003 criticism of the Government's discriminatory 
policies against the Shi'a, was allowed to travel.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Basic Law does not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN 
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
but the Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the forced return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution. The Basic Law provides that ``the state will grant 
political asylum, if so required by the public interest.''
    The Government provided temporary protection to individuals who may 
not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 
Protocol.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
refugees and asylum seekers.
    The UNHCR Representative Office to the GCC countries reported that 
in late 2005 the Government permitted 364 Iraqi refugees at the Rafha 
refugee camp to reside in urban areas. During the year the UNHCR did 
not find any evidence of forcible repatriation. Since 1991 the UNHCR 
has facilitated the spontaneous repatriation of more than 8,000 Iraqi 
refugees (see section 1.c.). NGOs present in the camp included the 
Saudi Red Crescent and the International Islamic Relief Organization. 
At year's end less than 100 Iraqi refugees remained in the camp.
    During the year the UNHCR granted refugee status to 216 people. No 
one who is in Saudi Arabia illegally, or has overstayed an umrah or 
hajj visa, may be granted refugee status.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The Basic Law states that the Government is established on the 
principle of shura or consultation and requires the King and crown 
prince to hold open majlises. (A majlis is an open-door meeting held by 
the King, a prince, or an important national or local official where, 
in theory, any male citizen or foreign national may express an opinion 
or a grievance.) The Basic Law states all individuals have the right to 
communicate with public authorities on any issue. This right to 
petition is interpreted by the Government as a right to be exercised 
within traditional nonpublic means, in other words, not through the use 
of mass media. In practice, citizens did not have the right to change 
the Government peacefully. There were restrictions, as demonstrated by 
the 2005 conviction of the three political reformers convicted of 
``sowing dissent and disobeying the ruler'' and for overtly advocating 
democratic reform (see sections 1.e and 2.a.).

    Elections and Political Participation.--Only a few members of the 
ruling family had a voice in the choice of leaders or in changing the 
political system. On October 20, the King issued the new succession law 
which amended the 1992 Basic Law and formalized the process by creating 
the Allegiance Commission that will elect a king and crown prince upon 
the death or incapacitation of either. The Allegiance Commission is 
composed of the sons and grandsons of Abd al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman al-
Faysal Al Sa'ud. This commission expands the role of the ruling family 
in the selection process. The Government ruled on civil and religious 
matters within the limitations established by the Basic Law, religious 
law, tradition, and the need to maintain consensus among the ruling 
family and religious leaders.
    The King serves as prime minister and his crown prince serves as 
deputy prime minister. The King appoints all other ministers, who 
appoint subordinate officials with cabinet concurrence.
    Reportedly, some criticized the limited responsibilities of the 
municipal advisory councils that reviewed and provided recommendations 
on administrative and budgetary issues. Only male, nonmilitary citizens 
of at least 21 years of age could vote in the nationwide 2005 elections 
for 592 seats on 178 municipal advisory councils (half of the total 
seats). Women were not permitted either to vote or to stand for office. 
Unofficial estimates were between 10 and 15 percent of eligible voters 
actually voted. The King completed the formation of the councils in 
December 2005, by appointing 592 men to fill the other half of the 
council seats.
    The 1992 Basic Law also created the Consultative Council that 
reviews, votes on, and provides recommendations to the King on 
legislation proposed by the ministries. The Consultative Council 
consists of 150 appointed male members and is divided into 11 
committees. During the year the council appointed six women as part-
time consultants on matters of family and women's issues. The 
Government generally accepted amendments made by the council. The 
Consultative Council held hearings with some government officials to 
review the performance of their ministries and has the power to request 
documents from government ministries.
    On June 27, for the first time, the Consultative Council rejected a 
proposed government policy to raise the salaries of members of the 
religious police.
    The Supreme Ulema Council is another advisory body to the King and 
the cabinet (see section 1.e.). It reviews the Government's public 
policies for compliance with Shari'a. The Government viewed the council 
as an important source of religious legitimacy and took the council's 
opinions into account when promulgating legislation.
    Communication between citizens and the Government traditionally has 
been expressed through client-patron relationships and by affinity 
groups such as tribes, families, and professional hierarchies. During 
the year King Abdullah visited all 13 provinces and held a variety of 
meetings with citizens throughout the country, including women. 
Ministers and district governors could be approached for discussion at 
a majlis, which were held on a regular basis.
    Since 1992 various groups, including women and Shi'a, have 
submitted petitions calling for reform.
    During the year three groups led by exiles advocated for a change 
in government. On April 30, the London-based Movement for Islamic 
Reform in Arabia (MIRA) brought its satellite Islah TV back on air 
using the hot-bird satellite after years of having been blocked because 
of government pressure on the French satellite provider. Since its 
establishment in 1996, MIRA has claimed it advocates the peaceful 
overthrow of the royal family. The head of MIRA and host of Islah TV, 
Saad Al-Fagih, was a supporter of terrorism and provided financial and 
material support to al Qa'ida and Usama bin Laden. Previously, MIRA and 
the London-based extremist Committee for the Defense of Legitimate 
Rights (CDLR) had advocated overthrowing the monarchy by force. MIRA 
and the CDLR criticized the Government, using the Internet and 
satellite radio stations. On August 11, MIRA unsuccessfully tried to 
spark protests in the country. In October 2004, MIRA and CDLR also 
attempted to organize from London protests within the country but were 
unsuccessful largely due to their unpopularity with the public (see 
sections 1.d. and 2.b.).
    On August 9, a Paris-based group, the Saudi Democratic Opposition 
Front (SDOF), announced its formation and called for the peaceful 
overthrow of the monarchy. It claimed a ``desire for democracy'' and an 
enhancement in liberties in society. The SDOF stated it will coordinate 
its activities with other opponents of the Government, chiefly MIRA. 
The SDOF is led by 72-year-old Prince Talal Mohammed Al-Rashid, the son 
of the last ruler of the Rashidi emirate whose capital was in Hail. Al-
Rashid has lived in exile in France since 1980. There was no subsequent 
reported activity by this group.
    There were no women or religious minorities in the cabinet. At 
least four of the 150-member Consultative Council were Shi'a.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of corruption on the part of some members of the 
royal family and the executive branch of the Government. In the 
Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking of countries 
in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among 
public officials and politicians, the kingdom was considered to have a 
serious corruption problem.
    The absence of transparency in government accounts and in decision 
making encouraged this perception. There are no laws providing for 
public access to government information. Information concerning 
specific instances, allegations regarding corruption, or government 
actions against corruption was not available to the public, although 
allegations were known to those with access to foreign media.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government viewed its interpretation of Islamic law as the only 
necessary guide to protect human rights. The MOI licenses and monitors 
compliance with rules and regulations by NGOs, including professional 
associations, charities, and social organizations. The two licensed 
domestic human rights organizations operated in a restricted ambit, 
reliant on government support. The one nonlicensed human rights 
organization, HRFS, operated without legal status.
    On a number of occasions, the local media quoted HRFS President 
Ibrahim Al-Mugaiteeb and reported on HRFS operations. After having 
previously been deprived of his passport, Al-Mugaiteeb made several 
trips into and out of the country. He was also made a member of the 
HRC.
    The NSHR, which was originally endowed by King Fahd, continued to 
receive requests for assistance and complaints about the Government. 
Since its creation in March 2004, the NSHR has received approximately 
7,000 complaints. Most of its members are academics, and two of its 
former members are ministers (social affairs, and education). Ten of 
its 41 members were women. The NSHR has established offices in Jeddah, 
Dammam, Riyadh, and Jizan. By year's end it claimed to have handled 
more than 6,000 complaints, international as well as domestic, 
including ``political injustices, administrative corruption, and 
reports by expatriate workers alleging abuse.'' The NSHR prefers to 
resolve cases by working with government agencies rather than filing 
court cases. The NSHR reported government officials cooperated with 
requests for information and action to resolve complaints.
    On December 25, King Abdullah announced the appointment of the 24 
members of the HRC board of directors. This specialized government 
organization has broad powers and reports directly to the King. 
Headquartered in Riyadh, the HRC was designed to protect, raise 
awareness of, and ensure the implementation of human rights in line 
with Shari'a rule. The HRC chairman has ministerial rank.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, but not 
nationality. Racial discrimination occurred. There is legal and 
systemic discrimination based on gender. The Government and private 
organizations cooperated in providing services for persons with 
disabilities; however, there is no legislation mandating public access. 
The Shi'a minority continued to suffer social, legal, economic, and 
political discrimination (see section 2.c.).

    Women.--Shari'a prohibits abuse and violence against all innocent 
persons, including women. Although the Government did not keep 
statistics on spousal abuse or other forms of violence against women, 
reportedly such violence and abuse were common problems. Hospital 
workers reported many women were admitted for treatment of injuries 
apparently the result of spousal violence. Even though hospitals are 
now required to report any suspicious injuries to authorities, they are 
not appropriately trained to meet this requirement.
    Foreign embassies received many reports that employers abused 
foreign women working as domestic servants. Some embassies with large 
domestic servant populations maintained safe houses for citizens 
fleeing work situations that included forced confinement, withholding 
of food, nonpayment of salaries, beating, physical abuse, and rape. 
Often female citizens were accused of committing many of the reported 
abuses (see section 5, Trafficking in Persons).
    During the year the media reported more frequently on cases 
involving domestic abuse of women, servants, and children. Over 500 
cases were reported. There were more reports about employers punished 
for abuse of domestic servants.
    On August 19, the daily tabloid Al-Shams published a two-page 
investigative report on girls fleeing their homes due to domestic 
violence. The girls usually went to one of the social care houses, 
where they may be abused by supervisors. Some girls committed suicide 
because of mistreatment and the fear of being sent back to their 
families.
    On August 20, ASharq Al-Awsat reported that the kingdom took actual 
steps to establish courts dealing with domestic violence. Specialists 
and activists against domestic violence called for increasing the 
number of social care houses and developing their services in order to 
protect victims.
    The Justice Ministry acknowledged the large scale of the problem. 
The social affairs ministry's department of social protection conducted 
a study on domestic abuse in order to draft appropriate laws to protect 
women and children. The social affairs ministry also reportedly 
coordinated with other ministries to raise awareness. Nevertheless, the 
Government considered such cases generally to be family matters and did 
not intervene unless charges of abuse were brought to its attention. 
Increasingly, the NSHR investigated and instigated court cases against 
allegations of physical and sexual abuse. These cases usually involved 
abuse by a husband or father. The NSHR advocated for tougher laws and 
sentences for abuse. It was difficult for noncitizen women to obtain 
redress in the courts due to the courts' strict evidentiary rules, and 
the women and servants' own fear of reprisals.
    Prostitution is illegal. However, some women (and men), primarily 
noncitizens, reportedly engaged in prostitution. The extent of 
prostitution was not known.
    Law and custom discriminated against women. Although they have the 
right to own property and are entitled to financial support from 
husbands or male relatives, women have few political or social rights 
and were not treated as equal members of society. There were no active 
women's rights groups per se. Women's rights were openly discussed 
during the Gulf Businesswomen's Forum and in the National Dialogue 
forums from April 3 to 5 in which women participated. NSHR also 
addressed various women's rights issues. Women may not legally drive 
motor vehicles and were restricted in their use of public facilities 
when men were present. Women must enter city buses by separate rear 
entrances and sit in specially designated sections. Women risked arrest 
by the religious police for riding in a vehicle driven by a male who 
was not an employee or a close male relative.
    The law provides that women may not be admitted to a hospital for 
medical treatment without the consent of a male relative; however, this 
was not generally enforced. According to law and custom, women may not 
undertake domestic or foreign travel alone (see section 2.d.).
    All women require the permission (for an ``exit visa'') of a 
citizen male to travel, usually the husband or the father though 
sometimes the eldest son or eldest brother. This applies to all women, 
including noncitizen spouses of citizen men. Children, including dual 
national children, also require travel authorizations by a citizen 
male, and males under the age of 21 require the father's consent for 
issuance of their first passports. If a husband refuses to grant 
permission to travel to his wife, including noncitizen wives, the wife 
cannot travel. For noncitizen wives, in order to depart the country the 
only alternative is to divorce the husband, in which case the 
Government could issue her an exit visa. In this case, if the woman has 
children she would not be allowed to take them with her, and it is 
unlikely she would be allowed to re-enter the country.
    In public, a woman was expected to wear an abaya (a black garment 
that covers the entire body) and also to cover her head and hair. The 
religious police 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. 
During the year religious police admonished and harassed citizen and 
noncitizen women who failed to wear an abaya and hair cover.
    Women were also subject to discrimination under Shari'a as 
interpreted by the Government, which stipulates daughters receive half 
the inheritance awarded to their brothers. While Shari'a provides women 
with a basis to own and dispose of property independently, women were 
often constrained from asserting such rights because of various legal 
and societal barriers, especially regarding employment and freedom of 
movement. In a Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of 
two women (see section 1.e.). Although Islamic law permits as many as 
four wives, polygamy was less common due to demographic and economic 
changes. Islamic law enjoins a man to treat each wife equally. In 
practice, such equality was left to the discretion of the husband. The 
Government placed greater restrictions on women than on men regarding 
marriage to noncitizens and non-Muslims (see section 1.f.).
    Women had to demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but 
men may divorce without giving cause. In doing so, men were required to 
immediately pay an amount of money agreed upon at the time of the 
marriage, which serves as a one-time alimony payment. Women who 
demonstrate legal grounds for divorce also were entitled to this 
alimony. Some women claimed their husbands refused to sign the final 
divorce papers, leaving the women in a state of limbo, unable to 
travel, obtain a business license, attend a university or college, or 
seek hospital care. If divorced or widowed, a Muslim woman normally may 
keep her children until they attain a specified age: seven years for 
boys and nine years for girls. Custody of children over these ages was 
awarded to the divorced husband or the deceased husband's family. 
Numerous divorced foreign women continued to be prevented by their 
former husbands from visiting their children after divorce.
    Women had access to free but segregated education through the 
university level. They constituted more than 58 percent of all 
university students but were limited to studying such subjects as 
engineering, journalism, and architecture. Approximately 5 to 7 percent 
of government scholarships for studying overseas are given to women. 
Men may study overseas; the law provides that women may do so only if 
accompanied by a spouse or male guardian. The Government paid the fees 
for a male guardian (or in some cases an older female guardian) to 
accompany female Saudi students on scholarships. In practice families 
rather than legal requirements decided whether women studied overseas 
without a guardian.
    During the year there was increased attention in the press to 
women's issues, including gender discrimination, domestic abuse, 
health, rising divorce rates, employment, driving, and legal problems 
women face in the business world. Six women advised members of the 
Consultative Council (see section 3). Other women provided advice in 
private, closed-door sessions or through female members of the royal 
family. The two women elected to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce 
continued to guide this organization. In February women also ran as 
candidates for the board of directors of the Eastern Province Chamber 
of Commerce and Industry; however, none were elected. The woman elected 
to the board of directors of the Saudi Engineers Council continued to 
guide the organization. On June 30, the Jeddah Literary Club held its 
first literary and cultural event for women.
    Most employment opportunities for women were in education and 
health care. Despite limited educational opportunities in many 
professional fields, some female citizens were able to study abroad and 
returned to work in professions such as architecture and journalism. 
The Justice Ministry agreed to license female lawyers who had 
previously been unable to practice law even though they had completed 
law degrees abroad or worked in law firms outside the country. Female 
lawyers, however, may not represent clients in court. Many foreign 
women worked as domestic servants and nurses.
    In August the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued regulations 
allowing female engineers to open their own engineering offices. One 
female engineer opened her own engineering office a few weeks after 
this decision.
    Women who wished to enter nontraditional fields were subject to 
discrimination. Women may not accept jobs in rural areas if there are 
no adult male relatives present with whom they may reside and who agree 
to take responsibility for them. Most workplaces in which women were 
present were segregated by gender. Frequently, contact with a male 
supervisor or client was allowed only by video conference, telephone, 
or fax machine. However, the degree of segregation varied by region, 
with the central region having the most restrictions and the eastern 
and western regions more relaxed. Despite gender segregation, the law 
provides women the right to obtain business licenses for work in fields 
that might require supervision of foreign workers, interact with male 
clients, or deal on a regular basis with government officials.
    While there is no law prohibiting women from obtaining licenses to 
open businesses, they face many obstacles. Applications for licenses in 
most sectors were denied because most governing ministries did not have 
women's sections that could monitor the business. Even though the 
commerce ministry abolished the requirement for a woman to have a male 
representative with her whenever conducting business transactions with 
the Government, reportedly many government agencies still insisted on 
this requirement.
    In hospital settings and in the energy industry, women and men 
worked together, and, in some instances, women supervised male 
employees. During the year the Government allowed female citizen radio 
news broadcasters to work for the first time. The September 2005 labor 
law expanded the right of women to maternity leave and required 
employers to provide child care if they employed 50 or more female 
employees.

    Children.--The Government provided all citizen children with free 
education and medical care. Children were segregated by gender in 
schools, usually beginning at the age of 7; however, schools were 
integrated through the fourth grade, or around the ages of 10 and 11, 
in some areas.
    Abuse of children was a problem, although it was difficult to gauge 
the prevalence of child abuse, since the Government kept no national 
statistics on such cases. Although in general the culture greatly 
prizes children, studies by citizen female doctors indicated that 
severe abuse and neglect of children appeared to be more widespread 
than previously reported. At least three NGOs, one in Riyadh, one in 
Qasim, and one in Jeddah, run shelters for women and children. The 
press has also raised national consciousness about the problem.
    The education ministry continued to teach children their rights 
under the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
    During the year there were reports that the Government 
discriminated against noncitizen children on the basis of national 
origin, denying them access to education and emergency health care. HRW 
reported the Government targeted Chadian children that had been born in 
Saudi Arabia.

    Trafficking in Persons.--There is no specific antitrafficking law. 
However, most forms of trafficking are criminalized under existing 
statutes. A 2004 ministerial decree specifically prohibits all forms of 
trafficking. The Government issued implementing regulations for the 
September 2005 labor law. Domestic laborers are not protected under the 
country's labor law. The majority of cases involving trafficking were 
settled out of court by mediation and settlements, and criminal 
prosecutions against abusive employers were few.
    The country is a destination country for workers from Bangladesh, 
India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Some foreign workers 
were subjected to conditions which constituted involuntary servitude, 
including nonpayment of wages, debt bondage, confinement, and physical 
or psychological intimidation. Cases of physical and sexual abuse were 
also reported. Domestic employees were especially vulnerable to abuse. 
Children were also reportedly trafficked into begging rings.
    The Government took minimal measures to protect trafficking 
victims. Due to a lack of victim identification procedures in 
deportation centers and police stations, it is believed that many 
victims of trafficking are deported or arrested rather than afforded 
sensitive protection services. Some victims were protected at one of 
three shelters run by the Ministry of Social Affairs operating in 
Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah, but most victims feared arrest or 
deportation if approaching government authorities due to their status 
as runaways (technically illegal); as such, most victims fled directly 
to their respective embassies to await repatriation.
    The Government reportedly assists some trafficking victims with 
shelter, access to legal and medical services, and temporary residency 
status, which includes temporary relief from deportation. Trafficking 
victims are reportedly treated at public hospitals.
    Foreign laborers', including domestic workers', passports were 
often illegally retained by their employers sometimes resulting in 
forced labor. Foreign nationals who have been recruited abroad have, 
after their arrival in the country, been presented with work contracts 
that specified lower wages and fewer benefits than originally promised. 
A small number of noncitizen women were thought to engage in 
prostitution, comprising a minor element of the trafficking problem in 
the kingdom (see sections 5, 6.c., and 6.e.).
    Most victims prefer to settle their cases out of court due to the 
length of time it takes to receive a judgment and a perception of bias 
toward citizens of the country by the judicial system. On August 9, a 
Filipina maid fled her sponsor after allegedly enduring seven months of 
physical abuse. The police arrested her sponsor who confessed and paid 
an out-of-court settlement of approximately $8,000 (30,000 SR). On 
September 12, an Indonesian maid was allegedly beaten by her sponsor's 
wife. She settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. On November 
6, nine Nepalese women who claimed to have suffered physical and verbal 
abuse during their employment as maids in the country were repatriated 
to Nepal.
    On August 26, Al-Shams presented an investigative report entitled 
``Girls for Sale'' claiming trafficking of Yemeni girls into the 
country had increased recently. Allegedly, trafficking gangs were 
bringing the girls to marry men illegally. ``Marriage matcher'' Um 
Mohammed said she looks for men seeking a Yemeni girl and charges 
$2,666 (10,000 SR). Trafficking takes two forms: men travel to Yemen, 
select their prospective wives, then smuggle them into the country for 
$1,333 (5,000 SR); or gangs smuggle Yemeni girls into the country for 
marriage at $2,666 (10,000 SR).
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs heads a multi-agency working group 
on combating trafficking in persons. The group includes representation 
from the Ministries of Labor, Interior, Justice, Culture and 
Information, Hajj, and the Human Rights Commission.
    There were no reports of government or police involvement in 
trafficking during the year.
    The Government uses the media to educate the public about foreign 
workers' rights and trafficking in persons.
    The Government published a brochure outlining noncitizen worker's 
rights and obligations, as well as contact information for seeking help 
and assistance. The brochure was distributed to foreign embassies and 
was available at ports of entry.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no legislation that mandates 
public accessibility; however, newer commercial buildings often 
included such access, as did some newer government buildings. The 
provision of government social services increasingly brought persons 
with disabilities into the public mainstream. The law provides hiring 
quotas for persons with disabilities. The Government and private 
charitable organizations cooperated in education, employment, and other 
services for persons with disabilities.
    During the year the Government took a variety of steps promoting 
more rights for and elimination of discrimination against persons with 
disabilities. The Government established an endowment committee for 
children with disabilities and a supreme council to deal with the 
affairs of the disabled, with the crown prince as chairman. Foreign 
criminal rings reportedly imported children with disabilities for the 
purpose of forced begging (see sections 5, 6.c. and 6.f.). There were 
numerous government-sponsored centers for persons with disabilities, 
including organizations for children with Down syndrome and autism. 
Disabled persons, however, were still hidden away from society and even 
family.
    Police generally transported persons with mental disabilities found 
wandering alone in public to their families or a hospital. Police 
asserted that, according to Islam, family members should be taking care 
of such individuals.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination 
is illegal, there was substantial societal prejudice based on ethnic or 
national origin. Foreign workers from Africa and Asia were subject to 
various forms of formal and informal discrimination and had the most 
difficulty in obtaining justice for their grievances. For example, some 
bilateral agreements governed pay, benefits, and work conditions. 
Consequently, pay scales for identical or similar labor or professional 
services were set by nationality such that two similarly qualified and 
experienced foreign nationals performing the same employment duties 
received varied compensation based on their nationalities.
    Throughout the year the media reported on married couples forced to 
divorce by their in-laws or others because either the husband or wife 
was from ``inappropriate lineage,'' i.e., a nontribal family or from an 
inferior tribe. For example, the half brothers of Fatima Al-Timani 
successfully filed for the divorce of Fatima and her husband Mansour 
Al-Timani because they claimed Mansour had lied about his inferior 
tribal lineage. At year's end his appeal of the divorce was before a 
Riyadh court. In July she chose imprisonment rather than living with 
her half brothers or in a shelter. After the divorce, prison officials 
forbade him from visiting her because the court had voided their 
marriage. At year's end the case remained before the courts.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Under Shari'a as 
interpreted in the kingdom, sexual activity between two people of the 
same gender is punishable by death or flogging. It is illegal for men 
to behave like women or wear women's clothes and for women to wear 
men's clothes (see section 1.c.). There were reports of societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
    There were reports of discrimination, physical violence, and 
harassment toward homosexuals.
    On August 16, the media reported that 250 young men were detained 
and subsequently 20 were arrested at a suspected ``gay wedding'' in 
Jizan.
    On November 7, the media reported that police arrested five men on 
November 2 for preparing to stage a beauty contest for homosexual men. 
The five men had previously been arrested in May for the same offense. 
The police confiscated evaluation sheets, beauty products, make-up, 
lingerie, sex toys, and aphrodisiacs. The media also reported that 
several months before this incident, 92 men had been arrested at a gay 
party in Al-Qatif for wearing women's clothes, make-up, and wigs. At 
year's end none of these men had been sentenced.
    According to a December 23 press report, during the year a 
journalist was arrested for ``harboring destructive thoughts'' and 
accused of promoting homosexuality by commenting on Internet fora that 
homosexuality is caused by genetics. The case was dismissed. The lawyer 
who defended the journalist was criticized for being a ``lawyer for 
homosexuals.''
    Beginning in June the NSHR held meetings to prepare a proposal for 
a system to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and protect HIV/AIDS 
patients in the kingdom. The media reported that there are 11,000 
people living with AIDS in the country. Although the media continued to 
discourage discrimination against AIDS patients and those infected with 
HIV, the press reported that the Government failed to provide proper 
medical treatment to HIV-positive noncitizens and treated them poorly 
until their deportation. The Ministry of Health set up three HIV 
centers that provided diagnostic and preventive services. In September 
the media reported medical staff refused to attend to a pregnant HIV-
positive woman, causing her to miscarry.

    Incitement to Acts of Discrimination.--The Government worked to 
review and revise school textbooks used at schools which it maintains 
inside and outside the kingdom to eliminate intolerant and 
discriminatory language that promotes racial or ethnic hatred or 
incited violence against any racial or ethnic group (see section 2.c.).
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The Basic Law does not address 
freedom of association. The Government prohibited the establishment of 
labor unions; however, since 2001, the Government has authorized the 
establishment of labor committees for citizens in local companies, 
including factories, with more than 100 employees. However, no 
practical steps have been taken to implement this decision.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Neither the 
1992 Basic Law nor the 2005 Labor Law provide for collective 
bargaining. Collective bargaining remained prohibited. Foreign workers 
comprised approximately 88 percent of the work force in the private 
sector.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. The law prohibits employers from retaining 
foreign employees' passports without the employees' consent. This law 
was not well known or enforced, so it was frequently violated. This 
practice sometimes resulted in forced labor, especially in remote areas 
where workers were unable to leave their places of work and cannot 
legally travel without an identity card. In addition some sponsors 
prevented foreign workers from obtaining exit visas to pressure them 
into signing a new work contract or to drop claims against their 
employer for unpaid salary or benefits (see section 2.d.). Finally, 
some sponsors refused to provide foreign workers with a ``letter of no 
objection'' that would allow them to be employed by another sponsor.
    There were many reports of workers whose employers refused to pay 
several months, or even years, of accumulated salary or other promised 
benefits. Many foreign workers went to labor courts, which regularly 
ruled in favor of the workers. Labor courts, while generally fair, 
sometimes took many months to reach a final appellate ruling. Often 
noncitizen workers engaged in a court case against their employers 
cannot legally work, placing an additional burden on the worker and 
compelling a negotiated settlement. Employers sometimes delayed cases 
until a worker's funds were exhausted, and the worker was forced to 
withdraw his case (see section 5).
    The labor ministry established the department for protection of 
foreign workers to address abuse and exploitation of foreign workers 
(such as sexual harassment, mistreatment, and nonpayment of salaries). 
Workers may also submit complaints and seek help from the 37 labor 
ministry offices throughout the country.
    In the first six months of the year, the labor minister banned 75 
companies from obtaining labor visas. Companies were banned for trading 
in visas, nonpayment of employee wages, and for a variety of other 
reasons.
    The law does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor 
by children, and there were a few reports that it occurred (see section 
6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor did not appear to be a problem, with the possible rare 
exceptions of forced child begging rings, and possibly family 
businesses. The Government implemented a regulation requiring that all 
camel jockeys be at least 18 years of age, and there were indications 
it was enforced.
    Under a new labor law, no juvenile under the age of 15 can work in 
a vocational field unless he is the only family worker. There is no 
minimum age for workers employed in family-owned businesses or in other 
areas that are construed as extensions of the household, such as 
farming, herding, and domestic service.
    Children under the age of 18 may not be employed in hazardous or 
harmful industries, such as mining, or industries employing power-
operated machinery. While there is no formal government entity 
responsible for enforcing the minimum age for employment of children, 
the Justice Ministry has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff in the 
few cases that have arisen against alleged violators. In general 
children played a minimal role in the work force.
    Child beggars were reportedly often noncitizens who had been 
trafficked into the country for that purpose or were Hajj or Umra over-
stayers. The social affairs ministry maintained special offices in both 
Mecca and Medina to combat the growing problem of child beggars.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--While there is no official 
minimum wage for citizen workers, the unofficial private sector minimum 
wage was $400 (1,500 SR) per month, which is based on the minimum 
monthly contribution to the pension system. For noncitizen workers, 
there was no official minimum wage. Where they exist, bilateral 
agreements set wages for noncitizen workers. Individual contracts also 
set wages that varied according to the type of work performed and the 
nationality of the worker (see section 5).
    Labor regulations establish a 48-hour work week at regular pay and 
allow employers to require up to 12 additional hours of overtime at 
time-and-a-half pay. Labor law provides for a 24 hour rest period, 
normally on Fridays, although the employer may grant it on another day. 
The labor law increased annual leave for citizen employees from 14 to 
21 days and provided a minimum six-week maternity leave for female 
citizen employees and new requirements to provide child care at places 
of employment. The average wage for citizens generally provided a 
decent standard of living for the worker and family.
    Sources produced varying estimates of the actual rate of citizen 
unemployment. The minister of labor stated the unemployment rate was 5 
percent (because very few citizens enrolled in a recent job placement 
program). The National Statistics Bureau claimed unemployment was 9.6 
percent. Some bankers believed the unemployment rate was 20 percent, 
and a prominent royal and business leader recently stated the number 
was closer to 30 percent. None of these estimates included women, who 
are prohibited from working in the majority of business sectors and 
positions. On May 10, the media reported that the General Organization 
for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) reported it 
had 6,971 female trainees for cashiering, receptionist, and other 
``appropriate'' vocational areas and had trained over 10,000 as a 
practical step to add women to the workforce. In September GOTEVOT 
reported it opened a number of colleges for women in the country.
    Approximately 80 percent of all working citizens worked directly 
for the Government. Indirectly, nearly all citizens worked for the 
Government in one way or another if those working for parastatals, such 
as Saudi Arabian Airlines and Saudi Aramco, were included. According to 
the Government, citizen workers accounted for only 12 percent, less 
than 800,000 of the approximately 6.76 million persons employed in the 
private sector; foreign nationals held the remaining 88 percent of the 
jobs (see section 6.b.).
    Labor regulations require employers to protect most workers from 
job-related hazards and disease. However, foreign nationals reported 
frequent failures to enforce health and safety standards. Farmers, 
herdsmen, domestic servants, and workers in family-operated businesses 
were not covered by these regulations.
    Foreign nationals who have been recruited abroad have, after their 
arrival in the country, been presented with work contracts that 
specified lower wages and fewer benefits than originally promised. 
Other foreign workers have signed contracts in their home countries and 
later were pressured to sign less favorable contracts upon arrival. 
Some employees reported that, at the end of their contract service, 
their employers refused to grant permission to allow them to return 
home. Recognizing this issue, the authorities have created a booklet on 
foreign workers' rights that was distributed at ports of entry and 
foreign embassies in the country.
    The labor laws, including those designed to limit working hours and 
regulate working conditions, did not apply to foreign domestic 
servants, who may not seek the protection of the labor courts. However, 
the bilateral labor agreements stipulate work conditions which provide 
for one day of rest per week. There were credible reports that female 
domestic servants were sometimes forced to work 16 to 20 hours per day, 
seven days per week. There were numerous confirmed reports of maids 
fleeing employers and seeking refuge in their embassies or consulates 
(see section 5). Foreign embassies continued to receive reports of 
employers abusing domestic servants. Such abuse included withholding of 
food, beatings, other physical abuse, and rape (see section 5).
    The Government has established welfare shelters to house female 
domestic servants who flee their place of work. The Government offered 
arbitration between the worker and employer and investigated 
allegations of abuse. Allegations were either settled in court or 
through negotiation.
    The campaign to remove illegal immigrants from the country did 
little to reduce unemployment or to increase the number of jobs held by 
citizens. Illegal immigrants worked in positions that most citizens 
considered unworthy. The Government carried out the campaign to remove 
the illegal aliens by widely publicizing its enforcement of existing 
laws against both the illegal aliens and the citizens employing or 
sponsoring them.
    The expeditious repatriation of some illegal immigrants and the 
legalization of others improved overall working conditions for legally 
employed foreigners. Illegal immigrants generally were willing to 
accept lower salaries and fewer benefits than legally employed 
immigrants. The departure or legalization of illegal workers reduced 
the competition for certain jobs and thereby reduced the incentive for 
legal immigrants to accept lower wages and fewer benefits. Furthermore, 
their departure or legalization removed a large portion of the class of 
workers most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of their 
illegal status.

                               __________

                                 SYRIA

    Syria, with a population of approximately 19 million, is a republic 
under the authoritarian Presidential regime of Bashar al-Asad. The 
President makes key decisions with counsel from a small circle of 
security advisors, his ministers, and senior members of the ruling 
Ba'ath Party (Arab Socialist Resurrection). In 2000 an unopposed 
referendum confirmed President al-Asad for a seven-year term. The 
constitution mandates the primacy of Ba'ath party leaders in state 
institutions and the parliament; party leaders influenced all three 
branches of the Government. The civilian authorities maintained 
effective control of the security forces, and members of the security 
forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses.
    The Government's human rights record remained poor, and it 
continued to commit serious abuses. There were significant limitations 
on citizens' rights to change their government. In a climate of 
impunity, there were instances of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of 
life, and members of the security forces tortured and physically abused 
prisoners and detainees. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and 
detained individuals, while lengthy pretrial and incommunicado 
detention remained serious problems. Beginning in April 2005 and 
continuing throughout the following year, the Government increasingly 
violated citizens' privacy rights and stepped-up already significant 
restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association 
amidst an atmosphere of government corruption and lack of transparency. 
Violence and societal discrimination continued against women. The 
Government discriminated against minorities, particularly the Kurds, 
and severely restricted workers' rights.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year 
there were reports of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life. 
According to local human rights groups, one person died in detention 
following torture or mistreatment by security services during the year. 
On April 24, a local human rights organization reported on the death of 
Muhammed Shaher Haysa as a result of a heart attack while detained. His 
body, which was handed over to his family in April, bore evidence of 
earlier torture during the months of his imprisonment for allegedly 
belonging to the banned ``Jund al-Sham'' Islamist organization (see 
section 1.c.).
    Press reports indicated that a Syrian Kurd, Muhammed Oso Ali, 
reportedly died in March as a result of an untreated case of asthma. 
Ali was completing his mandatory service in the armed forces in the 
village of Khirbit Shahab at his time of death. On March 30, his family 
received his body, which displayed evidence of torture prior to his 
death (see section 1.c.).
    Authorities failed to conduct independent investigations into these 
deaths by year's end.
    In March, June, September, and December, Chief Investigator for the 
UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) Serge 
Brammertz issued interim reports to the UN secretary-general of the 
still ongoing investigation into the February 2005 Beirut assassination 
of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 other 
individuals. In October 2005, the first interim report concluded that 
evidence pointed toward the involvement of Syrian authorities in the 
assassination of al-Hariri. The December 2005 report stated that the 
ongoing investigation reinforced the conclusions of the October report 
and requested a six-month extension, noting Syrian authorities' 
``reluctance and procrastination'' and citing its attempt to ``hinder 
the investigation internally and procedurally.'' The March, June, 
September, and December reports described general satisfactory 
cooperation from Syrian authorities into the investigation, neither 
concluding nor ruling out their possible involvement.
    In 2005 according to human rights organizations, four persons died 
in detention due to security service torture or mistreatment. 
Authorities failed to conduct independent investigations into these 
cases by year's end.
    Authorities also failed to investigate and publish findings in the 
following cases from 2004. International and domestic human rights 
organizations reported that 13 citizens died in detention due to 
torture or mistreatment by the security services. Six of the 13 were 
reportedly Kurdish men in the military who died under suspicious 
circumstances. Additionally, in March 2004 five died in detention after 
Kurdish riots.
    During the year the Government did not bring charges against an 
off-duty Sunni military officer and his brother for the 2004 killing of 
two Assyrian Christians in Hassakeh Province. There were also no 
hearings in the civil case against the police and the Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) on behalf of Firas Abdallah, who died in police custody 
in 2004 in Damascus as a result of beatings.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated 
disappearances during the year.
    Since his 2004 arrest, Kamal al-Bittar, a Palestinian, has 
vanished, according to a February report of a local human rights 
organization.
    On April 19, security forces in Aleppo arrested the following 
citizens: Jihan Muhammed Ali, Adnan Khalil Racheed, Waheed Jihad 
Moustafa, and Fawzi Ali Kahwa. Their whereabouts and reasons for arrest 
were unknown at year's end, according to human rights organizations.
    On May 11, security officials arrested eight Ahwazi Iranians (see 
section 1.d.), five of whom were deported and believed to be held in 
Iran at year's end, according to international human rights 
organizations.
    On August 10, writer and English teacher Ali Sayed al-Shihabi 
initially disappeared after responding to a summons for a meeting in 
Damascus with state security agents. According to international human 
rights groups, although he has not been charged with any offence, al-
Shihabi's disappearance may be linked to his publication on political 
and social issues. Al-Shihabi was reportedly also detained between 1982 
and 1991 for his membership in the banned Party for Communist Action, 
which he has since left. On December 30, despite his disappearance, Al-
Shihabi was pardoned as part of the year-end amnesty; however, he 
remained detained at an unknown location at year's end.
    On November 6, a local human rights organization reported the 
September 4 disappearance on his return to the country of Osama 
Muhammed Ali al-Ello, a citizen who resided with his family in the 
United Arab Emirates. At year's end his whereabouts remained unknown.
    The Government did not punish any members of the security forces 
for their roles in abductions and disappearances.
    The Government continued to withhold new information on the welfare 
and whereabouts of persons who have disappeared; little is known other 
than the approximate date of their disappearance. A local human rights 
organization recorded at least three thousand disappearance cases in 
the country of Syrians and Palestinians since the late 1970s, and 
estimated that the actual number may be several thousands more.
    The Government has a long history of persons who disappeared and 
were believed to have died or to be in long-term detention (see section 
1.e.).
    In 1999 the Government claimed it had released all Palestinian, 
Jordanian, and Lebanese citizens reportedly abducted from Lebanon 
during and after its civil war (1975-91). According to Human Rights 
Watch (HRW), an estimated 17,000 Lebanese citizens and stateless 
Palestinians were ``disappeared'' by security forces in the early 1990s 
alone. Various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and family members 
of those who allegedly remained in prison continued to dispute the 
Government's claim that all abductees had been released (see section 
1.d.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the penal code 
provides punishment for abusers. Under article 28 of the constitution, 
``no one may be tortured physically or mentally or treated in a 
humiliating manner.'' However, security forces continued to use torture 
frequently.
    In recent years local human rights organizations have cited 
numerous cases of security forces allegedly abusing and torturing 
prisoners, including 49 Kurds who went on trial during the year in a 
Damascus military court for their involvement in a June 2005 
demonstration in the Hassakeh Province (see section 5). Torture and 
abuse of detainees was also reportedly common.
    Former prisoners, detainees, and reputable local human rights 
groups reported that methods of torture and abuse included electrical 
shocks; pulling out fingernails; burning genitalia; forcing objects 
into the rectum; beating, sometimes while the victim was suspended from 
the ceiling; alternately dousing victims with freezing water and 
beating them in extremely cold rooms; hyperextending the spine; bending 
the detainees into the frame of a wheel and whipping exposed body 
parts; and using a backward-bending chair to asphyxiate the victim or 
fracture the victim's spine. Amnesty International (AI) asserts that it 
has documented 38 types of torture and ill-treatment used against 
detainees in the country. Torture was most likely to occur while 
detainees were held at one of the many detention centers operated by 
the various security services throughout the country, particularly 
while authorities attempted to extract a confession or information.
    On April 24, a local human rights group reported that the body of 
Muhammed Shaher Haysa, handed over to his family at the military 
hospital in Harasta, Damascus, showed evidence of torture (see section 
1.a.).
    On August 8, according to local human rights groups, a 40 year-old 
detained Kurdish woman activist, Naimah Abdu Bint Muhammed, was taken 
to a military hospital after allegedly being subjected to severe 
torture. She remained detained at year's end.
    On October 12, according to press reports, three Canadian citizens 
suspected of al-Qa'ida links reported upon their return to Canada that 
they were tortured by Syrian authorities and that foreign security 
officials had supplied authorities with intelligence and questions to 
pose while they were detained in the country. Ahmad al-Maati, Abdullah 
al-Malki, and Muayyed Nureddin, Canadian citizens born in Kuwait, 
Syria, and Iraq, respectively, were detained by military intelligence 
officers during their trips to the country from 2001 to 2004. All three 
men were reportedly released without charges between January and March 
2004.
    On April 26, The Daily Star of Lebanon reported that a French man 
of Lebanese origin who was detained in September 2005 at the Syrian-
Lebanese border by Syrian authorities and later transferred to 
Detention Center 235 (Palestinian Branch), continued his lawsuit in a 
French court against Syrian authorities for exposure to torture and 
``savagery.'' The man, identified in press articles as Charles F., was 
held for 10 days, during which he was reportedly beaten with electrical 
cables, kicked, and forced to watch other prisoners being tortured.
    Past victims of torture have identified the officials who tortured 
them as up to the level of brigadier general. In past years when 
allegations of excessive force or physical abuse were made in court, 
the plaintiff was instructed to raise the matter in a separate civil 
suit against the alleged abuser. However, no action was taken against 
the accused. There were no confirmed cases or new allegations during 
the year. Courts did not order medical examinations for defendants who 
claimed that they were tortured (see section 1.e.).
    Police beat and mistreated detainees during the year. In May, 
security forces reportedly beat human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, 
Atassi Forum member Mahmoud Mahfouz, and activist Nidal Darwish during 
questioning at investigatory branches, following their arrest for 
signing the Damascus-Beirut Declaration (see section 1.d.). In 
addition, Ali Abdullah, a signatory of the Damascus-Beirut Declaration, 
was also beaten by security forces.
    In March 2005 Safwat Abdallah died following a police beating in 
Lattakia. In November 2005 human rights activist Dr. Kamal al-Labwani 
reported to other human rights observers that he had been struck four 
times by a security official while in political security custody and 
had not been given food for four days. Dr. Labwani was detained earlier 
that same month by authorities at Damascus International Airport 
following a three month-long trip abroad (see section 1.d.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally were poor and did not meet international standards for health 
and sanitation. At some prisons security officials demanded bribes from 
family members. Overcrowding and the denial of food remained problems 
at several prisons.
    According to local and international human rights organizations, 
prisoners and detainees were held without adequate medical care, and 
some prisoners with significant health problems reportedly were denied 
medical treatment. Throughout the year, local and international human 
rights organizations highlighted the case of political prisoner Arif 
Dalila, arrested in 2001 as part of the Damascus Spring crackdown, who 
suffered from a heart condition that required surgical treatment. Some 
former detainees reported that the Government denied political 
prisoners access to reading materials, including the Koran.
    There were separate detention facilities for men, women, and 
children; several reports cited minors being held in adult facilities. 
Pretrial detainees, particularly those held for political or security 
reasons, were usually held separately from convicted prisoners. 
However, according to local human rights organizations, political 
prisoners were sometimes deliberately placed in crowded cells with 
convicted and alleged felons and subjected to verbal and physical 
threats. The Government failed to provide adequate security for 
prisoners and detainees during the year. For example, in May there were 
reports that other prisoners beat political prisoner Fateh Jammous (see 
section 1.d.), and that prison officials failed to move Jammous to 
another cell. Additionally, on November 1, according to local human 
rights activists, another prisoner attacked opposition leader Kamal al-
Labwani (see section 1.e.) in his cell. During his November trial 
hearing, Labwani reported on the beatings carried out by inmates and 
instigated by the authorities.
    Facilities for political or national security prisoners generally 
were worse than those for common criminals. Released political 
detainees confirmed reports of poor prison conditions, including 
overcrowded cells and a shortage of beds. For example, a December 2005 
AI report indicated that Syrian-born German national Muhammad Haydar 
Zammar (see section 1.b.) may have spent almost three years in solitary 
confinement at the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence. He was 
reportedly detained in a small underground cell which hindered his 
ability to lie down or stand up.
    The Government prohibited any independent monitoring of prison or 
detention center conditions and publishing of any materials on prison 
or detention center conditions; however, diplomatic and consular 
officials were granted access in some cases during the year. In almost 
all cases during the year, the Government neglected to inform 
diplomatic missions when their citizens were arrested.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice these activities 
persisted and remained significant problems.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The role of the 
security services extends far beyond necessary security matters due to 
a state of emergency, which has been in place since 1963. The 
Government justifies the ongoing Emergency Law on the basis of its 
conflict with Israel and threats from terrorist groups. Syrian Military 
Intelligence (SMI) and Air Force Intelligence are military agencies; 
the MOI exercises nominal control over general security, state 
security, and political security.
    The MOI controlled the police forces, which consist of four 
separate divisions: emergency police, traffic police, neighborhood 
police, and riot police.
    There are four major branches of security forces--Syrian Military 
Intelligence, Political Security Directorate (PSD), General 
Intelligence Directorate (GID), and Syrian Air Force Intelligence 
(SAFI)--all of which devote some of their overlapping resources to 
monitoring internal dissent and individual citizens. The four branches 
operate independently and generally outside of the control of the legal 
system.
    Corruption continued to be a serious problem throughout the police 
forces and security services. Human rights lawyers and family members 
of detainees cited solicitation of bribes for favorable decisions and 
provision of basic services by government officials throughout the 
legal process in both courts and prisons. Traffic police officers 
regularly solicited bribes from drivers.

    Arrest and Detention.--Upon arrest, an individual is brought to a 
police station for processing and detained until a trial date is set. 
At the initial court hearing, which may be months or years after 
arrest, the accused may retain an attorney at personal expense or be 
assigned a court-appointed attorney. The individual is then tried in a 
court, where a judge renders a verdict (see section 1.e.). While the 
prison code provides for prompt access to family members, human rights 
organizations and families reported inconsistent application of the 
code, with reports of some families waiting up to a year for access to 
relatives.
    The 1963 Emergency Law authorizes the Government to conduct 
preventive arrests and overrides constitutional and penal code 
provisions against arbitrary arrest and detention, including the need 
to obtain warrants. 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 court 
personnel. Suspects were detained incommunicado for prolonged periods 
without charge or trial and denied the right to a judicial 
determination regarding pretrial detention. Human rights organizations 
reported that many detainees were not informed of charges against them 
until their arraignment, which often was months after their arrest. 
Additionally, those suspected of political or national security 
offenses were arrested and prosecuted under ambiguous and broad 
articles of the penal code and subsequently tried in either the 
criminal or security courts.
    There were reliable reports that the Government did not notify 
foreign governments when their citizens were arrested or detained, or 
did so only after the person was released or deported. For example, in 
the case of an Iranian Ahwazi refugee with Dutch nationality (see 
section 2.d.), the Government informed his embassy of his deportation 
in August, three months after he was deported to Iran.
    Detainees have no legal redress for false arrest. The authorities 
detained those critical of the Government under the Emergency Law and 
charged them with treason.
    In cases before regular courts, judges render verdicts. There are 
no juries, and lawyers were not ensured access to their clients before 
trial (see section 1.e.).
    Defendants in civil and criminal trials have the right to bail 
hearings and possible release from detention on their own recognizance. 
However, this right was not applied consistently throughout the legal 
system. On September 5, a higher court granted an appeal for bail for 
Muhammed Mahfouz, who was detained earlier in the year with several 
other activists for having signed a document called the Damascus-Beirut 
Declaration calling for reconciliation between Syria and Lebanon. Later 
in September, three others arrested at the same time were granted bail. 
In October, two other activists who faced similar charges were denied 
bail.
    Unlike defendants in regular criminal and civil cases, security 
detainees did not have access to lawyers prior to or during 
questioning, as well as throughout the preparation and presentation of 
their defense.
    Incommunicado detention was a severe problem. Many persons who 
disappeared in past years were believed to be in long-term detention 
without charge or possibly to have died in detention (see section 
1.b.). Many detainees brought to trial were held incommunicado for 
years, and their trials often were marked by irregularities and lack of 
due process. Arrest and search warrants were issued only for 
nonsecurity related cases; however, police bypassed this requirement in 
many instances by claiming security or emergency grounds for entry. 
Many criminal suspects were held in pretrial detention for months and 
may have had their trials extended for additional months. Protracted 
court proceedings were caused by a shortage of available courts and the 
absence of legal provisions for a speedy trial or plea bargaining (see 
section 1.e.).
    During the year human rights organizations estimated that security 
forces increased arrests for alleged ties to radical Islam. For 
example, on April 19, 20 men were arrested in the city of Dara'a on 
allegations that they belonged to the Islamist group, Hezb al-Tahrir. 
On April 21, three other men were arrested on similar charges upon 
their return from Lebanon. In June following an attack on the Radio and 
Television Building in Damascus, the Government publicly stated the 
perpetrators were from an extremist Islamic group. Security forces 
subsequently arrested scores of persons with alleged links to the 
assailants, according to local human rights groups. The number of such 
arrests in 2005 ranged from 80 documented arrests to as high as 500. 
During 2004, security forces conducted mass arrests of suspected 
Islamists in Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Hayaleen, and Qatana (see section 
1.c.). At year's end the suspected Islamists are being held at Sednaya 
prison and are being tried in front of the Supreme State Security Court 
(SSSC).
    Arbitrary arrest and detention was a severe problem. Laws, which 
human rights groups considered arbitrary and unjust, criminalized 
membership and activity in organizations the Government deemed illegal. 
As a result, during the year security forces arrested scores of persons 
with links to local human rights groups; pro-democracy student groups; 
minorities, particularly Kurds; members of the Muslim Brotherhood; and 
suspected Islamic extremists.
    During the year the Government continued its sustained crackdown on 
civil society and human rights activists. For example, on January 14, 
security forces arrested Aleppo City Council employee Fahd Da'doush and 
reportedly transferred him to Damascus on unknown charges, according to 
media and eyewitness reports.
    On January 22, security forces released Ahmet Muhammad Ibrahim, who 
was arrested in March 2005 following his return from Turkey, where he 
was acquitted of membership in Kongra Gel (formerly known as the PKK).
    On February 14, Muhammed Najati Tayara was arrested on the Syria 
side of the border with Jordan for unknown reasons. His detention, 
similar to the February 14 detention of former member of parliament 
(MP) Mamoun al-Homsi and the February 15 detention of former MP Riad 
Seif, occurred during the February 12-16 Damascus visit of Frej 
Fenniche, Acting Representative for the Arab Region of the UN's High 
Commissioner for Human Rights. Tayara was subsequently detained again 
on March 22 and released by the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) 
on March 25.
    On March 5, PSD agents arrested and detained for four days Muhammed 
Riad ad-Drar, the son of jailed civil society activist Riad Hammoud ad-
Drar, in front of the SSSC. He was distributing leaflets calling for 
his father's release at the time of his arrest.
    On March 12, former MP Riad Seif was arrested at a vigil to 
commemorate the March 2004 clashes between Kurds and security forces in 
Qamishli in northeastern Syria (see section 5). Seif was later released 
the same day without charges. Also arrested at the vigil were Zubeir 
Abdulrahman Rajab and Mahmoud Muhammed Ali who were detained for 20 
days before being charged in Damascus Military Court for causing a 
riot; they were released on bail. Zubeir Abdulrahman Rajab was granted 
amnesty on December 30, while the trial of Mahmoud Muhammed Ali 
continued at year's end.
    On March 12, Dr. Ammar Qurabi, spokesman for the Syria-based Arab 
Human Rights Organization, was arrested upon his return to the country 
after a two-month foreign trip. He was held for four days before being 
released with no charges. On March 26, he was again arrested and 
detained for 24 hours.
    On March 25, SMI agents arrested and detained for two days without 
charge Aleppo-based Syrian Free National Party founder and Damascus 
Declaration signatory Samir Nashar. Nashar was prevented from traveling 
abroad in February, according to international human rights groups.
    In March Abd al-Jabbar Ahmed Al-Alaawi and his family were arrested 
after his arrival to the Syrian border from Iraq. His family members 
were released on bail; however, at year's end, he remained in detention 
at an unknown location, according to local human rights groups.
    On April 2, authorities sentenced Abdul Sattar Qattan to death, 
commuted to 12 years in prison, for his alleged membership with the 
Muslim Brotherhood. The military intelligence branch in Aleppo arrested 
Qatan in 2004 for his alleged involvement with members of the Muslim 
Brotherhood and for distributing aid to ex-detainees.
    On May 11, security forces arrested eight Ahwazi Iranians, 
including recognized refugees, and held them incommunicado. An 
international human rights group reported that the detainees were Sa'id 
Awda al-Saki; Faleh Abdullah al-Mansouri; Rasool Mazrae; Taher Ali 
Mazrae; Jamal Obeidi; Musa Suwari; Ahmad Abd al-Jaber Abiat, and Issa 
Yassin al-Musawi. According to the human rights group, a few days after 
the detentions, authorities deported al-Saki, who was a recognized 
refugee by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), back to Iran. 
Suwari, Abiat and Musawi were released several days after their 
detention. In May authorities deported Dutch-national Mansouri back to 
Iran. In November UNHCR officials learned that Rasool Mazrae, Taher Ali 
Mazrae, and Jamal Obeidi, who are recognized by the UNHCR as refugees, 
were also reportedly handed over to the Iranian authorities.
    From May 14 to 18, security agents arrested 12 signatories of the 
Damascus-Beirut Declaration, a petition which called for the 
normalization of Syria-Lebanon relations (see section 2.b.).
    On June 21, authorities released Ghiab Habab after completing his 
six-month sentence. Security forces detained Ghiab in December 2005.
    On August 23, security forces arrested 14 people in the province of 
ar-Raqqah and Idleb for their alleged affiliation with extremist 
Islamist groups. The majority were reportedly released by year's end.
    On September 19, authorities released Dr. Mahmoud Sarem on bail. 
Authorities arrested Sarem in September 2005 and subsequently charged 
him with criticizing the Government and the President in public. His 
trial at the SSSC continued at year's end.
    On November 14, police arrested Murad Khaznawi, son of Sheikh 
Mashook al-Khaznawi (see section 5), while on his way to Jordan with 
his family. He was released the next day.
    On December 13, local observers reported that security forces 
arrested Fa'ik al-Meir in Lattakia. On December 20, an investigating 
judge indicted Meir, a member of the central secretariat of the 
People's Democratic Party in Syria, on several charges, including three 
capital counts.
    On December 20, military intelligence arrested Mohammed Sheikhmos 
Aali (aka Sheikh Aali) in Aleppo. Aali, who is Secretary of the 
Democratic Union Party and a leading figure in the Kurdish political 
movement, remained in custody at year's end without charge.
    On November 19, the SSSC sentenced human rights activist Nizar 
Rastanawi, founding member of the Syrian branch of the Arab 
Organization for Human Rights, to four years in prison for spreading 
false information and defaming the President. In April 2005 security 
forces arrested Rastanawi while returning to his home in Hama and 
detained him incommunicado until August 2005.
    There were no new developments in the 2005 arrests of the following 
persons: Ammar Hussein Fakhri, Majid Bakri Suleyman, Shayish Ali al-
Tayyar, Muhammad Fayiz al-Hursh, Hazem Abdul-Kafi al-Jundi, Muhammed 
Hassan Dib, Mahmoud Samaq, Yusuf Muhammed Ahmad Qarmo, Muhammed 
Abdulkader al-Taweel, Ahmad Qattee', Dr. Mahmoud al-Rashid, Hayan 
Abdul-Samad, and Mahmud Yusuf.
    The Government continued threatening or detaining the relatives of 
detainees or of fugitives to obtain confessions, minimize outside 
interference, or prompt a fugitive's surrender. There were unconfirmed 
reports that security personnel forced prisoners to watch relatives 
being tortured to extract confessions. In 2005 human rights 
organizations also reported at least three arrests of family members 
and friends who had inquired to authorities about the welfare and 
whereabouts of political detainees.

    Amnesty.--On December 30, President al-Assad granted a limited 
Presidential amnesty. The amnesty covered mostly misdemeanors such as 
smuggling, military service violations, or juvenile offenses. However, 
there were a small number of political prisoners pardoned--mostly those 
who had been convicted of personally insulting the President, the 
military, or another government institution. Political prisoners 
accused of more serious and sometimes capital offenses did not receive 
amnesty during the year.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, courts were regularly subject to 
political influence.
    The judicial system is composed of civil and criminal courts, 
military courts, the SSSC, and religious courts, which adjudicate 
matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance (see section 
5). The Court of Cassation is the highest court of appeal. The Supreme 
Constitutional Court (SCC) rules on the constitutionality of laws and 
decrees, hears special appeals regarding the validity of parliamentary 
elections, and tries the President if he is accused of criminal 
offenses; however, it does not hear appeals from the civil and criminal 
justice system. The SCC is composed of five members who are appointed 
by the President for renewable four-year terms.
    Regular military courts have authority over crimes committed by 
soldiers or members of other military or police branches. If the charge 
against a soldier or member of the military or police branch is a 
misdemeanor, the sentence against the defendant is final. If the charge 
is a felony, the defendant has the right to appeal to the Military 
Chamber at the Court of Cassation. Military courts also have authority 
to try civilians in cases based on military law. Civilians have the 
right to appeal all sentences in a military court. A military 
prosecutor decides the venue for a civilian defendant. There have been 
reports that the Government operated military field courts in locations 
outside established courtrooms. Such courts reportedly observed fewer 
formal procedures than regular military courts.

    Trial Procedures.--Civil and criminal courts are organized under 
the Ministry of Justice. Defendants before these courts are entitled to 
legal representation of their choice; the courts appoint lawyers for 
indigents. Defendants are presumed innocent, and they 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. Appeals were often difficult to win because the 
lower courts do not provide verbatim transcripts of cases--only 
summaries prepared by the presiding judges. There are no juries. 
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence 
relevant to their cases. However, human rights lawyers noted that the 
prosecution case file, which defense lawyers were allowed to see, 
frequently did not include any evidence in politically charged cases.
    The law extends the above rights to all citizens in criminal cases. 
However, a number of sections of family and criminal law are based on 
Shari'a (Islamic law) and do not treat men and women equally. 
Furthermore, a number of personal status laws utilize Shari'a 
regardless of the religion of those involved in the case (see section 
5).
    The SSSC tries political and national security cases and operates 
under the provisions of the 1963 Emergency Law. The SSSC does not 
observe constitutional provisions safeguarding defendants' rights. Its 
verdicts are not subject to judicial appeal. The minister of interior 
may ratify, nullify, or alter SSSC rulings. The President must approve 
the verdict or may cancel it and ask for a retrial. Charges against 
defendants before the SSSC were usually vague. Defendants appeared to 
be tried for exercising basic political rights, such as free speech. 
For example, the Emergency Law authorizes the prosecution of anyone 
``opposing the goals of the revolution,'' and creating ``sectarian 
strife.'' The Government stated that the SSSC tries only persons who 
have sought to use violence against the state, but the majority of 
defendants who appeared before the SSSC were prosecuted for exercising 
their political rights.
    Under SSSC procedures, defendants are not present during the 
preliminary or investigative phase of the trial, during which the 
prosecutor presents evidence. Trials took place before three judges and 
usually were closed to the public. Lawyers were not ensured access to 
their clients before the trial and were excluded from the court during 
their client's initial interrogation by the prosecutor. Lawyers 
submitted written defense pleas rather than making oral presentations.
    Unlike in the past, no defense lawyers defending human rights cases 
were suspended from the bar during the year. The SSSC presiding judge 
continued his courtroom ban of a lawyer (in effect since November 2005) 
for arguing with him during a hearing of a number of other Islamists.
    Human rights organizations estimated that hundreds of cases are 
tried by the SSSC annually. The majority of cases involved charges 
relating to membership in various banned political groups, including 
religious parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic 
Liberation Party, as well as the Party of Communist Action, and Syrian 
Kurdish parties. Sentences up to 15 years have been imposed in the 
past.
    On November 14, the National Organization for Human Rights reported 
that the SSSC sentenced Ali Ahmad Eid to nine years in prison; Hikmat 
Abdul Aal and Khaled Hammami to seven years; and Ahmad Harraniah, Abdul 
Mouti Kilani, Samer Abul Kheir and Naim Mrouweh to six years. All 
defendants were found guilty of ``affiliation with a fundamentalist 
extremist group'' and were from the Outaiba region.
    Human rights NGOs were not permitted to visit the SSSC; however, 
local lawyers affiliated with local human rights NGOs acted as defense 
counsel in some cases (see section 4). Diplomatic observers were 
granted access to the weekly SSSC sessions in Damascus throughout the 
year.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political 
prisoners and detainees was unclear. Human rights activists estimated 
that the number of prisoners and detainees during the year had not 
changed significantly since the previous year. In 2005 they estimated 
that there were at least 325 in Sednaya prison, approximately 150 in 
Adraa prison, and possibly up to several hundred to 1,000 additional 
political prisoners and detainees in other prisons, security service 
detention facilities, or other secret detention facilities throughout 
the country. Human rights activists were unable to provide any firm 
estimates on these additional prisoners. The Government did not permit 
regular access to political prisoners or detainees by local or 
international humanitarian organizations. Human rights groups reported 
that many political prisoners serving long-term sentences remained in 
prison, after the expiration of their sentences.
    There also were Jordanian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Palestinian 
political prisoners and detainees. Estimates of their numbers were 
difficult to confirm because different branches of the security 
services, which maintained their own incarceration facilities, held 
significant numbers, and there was no centralized tracking system. 
Detainees were frequently held for extended periods of time without 
trial and without information provided to their families. Estimates 
were also difficult to confirm because the Government did not verify 
publicly the number of detentions without charge, the release of 
detainees or amnestied prisoners, or the subsequent sentencing of 
detainees to prison. In 2005 a number of human rights organizations 
estimated that there were between 25 and 250 remaining Lebanese 
prisoners in the country.
    Former prisoners were subject to a so-called ``rights ban,'' which 
lasts from the day of sentencing until seven years after the expiration 
of the sentence in the case of felony and three years in the case of 
misdemeanor convictions. Persons subjected to this ban were not allowed 
to vote, run for office, or work in the public sector; they were also 
oftentimes denied passports. In practice, restrictions sometimes 
continued beyond that period.
    Since March 18, according to an international human rights 
organization, Omar al-Abdullah, the son of human rights activist Ali 
al-Abdullah, remained in incommunicado detention in Sednaya prison. 
Abdullah was held with seven other men arrested between January 26 and 
March 18, apparently for their involvement in a political youth 
movement.
    On March 23, Ali al-Abdullah, human rights activist and member of 
the Jamal al-Atassi Forum (a predominantly secular group encouraging 
dialogue among political parties and civil society to promote reform), 
and his other son, Muhammad, disappeared and were held incommunicado 
for more than a month before officials acknowledged their detention in 
April in connection with their weekly presence outside SSSC 
proceedings. On October 4, a military court judge convicted the 
Abdullahs of spreading lies about the country in articles and 
interviews. The Abdullahs were sentenced to six months in prison and 
fined $20 (1,000 pounds) each. Ali al-Abdullah was last arrested in May 
2005 after reading a statement from exiled Muslim Brother leader Saad 
al-Din al-Bayanouni at a forum meeting earlier that month. Muhammed was 
last arrested in July 2005. He was convicted in September 2005 for 
defaming the homeland and was sentenced to 10 days in prison.
    On April 29, the criminal court indicted prominent opposition 
activist Dr. Kamal al-Labwani for having contact with a foreign power 
and encouraging the foreign power to invade the country. In November 
2005 Authorities arrested Dr. al-Labwani upon his arrival in Damascus 
following a three month-long trip abroad. At year's end, he remained 
incarcerated in a cell with non-political prisoners at Adra prison.
    On April 2, the SSSC sentenced civil rights activist Sheikh Riyad 
Drar al-Hamood to five years in prison for degrading national pride in 
a time of war, inciting conflict among the country's various religious 
and ethnic groups, and forming a secret society (see section 5).
    The SSSC sentenced Muhammad Osama Sayes on June 25, and Abdulrahman 
al-Musa on June 27, to death, later reduced to 12 years' imprisonment, 
for their alleged affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. Sayes and 
al-Musa were arrested in January and May 2005 respectively upon their 
return to the country.
    Since 2001 according to an international human rights group, 
Syrian-born German national Muhammad Haydar Zammar has reportedly been 
held in incommunicado detention in Damascus. In 2004 authorities 
allegedly transferred Zammar to the Sednaya prison on the outskirts of 
Damascus, after being detained for approximately three years in 
solitary confinement in a tiny underground cell at the Palestine Branch 
of Military Intelligence. According to the human rights group, Zammar 
was arrested in Morocco in 2001, reportedly for his alleged links to 
al-Qa'ida, and then transferred to the country.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, in 
practice, the courts are neither independent nor impartial. According 
to observers, approximately 95 percent of the judges are either 
Ba'athists or closely aligned to the Ba'ath party and therefore not 
independent of the Ba'athist regime.

    Property Restitution.--According to the law, property can be 
appropriated by the municipality for the public good. Compensation 
usually is paid; however, many individuals reported that the 
restitution was not fair. While individuals have the legal right to sue 
the municipality for a more proper compensation, only a few win such 
cases.
    Security forces have seized property and personal items of 
individuals they have arrested. These materials and property are not 
appropriated, confiscated, or catalogued in accordance with the law. 
However, they are considered in custody and individuals theoretically 
have the right in time to retrieve them.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the Emergency 
Law authorizes security services to enter homes and conduct searches 
without warrants if broadly defined security matters are involved. The 
security services selectively monitored telephone conversations and fax 
transmissions. The Government opened mail addressed to both citizens 
and foreign residents. The Government routinely monitored Internet 
communications, including e-mail, and blocked access to some Web sites 
(see section 2.a.).
    The Government failed to permit new political parties or to license 
politically based nongovernmental organizations (see section 3). In 
practice, however, some political parties are illegal but tolerated by 
the Government, such as the Communist Union Movement. Additionally, 
there are illegal parties, such as the Communist Action Party, the 
People's Party, and the Arab Social Union, that suffer harassment but 
not automatic arrest for membership. The Government forbids membership 
in Islamist parties, and members of Islamist parties are subject to 
immediate arrest.
    The Government detained relatives of detainees or of fugitives to 
obtain confessions or the fugitive's surrender (see section 1.d.).
    The Government and the Ba'ath Party monitored and attempted to 
restrict some citizens' visits to foreign embassies and participation 
in cultural activities. For example, on September 7, a number of 
citizens were warned by the security services not to attend a reception 
at a diplomatic mission. During the year the Government began requiring 
foreign embassies to notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of 
any travel within the country.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and the press; however, the Government significantly 
restricted these rights in practice, relying when necessary on 
Emergency Law provisions that suspend such rights and supersede 
constitutional practices. The Government strictly controlled the 
dissemination of information and prohibited criticism of the Government 
and discussion of sectarian issues including religious and ethnic 
minority rights. There were detentions and beatings for individual 
expressions of opinion that violated these restrictions including, 
among others, the February 7 arrest of journalist Adel Mahfouz after he 
called for interfaith dialogue following the controversy surrounding 
the depiction of the Prophet Muhammed in cartoons. On March 12, Mahfouz 
was released but faced charges in criminal court at year's end.
    On March 2, military intelligence agents detained Sha'ban Abboud, 
correspondent for Lebanese daily An-Nahhar and the Kuwaiti daily Al-
Ra'i al-Aam, for four days after publishing a list of appointments and 
transfers of heads of security branches. At year's end, Abboud 
continued to await trial on charges of ``publishing mendacious reports 
harmful to national security.''
    On April 19, 87-year old Muooteei Mansour and Muhammed Salih were 
arrested after distributing a flyer criticizing the Government. Both 
Mansour and Salih were released by year's end.
    On May 25, prominent human rights activist Haithem al-Maleh was 
convicted of insulting the army and insulting court officers and was 
sentenced to 10 days imprisonment based on Maleh's age and his 
profession as a lawyer. The Presidential amnesty pardoned Maleh at 
year's end while the case was still in the appeals process.
    During the year the military court continued to try Hasan Zeino, 
who was charged with ``possession of publications of a prohibited 
organization.'' On December 3, the Military Court in Homs sentenced 
Zeino to one-and-a-half months in prison. Authorities detained Zeino 
between July and August 2005 for carrying copies of a newsletter from 
the unlicensed opposition umbrella group National Democratic Front. On 
December 30, Zeino was pardoned as part of the Presidential amnesty.
    On July 4, Bassam Badra was arrested and charged three weeks later 
in the Military Court with infringing on the dignity of the state and 
demeaning the head of state, which is punishable by up to six months in 
prison, according to local human rights organizations. On September 25, 
authorities dropped the first charge against Badra and granted a 
request for bail.
    On December 30, opposition figure Hassan Abdul Azeem was pardoned 
as part of the Presidential amnesty. In December 2005 Azeem was charged 
by the Damascus Military Court with publication of material by an 
illegal organization.
    The Government threatened activists in an attempt to control 
behavior. On June 21, an international human rights observer reported 
that on June 14, Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-'Otri dismissed 17 
state employees working in various government ministries without 
explanation but reportedly because of their links to the Damascus-
Beirut Declaration (see section 1.d.). According to observers, those 
who were dismissed signed a petition in support of the Damascus-Beirut 
Declaration after the arrests of many prominent opposition members 
occurred. The dismissed employees were Suheil Abu Fakhr, Essam Mahmoud, 
Fou'ad al-Bunni, Kamal al-Dabbas, Marwan Hamza, Nabil Abu Sa'ad and 
Haytham Sa'ab (Ministry of Education); Fadhl Hijaz and Lina Wafa'I 
(Local Affairs Ministry); Selma Kerkoutli and Nadher Nasr (Information 
Ministry); Kamal Bel'ous (Finance Ministry); Ghaleb Tarbeh (Electricity 
Ministry); Essam Abu Sa'id (Ministry of Agriculture); Munir Shahoud 
(Ministry of Higher Education); Dr. Niqola Ghenoum (Ministry of 
Health); and Sulayman Shemr (Oil Ministry).
    Journalists and writers practiced self-censorship. In May 2005 a 
number of civil society activists created the first independent media 
watchdog group called Hurriyat, although it was not active. The goal of 
the group was to liberalize the media and end government censorship of 
the press. Despite the 2004 MOI decision to recommend the licensing of 
an independent association of journalists, at year's end, no license 
had been issued (see section 2.b.).
    A number of quasi-independent periodicals, usually owned and 
operated by figures with government connections, were published during 
the year, including the National Progressive Front's (NPF) Communist 
party newspaper The People's Voice; the NPF's Socialist Union party's 
private newspaper The Unionist; a private weekly newspaper, Black and 
White; and The Economist (Al-Iktissad), which was sometimes critical of 
government economic performance.
    In April the Government warned the financial magazine Al-Mal that 
its license would be revoked if it continued printing articles critical 
of the Government.
    The print and electronic media were critical at times of the Ba'ath 
Party and government performance. They reported openly on a range of 
social and economic issues. For instance, in November government-owned 
Al-Thawra published a series of articles criticizing the economic 
performance of the Government, highlighting corruption in the 
subsidized rice and sugar supplies. Some Damascus-based correspondents 
for regional Arab media were able to file reports on internal political 
issues, such as rumored governmental changes, new political discussion 
groups, and the possible introduction of new parties to the NPF.
    During the year the first two private political dailies were 
licensed to publish from the Damascus Duty Free Zone. The first, 
Baladna (Our Country), owned by the son of the former chief of State 
Security Branch, started publication in August. The second, Al-Watan 
(The Homeland), started publication in November under the auspices of 
Al-Iktissadiyya magazine.
    The media covered some Israeli-Palestinian developments factually, 
but others were reported selectively to support official views. 
Foreign-owned and foreign-published newspapers continued to circulate 
relatively freely during the year. However, during the July-August 
conflict involving Israel and Lebanon, the Government banned the 
importation of some issues of the pan-Arabic Al-Hayat and Al-Sharq Al-
Awsat.
    The Government or the Ba'ath Party owned and operated radio and 
television companies and most of the newspaper publishing houses. The 
Ministry of Information closely monitored radio and television news 
programs to ensure adherence to government policies. The Government did 
not interfere with broadcasts from abroad. Satellite dishes were widely 
used and available.
    Emergency Law and penal code articles dealing with crimes against 
state security allowed the Government broad discretion to determine 
what constitutes illegal expression. The Emergency Law prohibits 
publication of ``false information'' that opposes ``the goals of the 
revolution'' (see section 1.e.), essentially ensuring that only a 
Ba'athist view is permitted to circulate via the local media. Penal 
code articles prohibit acts or speech inciting confessionalism.
    The 2001 Publications Law permits the reestablishment of 
publications that were circulated prior to 1963 and establishes a 
framework in which the NPF, as well as other approved private 
individuals and organizations, are permitted to publish their own 
newspapers. However, the law also stipulates imprisonment and stiff 
financial penalties as part of broad, vague provisions prohibiting 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 are 
subject to prison terms ranging from one to three years and fines 
ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 (500,000 to 1 million pounds). The 
amendments to the Publications Law also impose strict punishments for 
reporters who do not reveal their government sources in response to 
government requests.
    Security forces continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain a number 
of persons with views critical of the Government (see section 1.d.).
    As in previous years, government forces harassed regionally-based 
journalists who reported information critical of the state. Harassment 
included banning or hindering journalists from reentering the country 
and failing to respond to requests for accreditation.
    On March 12, authorities released journalist Adel Mahfoudh after 
being detained in mid-February for calling for interfaith dialogue in 
the wake of the Prophet Muhammed cartoon controversy. Mafoudh was 
reportedly arrested again on May 17 and then released on bail in 
September. There were no indications that he was charged with any 
offense before being released in September. At year's end Mafoudh was 
out of prison but his whereabouts were unknown.
    In June a Palestinian-born Swedish-citizen journalist was arrested 
upon his arrival at Damascus airport, for allegedly insulting the 
Syrian state 10 years ago when he interviewed an asylum-seeking Syrian 
for Swedish public television. The journalist was reportedly accused of 
deceiving the interviewee. The journalist was released later the same 
month.
    On September 25, police arrested Muhammed Khaled Ghandou for 
publishing an article titled ``Will Citizens be Threatened if They Seek 
Justice'' in a private, bi-weekly magazine. Ghandou remained detained 
at year's end.
    The Ministry of Information continued to deny permission to publish 
Al-Ousboua Al-Iktissadi, a business weekly; and Al-Riyadiya Wa Al-
Chabab, a new magazine for young sports fans.
    The Government prohibited all Kurdish language publications and 
arrested journalists who wrote in favor of greater Kurdish rights. The 
Government prohibited the publication of books and other materials in 
Kurdish; however, there were credible reports that Kurdish language 
materials were available in the country (see section 5).
    On July 23, authorities released journalist and student Masoud 
Hamid after serving three years of a five-year sentence. Hamid was 
arrested in 2003 for posting a picture of the June 2003 Kurdish United 
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) protest on a banned website and 
sentenced by the SSSC to prison in October 2004.
    The Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Culture and 
National Guidance (MCNG) censored domestic and imported foreign press. 
Publication or distribution of any material deemed by security 
officials as threatening or embarrassing to high levels of the 
Government was prohibited. Censorship usually was greater for materials 
in Arabic.
    The MCNG also censored fiction and nonfiction works, including 
films. It exercised the right of approval over films shown at cultural 
centers operated by foreign embassies. On October 29, authorities 
officially informed documentary director Omar Amiralai that his travel 
ban, imposed on September 19, had been lifted. On September 18, 
authorities detained Amiralai at the Jordanian border, interrogated him 
for 13 hours, and then barred him from traveling to Jordan to work on 
his latest film, according to media reports quoting local human rights 
activists. Amiralai said that security officials questioned him at 
length about the recent broadcasting on the Al-Arabiyyeh satellite 
channel of his 2004 documentary film ``A Flood in Ba'ath Country,'' 
which indirectly criticizes Ba'ath Party principles.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government relied on its press and 
publications laws, the penal code, and the Emergency Law to censor 
access to the Internet. The Government blocked access to Internet sites 
that contained or Web-based email that transmitted information deemed 
politically sensitive. The Government banned access to foreign-based 
Web sites of unlicensed opposition parties and to news Web sites 
published in the country that were critical of the Government (see 
section 1.f.). Several news Web sites not overtly critical of the 
Government remained accessible.
    On March 31, security officials arrested author and Web site editor 
Muhammed Ghanem. His online news Web site, Surion.org, was shut down by 
authorities shortly after his arrest. On June 6, Ghanem was convicted 
of insulting the President, weakening the country's dignity during a 
time of war, and inciting sectarian feuds. Ghanem was sentenced to one 
year in prison. On October 1, he was released after serving six months 
(including the time he was in custody before a sentence was rendered), 
according to news reports.
    On August 15, Habib Saleh, a contributor to www.elaph.com news Web 
site, was sentenced by a military court in Homs to three years in 
prison for undermining internal support for the country, and for 
``broadcasting and publishing false news likely to undermine the 
State.'' Authorities previously arrested Saleh in May 2005 for 
publishing antigovernment material on the Internet.
    According to international human rights group, all three of the 
country's Internet service providers (ISPs) regularly blocked access to 
a variety of Web sites. The Government restricted access to Web sites 
associated with Kurdish opposition groups, the Syrian Muslim 
Brotherhood group, and the Muslim Brotherhood group. Other electronic 
media that the Government restricted during the year ranged from Web-
based email such as Hotmail.com, to pan-Arabic newspapers such as 
Asharqal-Awsat.com, to online news services such as LevantNews.com. In 
2004, authorities shut down the pro-reform Web site All4syria.org and 
it remained closed at year's end.

    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; however, 
authorities permitted slightly more freedom of expression at the 
university level. Ba'ath Party members were also given preferential 
admissions treatment into the university. Stateless Kurds have limited 
access to university education (see section 5).
    Throughout the year, the Government prohibited locally-made movies 
to be screened in public. For example, in March, the Ministry of 
Culture refused the request of the Canadian Embassy to screen Passion, 
a film on honor killings produced by Syrian Muhammed Malas.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of assembly; 
however, the right is superseded by Emergency Law provisions and the 
Government did not respect this right in practice. MOI permission is 
needed for demonstrations. The Government or the Ba'ath Party organized 
most public demonstrations.
    The Government required political forums and discussion groups to 
obtain prior approval to hold lectures and seminars and to submit lists 
of all attendees. Despite these restrictions several domestic human 
rights and civil society groups held meetings without registering with 
the Government or obtaining prior approval. In many instances the 
Government took steps to disrupt such gatherings or prevent them from 
occurring.
    Demonstrations occurred during the year, including some which were 
permitted or organized by the Government. On February 4, in response to 
the September 2005 publishing in a Danish newspaper of a series of 
cartoons that caricatured the Prophet Muhammed, mobs ransacked and set 
fire to the Norwegian Embassy and the building housing the Danish, 
Chilean, and Swedish Embassies. No one had been charged with the 
incidents at year's end.
    On March 9, a small group of civil-society activists staged a 
protest against the 43 years of Emergency Law in Damascus. A group of 
approximately 300 pro-regime youths staged a counterdemonstration the 
same day and beat some of the civil society protesters with sticks. 
Five civil society activists, including Shawkat Gharaz al-Din, Ayham 
Badoor, and Adnan Abu A'asi, were arrested immediately following the 
peaceful demonstration and charged in a military court with the 
misdemeanor crime of insulting the ruling Ba'ath Party. All five 
individuals were later released and were awaiting trial at year's end.
    On March 12, approximately 250 persons, mostly Kurds, held a vigil 
in front of the Prime Minister's office in Damascus to commemorate the 
2004 Qamishli rioting. Prominent opposition figure Riad Seif was 
arrested at the vigil but was released later the same day.
    On March 20, security forces reportedly arrested between 150 and 
200 Kurds in Aleppo, as they and thousands of other Syrian Kurds 
throughout the country celebrated the ancient holiday of Now Ruz (the 
solar new year). According to Kurdish observers, all were released by 
year's end.
    On July 10, up to 4,000 protesters held a 20-minute government-
orchestrated protest in Damascus on behalf of the Palestinian cause. On 
August 12, during the Israel-Hizballah conflict, approximately 500 
people held a non-violent pro-government demonstration in Damascus on 
behalf of Lebanese and Palestinian children.
    On December 10, police forcibly dispersed Kurdish demonstrators who 
were commemorating International Human Rights Day in al-Qamishli (see 
section 5).
    In March 2005, a peaceful civil society protest in Damascus calling 
for the end to the Emergency Law and marking the first anniversary of 
clashes between Kurds, Arab tribes, and security forces in the town of 
Qamishli, was broken up by pro-regime demonstrators. Observers reported 
that the Government encouraged the violence and apparently helped 
organize the counterdemonstration. The counterdemonstrators and 
security forces violently attacked the civil society activists and 
camera crews from several international news agencies, smashing or 
confiscating their cameras.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution permits private 
associations, but it also grants the Government the right to limit 
their activities. In practice the Government restricted freedom of 
association. Private associations are required to register with 
authorities, but requests for registration were usually denied, 
presumably on political grounds. The Government usually granted 
registration to groups not engaged in political or other activities 
deemed sensitive.
    Associative life was often restricted. For example, throughout the 
year, security officials prevented activists from a proreform coalition 
group from meeting openly. On January 26, Air Force security officials 
arrested university students Husam Ali Mulhim and Ali Nizar Ali in 
connection with their participation in prodemocracy discussions held by 
the Forum for Syria youth group, according to international and local 
human rights activists. Both individuals remained in custody at year's 
end. On February 14, Air Force security officials arrested and later 
released the same day Omar Ali Abdullah, son of writer and activist 
Muhammed Abdullah, for his connection to the same student group. 
Abdullah was detained again on March 18 by Air Force officials and 
continued to be detained at year's end (see section 1.e.). Citizens 
detained on approximately February 20 for their ties to the student 
group included Tarek Ghorani, Maher Ibrahim, Ayham Saqr, Alam Fakhour, 
and Diab Sirieyeh, according to international human rights activists. 
No hearings were held for these individuals by year's end.
    On March 1, authorities closed the European Commission-funded Civil 
Society Training Center nine days after it opened (see section 4).
    On April 30, chief of the Communist Action Party and opposition 
activist Fateh Jammous was arrested at Damascus airport after having 
reportedly met with external opposition groups during his two-month 
foreign trip. On October 12, a preliminary penalty court judge decided 
to release Jammous on bail, and on December 30, all charges were 
dropped as part of the Presidential amnesty.
    Between May 14 and 18, security agents arrested 12 signatories of 
the Damascus-Beirut Declaration, a petition which called for the 
normalization of Syria-Lebanon relations. Those arrested were key civil 
society activist and intellectual Michel Kilo; writer and human rights 
activist Nidal Darwish, a member of the Committee for the Defense of 
Liberty and Human Rights; prominent human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni; 
Atassi Forum member Muhammed Mahfouz; Mahmoud Muri', a member of the 
Arab Human Rights Organization; Mahmoud Issa, a member of the Communist 
Action Party; Ghaleb Amar, a member of the Socialist Arab Democratic 
Union and human rights activist; Kurdish Future Movement leader Khalil 
Hussein; National Democratic Front activist Suleiman al-Shummar; 
Communist Action Party member Muhammed Safwan Tayfour; Abbas Abbas, an 
activist from the town of Musiaf; and Khaled Khalifa, who was 
reportedly arrested on the basis of mistaken identity. Abbas and 
Khalifa were released one day after their arrest, according to local 
and international human rights organizations. The other 10 men faced 
five charges of the criminal code, including weakening the national 
morale, awakening sectarian rows, and publishing false news that might 
affect the state's dignity. According to local and international human 
rights organizations, Bunni, Darwish, and Mahfouz were beaten a number 
of times by state security agents during their initial detention, prior 
to their transfer to Adra prison. In mid-July Muri', Darwish, Tayfour, 
and Amar were released on bail after publishing a statement saying they 
had not signed the Declaration. In September Mahfouz, Issa, Hussein, 
and Shummar were also released on bail. Issa was then re-arrested on 
October 23. At year's end no trial dates had been set for any of the 10 
men.
    Activists faced similar restrictions in 2005 when, for example, in 
June, July, August, and December, the Government prevented the Atassi 
Forum from meeting because, according to media reports, the meetings 
would ``damage national unity.'' A number of forum members were 
arrested in May 2005 and subsequently released for their involvement in 
the reading of a statement from the Muslim Brothers at a forum meeting 
(see section 1.d.).
    None of the dozen local human rights organizations operated with a 
license during the year.
    The Government did not permit the establishment of independent 
political parties (see section 3). In recent years citizens have sought 
to establish political parties but have not received licenses from the 
Government.
    By year's end no license had yet been issued to an independent 
association of journalists reporting for regional Arab media, according 
to press reports. The five-year effort by journalists to form the 
association had long been blocked by the Government (see section 2.a.).
    The executive boards of professional associations were not 
independent. Although members of the Ba'ath Party generally led the 
associations, nonparty members could serve on their executive boards.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice; however, it imposed some restrictions. The Government 
discouraged public proselytism and monitored groups it considered to 
practice militant Islam. There is no official state religion; however, 
the constitution requires that the President be Muslim and stipulates 
that Islamic jurisprudence is a principal source of legislation. Sunni 
Muslims constituted approximately 74 percent of the population. Other 
Muslim groups, including Alawi, Ismailis, and Shi'a, constituted an 
estimated 13 percent of the population. The Druze accounted for an 
estimated three percent of the population, while various Christian 
denominations made up the remaining 10 percent.
    All religions and religious orders must register with the 
Government, which monitored fundraising and required permits for all 
meetings by religious groups, except for worship. There was a de-facto 
separation of religious institutions and the state. Religious groups 
tended to avoid any involvement in internal political affairs, except 
for occasional regime-supported initiatives such as the February 4 
public demonstration against the September 2005 publishing of a series 
of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed.
    The Government generally refrained from involvement in strictly 
religious issues. The Government approved all textbooks that present 
religion as a way to foster national unity and tolerance. The 
Government prohibited some religious events during the year. For 
example, on November 9, the MFA banned an interfaith dialogue from 
taking place at Damascus University.
    The Government considered militant Islam a threat and followed 
closely the practice of its adherents. The Government allowed many new 
mosques to be built; however, sermons were monitored and controlled.
    All schools are overseen by the Government and nonsectarian; 
however, Christian and Druze minorities operated a number of schools 
following state curriculum. There was mandatory religious instruction 
in schools with government-approved teachers and curriculums. Religion 
courses were divided into separate classes for Muslim and Christian 
students. Although Arabic is the official language in public schools, 
the Government permitted the teaching of Armenian, Hebrew, Syriac 
(Aramaic), and Chaldean as ``liturgical languages.''
    Muslims and Christians are subject to their respective religious 
laws on marriage and divorce. However, all citizens are subject to 
Sharia'a-based child custody, adoption, inheritance, and guardianship 
laws (see section 5).
    Although the law does not prohibit proselytizing, in practice the 
Government discouraged such activity, deeming it a threat to relations 
among religious groups. Foreign missionaries were present but operated 
discreetly.
    Government officials occasionally used radio and television 
programming, news articles, and other mass media with anti-Semitic 
overtones, and in some instances to support its export. In November 
2005, Syrian TV broadcast an interview with Deputy Minister of 
Religious Endowments Muhammad Abdul Sattar al-Sayyed in which he stated 
that Syria serves as ``the last line of defense'' against ``Zionist 
plots which aim to put on the throne of the Middle East the descendants 
of those whom the Koran called the descendants of apes and pigs.''

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal conventions and 
religious and theological proscriptions made conversions relatively 
rare, especially conversations between Muslims and Christians. In many 
cases societal pressure forced those who undertook such conversions to 
relocate within the country or leave the country altogether to practice 
their religion openly. There was little evidence of societal 
discrimination or violence against religious minorities.
    There were no reported acts of physical violence against, or 
harassment of, Jewish persons. Government officials occasionally used 
radio and television programming, news articles, and other mass media 
to condone anti-Semitic material. Anti-Israel material was widespread, 
some of which carried anti-Semitic overtones. For example, in January 
the government-owned Al-Thawra newspaper published an article 
suggesting that the Government of Israel had genetically engineered the 
avian flu virus in order to damage ``genes carried only by Arabs'' and 
thus ``to realize the Zionist goal of harming the Arabs.''
    On June 15, government-owned Tishrin published an article which 
stated that ``Israel did not learn a bit of the Nazi atrocities, but 
instead have and is employing it to commit far worse monstrous 
atrocities against the Palestinians to fulfill the Talmudic and 
biblical allegations and aspirations.''
    The Government primarily cited national security as the reason for 
barring the approximately 40 Jewish citizens from government 
employment, serving in the armed forces, and contact with Israel. Jews 
also were the only religious minority group whose passports and 
identity cards noted their religion. Jewish citizens had to obtain 
permission from the security services before traveling abroad and faced 
excessive government scrutiny when applying for licenses, deeds, or 
other official documents. The Government enforced a law against 
exporting historical and cultural treasures to prohibit the Jewish 
community from sending historical Torahs abroad.
    The Government banned Jehovah's Witnesses in 1964 as a 
``politically motivated Zionist organization''; however, members of 
Jehovah's Witnesses have continued to practice their faith privately, 
despite the ban.
    In 1963 the Government banned membership in the Syrian Muslim 
Brotherhood.
    The constitution prohibits sectarianism, although it specifies that 
the President must be a Muslim; however, in the case of Alawis, 
religious affiliation facilitated access to influential and sensitive 
posts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for the right 
of free movement ``within the territories of the state unless 
restricted by a judicial decision or by the implementation of laws''; 
however, the Government limited freedom of movement in practice. Travel 
to Israel is illegal, and the Government restricts travel near the 
Golan Heights.
    The law provides for the prosecution of any person who attempts to 
seek refuge in another country to escape a penalty in Syria. 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 Syria. For example, in May 2005, Muhammad Osama Sayes, 
the son of a Muslim Brotherhood member, was detained following his 
return to the country, and was sentenced on June 25 to 12 years in 
prison (section 1.e.). Similarly, on June 27, the SSSC sentenced 
Abdulrahman al-Musa to death under the same law but commuted the 
sentence to 12 years; in January 2005 authorities had detained al-Musa 
upon his return to the country.
    The Government also banned numerous human rights activists, leaders 
of opposition groups, and other individuals permission from traveling 
abroad, usually without any explanation for the basis or duration of 
the ban.
    Women over the age of 18 have the legal right to travel without the 
permission of male relatives; however, a husband or a father could file 
a request with the MOI to prohibit his wife or minor dependents' 
departure from the country (see section 5).
    The Government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in 
military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints 
on main roads or in populated areas. The security services used 
checkpoints to conduct searches without warrants for smuggled goods, 
weapons, narcotics, and subversive literature.
    The Government has refused to recognize the citizenship of or grant 
identity documents to some persons of Kurdish descent. There are 
approximately 300 thousand stateless Kurds in the country. Lack of 
citizenship or identity documents restricted their travel to and from 
the country (see section 5). Syrian emigres 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 his 
country of birth were exempted from military service without payment.
    During the year, as has been long-standing practice, citizens of 
Arab League countries were able to enter the country without a visa for 
a stay of up to three months, a period that could be renewed. Residency 
permits required proof of employment and a fixed address in the 
country. While visa-free entry for Arabs continued at year's end, the 
MOI issued a circular in October 2005 informing immigration and 
security offices that nonpermanent resident males between the ages of 
18 and 30 could be denied entry under a number of conditions, including 
travel alone, student or recent graduate status, residence in a country 
other than their own, and ``suspicious'' travel abroad.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports 
of forced exile during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government is not a party to either 
the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 
Protocol. It generally cooperated with the office of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Relief and Works 
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in assisting 
displaced persons, refugees and asylum seekers and respected the 
UNHCR's eligibility determinations regarding asylum seekers. One 
notable exception to this was the detention of several Iranian Ahwazis 
who were recognized refugees, and the deportation of five of them back 
to Iran (see section 1.d.), including one of Dutch nationality. 
Separately, UNHCR reported that a significant number of Lebanese, 
Iraqis, and Palestinians fleeing Iraq and Lebanon were refused entry 
into the country during the year. It also reported that it had to 
intervene in several instances to prevent the deportation of persons 
issued UNHCR asylum-seeker cards.
    During the July-August conflict involving Israel and Lebanon, 
approximately 180,000 Lebanese, 13,000 third-country nationals, and 
4,000 Palestinians fled to Syria. The borders remained open for most 
persons fleeing the conflict, with an easing of visa requirements to 
facilitate their entry. Border authorities, however, denied entry to 
hundreds of Palestinians from Lebanon, including those with valid 
Lebanese travel documents. Most Lebanese found temporary refuge with 
local hosts in the country, while approximately 50,000 were assisted in 
public shelters such as schools and religious institutions. 
Humanitarian organizations, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent 
Society (SARC), UNHCR, UNRWA, the World Food Program and other 
international organizations and non-governmental organizations had 
access to displaced persons in need of assistance. The International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) facilitated the voluntary evacuation 
of third-country nationals to their countries of origin. Foreign 
embassies in Damascus also facilitated the transit of their nationals, 
sometimes numbering in the thousands, from Lebanon through Syria and 
onto third countries.
    The August 14 cease-fire sparked the massive, voluntary return of 
refugees from the country to Lebanon. There were some reports that an 
estimated 50 Iraqis, who were also fleeing Lebanon, were detained 
briefly in the country and agreed to be repatriated to Iraq rather than 
risk remaining in government detention. Syrian authorities, the SARC, 
UNHCR, IOM and other international organizations facilitated return 
transportation for those in need of assistance. By September a UN 
assessment found that only 2,000 Lebanese remained in Syria.
    At year's end 432,048 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in 
the country. The General Authority of Palestinian Arab Refugees in 
Syria (GAPAR), the Government agency established to coordinate 
assistance and protection to refugees, continued to provide assistance 
to Palestinian refugees during the year. Palestinian refugees with 
Syrian travel documents generally reported little difficulty traveling 
in and out of the country. In April the Government admitted a limited 
number of Palestinian refugees fleeing Iraq to UNHCR's isolated El Hol 
refugee reception camp facility in the northeast of the country. The 
Government refused to permit the integration of these Palestinians into 
Syrian society. At year's end there were approximately 300 Iraqi 
Palestinians registered at El Hol, while another group of approximately 
350 Iraqi Palestinians was stranded between the Iraq-Syria border at 
the al-Tanf crossing. The Government refused to let them enter the 
country.
    Since 1991 thousands of Iraqis have applied for refugee status and 
have received legal and material assistance from the UNHCR in the 
country. In early 2003 the Government agreed to admit persons displaced 
by the hostilities in Iraq. The Government generally continued to honor 
UNHCR's request that states maintain some temporary protection for all 
Iraqi asylum seekers, including new arrivals, and persons whose 
applications have been rejected. The Government recognized refugees 
whose cases had been suspended by resettlement countries during the 
year.
    However, UNHCR reported that some Iraqis were deported during the 
year. UN agencies estimated in December that approximately 800,000 
displaced Iraqis lived in the country. According to UNHCR figures, 
during the year 3,307 persons from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, 
Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Iran were recognized 
as refugees. An additional 5,004 cases of asylum seekers were pending. 
UNHCR did not facilitate any voluntary repatriations during the year.
    According to IOM statistics, an estimated 13,000 third-country 
nationals from a number of countries were permitted to enter the 
country temporarily after the outbreak of the conflict involving Israel 
and Lebanon. IOM verified that these repatriations to third countries 
were voluntary.
    There were reports of refugees, particularly Iraqi girls and women, 
who were working in the country as prostitutes because it was the only 
means to sustain a living for their families and themselves (see 
section 5, Trafficking). No reliable statistics were available 
regarding the number of refugees working as prostitutes.
    There are no direct provisions in the law giving refugees the right 
to work. However, according to UNRWA, the rules for employment of 
citizens were applicable to Palestinian refugees provided that they 
have been living in the country for at least ten years. Obtaining a 
work permit is a lengthy and complicated process; refugees were rarely 
granted a permit. In reality many refugees found daily labor in the 
informal sector mainly as guards, construction workers, street vendors, 
and in other manual labor jobs.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution requires that the President be elected by 
referendum, and the parliament selects a Presidential candidate at the 
discretion of the regional Ba'ath Party leadership. A Presidential 
candidate is then approved by a majority of votes in a popular 
referendum. Although citizens vote for the President and MPs, in 
practice they did not have the right to change their government.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In July 2000 an unopposed 
referendum confirmed Bashar al-Asad as President for a seven-year term. 
Citizens are not formally required by law to vote; however, voters 
receive a stamp on their voter card, which authorities sometimes 
request when providing services.
    The President appoints the vice Presidents, the Prime Minister, 
deputy prime ministers, and the Council of Ministers and has the 
discretion to change these appointments. The President and his senior 
aides, particularly those in the military and security services, made 
most political and economic decisions with a very limited degree of 
public accountability.
    The President and the Ba'ath Party suppressed political opposition. 
The constitution provides that the Ba'ath Party is the ruling party and 
ensures it a majority in all government and popular associations, such 
as workers' and women's groups. The Ba'ath Party and nine other smaller 
satellite political parties comprise the NPF, originally established in 
1971. The NPF represented the only framework for legal political party 
participation for citizens; however, the Ba'ath Party dominated it, and 
the one-party character of the political system remained.
    The Ba'ath Party dominated the 250-member parliament, or People's 
Council. Parliamentarians can criticize policies and modify draft laws; 
however, the executive branch retains ultimate control over the 
legislative process. In March 2003 elections for all 250 seats in the 
People's Council took place for 4-year terms. The election was neither 
free nor fair. The constitution guaranteed ensuring a permanent 
absolute majority for the Ba'ath Party, and most seats in parliament 
were reserved for members of the ruling NPF. The Government allowed 
independent non-NPF candidates to run for 83 seats and required advance 
approval for candidacy.
    On January 17, the Government released former independent MPs 
Mamoun Homsi and Riad Seif from Adra prison in accordance with the 
criminal penal code that permits such a move for good behavior after 
three-quarters of a sentence has been completed. They had been 
sentenced in 2002 to five-year prison terms in the criminal section of 
Adra prison for encouraging the Government to allow independent 
political parties to participate in government. Seif remained under 
close surveillance for his political activities; in June Homsi left the 
country, first for Jordan and later for another Arab country, declaring 
his plans to continue organizing for greater political freedom in the 
country.
    Women and minorities, with the exception of the Jewish population 
and stateless Kurds (see section 5), participated in the political 
system without restriction. On March 24, the President appointed a 
female vice-President, and there were two female cabinet ministers. 
Thirty of the 250 MPs were women.
    The Government did not provide figures on the ethnic or religious 
composition of parliament or the cabinet. According to human rights 
observers, ethnic and religious minorities claimed they have no genuine 
representation in the Government.
    In June 2004 the Government banned all political activities by the 
12 Syrian Kurdish parties, although enforcement has varied.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were reports of 
corruption in the legislative and executive branches of the Government. 
On February 19, March 5, and in August, some dismissed judges 
demonstrated against the October 2005 Presidential decree dismissing 81 
judges from their positions in an effort to combat corruption and 
malfeasance in the judiciary. The dismissals were widely viewed in the 
country as a legal system sapped by an alarming level of corrupt 
practices. It is rare for the highest-level officials to be exposed to 
corruption charges. In nearly all cases, such charges were used by the 
regime as a political tool to attack its perceived enemies or rivals. 
In September the Government rejected the application to license a local 
chapter of Transparency International.
    There are no laws providing for public access to government 
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no legal domestic human rights groups. In the past human 
rights groups operated legally but ultimately were banned by the 
Government, such as the National Organization for Human Rights on 
August 30. During the year there were reports of government harassment 
of domestic human rights activists, including regular close 
surveillance and the imposition of travel bans on them as they sought 
to attend workshops and conferences outside the country.
    In May 25, prominent human rights lawyer Haithem al-Maleh was 
convicted in military court of one count of insulting the army and two 
counts of insulting court officers, which potentially carried a 
sentence of three months and twenty days' imprisonment. The judge 
reduced the sentence to imprisonment for 10 days based on Maleh's age 
and his profession as a lawyer (see section 1.e.). Maleh was found not 
guilty of insulting the President and was pardoned in the December 30 
Presidential amnesty. The charges stemmed from a letter he wrote to 
President al-Asad in 2005.
    Also between May 15-22, at least 10 human rights and civil society 
activists, including lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, were arrested for having 
signed the Damascus-Beirut Declaration, which called for reconciliation 
between Syria and Lebanon. Unknown assailants also damaged al-Bunni's 
car in two separate incidents in July. Bunni remained in prison at 
year's end, facing several charges, the most serious of which was 
``weakening national feelings and provoking a sectarian feud,'' 
carrying up to a life sentence. In connection with his job as the head 
of an European Commission-funded Civil Society Training Center that was 
closed in March nine days after its opening, Bunni also faced charges 
of conspiracy with a foreign power and membership to a secret 
organization attempting to overthrow the state.
    On July 11, unknown perpetrators raided a human rights center that 
doubled as Haitham al-Maleh's office, broke the window, and covered the 
door with garbage.
    On June 28 and July 12, two men on motorcycles damaged the 
residence of another human rights activist.
    Lawyer and opposition figure Hassan Abdul Azeem was pardoned at 
year's end in the December 30 Presidential amnesty. In December 2005 
Azeem was charged by a military court with publishing material written 
by an illegal organization (see section 1.e.).
    From January 18 to 23, two representatives of AI visited the 
country for the first time since 1997. The AI representatives met with 
a number of foreign ministry officials, attended an SSSC session, and 
met with presiding judge Faez al-Nouri. The Government prohibited AI 
visits to prisons. In November representatives of Human Rights Watch 
made an unofficial visit to Damascus and met with various human rights 
observers. Additionally, the acting representative for the Arab region 
of the UNHCR, Frej Fenniche, visited Damascus February 12 to 16, 
meeting with government officials, activists, representatives of the 
bar association and journalists.
    As a matter of policy, the Government has denied in the past to 
international human rights groups that it commits human rights abuses. 
The Government has also stated that it responds in writing to all 
inquiries from NGOs regarding human rights issues, including the cases 
of individual detainees and prisoners, through an interagency 
governmental committee attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and 
Labor. However, NGOs have reported that they usually heard nothing from 
the ministry. The Government normally responded to queries from human 
rights organizations and foreign embassies regarding specific cases by 
claiming that the case was still under investigation and the prisoner 
could therefore not be released, or that the prisoner in question 
violated national security laws.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal rights and equal opportunity 
for all citizens, and discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status is prohibited; however, membership in the 
Ba'ath Party or close familial relations with a prominent party member 
or powerful government official helped economic, social, or educational 
advancement. Party or government connections paved the way for entrance 
into better elementary and secondary schools, access to lucrative 
employment, and greater power within the Government, the military, and 
the security services. Certain prominent positions, such as that of 
provincial governor, were reserved solely for Ba'ath party members. 
There was governmental and societal discrimination against stateless 
Kurds and Jews (see section 2.c.).

    Women.--The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, 
and violence against women occurred during the year. An April study 
funded by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and conducted by 
the state-run General Union of Women, reported that as many as one in 
four women surveyed in the country had been victims of violence. Local 
observers, however, pointed out discrepancies in the numbers and the 
wording of the report. The vast majority of domestic violence and 
sexual assault cases likely went unreported, and victims were likely 
reluctant to seek assistance outside the family. In some cases, 
observers reported that the abused women tried to file a police report, 
but the police did not respond aggressively, if at all, to their 
claims. Women reported incidents at police stations of sexual 
harassment, verbal abuse, hair pulling, and slapping by police officers 
when attempting to file police reports, 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 Syrian Women's Federation offered counseling services to 
battered wives to remedy individual family problems. The Syrian Family 
Planning Association also provided counseling. Some private groups, 
including the Family Planning Association, organized seminars on 
violence against women. There was believed to be at least one private 
shelter specifically designated for battered women who fled from their 
husbands.
    The Syrian Agency for Family Affairs reports directly to the Prime 
Minister and reviews the legal and social status of women and children, 
and coordinates with NGOs that provide services to women and children.
    Rape is a felony; however, there are no laws against spousal rape. 
According to the law, ``the punishment for a man who rapes a woman 
(other than his wife) is at least 15 years in prison.'' However, if the 
individual who commits the crime agrees to marry the victim, he faces 
no punishment. The victim's family sometimes agrees to this arrangement 
to avoid the social scandal and stigma attached to rape. If the victim 
is too young for marriage, the rapist receives a longer prison 
sentence. No statistics were kept on spousal rape because it is not a 
crime under the law.
    The law specifically provides for reduced sentences in ``honor'' 
crimes, which are violent assaults by a male against a female, usually 
a family member, with intent to kill for alleged sexual misconduct. No 
official statistics were kept on honor crimes during the year.
    The law prohibits prostitution, and it was not a widespread problem 
among female citizens. There was growing evidence that it was a problem 
among Iraqi women residing in the country, especially minors (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment and specifies different 
punishments depending on whether the victim is a minor or an adult. 
Sexual harassment was rarely reported.
    The constitution provides for equality between men and women and 
equal pay for equal work. Moreover, the Government sought to overcome 
traditional discriminatory attitudes toward women and encouraged 
women's education by ensuring equal access to educational institutions, 
including universities. However, the Government has not changed 
personal status, retirement, or social security laws that discriminate 
against women. In addition, some secular laws discriminate against 
women. For example, 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.
    Christians, Muslims, and other religious groups are subject to 
their respective religious laws on personal status issues of marriage 
and divorce. For Muslims, personal status law is based on the 
Government's interpretation and application of Shari'a. This 
application of laws discriminated against Muslim women.
    Husbands and wives can claim adultery as grounds for divorce; 
however, criminal law discriminates against women in this regard. A man 
can only be accused of adultery if his actions occur in the home which 
he shares with his wife; a woman can be accused of adultery regardless 
of venue. Also, the court accepts any evidence a man presents when 
claiming adultery; if a woman attempts to file for divorce based on 
adultery, her husband must admit to the crime or there must be a third 
witness to the act. There were no reported cases where a woman 
successfully filed for divorce based on adultery.
    A divorced woman might not be entitled to alimony in some cases, 
particularly if she gave up her right to it in order to persuade her 
husband to agree to the divorce.
    Regardless of divorce or other circumstances, the law provides that 
a child is entitled to financial support of a minimum of $20 (1 
thousand Syrian pounds) per year.
    In addition, under the Personal Status Law modified in October 
2003, a divorced mother loses the right to physical custody of her sons 
when they reach the age of 13 and of her daughters at age 15. 
Guardianship, or control over exercise of the legal rights of the 
children, always remains with the paternal side of the family.
    Inheritance for Muslims also is based on the Government's 
interpretation of Shari'a. Accordingly, Muslim women usually were 
granted half of the inheritance share of male heirs. However, male 
heirs must provide financial support to the female relatives who 
inherit less. If they do not, females have the right to sue.
    Polygamy is legal but was practiced only by a small number of 
Muslim men.
    A husband, or any male relative, may request that his wife and his 
wife's children's' travel abroad be prohibited. While official 
statistics are not available, foreign embassies reported a number of 
such incidents during the year (see section 2.d.).
    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 real property. During the year, 
women constituted approximately 13 percent of judges, 17 percent of 
lawyers, 57 percent of teachers below university level, and 26 percent 
of university professors. In addition, women accounted for 30 MPs, two 
cabinet ministers, and one vice President.

    Children.--The law emphasizes the need to protect children, and the 
Government organized seminars on child welfare. During the year some of 
these seminars were organized in cooperation with the local UNICEF 
office.
    The Government provided free, public education to citizen children 
from primary school through university. Education is compulsory for all 
children, male and female, between the ages of six and 12. According to 
a 2005 joint study by the UNDP and the Syrian State Planning 
Commission, 49.6 percent of students through the secondary level were 
female. Nevertheless, 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.
    Palestinians and other noncitizens, including stateless Kurds, can 
send their children to school and universities.
    The legal age for marriage is 18 for males and 17 for females. 
However, a male 15 years of age or older and a female 13 years of age 
or older may be married if both are deemed by a judge to be willing 
parties to the marriage and ``physically mature'' to have children. In 
the event of a marriage under the legal age limit, there must be 
consent by the father or grandfather to the marriage. While underage 
marriage has declined considerably in the past decades, it was still 
common in the country. It occurred in all communities, but tended to be 
more prevalent in rural and lesser-developed regions. There were no 
statistics available on the rates of marriage in the country according 
to age.
    The Government provides free medical care for citizen children 
until the age of 18. There was no legal discrimination between boys and 
girls in education or in health care.
    The law provides for severe penalties for those found guilty of the 
most serious abuses against children. Although there were cases of 
child abuse, there was no societal pattern of abuse against children.
    Trafficking in children for commercial sexual exploitation was 
reported, though incidents that arose mainly involved refugees from 
Iraq.
    Human rights organizations also reported multiple cases where 
security services detained minors and placed them in adult prisons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons; 
however, Syria is a destination country for women trafficked from South 
and Southeast Asia and Africa for the purpose of labor exploitation and 
from Eastern Europe and Iraq for sexual exploitation. There were no 
statistics available on the scope and type of trafficking that exists. 
There were reports by NGOs and the press that indicate that Iraqi women 
and girls may be subjected to forced commercial sexual exploitation--
some by Iraqi criminal networks in the country. The Government did not 
provide these victims with shelter or other rehabilitative services, 
and some minor victims were reportedly housed in juvenile detention 
facilities. A 2003 IOM study also indicated that some individuals 
brought into the country to work as domestic workers suffered 
conditions that constituted involuntary servitude, including physical 
and sexual abuse, threats of deportation or other legal consequences, 
denial or delayed payment of wages, withholding of passports, and 
restriction of movement. The IOM study documented cases in which 
manpower agencies in the country that hired foreign domestic workers 
lured some victims through fraudulent or deceptive offers of 
employment, despite the fact that such manpower agencies are banned.
    There is no legal framework governing relations between domestic 
workers and their employers. The Government has done little to address 
its trafficking in persons problem during the year. In 2005, the 
Government set up a commission to formulate a comprehensive draft law 
to combat trafficking in persons and to draft a set of rules to 
regulate agencies that recruit foreign workers to the country. 
Committee members met at the end of the year; however, any progress on 
the drafting of the law or regulations had yet to be made public by the 
end of the year. The Government also does not regulate illegal manpower 
agencies that bring in and, in some cases, facilitate victims' 
exploitation. The Governments of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, East Timor, and 
the Philippines banned their citizens from taking employment as 
domestic workers in the country due to the absence of formal mechanisms 
to regulate such employment. Despite public statements by Syrian 
officials of their intent to pass legislation to regulate private 
manpower agencies, which operate illegally in the country, no progress 
on the matter has been made public.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and seeks to integrate them into the 
public sector work force; however, implementation remained 
inconsistent. Government regulations reserve 4 percent of government 
and public sector jobs for persons with disabilities (see section 
6.e.). There are no laws that mandate access to public buildings for 
persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government generally 
permitted national and ethnic minorities to conduct traditional, 
religious, and cultural activities; however, the Government's attitude 
toward the Kurdish minority remained a significant exception.
    Prosecution of Kurdish citizens remained a fixture of SSSC charges, 
mainly based upon allegations of membership in the Kongra Gel 
(successor organization to the PKK) or another secret organization 
seeking to annex part of Syria to another country; this was the case of 
Qanbar Hussein Qanbar who was sentenced to three years in prison on 
December 10.
    On January 21, authorities released Kurdish cultural activist 
Nasraldin Ahma after his detention at the State Security detention 
branch in Damascus. Security forces arrested Ahma in November 2005 due 
to his alleged support for Kurdish culture and traditions, according to 
international human rights groups.
    On April 2, the SSSC sentenced civil rights activist Sheikh Riyad 
Drar al-Hamood to five years in prison for degrading national pride in 
a time of war, for inciting conflict among the country's various 
religious and ethnic groups, and for forming a secret society. In June 
2005 authorities arrested al-Hamood after making a speech at Kurdish 
Sheikh Mashook al-Khaznawi's funeral.
    On April 19, PSD forces arrested Jihan Muhammed Ali, Adnan Khalil 
Rashid, Waheed Jihad Moustafa, and Fawzi Ali Kahwa in Aleppo on 
suspicion of being members of the Democratic Union Party, which is 
affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). All were released 
by year's end.
    On March 12, police and security services beat protesters at a 
demonstration commemorating the 2004 Qamishli incident. In 2004 
security forces in Qamishli, in the northeastern Hassakeh Province, 
opened fire on a crowd at a soccer match after clashes between Arab and 
Kurdish fans. The following day crowds rioted in Qamishli, and the 
security forces again fired on the crowd. Subsequently, riots and 
demonstrations spread throughout the towns and villages of Hassakeh as 
well as to cities such as Damascus and Aleppo. Thirty-eight persons 
were killed during the riots, and security forces detained more than 1 
thousand persons (see sections 1.a, 1.c, and 1.d.).
    On March 20, police and security services arrested 150-200 Kurds in 
Aleppo while celebrating their New Year. All were released by year's 
end.
    On December 10, police forcibly dispersed Kurdish demonstrators who 
were commemorating International Human Rights Day in al-Qamishli. Two 
Kurdish leaders, Fouad Aleiko and Ismail Hami, were beaten badly by the 
police. Observers reported that police Captain Abdullah Jarboo 
commenced the violence by attacking the demonstrators.
    On December 30, 49 Kurds connected to the May 2005 protest 
following Kurdish Sheikh Mashook al-Khaznawi's kidnapping and death 
were granted amnesty. In May 2005 prominent Kurdish Sheikh Mashook al-
Khaznawi disappeared from his Damascus office. A month later, he was 
found murdered near the town of Deir ez-Zur. The circumstances 
surrounding his murder remained unclear; however, some observers 
suggest that Khaznawi was killed by security services for having met 
with the exiled leader of Syria's Muslim Brotherhood.
    Although the Government contended that 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 written in Kurdish (see section 2.a.), 
Kurdish cultural expression, and, at times, the celebration of Kurdish 
festivals. On February 11, two Kurdish men were detained and released a 
few days later for selling calendars depicting scenes from Kurdish 
folklore. On July 16, authorities detained 28 persons from Qamishli and 
released them a few days later for their work on Kurdish cultural 
issues, according to lawyers. On August 4, four Kurdish language 
teachers were arrested and then released without charge, according to 
lawyers. The Government tacitly accepted the importation and 
distribution of Kurdish language materials, particularly in the 
northeast region where most of the Kurds resided.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--At year's end there was 
no progress on the Government's commitments to address the problem of 
stateless Kurds. Following the 1962 census, approximately 120 thousand 
Syrian Kurds lost their citizenship, which the Government has never 
restored. As a result, those who lost their nationality, including 
their children, remained severely disadvantaged in participating in 
civil life and in receiving government services such as including 
health and education, as well as employment open to citizens. These 
stateless Kurds, according to NGO Refugees International estimates, 
numbered approximately 300 thousand.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the constitution provides for 
the right of association and to form unions, in practice, workers were 
not free to establish unions independent of the Government. All unions 
belonged to the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), which was 
dominated by Ba'ath Party members and was a part of the Government's 
bureaucratic structure. The GFTU advised the Government on legislation, 
organized workers, and formulated rules for various member unions, 
controlling nearly all aspects of union activity. The GFTU President 
was a senior member of the Ba'ath Party, and he and his deputy could 
attend cabinet meetings on economic affairs.
    There were no reports of antiunion discrimination. Since the unions 
were part of the Government's bureaucratic structure, the law protects 
union members from such discrimination. The GFTU was affiliated with 
the Damascus-based International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions.
    All practicing lawyers in the court belonged to the Syrian Bar 
Association, whose leadership was dominated by Ba'ath party members.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for unions to conduct their activities without interference, 
but all unions must be part of the General Federation of Trade Unions, 
which is effectively a governmental body. Accordingly, all collective 
bargaining, association, and activity happen within the Government's 
parameters. The law provides for the right to bargain collectively; 
however, this right does not exist in practice as the unions are 
effectively led by Ba'ath Party officials closely tied to the 
Government. Government representatives were part of the bargaining 
process in the public sector. 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.
    The law provides for collective bargaining in the private sector, 
although past repression by the Government dissuaded most workers from 
exercising this right.
    Unions have the right to litigate disputes over work contracts and 
other workers' interests with employers and are able to ask for binding 
arbitration. In practice labor and management representatives settled 
most disputes without resort to legal remedies or arbitration. 
Management has the right to request arbitration, but that right seldom 
was exercised. Arbitration authority is vested in the Ministry of 
Justice administrative petition court. In practice this court did 
little more than certify agreements and had almost no role in 
arbitrating disputes; since such disputes did not occur with any 
regularity.
    The law does not prohibit strikes; however, previous government 
crackdowns, including fines and prison sentences, deterred workers from 
striking. Forced labor was imposed on individuals who caused 
``prejudice to the general production plan.'' There were no strikes 
during the year.
    There were no unions in the seven free trade zones (FTZs). Firms in 
the zones were exempt from the laws and regulations governing hiring 
and firing, although they were required to observe some provisions on 
health, safety, hours, and sick and annual leave. Ninety percent of the 
workers in the FTZs were citizens.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
prohibit all forms of forced or compulsory labor and the problem 
existed. The Governments of Sri Lanka and the Philippines banned their 
citizens from taking employment as domestic workers in the country 
because of abuses and the lack of a mechanism to protect the rights of 
their citizens.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in 
the workplace, and independent information and audits regarding 
government enforcement were not available.
    The private sector minimum age for employment is 15 years for most 
types of nonagricultural labor and 18 years for heavy work. Working 
hours for youths of legal age were set at six hours per day. Youths 
were not allowed to work during night shifts, weekends, or on official 
holidays. In all cases parental permission was required for children 
under the age of 16 to work. The majority of children under age 16 who 
worked did so for their parents in the agricultural sector without 
remuneration. While the law prohibits children from working at night, 
this law applies only to children who work for a salary. Those who work 
in family businesses and who are technically not paid a salary--a 
common occurrence--do not fall under the law. Children under age 15 are 
prohibited by law from working in mines, at petroleum sites, or in 
other dangerous areas. Children are not allowed to lift, carry, or drag 
heavy objects.
    According to UNICEF, 8 percent of children under the age of 14 
participated in the labor force between 1999 and 2003.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs monitored employment 
conditions for persons under the age of 18; however, there were too few 
inspectors to ensure compliance with the laws. The Labor Inspection 
Department performed unannounced spot checks of employers on a daily 
basis to enforce the law; however, the scope of these checks was 
unknown.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wage rates exist but did 
not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. As a 
result, many workers in both the public and private sectors took 
additional jobs or were supported by their extended families.
    The labor and social affairs minister was responsible for enforcing 
minimum wage levels in the public and private sectors. In February the 
President raised the public sector minimum wage from $96 (4800 Syrian 
pounds) to $118 (5880 Syrian pounds) per month, plus benefits, 
including compensation for meals, uniforms, and transportation. In May 
the Minister for Labor and Social Affairs directed private sector 
minimum wage to also increase to $118 (5880 Syrian pounds) per month; 
however, private sector companies usually paid much higher wages than 
the minimum. The public sector work week was 35 hours; the private 
sector's was 42.5 hours. Premium pay exists for overtime worked, and a 
prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime exists in several sectors.
    Rules and regulations severely limited the ability of an employer 
to dismiss a contracted employee without cause.
    The labor law grants employees judicial recourse to appeal 
dismissals. A committee formed by the minister of justice, the minister 
of labor, and the chief of the Central Commission for Inspection and 
Control may make a decision to dismiss an employee, stating the reasons 
behind the decision. This decision must be approved by the Prime 
Minister.
    The law does not protect temporary workers and workers without 
contracts. Neither group is subject to regulations on minimum wages. 
Small private firms and businesses employed such workers to avoid the 
costs associated with hiring permanent employees. The law mandates 
safety in all sectors. In practice there was little enforcement without 
worker complaints, which occurred infrequently despite posted notices 
regarding safety rights and regulations. Large companies, such as oil 
field contractors, employed safety engineers.
    Officials from the Ministries of Health and Labor were designated 
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 lax than in urban areas, where 
there were a larger number of 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.
    The law provides protection for foreign workers who reside legally 
in the country but not for illegal workers. There were no credible 
estimates available on the number of illegal workers in the country.

                               __________

                                TUNISIA

    Tunisia is a constitutionally-based republic with a population of 
approximately 10 million, dominated by a single political party, the 
Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been 
the President since 1987. In the 2004 Presidential election, President 
Ben Ali ran against three opposition candidates and was declared the 
winner with approximately 94 percent of the popular vote. Official 
turnout was higher than 90 percent, although observers regarded these 
figures as substantially inflated. In concurrent parliamentary 
elections, the RCD gained 152 of the 189 seats. A second legislative 
body, the Chamber of Advisors, was created in a 2002 referendum 
amending the constitution. In July 2005 indirect elections for the 
Chamber of Advisors resulted in a heavily pro-RCD body. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    The Government continued to commit serious human rights abuses. 
There were significant limitations on citizens' right to change their 
government. Members of the security forces tortured and physically 
abused prisoners and detainees. Security forces arbitrarily arrested 
and detained individuals. Authorities did not charge any police or 
security force official with abuse during the year. Lengthy pretrial 
and incommunicado detention remained a serious problem. The Government 
infringed on citizens' privacy rights, continued to impose severe 
restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press, and restricted 
freedom of assembly and association. The Government remained intolerant 
of public criticism and used intimidation, criminal investigations, the 
court system, arbitrary arrests, residential restrictions, and travel 
controls (including denial of passports), to discourage criticism by 
human rights and opposition activists. Corruption was a problem.
                        respect for human rights
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, 
on March 11, according to the World Organization Against Torture 
(OMCT), Bechir Rahali, chief of police of Cite Ennour, El Ouradia IV, 
Tunis, killed 24-year-old Tarek Ayari. According to an OMCT communique, 
following a police raid, Ayari fled on foot and a police vehicle 
pursued him. Rahali reportedly exited the vehicle and hit Ayari on the 
head with the handle of a pickaxe. Ayari reportedly collapsed and was 
left on the scene without assistance. According to information 
collected by OMCT, Ayari's brother subsequently drove him to the 
hospital where sources say he had injuries on his shoulder, knee, hand, 
and foot in addition to a head injury. Ayari died on March 11, and he 
was buried on March 13, reportedly under heavy police surveillance. 
OMCT and the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) called for an 
independent inquiry into the death of Ayari and restitution for the 
family; however, there were no further developments by year's end.
    There were no developments in the case of Moncef Ben Ahmed 
Ouahichi, a Jendouba resident, who died in June 2005 of a cerebral 
hemorrhage at La Rabta Hospital in Tunis following his arrest and 
detention at police facilities in Jendouba. Human rights organizations 
alleged that Ouahichi died as a result of being beaten in custody by 
security officials.

    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, according to 
human rights organizations, security forces tortured detainees to 
elicit confessions and discourage resistance. The forms of torture and 
other abuse included: sleep deprivation; electric shock; submersion of 
the head in water; beatings with hands, sticks, and police batons; 
suspension, sometimes manacled, from cell doors and rods resulting in 
loss of consciousness; and cigarette burns. According to Amnesty 
International (AI), police and prison officials used sexual assault and 
threats of sexual assault against the wives of Islamist prisoners to 
extract information, intimidate, and punish.
    Charges of torture in specific cases were difficult to prove. 
Authorities often allegedly denied victims of torture access to medical 
care until evidence of abuse disappeared. The Government maintained 
that it investigated all complaints of torture and mistreatment filed 
with the prosecutor's office and noted that alleged victims sometimes 
accused police of torture without filing a complaint, which is a 
prerequisite for an investigation.
    According to defense attorneys and local and international human 
rights groups, police routinely refused to register complaints of 
torture. In addition, judges dismissed complaints without investigation 
and accepted as evidence confessions allegedly extracted through 
torture. The Government has the ability to open an administrative 
investigation of allegations of torture or mistreatment of prisoners 
without a formal complaint; however, in those cases the results have 
not been made public or available to the lawyers of affected prisoners.
    Consistent with an effort to extract information or coerce 
confessions, reports of torture were more frequently associated with 
the initial phases of interrogation/investigation and pretrial 
detention centers more than prisons. Human rights activists, citing 
prisoner accounts, identified facilities at the Ministry of Interior as 
the most common location for torture. Political prisoners, Islamists, 
and persons detained on terrorism-related charges allegedly received 
harsher treatment than other prisoners and detainees.
    Several domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including 
the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) and the 
Association for the Fight Against Torture in Tunisia (ALTT), reported 
multiple torture cases throughout the year.
    On June 1, the LTDH Section in Bizerte reported that on May 4, 
Aymen Ben Belgacem Dridi, detained on terrorism-related charges, was 
reportedly beaten, kicked, and subjected to falka (beatings on the 
soles of the feet) in the Borj er-Roumi prison. Dridi's lawyer 
reportedly registered a complaint of torture and other crimes and 
requested an inquiry. According to the LTDH communique, on May 17, the 
request was registered at a Bizerte court, and on May 20, a government 
prosecutor conducted an interview of Dridi. Security forces allegedly 
assaulted Dridi again. There were no further developments in the 
inquiry at year's end.
    There were no further developments in the case of Zied Ghodhbane, 
who reportedly appeared in court in June 2005 in a state of physical 
and psychological distress, showing marks of abuse. He reportedly 
testified that after his extradition from Algeria, officials at the 
Ministry of Interior tortured him by beatings, electrocution, and 
holding his head under water. Defense lawyers for the accused requested 
that the judge recommend a medical examination, but the judge 
reportedly ruled that such a request should come from the general 
prosecutor.
    There were no further developments in the case of the ``Bizerte 
Group,'' 11 defendants arrested in 2004 and charged with various 
terrorism-related crimes, who were sentenced in 2005 to prison terms 
ranging from 10 to 30 years. In July 2005 the court acquitted five of 
the defendants, while the remaining six received sentence reductions. 
The Committee of the Defense of Victims of the Law on Terrorism 
released multiple communiques in 2005 charging that authorities used 
torture to obtain confessions from the group.
    Police assaulted human rights and opposition activists throughout 
the year.
    On March 11, according to the LTDH, police agents beat former 
political prisoner Abdeljabbar Maddouri, who reportedly lost 
consciousness and was hospitalized due to the attack.
    On May 11, according to multiple witnesses and human rights groups, 
police assaulted lawyers staging a three-week sit-in to protest a new 
law that created a training institute for lawyers (see section 1.e.). 
Police allegedly attacked several lawyers over the course of the three-
week sit-in, including Ayachi Hammami, Raouf Ayadi, and Abderrazak 
Kilani, all of whom were hospitalized, according to a communique 
released by CNLT.
    There were no further developments on reports that three 
individuals, allegedly members of the security forces, assaulted 
journalist Sihem Ben Sedrine in 2004 (see section 2.a.), or on reports 
in 2004 of an assault on former political prisoner Hamma Hammami, whose 
political party urged the boycott of the 2004 Presidential elections.
    In 2004 the President ordered the Higher Commission on Human Rights 
and Basic Freedoms (a state appointed body) to conduct an inquiry into 
the case of Nabil El Ouaer, whom a military tribunal had sentenced to 
15 years in prison in 1992. In 2004 the senior official of Borj er-
Roumi Prison allegedly beat Ouaer and placed him in solitary 
confinement. While in solitary confinement, four other prisoners 
allegedly raped him. Based on its timing and location, human rights 
activists believed prison officials sanctioned the incident. 
Authorities did not publish the commission's findings, if any, by 
year's end.
    Authorities did not charge any police or security force official 
with abuse during the year.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions ranged 
from spartan to poor and generally did not meet international 
standards. Although overcrowding and limited medical care posed a 
significant threat to prisoners' health, new prison facilities at 
Mornaguia and greater access to healthcare improved the situation.
    According to human rights organizations, prison conditions in the 
country continued to fall short of minimum adequate standards. Hygiene 
was extremely poor, and prisoners rarely had access to showers and 
washing facilities. Sources reported that 40 to 50 prisoners were 
typically confined to a single 194 square foot cell, and up to 140 
prisoners shared a 323 square foot cell. Most prisoners were forced to 
share beds or sleep on the floor. Current and former prisoners reported 
that inmates were forced to share a single water and toilet facility 
with more than 100 cellmates, creating serious sanitation problems. 
Contagious diseases, particularly scabies, were widespread, and 
prisoners did not have access to adequate medical care. Additional 
discriminatory and arbitrary measures such as restrictions on family 
visits worsened the conditions of detention, particularly when 
prisoners sought redress for grievances about treatment and conditions.
    On September 9, the Government closed the ``9 Avril'' prison in 
Tunis and moved prisoners to a new facility at Mornaguia, a suburb of 
Tunis. The capacity of the new prison was reportedly 5,000 prisoners 
and designed to remedy serious problems of overcrowding in the 9 Avril 
prison. Prisoners had previously complained of very poor conditions in 
9 Avril, including overcrowding, sanitation problems, and limited 
access to medical care.
    A 2004 LTDH report on the country's prisons entitled ``The Walls of 
Silence'' estimated that there were approximately 26,000 prisoners in 
29 prisons and seven juvenile detention centers. The report described a 
number of abuses, alleging that torture and humiliating treatment of 
prisoners were widespread.
    In an April 2005 report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the 
Government practice of holding political prisoners in prolonged 
solitary confinement. During a press conference held in Tunis in April 
2005, HRW announced that the Government promised not to place prisoners 
in solitary confinement for more than 10 days, the maximum time allowed 
for punishment according to the law. Shortly thereafter, the Government 
confirmed that it had eliminated long-term solitary confinement. 
However, HRW reported that the Government continued to keep some 
political prisoners, most of whom were outlawed Islamist party An-
Nahdha leaders, in small-group isolation.
    According to prisoner and detainee testimony, prison conditions for 
women were generally better than those for men. Conditions for 
detainees and convicts were reportedly the same.
    International and local NGOs reported that political prisoners 
regularly were moved among jails throughout the country, thereby making 
it more difficult for their families to deliver food to them and to 
discourage their supporters or the press from inquiring about them (see 
section 1.b.). The CNLT reported that other inmates were instructed to 
stay away from political prisoners and were punished severely for 
making contact with them.
    In April 2005 the Government reportedly approved access for HRW to 
make prison visits. Following this verbal agreement, however, HRW 
submitted a formal request for prison access, but despite multiple 
communications from HRW, by year's end the Government had not responded 
to HRW's request. In June 2005 the ICRC began conducting prison and 
detention center visits, following more than a year of negotiations 
with the Government. The International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) reported that prison authorities had respected their mission and 
allowed them to conduct visits without obstacle. According to ICRC the 
Government began to put measures in place to improve conditions, 
including improved hygienic conditions and access to medical care. In 
February the ICRC submitted its first intermediary report to the 
Government. The Government did not permit media to inspect or monitor 
prison conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but, in practice, they occurred.
    The International Association for the Support of Political 
Prisoners (AISPP) reported that hundreds of persons were arrested from 
2003 until present for visiting terrorism-related Web sites and were 
detained without proper legal procedures or sufficient evidence of 
commission of a crime (see section 1.d.).
    According to AI and domestic human rights organizations, scores of 
people were arrested by police beginning in late December, following 
exchanges of gun fire between security forces and members of a Salafist 
armed group that had among its targets foreign embassies and personnel. 
Families made enquiries about the individuals, but the authorities 
allegedly have given them no information. AI expressed concern that 
they may have been held in incommunicado detention at the State 
Security Department of the Ministry of Interior in Tunis, where they 
would be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. There were no 
developments on this caseload at year's end.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the 
Interior controls several law enforcement organizations including: the 
police, who have primary responsibility within the major cities; the 
National Guard, which has responsibility in smaller cities and the 
countryside; and state security forces, which monitor groups and 
individuals the Government considers to be a threat, such as opposition 
parties and leaders, the media, Islamists, and human rights activists.
    In general law enforcement groups were disciplined, organized, and 
effective; however, there were episodes involving petty corruption and 
police brutality. Law enforcement organizations operated with impunity, 
and sanctioned by high officials, the police attacked dissidents and 
oppositionists.
    The Ministry of Interior's Higher Institute of Internal Security 
Forces and Customs has oversight of law enforcement officers in the 
ministries of interior and customs. The organization's stated mission 
was to reinforce human rights and improve law enforcement; however, no 
information was available about its operations, and no information was 
available about any punishment of police and prison guards.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that the police must have a 
warrant to arrest a suspect, unless the crime committed is a felony or 
is in progress; however, arbitrary arrests and detentions occurred. The 
penal code permits the detention of suspects for up to six days prior 
to arraignment, during which time the Government may hold suspects 
incommunicado. Arresting officers are required to 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, 
but those rules were sometimes ignored. Detainees were allowed access 
to family members when they were not being held incommunicado, although 
the Government did not always facilitate the efforts of family members 
to identify the whereabouts of their detained relatives.
    Detainees have the right to know the grounds of their arrest before 
questioning, and may request a medical examination. They do not have a 
right to legal representation during the pre arraignment detention. 
Attorneys, human rights monitors, and former detainees maintained that 
authorities illegally extended detainment by falsifying arrest dates. 
Police reportedly extorted money from families of innocent detainees in 
exchange for dropping charges against them.
    The law permits the release of accused persons on bail, and 
detainees have the right to be represented by counsel during 
arraignment. The Government provides legal representation for 
indigents. At arraignment the examining magistrate may decide to 
release the accused or remand him to pretrial detention.
    The Government denied detaining anyone for political crimes. The 
lack of public information on prisoners and detainees made it 
impossible to estimate the number of political detainees. However, it 
was likely that the number of those held without charge was low because 
criminal convictions of dissidents and Islamists were easy to secure 
under laws prohibiting membership in outlawed organizations and 
``spreading false information aimed at disturbing of the public 
order.''
    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 by an additional three months only. During this pretrial 
stage, the court conducts an investigation, hears arguments, and 
accepts evidence and motions from both parties. Complaints of prolonged 
pretrial detention were common.

    Amnesty.--Judges and the Government exercised their authority to 
release prisoners or suspend their sentences, often on conditional 
parole (see section 1.e.).
    On February 26, President Ben Ali released 1,298 prisoners from 
prison and granted ``conditional freedom'' to 359 others. Among those 
released were 87 members of the banned Islamist party An-Nahdha, 
including Hamadi Jebali, the former editor of An-Nahdha's now defunct 
newspaper al-Fajr, as well as other Islamists. Also among those 
released were six detainees, known as the Zarzis group, who had been 
arrested in 2003 for allegedly preparing to commit terrorist attacks. 
International and domestic human rights NGOs, who have long called for 
the release of political prisoners, had been particularly vocal about 
Jebali and the Zarzis group. After release Jebali and members of the 
Zarzis group complained of subsequent government harassment and 
excessive restrictions on personal movement due to their administrative 
control status (see section 2.d.).
    On November 4, President Ben Ali released an unannounced number of 
prisoners in advance of the November 7 national holiday commemorating 
the President's accession to power in 1987. An-Nahdha later reported on 
its Web site that 55 of its former members that had been imprisoned in 
the early 1990s were among those released. Several of those released 
had been sentenced to life in prison.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the executive branch and the President 
strongly influenced judicial procedures, particularly in political 
cases. The executive branch exercised indirect authority over the 
judiciary through the appointment, assignment, tenure, and transfer of 
judges, rendering the system susceptible to pressure. In addition, the 
President was head of the Supreme Council of Judges, composed primarily 
of Presidential appointees.
    The law provides citizens legal recourse to an administrative 
tribunal to address grievances against government ministries, although 
government officials rarely respected the tribunal's nonbinding 
decisions. Throughout the year the Government permitted observers from 
diplomatic missions and foreign journalists to monitor trials. The 
Government did not permit observers to attend sessions of military 
tribunals.
    In June 2005 as it had in the previous year, the Association of 
Tunisian Judges (AMT), a 1,700-member professional organization, 
released a communique calling for reform of the recruitment, transfer, 
and promotion system for judges and proposing elections of judges to 
the Supreme Council of Judges, the governing body for the judiciary 
(see section 2.b.). Although the Government did not officially respond 
to the association's communique, in July 2005 human rights 
organizations stated that the Government removed AMT leadership due to 
its demonstrated independence and transferred independent judges to 
regional cities as punishment(see section 2.b.).
    On May 9, the Tunisian Bar Association led a sit-in at the 
association's headquarters in Tunis protesting a draft law announced 
the same day that created a training institute for lawyers. Lawyers 
alleged that by controlling admission to the Institute, the Government 
would effectively control admittance to the bar. Although the bar 
association had previously supported the creation of a training 
institute to standardize qualifications for becoming a lawyer, bar 
association leaders complained that the association was not consulted 
on the new draft law and that the proposed institution would not be 
independent. Lawyers alleged that police abused several lawyers who 
participated in the sit-in and related demonstrations outside of court 
buildings in Tunis (see section 1.c.). On May 12, despite the 
objections of the bar association, the President signed the law.
    The civil court system is a four tiered hierarchy. At the first 
level, there are 51 district courts, in which a single judge hears each 
case. At the second level are 24 courts of first instance, which serve 
as the appellate courts for the district courts, but which also have 
original jurisdiction for more serious cases. The Court of Cassation 
(or Supreme Court) serves as the final court of appeals. The Supreme 
Court only considers arguments pertaining to points of law. The 
organization of the criminal court system is similar to that of the 
civil court system. In most cases the presiding judge or panel of 
judges dominate a trial, and attorneys have little opportunity to 
participate substantively.
    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. Defendants may 
appeal the military tribunal's verdict to the civilian Supreme Court.
    On April 18, according to newspapers, Slah Mosbah, a well-known 
singer, was arrested on charges of ``attacking the dignity of the 
army'' and physical assault due to an altercation with two military 
officials following a car accident involving Mosbah's vehicle and a 
military bus. Authorities tried Mosbah in April and May in a military 
tribunal and sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison. 
Authorities released Mosbah on parole after two months on June 23.
    There is also an administrative tribunal, which hears 
administrative cases between citizens and the Government.

    Trial Procedures.--The law extends the same trial procedure rights 
to all citizens, and it provides for the right to a fair trial; 
however, according to international and domestic NGOs this did not 
always occur in practice.
    Trials in the regular courts of first instance and in the courts of 
appeal are open to the public. By law the accused has the right to be 
present at trial, to be represented by counsel, and to question 
witnesses; however, judges do not always observe these rights in 
practice. The law permits the trial in absentia of fugitives from the 
law. Both the accused and the prosecutor may appeal decisions of the 
lower courts.
    The law provides that defendants are presumed innocent until proven 
guilty ``following a procedure offering essential defense guarantees.'' 
However, that presumption was sometimes ignored in practice, especially 
in politically sensitive cases. Defendants may request a different 
judge if they believe the assigned one is not impartial; however, 
judges are not required to recuse themselves.
    Lengthy trial delays remained a problem (see section 1.d.). 
Defendants do not have the right to a speedy trial, nor is there any 
limit to how much time a case can take. Defense lawyers claimed that 
judges sometimes refused to let them call witnesses on their clients' 
behalf or to question key government witnesses. Defense lawyers 
contended that the courts often failed to grant them adequate notice of 
trial dates, or to allow them time to prepare their cases. Some 
reported that judges restricted access to evidence and court records, 
and in some cases, required all the lawyers working on a case to 
examine documents together on a single date in judges' chambers, 
without allowing them to copy relevant documents.
    Lawyers and human rights organizations reported that courts 
routinely failed to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment 
and accepted as evidence confessions extracted through torture (see 
section 1.c.). They noted that the summary nature of court sessions 
sometimes prevented reasoned deliberation. They also stated that 
erratic court schedules and procedures were designed to deter observers 
of political trials.
    Although family and inheritance law is codified, civil law judges 
were known to apply Shari'a (Islamic law) in family cases if the two 
systems conflicted (see section 5). For example, codified laws provided 
women with the legal right to custody over minor children; however, 
judges sometimes refused to grant women permission to leave the country 
with them, holding that Shari'a appoints the father as the head of the 
family and the one who must grant children permission to travel. Some 
families avoided the application of Shari'a inheritance rules by 
executing sales contracts between parents and children to ensure that 
daughters received shares of property equal to that of sons.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government denied that it 
held any political prisoners, and there was no definitive information 
regarding the number, if any, of such prisoners. Human rights 
organizations alleged that the Government had arrested and imprisoned 
more than 500 persons since 2005 on charges related to a 2003 
antiterrorism law, without sufficient evidence that they had committed 
or planned to commit terrorist acts. Human rights activists and lawyers 
alleged that many of these detainees were tortured in Ministry of 
Interior facilities and were forced to sign confessions.
    The AISPP claimed that approximately 150 political prisoners 
remained from the caseload of Islamists arrested in the late 1980s and 
early 1990s. Very few of the prisoners were convicted for acts of 
violence. Most of those who were identified by international human 
rights groups as political prisoners or prisoners of conscience were 
arrested for violating laws that prohibit membership in illegal 
organizations and spreading false information aimed at undermining 
public order. Many were arrested for disseminating information produced 
by organizations such as An-Nahdha. Former political prisoners stated 
their identity papers were marked in a way that resulted in their 
receiving harsher treatment.
    The ICRC and the governmental body Higher Committee on Human Rights 
had access to visit prisons and detention facilities.
    In June 2005 the Government released Lotfi Amoudi, who the AISPP 
stated was a political prisoner. He had served 14 years in prison and 
was released in poor health after a 26-day hunger strike.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While a court system 
existed through which a human rights complaint could be made, the 
judiciary was not independent and impartial in cases involving human 
rights violations when the Government was involved. Administrative 
remedies were available through the Office of the Ombudsman at the 
Presidency and administrative court. However, decisions taken by these 
institutions were not binding and were often ignored by other 
government departments and agencies.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions ``except in exceptional 
cases defined by law''; however, the Government generally did not 
respect these prohibitions in practice. Police sometimes ignored the 
requirement to have a warrant before conducting searches if authorities 
considered state security to be involved. AISPP officials reported that 
throughout the year members of the security forces broke into AISPP 
offices at night and searched without warrant.
    Authorities may invoke state security to justify telephone 
surveillance. According to numerous reports by NGOs, the news media, 
and diplomatic representatives, the Government intercepted faxes and e-
mails. The law does not explicitly authorize these activities, but the 
Government stated that the code of criminal procedure implicitly gives 
investigating magistrates such authority. Many opposition political 
activists experienced frequent and sometimes extended interruptions of 
service to home and business telephones, faxes, and the Internet. Human 
rights activists accused the Government of using the postal code, with 
its broad but undefined prohibition against mail that threatens the 
public order, to interfere with their correspondence and interrupt the 
delivery of foreign publications. Security forces routinely monitored 
the activities, telephone, and Internet exchanges of opposition, 
Islamist, human rights activists, as well as journalists, and also 
placed some under surveillance (see section 2.a.).
    The Government barred membership in political parties organized by 
religion, race, or region of origin. On these grounds, the Government 
considered that members of the Islamist movement An-Nahdha belonged to 
an illegal organization (see section 3).
    Human rights activists claimed that the Government punished family 
members of Islamist activists for crimes allegedly committed by the 
activists. Family members were reportedly denied jobs, educational 
opportunities, business licenses, and the right to travel due to their 
relatives' activism. They also alleged that relatives of Islamist 
activists, in jail or living abroad, were subjected to police 
surveillance and questioning about their activist relatives.
    Human rights activists reported that upon release from prison, 
detainees suspected of An-Nahdha membership were harassed and 
restricted in their employment. Former An-Nahdha prisoners reported 
that government officials instructed prospective employers not to hire 
them or their families. Former political prisoners were not able to 
obtain a document from the Ministry of Interior stating that they had 
no criminal records. Such statements were necessary for employment. 
Even if they had not been jailed, authorities confiscated the identity 
cards of some activists and Islamists. For example, AISPP member Lasaad 
Johri has been deprived of an identity card since 1999. An individual 
must have an identity card to receive healthcare, sign a lease, buy or 
drive a car, access bank accounts and pensions, and even to join a 
sports club. Police may stop anyone at any time and ask for his or her 
identity card. If individuals are unable to produce their cards, police 
may detain them until their identity can be established by a central 
fingerprint database.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press ``exercised within the conditions 
defined by the law''; however, the Government generally did not respect 
these rights in practice. It limited press freedom and intimidated 
journalists, editors, and publishers into practicing self censorship. 
Security forces closely monitored press activity.
    Journalist accreditation for domestic press is obtained from the 
Ministry of Communication. The journalist must have a university degree 
and be employed by a newspaper. The journalist's employing newspaper 
must submit a request for accreditation. If approved, the journalist 
received a trainee card for the first year, followed by a professional 
card. Not all working journalists have accreditation, which provides 
access to official events.
    Under the law, print media need not be licensed. In practice, 
however, print media are rigidly controlled by the authorization to the 
printer, not the publisher. Print media must request a copyright 
(patente) registration from the Ministry of Interior. Applications are 
submitted to the Ministry of the Interior, which then delivers a 
receipt (recepisse) good for one year constituting the official permit 
to publish. The Press Code requires that the printer request the 
receipt before printing, effectively prohibiting any unlicensed 
publications. The code also requires the publisher to inform the 
Ministry of Interior of any change of printer.
    Printers and publishers violating these rules are subject to 
substantial, per copy, personal fines under the Press Code.
    In a similar way, broadcast media are controlled by the granting or 
denial of a frequency by the Tunisian Frequencies Agency, which is part 
of the Ministry of Communications and Technologies. These licenses, or 
acceptance of the application, are tightly restricted.
    The law prohibits citizens from discussing national politics on 
foreign radio or television channels during the two weeks prior to 
national elections.
    Security forces often questioned citizens seen talking with foreign 
visitors or residents, particularly visiting international human rights 
monitors and journalists. The Government attempted to prevent private 
meetings with foreign diplomats and to influence public meetings by 
surrounding meeting places with scores of plainclothes policemen (see 
section 2.b.). For example, on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, 
plainclothes policemen lined the street leading to the headquarters of 
the Government offices of Tunisian Radio and Television, blocking a 
planned demonstration on press freedom.
    The Government stated that there were 950 foreign publications and 
newspapers distributed in the country and that 90 percent of the 
newspapers were ``privately owned and editorially independent.'' 
However, of the eight mainstream dailies, two were government owned, 
two were owned by the ruling party, and two, although nominally 
private, took editorial direction from senior government officials. All 
media were subject to significant governmental pressure over subject 
matter.
    There were three opposition party newspapers with small 
circulations and editorial independence from the Government. 
Nevertheless, two of them, Ettariq El Jadid and Al-Wahda, received 
government subsidies under a law that provides government financing to 
papers representing opposition parties with seats in parliament. The 
third, Al-Mawqif, did not receive the subsidy since its party was not 
represented in parliament.
    While the Government permitted public criticism in opposition 
newspapers, it impeded similar criticism in the mainstream press. 
Individuals and certain groups faced reprisal for statements critical 
of the Government. For example, in April 2005 a court found Mohamed 
Abbou, a lawyer, guilty of publishing statements ``likely to disturb 
the public order'' in which he compared the fate of Iraqi prisoners in 
Abu Ghraib to that of citizen prisoners. He was arrested following the 
online publication of another article in which he unfavorably compared 
the country's President to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. 
Mohamed Abbou's wife, Samia Abbou, and family were harassed and 
subjects of surveillance. In March Mohamed Abbou went on a hunger 
strike to protest his detention conditions, which he alleged 
deteriorated following a demonstration by supporters outside the El Kef 
Prison where he was detained. On October 16, Samia Abbou went on a one-
day hunger strike with other wives of political prisoners to protest 
their husbands' continued detention. Following the hunger strike, 
police harassment and surveillance of Samia Abbou and her family 
increased.
    On May 27, authorities sentenced opposition political activist 
Neila Hachicha's husband, Khaled Hachicha, to six months in prison for 
a zoning violation after Neila Hachicha published critical articles 
online and in international newspapers and appeared on Al-Jazeera. 
Human rights activists alleged that Hachicha's husband's sentence was a 
result of her activism. On November 16, authorities released Hachicha.
    On October 21, authorities charged opposition political leader 
Moncef Marzouki with ``threatening to disturb the public order,'' 
following appearances on Al-Jazeera earlier in October in which he 
criticized the Government and called for civil disobedience.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of journalists 
being arrested solely because of their work as journalists; however, 
some journalists who were active in opposition activities, such as Al-
Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji, were detained. Other journalists 
were detained and interrogated without being formally arrested. 
Throughout the year, Abdullah Zouari, a journalist who once worked for 
Al-Fajr, the weekly newspaper of the An-Nahdha party, remained under 
administrative control and in internal exile. During the year Zouari 
undertook a number of hunger strikes to bring attention to his 
situation. In February authorities released Hamadi Jebali, a former 
editor of Al-Fajr, after having served most of a 16 year sentence for 
insurrection and ``membership in an illegal organization.'' He reported 
that he remained under administrative control and was unable to travel 
outside of the governorate of Sousse.
    On August 16, according to Reporters Without Borders (RWB), police 
beat two journalists, Slim Boukhdir and Taoufik Al-Ayachi, in Tunis 
following their visit to the home of Samia Abbou. According to RWB, 
approximately a dozen policemen accosted and beat them, and Ayachi's 
camera was confiscated.
    According to RWB and other human rights and press freedom 
organizations, authorities frequently harassed Boukhdir after he posted 
articles on the Internet critical of the Government. In November 2005 
Arabic-language daily newspaper Ash-Shourouq stopped publishing his 
articles and froze his salary in February. In April and May he was one 
of two Ash-Shourouq journalists who went on hunger strike in protest of 
their treatment by Ash-Shourouq management. Government authorities 
reportedly refused to give Boukhdir a press card and confiscated his 
passport.
    There were no further developments in the case of Christophe 
Boltanksi, a journalist for the French newspaper Liberation, who was 
attacked and robbed in November 2005. Boltanski had been reporting on 
demonstrations in support of the Movement of 18 October hunger strikers 
(see section 2.b.). Following the attack international and local civil 
society organizations accused the security forces of organizing the 
assault. The Government claimed it had arrested two suspects in the 
attack, but there was no information on any subsequent trial of the 
alleged perpetrators at year's end.
    There was no further information on the alleged assault of Jean 
Jacques Mathy in November 2005. According to international media and 
NGO reports, plainclothes policemen pulled Mathy, of the Belgian 
television station RBF, from his car and seized his video camera and 
cassette. The camera was subsequently returned without the cassette 
(see section 2.b.).
    On January 11, the President signed a law abolishing depot legal, 
which had required that the Government approve all printed material 
prior to publication or distribution. The lifting of depot legal 
applied to newspapers and magazines but not books. The lifting of depot 
legal means that newspapers and magazines no longer must deposit a copy 
of their latest issue at the Ministry of Interior before going to 
print. Lifting of depot legal ended formal, overt censorship of the 
print media but did not end self-censorship and obvious government 
interference, such as the simultaneous appearance in three different 
Arabic-language newspapers of similar editorials lambasting civil 
society activists who frequent foreign embassies. All books and foreign 
publications continued to be subject to restrictions, as evidenced by 
the refusal of permission to distribute or print certain books. Book 
fairs had to deposit a copy of each title, or at least a list of 
titles, in advance. In a February 2005 report, the Tunisia Monitoring 
Group of the NGO International Exchange on Freedom of Expression 
provided a list of 21 books or academic works by domestic authors that 
have been censored in the country from initial publication until 
present.
    On January 18, the GOT seized all of the copies of two domestic 
newspapers (mainstream weekly Akhbar al Joumhouriya and opposition 
weekly Al Mawqif), reportedly because of their articles on a rumored 
upcoming rise in bread prices. Press contacts claimed that the 
Government considered the articles provocative. The Government provided 
no legal justification for the removal of the newspapers.
    The Government also seized and banned distribution of the July 14 
issue of Al Mawqif. Press observers claimed that the cause was its 
reprinting of an editorial by the chief editor of Pan-Arab newspaper Al 
Quds Al Arabi, threatening not to distribute the newspaper in the 
country due to press censorship. However, the article was published in 
a subsequent issue of Al Mawqif.
    The law stipulates that the publication, introduction, and 
circulation of foreign works may be restricted. Authorities restricted 
the timely purchase of foreign publications that included articles 
deemed critical of the country or that the Government determined could 
prompt a security threat. For example, on February 7, according to the 
NGO Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing, and Creation in 
Tunisia (OLPEC), authorities banned the circulation of issue 257 of Al 
Maraa Al Youm magazine, edited in Dubai, allegedly due to an article 
referring to a rumored illness of President Ben Ali.
    Authorities prevented the distribution of the September 19 edition 
of the International Herald Tribune and Le Figaro due to an editorial 
by Robert Redeker that claimed Islam incited hatred and violence.
    The law authorizes sentences up to five years in prison for 
offensive statements against the President and up to three years in 
prison for defamation of constitutional bodies, including the Chamber 
of Deputies, Chamber of Advisors, constitutional councils, the 
administration, government members or deputies. In 2004 charges for 
defamation were brought against the editor of Al Mawqif for a 2004 
article calling for an investigation into the railroad system. Nejib 
Chebbi, then-PDP secretary general and Al Mawqif publisher, appeared 
before the public prosecutor in April 2005. The case remained pending 
at year's end.
    Directors and owners of existing private media, as well as 
journalists at the Government and ruling party-owned press, practiced a 
high degree of self-censorship. Journalists in the mainstream press 
regularly refrained from investigative reporting on national issues. 
Only the small opposition press reported regularly on controversial 
national issues.
    In May 2005 three independent members of the board of the Tunisian 
Journalists Association published a report in the name of the 
association that reported ``rampant violations, including censorship 
and harassment of journalists.'' In May 2005 one of the members, Neji 
Bghouri, was held in police headquarters, but no formal charges were 
brought against him.
    On May 3, the Association of Tunisian Journalists (AJT) released a 
report that summarized financial and administrative hardships of 
journalists, noted that no new newspapers were licensed, and mentioned 
the near absence of investigative reporting or editorial comment on 
local issues. While the report criticized government-owned television 
programming and also referred to ``censorship, abusive licensing 
practices, and refusal of coverage of some events,'' the authors 
avoided any direct criticism of the Government.
    Also on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Lotfi Hajji, President of 
the unrecognized Tunisian Journalists Union (SJT), released a report 
that directly criticized the Government's harassment of journalists and 
its control over nominally private media outlets. On May 12, 
authorities called Hajji to police headquarters and interrogated him 
for four hours about an ``illegal'' meeting of ``civil society 
representatives'' at his home in Bizerte. The list of representatives 
presented to him by the police included the names of his wife and 
brother. Hajji's detention also followed two articles he wrote and 
published on the Internet on a confrontation between the Government and 
the Tunisian Bar Association over the creation of the new lawyer's 
institute (see section 1.e.).
    Government regulations required foreign correspondents to obtain 
written approval before video recording in public. The Government also 
controlled the satellite transmissions of local correspondents 
reporting for foreign television stations by refusing to license 
correspondents and insisting all correspondents use government-owned 
facilities for satellite uplinks.
    The Government often pressured newspapers to carry the Government 
wire service's version of an event, even when their own journalists 
were present. According to the May 3 SJT report, authorities told 
journalists not to report a post office employees' strike on January 4 
and a high school teachers' strike on April 19. Some government-owned 
newspapers accused the union of incitement and a lack of patriotism. 
Following a 2005 press conference held by the Tunisian Bar Association 
on the Mohamed Abbou case, officials told journalists present not to 
write about the event.
    The Government continued to exercise tight control over the 
licensing of new newspapers. Although there were at least 11 existing 
applications, the Government authorized the creation of only one new 
newspaper, Mouwatinoun, which was to be published by the legal 
opposition party Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties (FDTL). 
According to party leaders, only weeks after refusing FDTL the 
necessary paperwork to begin the process of authorization, in December 
the Ministry of Interior approved the publication, according to party 
leaders.
    CLNT produced the newspaper-magazine Kalima without a license, but 
it was not available for public consumption. In September 2005 
officials at the Ministry of Interior prevented Sihem Ben Sedrine, a 
journalist, publisher, and one of the founders of the CNLT, from 
registering her newspaper Kalima, whose Web site remained blocked 
within the country (see section 2.b.). It was Ben Sedrine's fourth 
attempt to register the publication. Ben Sedrine and international 
human rights NGOs alleged that the Government refused registration of 
Kalima due to its commentary critical of the Government. During the 
year police seized copies of the newspaper from CNLT officials outside 
of CNLT headquarters in Tunis.
    The Government maintained tight control of the broadcast media. 
Although the private broadcast media made some inroads in social and 
sports commentary, both private and government-owned radio stations 
confined broadcast news to international and noncontroversial national 
issues.
    In observance of a stipulation of its 2005 license, the Hannibal 
private television station did not broadcast news. The granting of the 
licenses for the three existing private broadcast media was not 
transparent, and several requests for licenses, some pending for years, 
remained in limbo. The Government did not restrict the widespread 
possession of satellite dishes.
    On October 3, Hannibal TV stopped broadcasting Sans Preavis, a show 
reporting poor families preparing the traditional Ramadan iftar meal. 
Although no official reason was given for the cancellation, some media 
sources suggested that it was due to government pressure since the show 
presented an unfavorable picture of government efforts to eradicate 
poverty.
    The Government permitted the establishment of a pan-Maghreb 
satellite television channel, based in Tunis but broadcasting from 
Paris, by Karoui&Karoui World.
    The Government continued to withhold press credentials from, and 
delayed granting passports to, journalists, such as Slim Boukhdir, who 
in 2004 posed a question in a press conference implying that relatives 
of the President had pressured the judiciary to influence a legal case. 
The Government did not grant government press cards to other 
experienced journalists, including Lotfi Hajji, Abdelatif Fourati, 
Slaheddine Jourchi, and Mohamed Fourati. Such press cards were needed 
for official accreditation as a journalist and were reviewed annually. 
Accreditation allowed journalists to attend official press conferences.
    According to many journalists and non-journalist sources, senior 
government officials routinely called news directors and editors to 
inform them which issues they were forbidden to cover or publish and to 
direct editorial content and news coverage. The Tunisian Agency for 
External Communications enforced this policy and other informal 
censorship mechanisms by favoring certain publications for placement of 
government advertising. In addition, private companies were unwilling 
to advertise in newspapers no longer receiving government 
advertisements in order to avoid the appearance of siding with the 
media organization being punished by the Government.

    Internet Freedom.--According to the Government, no content is 
blocked or censored, except for obscene material or content threatening 
public order, defined as ``incitement to hate, violence, terrorism, and 
all forms of discrimination and bigoted behavior which violate the 
integrity and dignity of the human person, and/or are prejudicial to 
children and adolescents.'' However, the Government blocked access to a 
number of Internet Web sites for their criticism of the Government. The 
Government blocked nearly all sites belonging to domestic human rights, 
opposition, and Islamist groups. Some foreign Web sites remained 
blocked, including that of AI, RWB and the local section of the HRW Web 
site. Opposition news sites and Internet discussion sites were also 
blocked.
    In November 2005 the OpenNet Initiative, a collaborative of 
universities in several nations studying government attempts to control 
Internet information, reported that the Government had blocked 10 
percent of the 2,000 Web sites it tested and targeted and blocked 
substantial online material on political opposition, human rights, 
methods of bypassing filtering, and pornography. A November 2005 HRW 
report on online censorship noted that the Government cited 
counterterrorism and the need to curb incitement to hatred and violence 
among its justifications for censoring information online. The same 
report noted, however, that tests on 41 radical Islamist Web sites 
found only four blocked.
    In April 2005 a court found Mohamed Abbou, a lawyer, guilty of 
publishing statements ``likely to disturb the public order'' in which 
he condemned torture in the country's prisons and compared the fate of 
Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib to that of citizen prisoners (see section 
1.c.).
    Two 1997 decrees cover in part Internet and telecommunications 
services. All Internet service providers (ISPs) must obtain a license 
from the Ministry of Communications and Technologies. The Commission on 
Telecommunications Services, including representatives from the 
ministries of defense and interior, as well as officials holding posts 
related to communications, information, and computer sciences, reviews 
each application.
    According to the HRW report on online censorship, each ISP must 
designate a director who ``assumes responsibility . . . for the content 
of pages and Web pages and sites that the ISP is requested to host on 
its servers.'' Internet users and those who maintain Web sites and 
servers are also responsible for infractions of the law. Each ISP must 
submit, monthly, a list of its Internet subscribers to the quasi-
governmental Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI). If an ISP stops services, 
it must ``without delay'' furnish the ATI with a complete set of its 
archives. The director of the ISP must maintain ``constant oversight'' 
of the content on the ISP's servers to insure that no information 
remains on the system that is contrary to ``public order and good 
morals.''
    There were approximately 300 Internet cafes. The cafes are 
privately-owned but operate under the authority of the Ministry of 
Communications. Among other legal requirements, Internet cafe owners 
must maintain a database of their customers and inform customers of 
their obligations and their responsibility for any infringements of the 
legal provisions relating to Internet use.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government limited 
academic freedom and fostered a culture of self censorship in 
universities. The Government closely monitored administrators, 
teachers, and students to identify any political activity. Police on 
university campuses, both uniformed and in plainclothes, discouraged 
students from openly expressing dissent.
    On October 13, authorities fined Abdelhamid Sgaier, a post-graduate 
student, for demonstrating for the right of female students at a Tunis 
university to wear hijab (see section 2.c.). Sgaier went on a 20-day-
hunger strike to protest the court's decision and to demand the renewal 
of his passport. The Government allegedly refused to issue him a new 
passport for six months due to his political activities.
    In March 2005 police assaulted students during campus 
demonstrations against the Government's invitation to then-Israeli 
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to attend a UN summit hosted by the 
country. Police arrested one faculty member and several students, who 
were released the following day (see section 2.b.).
    Authorities subjected academic publications to government approval 
before publication, and university libraries did not purchase foreign 
books or subscribe to foreign magazines deemed critical of the 
Government. Close government control over academic research funds 
prevented university administrators from authorizing or applying for 
grants on research topics that they believed the Government would find 
objectionable. Professors avoided teaching classes on subjects 
considered sensitive, such as legal courses on political systems or 
classes on civil liberties. University professors often avoided 
discussion of subjects deemed sensitive enough to interest the 
Government, and faculty members reported that they were hesitant to 
gather outside the classroom.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, but the Government severely 
restricted this right in practice.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires groups wishing to hold a 
public meeting, rally, or march to obtain a permit from the Ministry of 
Interior no later than three days before the proposed event and to 
submit a list of participants; authorities routinely approved such 
permits for groups that supported the Government and generally refused 
permission for dissenting groups. As in previous years, NGO leaders 
reported difficulty in renting space to hold large meetings. They 
maintained that police pressured venue managers to prevent them from 
renting meeting space. Hotel managers and businesses denied any 
specific ban on renting space to opposition groups; however, they said 
they cooperated with the Ministry of Interior and accommodated its 
requests when possible.
    In March the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) 
reserved a hotel in Tunis to hold a seminar for International Women's 
Day. However, the day before the conference, hotel managers cancelled 
the reservation, citing ongoing work at the hotel facilities. Activists 
alleged that the Government had instructed the hotel not to allow ATFD 
access to prevent it from holding the planned event.
    The Government used police and other state security forces to 
monitor, control, and sometimes disrupt demonstrations. The Government 
broke up several unsanctioned demonstrations during the year. In 
general demonstrators and security forces did not resort to violence; 
however, there were some exceptions, such as scuffles ensuing from 
demonstrators' attempts to cross police lines barring access to a 
demonstration site or demonstrators not dispersing when ordered by 
police.
    The Government consistently blocked meetings by the LTDH, in its 
headquarters in Tunis and in regional offices throughout the country. 
On May 27, the LTDH attempted to hold a national congress at it 
headquarters in Tunis. Hundreds of police, a majority of whom were in 
civilian clothing, blocked access to the LTDH headquarters buildings by 
LTDH members and international observers. Police throughout the country 
reportedly prevented members from regional cities from traveling to 
Tunis to attend the congress. Plainclothes police beat some persons 
attempting to gain access to the site.
    In July the Government refused to allow several demonstrations to 
take place. Opposition groups, human rights NGOs, the Tunisian labor 
union and students had petitioned for permission for multiple 
demonstrations to protest Israeli actions in Lebanon. Police in Sfax, 
Gabes, and Kairouan reportedly used violence in breaking up 
unauthorized demonstrations held in protest against the conflict 
between Israel and Lebanon in July. Only one demonstration, sanctioned 
and led by the Government, took place.
    On October 3 and October 27, diplomatic officials attempted to 
visit the Bizerte regional branch of the LTDH. On both occasions, 
plainclothes police and security officials prevented the officials from 
entering the LTDH branch office and conducting a meeting. On October 
31, the Government sent a diplomatic note to all diplomatic missions in 
Tunis saying that the LTDH was subject to a 2001 court decision that 
``forbids all activity of the LTDH.'' The note said that the court had 
ruled that the LTDH could only prepare for its national congress. 
However, the LTDH had conducted widespread activity since 2001, 
although a September 2005 ruling reportedly prevented the LTDH from any 
activity involving the preparation of its national congress.
    On September 8, the Government blocked an international conference 
on labor and employment issues organized by the German Friedich Ebert 
Foundation, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, the Euromed 
Trade Union Forum, and the Fundacion Paz y Solidaridad of the Spanish 
Comisioners Obreras trade union in liaison with the UGTT, ostensibly 
because the organizers had not given the Government advance 
notification. However, officials reported privately that the Government 
blocked the conference due to the participation of two local activists. 
On October 18, the European Commission released the complete text of a 
diplomatic protest expressing disappointment over the cancellation of 
the event after the Charge d'Affaires at the country's Embassy in 
Brussels refused to accept the demarche in person.
    In November 2005 organizers of the ``Citizen's Summit on the 
Information Society,'' an unofficial parallel summit to the UN World 
Summit on the Information Society, reported that the Tunis hotel where 
they reserved space notified them that the hall was no longer 
available. Representatives of the organizations planning the citizen's 
summit also tried to meet at the Goethe Institute, but they were 
prevented from entering by several dozen plainclothes police. According 
to HRW representatives, the police, who did not identify themselves, 
``manhandled local and foreign activists, knocking down several 
individuals as they pushed them along the streets.''

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government generally did not respect this 
right in practice. The law requires that new NGOs apply to the 
Government to gain recognition and to operate legally. According to the 
law, an NGO that has filed an application to register may operate 
freely while the Government processes its application. If the 
Government does not reject the application within 90 days, the NGO is 
automatically registered.
    The Government routinely blocked registration of new independent 
NGOs by refusing to provide receipts for their registration 
applications. Without such a receipt, NGOs were unable to counter the 
Government's assertions that they had not applied to register and 
therefore were not allowed to operate. In such cases, NGOs could be 
shut down, their property seized, and their members prosecuted for 
``membership in an illegal organization.''
    During the year significant numbers of RCD members attempted to 
join independent NGOs, such as the LTDH and other civil society groups. 
Their apparent intent was to limit the NGOs' independence by gaining 
control through elections or disrupting their operations. In some cases 
RCD members used the NGOs' own bylaws, while in other cases they 
exploited a provision of the law on associations that requires 
``organizations of a general character'' to grant membership to all who 
apply.
    On May 27, a court again ruled that the LTDH could not hold its 
national congress because of a suit filed by seven members of the LTDH 
allegedly loyal to the RCD.
    Leaders of the AMT also alleged that the Government used members 
loyal to the RCD to disrupt its meetings and operations. In 2005 AMT 
members allegedly under government and RCD control held new elections 
for AMT leadership after the AMT President proposed new judicial reform 
initiatives and supported a group of lawyers alleging improprieties in 
the trial of Mohamed Abbou (see section 1.c.). These RCD-loyal AMT 
members claimed that the President's communique was not representative 
of all AMT members. In 2005 the Government evicted AMT leadership from 
the association's headquarters in Tunis. On August 30, the President 
who released the communique was transferred from Tunis to the coastal 
city of Mahdia. Previously, several other AMT board members were also 
transferred from Tunis to regional cities. Human rights organizations 
viewed these transfers as punishments and stated that the Government 
removed the current AMT leadership due to its demonstrated 
independence. On September 10, the new AMT leadership, allegedly loyal 
to the RCD, drafted an internal regulation reducing the number of AMT 
members serving on the executive board and excluding members serving in 
regional cities from the board. Human rights activists reported that 
this was done to exclude independent-minded members who had been 
transferred from Tunis as punishment.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion 
that does not disturb public order, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice, although there were some restrictions 
and abuses.
    Islam is the state religion, and the law stipulates that the 
President must be a Muslim.
    The Government recognizes all Christian and Jewish religious 
organizations that were established before independence in 1956. 
Although it permitted other Christian denominations to operate, the 
Government formally recognized only the Catholic church.
    In March 2005 the Government allowed the re-opening of a Catholic 
church in Djerba, but did not permit Christian groups to establish new 
churches.
    While it was not illegal to change religions, government officials 
occasionally discriminated against converts from Islam to another 
religion using bureaucratic means to discourage conversion. Muslims who 
convert to another religion faced social ostracism. Customary law based 
on Shari'a forbids Muslim women from marrying outside their religion. 
The Government required non-Muslim men to convert to Islam before 
marrying a Muslim woman. The Government did not allow married couples 
to register their children with non Muslim names. However, marriages of 
Muslim women to non-Muslim men abroad were generally recognized by the 
Government. While judges generally ruled that marriages abroad were 
legal, on rare occasions judges have declared that a marriage abroad 
was void in the country.
    While authorities did not deport foreigners suspected of 
proselytizing, the Government did not renew the visas of suspected 
missionaries. During the year there were no reports of official action 
against persons suspected of proselytizing.
    The Government required Islamic religious education in public 
schools. The religious curriculum for secondary school students also 
included histories of Judaism and Christianity.
    The Government did not permit the establishment of political 
parties based on religion, and it used this prohibition to continue to 
outlaw the Islamist party An-Nahdha and to prosecute suspected An-
Nahdha members for ``membership in an illegal organization'' (see 
section 1.e.). The Government continued to maintain tight surveillance 
over Islamists and monitored activity in mosques.
    The law provides that only persons appointed by the Government may 
lead activities in mosques. The Government required that mosques remain 
closed except during prayers and other authorized religious ceremonies, 
such as marriages or funerals. According to human rights lawyers, the 
Government regularly questioned individuals observed praying frequently 
in mosques. Authorities instructed imams to espouse governmental social 
and economic programs during prayer times in mosques. The Government 
paid the salaries of imams.
    The Government sought to suppress certain outward signs of 
citizens' religious practice. For example, authorities characterized 
the hijab as a ``garment of foreign origin having a partisan 
connotation.'' In September, according to news reports, the police 
intensified efforts to apply a 1981 decree prohibiting women from 
wearing the hijab in official buildings, schools and universities. In 
addition, some women were stopped in public places, detained, and told 
to remove their hijab. During an October 27 meeting of the government-
loyal NGO National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT), senior UNFT 
officials demanded that all women in the audience remove their veils, 
on occasion tugging at their veils and verbally abusing them to do so. 
In several cases school officials took disciplinary action to punish 
and deter hijab use by attempting to have women sign written oaths 
renouncing its use. There were reports that police sometimes detained 
and harassed men with what were termed ``Islamic'' beards, compelling 
them to shave. These reports increased in frequency after attacks by 
alleged Islamists on December 23 (see section 1.d.).
    Religious publications were subject to the same restrictions on 
freedom of speech and the press as secular publications. Christian 
groups were generally allowed to distribute religious documents in 
English, but not in Arabic and not in public. Only sanctioned Muslim 
religious groups were allowed to distribute religious documents. In the 
Government's view, distribution by other groups constituted an illegal 
``threat to public order'' (see section 2.a.). The Government 
determined which citizens could make the Hajj due to country quotas 
from the Saudi Arabian government on how many nationals from each 
country could participate in the Hajj.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Cartoons in some mainstream 
newspapers used derogatory images of historically stereotypical Jews to 
portray the state of Israel and Israeli interests. These cartoons were 
drawn by cartoonists outside of the country and reprinted locally.
    Christians and Jews living in the country, including foreigners, 
constituted less than 1 percent of the population. According to church 
leaders, the practicing Christian population was approximately 2,000 
and included a few hundred native-born citizens converted to 
Christianity. The Government permitted Christians and Jews who did not 
proselytize to worship as they wished, and it allowed Jewish 
communities to operate private religious schools. Some Christians 
reported government harassment in the form of surveillance and 
interrogation. There were reports of Christian citizens being detained 
by police and government security officials and questioned about their 
conversion to Christianity. There was one report that a Christian from 
the country was told by a local security official that it was illegal 
to be a Christian and was threatened with imprisonment. There were 
reports that the process of renewing passports was inexplicably delayed 
for some Christians, although passports were subsequently issued (see 
section 2.d.). Jewish children on the island of Djerba were permitted 
to divide their academic day between public secular schools and private 
religious schools.
    Jewish community leaders reported that the Government actively 
protected synagogues, particularly during Jewish holidays. The 
Government allowed the Jewish community freedom of worship and paid the 
salary of the grand rabbi. The Government partially subsidized 
restoration and maintenance costs for some synagogues. The Provisional 
Committee of the Jewish community met weekly and performed religious 
activities and charity work, although the Government had not granted it 
permanent registration.
    In March according to press reports and eyewitnesses, approximately 
100 students shouted anti-Israel and anti-Jewish slogans during a 
demonstration at Manouba University near Tunis at a ceremony to mark 
the donation of books from the library of the late Jewish and citizen 
historian Paul Sebag. After the incident the Manouba Student Union, 
mainstream citizen journalists, and the Tunisian Human Rights League 
strongly denounced the demonstration's anti-Jewish character.
    While Baha'is do not consider themselves Muslims, the Government 
regarded the Baha'i faith as a heretical sect of Islam and permitted 
its adherents to practice their faith only in private.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice; however, the 
Government refused to issue, renew, amend, or accept passports of some 
dissidents, Islamists, and their relatives. The Government also may 
impose a five year period of ``administrative controls'' at sentencing 
on certain former prisoners that constituted a type of internal exile.
    The law authorizes the courts to cancel passports and contains 
broad provisions that both permit passport seizure on national security 
grounds and deny citizens the right either to present their case 
against seizure or to appeal the judges' decision. The Ministry of 
Interior is required to submit to the courts requests to seize or 
withhold a citizen's passport through the public prosecutor; however, 
the ministry routinely bypassed the public prosecutor with impunity.
    According to the constitution, no citizen can be exiled from the 
country nor prevented from returning.
    Many citizens reported difficulty applying for or renewing their 
passports and accused the Government of blocking their applications 
solely on the basis of political opposition. Some Christian converts 
also reported unexplained delays in passport issuance or renewal.
    Former Islamist leader Mohamed Sedki Labidi has been deprived of 
his passport for the last decade without a court decision.
    Administrative control measures, which take effect upon a convict's 
release from prison, are similar to parole restrictions, except that 
they may be applied to prisoners even after they have completed their 
sentences. The Government requires those individuals to reside in a 
place, chosen by the Government, which may be anywhere in the country, 
and they are required to stay ``in the area of their residence.'' They 
also may be required to report to a police station frequently each day, 
at times determined only the previous evening. At the police station, 
they may be forced to wait hours before they are allowed to sign in, 
making normal employment impossible. Numerous Islamists released from 
prison in recent years have been subjected to such continuing 
punishment.
    By law administrative control measures may only be imposed at 
sentencing; however, a former high school teacher, Nouri Chniti, 
claimed that, although his sentence did not include administrative 
control, he has been subject to extrajudicial administrative control 
measures since 1991 when he received a suspended sentence for 
membership in An Nahdha. Some political opponents in self imposed exile 
abroad were prevented from obtaining or renewing their passports to 
return to the country. In 2005 a group of citizens abroad who had been 
refused passports formed an organization called ``Tunisians Without 
Passports'' and released communiques calling on the Government to allow 
all citizens to receive passports.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The 
Government cooperated to a certain degree with the office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting approximately 100 refugees and asylum 
seekers primarily from sub-Saharan Africa. However, the Government has 
not established a system for providing protection to refugees or 
foreign nationals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 
Convention and 1967 Protocol, but who still need some form of 
international protection. In practice, the Government did not provide 
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country 
where they feared persecution.
    AI reported that Adel Tebourski was forcibly returned to the 
country from France after his request for asylum was rejected. In May 
2005 Tebourski was sentenced in France to six years' imprisonment for 
providing false identity documents to two alleged al-Qa'ida operatives 
involved in the killing of Commander Massoud, leader of the Northern 
Alliance coalition group in Afghanistan, on September 9, 2001. AI 
reported that Tebourski was at grave risk of torture and other serious 
human rights violations. On August 7, according to AI, Adel Tebourski 
was deported back to the country and released after brief questioning 
from the country's border police.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides that citizens shall directly elect the President 
and members of the Chamber of Deputies for five year terms; however, 
there were significant limitations on citizens' right to change their 
government. Moreover, there were irregularities that routinely called 
into question the legitimacy of elections.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the October 2004 
national elections, President Ben Ali faced three candidates and 
officially received 94.9 percent of the popular vote to secure a fourth 
term. The third opposition candidate, Mohamed Halouani of the Et Tajdid 
party, cited government restrictions and other irregularities to 
explain why he received less than 1 percent of the official vote count. 
According to official election returns, more than 90 percent of 
registered voters went to the polls; however, independent NGOs 
estimated that the actual turnout was closer to 30 percent.
    The polling was characterized by irregularities. A coalition of 
three local independent NGOs (LTDH, CNLT, and the Tunisian Association 
of Democratic Women) cited as serious problems the opposition's lack of 
media access during the campaign and media bias in favor of the ruling 
party (see section 2.a.). Opposition candidates and other observers 
also cited voter intimidation, restrictions on disseminating campaign 
materials and organizing campaign events.
    The Electoral Code significantly limits the number of individuals 
eligible to run for President. A candidate must be Muslim and must 
receive the endorsement of 30 sitting deputies or municipal council 
Presidents to be eligible to run. By law 20 percent of the seats in one 
house of the legislature (Chamber of Deputies) are reserved for 
opposition party candidates. The ruling party's domination of state 
institutions and political activity precluded any credible and 
competitive electoral challenges.
    In March 2005 the National Election Observatory, formed by the 
Government in 2004 to monitor all stages of the 2004 elections, issued 
its report, concluding that the electoral process in general proceeded 
fairly and according to law. The report contained references to 
opposition and NGO criticism of the election, including the non-
distribution of voting cards to opposition party members, the ruling 
party's media advantage, the lack of transparency of the actual 
balloting, and secret ballot counts. While the report refuted the 
claims, it also listed 12 specific recommendations to address problems. 
Independent human rights activists complained that the real purpose of 
the observatory was to deflect criticism of the lack of independent or 
international observers.
    The ruling party has maintained power continuously since the 
country's independence in 1956. It dominates the cabinet, the 
legislature, and regional and local governments.
    In July 2005 the Government conducted elections for the 126-seat 
Chamber of Advisors, a second parliamentary chamber created by a 2002 
constitutional amendment. The voters consisted of 4,555 officials, 
including municipal counselors, deputies, and mayors, plus the 189 
members of the Chamber of Deputies. Of the 4,555 voters, only 305 
belonged to opposition parties. The constitutional amendment creating 
the chamber specified that its 126 seats must be allocated among 
various regional and professional organizations, including 14 seats for 
the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), which refused to name 
candidates, citing a lack of independence and democracy in the 
candidate selection process. The President directly appointed 41 
candidates. The elected members of the new chamber were overwhelmingly 
members or supporters of the ruling RCD party.
    The President appoints the Prime Minister, the cabinet, and the 24 
governors. The Government and the party are closely integrated; current 
and former senior government officials constitute the top ranks of the 
RCD. The President of the country is also the President of the party, 
and the party's vice President and secretary general each hold the rank 
of minister. All members of the RCD politburo hold ministerial rank 
based on their current or former government service.
    RCD membership conferred tangible advantages. For example, there 
were widespread reports that RCD members and their families were much 
more likely to receive educational and housing benefits, small business 
permits, and waivers on zoning restrictions.
    To reduce the advantages wielded by the ruling party, the Electoral 
Code reserves 20 percent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies (37 of 
189) for the seven officially recognized opposition parties, and 
distributes them on a proportional basis to those parties that won at 
least a single directly elected district seat. In the 2004 elections, 
five of the opposition parties gained seats under that provision. The 
RCD held the remaining 152 seats.
    On March 3, authorities authorized the establishment of the Green 
Party for Progress (PVP), the first new political party created since 
2002. Many critics alleged that the party was loyal to the RCD, 
particularly after its chairman told the media shortly after its 
authorization that it did not have a platform because it was still in 
the process of organizing. The Government refused to recognize the 
environmentally-based political party, Green Tunisia, despite a long-
pending application.
    The Government partially funded legal opposition parties. In 
November 2005 the President announced an increase in the level of 
support for opposition parties represented in the chamber. The 
Government raised the public subsidy for operational costs of 
opposition parties to $56,300 (75,000 dinars) per year, raised the 
additional payment per deputy to $5,300 (7,500 dinars), and increased 
the level of government funding for opposition newspapers to $112,500 
(150,000 dinars). Opposition party PDP newspaper Al Mawqif did not 
receive a subsidy since the PDP was not represented in the legislature 
(see section 2.a.).
    By law the Government prohibits the establishment of political 
parties on the basis of religion, language, race, or gender. The 
Government used the prohibition to continue to outlaw the An-Nahdha 
party and to prosecute suspected members for ``membership in an illegal 
organization'' (see sections 2.b. and 2.c.).
    On a number of occasions, the President expressed the desire to 
increase the level of representation of women in the Government to 25 
percent. In April 2004 he appointed the country's first female 
governor. There were 50 women in the 301 seat legislature, two women in 
the 25-seat cabinet, and five women among the 18 secretaries of state 
(regarded as junior cabinet members). Following municipal elections in 
May 2005, more than one fourth of municipal council members elected 
were women. Three women served as Presidents of chambers on the Supreme 
Court, and two women served on the 15 member Higher Council of the 
Magistracy.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There are 13 articles of 
the penal code addressing corruption, and there were a small number of 
corruption cases prosecuted throughout the year. On July 26, a 
newspaper reported that the National Guard arrested a regional tax 
control officer and prosecuted him on corruption charges after 
allegedly taking bribes from merchants. The officer, who was not named, 
was reportedly in detention, although he had not been sentenced at 
year's end. In March 2004 the Minister of Interior announced creation 
of the ``Higher Institute of Security Forces and Customs,'' tasked not 
only with ``reinforcing human rights and improving law enforcement,'' 
but also reducing corruption. There were no public reports of the 
organization's subsequent activities. There are no laws to provide 
government documents to citizens. According to Transparency 
International, human rights, and opposition groups, the public 
perception that serious corruption existed within the Government 
increased. Frequent complaints by citizens and articles in 
international and unauthorized domestic media about corruption 
corroborated these reports.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has the lead on government 
policy on human rights issues in the country, although other ministries 
also had human rights offices. The ministry did not release any public 
reports of cases or investigations. A government appointed and funded 
body, the Higher Commission on Human Rights and Basic Freedoms, 
received, addressed, and occasionally resolved human rights complaints 
in regard to prison conditions, requests for amnesty from families of 
prisoners, and other issues. The commission submitted confidential 
reports directly to the President. The Government maintained several 
government-run news sites that included sections on human rights, but 
the sites were not identified as government-sponsored. However, the 
Government continued to block access to the sites of domestic and 
international human rights organizations (see section 2.a.).
    The Government actively discouraged investigations of human rights 
abuses by domestic and international groups, who generally were able to 
investigate and publish their findings with difficulty. The Government 
sought to monitor and control the activities of some foreign NGOs 
within the country. There were approximately one dozen domestic human 
rights NGOs, although only half were authorized. Some NGOs loyal to the 
Government received government funding. The Government met with 
registered domestic human rights NGOs and on occasion responded to 
their inquiries; however, it also harassed, targeted, and prosecuted 
some of them.
    Citing a court ruling that stated the LTDH could not hold its 
National Congress, the Government blocked its meetings and events 
throughout the year. The LTDH traditionally was one of the most active 
independent advocacy organizations, with 41 branches throughout the 
country, although the blockage of LTDH activities by the Government 
limited its operational effectiveness. The organization received and 
investigated complaints and protested abuses, although the Government 
rarely responded to LTDH communiques. The Government continued to block 
a European Union grant to the LTDH, citing a law on NGO financing that 
includes broad prohibitions on funding of NGOs without government 
approval. On October 31, the Government sent an official communication 
to all diplomatic missions in Tunis saying that the LTDH was subject to 
a 2001 court decision that ``forbids all activity of the LTDH.'' 
However, the LTDH had conducted widespread activity since 2001.
    Other independent human rights NGOs included: the legally 
registered Arab Human Rights Institute; the Tunisian Association of 
Democratic Women (ATFD); the unregistered AISPP; and the ALTT.
    Since 1998 the Government has refused to authorize the CNLT's 
registration as an NGO. The CNLT issued statements sharply criticizing 
the Government's human rights practices. Government officials have 
accused CNLT members of violating the pro forma submission requirements 
by publishing communiques without prior government approval (see 
section 2.a.).
    During the year significant numbers of ruling party RCD members 
joined and attempted to join independent NGOs such as the LTDH and 
other civil society groups with the apparent intent of eventually 
gaining control them (see section 2.b.).
    Between April 18 and 22, the International Freedom of Expression 
Exchange-Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 
international human rights and freedom of expression NGOs, conducted 
fact-finding missions. The IFEX-TMG reported heavy police surveillance 
of their activities and government interference with their mission. 
Police prevented translators and private citizens traveling with the 
group from attending some meetings.
    On May 21, Yves Steiner, a visiting member of the Executive 
Committee of the Swiss Section of AI, was arrested and expelled from 
the country. According to AI, Steiner had delivered a speech on May 20 
to members of AI's local chapter in which he condemned growing human 
rights abuses in the country, notably restrictions on freedom of 
expression and freedom of association. According to international 
media, a government source said that Steiner had posed a threat to 
public order.
    In April 2005 following more than a year of negotiation, the ICRC 
signed an agreement with the Government allowing the ICRC to conduct 
visits to all prisons and detention centers in the country. Throughout 
the year the ICRC conducted visits, including repeat visits to prisons 
and detention centers previously visited, and reported that access and 
cooperation with the Government were good (see section 1.c.). ICRC 
submitted its first intermediary report to the Ministry of Justice in 
February.
    There were credible reports that police prevented some family 
members of prisoners from visiting ICRC offices and monitored, 
occasionally harassing, families that visited ICRC offices.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides that all citizens are equal before the law, and 
the Government generally respected this provision, although in 
inheritance and family law, biased gender based provisions in the civil 
code adversely affected women.

    Women.--Laws against domestic violence provide for fines and 
imprisonment for assaults committed by a spouse or family member that 
are double those for the same crimes committed by an unrelated 
individual, but enforcement was lax, as police and the courts generally 
regarded domestic violence as an internal family problem. Violence 
against women and spousal abuse occurred, but there were no statistics 
to measure its extent. The National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT), a 
government sponsored organization that ran a center to assist women and 
children in difficulty, sponsored national educational campaigns for 
women. The UNFT reported that its two shelters, in Tunis and Sousse, 
handled 1,000 cases during the year. The ATFD, active in debating and 
publicizing women's issues, operated a counseling center for female 
victims and reported that its shelter assisted approximately 100 women 
using the shelter for the first time during the year, in addition to a 
continuing caseload from previous years.
    The penal code specifically prohibits rape, including spousal rape, 
and the Government enforced the laws vigorously, giving significant 
press coverage to rape cases; however, there were no reports of 
prosecution for spousal rape. The penalty for rape with the use of 
violence or threat with a weapon is death. For all other rape cases, 
the penalty is life imprisonment.
    The penal code prohibits prostitution, although individuals were 
rarely charged. There were government-sanctioned brothels, although 
under the penal code there is a penalty for prostitution of up to two 
years in prison. The law applies to both women and men and their 
accomplices. There were no reported cases of trafficking or forced 
prostitution involving women.
    Sexual harassment was a problem, although there were no 
comprehensive data to measure its extent. In 2004 the legislature 
passed the country's first law making sexual harassment a criminal 
offense. Civil society groups vociferously criticized it for being too 
vague and susceptible to abuse.
    Women enjoy the same legal status as men, and the Government 
advanced those rights in the areas of divorce and property ownership. 
The law explicitly requires equal pay for equal work, and although 
there were no statistics comparing the average earnings of men and 
women, anecdotal evidence indicated that women and men performing the 
same work received the same wages. A slight majority of university 
students were women.
    On July 18, the Chamber of Deputies adopted a law that allowed some 
female employees in the public sector to work part-time while still 
receiving two-thirds of their original salary. The Government stated 
that the law was motivated by a desire to allow women to balance family 
and professional life. Women's rights activists, including the ATFD, 
said that treating women and men differently under the law was a major 
setback to women's rights in the workplace.
    Women served in high levels of the Government as cabinet ministers 
and secretaries of state, and President Ben Ali appointed the country's 
first female governor in 2004 (see section 3). Women constituted 
approximately 37 percent of the civil service and 24 percent of the 
nation's jurists. However, women still faced societal and economic 
discrimination.
    Codified civil law is based on the Napoleonic code, although judges 
often used Shari'a as a basis for customary law in family and 
inheritance. Most property acquired during marriage, including property 
acquired solely by the wife, was held in the name of the husband. 
Married couples may choose between joint or separate property systems 
when signing marriage contracts. Customary law based on Shari'a Muslim 
prohibits women from marrying outside their religion. Application of 
Shari'a inheritance law continued to discriminate against women, and 
there was a double standard based on gender and religion: non Muslim 
women and Muslim men who are married 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 convey citizenship rights to their children 
regardless of the father's citizenship.
    The Ministry for Women's Affairs, Family, Children, and Senior 
Citizens sponsored several national media campaigns to promote 
awareness of women's rights. Nearly two thirds of its budget was 
devoted to ensuring the legal rights of women, while simultaneously 
improving their socioeconomic status. The Government supported and 
funded the UNFT, the Center for Research, Documentation, and 
Information on Women (CREDIF), and women's professional associations. 
Several NGOs focused on women's advocacy and research in women's 
issues, and a number of attorneys represented women in domestic cases.

    Children.--The Government demonstrated a strong commitment to free 
and universal public education, which is compulsory from age six to 16 
years. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), 95 percent of boys 
and 93 percent of girls were in primary school, and approximately 73 
percent of boys and 76 percent of girls were in secondary school. The 
Government reported the rate of school attendance was approximately 99 
percent. During the year female students graduated from secondary 
school at a higher rate than males. There were schools for religious 
groups (see section 2.c.). The Government sponsored an immunization 
program targeting preschool age children and reported vaccinating more 
than 95 percent of children. Male and female students received equal 
access to medical care.
    Convictions for abandonment and assault on minors carried severe 
penalties. There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
    Child labor and child prostitution were not significant problems. 
There were two ministries responsible for rights of children: the 
Ministry of Women's Affairs, Family, and Childhood; and the Ministry of 
Youth, Sports, and Physical Training. Each had secretaries of state 
responsible for safeguarding the rights of children.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons, 
and there were no reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or 
within the country.
    In 2004 the legislature approved amendments to the 1975 law on 
passports and travel documents. The law includes provisions for 
sentencing convicted traffickers to prison terms of three to 20 years 
and fines of $67,000 to $83,000 (80,000 to 100,000 dinars). The 
amendments supplement Tunisian ratification of the United Nations 
Protocol to Prevent, Supress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. 
Traffickers may be prosecuted under laws prohibiting forced 
displacement of persons.
    The Ministry of Interior and Local Development and the Ministry of 
Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad were the agencies 
responsible for antitrafficking efforts. There were no specific 
government campaigns to prevent trafficking, although the Government 
worked closely with its European neighbors to interdict smuggling, some 
of which may include trafficking. The Government does not, however, 
have measures to identify trafficking victims from among persons 
smuggled voluntarily.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical or mental disabilities and mandates at 
least 1 percent of public and private sector jobs be reserved for 
persons with disabilities; however, leaders of NGOs dedicated to 
persons with disabilities reported that this law was not widely 
enforced, and many employers were unaware of its existence. There was 
little discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state 
services. All public buildings constructed since 1991 must be 
accessible to persons with physical disabilities, and this was 
enforced. The Government issued special cards to persons with 
disabilities for benefits such as unrestricted parking, priority 
medical services, preferential seating on public transportation, and 
consumer discounts. The Government provided tax incentives to companies 
to encourage the hiring of persons with physical disabilities, and the 
Government strongly supported NGOs working to help persons with 
disabilities.
    Several active NGOs provided educational, vocational, and 
recreational assistance to children and young adults with mental 
disabilities. The Government and international organizations funded 
several programs. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity and 
Tunisians Abroad was responsible for protecting the rights of persons 
with disabilities.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to 
organize and form unions, and the Government generally respected this 
right in practice. The UGTT was the country's only labor federation. 
There were some unauthorized, independent trade unions: the Democratic 
Confederation for Labor; and the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate. 
Approximately 30 percent of the work force belonged to the UGTT, 
including civil servants and employees of state owned enterprises, and 
a considerably larger proportion of the work force was covered by union 
contracts. A union may be dissolved only by court order.
    The UGTT and its member unions were legally independent of the 
Government and the ruling party; however, they operated under 
regulations that limited their freedom of action. The UGTT membership 
included persons associated with all political tendencies. There were 
credible reports that the UGTT received substantial government 
subsidies to supplement union dues; however, UGTT leaders stated that 
their only funding came from modest union dues and revenue from an 
insurance company and a hotel owned by the union. Union members and 
their families received additional support from the National Social 
Security Fund (CNSS). The Government provided the UGTT with land for 
its new headquarters and support for its construction. The central UGTT 
leadership generally cooperated with the Government regarding its 
economic reform program. Throughout the year the UGTT board showed some 
independence regarding economic and social issues, and in support of 
greater democracy. In 2005 the UGTT refused to submit a list of 
candidates for 14 UGTT-designated seats for elections to the newly 
created Chamber of Advisors, citing a lack of independence and 
democracy in the selection process and an unfair distribution of seats 
(see section 3). The UGTT supported the LTDH and agreed to let LTDH 
regional chapters use UGTT facilities for conferences and meetings, 
although the LTDH was unable to hold any conferences during the year 
(see section 4).
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers, although 
the UGTT claimed that there was antiunion activity among private sector 
employers, such as firing union activists and using of temporary 
workers to avoid unionization. In certain industries, such as textiles, 
hotels, and construction, temporary workers accounted for a strong 
majority of the work force. The labor code protects temporary workers, 
but enforcement was more difficult than for permanent workers. A 
committee chaired by an officer from the Labor Division of the Office 
of the Inspector General approved all worker dismissals. The committee 
is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs, 
Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad, the UGTT, and the company dismissing 
the worker.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the 
Government protected this right in practice. Wages and working 
conditions are set in triennial negotiations between the UGTT member 
unions, the Government and employers. Numerous collective bargaining 
agreements set standards for industries in the private sector and 
covered 80 percent of the total private sector workforce. During the 
year the triennial labor negotiations with the UGTT, the Union of 
Tunisian Employers (the private sector employer's association) and the 
Government continued as the UGTT sought more favorable wage increases 
for employees.
    Unions, including those representing civil servants, have the right 
to strike, provided that they give 10 days advance notice to the UGTT, 
and it grants approval. The ICFTU has characterized the requirement for 
prior UGTT approval of strikes as a violation of worker rights, but 
such advance approval rarely was sought in practice. There were 
numerous, short lived strikes over failure by employers to fulfill 
contract provisions regarding pay and conditions and over efforts by 
employers to impede union activities. While the majority of the strikes 
technically were illegal, the Government did not prosecute workers for 
illegal strike activity. The law prohibited retribution against 
strikers. Labor disputes were settled through conciliation panels in 
which labor and management were represented equally. Tripartite 
regional arbitration commissions settle industrial disputes when 
conciliation fails.
    There are export processing zones (EPZs) subject to domestic labor 
laws.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced and compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred. However, some parents of teenage 
girls placed their daughters as domestic servants and collected their 
wages (see section 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children under 18 in jobs whose nature 
and environment present a serious threat to their health, security, and 
morality, and the UGTT and CNSS conducted inspection tours of factories 
and industrial sites to ensure compliance with the law.
    In April 2005 the Government amended the Household Workers Law to 
prohibit the employment of children under the age of 16 years, which is 
consistent with the age for completing educational requirements, and 
inspectors of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity examined 
the records of employees to verify that employers complied with the 
minimum age law. However, there were no reports of sanctions against 
offending employers. Child labor also existed in the informal sector 
disguised as apprenticeship, particularly in the handicraft industry.
    The minimum age for light work in the nonindustrial and 
agricultural sectors during nonschool hours was 13 years. 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 years may work no more 
than two hours per day. The total time that children spend in school 
and work may not exceed seven hours per day. Nonetheless, young 
children sometimes performed agricultural work in rural areas and 
worked as vendors in towns, primarily during their summer vacation from 
school.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code provides for a 
range of administratively determined minimum wages. In July the 
industrial minimum wage was raised to $175 (231 dinars) per month for a 
48 hour workweek and to $151 (200 dinars) per month for a 40 hour 
workweek. The agricultural daily minimum wage was $5.74 (7.58 dinars) 
per day for specialized agricultural workers and $6.04 (7.98 dinars) 
per day for qualified agricultural workers. With the addition of 
transportation and family allowances, the minimum wage provided a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family, although that income 
was only enough to cover essential costs. More than 500,000 workers 
were employed in the informal sector, which was not covered by labor 
laws.
    Regional labor inspectors enforced standards related to hourly wage 
regulations. They inspected most firms approximately once every two 
years. The Government often had difficulty enforcing the minimum wage 
law, particularly in nonunionized sectors of the economy. The labor 
code sets a standard 48 hour workweek for most sectors and requires one 
24 hour rest period per week.
    Special government regulations governed employment in hazardous 
occupations like mining, petroleum engineering, and construction, and 
the Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Tunisians Abroad had 
responsibility for enforcing health and safety standards in the 
workplace. Working conditions and standards generally were better in 
export-oriented firms than in those firms producing exclusively for the 
domestic market. 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 few foreign workers in the country had the same protections as 
citizen workers.

                               __________

                          UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven semi-
autonomous emirates, with a permanent resident population of 3.8 
million of which less than 17 percent are citizens; there are at least 
1.1 million additional nonpermanent residents. The seven emirate rulers 
constitute the Federal Supreme Council, the highest legislative and 
executive body. The Council selects a President and vice President from 
its membership; the President, in turn, appoints the Prime Minister and 
cabinet. In 2004 the Council selected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-
Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate, as head of state for a five-year 
term. Traditional rule in the emirates generally is patriarchal, with 
political allegiance defined in terms of loyalty to the tribal leaders, 
to the leaders of the individual emirates, and to the leaders of the 
federation. There are no democratically elected legislative 
institutions or political parties. There are no general elections; 
however, citizens express their concerns directly to their leaders 
through traditional consultative mechanisms such as the open majlis, or 
council. A consultative body, the Federal National Council (FNC), 
consists of 40 advisors, 20 of whom are elected by an appointed 
electorate. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective 
control of the security forces.
    The Government's respect for human rights remained problematic, and 
significant human rights problems reported included: no citizens' right 
to change the Government and no popularly elected representatives of 
any kind; flogging as judicially sanctioned punishment; arbitrary 
detention and incommunicado detention, both permitted by law; 
questionable independence of the judiciary; restrictions on civil 
liberties- freedom of speech and of the press (including the Internet), 
and assembly; restrictions on right of association; restrictions on 
religious freedom; domestic abuse of women, sometimes enabled by 
police; trafficking in women and children; legal and societal 
discrimination against women and noncitizens; corruption and lack of 
government transparency; common abuse of foreign domestic servants; and 
severe restrictions on and abuses of workers' rights.
    The Government made progress in addressing the problem of human 
trafficking, repatriating children identified to have been trafficked 
to the UAE for use as camel jockeys.
                        respect for human rights
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 torture, and there were no 
reports that government officials employed it; however, courts applying 
Shari'a (Islamic law) sometimes imposed flogging sentences on both 
Muslims and non-Muslims as punishment for adultery, prostitution, 
consensual premarital sex, and for pregnancy outside of marriage. On 
March 13, a R'as al-Khaimah court sentenced a woman to five years and 
150 lashes for adultery, and on June 11 a man was sentenced to be 
stoned to death for adultery with a maid. The law allows for capital 
punishment, and, unlike in previous years, capital sentences were 
carried out.
    Flogging was also imposed as punishment for defamation of 
character, and drug or alcohol abuse. There were credible reports that 
some authorities used leather straps and canes to administer floggings, 
which left substantial bruising, welts, and open wounds on the 
recipients' bodies. On March 22 a R'as al-Khaimah court ordered the 
amputation (in absentia) of a man's hands on charges of theft.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied 
widely from emirate to emirate. Some prisons were overcrowded and had 
spartan living conditions. Again during the year there were reports of 
prison overcrowding in Abu Dhabi and Dubai prisons. Between May and 
August Dubai began to occupy a new 6,000 bed prison facility; Dubai 
reportedly housed less than 3,000 prisoners at any given time during 
the year. Noncitizens represented approximately 75 percent of all 
prisoners. Conditions for women were equal to or slightly better than 
those for men. Prisoners convicted on national security grounds were 
held separately from the general populace in special sections of the 
regular prisons. Conditions in these sections were not significantly 
different from other parts of the prisons. 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 (see section 5, Other Societal Abuses and 
Discrimination).
    Police in Dubai and Abu Dhabi stated that non governmental 
organizations (NGOs) and the International Committee of the Red Cross 
have access to observe prison conditions if requested; however, there 
were no reports of any requests for such visits during the year.
    Representatives of religious and national communities regularly met 
with prisoners. Representatives from the General Women's Union (GWU), a 
local organization partially funded by the Government, regularly met 
with female prisoners, helped them financially, and paid their airfare, 
when necessary, to repatriate noncitizens after their release.

    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; and that 
the Government charged individuals but denied them a preliminary 
judicial hearing within a reasonable period. The law permits indefinite 
routine prolonged incommunicado detention without appeal, and the 
detainee only has the explicit right to contact with an attorney.
    In 2005 there were reports that at least three persons were 
detained without charge for several months. Abdullah Sultan al-
Subaihat, Mohammad Ahmad Saif al-Ghufli, and Sa'eed Ali Hamid al-Kutbi, 
were arrested in August 2005 and released without charge on October 25. 
No reasons were given for their being held in solitary confinement. On 
January 6, Humeid Salem al-Ghawas al-Za'abi, a former air force 
officer, was released without charge; he had reportedly been held 
incommunicado and without charge since March 2004.
    On August 23, Mohamed Abdullah Al-Roken, a human rights activist, 
attorney, and former President of the Jurists Association, was detained 
and questioned for 72 hours by State Security officials in Dubai before 
being released without charge. He had previously been detained for 24 
hours in July. In both instances, he was interrogated about his human 
rights activities and public lectures (see sections 4 and 2.d.).

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal Ministry of 
Interior oversees Police General Directorates in each of the seven 
emirates; however, each emirate, via its corresponding Police General 
Directorate, maintains its own police force and supervises the police 
stations therein. While all emirate police forces theoretically are 
branches of the ministry, in practice they operate with considerable 
autonomy and varying degrees of efficiency. Police stations take 
complaints from the public, make arrests, and forward most cases to the 
public prosecutor. These cases are then transferred to the courts. In 
cases involving foreign defendants, especially for crimes of moral 
turpitude, authorities often summarily deported the defendants. All 
cases are filed with the Ministry of Interior (MOI). While reported 
incidents of police corruption are uncommon, the ministry intervened 
several times in criminal cases to ensure local police were compliant 
with federal law and policy. There were no reports that impunity was a 
problem.
    In May 2005 the Government created a 70-person antitrafficking 
section within the Ministry of Interior, and in October 2005 Dubai 
Police established a special Human Trafficking section that works in 
conjunction with the Human Rights Care Department.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law prohibits arrest or search without 
probable cause, but the Government did not always observe these 
provisions in practice. There were credible reports that security 
forces failed to obtain warrants in many cases. Indefinite detention 
without charge is permitted upon judicial review.
    Under the Criminal Procedures Code, police are directed to report 
arrests within 48 hours to public prosecutors, who must determine 
within the next 24 hours whether to charge, release, or further detain 
the suspect pending an investigation. In practice the 24-hour time 
limit was not always met. Public prosecutors may order that detainees 
be held up to 21 days without charge. In cases of felonies or 
misdemeanors punishable by imprisonment, authorities must obtain court 
orders after 21 days for additional detention. Courts may not grant an 
extension of more than 30 days of detention without charge; however, 
judges may continue to renew 30-day extensions to the detention period 
indefinitely and without charge. Suspects have the right to protest any 
extensions of their detention periods ordered in absentia, although 
this right was not afforded in cases of incommunicado detention. A 2004 
antiterrorism law allows public prosecutors to hold suspects in 
terrorism-related cases without charge for six months, an increase over 
the previous limit of three weeks. Once a suspect is charged, terrorism 
cases are handled by the Supreme Court, which may extend the detention 
period indefinitely.
    As in the previous year, several diplomatic missions expressed 
concern that authorities failed to provide consular notification when 
their citizens were detained or arrested.
    There is no formal system of bail; however, authorities can release 
detainees temporarily who deposit money, an important document such as 
a passport, or an unsecured personal guarantee statement signed by a 
third party. Those arrested on nonsecurity charges were generally 
allowed to telephone third parties and to have access to family members 
at some point while in detention, although not generally promptly.
    Defendants in cases involving loss of life, including involuntary 
manslaughter, can be denied release in accordance with the law. Release 
usually is permitted after a payment of compensation to the victims' 
families, commonly called diya or ``blood money,'' which is a form of 
financial penalty imposed on defendants in criminal cases involving a 
killing.
    A defendant is entitled to an attorney only after the police have 
completed their investigation. As a result, police can question accused 
persons sometimes for days or weeks without benefit of legal counsel if 
the Prosecutor General approves.

    Amnesty.--Rulers of the individual emirates regularly pardon and 
pay the debts of prisoners on religious and national holidays. During 
the year, at least 969 prisoners were pardoned, and over $1 million 
(3.6 million dirhams) in debts were paid. Most pardoned foreign 
nationals were deported.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, its decisions are subject to review by 
the political leadership. The judiciary, composed largely of contracted 
foreign nationals potentially subject to deportation, was not generally 
considered independent. The law prohibits women from serving in the 
judiciary.
    There is a dual court system. Shari'a (Islamic law) courts 
adjudicate criminal and family law matters based on each emirate's 
interpretation of Islamic law; civil courts adjudicate civil law 
matters. Civil courts generally are part of the federal system, except 
in the Dubai and R'as al-Khaimah emirates, and are accountable to the 
Federal Supreme Court, which has the power of judicial review as well 
as original jurisdiction in disputes between emirates or between the 
federal government and individual emirates. The emirates of Dubai and 
R'as al-Khaimah have their own local and appellate courts, which have 
jurisdiction over matters within their territories that the 
constitution and federal legislation do not specifically reserve for 
the federal system. The emirates of Dubai and R'as al-Khaimah do not 
refer cases in their courts to the Federal Supreme Court for judicial 
review, although they maintain a liaison with the federal Ministry of 
Justice.
    Each emirate administers Shari'a courts. In some emirates, these 
courts consider all types of civil and commercial cases as well as 
criminal cases and family matters. They act in accordance with their 
interpretation of Islamic law but also are required to answer to the 
Federal Supreme Court, with the exception of the emirates of Dubai and 
R'as al-Khaimah. In criminal cases Shari'a is applied first and, if 
evidence required by Shari'a is found insufficient, the Penal Code is 
used. Dubai has a special Shi'a council to act on matters pertaining to 
Shi'a family law (see section 5).

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution does not provide accused 
persons the right to a speedy trial but does provide the right to a 
fair public trial. Civil defendants at times demanded same day 
disposition of the cases filed against them. Authorities generally 
brought criminal defendants to trial within two to three months, with 
the exception of more slow-moving drug related cases, in which 
authorities are required to inform the office of the ruler for the 
emirate in which the offense was committed. There were credible reports 
that these cases often took more than six months to go to trial.
    Trials can last more than a year, depending on the seriousness of 
the charges, number of witnesses, and availability of judges. In Abu 
Dhabi Emirate, review of criminal cases by the local ruler's personal 
office, or diwan, as well as an extralegal requirement that the diwan 
approve the release of every prisoner whose sentence has been 
completed, resulted in bureaucratic delays in processing or releasing 
prisoners, and some prisoners served time beyond their original 
sentences.
    Approximately 50 percent of federal judges were noncitizen Arabs, 
whose mandates were subject to periodic renewal by the Government. In 
contrast, judicial positions held by citizens are permanent and are 
subject to termination only for specific reasons set out in the 
Judicial Authority law. The percentage of citizens serving as public 
prosecutors and judges, particularly at the federal level, continued to 
increase. Although each emirate varies, approximately 85 percent of 
public prosecutors were citizens.
    Defendants have a limited right to legal counsel. Under the 
Criminal Procedures Code, the defendant has a right to request 
government-provided counsel in all cases involving a capital crime or 
possible life imprisonment, regardless of whether the defendant is 
financially able to hire counsel. The Government may provide counsel, 
at its discretion, to indigent defendants charged with felonies 
punishable by imprisonment of three to 15 years. The Penal Procedures 
Law states that defense counsel may be present during any 
investigation, but only at the prosecutor's discretion. Defense counsel 
is provided with access to relevant government held evidence.
    Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. All trials 
are before judges, not juries, and trials are public, except for 
national security cases and those deemed by the judge likely to harm 
public morality. By law all prosecutions are conducted in Arabic; 
although the defendant has a procedural right to a translator, in 
practice translation was often only provided at sentencing.
    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, although in the case of murder, 
only the victim's family may commute a death sentence. The Government 
normally negotiates with victims' families for the defendant to offer 
financial compensation, or diya, to the victims' families to receive 
their forgiveness and commute death sentences.
    Non-Muslims who are tried for criminal offenses in Shari'a courts 
can receive civil penalties at the discretion of the judge. Shari'a 
penalties imposed on non-Muslims can be overturned or modified by a 
higher court.
    In cases in which a defendant is acquitted, the prosecutor may 
appeal the acquittal to a higher court. The higher court may receive 
additional evidence. An appellate court must reach unanimous agreement 
to overturn an acquittal.
    The local rulers' diwans, following traditional prerogatives, 
maintained the practice of reviewing many types of criminal and civil 
offenses before cases were referred to the prosecutor's office. The 
diwans may review sentences passed by judges and return cases to the 
court on appeal. The diwans' involvement, which typically occurs when 
the case involves parties from two different emirates or a citizen and 
a noncitizen, can lead to lengthy delays prior to and following the 
judicial process.
    The military has its own court system. Military tribunals try only 
military personnel. National security cases are heard solely by the 
Supreme Court.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there were no 
reports of either political detainees or prisoners; however, there were 
persons reportedly held incommunicado and without charge. It is unknown 
why they were detained (see section 1.d.). Some human rights groups 
claimed that at least four of these individuals were political 
prisoners.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There was access to courts 
to seek damages for, or cessation of, human rights violations. The 
civil courts, like all other courts in the country, maintain 
questionable independence. There were also administrative remedies 
available for labor complaints; this was particularly common in cases 
of physical abuse of domestic workers.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits entry into homes without 
the owner's permission, except when police present a warrant in 
accordance with the law; however, there were credible reports that 
security forces sometimes failed to obtain warrants. Only police 
officers and public prosecutors carrying a warrant are permitted entry 
into homes. Officers' actions in searching premises are subject to 
review, and officers are liable to disciplinary action if their actions 
are judged to be irresponsible. Local custom and practice place a high 
value on privacy, and entry into private homes without owners' 
permission was rare. A female police officer is required to be present 
during the search of a private home when male family members are 
absent.
    Authorities do not commonly screen private correspondence; however, 
there have been reports of censorship of incoming international mail. 
The government-owned Internet provider, Etisalat, regularly blocks 
internet sites that censors determine to be ``objectionable'' (see 
section 2.a.).
    Family matters for Muslims are governed by Shari'a and the local 
Shari'a courts. Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims. In 
such cases, both parties can be arrested and tried. However, Muslim men 
are free to marry all women ``of the book,'' i.e., Muslim, Christian, 
and Jewish women (see section 5).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government restricted 
these rights in practice. The Government drafts all Friday sermons in 
mosques and censors private association publications (see section 
2.c.). The law prohibits criticism of the rulers, and from acts to 
create or encourage social unrest.
    The Press and Publications Law covers all media including; print, 
electronic, and book publishing. It governs content, requires that 
publications be licensed and provides for prosecution under the Penal 
Code. The law authorizes censorship of domestic and foreign 
publications before distribution, and contains a list of proscribed 
subjects: criticism of the Government, ruling families, and friendly 
governments, as well as other statements that threaten social 
stability. Government officials reportedly warned journalists when they 
published material deemed politically or culturally sensitive.
    By law, the Media Council, appointed by the President, licenses all 
publications. The council is informed of the appointment of editors and 
is responsible for issuing editors their press credentials. According 
to Media Council and Dubai Police officials, journalists were not given 
specific publishing instructions. Self-censorship was practiced, with 
the ministry relying on editors' and journalists' discretion to refrain 
from publishing problematic material that could cause them problems.
    Two of the country's newspapers, Al-Ittihad and Al-Bayan, were 
government-owned or affiliated. The privately owned media was heavily 
influenced by the Government. The country's largest Arabic language 
newspaper, Al-Khaleej, was privately owned but received government 
subsidies. The country's largest English language newspaper, Gulf News, 
was also privately owned. Newspapers often relied on news agencies for 
material. The government-owned Emirates News Agency regularly provided 
material that newspapers printed verbatim.
    While self-censorship affected what was reported in the local 
media, foreign journalists and news organizations operating out of the 
Dubai Media Free Zone reported no restrictions on the content of print 
and broadcast material produced for use outside the country. Broadcast 
content within the Dubai Media Free Zone is regulated by the Free Zone 
Authority for Technology and Media under published guidelines entitled 
the ``Code of Guidance.'' There were reports that some broadcast 
channels in the Media Free Zone broadcast songs and cellular short 
message service (SMS) messages described as ``indecent'' by government 
officials, which were accessed by the local audience.
    Except for those located in Dubai's Media Free Zone and foreign 
language media targeted to expatriates, 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 apparent 
censorship. Media Council censors (previously under the Ministry of 
Information) reviewed all imported media and banned or censored before 
distribution material considered pornographic, excessively violent, 
derogatory to Islam, supportive of certain Israeli government 
positions, unduly critical of friendly countries, or critical of the 
Government or ruling families.
    Publication of books was treated in the same manner.
    In January the case against Basma al-Jandaly, a Dubai-based 
journalist, was dismissed. She was arrested for writing an article in 
2005 in Dubai's leading English daily, Gulf News, about a man in 
Sharjah Emirate who had stalked and stabbed women. The warrant issued 
by Sharjah police contended that her article may have helped the 
attacker escape by alerting him to the investigation.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted access to some Web 
sites on the Internet. Internet chat rooms, instant messaging services, 
and blogs were monitored. Individuals and groups engaged in peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by email, without 
reports of government prosecution or punishment, although there was 
self-censorship apparent in many chat rooms and blogs.
    According to the NGO The Initiative for an Open Arab Internet, 
Internet access was widely available. According to January 2005 press 
reports, 37 percent of the country's population was connected to the 
Internet provided through the state owned monopoly Etisalat. A proxy 
server blocked material deemed inconsistent with the religious, 
cultural, political and moral values of the country; information on how 
to circumvent the proxy server; dating and matrimonial sites; and gay 
and lesbian sites, as well as those concerning the Baha'i Faith and 
those originating in Israel. The proxy server occasionally blocked 
broad categories of sites including many that did not meet the intended 
criteria. Etisalat populated its proxy server list of blocked sites 
primarily from lists of Web sites purchased from commercial companies; 
though individuals could also report offensive sites. In July 2005 
Etisalat blocked a blog from within the country for the first time, 
briefly blocking http://secretdubai.blogspot.com due to a compliant 
that it contained ``nudity"-though the site contains no images. 
Etisalat removed the block after the site's owner requested that the 
block be reviewed. There were no other reports of local blogs, being 
blocked. The politically oriented--and often critical -sites 
Arabtimes.com and UAEprison.com remain blocked without explanation.
    Etisalat denied having the authority to block any site, and 
referred all complaints and suggestions to the Media Council. Internet 
filtering policy and appeals are regulated by the Telecom Regulatory 
Authority. Each blocked site provided an email address and Web site by 
which a user could notify Etisalat if the site should not be blocked. 
Some sites were unblocked following a review. Etisalat also blocked all 
``voice chat'' and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Web sites and 
services. The proxy server did not generally affect Internet access in 
Dubai's Internet City and Media City.
    In January the Government enacted the Information and Privacy 
``cyber crime'' law which explicitly criminalizes the use of the 
Internet to commit a wide variety of crimes. The law provides fines and 
prison terms for Internet users who violate political, social and 
religious norms in the country. In addition to criminalizing acts 
commonly associated with ``cyber crimes'' such as hacking, phishing, 
various scams and other forms of financial fraud, the law also 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, or incite someone to commit sin. The law 
further criminalizes use of the internet in transcending ``family 
values'' by publishing either news or photos pertaining to a person's 
private life or that of his/her family, or by promoting a program in 
breach of public decency.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedoms were 
constrained. On February 14, a foreign lecturer at Zayed University was 
fired for showing a series of cartoons from a Danish newspaper 
portraying the Muslim prophet Mohamed and discussing the international 
uproar caused by the cartoons. The lecturer's supervisor was also fired 
but later reinstated.
    Academic materials destined for schools were routinely censored. 
Students were banned from reading texts featuring sexuality or pictures 
of the human body. On March 6, the Ministry of Education banned and 
confiscated all copies of a social studies book entitled ``World 
Cultures'' from all private schools for containing materials that 
``offend Islam and promote sentiments against tolerance and national 
accord.''
    In September 2000, 15 intellectuals and academics were banned from 
publishing and teaching in the UAE, including Dr. Mohammed Al-Mansouri, 
Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken, Dr. Ateeq Jakkah, Dr. Abdul Razzak Al-Faris, Dr. 
Ali Al-Hammdi, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shamsi, Dr. Abdul Rahman Shuhail, Dr. 
Mohd Makklouf, Dr. Ahmed Al Olaimi, and Dr. Khalifa Al-Suwaidi. At 
year's end only Khalifa Al-Suwaidi had been allowed to return to 
teaching and writing. On September 21, the Government cancelled an 
event in Fujairah organized by the Jurists' Association, where Mohammed 
Al-Roken and Mohammed Al-Mansouri were scheduled to lecture on civil 
rights, women's rights, and democracy. No reasons were provided for the 
action (see section 2 b.).
    Presentation of, and participation in, cultural events were also 
restricted.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association. Organized public 
gatherings require a government permit. No permits were given for 
organized public gatherings for political purposes. In practice the 
Government did not regularly interfere with informal nonpolitical 
gatherings held without a government permit in public places, unless 
there were complaints.

    Freedom of Assembly.--During the year there were approximately 20 
widely publicized, organized gatherings (primarily in Dubai) before the 
Ministry of Labor building of workers complaining of unpaid wages and 
unsuitable working conditions. These gatherings occurred without prior 
government permission and also without government interference (see 
section 6).
    Citizens normally confined their political discussions to the 
frequent informal gatherings, or majlises, held in private homes. The 
Government did not permit public meetings or demonstrations for 
political purposes. There were citizen's associations licensed by, and 
subsidized by, the Government, that were able to organize for economic, 
religious, social, cultural, athletic, and other purposes.
    In September 2005, the Government cancelled an event in Fujairah 
organized by the Jurists' Association on civil rights, women's rights 
and democracy. No reasons were provided publicly for the action. (see 
section 2.a.).

    Freedom of Association.--There are no political organizations, 
political parties, or trade unions (see sections 3 and 6.a.). All NGOs 
are required to register with the Ministry of Social Affairs, after 
which they receive subsidies from the Government based on the 
membership size. Approximately 100 domestic NGOs were registered with 
the ministry. However, despite the requirement, more than 20 
unregistered local NGOs focused on non-political topics and operated 
with little or no government interference. The percentage of citizen 
membership in NGOs varied widely.
    NGOs must be approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The first 
quasi-independent human rights NGO in the country was approved during 
the year (see section 4). All private associations, including 
children's clubs, charitable groups, and hobby associations required 
approval and licensing by local, municipal, or emirate level 
governments. However, this requirement was enforced loosely in some 
emirates (see section 4).
    Private associations must follow the Government's censorship 
guidelines and receive prior government approval before publishing any 
material. Participation by NGO members in any event outside the country 
is subsidized and directed by the Government. Participants must obtain 
government permission before attending such events, even if they are 
not speakers.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion in accordance with established customs, although these customs 
restrict this right in practice. The constitution declares that Islam 
is the official religion of all seven emirates. According to the 2001 
census, 76 percent of the population was Muslim, 9 percent was 
Christian, and 15 percent belonged to other religions.
    The Government controlled all Sunni and Shi'a mosques, prohibited 
the proselytizing of Muslims, and restricted freedom of assembly and 
association, thereby limiting the ability of religious groups without 
dedicated religious buildings to worship and conduct business. The 
Government funded or subsidized approximately 95 percent of Sunni 
mosques and employed their Sunni imams; approximately 5 percent of 
Sunni mosques were entirely private, and several prominent mosques had 
large private endowments. A committee of the Ministry of Justice, 
Islamic Affairs, and Endowments drafts and distributes all Friday 
sermons to Sunni and Shi'a imams (see section 2.b.). The Government 
monitors all sermons for political content.
    The Government supports a moderate interpretation of Islam; 
however, as the state religion, Islam is favored over other religions, 
and conversion to Islam is viewed favorably. All Sunni imams are 
employees of either individual emirate departments or of the federal 
Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and Endowments. Dubai's 
department of Islamic affairs and endowments has approval authority 
over preachers in that emirate's private mosques.
    The Shi'a minority, concentrated in the northern emirates, was free 
to worship and maintain its own mosques. All Shi'a mosques were 
considered private and received no funds from the Government. The 
Government did not appoint imams for Shi'a mosques, but it did monitor 
all sermons closely. Shi'a Muslims in Dubai can pursue Shi'a family law 
cases through a special Shi'a council rather than the Shari'a courts.
    Individual emirates exercised considerable autonomy in religious 
matters. According to the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and 
Endowments, there is no formalized method of granting official status 
to religious groups other than by granting them the use of land for the 
construction of a building. Land grant applications are filed at the 
local level but may include a letter from the General Authority. 
Several non-Muslim groups own houses of worship where they can practice 
their religion freely, although the local ruler owns the land. Groups 
that did not have their own buildings were limited in their ability to 
assemble for worship; they were required to use the facilities of other 
religious organizations or worship in private homes. The police or 
other security forces did not interfere with these gatherings.
    Facilities for Christian congregations were far greater in number 
and size than those for other non-Muslim groups, which significantly 
outnumber the Christian population. There were at least 31 Christian 
churches in the country, and Christian primary and secondary schools 
operated in four emirates. There were two Hindu temples located in 
Dubai, one of which was co-located with a Sikh gurudwara. There were no 
Buddhist temples; however, Buddhists, along with Hindus and Sikhs in 
cities without temples, conducted religious ceremonies in private homes 
without interference. There were only two cremation facilities and 
associated cemeteries for the large Hindu community, one in Dubai and 
the other in Abu Dhabi. Official permission must be obtained to use the 
facilities in every instance, which posed a hardship for the large 
Hindu community.
    The Government prohibits Muslims from converting to other 
religions. Although non-Muslims in the country are free to practice 
their religion, they are subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment, 
and deportation if found proselytizing or distributing religious 
literature to Muslims. There are no specific laws against missionary 
activities, and there were no reports of authorities revoking residence 
permits of persons suspected of such activities. Missionaries have 
performed humanitarian work since before the country's independence in 
1971. There is no restriction on proselytizing non-Muslims.
    The country's sole Internet service provider, Etisalat, sometimes 
blocked Web sites containing religious information. These sites 
included information on the Baha'i Faith, Judaism, negative critiques 
of Islam, and testimonies of former Muslims who had converted to 
Christianity (see section 2.a.).
    There is a small resident noncitizen Jewish population of unknown 
size; there are no synagogues. There were no reported acts of physical 
violence against or harassment of Jewish persons, however, anti-
Semitism in the government-affiliated media was present and anti-
Semitic articles and editorial cartoons depicting demonic images of 
Jews, negative images of Jews along with Jewish symbols, and 
comparisons of Israeli leaders and Israel to the Nazis were published 
throughout the year. These expressions occurred primarily in the 
Government operated daily newspaper Al-Ittihad and the Government 
affiliated periodical, Al-Bayan. These anti-Semitic articles and 
depictions occurred without government response.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for freedom of movement 
or relocation within the country, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.
    Unrestricted foreign travel and emigration is permitted for male 
citizens, except those involved in legal disputes under adjudication. 
Custom dictates that a husband can bar his wife, minor children, and 
adult unmarried daughters from leaving the country by taking custody of 
their passports (see section 5). However, there was no enforcement of 
this custom at exit points unless there was a court order barring an 
individual from traveling. All citizens have the right to return to the 
country.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported 
cases during the year.
    There was a small population of ``stateless'' residents who either 
were without citizenship or had no proof of citizenship for any 
country. Many such persons had lived in the country for more than a 
generation. Many stateless residents originally were from Iran and 
South Asia. Other stateless residents included Bedouins and their 
descendants who were unable to prove they originated in the country. 
Since stateless residents do not have official identification 
documents, they are unable to enroll in school, secure a work permit, 
open a bank account, or travel outside the country, among other 
hindrances.
    There is no formal procedure for naturalization, although foreign 
women may receive citizenship through marriage to a citizen after 10 
years, and anyone may receive a passport by Presidential fiat. Since 
naturalized citizens are not of the country's original tribal groups, 
their passports and citizenship status may be revoked for criminal or 
politically provocative actions. However, such revocations were rare, 
and there were no reports of such occurrences during the year.
    Children born to male citizens acquire citizenship at birth. The 
same benefit does not extend to children of female citizens married to 
noncitizens; however, female citizens under these circumstances can 
apply to the Ministry of Presidential Affairs for citizenship for their 
children. Passports are generally issued and citizenship is generally 
received even though there is no provision in the law.
    The widespread practice of employers forcing foreign national 
employees to surrender their passports as a condition of employment 
remained a serious problem. A 2003 ban on this practice was generally 
not enforced. This practice prevented international travel or 
repatriation by foreign national employees without their employers' 
consent, and it especially affected employees in the resolution of 
employment disputes. Citizens were not restricted in seeking or 
changing employment. However, foreign nationals in most occupations are 
not permitted to change employers without first leaving the country for 
six months, unless the former employer agrees to waive the requirement 
(see section 6.e.).

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The Government did not provide protection against 
refoulement, or the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government did not grant refugee status or asylum.
    Refugees generally were required to petition for settlement in 
third countries. In the past the Government detained persons seeking 
refugee status, particularly non-Arabs, while they awaited resettlement 
in third countries.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law does not provide to citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, or to freely change the laws that govern them. 
There are no democratic elections or institutions and citizens do not 
have the right to form political parties. However, in December an 
appointed electorate elected one-half of the 40-seat Federal National 
Council. 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 that elects from its members the country's President 
and vice President. Decisions at the federal level generally are made 
by consensus among the rulers, their families, and other leading 
families. The seven emirate rulers, together with their extended 
families and those persons and families to whom they are allied by 
historical ties, marriage, or common interests, hold political and 
economic power in their respective emirates.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2004 the seven-member 
Federal Supreme Council elected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan as 
head of state for a five-year term.
    The rulers of the seven semi-autonomous emirates appoint the 
Federal National Council (FNC), a 40-person advisory federal 
consultative body. While the constitution requires that the President 
call the FNC into session each year by the third week in November, the 
FNC has not been in session since June 2005. The members are drawn from 
each emirate in proportion to the population. The emirates of Abu Dhabi 
and Dubai each have eight seats; the emirates of Sharjah and R'as Al 
Khaimah have six; and the smaller emirates of Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, 
and Fujairah each have four. Each FNC member serves a term of two 
years. The FNC has no legislative authority, but generally reviews all 
federal draft laws and decrees before they are officially adopted by 
the Federal Supreme Council; the FNC does not have the power to draft 
or reject legislation. It can, however, send legislation back to the 
cabinet for amendment. The FNC also has the authority to question any 
government minister. On December 16, 18, and 20, one-half of the FNC 
was elected by an electoral college appointed by the rulers of each 
emirate. The electoral college was established in September, and 
consisted of 6,689 members, including 1,189 women. One woman was 
elected to the FNC.
    The ruling families, in consultation with other prominent tribal 
figures, choose new emirate rulers. By tradition, rulers and ruling 
families are presumed to have the right to rule, with their incumbency 
ultimately depending on the quality of their leadership and their 
responsiveness to their subjects' needs. Emirate rulers were 
accessible, in varying degrees, to citizens with a problem or a 
request.
    There were very few women in senior government or business 
positions. There were no female members of the judiciary. The Federal 
Judicial Authority law prohibits women from working as judges or public 
prosecutors. During the year women underwent public prosecution 
training, and in August three women were appointed to senior 
administrative positions in the Dubai Public Prosecutor's Office, but 
not as prosecutors.
    Other women in senior federal government positions included the 
Minister of Economy, the Minister of Social Affairs, the secretary 
general of the Cabinet of Ministers, and two assistant undersecretaries 
in the Ministry of Education.
    During the year there were 32 women, approximately 10 percent of 
the diplomatic corps, serving as diplomats in the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs. Although there was no law prohibiting women from being 
diplomats, no women served as diplomats prior to 2001.
    In Sharjah seven women served on the 40-seat Consultative Council, 
and 2 women served as directors of local departments. In the other 
emirates there were no women in non-federal senior government 
positions.
    Although the small minority of Shi'a citizens enjoyed commercial 
success, there were no Shi'a in top positions in the federal 
government.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were reports of 
government corruption at the administrative level. An Abu Dhabi Police 
study published in February 2005 cited a problem of ``rampant'' 
bribery, nepotism, embezzlement, and abuse of power throughout local 
administrations. Subsequently, special anti-corruption sections were 
established to investigate and prosecute violators. In December 2005 
the Penal Code was amended to increase penalties for corruption-related 
offenses, including mandatory prison time (minimum of one year) for any 
government official accepting a bribe, up to five years for attempting 
to bribe an official, and various prison terms for embezzlement. There 
were no reports of prosecutions under the new Penal Code amendments.
    The law provides for public access to government information, but 
this provision was followed only selectively. Requests for access were 
usually not denied, but simply went unanswered. Draft legislation was 
not available to the public, nor was there any period for public 
comment on proposed legislation.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There was one quasi-independent human rights organization based in 
the country. In February the Ministry Social Affairs approved the 
establishment of the Emirates Human Rights Association (EHRA), after 
having failed to take action on two previous applications filed since 
2004. The only other local human rights organization was the 
government-subsidized Jurists' Association Human Rights Committee, 
which focused on human rights education and conducted seminars and 
symposia subject to government approval (see section 2.b.).
    In July 2004 a group of citizens headed by Mohamed Al-Roken 
petitioned the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to approve the 
registration of an independent human rights NGO, the UAE Human Rights 
Society. In April 2005 another group led by Khalifa Bakhit Al-Falasi, 
applied to establish another human rights organization. According to 
the Ministry's own regulations, it is required to act on all such 
applications within 30 days of receipt of the applications, but it did 
not act on either application by the end of the year. The NGO that was 
finally approved, the EHRA, was initially composed of members drawn 
from the first two applications of which the names had been vetted by 
the Government. This application did not include either Al-Roken or Al-
Falasi and was filed by Mohammed Al-Daheri. Once approved, the 
association's membership was open to any adult citizen who did not have 
a criminal record.
    There were claims that state security officials harassed human 
rights activists including Mohamed Al-Roken for their lectures, 
writings and activities regarding human rights and democratization. Al-
Roken was detained and questioned for two-days in July and three-days 
more in August before finally being released without charge. On July 
17, an arrest warrant was issued for Mohamed Al-Mansouri, a lawyer, 
human rights activist and President of the Independent Jurists 
Association, stemming from slander charges filed by the General Public 
Prosecutor's Office for information published on the Web site of a 
London-based think tank, civil society, and human rights organization 
that Al-Mansouri chairs.
    Domestic NGOs were charitable, social, and educational in their 
purposes. They were required to register with the Government and were 
subject to many regulations and restrictions. In practice these 
restrictions, if violated, were often overlooked.
    The Government did not allow international human rights NGOs to be 
based in the country, but allowed international representatives to 
visit with limited restrictions. The Government cooperated with 
international governmental organizations and worked closely with both 
UNICEF and UNODC on human rights programs. UNICEF representatives 
specifically commended the country for their work on rescuing and 
repatriating many children previously used as camel jockeys.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equality before the law without 
regard to race, nationality, or social status; however, there was legal 
and cultural discrimination based on gender and nationality.

    Women.--There is broad legal and societal discrimination against 
women. Islamic law governs the personal status of women, but civil law 
governs their activities in the civic and commercial sphere. Muslim 
women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims (see section 1.f.). Custom 
dictates that a husband can bar his wife, minor children, and adult 
unmarried daughters from leaving the country. All male citizens can 
pass citizenship to their children at birth, whereas female citizens 
married to noncitizens do not automatically pass citizenship to their 
children (see section 2.d.). The Government was generally not effective 
in enforcing women's rights and protecting women from abuse. There is 
no data regarding the number of abusers who were prosecuted, convicted, 
or punished.
    Domestic abuse against women was a pervasive problem. A UAE 
University study published in February 2005 indicated that as many as 
66 percent of all women permanently residing in the country had been 
subjected to domestic abuse. Almost 34 percent of respondents age 18 to 
30 claimed to have been abused by a family member, and over 50 percent 
of respondents said that they witnessed their mothers being abused in 
the home.
    Abuse and rape are criminal offenses, and offenders are prosecuted 
and penalized. There were many press reports of spousal abuse. Rape is 
punishable by death under the Penal Code, but is often not recognized 
in Shari'a courts. The Penal Code does not specifically address spousal 
rape. Assault without intent to kill is punishable by 10 years in 
prison, seven years if it only results in disability, and one year if 
only resulting in temporary injury.
    There were no specific reports of honor crimes or killings, 
although it was rumored to occur within the foreign population.
    The law protects women from verbal abuse and harassment from men 
outside the family; however, male guardians within the family have a 
right in the Penal Code to discipline women and children family members 
at their discretion, including use of physical violence. Violators 
outside of the immediate family are subject to criminal action, 
including up to one year in prison, a fine of not more than $2,750 
(10,000 dirhams) and deportation if not a citizen. During the year the 
press reported incidents of men being arrested and prosecuted for 
harassing women in public. The Penal Code prohibits ``disgracing or 
dishonoring'' a person in public, punishable by a minimum of one year 
in prison, and 15 years if the person is under the age of 14. An 
``infamous'' act against the rules of decency carries a penalty of six 
months in prison, and dishonoring a woman by word or deed on a public 
roadway results in up to one year in prison and a $2,700 (10,000 
dirhams) fine.
    Police units are stationed in major public hospitals so that 
victims of abuse may file complaints, which fall under the jurisdiction 
of the Shari'a courts. In addition, attending physicians may call 
police to interview suspected victims of abuse. Social workers and 
counselors, usually female, also maintained offices in public hospitals 
and police stations. However, women sometimes were reluctant to file 
formal charges for social, cultural, and economic reasons.
    All Dubai police departments, and many police departments in other 
emirates, have human rights and social support offices that provide 
assistance to women and children who are victims of abuse. When abuse 
is reported to local police, authorities may take action to protect the 
complainant; however, the Government was generally not effective in 
protecting women from abuse. There were several reports that police 
authorities refused to protect women and instead encouraged them to 
return home. In some cases the authorities contacted the allegedly 
abusive husbands to transport their wives home.
    The Government has not developed an effective method to screen and 
identify real or potential trafficking victims at ports of entry or 
after arrests, unless they come forward on their own. Identifying 
victims relies almost exclusively on the willingness of a victim to 
take the initiative in filing a complaint against a trafficker. The 
Government grouped trafficking victims with other human rights cases. 
Other than former camel jockeys, the Government did not know how many 
trafficking victims it assisted during the year. The Government 
maintained records of the number of persons arrested and prosecuted for 
trafficking.
    Some local and foreign employers physically and sexually abused 
female domestic servants; in some cases, the situation rose to the 
level of involuntary servitude (see section 6.e.). There were reports 
from foreign embassies that some police authorities pressured victims 
not to pursue complaints against their employers, and/or assisted the 
employers in repatriating the victims to their home countries before a 
criminal complaint could be filed.
    No law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM), which was 
primarily practiced among Somali, Omani, and Sudanese expatriates. The 
Ministry of Health prohibits hospitals and clinics from performing FGM; 
however, some private clinics in the northern emirates and rural areas 
continued to carry out the procedure.
    Prostitution is illegal; however, it has become an increasing 
problem in recent years, particularly in Dubai. Substantial numbers of 
women reportedly arrived regularly from the states of the former Soviet 
Union, Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and other states 
of the Middle East for temporary stays, during which they engaged in 
prostitution and other activities connected to organized crime. 
Although there was credible evidence that many prostitutes entered the 
country willingly for economic reasons, others were trafficked into the 
country (see section 5, Trafficking).
    While prostitution was widely acknowledged to exist, the Government 
did not address the issue publicly because of societal sensitivities. 
However, during the year, there continued to be press reports 
highlighting the problems of prostitution and human trafficking.
    In addition to increased policing and tightened immigration 
procedures, authorities also restricted the number of visas issued to 
single young women from certain countries of concern; however, problems 
continued with more facile access at airports in the northern emirates 
and with airline tourism companies reportedly continuing to obtain 
tourist visas for prostitutes.
    The Government's interpretation of Shari'a is applied in personal 
status cases and family law. The law permits men to have more than one 
wife, but not more than four at any time. When a woman marries, her 
separate property (including her dowry, which is set by Presidential 
decision at a maximum of approximately $13,700 (50,000 dirhams) and the 
income of her separate property remain under her control and are not 
commingled with the separate property of her husband. However, there 
were several cases during the year where a woman's dowry exceeded this 
maximum amount, ostensibly to make it far more difficult for a woman to 
pay it back should there be a divorce. During the marriage, the husband 
is legally obliged to provide a marital home and necessities for his 
wife and children. In the event of divorce, a woman takes her separate 
property, any amount she receives in a property settlement with her 
husband, plus any allowance granted for her and her children's 
maintenance.
    Laws of inheritance according to the Government's interpretation of 
Shari'a apply equally to men and women, although laws of distribution 
may differ. For example, women normally inherit less than men; a 
brother inherits double what the sister inherits when a parent dies.
    Divorce is permissible, although it is often very difficult for a 
woman to obtain. A woman may be granted a divorce if she can prove that 
her husband has inflicted physical or moral harm upon her. A woman also 
may sue for divorce if her husband has abandoned her for a minimum of 
three months, or if he has not maintained her upkeep or that of their 
children.
    A July 2005 Personal Status Law enables women to obtain a khul' 
divorce, or divorce by petitioning the Shari'a court, by paying 
compensation, or by returning their dowry to their husbands. The law 
also affects child custody guidelines, giving divorced women custody of 
female children only until the age of 13 and male children only until 
the age of 11. If the court deems the mother to be unfit, custody 
normally reverts to the next able female relative on the mother's side. 
A woman who remarries may forfeit her right to the custody of children 
from a previous marriage.
    Fornication is a crime. The Government may imprison and deport 
noncitizen women if they bear children out of wedlock.
    There are no legal restrictions on the travel of women. However, by 
custom and tradition, a husband can bar his wife, minor children, and 
adult unmarried daughters from leaving the country by taking possession 
of their passports (see section 2.d.).
    Neither the labor law nor the civil service law, which covers labor 
matters in the public sector, prohibits the employment of women. A man 
has no right under Shari'a to ban his wife from working if she was 
employed at the time of their marriage; however, some government 
administrations do not employ married women without their husbands' 
written consent.
    There are no legal prohibitions against women owning their own 
businesses. Female citizens working as doctors, architects, and lawyers 
typically did not face restrictions on licensing their own businesses; 
noncitizens of either gender may not license a business. The Abu Dhabi 
Chamber of Commerce, the UAE Businesswomen's Council, and the General 
Women's Union (GWU) regularly conducted programs to encourage women 
into small business entrepreneurship. Three women members of the Dubai 
Chamber of Commerce served on the board of directors.
    Women who worked outside the home sometimes did not receive equal 
benefits. Women also reportedly faced discrimination in promotion.
    Public sector employees may receive as much as two months' paid 
maternity leave; however, citizen teachers receive only 45 days' paid 
maternity leave, with a guaranteed position after maternity leave.
    According to the Ministry of Planning, female citizens constituted 
approximately 26 percent of the national workforce, an 11 percent rise 
over the past 10 years. The Government publicly encouraged female 
citizens to join the workforce and ensured public sector employment for 
all that applied. According to government statistics, women comprised 
approximately 42 percent of all employees in education, 34 percent in 
the health sector, 20 percent in social affairs, 28 percent of all 
civil servants, and 57 percent of citizens working in banking and 
financial services.
    Women constituted approximately three-fourths of all university 
students. Coeducation is prohibited in public schools and universities 
except at the UAE University Executive MBA Program. Several private 
universities and institutions are coeducational.
    Government-sponsored women's centers provided adult education and 
technical training courses. Women were actively recruited to work as 
police officers

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare, and expended resources on the welfare of citizen children; 
however, noncitizen children received fewer benefits.
    All children received free health care and all citizen children 
also received free public education through the university level. 
Noncitizen resident children were not permitted to enroll in public 
schools unless they lived in rural areas that lacked private schools. 
Many foreign workers in private sector employment received education 
allowances as part of their salary packages. For those who did not 
receive the extra salary benefit, the Government provided an annual 
subsidy of approximately $1,600 (6,000 dirhams) per family to its 
noncitizen employees for private school tuition.
    Education is compulsory through the ninth grade. Citizen children 
are required to attend gender-segregated schools through the sixth 
grade, the last grade of primary education, when children can be as 
young as 10 or 11 years old. However, compulsory education was not 
enforced, and some children did not attend school. For the 2004-05 
academic year, the Ministry of Education reported student dropout rates 
as 9.9 percent of the 143,301 primary level students (grades one to 
five); 8.3 percent of the 148,563 middle school students (grades six to 
nine); and 9.3 percent of the 102,903 students at the secondary level 
(grades 10 to 12).
    Housing benefits were also routinely granted to citizens with 
children. Some citizens opted for available government land grants and 
interest-free loans to build their homes. Citizens employed by the 
Government were also eligible to receive higher salaries to support 
their children who were under the age of 18, were unmarried, or had 
disabilities. The Government, through its Marriage Fund, encouraged 
citizens to marry fellow citizens by providing significant funding to 
subsidize dowries and to offset customarily high wedding expenses. The 
media regularly published articles encouraging citizens to have large 
families.
    Child abuse was not prevalent. Trafficking of young, noncitizen 
boys employed as camel jockeys was a serious problem in the past, with 
the last known case of a child being used as a jockey occurring in 
March 2005. (see section 5, Trafficking).

    Trafficking in Persons.--On November 10, the President issued a 
comprehensive law prohibiting trafficking in persons. The law 
prescribes punishments including jail sentences for those convicted of 
trafficking, including trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation 
and involuntary servitude. The new law generally follows the UN 
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Prior 
to the passage of the antitrafficking law, defendants were prosecuted 
primarily under articles of the Penal Code addressing juvenile labor 
and child welfare, forced labor, trafficking for slavery, and 
kidnapping. Regardless of the change in law, the trafficking of men, 
women, and children from South and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, 
and the Middle East for involuntary servitude and for sexual 
exploitation continued to be serious problems.
    The Government made progress in combating the problem of 
trafficking. In addition to the new antitrafficking legislation, the 
Government worked with UNICEF, source country embassies, and NGOs to 
identify, rescue, rehabilitate, and repatriate approximately 1,069 
children who had worked as camel jockeys. Since July 2005 the 
Government provided in excess of $3 million for care and repatriation 
of all the boys, which included financing of social services and 
resettlement sites in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India to facilitate the 
return of the children to their home countries. By year's end there 
were no identified children remaining in rehabilitation shelters 
awaiting repatriation.
    During the year there were a number of local media reports of 
trafficking in women and girls into the country, especially to Dubai, 
for commercial sexual exploitation. Observers believed that trafficking 
activity was conducted with the complicity of some of the women's 
citizen sponsors and by non-citizen traffickers. For example, during 
the year a Bangladeshi woman who came to work in the country as a 
domestic servant was thrown from a fourth floor balcony by her five 
Bangladeshi traffickers when she refused to become a prostitute.
    As many as 10,000 women were sexually exploited for profit in the 
country. Law enforcement, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 
investigated reports of trafficking in women for prostitution, but 
prosecutions for sex trafficking remain extremely low relative to the 
extent of the problem. In 2004 and during the year, Dubai police closed 
39 hotels in Dubai and several massage parlors and night clubs 
suspected of exploiting women for prostitution.
    Unlike in previous years, instead of summarily deporting all women 
arrested for prostitution, the Human Rights Care Department housed in 
hotels women who identified themselves as victims of and could provide 
evidence about trafficking until they could testify in trials against 
the traffickers. The Government has not developed an effective method 
to screen and identify actual or potential trafficking victims who do 
not identify themselves to authorities. As a result, many victims are 
believed to have been deported without access to protection services or 
without being able to testify against their traffickers. Victims who 
were unable to provide evidence of trafficking were also assisted until 
they had acquired travel documents to return home.
    In 2005 the Government convicted at least 12 persons, including at 
least seven foreigners, of offenses related to trafficking in women and 
sentenced them to prison terms of between two and five years (and in 
one case 90 lashes) and deportation. No statistics were available for 
the current year.
    The Government also provided assistance to trafficking victims. 
Counseling services were available in public hospitals and jails. The 
Dubai police also sponsored a Crime Victims' Assistance Program, and 
assigned program coordinators in police stations throughout the city.
    In May 2005 the Government created a 70-person antitrafficking 
section within the Ministry of Interior, and in October 2005 Dubai 
Police established a special Human Trafficking section that works in 
conjunction with the Human Rights Care Department.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no federal legislation 
requiring accessibility for persons with disabilities; however, most 
public buildings provided access. There were no reported incidents of 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, 
education, or in the provision of other state services.
    The Ministry of Labor operated five federal rehabilitation centers, 
which were open only to citizens. The Ministry of Interior also 
operated a training and employment center in Al Ain, and implemented a 
program to educate 75 students with mental disabilities. There were 
reported inadequacies in both public and private centers, including 
unqualified teachers and supervisors, a lack of healthcare, and 
unreasonably high costs of private centers.
    One percent of all jobs in the federal government, and 2 percent of 
government jobs in Abu Dhabi Emirate are reserved for persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Societal discrimination against 
noncitizens, while not legally sanctioned, was prevalent and occurred 
in most areas of daily life including employment, housing, social 
interaction, and healthcare. National origin played an important role 
in employment, immigration, and security policies, as well as cultural 
attitudes towards noncitizens, who comprised approximately 85 percent 
of the resident population. More than 50 percent of foreign workers 
were estimated to have come from the Indian subcontinent.
    The Government failed to provide many free or reduced-cost services 
to noncitizens including child and adult education, health care, 
housing, and social and recreational club memberships. While citizens 
who contract HIV are afforded full, continuous, and free health care, 
noncitizen migrant workers who contract the same disease are denied 
health care and deported. Expatriate residents infected with HIV are 
denied all healthcare benefits, quarantined, and deported.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Both civil law and 
Shari'a criminalize homosexual activity. In November 2005 Abu Dhabi 
Police arrested 26 men, 13 citizens and 13 other Arabs and Asians, for 
alleged homosexual activity. Government officials reportedly said that 
the men were transferred to the ministry's Social Support Center and 
would ``be given the necessary treatment, from male hormone injections 
to psychological therapies'' after their trial. The Ministry of 
Interior later disavowed this statement. In May 12 of the 13 nationals 
involved were sentenced to five years in prison; the other was given 
six months, all for immoral activities. All 13 of the foreign nationals 
involved were sentenced to a period equal to that which they had 
already been imprisoned, and were deported to their home countries.
    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 (see section 
1.c.).
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The labor law, dating from 1980 does 
not authorize workers to form or join unions, and none existed. The 
labor law does not cover domestic servants, government workers, or 
agricultural workers. Professional organizations do exist and 
collective work dispute resolution is explicitly permitted (see section 
6.b.). International affiliation by professional associations must be 
approved by the Government. There have been no attempts to form labor 
unions.
    Since 1995 the country has been suspended from the U.S. Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) insurance programs because of the 
Government's noncompliance with internationally recognized worker 
rights standards.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not explicitly prohibit or permit strikes or collective bargaining 
units for private sector employees. The law does provide for collective 
work dispute resolution. Professional associations, organized by 
profession (e.g., teachers, jurists, engineers, medical professionals, 
and social workers), were the only workers' associations that existed 
in the country. Although foreign workers may belong to these 
associations, they do not have voting rights and cannot serve on the 
boards of these organizations. The Government granted some professional 
associations limited freedom to raise work-related concerns, to lobby 
the Government for redress, and to file grievances with the Government.
    The labor law does not forbid strikes but does allow an employer to 
suspend an employee for temporarily striking. On September 10 there was 
an administrative directive to ban employment of strike instigators. In 
practice the Government did not prevent non-violent protests, and 
generally did not take retributive action against striking workers. 
Ministry of Labor officials reported that the law does not forbid 
strikes, and if laborers feel they are denied their rights they can 
stop working. In that case, however, such workers may be subject to 
deportation for breach of contract. In September the Ministry of Labor 
passed an administrative resolution stating that foreign workers who 
instigate illegal strikes may be banned from employment for one-year. 
There were no reports of groups of workers being deported for striking; 
however, at least one worker was deported for continuing to incite his 
coworkers to strike after the Ministry of Labor had begun to take 
action on the case. Other employees who took part in the strike were 
not deported after they returned to work.
    In practice there were numerous strikes by private sector 
employees. For example, during the year over 1,600 workers in Dubai 
went on strike after not having been paid in four months and for living 
in unhealthy conditions. The Ministry of Labor quickly met with both 
labor and company representatives and ordered the company to 
immediately pay all back wages. Another dispute in June involved 6,500 
laborers who went on strike demanding a wage increase from $177 (650 
dirhams) to $218 (800 dirhams). The ministry told them to return to 
work or face deportation since the employer had met its obligations 
under a valid work contract.
    In addition, workers participated in organized and impromptu 
gatherings almost daily in front of the Ministry of Labor in Abu Dhabi 
and Dubai to complain of unpaid wages and hazardous or unfair working 
conditions. Generally, the workers at these gatherings did not have a 
permit to protest, but the Government did not punish any workers for 
doing so. The Government prohibits strikes by public sector employees 
on national security grounds. Almost all strikes were in response to 
unpaid wages, and most involved construction companies (see section 
6.c.).
    Domestic workers' contracts were not covered by the labor law.
    The Ministry of Labor distributed information to foreign workers, 
available in five languages, both directly and through their sponsoring 
companies' public affairs offices, outlining their rights under the 
labor law and explaining how to pursue labor disputes, whether 
individually or collectively.
    An extremely small number of workers were eligible to pursue a 
resolution of a collective labor dispute; due to the lack of unions, 
many employees are never allowed the opportunity to pursue collective 
resolutions. Employees covered by the labor law may file individual or 
collective employment dispute complaints in Arabic with the Ministry of 
Labor, which serves as the mediator between the parties. If the dispute 
remains unresolved, the employee may file a complaint with the labor 
court system. The labor law gives the ministry two weeks to resolve the 
dispute or refer it to the courts, although in practice, it generally 
takes a month or more. In all cases, complaints must be filed with the 
ministry before they can be submitted to the court for consideration.
    Parties in a collective work dispute may file complaints with the 
Ministry of Labor. During the year the ministry settled approximately 
85 percent of complaints. If the ministry is unable to mediate a 
settlement within 10 business days, the complaint is to be submitted to 
a Conciliation Committee for mediation, which consists of the manager 
of the labor department, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, a member 
of the vocational society chosen by the workers as a dispute 
representative, and a nonvoting legal expert from the ministry.
    Either the employee or employer can appeal the Conciliation 
Committee's decision to a Supreme Committee of Conciliation whose 
decision, while final, is only enforceable if both parties agree to the 
decision. Either party can, at any time in the process, ask that his/
her dispute be referred to the Court of First Instance in the emirate 
where the alleged violation occurred. If a case cannot be settled, it 
is then referred to the court, where labor cases were quickly 
adjudicated during the year and not subject to court fees. Rulings were 
generally in favor of the workers and are fully possible to implement. 
In practice, most cases were resolved through direct mediation, and if 
that failed they were sent directly to the courts without going to the 
Conciliation Council. When a case is delayed the Ministry grants the 
worker temporary permission to legally continue employment in the 
country. In November Dubai's ruler, Mohamed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, 
established a new court to hear labor disputes in Dubai.
    The Ministry of Interior's Naturalization and Residency 
Administration mandates use of standard contracts for noncitizen 
domestic servants, clearly listing the salary, work requirements, and 
duration of employment. Domestic workers may bring work-related 
disputes to Conciliation Committees organized by the Ministry of 
Interior or to the Court of First Instance. The Ministry of Interior 
settles most disputes between employers and domestic servants. Labor 
attaches at various foreign embassies indicate that most disputes were 
settled in the employees' favor and were settled by allowing the worker 
to transfer sponsors. There are no employer sanctions; if there is 
physical or sexual abuse involved in the compliant, the matter is 
turned over to the police for investigation/prosecution under criminal 
statutes. There have been several reports that employers have 
successfully pressured police authorities to deport the worker prior to 
criminal charges being filed.
    The labor law governs all private-sector employment outside the 
free trade zones with the exception of domestic servants. According to 
the Ministry of Labor, during the year approximately 2.7 million 
workers were registered with the Ministry, and were covered by the 
labor law. The Ministry estimated that there were approximately 100,000 
persons working in the free trade zones, while 2004 International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates show that approximately 264,000 persons 
worked in government services, and more than 200,000 domestic servants. 
Although those working in government services were covered under a 
separate Civil Service law, the 200,000 as domestic servants were not 
covered under any labor law. Domestic servants and agricultural workers 
have always been considerably disadvantaged in negotiating employment 
contracts because the mandatory requirements contained in the labor law 
do not apply. They also faced considerable difficulty in obtaining 
assistance to resolve disputes with their employers. The law ties 
workers' residency permission to their sponsorship by their employer. 
Moreover, most employment contracts stipulate that for six months after 
the end of employment, the employee is forbidden from working for a 
``competitor,'' unless the former employee obtains a letter of ``no 
objection'' from the former employer. This regulation has very severely 
restricted foreign worker labor mobility inside the country. In August 
the Ministry of Labor rescinded the six-month immigration ban for 
workers who change sponsors without a ``no objection letter''; however, 
the Ministry still waits six months to issue a new work permit with a 
new sponsor unless the employee presents a letter of ``no objection'' 
from the former employer. A letter of no objection is not needed if an 
employee proves that the previous employer has violated his/her labor 
contract, such as a delay in payment. Fines were often substantial, and 
more importantly often involved having all transactions cancelled with 
the Ministry, which resulted in no new labor contracts during the year.
    Businesses in the free trade zones do not have to comply with 
federal labor statutes since they are considered a ``country within a 
country.'' In practice, however, the federal law serves as the 
guideline for any labor issues in the free trade zones. One difference 
is in paid holidays: federal law dictates a minimum of 21 days paid 
leave, while the free trade zone law provides for only seven days. The 
MOL did not regulate the free trade zones; instead, each free trade 
zone maintains its own labor department. These free zone labor 
departments, although private, act as the Government regulating body 
for free zone labor operations.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor for both adults and children; however, 
employment agents continued to bring some foreign workers to the 
country to work under forced or compulsory conditions. Women were 
brought to the country under false promises of legitimate employment 
and were instead forced into prostitution (see section 5). Low-paid 
unskilled and semi-skilled workers were also victims of contract 
switching, which occurs when a worker is offered a certain position, 
often secretarial, but, for example, then receives a visa labor card to 
work as a domestic servant instead.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor law prohibits employment of persons under the age of 15 and has 
special provisions for employing persons 15 to 18 years of age. The 
Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing the regulations. The 
Government does not issue work permits for foreign workers under the 
age of 18 years. Child labor was not generally a problem throughout the 
year; however, there were reports of children laborers who came to the 
country under their parents' work permits, and then were employed by 
that same employer. During the year the Government carried out 
extensive efforts to end the practice of trafficking in young foreign 
boys as camel jockeys.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government does not impose a 
minimum wage or have minimum wage guidelines and most of the workforce 
does not earn compensation sufficient to provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and a family.
    Ministry of Labor officials are required to inspect all contracts 
covered by the labor law in order to ensure compliance with legally 
required benefits, allowances, and time of payments. Officials do not 
approve any labor contracts that stipulate ``substandard wages.'' 
Salaries depended on the occupation and employer and ranged from $109 
(400 dirhams) per month for domestic or agricultural workers to $164 
(600 dirhams) per month for construction workers to much higher 
salaries for highly skilled and white-collar employees. Compensation 
packages generally provided housing or housing allowances; however, 
low-skilled employees were often provided with substandard living 
conditions, including overcrowded apartments or lodging in unsafe and 
unhygienic ``labor camps,'' often lacking electricity, potable water, 
and adequate cooking and bathing facilities. Some low-paid workers did 
not receive these benefits, even if stipulated in their contracts. 
Local newspapers detailed numerous cases of non-payment of wages to 
foreign workers.(see section 6.b.).
    Most foreign workers do not earn the minimum salary required in 
order to obtain residency permits for their families. The required 
monthly minimum salary for an accompanying family to obtain residency 
permits is $1,090 (3,924 dirhams); the minimum salary requirement is 
$817 (2,941 dirhams) per month when the Government provides housing or 
an additional housing allowance to the foreign worker.
    Noncitizens comprised approximately 98 percent of the private 
sector workforce. According to the Ministry of Labor, the country was a 
destination for a large number of unskilled workers, including 
reportedly as many as 300,000 domestic servants, most of them women 
from South and East Asia, and a much larger number of unskilled male 
workers from South Asia. These unskilled laborers actively competed for 
jobs in the country, and were subject to poor working conditions. 
Female domestic servants sometimes faced abusive working conditions.
    The standard workday is eight hours per day, and the standard 
workweek is six days per week; however, these standards were not 
enforced. There was no legal provision requiring premium pay for 
overtime, nor was there a prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime. 
According to the Ministry of Labor and the labor law, employees are 
entitled to two days of annual leave per month after completing each of 
the first two 6-month periods on the job; after the first year, 
employees are entitled to 30 calendar days of annual leave, in addition 
to national holidays.
    In 2005 the Ministry of Labor began inspecting construction and 
outdoor worksites and identified at least 15 companies (of 80 
inspected) that failed to enforce the break. These companies faced 
fines of $2,700 (10,000 dirhams) for the first offense and were 
prohibited from sponsoring any new workers. Throughout the summer the 
press reported several companies that were fined for violating the mid-
day break. The Ministry of Labor did not provide any further details. 
According to the press, failure to comply with any ministry regulation 
results in all of a company's transactions with the ministry being 
halted until the company is in compliance. During the year, however, 
there were no reported examples of sponsorship being cancelled based 
upon unlawful labor practices. Workers may file complaints with the 
Ministry of Labor if these laws are not obeyed; the ministry reported 
that workers did file complaints during the year. In Dubai emirate, 
several construction workers died during the year from heatstroke. 
Human Rights Watch stated that in 2004, 34 workers died at worksites 
and that 880 construction workers' bodies were returned to their home 
countries, according to the Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi 
embassies.
    In 2005 the Ministry of Labor received 17,360 complaints during the 
year. The majority of complaints concerned unpaid wages. In 2004 the 
media reported an estimate by unidentified municipal sources of a 61 
percent increase in construction site accidents during the year, rising 
to 149 accidents.
    In 2005 the number of inspectors in the labor division of the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs substantially decreased after many 
of the inspectors resigned. Although inspectors attempted to enforce 
health and safety regulations, there were insufficient inspectors and 
resources to adequately enforce occupational health and safety codes in 
each emirate; during the year there were 80 inspectors. There were 
frequently reports in the press of cases of workers who were killed on 
the job site as a result of inadequate safety measures. Workers' jobs 
were not protected if they removed themselves from what they considered 
to be unsafe working conditions. However, the Ministry of Labor can 
force employers to reinstate workers who were dismissed for refusing to 
perform unsafe work. Injured workers are entitled to fair compensation, 
and all workers have the right to lodge labor-related grievances with 
the Ministry of Labor, which mediates the dispute between the parties. 
Either party has the right to end mediation at any time and have the 
complaint referred to the Court of First Instance. Workers, 
particularly unskilled workers, in disputes with their employers over 
unpaid wages, generally agree to a mediated settlement for less money 
than they are owed in order to avoid a protracted court battle. 
However, workers in disputes with employers generally do not take 
action due to fear of reprisals, including withdrawal of sponsorship or 
deportation.
    Domestic employees' contracts are regulated by the Ministry of 
Interior. Some employers abused domestic workers by imposing excessive 
work hours; nonpayment of wages; verbal, physical, and sexual abuse; 
and restriction of movement. During the year the Government convicted 
at least seven persons in separate cases involving abuse of domestic 
workers.
    Domestic workers may file complaints with the Ministry of Interior 
or go to court, but they were likely to be fined or countercharged with 
theft by their employers and deported. During the year the ministry 
took action against hundreds of employers who abused or failed to pay 
their domestic employees. According to new regulations, ministry 
officials can ban an employer from further sponsorship of domestic 
employees after receiving four reports of abuse.
    Under the law, all workers who enter the country on a labor permit 
are limited in the number of times that they may change employers under 
that permit. The new regulations allow foreign workers holding graduate 
or professional degrees to transfer jobs after one year, with no limit 
on the number of times that they can change employers. Foreign workers 
holding bachelor's degrees are allowed to change employment after two 
years, with a maximum of two transfers. Foreign workers and laborers 
without university degrees are permitted to change employment after 
three years (allowing the employer more time to benefit from training 
given to the unskilled laborers), but only once. In each case, leaving 
the country for six months and filing for a new labor permit restarts 
the process.
    All workers wishing to change employment must either complete their 
existing contract, provide a valid reason to dispute their existing 
contract (such as the nonpayment of wages for at least two months), or 
obtain a letter of ``no objection'' from their current employer. Any 
worker not meeting one of these three criteria must leave the country 
for at least six months and apply for a new work permit before changing 
employers. Fees for changing sponsorship range from approximately $400 
(1,500 dirhams) to $1,350 (5,000 dirhams), with the higher fees charged 
for unskilled laborers to change employers. The law requires the 
employer to pay this fee, but in practice the employer usually requires 
the employee to pay the fee, which can be prohibitive for low-wage 
earners.
    On February 1, additional changes to the sponsorship law offered 
domestics workers the opportunity to change sponsors without facing a 
one-year work ban upon either completion of their contract or with an 
employer's letter of ``no objection.'' These rules are implemented by 
the Ministry of Interior.
    The Ministry of Labor fines companies approximately $1,400 (5,000 
dirhams) per year for each labor card that is expired. Failure to 
comply with this regulation results in a cessation of all transactions 
with the ministry. A ministry official reported that employers often 
forced workers to pay the fine for an expired labor card and the fee 
for a new labor card, under threats of reprisals, including a 
cancellation of their sponsorship.
    Employers historically have held their employees' passports, thus 
preventing them from leaving the country without prior permission. In 
2003 the Federal Supreme Court ruled that employers could not legally 
withhold employees' passports because they were personal documents (see 
section 5). The Ministry of Labor distributed pamphlets, in both 
English and Arabic, to foreign workers advising them to report 
employers who violated this regulation. However, withholding passports 
from employees was still widely practiced. There have been no recent or 
consistent attempts by the Ministries of Labor or Interior to enforce 
the regulation.
    The law requires that employers provide employees with a safe work 
environment. During the year there were several complaints of poor 
sanitation and lack of access to toilets for workers. Local medical 
experts recommended that it was inadvisable for laborers to work 
outdoors when the temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, and that 
employers provide safety helmets and adjust work hours to reduce 
exposure to the sun. In 2005 the Ministry of Labor announced a decree 
requiring a four-hour midday break (12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) for 
outdoor laborers during July and August, the hottest months of the 
year. The break was reduced to two and one-half hours, from 12:30 p.m. 
to 3:00 p.m.
    The Government did not uniformly enforce health and safety 
standards, or require every large industrial enterprise to employ a 
certified occupational safety officer.

                               __________

                                 YEMEN

    Yemen, with a population of approximately 21 million, is a republic 
under the leadership of President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 1978. The 
law provides that the President be elected by popular vote from among 
at least two candidates endorsed by parliament. On September 20, 
citizens re-elected President Saleh to another seven-year term in a 
generally open and competitive election, although there were multiple 
problems with the voting process and use of state resources on behalf 
of the ruling party. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is 
the head of government. The Prime Minister, in consultation with the 
President, selects the cabinet, or Council of Ministers. Although there 
is a multiparty system, the General People's Congress (GPC) dominates 
the government. There were a few instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of government authority.
    Significant human rights problems existed in some areas, such as 
limitations on citizens' ability to change their government due to 
corruption, fraudulent voter registration, and administrative weakness. 
Torture and poor prison conditions existed in some prisons. Prolonged 
pre-trial detention and judicial weakness and corruption were also 
problems. There were some limitations on press freedom. Pervasive 
corruption within the government, discrimination against women, and 
instances of child labor and child trafficking occurred.
    The government took several steps to reduce corruption, including 
removing and investigating several judges accused of malfeasance, 
passing a financial disclosure law for government officials, and 
establishing an independent anticorruption authority with civil society 
representatives.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There was one report 
of the government committing an arbitrary or unlawful killing during 
the year. There were no politically motivated killings by the 
government or its agents; however, security forces reportedly killed or 
injured suspects during apprehensions.
    On September 28, traffic police officer Mohamed Said Abdu 
reportedly died in Al-Ghaida (Mahra governorate) prison as a result of 
torture, according to family members. He was arrested on September 25 
for allegedly consuming alcohol. At year's end, the results of the 
government's investigation into the death had not been made public.
    Throughout the year intermittent and limited clashes between rebels 
and government troops in the governorate of Sa'ada continued. No 
estimates of rebels, security forces, and civilians killed in conflicts 
in Sa'ada during the year were available at year's end, but government 
and independent observers indicated that the number was well below 2005 
levels (see section 1.g.).
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no killings by security 
forces during demonstrations.
    On July 17, armed men murdered Abed al-Osaily, a journalist from 
the newspaper Al-Nahar, after he wrote an article critical of local 
officials' handling of a water project in the village of Belad al-
Qabael. Authorities reportedly attempted to arrest the suspects, but 
failed after the individuals found refuge with a local official. There 
were no developments by year's end.
    Several killings were reported surrounding the September 20 
Presidential and local council elections. On August 23, three people 
killed each other in Al-Jawf province during an argument between a 
ruling party local council candidate, an individual who wanted to take 
that candidate's place on the ballot, and an election official, who was 
a member of an opposition party. On August 28, unknown assailants in 
Lahij killed the campaign manager of independent Presidential candidate 
Ahmed al-Majidi. There were several confirmed reports of violence and 
fatalities on election day in the provinces of al-Jawf and Dhamar 
between elections officials and party supporters. There were no reports 
of widespread violence by government officials, security forces, or 
party supporters. At year's end no results of the government's 
investigation into any of the killings had been made public.
    Tribal violence resulted in a number of killings and other abuses, 
and the government's ability to control tribal elements remained 
limited (see section 5). In several caseslong-standing tribal disputes 
were resolved through government supported mediation by nongovernmental 
actors.
    Other incidents of fatal shootings and violence continued 
throughout the year. In most cases, it was impossible to determine the 
perpetrator or the motive, and there were no claims of responsibility. 
Although some may have had criminal, religious or political motives, 
most appeared to involve tribal revenge or land disputes.
    On November 24, 34 defendants were convicted on charges stemming 
from the March and April 2005 Sana'a grenade attacks that killed five 
civilians and injured 28 others. Three other defendants were found not 
guilty. Reportedly, followers of the Shabab movement retaliated for 
government actions in Sa'ada.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances; however, during the year there were some reports of 
tribal kidnappings, traditionally committed to attract government 
attention to a particular grievance.
    On January 1, five Italian tourists were kidnapped by tribesmen in 
Marib governorate and were released six days later after security 
forces surrounded the kidnappers' compound. On September 10, four 
French tourists were kidnapped by tribesmen while touring Shebwa 
governorate and released several weeks later following negotiations. In 
both cases captors demanded that the government release imprisoned 
fellow tribal members.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, members of the 
Political Security Office (PSO) and Ministry of Interior (MOI) police 
forces tortured and abused persons in detention. Authorities used force 
during interrogations, especially against those arrested for violent 
crimes. Although penal law permits amputations and physical punishment 
such as flogging for some crimes, which the government maintains is in 
accordance with Shari'a (Islamic law), there were no reports of 
amputations or floggings during the year.
    The government acknowledged that torture occurred; however, it 
claimed that torture was not official policy and that no complaints of 
torture occurred during the year. Lack of training among police, 
corruption, and pressure from superiors to produce convictions usually 
played a role in cases where there was torture.
    During the year torture continued to remain a problem in PSO 
prisons, which were not systematically monitored by other government 
agencies. There were credible reports pointing to a preferred use of 
nonphysical methods, such as sleep deprivation and threats of sexual 
assault, as the primary form of abuse in PSO prisons. There were 
reports that the MOI's Criminal Investigative Department (CID) 
routinely used torture to obtain confessions. Defense attorneys and 
some human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) claimed that 
most confessions introduced as evidence against defendants in criminal 
courts were obtained through torture. Local NGOs claimed that in 
several instances in which prison abuse cases were referred to the 
Attorney General's office for prosecution, the complainants were 
threatened and decided not to follow through on their cases. Government 
sources denied this allegation.
    In mid-April a military officer serving in Marib governorate was 
convicted in a military court for torturing a soldier under his 
command.
    On July 12, seven Taiz police officers who were on trial for the 
severe torture of a juvenile murder suspect in 2004, were tried and 
acquitted of all charges.
    There was no further information on the 2005 cases of seven police 
officers who were referred to the courts for prosecution on charges of 
torture.
    In September 2005 two MOI officers were put on trial for the 1999 
torture-induced death of an Aden bombing suspect. There was no further 
information on this case at year's end.
    During the year the government took new initiatives to curb torture 
in MOI prisons. For example, the Ministry of Human Rights (MHR) 
sponsored a group of lawyers, human rights activists, and NGO 
representatives to tour MOI prisons across the country. On July 19, the 
group released a report saying they found no instances of torture. The 
report also contained recommendations to improve general prison 
conditions.
    During the year the government trained over 300 MOI officers on the 
illegality of torture.
    Security forces reportedly beat detainees in prison during the 
year. On July 31, an international human rights group reported that 
security forces allegedly beat Somali national Mohammed Abdel Qadir, 
apparently for refusing to provide information about Associated Press 
(AP) journalists in the country. In June authorities released Qadir, 
who worked as a security guard at the AP office in Sana'a, from the 
political security detention center in Sana'a, where he was detained 
since August 2005.
    In February 2005 CID forces investigating a theft case in Dhamar 
governorate arrested five suspects who were reportedly beaten during 
interrogation; four suspects were released. One suspect confessed to 
the crime and was referred to the Attorney General's office for 
prosecution. At year's end no further information on this case was 
available.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Although some observers 
noted improvements in MOI prison conditions during the year, local and 
international observers reported that prison conditions remained poor 
and did not meet internationally recognized standards. Although the MHR 
and a number of NGOs were granted limited access to MOI prisons, the 
government severely limited access to PSO prisons by independent human 
rights observers.
    Many prisons, particularly in rural areas, were overcrowded with 
poor sanitary conditions, and inadequate food and health care. In some 
cases prison authorities exacted bribes from prisoners to obtain 
privileges or refused to release prisoners who completed their 
sentences until family members paid them. There was one alleged death 
in prison due to torture (see section 1.a.).
    Although women were held separately from men, and conditions were 
equally poor in women's prisons, their conditions differed in some 
respects. By custom, young children and babies born in prison were 
likely to remain with their mothers. Local tradition requires male 
relatives of female prisoners to arrange their release; however, female 
prisoners regularly were held in jail past the expiration of their 
sentences because their male relatives refused to authorize their 
release due to the shame associated with their behavior.
    In some rural and women's prisons, children were held with adults, 
and pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners. Security and 
political detainees generally were held in separate facilities operated 
by the PSO.
    Unauthorized ``private'' prisons in rural areas, often controlled 
by tribes, remained a problem. Tribal leaders misused the prison system 
by placing ``problem'' tribesmen in ``private'' jails, either to punish 
them for noncriminal actions or to protect them from retaliation. At 
times such prisons were simply rooms in a tribal sheikh's house. 
Persons were detained in such prisons often for strictly personal or 
tribal reasons without trial or sentencing. Although senior government 
officials did not sanction these prisons, there were credible reports 
of the existence of private prisons in government installations.
    Persons with mental illness who had committed crimes were 
imprisoned without adequate medical care. In some instances authorities 
arrested without charge persons with mental illness and placed them in 
prisons with criminals. At year's end MOI-run prisons in Sana'a, Aden, 
and Taiz operated in conjunction with the NGO Red Crescent 
semiautonomous units for prisoners with mental illnesses; conditions in 
these units were reportedly deficient.
    Although limited access was granted to family members of PSO-held 
detainees, requests for access by parliamentarians and NGOs were 
routinely denied. Access to MOI prisons was at times permitted, 
although parliamentarians and NGOs complained that it was subject to 
several limitations. At times the government met with domestic NGO 
monitors and responded to inquiries, particularly in matters relating 
to prisoners. NGOs reported difficulty in gaining access to central 
security prisons to investigate human rights violation claims; however, 
individuals working for NGOs were allowed to meet with prisoners as 
private visitors. NGOs had no access to PSO and CID prisons. In 2004 
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suspended a second 
round of visitations to PSO prisons citing a lack of understanding of 
its universally applied procedures; visits to MOI or PSO prisons had 
not resumed by year's end.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, the government generally did not observe 
these prohibitions. Enforcement of the law was irregular and in some 
cases nonexistent, particularly in cases involving security offenses.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The primary state 
security and intelligence gathering apparatus, PSO, and the National 
Security Bureau (NSB) reported directly to the President. Many of NSB's 
duties were not clearly delineated and appeared to overlap with the 
PSO. The police CID reported to the MOI and conducted most criminal 
investigations and arrests. The Central Security Organization, also a 
part of the MOI, maintained a paramilitary force. Corruption was a 
serious problem, and there were no government investigations of police 
corruption during the year. Some police stations reportedly maintained 
an ``internal affairs'' section to investigate abuses, and any citizen 
had the right to raise an abuse case with the prosecutor's office. 
Enforcement of the law and effective investigations were irregular.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that individuals cannot be 
arrested unless apprehended in a criminal act or served with a summons. 
Detainees must be arraigned within 24 hours of arrest 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 that a detainee may not be held longer than seven days 
without a court order. Despite the law, arbitrary arrest and prolonged 
detention without charge or, if charged, without a public preliminary 
judicial hearing within a reasonable time were common practices. For 
example, on October 9, according to international human rights 
organizations, authorities arrested human rights defender Ali al-
Dailami while he was traveling to Denmark to participate in a human 
rights event. On November 6, al-Dailami was released from a PSO 
facility, where he claimed he was tortured by security officials.
    The law prohibits incommunicado detention and provides detainees 
with the right to inform their families of their arrests and to decline 
answering questions without an attorney present; however, 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. Almost all rural cases were settled out of court with tribal 
mediators. There are provisions for bail; however, some authorities 
abided by these provisions only if bribed.
    Citizens regularly claimed that security officials did not observe 
due process when arresting and detaining suspects and demonstrators 
(see section 2.b.). Members of the security forces continued to arrest 
or simply detain persons for varying periods of time without charge, 
notification to their families, or hearing. Detainees were often 
unaware of which agency was investigating them, and the agencies 
themselves frequently complicated the situation by unofficially 
transferring custodial authority of individuals to other agencies. 
Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives while the 
suspect was being sought (see section 1.f.).
    The government failed to ensure that detainees and prisoners were 
incarcerated only in authorized detention facilities. The MOI and the 
PSO operated extrajudicial detention facilities. Unauthorized private 
prisons also existed (see section 1.c.).
    According to local NGOs, in March, following a Presidential 
commutation of sentences, the government released virtually all al-
Houthi supporters, except for 36 persons on trial at year's end. Unlike 
in the previous year, there were no reports that security forces 
arrested hundreds of al-Houthi supporters and detained them without 
charge.
    There were no new developments in the April 2005 arrests of 22-
year-old Munif Damesh and his 50-year-old uncle Naif Damesh. Both men 
were arrested and detained in April 2005 while working for two foreign 
journalists.
    Members of the security forces continued to detain journalists for 
publishing articles or cartoons deemed controversial by the government 
(see section 2.a.).
    According to the European Union Election Observation Mission, 
approximately 100 opposition supporters and two opposition candidates 
were arrested during the September election campaign.
    During the year the government also continued to detain suspects 
accused of links to terrorism, but reportedly released a majority of 
those individuals before the September 20 elections. The government did 
not publish numbers of detainees held under suspicion of terrorist 
affiliations or activities. On February 15, the MOI reported that 172 
individuals were being held for suspected terrorism links, while NGOs 
in 2005 estimated that the number was between 200 and 300 persons. At 
year's end it was unknown how many people the government was holding on 
suspicion of terrorist affiliation or activities. A large percentage of 
the total prison population consisted of pretrial detainees, some of 
whom had been imprisoned for years without charge.
    In March, according to media reports, the government released 
Muhammed Bashmilah, Salah Ali Qaru, and Muhammed al-Assad without 
charges. All three citizens were arrested in 2003 on charges linked to 
terrorism.
    On July 8, according to media reports, 19 individuals were 
acquitted on charges of planning attacks against foreign interests in 
the country. The 14 citizens and five Saudis were arrested in early 
2005.
    On October 16, security authorities arrested eight noncitizens in 
an alleged Al-Qai'da plot to smuggle weapons into Somalia. Seven 
individuals were released by the end of the year, while one individual 
remained detained without charge at year's end.
    At year's end there were no further developments in the August 2005 
arrest of 15 men in the Abyan governorate and 45 men in Aden 
governorate for their alleged affiliations with Jihadist movements.
    Throughout the year the government sponsored ideological dialogues 
led by Islamic scholars as part of a re-education program aimed at 
convincing detainees to renounce extremist beliefs. Detainees who 
agreed to these conditions were released. These efforts reportedly had 
limited success. According to a human rights NGO, some detainees who 
were released under this program were re-arrested during the year.

    Amnesty.--In March the government released over 600 al-Houthi 
supporters (see section 1.a.) as part of a general commutation of 
sentences announced by President Saleh in September 2005. In December 
President Saleh released an additional 300 al-Houthi supporters.
    On May 21, President Saleh pardoned two imams, Yahia Hussein al-
Dailami, who had been sentenced to death, and Muhammed Ahmad Miftah, 
who had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment. The two were 
originally convicted in May 2005 of establishing contacts with Iran to 
harm Yemen. The two men publicly opposed the government's action in 
Sa'ada and formed the Sana'a Youth Organization, a Zaydi religious-
based group that supported Houthism. Both men maintained that they only 
advocated peaceful dissent against government action in Sa'ada.
    According to press reports, President Saleh granted a general 
amnesty and released 1,364 prisoners on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
``autonomous'' judiciary and independent judges; however, the judiciary 
was weak and severely hampered by corruption and executive branch 
interference. The government implemented a number of judicial reforms 
throughout the year, including removing the President on June 14 as 
head of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the body charged with 
administering the judiciary. In February the new Minister of Justice 
retired or terminated the employment of a number of judges that the SJC 
deemed ineffective. New judges were hired or promoted into positions at 
all levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. In mid-August 
the SJC referred 10 judges to the Attorney General on suspicion of 
corruption. On September 16, for the first time, a woman was named to 
the Supreme Court.
    During the year the UN Development Program (UNDP), in conjunction 
with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), expanded its model penal court 
program to eight courts of appeal across the country. These courts, 
which abided by higher standards of accountability and transparency 
than normal courts, were designed to provide greater access to under-
represented groups such as women and the poor (see section 5).
    Many litigants maintained, and the government acknowledged, that a 
judge's social ties and occasional bribery influenced the verdict. Many 
judges were poorly trained; some were closely associated with the 
ruling party. The judiciary was hampered further by the government's 
frequent reluctance to enforce judgments. Tribal members at times 
threatened and harassed members of the judiciary.
    The judicial system is organized in a three tiered court structure. 
Courts of first instance are broadly empowered to hear all manner of 
civil, criminal, commercial, and family matters. A single judge may 
hear a case in these courts. Decisions taken in the courts of first 
instance may be appealed to the courts of appeal, of which there is one 
in each province and one in the capital. Each court of appeal includes 
separate divisions for criminal, military, civil, and family issues. 
Each division is composed of three judges. Above the courts of appeal 
is the Supreme Court.
    The Supreme Court is empowered to settle jurisdictional disputes 
between different courts, hear cases brought against high government 
officials, and serve as the final court of appeal for all lower court 
decisions. The Supreme Court has eight separate divisions: 
constitutional (composed of seven judges including the chief justice), 
appeals' scrutiny, criminal, military, civil, family, commercial, and 
administrative. The Supreme Court has special panels empowered to 
determine the constitutionality of laws and regulations.
    In addition to the regular hierarchy of courts, there are courts 
for military, juvenile, tax, customs, and labor matters, whose 
decisions may be appealed to the courts of appeal.
    A special court exists to try persons charged with kidnapping, 
carjacking, attacking oil pipelines, and other acts considered to be a 
``public danger,'' such as banditry and sabotage (see section 1.b.). 
This court provides the defendants with the same rights provided in the 
regular courts, but were more efficient and effective in enforcing 
those rights than regular courts. There are no military or security 
tribunals that try civilians.

    Trial Procedures.--All laws are based on a mixture of Egyptian 
laws, Napoleonic tradition, and Shari'a. The law, social custom, and 
Shari'a, as interpreted in the country, discriminated against women, 
particularly in domestic matters (see section 5, Women). There are no 
jury trials. Judges, who play an active role in questioning witnesses 
and the accused, adjudicate criminal cases. By law the government must 
provide attorneys for indigent defendants in serious criminal (felony) 
cases; however, in practice, this did not always occur. By law 
prosecutors are a part of the judiciary and independent of the 
government; however, prosecutors also investigate criminal cases. The 
police were generally weak and played a limited role in developing 
cases.
    The security services continued to arrest, charge, and submit cases 
to the prosecutor's office to try persons alleged to be linked to 
shootings, explosions, and other acts of violence. Citizens and human 
rights groups alleged that the security forces and judiciary did not 
normally observe due process.
    The accused are considered innocent until proven guilty. Defense 
attorneys are allowed to counsel their clients, address the court, and 
examine witnesses and any relevant evidence. All defendants, including 
women and minorities, have the right to appeal their sentences. Trials 
were generally public; however, all courts may conduct closed sessions 
``for reasons of public security or morals.'' Foreign litigants in 
commercial disputes complained of biased rulings.
    In addition to regular courts, there is a system of tribal 
adjudication for noncriminal issues; however, in practice, tribal 
judges often adjudicated criminal cases. The results carried the same 
if not greater weight than court judgments. Persons jailed under the 
tribal system usually were not charged formally with a crime, but were 
publicly accused of their transgression.
    There were no reports of prosecutors being dismissed for violating 
the law.
    Parliament has exclusive jurisdiction over executive branch 
officials and their representatives for crimes including bribery, 
interference, and embezzlement. No government official was investigated 
or tried under this law during the year.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political 
prisoners, if any, was unclear, and human rights activists were unable 
to provide data on political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, there 
were limitations in practice. In July the National Organization for 
Defending Rights and Freedoms (NODRF) filed the first ever civil suit 
against the President on behalf of Ahmad Ali bin Maeili, who claimed 
the PSO detained him without charge for six years. There was no further 
information on the case by year's end.
    In December Hamdan al-Derssi attempted to file a civil case against 
Saleh al-Fasheq, a prominent local sheikh, in a Hodeida court, claiming 
that al-Fasheq tortured and sodomized him with a stick. Derssi claimed 
that the court rejected the case because the sheikh is politically 
well-connected. Dersi then filed a complaint with the General 
Prosecutor in Sana'a. The General Prosecutor had not taken any action 
by year's end.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such action; however, PSO and MOI 
police forces routinely searched homes and private offices, monitored 
telephones, read personal mail, and otherwise intruded into personal 
matters for alleged security reasons. Activities were conducted without 
legally issued warrants or judicial supervision. PSO and MOI police 
forces routinely detained relatives of suspects while the suspect was 
being sought (see section 1.d.).
    The government claimed that it did not monitor Internet usage; 
however, the government occasionally blocked political Web sites and 
those it deemed to be sexually explicit (see section 2.a.).
    The law prohibits arrests or the serving of a subpoena between 
sundown and dawn; however, there were reports that persons suspected of 
crimes were taken from their homes without warrants in the middle of 
the night.
    No citizen may marry a foreigner without permission from the MOI 
(see section 5), but this regulation does not carry the force of law 
and appeared to be enforced irregularly.
    In other cases detention of family members continued while the 
concerned families negotiated compensation for the alleged wrongdoing. 
Arbitration and mediation by families, tribesmen, and other 
nongovernmental interlocutors was commonly used to settle such cases.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal and External 
Conflicts.--Throughout the year there were intermittent and limited 
clashes between rebels and government troops in the Sa'ada governorate. 
The armed rebellion with separatist tendencies was led by the Shabab al 
Moumineen (the Believing Youth), a movement that follows the teachings 
of Zaydi (Shiite) cleric Hussein Badr Eddine al Houthi, who was killed 
by security forces in 2004. Following the government's release in March 
of over 600 al-Houthi supporters who had been detained in 2004 and 2005 
(see section 1.d.), there were a few small-scale skirmishes throughout 
the remainder of the year. Throughout the year the government began 
allowing aid organizations into the region to assist with rebuilding 
and resettlement efforts. No estimates of rebels, security forces, and 
civilians killed in conflicts in Sa'ada during the year were available 
at year's end, but government and independent observers indicated that 
the number was well below the levels of 2005, when an estimated 500 to 
800 troops, 600 rebels, and 100 civilians were killed. Some opposition 
media and political leaders claimed that the government used excessive 
force in suppressing the rebellion.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press ``within the limits of the law''; 
however, the government did not respect these rights in practice. The 
1990 Press and Publication Law criminalizes ``the criticism of the 
person of the head of state. [that] does not necessarily apply to 
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 country's security apparatus, including the NSB 
and elements of the military, threatened and harassed journalists to 
influence press coverage.
    The Ministry of Information influenced the media through control of 
printing presses, subsidies to newspapers, and ownership of the 
country's sole television and radio outlets. Three independent 
newspapers and no opposition newspapers owned their own presses. There 
were eight government controlled, 41 independent, and 30 party-
affiliated newspapers. There were approximately 90 magazines of which 
45 were private, 27 were government-controlled, and 18 were party-
affiliated. The government selected the items to be covered in news 
broadcasts, and it often did not permit broadcasts critical of the 
government. The government televised parliamentary debates and 
occasionally permitted broadcasts of aggressive criticism of 
ministries. During the Presidential and local council campaigns prior 
to the September 20 elections (see section 3), the government-
controlled broadcast media generally provided equal, largely unedited 
coverage to opposition and independent Presidential candidates; 
however, observers recorded various violations of media freedom, 
including Internet censorship, biased media coverage, and government 
interference with media.
    Press law specifies that newspapers and magazines must apply 
annually to the government for licensing renewal and that they must 
show continuing evidence of approximately $4,375 (700,000 riyals) in 
operating capital. There were no reports of registrations being denied 
during the year. However, there were reports in 2005 that the 
government did not act on the license applications of at least two 
independent newspapers.
    While physical attacks against journalists decreased during the 
year, government harassment, including threats against journalists and 
their families, brief imprisonment, and personal surveillance 
continued.
    On February 7, several journalists, including reporters and 
cameramen from Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, were briefly detained by 
security forces while attempting to report on the February escape of 23 
suspected Al-Qai'da supporters from a PSO prison.
    According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 
authorities continued to harass and intimidate Editor-in-Chief Jamal 
Amer of the independent Al-Wasat newspaper. On April 10, while Amer was 
traveling out of the country, a known political security officer and 
four other men asked Amer's neighbors for personal information on Amer 
and his family.
    Although the MOI promised to investigate the matter, there were no 
new developments by year's end into Amer's August 2005 abduction by 
unidentified persons reportedly linked to security forces. During his 
abduction Amer was beaten, urinated on, interrogated about his contacts 
with foreign embassies, and threatened with death if he continued 
writing articles critical of the government. The attack came after Al-
Wasat published an article on government scholarships being routed to 
government officials' children. Military sources publicly denied 
involvement in the abduction.
    On June 29, several singers and music sellers reported being 
briefly detained by security officials for distributing audio tapes 
that contained songs that were critical of the government.
    In mid-September opposition media reported that cassette tapes with 
songs and speeches critical of the ruling party were banned, while 
similar progovernment cassettes were sold.
    On October 10, according to media reports, member of Parliament 
(MP) Hamid bin Hussein al-Ahmar threatened Ali Hassan al-Shater, 
editor-in-chief of the 26 September weekly, for publishing an allegedly 
insulting poem in his newspaper. On December 14, according to media 
reports, al-Ahmar and al-Shater agreed to settle the dispute out of 
court.
    On November 28, a MOI officer attacked Al-Jazeera television 
correspondent Ahmad al-Shalafi in Sana'a. Security forces briefly 
detained Shalafi, along with his cameraman Ali al-Baidhani, in December 
2005 while they were filming a protest by employees of a public textile 
company. The ministry had not conducted any investigations into the 
attack by year's end.
    Other unidentified parties were also responsible for press 
harassment. On March 11, several unknown assailants abducted and 
assaulted Qaed al-Tairi, journalist for the Socialist Party weekly Al-
Thawri, allegedly due to his February 26 and March 8 comments at 
conferences advocating the right of women to run in the country's 
elections. According to al-Tairi, the assailants threatened him with 
further violence and warned they would kidnap members of his family. 
Al-Tairi filed a police report and awaited results at year's end.
    According to CPJ, journalist Abdulfatah al-Hakimi suffered 
respiratory problems after an early April attack in which two 
unidentified men sprayed him with gas through his car window. He was 
taken to a hospital in Aden, where he remained for more than a week. 
Al-Hakimi, who was deputy editor of the state-controlled daily 14 
October, was fired last year after his writings became more critical of 
the authorities.
    Abed al-Mahthari, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Al-
Deyar, reported to CPJ that he was targeted on April 19 by suspected 
weapons traffickers in Sa'ada. Al-Mahthari had investigated weapons 
trafficking in the past and allegedly received several death threats. 
Al-Mahtari filed a police report and awaited results at year's end.
    There were no new developments in the case of opposition journalist 
Nabil Sabaie. In November 2005 Sabaie was stabbed in both shoulders by 
armed men on a main street of the capital. A MOI official attributed 
the attack to criminals attempting to steal Sabaie's cell phone.
    There were no new developments in the case of journalist Muhammed 
Sadiq al-Odaini. In December 2005 al-Odaini was attacked by armed men 
near his house in the capital and held hostage in his house until early 
morning of the next day. Security forces did not arrive until the day 
after the perpetrators had gone. A MOI source attributed the attack to 
al-Odaini's landlord; Odaini had refused to leave his apartment.
    In 2005 in an attempt to counter dissent, elements close to the 
government or security apparatus cloned two newspapers, Al-Shura and 
Al-Thawri, by publishing newspapers with similar names, fonts, and 
colors as the targeted newspapers, but that carried more progovernment 
editorials and stories. The Al-Thawri clone ceased publication in 2005 
after several weeks, but the Al-Shoura clone continued publishing at 
year's end.
    Journalists were tried and sentenced for writing articles critical 
of the President or for reporting on sensitive issues. On February 6, 
the government temporarily imprisoned three journalists for reprinting 
Danish cartoons caricaturing the prophet Mohammed and charged them, 
along with a fourth journalist who was not arrested, with violating a 
law that forbids the publication of any thing that ``prejudices the 
Islamic faith.'' On November 25, a lower court convicted Kamal al-Olufi 
of Al-Rai al-Am and sentenced him to a one-year prison term, closed the 
paper for six months, and barred him from writing for six months. On 
December 6, Mohammed al-Assadi, editor of the Yemen Observer, was 
convicted and fined approximately $2,500 (500,000 riyals). On December 
13, a lower court convicted two journalists from Al-Hurriya, Akram 
Sabra and Yehya al-Abed, who received a suspended sentence, one month 
closure of the newspaper, and a one month writing ban. At year's end 
all three cases were being appealed.
    According to CPJ, on July 20, a Sana'a court ordered the opposition 
weekly Al-Wahdawi to pay $2,550 (500,000 riyals) in compensation to the 
Ministry of Defense, fined the paper $255 (50,000 riyals), and banned 
editor in chief Ali al-Saqqaf from practicing journalism for six 
months. The case against Al-Wahdawi stemmed from an August 2005 article 
alleging misdemeanors by members of the Republican Guard in seizing 
land in Dhamar Province. The Ministry of Defense, which brought the 
case against Al-Wahdawi, accused the newspaper of revealing military 
secrets.
    Throughout the year, Al-Thawri and/or its editor in chief, Khalid 
Salman, were defendants in over 14 ongoing civil suits. The paper 
published a series of articles critical of corruption and the 
President. On February 15, Al-Thawri journalist Mustapha Bedir was 
fined approximately $750 (150,000 riyals) for an article on alleged 
corruption in the national air force. In 2005 more than 12 cases were 
lodged against Al-Thawri and/or Khalid Salman, and in November 2005 a 
Taiz court fined the paper $3,800 (750,000 riyals) for libeling a Taiz 
city finance director.
    By year's end the government had not followed through on its 2004 
pledge to prosecute journalists whom it deemed supportive of the rebel 
cleric al Houthi.
    The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) defended freedom of the 
press and publicized human rights concerns. The YJS was vocal in 
condemning recent government actions that closed several publications 
and imprisoned journalists. Women Journalists Without Chains also 
publicly supported human rights and press freedoms.
    At times customs officials confiscated foreign publications 
regarded as pornographic or objectionable due to religious or political 
content. During the year there were some reports that authorities 
monitored foreign publications and banned those deemed harmful to 
national interests.
    Authors of books were required to obtain a certification from the 
Ministry of Culture (MOC) for publication and also were required to 
submit copies to the ministry. At times publishers did not deal with an 
author who had not yet obtained a certification. Most books were 
approved, but the process was time consuming. There were reports that 
both the MOC and the PSO monitored and sometimes removed books from 
store shelves after publication. In 2005 publishers were banned from 
distributing some books that espoused Zaydi-Shiite Islamic doctrine 
(followed by approximately 30 percent of the population and of which 
al-Houthi was a follower) or were deemed pornographic. The government 
denied that the media was subject to censorship by any security 
apparatus.

    Internet Freedom.--The government restricted Internet use by 
intermittently blocking access to some political and religious sites 
and Web sites deemed immoral (see section 1.f.). According to local 
human rights observers, the government blocked some Web sites during 
the Presidential and local council campaigns prior to the September 20 
elections. The government limited what Internet content its citizens 
could access by using commercially available filtering technology and 
by controlling its two Internet service providers, TeleYemen (operators 
of the service YNET) and YemenNet, through the Ministry of 
Telecommunications. Human rights and other NGOs complained that the 
government restricted what journalists may write and how citizens used 
the Internet through a variety of means of intimidation. Internet 
access was readily available from homes or Internet cafes.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic freedom, claiming it was necessary due to the politicization 
of university campuses. Political parties frequently attempted to 
influence academic appointments, as well as university faculty and 
student elections. In August 2005 the President of Sana'a University 
forbade new student associations, citing a law forbidding campus 
partisanship. Opposition sources contended that this regulation was not 
enforced against GPC-affiliated organizations.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the 
government limited this right in practice. The government required a 
permit for demonstrations, which it issued routinely. Government 
informers monitored many meetings and assemblies. For the first time 
opposition Presidential candidates were allowed to stage rallies across 
the country, many of which were attended by tens of thousands of 
supporters.
    The government banned and disrupted some demonstrations, allegedly 
to prevent them from degenerating into riots and violence. In July the 
government rejected a request for a demonstration in Sa'ada province 
following Israeli attacks in Lebanon, reportedly for security reasons.
    On August 7, the government ``postponed'' a protest march organized 
by the Yemeni Teacher's Union, reportedly for security reasons. On two 
occasions during the Presidential election campaign, the government 
denied the opposition use of the capital's largest parade ground, which 
was located near the Presidential palace, for campaign rallies. 
President Saleh however, staged several rallies on the same parade 
ground. The opposition also accused the government of blocking roads 
into provincial capitals where opposition candidates staged rallies.
    In July 2005 riots protesting gas prices erupted after the 
government lifted fuel subsidies. The violence resulted in 
approximately 43 deaths and 471 injuries. Press reports asserted at 
least 23 civilians were killed, including a 12-year-old child. On July 
23, the government reported that at least 255 security personnel and 
120 protesters were injured. Parliament submitted an inquiry to the MOI 
on the shooting deaths of demonstrators. The investigation was pending 
at year's end.
    In December 2005 one person was reportedly killed after MOI 
security personnel removed approximately 300 demonstrators who had been 
encamped in front of the Sana'a UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) headquarters, demanding resettlement in third countries. Nine 
persons, four MOI security personnel, and five demonstrators were 
injured during the resulting violence. In November 2005 MOI security 
forces injured one female protester in clashes with the demonstrators. 
There was no additional information at year's end.
    In 2004 a member of the security forces shot into a crowd of 
protesters in front of an Aden court. One person was killed and another 
wounded. The protesters were monitoring the trial of a member of an 
intelligence agency who was accused of murder. Police claimed that the 
crowd was out of control. A fact finding committee was set up to 
investigate the incident the same week. There was no further action on 
the incident by year's end.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the government nominally respected this right in 
practice; however, the ruling party retained control of professional 
associations and NGOs by influencing internal elections and subsidies 
(see section 6.b.). According to local observers, there were 
approximately 20 NGOs independent of the ruling party operating in the 
country.
    An association or NGO must register annually, usually a routine 
matter, with one of four ministries: Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA), 
Culture, Education, or Vocational Training and Technical Education.
    The government cooperated to some extent with legally recognized 
NGOs, which by law were provided with an annual stipend. Some NGO 
professionals claimed that NGOs that did not agree with government 
policy were subject to different registration and funding criteria than 
those deemed loyal by the ruling GPC party leadership.
    All political parties must be registered in accordance with the 
Political Parties Law, which stipulates that each party must have at 
least 75 founders, verified in a court of law, and 2,500 members (see 
section 3).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the government generally respected this right in practice; however, 
there were some restrictions. The constitution declares that Islam is 
the state religion and that Shari'a is the source of all legislation.
    Government actions to counter the increase in political violence 
restricted some religious practice. The government took actions to 
counter the increase in political violence as a result of the June 2004 
and March 2005 uprisings by the Shabab al-Moumineen (the Believing 
Youth) in the northern governorate of Sa'ada and the ensuing attacks 
against government officials in the capital. The government banned for 
the second consecutive year the celebration of Ghadeer Day, a holiday 
celebrated by some Shi'a, in parts of the Sa'ada Governorate.
    The government also reportedly limited the hours that mosques were 
permitted to be open to the public, reassigned some Imams who were 
thought to espouse radical or Zaydi doctrine, and increased 
surveillance and detention of members of the Shabab.
    Followers of religions other than Islam were free to worship 
according to their beliefs and to wear religiously distinctive 
ornaments or dress; however, Shari'a, as interpreted by the government, 
forbids conversion from Islam and prohibits non Muslims from 
proselytizing, and the government enforced this prohibition. The 
government required permission for the construction of all places of 
worship and the constitution prohibited non Muslims from being elected 
to the presidency or parliament. Non-Muslim citizens may vote but may 
not hold elected office.
    Under Islam, as interpreted by the government, the conversion of a 
Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, which the government 
considers a crime punishable by death. There were no reports of cases 
in which the crime was charged or prosecuted by authorities.
    Official policy does not prohibit or prescribe punishment for the 
possession of non Islamic religious literature; however, during the 
year there were reports of persons being harassed and temporarily 
detained for possession of religious materials with the intent to 
proselytize.
    Catholic, Protestant, and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Jewish 
services were held without government interference.
    Public schools provided instruction in Islam, but not in other 
religions; however, most non Muslims were foreigners who attended 
private schools.
    During the year the government continued its efforts to prevent the 
politicization of mosques and schools and to curb religious extremism. 
This included the monitoring of mosques for sermons that incited 
violence or other political statements considered harmful to public 
security. By year's end the government closed over 3,000 unlicensed 
religious schools deemed to have deviated from formal educational 
requirements or promoted militant ideology. During the year the 
Ministry of Religious Affairs reportedly opened government-sanctioned 
schools in the same areas as the schools that had been closed. Private 
and national schools were prohibited from teaching courses outside of 
the officially approved curriculum.
    The government also deported foreign students found studying in 
unlicensed religious schools. In May the Ministry of Endowments and 
Religious Guidance trained 500 male and female religious instructors on 
moderate Islam and religious tolerance. There were credible reports 
authorities banned publishing of some materials that promoted Zaydi-
Shiite Islam (see section 2.a.).
    Shari'a based law and social customs discriminated against women 
(see section 5).

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Unlike in the previous year, 
there were no reported incidents of anti-Semitism. Jewish children in 
the town of Raidah usually rode to school in a covered truck to protect 
them from stones thrown by villagers.
    Jewish citizens, only a few hundred of which remained in the 
country, were socially banned from certain occupations, allowed to live 
in only certain parts of towns, and were legally forbidden to serve in 
the military or government.
    In 2005 after the ruling party tried to put forward a Jewish 
parliamentary candidate, the General Election Committee adopted a 
policy barring all non Muslims from running for parliament (see section 
3).
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, Repatriation, and Exile.--The law provides for these 
rights, and the government respected them with some restrictions. The 
government limited the movement of women, foreigners, and tourists. The 
two latter groups were required to obtain government permission before 
leaving the country. In practice the government did not obstruct 
domestic travel; however, the army and security forces maintained 
checkpoints on major roads.
    In certain areas armed tribesmen occasionally either manned their 
own checkpoints or operated alongside military or security officials 
and subjected travelers to physical harassment, extortion, or theft.
    Although not required by law, women customarily were asked by 
government officials if they had permission from a male relative before 
applying for a passport or leaving the country. One women's rights NGO 
asserted that a husband or male relative could bar a woman from leaving 
the country upon a husband's or male relative's request and that this 
requirement was strictly enforced when women traveled with children. 
During the year there were several reports of women who were turned 
away at the airport because they did not have the permission of or were 
unaccompanied by a male relative.
    Immigrants and refugees traveling within the country often were 
required by security officials at government checkpoints to show that 
they possessed resident status or refugee identification cards.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not use it.
    During the year the government continued to deport an unknown 
number of foreigners studying at Muslim religious schools and believed 
to be in the country illegally. The government claimed that these 
persons were suspected of inciting violence or engaging in criminal 
acts by promoting religious extremism. The government used existing 
laws requiring foreigners to register with the police or immigration 
authorities within a month of arrival.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of refugee status or asylum in accordance with the UN 1951 Convention 
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice, the government generally provided protection 
against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution. In December however, the government stopped its 
practice of allowing UNHCR to perform refugee status determinations for 
non-Somalis. A limited number of non-Somalis have since been deported. 
The government continued to grant prima facie refugee status to Somalis 
who arrived in the country after 1991.
    The government also provided temporary protection to thousands of 
individuals from Iraq and the Darfur region of Sudan who may not 
qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, 
although there were some reports of deportations. There were also 
reports that some Iraqis were blocked from reuniting with their 
families when denied readmission into the country.
    Refugees were allowed to work and travel freely within the country, 
although they faced some difficulties. There were reports of refugees 
being refused employment or passage at checkpoints because they lacked 
legal documentation.
    The government cooperated with the UNHCR in assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers. The government, in cooperation with UNHCR, established 
six reception centers throughout the year to register and provide 
greater legal protection to refugees. There were credible reports of 
isolated incidents of harassment and abuse by security forces at a 
Somali refugee camp. UNHCR reported the incidents to the government, 
but no action was taken by year's end. At times authorities arrested 
without charge and imprisoned an unknown number of undocumented 
refugees while their cases were pending with UNHCR (see section 2.d.). 
Refugees were generally released from prison upon the completion of 
UNHCR processing.
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; 
however, there were limitations in practice. Decision making and 
effective power was held by the executive branch, particularly the 
President, who has held office since 1978. The President appoints the 
Prime Minister, who presides over a 35-member cabinet (Council of 
Ministers), chosen by the President. In practice the President in 
association with the ruling GPC party dominated the government. The 
parliament, in which three parties were represented, was not an 
effective counterweight to the executive branch and can be dissolved by 
the President.

    Elections and Political Parties.--According to local and 
international observers, the September 20 Presidential and local 
council elections were considered open and genuinely competitive, and 
an improvement over previous elections. For the first time opposition 
candidates contested the Presidential elections and had equal coverage 
on government-owned broadcast and print media. There were problems 
however, with voter registration, redistricting, ballot counting, 
isolated incidents of election-related violence, and use of state 
resources on behalf of the ruling party.
    Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected President to a seven year term in 
the country's second nationwide direct Presidential election on 
September 20, securing 77 percent of the votes. According to the 
constitution, Saleh may not run for a third term in office. Faisal bin 
Shamlan, candidate of the opposition coalition Joint Meetings Party 
(JMP), gained 22 percent. The remaining three opposition and 
independent candidates each had less than one percent each. According 
to the Supreme Commission on Elections and Referenda (SCER), 
approximately 65 percent of eligible voters participated in the 
elections, of which approximately 42 percent were women. The 
constitution provides that the President is elected by popular vote 
from at least two candidates endorsed by parliament.
    International NGOs and the European Union Observer Mission 
characterized polling as an important and unprecedented step in the 
country's democratic development. In its final post-election report, 
the EU noted that the GPC had an unfair electoral advantage, because 
significant state resources were put at the disposal of GPC candidates 
for use during their campaigns. Opposition parties, while regretting 
irregularities, also hailed the elections as the first genuinely 
competitive contest in the country's history. Unlike in previous years, 
international and local observers did not report significant 
difficulties in accessing voting centers or filing their reports.
    An international NGO reported that the voter registration process 
conducted in April was marred by poorly trained administrative staff, 
registration of a large number of underage voters, and interference by 
security officials. The NGO also reported that the opposition coalition 
JMP refused to participate in the voter registration process due to 
allegations of bias on the part of the SCER, which conducted voter 
registration. The SCER therefore recruited staff members on short 
notice, and was not able to provide them with meaningful training 
before voter registration began.
    On June 18, the JMP and the GPC agreed on several items of 
contention, including the formation of a joint committee to review 
voter lists with the SCER and decide which names to be removed due to 
technical errors. Although the SCER requested that the courts expunge 
more than 200,000 names identified as underage or duplicate voters, a 
searchable electronic copy of the registration list was never provided 
to opposition parties or local constituencies so that they could verify 
voter lists before the election. There were reports that the SCER 
mistakenly removed eligible voters from lists in several 
constituencies.
    In addition, many constituencies were redistricted a month before 
the election, in a manner that was not transparent to the public, 
international observers, or the opposition parties. Opposition and 
independent observers noted redistricting resulted in the allocation of 
more local council representatives for constituencies that were viewed 
as progovernment.
    Whereas ballot counting for the Presidential election was reported 
to be generally fair and accurate, there were numerous reports that 
ballots for the local council elections went uncounted in some 
constituencies or were not secured after the count, rendering a recount 
or inspection of the ballots impossible.
    Election-related violence during the 30-day campaign period and on 
election day was markedly lower than in previous elections. The SCER 
reported that seven people were killed in election-related violence. On 
August 24, one election official (who was a member of the opposition), 
and two ruling party members killed each other in an election-related 
dispute in al-Jawf. On election day two people were killed in clashes 
between government and opposition party supporters in Taiz governorate, 
and two in Amran governorate. The SCER reported that an election 
official died in Hajja governorate on election day, but at year's end, 
the SCER had not yet determined if the official was killed for 
election-related reasons.
    On August 29, the campaign manager of independent candidate Ahmed 
al-Majidi was killed in Lahij (see section 1.a.), but the SCER did not 
count this as an election-related killing. At year's end no results of 
the government's investigation into this murder had been made public. 
There were no reports that government security agents killed anyone for 
election-related reasons either before or after election day.
    The law mandates that political parties be viable national 
organizations that cannot restrict their membership to a particular 
region. The constitution prohibits the establishment of parties that 
are contrary to Islam, oppose the goals of the country's revolution, or 
violate the country's international commitments.
    The law stipulates that each party have at least 75 founders and 
2,500 members. Parties based on regional, tribal, sectarian, class, 
professional, gender, or racial identities are not permitted. 
Candidates from any party could declare their candidacy for elections. 
The government provided financial support to most of the 23 political 
parties, including a small stipend to publish party newspapers.
    The ruling GPC was the dominant party since unification of the 
country and controlled 238 of the 301 seats in parliament, which was 
elected in 2003. Islah is the only other significant party, and it 
controlled 46 seats. At times tribalism distorted political 
participation and influenced the central government's composition. 
Observers noted that persons were often selected to run for office or 
given jobs in particular ministries based on their tribal affiliations. 
Because tribal areas were still run by patriarchal systems, some tribal 
leaders reportedly influenced tribal members to vote for certain 
candidates.
    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 opposition Yemeni Socialist Party, including land and 
buildings, which were seized after the 1994 civil war. In May 2005 the 
President publicly accused two minor parties of attempting to overthrow 
the government by fomenting the al-Houthi uprising. The headquarters of 
the Union for Popular Forces was seized by armed men and the party 
forcibly recreated under dubious circumstances.
    Although women voted and held office, cultural norms rooted in 
tradition and religious interpretation often limited their exercise of 
these rights. Although the number of women in government and politics 
increased since 2005, it did not correspond to their percentage of the 
population (see section 5). There was one woman in the 301-seat 
parliament. There were three women in the cabinet, including the 
Minister of Human Rights, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, and 
a Supreme Court justice. In 2005 the SCER established a Women's 
Department responsible for addressing gender equality in the electoral 
process. The department conducted informational campaigns on the 
importance and mechanism of voting in the campaign prior to the 
September elections. In the September 20 elections, 164 women ran for 
and 38 won seats on local and provincial councils.
    Many Akhdam, a small ethnic minority descended from east Africans, 
did not participate in the political process due to socioeconomic 
factors. There were no members of minority groups in parliament or the 
cabinet. There were no reports that persons with disabilities were 
prohibited from participating in the political process.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There is a widespread 
perception of corruption in every branch and level of government. 
Government officials and parliamentarians alike were presumed to 
benefit from insider arrangements and embezzlement. Procurement was a 
regular source of corruption in the executive branch. In March the 
Central Organization for Control and Audit (COCA), the country's 
investigative body for corruption, reported that between its creation 
in 1999 and 2005, COCA had investigated 518 official cases of 
corruption, of which 361 were filed with COCA in 2005, which resulted 
in a loss to the treasury of $24.7 million (4.86 billion riyals). At 
year's end of the 518 cases, 490 had been sent to the judiciary for 
action, while the remaining 28 cases were still under COCA's 
consideration. COCA's reports were rendered to the parliament but were 
not made accessible to the general public. Only low-ranking officials 
had been prosecuted for corruption since COCA's inception. The actual 
number of corruption cases was generally considered to be significantly 
higher than what was reported by COCA.
    Unlike in 2005 when parliament challenged the executive for the 
first time on a number of high-profile corruption cases, during the 
year parliament did not challenge the executive on allegations of 
corruption. No legal or legislative action resulted from parliamentary 
inquiries in 2005.
    Petty corruption was widely reported in nearly every government 
office. Job candidates were often expected to purchase their positions. 
Tax inspectors were reported to undervalue their assessments and pocket 
the difference. Many government officials received salaries for jobs 
they did not perform or multiple salaries for the same job.
    On December 9, in an effort to combat corruption, MPs, the 
government, and foreign diplomats met at a symposium in Sana'a to 
discuss the government's progress in fighting corruption. The event 
aimed to raise awareness of corruption in the government and to develop 
serious political commitment to combat it.
    On December 25, the President ratified an anticorruption law, 
creating an independent authority to investigate cases of official 
corruption. The new authority will be headed by a council of 
government, civil society, and private sector representatives.
    The law requires a degree of transparency and public access to 
information, and the Press and Publications Law provides for 
journalists to have some access to government reports and information; 
however, in practice the government offered few procedures to ensure 
transparency. On August 19, parliament passed a law requiring public 
disclosure of government officials' assets, but it had not yet been 
implemented by year's end. The government provided limited information 
on Internet sites; however, few citizens had access to the Internet.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated 
with varying degrees of government cooperation and without government 
restriction. NGOs reported there was often a lack of response to their 
requests. The Law for Associations and Foundations regulates the 
formation and activities of NGOs.
    The law permits some foreign funding of NGOs and requires 
government observation of NGO internal elections. During the year the 
MHR sponsored several initiatives to further cooperation with local 
NGOs.
    Several domestic human rights NGOs operated throughout the year. 
Groups included the Human Rights Information and Training Center, the 
National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms, the Arab 
Foundation for Supporting Women and Juveniles, and the Civic Democratic 
Foundation. Although pro-government NGOs were supported by the 
government or ruling party, others were clearly supported by opposition 
parties or were fully independent.
    A few NGOs practiced self censorship. Some ministries reportedly 
harassed NGOs critical of the government by delaying the procedures 
required for annual registration/licensing and through bureaucratic 
funding criteria (see section 2.b.). The government requires NGOs to 
register annually or be declared illegal. In some instances the 
government reportedly registered a pro-government ``clone'' version of 
an NGO, immediately 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 must 
be re-filed under a new name. In some instances during the year, the 
government reportedly did not act upon some registration applications, 
and reportedly placed unofficial freezes on new licenses ahead of the 
September elections.
    The government monitored NGO finances. The government reportedly 
used financial reviews as a pretext to harass or close NGOs, and some 
NGOs reportedly kept less than transparent records. Several NGOs 
reported being singled out as ``agents of foreign powers'' in pro-
government media after publishing reports critical of the government. 
During the year Women Journalists without Chains, HOOD, Arab Sisters 
Forum, and the Observatory for Human Rights were all named as ``foreign 
agents'' in progovernment media.
    The government gave Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch, 
the Parliament of the European Union, and the CPJ access to officials, 
records, refugee camps, and prisons (see section 1.c.). AI visited the 
country several times during the year. The ICRC maintained a resident 
representative to inspect prisons during the year, although access to 
PSO prisons was restricted. AI and Freedom House International 
published reports on the country's human rights record during 2005. The 
ICRC also issued a report on its 2005 activities in the country. In 
September the government responded to the AI report.
    The MHR attempted to raise awareness of human rights via public 
information campaigns, training of human rights activists and security 
forces, and participation in numerous conferences.
    The parliament's committee on human rights was largely inactive 
during the year.
    The Consultative Council also had a committee on human rights, but 
it was largely inactive during the year.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equal rights and equal opportunity for all 
citizens; however, discrimination based on race, gender, and disability 
existed. Entrenched cultural attitudes often limited women's ability to 
enjoy equal rights.

    Women.--The law provides women with protection against violence; 
however, the law was rarely enforced. The government continued to 
support women's rights as exemplified by local law and the expansion of 
the public role of women. Although spousal abuse occurred, it generally 
was undocumented. Violence against women and children was considered a 
family affair and usually went unreported to the police. Due to social 
norms and customs, an abused woman was expected to take her complaint 
to a male relative (rather than to the authorities) to intercede on her 
behalf or provide her sanctuary. A small shelter for battered women in 
Aden assisted victims, and telephone hot lines operated with moderate 
success in Aden and Sana'a.
    The law criminalizes rape; however, it was a problem. The 
punishment for rape is imprisonment for up to 15 years; however, it was 
seldom imposed. The law does not address spousal rape.
    The press, women's rights activists, and the MHR continued to 
investigate and report on violations of women's rights. During the year 
NGOs, in conjunction with each other and the MHR, sponsored several 
women's rights conferences dealing with issues such as violence against 
women, increasing the political representation of women, and economic 
empowerment. In March the government-sponsored Women's National 
Committee (WNC) organized a conference to discuss implementation of 
recommendations made during a December 2005 regional conference on 
women's rights.
    The penal code allows leniency for persons guilty of committing a 
``crime against honor,'' a violent assault or killing committed against 
females for perceived immodest or defiant behavior. Legal provisions 
regarding violence against women state that an accused man should be 
put to death for killing a woman. However, a husband who kills his wife 
and her lover may be fined or imprisoned for a term of one year or 
less.
    The law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM); however, it was 
practiced to a limited degree. The prevalence of the practice varied 
substantially by region. Government health workers and officials 
actively discouraged the practice. The WNC and the Ministry of 
Religious Endowments created a manual for religious leaders on women's 
health issues, including the negative health consequences of FGM.
    Prostitution is illegal; however, it was a problem. The punishment 
for prostitution is imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.
    There are no laws prohibiting sexual harassment and it was a 
problem in the workplace.
    Social custom and local interpretation of Shari'a discriminated 
against women. Men were permitted to take as many as four wives, 
although very few did so. By law the minimum age of marriage is 15 
years; however, the law was not widely enforced, and some girls married 
as early as age 12 (see section 5, Children).
    Husbands may divorce wives without justifying their action in 
court. A woman has the legal right to divorce; however, she must 
provide a justification, and there are a number of practical, social, 
and financial negative considerations.
    Women who seek to travel abroad must customarily obtain permission 
from their husbands or fathers to receive a passport, and to travel 
(see section 2.d.). Male relatives were expected to accompany women 
when traveling internationally; however, enforcement of this 
requirement was not consistent. Some women reported that they traveled 
freely without male escorts.
    Some interpretations of Shari'a prohibit Muslim women from marrying 
a non Muslim man; however a Muslim man is allowed to marry a non Muslim 
woman. Women do not have the right to confer citizenship on their 
foreign born spouses; however, they may confer citizenship on children 
born of foreign born fathers if the father dies or abandons the child. 
The foreign wife of a male citizen must remain in the country for two 
years to obtain a residence permit.
    According to a MOI regulation, any citizen who wishes to marry a 
foreigner must obtain the permission of the ministry. A woman wishing 
to marry a foreigner must present proof of her parents' approval to the 
MOI. A foreign woman who wishes to marry a male citizen must prove to 
the ministry that she is ``of good conduct and behavior'' and ``is free 
from contagious disease.''
    On September 16, the President appointed the first female judge to 
the Supreme Judicial Council. On March 21, the first woman was also 
admitted to the Higher Judicial Institute, which is responsible for 
training all newly appointed judges. Most female judges served in staff 
positions, in the Attorney General's office, and in the juvenile court 
system.
    The President strongly encouraged women to vote and supported a 
special office to address gender equality in the electoral process. The 
government and NGOs held numerous conferences, workshops, and awareness 
campaigns to increase the role of women in political life. Throughout 
the year a number of NGOs trained prospective female candidates for 
local council seats on effective campaign strategies. The national 
elections commission and several NGOs also conducted voter awareness 
campaigns to encourage women to register and vote.
    During the electoral process women served as election commissioners 
for the first time, overseeing the voter registration and polling 
process across the country. Three women announced their intention to 
run for President, but all withdrew their applications before the 
beginning of the official campaign season. There were credible reports 
of party officials intimidating women who attempted to run as 
independent candidates, after they did not secure their party's 
nomination.
    According to 2003 government statistics, approximately 83 percent 
of women were illiterate, compared with approximately 43 percent of 
men. The high illiteracy rate had a significant effect on women's 
participation in the September elections, limiting access to 
information on campaigns and political rights. Election observers also 
noted that illiteracy helped perpetuate the belief that women were 
incapable of holding public office. The fertility rate was 6.67 
children per woman. Most women had little access to basic health care.
    In general women in the south, particularly in Aden, were better 
educated and had somewhat greater employment opportunities than their 
northern counterparts. However, since the 1994 war of secession, the 
number of women in government in the south has declined, due to 
cultural pressure from the north, as well as stagnation of the economy. 
According to the UNDP, female workers accounted for 23 percent of the 
paid labor force in 2003.
    The law stipulates that women are equal to men in employment 
rights; however, female activists and NGOs reported that discrimination 
was a common practice in the public and private sectors. Mechanisms to 
enforce equal protection were weak or nonexistent.
    According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor there were 
over 170 NGOs working for women's advancement. On February 4, the 
Women's Forum for Research and Training held a regional conference with 
female academics to discuss barriers to women's full participation in 
society. The Arab Sister's Foundation worked regionally with women's 
groups to strengthen women's roles in local government. The Yemeni 
Women's Union conducted workshops for women on commercial and tax law.

    Children.--While the government asserted its commitment to 
children's rights, it lacked the resources necessary to ensure adequate 
education, health care, and welfare services for children. The law 
provides for universal, compulsory, and free education from age 6 to 15 
years; however, compulsory attendance was not enforced. Public 
schooling was available to children through the secondary school level. 
Attendance was mandatory though the ninth grade; however, many 
children, especially girls, did not attend primary school. According to 
2005 government statistics, average student attendance in primary 
schools was 81 percent for boys and 60 percent for girls.
    The law provides for free medical care for citizen children; 
however, this was not always enforced. Malnutrition was common. 
According to 2005 UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) statistics, the infant 
mortality rate was 76 deaths per 1,000 births. Male children received 
preferential treatment and had better health and survival rates.
    FGM was performed in some instances (see section 5, Women).
    Child marriage was a significant social problem in the country. The 
law requires that a girl be 15 years of age to marry; however, it was 
not enforced, and marriages of girls as young as age 12 occurred. In 
2005 UNICEF estimated that approximately 37 percent of citizen children 
under the age of 15 were married. According to the Ministry of Labor 
and Social Affairs, the government had not yet embarked on public 
awareness campaigns on the negative effects of child marriage due to 
the cultural sensitivity of the issue.
    The law does not prohibit child abuse, and it was a problem; 
however, there was no reliable data on the extent of child abuse.
    Child labor was a problem. The Child Rights Law prohibits child 
labor; however, the law has not been implemented, and children as young 
as four years of age worked in workshops, agriculture, or as street 
vendors (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not explicitly prohibit 
trafficking in persons, but other sections of the country's criminal 
code can be applied to prosecute trafficking offenses. There were 
credible reports of trafficking in children for forced begging, 
unskilled labor, and street vending, and unsubstantiated reports of 
trafficking in women and children for commercial sexual exploitation. 
The law, which does not differentiate between children or adult 
victims, allows for a prison sentence of up to 10 years for anyone 
convicted of crimes constituting trafficking in persons. Other laws 
forbid and severely punish kidnapping and sexual assault. The Child 
Rights law mandates the protection of children from economic and sexual 
exploitation.
    According to a local human rights NGO, it was possible that citizen 
women were trafficked from their homes to other regions within the 
country for the purposes of prostitution, including those under the age 
of legal consent. The same NGO also believed that such prostitution may 
have been organized and speculated that low-level government and 
security officials operated or were complicit in sex trafficking within 
the country. Notably, the government reportedly detained and prosecuted 
victims of trafficking under anti-prostitution laws.
    There were no official statistics available on the number of 
children trafficked out of the country. Press and NGO reports claimed 
that children mostly from northern governorates were trafficked out of 
the country to work as street beggars, vendors, or domestic help in 
Saudi Arabia at a rate of approximately 200 children per week. Children 
were trafficked by individuals, other children, and loosely organized 
syndicates who helped them cross the border by donkey, automobile, or 
foot.
    Government investigations revealed that extreme poverty was the 
primary motivation behind child trafficking, and the victims' families 
were almost always complicit. The traffickers were often well known by, 
if not related to, the family; parents were either paid or promised 
money in exchange for allowing their children to be trafficked. Many 
cases were also later discovered to be instances of illegal 
immigration.
    During the year the government increased its efforts to combat 
child trafficking. In June government and Saudi officials met for the 
first time to discuss combating child trafficking. The government, in 
cooperation with UNICEF and the International Organization for 
Migration, also trained border and airport officials to identify and 
prevent child trafficking. The MHR ran a hot line for persons to report 
child trafficking.
    To combat child trafficking, the MLSA conducted a campaign in 
regions known as points of origin of trafficked children. The MLSA 
warned potential victims' parents against the dangers of allowing their 
children to work in Saudi Arabia.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws mandate the rights and 
care of persons with disabilities; however, there was discrimination 
against them. Five percent of government jobs should be reserved for 
persons with disabilities, and a 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 have been 
implemented. No national law mandates the accessibility of buildings 
for persons with disabilities.
    The government's Social Fund for Development and Fund for the Care 
and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, administered by the MLSA, provided 
limited basic services and funded over 60 NGOs to assist persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Akhdam (an estimated 2 to 5 
percent of the population) were considered the lowest social class. 
They lived in poverty and endured persistent social discrimination. The 
government's Social Fund for Development provided basic services to 
assist the group.
    During the year tribal violence continued to be a problem, and the 
government's ability to control tribal elements responsible for acts of 
violence remained limited. Tensions over land or sovereignty in 
particular regions, which periodically escalated into violent 
confrontations, continued between the government and a few tribes. 
During the year human rights groups reported that some immigrants of 
African origin had difficulty in securing MOI permission to marry 
citizens (see section 1.f.).
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that citizens have 
the right to form and join unions; however, this right was restricted 
in practice.
    The law permits trade unions to organize. Although not required by 
law, all current unions are federated within the General Federation of 
Trade Unions of Yemen (GFWTUY), a national umbrella organization. The 
GFWTUY claimed approximately 350,000 members in 14 unions and denied 
any association with the government; however, it worked closely with 
the government to resolve labor disputes through negotiation.
    The politicization of unions and professional associations 
continued to hamper the right of association. In some instances the GPC 
ruling party attempted to control professional associations by 
influencing internal elections or placing its own personnel, usually 
tied to the government, in positions of influence in unions and 
professional associations.
    The law dictates that labor unions can only be dissolved by court 
order or its own members; however, the government did not respect this 
right in practice. In 2004 the government unilaterally dissolved and 
seized the assets of the Sana'a Medical Association after its members 
elected a chairman associated with the opposition Islah party. 
Subsequently the government formed an alternative medical association 
and threatened former members with judicial action if they associated 
with the dissolved union. At year's end some association members 
continued attempts at reorganizing.
    The law generally protects employees from antiunion discrimination. 
Employers do not have the right to dismiss an employee for union 
activities. There were reports that private sector employers 
discriminated against union members through transfers, demotions, and 
dismissals.
    Employees may appeal any dispute, including cases of antiunion 
discrimination, to the MLSA. Employees also may take a case to the 
Labor Arbitration Committee, which is chaired by the MLSA; it is 
composed of an employer representative and a GFWTUY representative. 
Such cases often were disposed favorably toward workers, especially if 
the employer was a foreign company. Neither GFWTUY nor the MLSA were 
able to provide statistics on how many unionized employees used this 
system during the year.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law 
provides workers, except public servants, foreign workers, day 
laborers, and domestic servants the right to organize and bargain 
collectively without government interference. The government permitted 
these activities; however, at times it sought to influence them by 
placing its own personnel inside groups and organizations. Unions may 
negotiate wage settlements for their members, and may resort to strikes 
or other actions to achieve their demands. Public sector employees must 
take their grievances to court. During the year two Central Bank 
employees sued the government for wrongful termination. The court ruled 
in favor of the employees, who were reinstated. The MLSA has veto power 
over collective bargaining agreements. Several such agreements existed. 
Agreements may be invalidated if they are ``likely to cause a breach of 
security or to damage the economic interests of the country.''
    The labor law provides unions the right to strike only if prior 
attempts at negotiation and arbitration fail, and workers exercised 
this right by conducting legal strikes. The proposal to strike must be 
submitted to at least 60 percent of all concerned workers, of whom 25 
percent must vote in favor. Strikes for explicit ``political purposes'' 
were prohibited. During the year there were reports of at least 36 
peaceful strikes.
    Throughout the year the Yemen Teachers Union staged a number of 
demonstrations and strikes demanding that the government adhere to the 
2005 Salaries and Wages Strategy Law, which grants them higher salaries 
and allowances. During and after the strikes, schools' headmasters, 
allegedly instigated by the government, harassed and abused teachers to 
deter participation in strikes. Headmasters tried to prevent teachers 
from signing in to work during strike day, effectively blocking their 
pay for those days. The headmasters locked the teachers and students 
inside the school, preventing teachers from participating in the 
strikes. On June 4, one teacher involved in a worker's rights dispute 
with a headmistress of a school died when his home was intentionally 
burned down. His son, wife, and sister (both also teachers) were 
seriously injured. The headmistress' husband and son were accused and 
detained for setting the fire.
    MSLA, aware of the problems encountered by the Teachers Union, did 
not interfere on their behalf when the union asked for assistance due 
to their unregistered status. According to the MSLA, the ministry's 
role is to monitor and give advice to unions.
    Throughout August and December, the Yemeni Physicians and 
Pharmacists Syndicate (YPPS) staged a number of sit-ins in front of 
government offices, demanding higher wages. In March 2005 the YPPS 
staged a similar strike which was suspended after the government agreed 
to fulfill the demands of the syndicate within three months. According 
to the YPPS, the government had not followed through on its pledge by 
year's end.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor .--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Child Rights Law prohibits child labor; however, it has not been 
effectively implemented.
    The established minimum age for employment was 15 years in the 
private sector and 18 years in the public sector. By special permit, 
children between the ages of 12 and 15 years could work. The government 
rarely enforced these provisions, especially in rural and remote areas. 
The government also did not enforce laws requiring nine years of 
compulsory education for children.
    Child labor was common, especially in rural areas. Many children 
were required to work in subsistence farming due to family poverty. 
Even 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 in which schools 
were not easily accessible.
    The Child Labor Unit at the Ministry of Labor was responsible for 
implementing and enforcing child labor laws and regulations; however, 
the unit's lack of resources hampered enforcement.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor estimated that there were 
over 500,000 working children, ages 6 to 14 years, and that working 
children equaled 10 to 15 percent of the total work force. The 
government was an active partner with the International Labor 
Organization's International Program to Eliminate Child Labor. During 
the year this program offered remedial education, vocational training, 
counseling, and reintegration of child laborers into schools.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no established minimum 
wage. The labor law provides equal wages for workers and civil 
servants. Private sector workers, especially skilled technicians, 
earned a far higher wage. The average daily wage did not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. During the year the 
minimum civil service wage did not meet the country's poverty level.
    The law specifies a maximum 48 hour workweek with a maximum 8 hour 
workday; however, many workshops and stores operated 10 to 12 hour 
shifts without penalty. The 35 hour workweek for government employees 
was 7 hours per day from Saturday through Wednesday.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for regulating workplace 
health and safety conditions. The requisite legislation for regulating 
occupational health is contained in the labor law. However, enforcement 
was weak to nonexistent due to the need for capacity building in the 
MSLA. MSLA has a Vocational Safety Department that relies on committees 
to conduct primary and periodic investigations of safety and health 
conditions in workplaces. Many workers regularly were exposed to toxic 
industrial products and developed respiratory illnesses. Some foreign 
owned companies and major manufacturers 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 dismissals in court. According to 
government officials, these laws were generally respected in practice.

                               __________


 
                           SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA

                              ----------                              


                              AFGHANISTAN

    Afghanistan is an Islamic republic with a population of 
approximately 30 million. In October 2004 Hamid Karzai was elected 
President in the country's first Presidential election under its 
January 2004 constitution. In September 2005 the country held its first 
parliamentary elections in over two decades. While neither the 
Presidential nor the parliamentary elections fully met international 
standards for free and fair elections, citizens found the parliamentary 
elections to be credible and the Presidential elections acceptable.
    Afghanistan's human rights record remained poor due to a deadly 
insurgency, weak central institutions, and the country's ongoing 
recovery from two-and-a-half decades of war. While civilian authorities 
generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there 
were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of government authority.
    The Taliban and antigovernment elements continued to be responsible 
for threatening, robbing, attacking, and killing villagers, government 
officials, foreigners, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers. 
While the Government expanded its authority over provincial centers, a 
few areas remained under the control of regional commanders or the 
Taliban following insurgent offensives. During the year, over 1,400 
civilians died as a result of terrorist activities, including suicide 
attacks, roadside bombs, and gun assassinations. There continued to be 
instances in which security and factional forces committed 
extrajudicial killings and torture. Human rights problems included: 
extrajudicial killings; torture; poor prison conditions; official 
impunity; prolonged pretrial detention; abuse of authority by regional 
commanders; restrictions on freedoms of press, religion, movement, and 
association; violence and societal discrimination against women, 
religious converts, and minorities; trafficking in persons; abuse of 
worker rights; and child labor.
    The Government continued to develop and professionalize its army 
and police force. Increased monitoring of police by internal and 
external monitors helped to prevent abuses. Human rights training 
became a normal aspect of training and education for most police. 
Extensive reporting of human rights abuses led to increased arrests and 
prosecutions of abusers. The Government continued to make strides 
towards upholding human rights standards and took action to remove 
corrupt officials. In some areas of concern, even where there was 
commitment from the Government, resources restricted the ability to 
uphold those standards.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports 
of politically motivated or extrajudicial killings by the Government or 
its agents.
    In February inmates at Pol-e-Charkhi prison rioted for five days 
resulting in the death of six inmates and injuries to 44, according to 
the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC); many 
reported that these were the result of excessive force on the part of 
Afghan Security Forces. There was no official investigation into the 
riot.
    In September there was a death in custody in Ghazni province; an 
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
    In November 2005 Kabul's Police Chief General Abdul Jamil Junbesh, 
allegedly tortured and killed a civilian named Hussain. In December 
2005 police beat and killed a detainee at the Kabul police station. In 
both cases human rights activists characterized official investigations 
as ineffective and no formal charges were made. However, in June, the 
President removed Junbesh from office.
    The shortage of effective and trained police, poor infrastructure 
and communications, instability, and insecurity hampered investigations 
of unlawful killings, bombings, and civilian deaths. There were no 
reliable estimates of the numbers involved.
    Complaints of serious human rights violations committed by 
representatives of national security institutions, including arbitrary 
arrest, unconfirmed reports of torture, and illegal detention were 
numerous.
    There were allegations that local commanders operated private 
prisons where they abused individuals in detention, in some cases 
resulting in their death (see section 1.c.).
    There were no updates to the 2004 hanging of four alleged bandits 
in Farah, the 2004 killings of four detainees in Herat, or the 2004 
investigation of the 17 bodies found at the Shindand market place.
    In February police killed four protesters in Kabul and one in 
Maymana when demonstrations turned violent over satirical cartoons of 
the Prophet Mohammad.
    Increased violence involving terrorists and insurgents, including 
Taliban, al-Qa'ida, and Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, killed more civilians 
than in the previous year. Violence included an increasing number of 
terrorist attacks including suicide bombs, which killed civilians (see 
section 1.g.). Attacks on government security forces, international 
organizations, international aid workers and their local counterparts, 
and foreign interests and nationals increased during the year and 
prompted some organizations to leave areas of the country.
    For most of the year insurgents appeared to be targeting Provincial 
Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and construction crews, rather than NGOs, 
as a means to hamper reconstruction efforts and drive the international 
assistance community out of the country. Toward the end of the year, 
however, there was more evidence of direct threats and attacks on NGOs 
by insurgents.
    Over a dozen Afghans and foreigners were beheaded by the Taliban 
for alleged ``crimes'' ranging from espionage to supporting the Karzai 
government (see section 1.g.). The Taliban also began to hold ``court'' 
in some areas and hand down its own sentences. In August the Taliban 
publicly executed a man for his alleged involvement in a murder case in 
Helmand province (see sections 1.g. and 4).
    Government officials remained under attack by insurgents during the 
year with over a dozen losing their lives in numerous incidents (see 
section 1.g.).
    The Ministry of Education (MOE) reported that a total of 54 
teachers, students, or other school employees were killed during the 
year (see sections 1.g and 5, Children).
    Religious figures also faced ongoing threats and violence. During 
the year the Taliban killed over 20 clerics, including over a dozen 
clerics in Kandahar alone. Suicide bombings around mosques occurred; 
for example, in September a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a 
mosque in Kandahar. In October and November 2005 five progovernment 
mullahs were killed for speaking publicly against the Taliban and al-
Qa'ida (see section 2.c.).
    Societal violence continued to be a problem with over 50 documented 
cases of ``honor killings'' during the year (see section 5). In 
December media outlets reported that villagers in Kunar province killed 
a boy and girl for having illicit sexual relations.

    b. Disappearance.--Abductions and disappearances continued during 
the year. The Taliban, allied militias, and other unknown assailants 
continued to kidnap NGO and other development workers for political and 
criminal gain (see section 1.g.).
    Italian journalist Gabriele Torsello was kidnapped on October 12 
and released on November 3. It was not known if he was targeted due to 
being a journalist. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists 
(CPJ), his kidnappers originally demanded the return of Abdul Rahman 
from Italy in exchange for his release.
    According to a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Report, 
there were also a few documented cases of abduction of young boys for 
sexual exploitation by men.
    In April 2005 members of the Taliban abducted and killed a British 
contractor.
    There were no updates and none were expected in the 2004 abduction 
of an NGO driver or the abduction of many women and girls taken by the 
Taliban from 1998 to 2001.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were 
reports of abuses. For example, human rights organizations reported 
that local authorities in Herat, Helmand, Badakhshan, and other 
locations continued to routinely torture and abuse detainees. Torture 
and abuse consisted of pulling out fingernails and toenails, burning 
with hot oil, beatings, sexual humiliation, and sodomy.
    Violence and instability due to the insurgency hampered relief and 
reconstruction efforts in different parts of the country and led to 
numerous human rights abuses. NGOs reported that security forces 
continued to use excessive force during their fight against Taliban and 
al-Qa'ida remnants, including looting, beating, and torturing 
civilians.
    Reports of abuse by local commanders continued in Faryab. Villagers 
in Kata Kala reported local commanders imprisoned and tortured them for 
15 days to extort money. Some were beaten and others were locked in 
dark rooms for hours. Victims were also repeatedly threatened with 
death if they did not cooperate.
    In Balkh province, residents alleged that local commanders were 
running private prisons to extort money. Abuse generally consisted of 
beatings, resulting in some cases in death.
    In June in Balkh province, unknown assailants beat Member of 
Parliament Faizullah Zaki. There were many allegations that this attack 
was politically motivated; however, by the end of the year, there was 
no investigation into the attack.
    In the fall, residents of the village of Galouch claimed that 
Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers 
seeking a local commander entered villagers' homes, were verbally 
abusive, and stole personal items from the residents (see section 
1.f.).
    There was no official investigation following the September 2005 
Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that security forces arbitrarily 
detained civilians and committed cruel, inhumane, and degrading acts, a 
claim based on reports from family members of detained civilians and 
released detainees themselves.
    There were no further developments in the 2005 alleged torture of 
Abdul Rahman by local authorities during his four-month detention (see 
section 2.c.). There were no developments in the 2005 UN report that a 
commander and former district governor severely beat a group of 
teachers and detained them in his private jail.
    In August the Government announced it was considering the 
establishment of a Department for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion 
of Virtue within the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MRA). Under the 
Taliban an entity with the same name was a much feared organization 
known for its extremely harsh treatment of women. The proposal to 
establish a Vice and Virtue Department would require a Presidential 
decree, and at year's end, it rested in the President's office.
    A local vice and virtue commission was established in Khost 
Province during Ramadan (see section 1.d.).
    There were continued allegations of rape and sexual abuse in 
government detention although investigations did not result in charges. 
The AIHRC reported that in 2005 one woman was granted medical treatment 
after she was sexually exploited by police who provided the woman to 
men. In a separate incident, a young male prisoner was raped by other 
prisoners and two police officers.
    According to UN reports, in some cases where there were no local 
detention facilities, women accused of crimes were reportedly placed in 
``private detention,'' sometimes in the house of the head of the 
village, where they were treated as prisoners and forced to work for 
the family. These women were sometimes forced into slave-like 
conditions outside the reach of the law and were reportedly subject to 
sexual and physical abuse (see section 5, Trafficking).
    According to an AIHRC report, children who were in detention 
centers were exposed to sexual exploitation. According to the AIHRC, 
during the Pol-e-Charki prison riots, a prison official working in the 
women's wing of the prison raped one female inmate.
    Several well-known commanders were rumored to be involved in the 
exploitation of young men; however, given cultural sensitivities these 
rumors were impossible to confirm. Several media outlets reported on 
the Taliban Rule Book this year. Rule 19 states, ``Mujahideen are not 
allowed to take young boys with no facial hair onto the battlefield or 
into their private quarters,'' implying that sexual exploitation of 
young men was a common practice among Taliban commanders.
    As in other parts of the country, insurgents issued ``night 
letters'' issuing threats to foreigners, women employed by PRTs and 
other foreign organizations, as well as ANA and ANP officers around 
Ghazni City. There were also night letters issuing threats against the 
provincial director of education in Ghazni. Additionally, threats were 
issued against the directors of the provincial Departments of Women's 
Affairs in the provinces of Paktika, Kandahar, Helmand, Khost, Laghman, 
Kapisa, Wardak, and Nuristan. Other government employees also received 
threats in Sari-Pul, Farah, and Uruzgan.
    On September 26, a suicide bomber detonated himself at the guard 
gate leading to the governor's compound in Lashkar Gah. Nineteen 
persons died in the incident, including three ANP officers, four ANA 
soldiers, and 12 civilians.
    On October 19, militants robbed and murdered eight employees of the 
Korengal Outpost while they were on their way home for the Eid holiday.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor; prisons were decrepit, severely overcrowded, and unsanitary. 
Prisoners shared collective cells and were not sheltered adequately 
from severe winter conditions. Living conditions did not meet 
international standards. Some prisons held more than twice their 
capacity. In district prisons, shipping containers were frequently used 
when other structures were unavailable. Prisoners were reportedly 
beaten, tortured, and denied adequate food. Prison guards routinely 
denied visitors, food, and outside exercise as a means of discipline 
and to ensure good behavior. The AIHRC continued to report that 
inadequate food, water, poor sanitation facilities, insufficient 
blankets, and infectious diseases were common conditions in the 
country's prisons. Infirmaries, where they existed, were under-equipped 
and the supply of quality medicine was insufficient. Contagious and 
mentally ill prisoners were rarely separated from other prisoners.
    The AIHRC believed over 40 private and illegal detention centers 
had been closed between 2001 and year's end. During the year the AHIRC 
allegedly discovered private prisons in Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar, 
Herat, Kapisa, Badakhshan, and Baghlan provinces and reported in a 
December meeting that it believed all of these secret prisons had been 
closed. Credible sources noted that at least one other private prison 
may exist in or around Kabul. HRW and other organizations reported the 
presence of secret or unofficial prisons through 2005. International 
media reports assert that detainees and prisoners in Musa Qala were 
held in a Taliban jail, because there were no other facilities 
available. A riot at Pol-e-Charkhi prison resulted in six deaths and 
many injuries (see section 1.a.).
    The Government reported 31 active rehabilitation centers for 
juveniles. Approximately 14 detention centers housed female prisoners. 
Children under 12 years of age were incarcerated with their mothers. 
However, adequate separate housing for women, accompanying children, 
and juveniles remained an issue as prisons did not have the capacity to 
separate prisoners. In Pol-e-Charkhi prison many juveniles were 
detained with adult prisoners. According to authorities, juveniles at a 
Kabul jail were kept locked in a separate cell to protect them from the 
rest of the prison population. In general, juveniles charged with 
murder were detained in adult facilities; however, if space permitted, 
they were assigned to a separate area within the facility. Prisoners 
waiting for trial generally should be separated from the rest of the 
inmate population but often were not.
    According to an AIHRC report, children were normally kept in 
detention centers which lacked appropriate facilities and they were 
exposed to physical and sexual exploitation. There were about 134 
juvenile offenders in correction facilities, but in 12 provinces of the 
country specialized correction centers were non-existent and the 
offending children were kept in detention with adults. A number of 
children who had not committed any offences were detained in jail with 
their mothers because there was no one to care for them at home. In 
November Pol-e-Charki prison held approximately 65 women inmates, 55 of 
whom were accompanied by their children, who had not committed any 
crimes. A local NGO tried to provide kindergarten activities for some 
of the children; however there was not enough space in the classrooms 
to accommodate all of the children. According to prison staff, the 
official policy was that children could only stay with their mothers 
until the age of two and were then transferred to a rehabilitation 
center; however, space constraints at the rehabilitation center 
sometimes prevented the transfer, thus prolonging children's' time in 
Pol-e-Charki with their mothers. According to a Report of the UN-
appointed independent expert of the Commission on Human Rights, 
individuals being held in pretrial detention were often held in 
detention with hardened criminals. In addition, children and juveniles 
were commonly held in the same cells as violent adult criminals.
    According to the UN Commission independent expert on Human Rights, 
many districts didn't have detention facilities for women, and women 
found to be guilty of acts that may not constitute legal offences were 
confined to the personal custody of tribal leaders and others. The 
report states: ``Because of the absence of detention facilities for 
women in the districts, women found to be guilty of acts that may not 
constitute legal offences were confined to the personal custody of 
tribal leaders and others. These women are sometimes forced into slave-
like conditions outside the reach of the law and are reportedly subject 
to sexual and physical abuse. The charges brought against them are 
reported to arise in large part out of allegations of `immoral 
conduct,' which did not, however, constitute a legal violation.'' In 
addition, some cases allegedly involved crimes committed by spouses and 
fathers for which the women were forced to accept responsibility. Women 
were sometimes detained in private homes as the result of decisions 
taken by customary law actors or forced to marry as compensation for 
killings, creating highly abusive situations.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had permission 
to visit all prisons operated by the National Directorate of Security 
(NDS), Ministry of Interior (MOI), and Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and 
the ICRC conducted such visits during the year. The AIHRC monitored 
prison conditions regularly during the year independent of the MOJ; 
however, the AIHRC reported that in some areas representatives were not 
granted full access or were required to provide additional proof of 
authorization.
    In the provincial prison in Bamyan, sentenced inmates were held 
together with those awaiting trial and appeal. The women who had been 
arrested for ``illegal sexual relations,'' activities not actually 
prohibited by law but often punished under local custom or Shari'a law, 
lived in an adjoining building and were supervised by a female 
caretaker. The captain in charge was aware that minors and adults 
should be kept in separate facilities, as should serious offenders be 
detained separately; however, he reported that the prison did not have 
adequate space to meet these rules.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest or detention; however, both remained serious problems.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ANP, under the MOI, 
had primary responsibility for internal order; however, some local and 
regional commanders maintained considerable power since the Government 
did not control security nationwide. During the year the Government 
attempted to expand its reach through the use of auxiliary police in 
some areas. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) remained in 
control of the UN sanctioned International Security Assistance Force 
(ISAF). In October ISAF took over control of Regional Command East from 
the Coalition Command, the last of the four regional commands to be 
handed over.
    The ANP, administered under the MOI, was the predominant government 
institution responsible for security in the country. Its performance 
engendered mistrust among the local population, and reports of 
corruption and mistreatment of citizens in custody were widespread. In 
response, this year the MOI assigned General Atmar as the new head of 
its Human Rights Unit in an effort to re-energize efforts to ensure the 
ANP was compliant with human rights standards. Atmar began his tenure 
with plans to place in each province at least two ANP officers trained 
to recognize and report human rights violations, and one in each 
checkpoint in Kabul. At year's end, these persons were in place in 
several provinces. Communication and coordination of reports between 
the provinces and MOI headquarters in Kabul remained a concern. 
Additionally, during the year the MOI initiated rank and pay reform in 
order to remove officers involved in human rights violations and high 
level corruption. The reform resulted in the removal of more than 70 
senior level officers. International support for recruiting and 
training of new ANP was conditional upon new officers being vetted in a 
manner consistent with international human rights standards to generate 
a more professional police force.
    Fueled in part by inadequate and irregular payment of salaries, 
corruption and official impunity remained pervasive problems. Illegal 
border checkpoints to extort bribes continued to be a problem. Human 
rights groups and detainees reported that local police extorted bribes 
from civilians in exchange for their release from prison or to avoid 
arrest. There was a unit within the MOI set up to review these claims.
    The international community worked with the Government to develop 
training programs and internal investigation mechanisms to curb 
security force corruption and abuses. In July Kabul officials arrested 
five traffic officers on charges of corruption and forging vehicle 
documents. In September President Karzai appointed a new Attorney 
General, Dr. Abdul Jabar Sabit. In October, under Sabit's leadership, 
eight government officials were arrested in Herat for corruption and 
embezzlement. Also in Herat, a senior police officer was arrested for 
taking bribes. During a November visit to Asadabad, Sabit arrested 
eight low-level timber smugglers. He also ordered the arrests of a 
former mayor for skimming city revenues during his tenure, a local 
director of Hajj and mosques, and two provincial prosecutors. In 
December, Sabit arrested several government officials in Nangarhar, 
including a former head of the Health Department on charges of 
misappropriation of $400 U.S. (20,000 Afghani), and a candidate who had 
been designated to serve as Nangarhar's next Afghan border police 
chief. In December Sabit also arrested the mayor of Herat for his 
alleged involvement in an embezzling ring involving two major projects, 
the construction of a five-star hotel and expansion of the national 
garden. Sabit accused the mayor of skimming several thousand dollars 
from the contracts issued, as well as altering records for fuel 
consumed by city vehicles during the national garden project.
    In November 2005 the Government created a Professional Standards 
Unit (or Internal Affairs Unit) to help investigate offenses. The 
Government, with foreign assistance continued to develop a model police 
station in Kabul to exemplify best practices and train police. During 
the year the AIHRC provided human rights training to members of the 
ANP, ANA, and the NDS.

    Arrest and Detention.--Judicial and police procedures and practices 
for taking persons into custody and bringing them to justice were 
unregulated and varied depending on the area and local authorities. 
Some areas, such as the major regional centers, had a more formal 
judicial structure than others.
    The law provides for access to legal counsel, the use of warrants, 
and bail; however, all three were inconsistently applied. There were 
213 licensed defense attorneys nationwide, and only 100 to 150 of them 
practiced law.
    The press and human rights organizations reported arbitrary arrest 
in most provinces. There was little consistency in the length of time 
that detainees were held before trial or arraignment.
    Arbitrary arrest and detention remained problems. For example, 
Mohammed Ibrahim Sahdat, a lawyer from the Human Rights Commission for 
Afghanistan, said that the biggest problem in Helmand was false 
arrests. He cited the case of Jalaludin, whose home was near the scene 
of an explosion and who was accused of having ordered it. Sahdat stated 
that Jalaludin was landless and poor, which was why he was arrested. 
Jalaludin was hung by his feet for 10 hours, beaten, and subjected to 
electric shocks. He was later released.
    Police often detained women at the request of family members for 
crimes of running away, or ``zina,'' a term used broadly to refer to 
actions that include defying the family's wishes on the choice of a 
spouse, running away from home, fleeing domestic violence, eloping, or 
for other ``moral'' offenses such as adultery or premarital sex. There 
were also reports that women were detained when they reported crimes 
perpetrated against them and as substitutes for their husbands or male 
relatives who were convicted of crimes. An unknown number of women were 
imprisoned for these reasons. Some were placed in custody to prevent 
violent retaliation by family members (see section 5, Women).
    During Ramadan, a locally established ``morals and rules 
commission'' in Khost province arrested individuals for selling alcohol 
to Muslims, possessing and selling pornography, and displaying ``other 
improper ethics.'' Minister Shahrani stated that this local ``vice and 
virtue department'' was not connected to the ministry in Kabul. Khost 
Governor Jamal stated that the squad was temporary, with a limited 
mandate during Ramadan to enforce existing laws.
    Detainees were often able to bribe their way out of custody before 
their case was prosecuted. Others were released due to lack of 
sufficient evidence.
    The authorities did not respect limits on lengths of pretrial 
detention. Arbitrarily lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem in 
part because of the inadequacy of the legal system, which was unable to 
guarantee a speedy trial. The UN Human Rights Commission, ICRC, and 
AIHRC all reported that arbitrary and prolonged detentions were a 
frequent occurrence throughout the country. According to the Interim 
Criminal Procedure Code, police have the right to detain a suspect for 
a maximum of 72 hours to complete a preliminary investigation. If they 
decided to pursue a case, the file was transferred to the prosecutor's 
office, which had to see the suspect within 48 hours. The investigating 
prosecutor could continue to detain a suspect without formal charges 
for 15 days from the time of the arrest while continuing the 
investigation. Prosecutors had to file an indictment or drop the case 
within 30 days of arrest. The court then had two months to hear the 
case. An appeal had to be filed within 20 days, and the appellate court 
had two months to review the case. A second appeal had to be filed 
within 30 days, after which the case went before the Supreme Court, 
which could take up to five months to conclude the trial. In many 
cases, however, courts did not follow these deadlines. NGOs continued 
to report that prison authorities detained individuals for several 
months to over a year without charging them. There were credible 
reports in 2005 that police continued to detain prisoners in Kabul and 
Ghazni after they were found innocent.
    While accurate statistics did not exist, lengthy trial procedures 
stemmed in large part from gross inadequacy of the judicial system. 
Varied reports from international NGOs estimated that no more than 150 
defense lawyers were practicing in the entire country, compared to 1400 
judges and between 2000 to 2500 prosecutors nationwide, most of whom 
lacked any formal legal training. According to the MOJ, there were a 
total of 9,604 people detained in correctional facilities nationwide, 
of which 5,342 had been tried and convicted; the remaining 4,262 were 
still awaiting trial. There were also widespread shortages of judges. 
Bamyan province, for example, reported no judges in four of its 
districts and that seven districts were 75 percent understaffed. In 
May, there were 1412 judges appointed who served throughout the 
country. Because of the corruption he encountered among provincial 
judges, Attorney General Sabit lobbied the Supreme Court to move to 
Kabul several of the trials for arrests of government officials made in 
Herat, Nangarhar, and Konar. At year's end, this decision was pending 
in the Supreme Court. Another significant barrier was detainees' own 
lack of awareness of their own rights under the 2004 Interim Criminal 
Procedure Code.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was underfunded, 
understaffed, and subject to political influence and pervasive 
corruption. Pressure from public officials, local commanders, and the 
families of accused persons, as well as bribery and corruption, 
threatened judicial impartiality. Justice was administered on an 
intermittent basis according to a mixture of codified law, Shari'a 
(Islamic law), and local custom.
    According to the United States Institute of Peace, the formal 
justice system was relatively weak in the urban centers where the 
central government was strongest and in the rural areas that house 
approximately 75 percent of the population. Functioning courts, police 
and prisons were an exception. The judicial system lacked the capacity 
to handle the large volume of new and amended legislation. The courts 
were hindered by a lack of qualified judicial personnel. Judges had 
minimal training and often based their judgments on their personal 
understanding of Islamic law and tribal codes of honor.
    In October the Attorney General's office launched an investigation 
of Judge Gholam Rabbani, who was in charge of the Paghman District 
Court. Officials suspended Rabbani's license and he was in detention, 
pending further investigation of bribery allegations. The Attorney 
General also suspended and detained Judge Mohammed Dawood, a member of 
the District 11 Court on charges of bribery. At year's end the case was 
still under investigation. According to the personnel office at the 
Supreme Court, a clerk in District 12 Court faced accusations of 
bribery and was fired. The clerk remained in detention at year's end 
and was under investigation by the Attorney General's office.
    The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, high courts 
(appeals courts), and primary courts, the structure and authorities of 
which are determined by law. Judges are appointed with the 
recommendation of the Supreme Court and approval of the President. The 
Supreme Court has overall responsibility for the national court system. 
The President appoints Supreme Court members with the approval of the 
house of representatives (Wolesi Jirga). A national security court 
tried terrorists and other cases, although details were limited on its 
procedures. In December 2005 the President passed by decree an 
antinarcotics law that formally created a separate central court for 
narcotics prosecutions.
    In some remote areas not under government control, the Taliban 
enforced its own judicial system by means of unsanctioned ``shuras'' 
(community councils). These included districts at the Pakistani border 
in Helmand province.
    Many municipal and provincial authorities relied on some 
interpretation of Islamic law and traditional tribal codes of justice. 
In major cities, courts primarily decided criminal cases, although 
civil cases were often resolved in the informal system. In rural areas 
local elders and shuras were the primary means of settling both 
criminal matters and civil disputes; they also sometimes allegedly 
levied unsanctioned punishments. Some estimates suggested that 80 
percent of all cases went through the shuras, leaving many vulnerable 
to violation of their legal rights, as customary shuras or ``jirgas'' 
did not adhere to the constitutional rights of citizens and often 
violated the rights of women and minorities. The informal justice 
system played a vital role in society. Due to the undeveloped formal 
legal system, the informal justice system was often used to resolve 
disputes.

    Trial Procedures.--Court procedures generally did not meet 
internationally accepted standards for fair trials. The administration 
and implementation of justice varied in different areas of the country. 
Trials were usually public, and while juries were not used, decisions 
made through the shura system were made collectively by groups of local 
elders. Defendants have the right to be present and to appeal; however 
these rights were inconsistently applied. Defendants also have the 
right to consult with an attorney at public expense when resources 
allowed. This right was inconsistently applied mainly due to a lack of 
trained personnel. Defendants were not allowed to confront or question 
witnesses. Citizens' lack of awareness of their constitutional rights 
was a problem, and there was no functioning public defender system. 
Defendants and attorneys were entitled to examine the documents related 
to their case and the physical evidence before trial. Defendants were 
presumed innocent until evidence proved otherwise. The courts 
reportedly heard cases in sessions that lasted only a few minutes. In 
cases involving murder and rape, judges generally sentenced convicted 
prisoners to execution, although relatives of the victim could instead 
choose to accept other restitution or could choose to enforce the 
verdict themselves; however, under the new constitution, capital 
punishment is conditional upon approval of the President. Local elders 
and shuras sentenced persons to unsanctioned punishment. In contrast to 
previous years there were no confirmed reports of flogging or death by 
stoning. The practice of ordering the defendant to provide compensation 
in the form of young girls in marriage to a victims' family continued. 
In such proceedings, the accused typically had no right to legal 
representation, bail, or appeal. In cases lacking a clearly defined 
legal statute, or cases in which judges, prosecutors, or elders were 
simply unaware of the law, courts and informal shuras enforced Shari'a 
law; this practice often resulted in outcomes that discriminated 
against women (see section 5, Women).
    HRW reported that the February 26 trial of Asadullah Sarwari, the 
communist-era intelligence chief and a notorious human rights abuser, 
was seriously flawed. Sarwari was sentenced to death in a summary one 
day trial in which he did not have legal representation. Sarwari had 
been detained since 1992; he was held without charges until December 
26, 2005. This sentence was the first attempt to hold a senior 
government official accountable for past crimes in the country.
    In December 2005 the Government developed the country's National 
Action Plan for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation, in coordination with 
the AIHRC and the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan 
(UNAMA). The plan was designed to promote transitional justice in the 
country. The plan's five points included: symbolic measures, such as 
the creation of national memorial sites and a national museum; 
institutional reform by vetting civil service employees for involvement 
in past atrocities, and reform of the judiciary; truth-seeking 
documentation of past atrocities; promotion of national reconciliation 
and unity through public debate and awareness; and the establishment of 
accountability mechanisms to bring to justice those responsible for 
grave human rights abuses. At year's end, following very little 
progress in implementing the plan, President Karzai declared December 
10 as a national day of remembrance for the victims of past human 
rights atrocities, and worked with the AIHRC to re-energize efforts to 
implement the plan.
    In March Abdul Rahman was put on trial for the crime of apostasy-
conversion from Islam to Christianity-which is punishable by death, 
according to Shari'a law. The charges were eventually dropped after a 
finding that Rahman was unfit to stand trial (see section 2.c.).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports that a 
number of regional commanders affiliated with the Government held 
political prisoners and detainees. There were no reliable estimates of 
the numbers involved. Political prisoners were reportedly not given the 
same protection as other detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens had limited 
access to justice for constitutional and human rights violations, and 
interpretations of religious doctrine often trumped human or 
constitutional rights. In civil matters the judiciary remained 
ineffective due to a lack of capacity and severe corruption.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such interference; however, there 
were no legal protections for victims. Antigovernment elements, police 
officials, and local commanders forcibly invaded and looted the homes 
and businesses of civilians with impunity. In Farah and Balkh provinces 
local commanders repeatedly interfered with civilians. In Badakhshan a 
local commander pressured a family to marry off its 13-year-old 
daughter to the son of a prominent politician. The girl refused, and 
local villagers threatened to stone her. The case eventually went to 
the Supreme Court, where several residents from Badakhshan traveled in 
order to pressure authorities to weigh in against the girl. Following 
discreet negotiations, including some action by the central government 
to advocate for the girl's wishes, the case was dropped. In the south 
and east, Taliban and other antigovernment elements frequently forced 
locals to provide food and shelter to their fighters. The Taliban also 
continued to loot schools, radio stations, and government offices 
throughout the country. The law provided for wiretapping.
    In 2005 forced resettlement from areas of conflict occurred for 
safety reasons.
    The Government's willingness to recognize the right to marry varied 
by nationality, gender and religion. For example, the family court 
would register a marriage between a foreign woman and a Muslim man, but 
required the couple to accept a Muslim ceremony, or ``nekah.'' Muslim 
men could marry a woman who was Jewish or Christian, but a woman of any 
other faith had to first convert to Islam before marrying a Muslim man. 
The court would not register a marriage between a Muslim woman and a 
non-Muslim man. The court also would not register a marriage for 
Afghans who stated they were not Muslim, even if they were born into 
other faiths in the country or elsewhere. Non-Afghans could marry, and 
foreigners were permitted a civil ceremony as long as neither was 
Muslim.
    There were reports that individuals, often women, were arrested and 
sentenced to jail time for crimes committed by other family members.
    There were scattered reports of theft by national security forces 
while conducting raids and searching homes. In August ANP officers in 
Uruzgan province raided a local bazaar to seize contraband items, 
including poppy. Several storekeepers and shoppers reported being 
harassed and having their money and goods stolen. During a subsequent 
inspection of the ANP provincial headquarter's evidence locker, only 
small amounts of the contraband were present.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
During the year ongoing internal conflict and the continued use of 
excessive force caused civilian deaths, abductions, prisoner abuse, 
property damage, and the displacement of residents. At year's end the 
MOI's Human Rights Office reported its continuing investigation of a 
case of excessive force in Ghazni province. According to HRW the 
majority of citizens cited the numerous regional warlords as the 
greatest source of insecurity.

    Killings.--Interfactional fighting between regional commanders, 
persistent Taliban and al-Qa'ida activity, and criminal activity 
resulted in unlawful killings and numerous civilian casualties. 
Terrorist attacks were responsible for the deaths of over 1,400 
civilians. Militants targeted and killed foreigners and local NGO 
employees. There was a significant increase in militant suicide attacks 
this year, 140 compared to only 15 in 2005 and four in 2004. Insurgents 
targeted provincial governors, women's affairs officials, and ministry 
officials during the year. Overall attacks against non-combatants 
(government officials, civilians, religious figures, teachers, and 
students) increased slightly from 635 in 2005 to 664 during the year.
    Over 12 government officials were targeted and killed, in addition 
to at least one foreign diplomat. Government officials killed include 
Governor Taniwal of Paktia province, Director of Women's Affairs in 
Kandahar Safia Ama Jan, as well as a district police chief, an 
intelligence officer, and an administrator in the eastern province of 
Nangarhar. They died when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle 
while they were en route to check on a school that had been torched. 
Coalition and ISAF forces faced frequent attacks on their convoys. The 
Taliban also beheaded over a dozen Afghans for allegedly acting as 
coalition spies. On January 15, antigovernment forces targeted a 
coalition convoy killing Canadian diplomat Glynn Berry. Later in the 
month Taliban forces beheaded the headmaster of a coed high school in 
Zabul Province (see section 5, Children).
    In February fighting between two commanders left one man dead and 
two wounded in Kapisa. August fighting between rival warlords in the 
north killed at least four and displaced hundreds. The fighting lasted 
a few weeks and allegedly involved former commanders Abdul Rashid 
Dostum and Abdul Malik. In March Commander Abdul Razaq of Kandahar 
province was removed from his post for allegedly attacking 16 rivals 
under the pretext that they were Taliban militants. The 16 men were 
Pakistani citizens who had traveled to Afghanistan for Afghan New Year 
celebrations. They belonged to a clan in Pakistan that Razaq blamed for 
the death of his brother two years earlier.
    In February a local official was shot dead by unknown gunmen in 
Helmand province. Later in the month two intelligence officials were 
found beheaded in the desert near the Iranian border. On February 7, a 
Turkish engineer, an Indian, and their driver were killed when a 
roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Farah province.
    In March the head of the senate was targeted in a suicide attack; 
Speaker Mojadeddi escaped unharmed but four others died in the attack. 
Also in March unknown assailants shot and killed a local administrator 
in Paktia province and an ex-police chief in Zabul. On March 11, the 
Taliban abducted two policemen from their homes and later beheaded and 
left them in the desert. On March 19, 15 people were killed in separate 
attacks on Ghazni's former and then-current governor. Taliban shot and 
killed former Governor Taj Mohammad, but did not succeed in killing 
then-Governor Sher Alam Ibrahimi. Nine police officers and four 
companions of Taj Mohammad were also killed. Taliban insurgents 
abducted three Albanians and one German national. All four were later 
found dead. Five policemen also died while trying to return the bodies 
to Kabul when a roadside bomb hit their convoy.
    On the evening of March 31, unidentified gunmen shot and killed the 
provincial council speaker of Takhar province, Sayed Sadiq Agha. In two 
separate incidents the same week Taliban fighters shot and killed two 
intelligence officials. On April 3, Taliban militants pulled a Turkish 
engineer from his car, shot and killed him, and then set the body on 
fire. On April 10, militants killed five health workers when they 
attacked a clinic in Badghis province. On April 30, the body of a 
kidnapped Indian engineer was found beheaded. The Taliban claimed he 
was killed while trying to escape.
    In May antigovernment elements shot and killed a senior judge in 
Farah province. On May 9, the Taliban targeted the director of the 
Department of Women's Affairs in Helmand province. She escaped unhurt 
but the male business manager for the office died from the attack. In 
May antigovernment elements attacked the vehicle of Ghazni's deputy 
governor, injuring one policeman. They also attacked, a convoy carrying 
Helmand's deputy governor a few days later. This was allegedly the 
tenth attack on police and government officials in Ghazni over a 20 day 
period. On May 14, the Taliban targeted another intelligence official 
in Kandahar province killing him and wounding one teacher. The same day 
gunmen killed a religious leader in Paktia province. UNICEF also 
reported that in May one of their Afghan drivers and a doctor were 
killed in a rocket attack. On May 28, Taliban forces kidnapped and 
killed three policemen in Ghazni province.
    On June 9, a roadside bomb hit the convoy of a top intelligence 
official killing three bystanders.
    On July 3, a suicide bomber hit a checkpoint in Kandahar killing a 
policeman and injuring six. On July 4, militants ambushed and killed 
five laborers and wounded another as they were on their way to deliver 
lumber to a coalition military base. On July 17, a suicide bomber 
attacked and killed two justice officials and a third employee in 
Helmand province. In Khost province, a grenade was thrown into a 
wedding party killing one man and wounding 16. Also in July a time bomb 
killed one female student and injured six others at Herat University. 
On July 22, Aryana television cameraman Abdul Qodus died along with 
several other civilians in a double suicide bombing in Kandahar.
    On August 8, antigovernment elements shot and killed a teacher in 
Ghazni province (see section 5.).
    In September a suicide attacker assassinated the Governor of Paktia 
Province, Hakim Taniwal, along with two others, the first assassination 
of a governor during the year despite several attempts on others. In 
another suicide attack over a dozen Hajj pilgrims were killed outside 
the governor's compound in Helmand province. On September 7, a suicide 
bomber killed a teacher and policemen when he jumped on the hood of a 
taxi and self-detonated. On September 9, two foreign soldiers, and 16 
others were killed in a suicide attack outside a foreign embassy 
compound in Kabul. On September 21, the body of a kidnapped Turkish 
worker was found in Kandahar. On September 22, militants attacked a bus 
killing 19 construction workers in Kandahar. The Taliban executed a man 
for his alleged involvement in a murder case in Helmand province. On 
September 25, two unknown gunmen shot and killed Safia Amajan, director 
of the Kandahar Department of Women's Affairs. According to The 
Independent, Taliban Commander Mullah Hayat Kahn called her death ``an 
execution.''
    On October 7, Karen Fischer and Christian Struwe, two German 
journalists, were shot and killed in Baghlan province in a tent they 
had pitched near a road in the north. The MOI stated that the motive 
wasn't clear, and they were conducting an investigation.
    On December 9, two female teachers were gunned down in their home 
in Kunar (see section 5, Children).
    There were other documented incidents during the year of officials 
being targeted for killings, in which they survived the attacks, 
including the governor of Faryab on March 23 and a district police 
chief of Faryab on April 29. In a separate apparent assassination 
attempt, a vehicle exploded outside the Nangarhar governor's office but 
failed to kill any one in the vicinity.
    On October 14, a failed assassination attempt against Laghman 
Governor Gulab Mangal resulted in the death of another provincial 
government official, Engineer Rohullah, who was shot in the forehead 
while standing between the governor and his deputy.
    On October 22, an RPG attack was carried out on a convoy of two 
vehicles carrying regional Pashtun warlord Amunallah Khan, his son, and 
other escorts. This attack was followed by small arms fire close to 
Gardana and Larga villages in Herat province.
    The Taliban continued to behead individuals throughout the year for 
allegedly spying.
    During the year antigovernment elements continued to attack pro-
government religious leaders (see section 2.c.).
    The investigation into the 2004 kidnapping of three Turkish 
construction workers by unknown assailants remained open at year's end. 
The kidnappers killed one worker and released two others.

    Abductions.--One hundred ninety abductions were reported in the 
last six months of the year, at least 12 of which resulted in the death 
of the hostage. However, most abductions were not reported. The Taliban 
and commanders abducted security forces, civilians and at least one 
journalist for both political and financial gain. Many were killed but 
some were allowed to live if they vowed to resign and join 
antigovernment elements. In January the Taliban abducted five civilians 
but later abandoned them after coming under attack from the police. In 
February two Nepalese security workers were abducted in Kabul. Their 
employer negotiated the release of one, but the other died of a heart 
attack while in custody. In July Taliban forces abducted and severely 
beat six men for teaching girls. They were later released but some 
remained handicapped as a result of the beatings.
    The case of the May 2005 kidnapping of a foreign aid worker 
remained under investigation at year's end. In June 2005, she was 
released unharmed in Kabul.

    Mines.--Landmines and unexploded ordnance caused deaths and 
injuries, restricted areas available for cultivation, and impeded the 
return of refugees to mine-affected regions. The most heavily mined 
areas were the provinces bordering Iran and Pakistan.
    The UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA) reported that 
landmines and unexploded ordinances killed or injured an average of 62 
persons each month. Mine explosions over the past two decades affected 
4.2 million with an estimated 1.5 million casualties.
    The UN, with funding from international donors, organized and 
trained mine detection and clearance teams, which operated throughout 
the country. UN agencies and NGOs conducted many educational programs 
and mine awareness campaigns for women and children in various parts of 
the country. HALO Trust has cleared 554 million square meters, or 5.96 
billion square feet of land. There were almost 723 million square 
meters, or 7.78 billion square feet of uncleared land remaining at 
year's end, according to UNMACA.

    Treatment of Victims and Prisoners.--During the year there were 
scattered reports of the Government providing some compensation to 
civilian victims of fighting between the Government and the Taliban.

    Other Abuses.--During the year suspected Taliban members fired on 
NGO vehicles, attacked NGO offices, and killed at least 31 aid workers 
(see sections 1.a. and 1.g.). International NGO and UN workers and 
recipients of NGO assistance were attacked on 57 occasions. NGO 
personnel were not necessarily the intended targets of insurgent 
violence but often victims of misidentification. Insurgents largely 
used attacks on PRT sites and construction crews, rather than NGOs, to 
hamper reconstruction efforts and drive away the international 
assistance community.
    In March armed men set fire to UN food trucks in Uruzgan province. 
On March 5, six armed men dragged a UN engineer from his car and killed 
him in Farah. In April Taliban forces beat an NGO worker and burned his 
office in Paktika. On July 23, armed men looted a Danish Committee for 
Aid to Afghan Refugees office in Wardak Province. In August the Taliban 
kidnapped 15 health workers in Kandahar, but they were later freed. 
Numerous others working on the road system were killed around the 
country. There were reports in Kandahar that antigovernment forces 
increasingly attacked those accepting foreign assistance, causing 
villagers to begin refusing aid.
    Militants used women and children as human shields by forcing them 
into the line of fire. Violence and instability hampered relief and 
reconstruction efforts in different parts of the country. NGOs reported 
that some local commanders charged them for the relief supplies they 
were bringing into the country. Assistance efforts were also limited by 
the difficulties in moving relief goods overland to remote areas.
    The World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
reported concerns that the security situation in the south presented a 
high risk to health workers seeking to gain access to the southern 
provinces in order to vaccinate children. In July, President Karzai 
initiated a Policy Action Group (PAG), charged with assessing and 
coordinating a local and international response to security concerns in 
the South.
    There were unconfirmed reports of teenagers under 18 falsifying 
their identification records to join the ANA, which had a legal age 
limit of 18; however, there have been no reports of forced child 
conscription since the 2003 Presidential decree prohibiting it (see 
section 5, Children).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press; however, there were instances of governmental 
and local commander intimidation of journalists to influence their 
reporting. According to independent media and observers, government 
repression and armed groups prevent the media from operating freely by 
demanding that news be broadcast a certain way. The Afghan Independent 
Journalists Association and Center for International Journalism 
reported fifty registered cases of intimidation and undue influence by 
commanders and government officials. The law prohibits information that 
could insult ``the sacred religion of Islam and other religions.'' The 
ambiguity over what was considered offensive material offered the 
potential for abuse of press freedom. Under the 2004 media law, new 
newspapers and printers had to get a license from the information 
ministry and foreign investment in the media was strictly limited.
    There was concern within the media community that a draft media law 
under consideration in parliament at year's end would place greater 
restrictions on media content and create an overall climate of 
potential government intimidation and media self-censorship. Elements 
of the latest draft included: language that seeks to keep Radio-
Television Afghanistan under the rubric of the Government, rather than 
converting it to independent Public Service Broadcasting; the 
elimination of three committees that protected journalists from 
politically-motivated reprisals; and the designation of certain 
categories of content as ``prohibited.'' Under the previous law, a 
complaints commission existed which examined complaints against 
journalists and decided whether the dispute could be resolved or should 
be forwarded to the courts for prosecution. This committee provided an 
extra layer of protection for journalists from those influential 
politicians who might otherwise use their influence to enact reprisals 
against journalists for publishing unfavorable stories.
    Some media observers stated that individuals could not criticize 
the Government publicly or privately without fear of reprisal. A 
combination of influential political leaders and a weak judicial system 
caused individuals to feel vulnerable.
    The independent media were active and reflected differing political 
views, although the extent varied from region to region. Factional 
authorities tightly controlled media in some parts of the country, and 
the degree of freedom of expression varied significantly among regions. 
The Ministry of Information and Culture and some provincial governors 
exercised control to varying degrees around the country. Observers 
noted tighter controls especially in the larger provinces of Mazar-e-
Sharif, Kandahar, Herat, and Nangarhar. The Government owned at least 
35 publications and most of the electronic news media. Many other 
newspapers were published only sporadically, and many were affiliated 
with different provincial authorities. During the year there were 
approximately 400 publications, 50 private radio stations, five news 
agencies, and eight television networks, though not all were 
independently owned and operated. While some independent journalists 
and writers published magazines and newsletters, circulation largely 
was confined to Kabul, and many publications were self-censored. The 
foreign media were covered under the freedom of speech law; however, 
they were restricted from commenting negatively on Islam and from 
publishing materials that were considered a threat to the President. 
Approximately a dozen international stations broadcast in Dari or 
Pashto, including the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Liberty, and Radio 
Free Afghanistan, which were available throughout the country. In 2004 
business leaders inaugurated the first independent radio station 
established entirely by private sector funds in Ghazni province. At 
least 32 other community-based independent radio stations have been 
created.
    During the year various government officials, foreign governments, 
regional commanders, and the Taliban subjected members of the press to 
harassment, intimidation, and violence. Threatening calls and messages 
against media organizations also remained common, some resulting in 
actual violence. In February police beat two journalists in Herat while 
they were covering sectarian violence. In May a member of parliament 
from Ghazni beat up reporter Noorullah Rahmani and cameraman Omed 
Yakmanish who were trying to cover a debate on atrocities allegedly 
committed by parliamentarians. In July armed men, allegedly working for 
a member of parliament, beat three members of a television crew for 
covering a land grab story outside Kabul.
    Nongovernmental actors also interfered in the operations of 
journalists. In February militants blew up a television transmitter and 
generator in Nangarhar province. There were also allegations that Iran 
bribed and threatened reporters in the western provinces to increase 
the number of antigovernment stories and decrease the number of anti-
Iranian stories. On October 7, two German journalists were shot dead by 
unknown attackers in the north. BBC reported that they were believed to 
be the first foreign reporters to be killed in the country since 2001 
(see section 1.g.). Italian journalist Gabriele Torsello was kidnapped 
on October 12 and released on November 3 (see section 1.b.).
    In September 2005 members of the President's security forces 
allegedly beat two Sada-e-Afghan reporters and detained them for eight 
hours for taking illegal pictures and not having an invitation to the 
event they were attending. No actions were taken against the 
authorities.
    In October 2005 police arrested and convicted journalist Ali 
Mohaqiq Nasab of blasphemy for publishing un-Islamic materials, 
specifically for publishing a different interpretation of Shari'a law 
and describing the harsh punishments imposed on individuals accused of 
adultery and theft, as well as the right of Muslims to convert to other 
religions (see section 2.c.). In December 2005 authorities released 
Nasab from jail with a suspended six-month sentence, under the 
condition that he repent and not do it again. Nasab has since moved to 
Iran.
    In 2005, Radio Bamyan, an independent radio station, received 
occasional threats because the station provided programming deemed un-
Islamic. Also, in July the Taliban contacted a radio station in Paktika 
wanting direct airtime. The Taliban had previously requested that the 
station broadcast traditional Muslim religious programs and prayers. 
The station complied by broadcasting the Koran for one hour in the 
morning and one hour in the evening.
    In January Afghan TV was fined $1,000 (49,000 Afghanis) by the 
media monitoring commission for broadcasting un-Islamic material. 
According to an Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) report the 
Government cracked down on the private television station in Kabul for 
violating traditional values. The fine was levied by a special media 
commission, composed of six members from various government organs, and 
headed by the Minister of Information and Culture. In February two 
local television stations were warned against programming that ran 
counter to local culture and did not conform to conservative views held 
by many in their respective localities.
    On June 12, the National Security Department summoned several 
journalists to a meeting. Journalists were presented with a list of 
recommendations for press conduct including restrictions on some 
material, such as reporting on the country's deteriorating security 
situation; negative propaganda, interviews, or reports against the 
international coalition forces and ISAF; and materials which 
deteriorate the morale of the public, cause security problems, or were 
against the national interest. These proposed new government 
regulations also included restrictions on interviews with the Taliban 
and other antigovernment elements for reasons of public security. The 
NDS later distributed a copy to journalists that was accompanied by a 
demand that it not be copied or distributed. On June 19, President 
Karzai's office issued a statement denying the Government had issued 
restrictions, instead characterizing the directive as a request 
reflecting the need to help the nascent media sector develop.
    Proposed changes to the 2005 Media Law included the designation of 
five additional categories of ``prohibited broadcasts'' (the December 
2005 draft had four), including material that ``jeopardizes stability, 
national security or territorial integrity, provides false information 
that might disrupt public opinion, publicizes or promotes any religion 
other than Islam, damages the physical, psychological, or moral well-
being of the people, especially children and youth, or was deemed 
slanderous and insulting to people.'' These categories were added to 
those in the 2005 draft, which prohibited material that was ``contrary 
to Islam, offensive to other religions and sects, disclosed the 
identity of victims of violence and rape, or constituted false 
accusations or defamation.''
    Members of the media reported that they did not interview Taliban 
commanders or leaders due to government restriction. Observers also 
report self-censorship by obscuring parts of female images when 
broadcasting certain pieces, such as music videos. For example, Tolo TV 
opted to stop broadcasting performances by Latin music star Shakira 
amid complaints that her performances were too provocative.
    Members of the media noted their concern that current laws did not 
include clear definitions of libel and defamation, additions that would 
make journalists less vulnerable to prosecution for criticism of 
influential political or other leaders.
    In June 2005 the Media High Council prosecuted Massood Qiam, a Tolo 
TV journalist, for defaming the country's former chief justice. The 
charges were later dropped at the request of the Minister of 
Information, Culture, and Tourism. The stated purpose of the Media High 
Council was to plan and approve media policy. The Minister of 
Information, Culture, and Tourism chaired this council, which also 
included members of the Supreme Court, Ministry of Communications, and 
parliament. There was also a Private and Personal Media Commission 
responsible for monitoring the performance of private and personal 
media and dealing with complaints against such media.
    In 2004 the Ministry of Information and Culture announced the 
creation of a Commission of Religious Clergy to monitor the media, but 
the commission's authority to censor content remains unclear.
    The Government pressured media outlets not to broadcast material 
that could be deemed as Taliban propaganda, and there were reports of 
journalists being detained and questioned for having contacted Taliban 
officials.
    Cumbersome licensing procedures restricted operations of publishing 
houses.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on the 
Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or Internet 
chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. 
Internet access was unavailable to most citizens, and computer literacy 
and ownership rates were miniscule, although Internet cafes were 
increasingly popular. Years of fighting and extreme poverty limited the 
infrastructure available to support the provision of Internet service.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Through its appointment of 
university officials, the Government was able to informally restrict 
academic freedom, by censoring or restricting course content that it 
deemed un-Islamic. During the year police dropped all charges in the 
case of two students expelled from Herat University and arrested 
following a classroom discussion in which they debated the role of 
Christianity in Muslim society.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association; however, this right 
was restricted in practice. Increased Taliban, al-Qa'ida, and other 
antigovernment activity, particularly in the south and east, forced UN 
agencies and NGOs to temporarily cancel or curtail activities at times 
during the year.

    Freedom of Assembly.--A lack of physical security and interference 
from local authorities inhibited freedom of assembly in areas outside 
Kabul.
    In February protests took place around the country in response to 
Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad. Police killed four 
protesters around the country while attempting to protect foreigners 
from violent protesters. In March the demonstrations continued in Pul-e 
Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, as well as other parts of the 
country.
    In May riots broke out in Kabul after a traffic accident involving 
a Coalition military convoy. The riots killed 17 people and injured 
over 200. There was no official investigation into the May 2005 riots, 
a separate incident, in which security forces killed 16 protesters.

    Freedom of Association.--The political parties law obliges parties 
to register with the MOJ and required political parties to pursue 
objectives that were consistent with the principles of Islam. Political 
parties based on ethnicity, language, Islamic school of thought, and 
religion were not allowed. Parties generally were able to conduct 
activities throughout the country without opposition or hindrance, 
except in regions where antigovernment violence affected overall 
security (see section 3). However, the International Crisis Group 
reported some instances of obstruction of registration. For example, 
the registration of the United National Party led by Noorul Haq Olomi, 
a former Parchami general, was delayed by almost a year and a half. At 
year's end there were 91 registered political parties.
    In August Interior Minister Zarar called for two parties run by 
rival warlords to be disbanded after allegations surfaced connecting 
them to violence in the northern provinces. Members of the National 
Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, known locally as ``Junbish'' and 
headed by General Abdul Rashid Dostum and the Freedom Party of 
Afghanistan, run by General Abdul Malik, protested, and the parties 
never dissolved.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law proclaims that Islam is the 
``religion of the state,'' but allows non-Muslim citizens the freedom 
to perform their rituals within the limits determined by laws for 
public decency and peace. This right was not respected in practice. For 
example there were no overt foreign missionaries or other non-Islamic 
religiously oriented organizations in the country. These groups opted 
to operate discreetly for fear of societal persecution. The law also 
declares that no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of 
Islam. The Government requires all citizens to profess a religious 
affiliation and assumes all Afghans to be Muslim. According to Islamic 
law, conversion from Islam is punishable by death. In recent years this 
sentence was not carried out in practice.
    As Afghan Christians were forced to remain underground, they did 
not openly practice their religion or reveal their identity. During the 
year there were sporadic reports of harassment and threats against 
Christians.
    Members of the Government called for the execution of Christian 
converts. In February Abdul Rahman was arrested for converting to 
Christianity and faced the death sentence. The court determined that 
Rahman was unfit to stand trial, and he was given asylum in Italy. 
During his detention, Rahman accused authorities of beating him with 
hoses and their bare hands. In conjunction with this case, there was 
some publicly displayed anger, in particular a protest in Mazar-e-
Sharif attended by hundreds of people.
    There were no laws forbidding proselytizing, although authorities 
viewed proselytizing as contrary to the beliefs of Islam, and 
authorities could punish blasphemy and apostasy with death.
    The Government did not require women to wear burqas. Although some 
women continued out of personal choice to wear the burqa, many other 
women felt compelled to wear one due to societal or familial pressure. 
Cases of local authorities policing aspects of women's appearance to 
conform to a conservative interpretation of Islam and local custom 
continued to diminish.
    Public school curricula continued to include religious subjects. 
Non-Muslims were not required to study Islam, and there were no 
restrictions on parental religious teaching. Members of some minority 
groups, such as the Sikhs, operated private schools to avoid harassment 
and to provide religious and cultural education to members of their 
community.
    During the year antigovernment elements continued to attack 
progovernment religious leaders. Antigovernment elements killed over a 
dozen clerics in Kandahar and over 20 nationwide. These attacks also 
injured 40 other religious officials.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Anti-Semitism.--Non-Muslims 
faced discrimination in schools. The Shi'a religious affiliation of the 
Hazaras historically was a significant factor contributing to their 
repression, and there was continued social discrimination against 
Hazaras (see section 5). The AIHRC continued to receive numerous 
reports that students belonging to the Sikh and Hindu faiths stopped 
attending schools due to harassment from both teachers and students, 
and the Government did not implement measures to protect these 
children. Sikhs and Hindus returning to the country faced difficulties 
in obtaining housing and land in Kabul and other provinces, and these 
communities reportedly continued to face acts of discrimination. 
However, during the year, the Government provided Sikhs and Hindus free 
electricity for their places of worship. Historically the majority 
Sunni population discriminated against the minority Shi'a community. 
According to a UNHCR report the Sikh and Hindu communities complain of 
experiencing harassment. They face intimidation and verbal as well as, 
at times, physical abuse in public places. In terms of property, many 
homes and businesses were lost or occupied during the fighting. 
Commanders still occupied the properties of some Sikhs and Hindus and 
Kabul. In both Jalalabad and Kabul, the community representatives have 
expressed concerns that they will not be able to accommodate returning 
families. While Hindus and Sikhs did have recourse to dispute 
resolution mechanisms such as the Special Land and Property Court, in 
practice the community feels unprotected. Hindus and Sikhs generally 
chose not to pursue matters through the courts for fear of retaliation, 
particularly where commanders occupied their property. Hindus and Sikhs 
have generally chosen not to pursue matters through the courts for fear 
of retaliation. Hindus also complained of not having a place to cremate 
the remains of their dead, a Hindu religious custom, and being 
prevented from enrolling in some educational institutions. While Hindus 
reported being harassed by neighbors in their communities, there were 
no known reports of discrimination against Hindus by the Government.
    On February 9, sectarian violence erupted in Herat during a 
gathering for the Shi'a holiday of Ashura, which resulted in six deaths 
and more than 150 persons injured, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty. Local officials believe the violence was preplanned to 
instigate the Sunni community against Shi'as and propel the situation 
beyond the governor's control. According to the MOI, a former commander 
of General Ismail Khan, a former Director of Education, a former 
Director of Public Works, and the son of General Ismail Khan planned 
the riots. The MOI reported that only four were killed and 147 injured. 
Police in Herat arrested 11 individuals and handed them to the NDS's 
custody.
    In July several hundred Korean evangelical Christians arrived in 
Kabul with plans to hold a nationwide ``Peace Festival'' with rallies 
in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Herat in early August. In response to 
concerns about societal violence against them, government agencies 
worked with ISAF and the international community to develop a 
comprehensive security contingency plan to prevent violent clashes 
between the demonstrators and Afghanistan's Muslim communities. The MOI 
deployed several hundred additional police officers in the cities of 
Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Herat where the Koreans had assembled to 
maintain peace. The Government housed the Christians in clusters around 
each city but took measures to prevent them from assembling in large 
groups. After talks with several foreign embassies, the Christian group 
decided against holding the rally in favor of their security.
    There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. There was only one 
known Jewish resident who lived in Kabul where he was caretaker of a 
local synagogue. He maintained that the synagogue's Torah was 
confiscated by Taliban officials several years ago, and he has received 
no response to his efforts to retrieve it.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights; 
however, certain laws limited citizens' movement and the Government 
limited citizens' movement when justified by security interests.
    The passport law requires a woman to obtain permission from a male 
family member before having a passport application processed. In some 
areas of the country women were forbidden by local custom or tradition 
to leave the home except in the company of a male relative.
    The greatest restriction to movement in the country was the lack of 
security. Insurgent violence, banditry, and landmines hampered travel 
within the country. In many areas antigovernment forces made travel 
difficult and extremely dangerous, and the population did not travel at 
night due to fear.
    Taxi, truck, and bus drivers complained that security forces and 
armed militants operated illegal checkpoints and extorted money and 
goods. The number of such checkpoints increased at night, especially in 
the border provinces. In Kunduz the customs department had no control 
of the many illegal crossings, and states the corruption of border 
police permits smuggling of drugs, weapons, and other commodities. 
Residents reported having to pay bribes to ANP and border police 
officials at checkpoints and border crossings between Jalalabad and 
Pakistan. Ethnic Hazaras have reported being asked to pay additional 
bribes at Afghan border crossings where Pashtuns were allowed to pass 
freely.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government generally did 
not use it in practice.
    According to the AIHRC female deportees from Iran must remain in 
custody until their citizenship can be verified or guaranteed by 
family.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Approximately 40,000 to 
50,000 persons were estimated to be internally displaced. Year-end 
figures for residual battle-affected IDP caseloads ranged from 
132,000--135,000. According to the UN 80 to 90,000 people fled their 
homes due to fighting in Helmand, Kandahar, and Uruzgan provinces 
during the year.
    The main causes of internal displacement were the ongoing drought, 
which left 1.9 million people in 22 provinces facing chronic water and 
food insecurity; the urbanization of the country's returning refugee 
population, which lived in urban centers and acquired new skills while 
living in exile and subsequently preferred to live in cities; and 
fighting in the south between Taliban insurgents and ISAF. Local 
government provided assistance to conflict-affected IDPs through the 
Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, in coordination with 
the UNHCR, Institute of Migration, UNAMA, and UNICEF. There were no 
reported cases of IDPs being denied access to domestic or international 
humanitarian organizations; however there were scattered instances of 
corruption in rural areas interfering with the local distribution of 
assistance to IDPs. During the year the highest numbers of IDP assisted 
returns occurred in the provinces of Jawzjan, Faryab, Herat, Zabul, and 
Kandahar.

    Protection of Refugees.--The 1951 Convention on the Status of 
Refugees was ratified in 2005; however, there are no local laws 
providing for the granting of asylum or refugee status. In practice the 
country was in the process of trying to repatriate and provide services 
for its own returning refugees. There were no known cases of other 
nationals seeking official government assistance in obtaining 
protection or refugee status.
    The Government had not established a system for providing 
protection for refugees or those seeking asylum. The laws do not 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with 
the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol, and the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. In practice the Government did not provide 
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country 
where they feared persecution. The Government did not grant refugee 
status or asylum. Over the past five years 4.7 million refugees were 
repatriated to the country. During the year over 224,000 refugees 
returned, and UNHCR assisted over 139,000. The UNHCR estimated that 
approximately 3.4 million refugees were still living in Iran and 
Pakistan. Women and children constituted 75 percent of the refugee 
population. During the year the number of UNHCR assisted returns 
decreased significantly, while spontaneous returns decreased only 
slightly. In August, September, and October 2005 refugees returned in 
large numbers to the country, as all refugee camps in the Federally 
Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan were closed. A fifth of these 
people were living without shelter at the end of 2005. Other Afghan 
refugee camps within Pakistan remained open. Sporadic fighting and 
related security concerns, as well as drought, discouraged some 
refugees from returning to the country. In Pakistan the four Afghan 
refugee camps scheduled for closure during the year remained open.
    Ethnic Hazaras continued to prevent some Kuchi nomads from 
returning to traditional grazing lands in the central highlands, in 
part because of allegations that the Kuchis were pro-Taliban and thus 
complicit in the massacres perpetrated against Hazaras in the 1990s.
    During the year returning refugees from Pakistan settled in Tangi, 
Nangarhar. Governor Sherzai of Nangarhar made a verbal commitment to 
give the land to the returned refugees, who were originally from Kunar, 
a province just to the north of Nanagar; however, ethnic Kuchis 
protested, claiming that the land was theirs. At year's end the dispute 
remained unresolved.
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 
for the first time in over 30 years in the September 2005 parliamentary 
elections.

    Elections and Political Parties.--In September 2005 citizens 
elected 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the 
National Assembly, in an election viewed as credible by the majority of 
citizens. Members of the Meshrano Jirga, the upper house, were selected 
through Presidential and provincial council nomination. Since the 
parliament was inaugurated in December 2005, members generally worked 
together cooperatively. In 2004 citizens chose Hamid Karzai to be the 
first democratically elected President in an election that was 
acceptable to the majority of the country's citizens, though observers 
did note irregularities, including pervasive intimidation of voters and 
candidates, in particular women.
    The AIHRC and the UNAMA reported that local officials tried to 
influence the outcome of the 2004 and 2005 elections. The Electoral 
Complaints Commission received 5,397 complaints during the 
parliamentary election season and disqualified 37 candidates (of over 
6,000) from the campaign, including three for committing election 
offenses. Militants targeted civilians and election officials in a 
campaign to derail national elections. According to HRW, in the south 
and southeast, antigovernment forces opposed to the elections managed 
to drive down participation to nearly a third of registered voters. A 
Taliban spokesman declared that all parliamentary candidates were high 
priority targets, and in 2005 antigovernment forces killed seven 
parliamentary candidates, two parliamentarians-elect, and at least four 
election workers. There were no developments in the investigations of 
the June 2005 killing of a provincial council candidate from Uruzgan 
province by unknown assailants, the August 2005 attempt on the life of 
a female parliamentary candidate from Kandahar, or the August 2005 
shooting and injuring of Hawa Alam Nuristani, a female candidate in 
Nuristan. While some alleged that the governor of Balkh province was 
involved in the assassination, three other suspects were detained for 
the attack. According to the MOI, three men were arrested in connection 
with the September 2005 killing of parliamentary candidate Mohammad 
Ashraf Ramazan. The MOI subsequently released one suspect; the other 
two remain in the custody of the NDS at year's end.
    There was no established tradition of political parties, but 
political groups continued to develop in the National Assembly. Many 
former warlords and commanders were active members of the parliament. 
There were reports that some used fear and intimidation to influence 
other members to vote according to their preferences.
    Unlike in previous years, the Government did not ban any political 
parties, other than the Taliban. Over 90 accredited political parties 
were registered with the MOJ.
    Political parties generally were able to conduct activities 
throughout the country, except in regions where antigovernment violence 
affected overall security. AIHRC and UNAMA reported that officials 
sometimes interfered with political parties, mainly because of a lack 
of awareness of citizens' political rights. Political parties also 
exercised significant self-censorship. Political activities were 
visibly discouraged or curtailed in some parts of the country. 
Throughout the year, conditions for political parties continued to 
improve.
    Of the 249 seats in the Wolesi Jirga, the law requires that 68 
seats be allocated to women. Approximately 25 percent of the total 
seats were also reserved for women on each provincial council. Five 
provincial seats reserved for women remained vacant due to the lack of 
women candidates in three provinces. In the Meshrano Jirga, 17 of the 
34 seats appointed by the President were reserved for women. There was 
one woman in President Karzai's cabinet at the end of the year. There 
were no female members appointed to the supreme court, but during the 
year the Attorney General appointed the first female chief prosecutor 
to Herat. There were 249 total members, including 68 women in the 
Wolesi Jirga and 102 members, including 22 women in the Meshrano Jirga. 
There was one female governor in Bamyan province.
    While women's political participation gained a degree of 
acceptance, there were elements that continued to resist this trend. 
Women active in public life faced disproportionate levels of threats 
and violence from the Taliban. In February a female member of 
parliament was attacked in Parwan province but escaped unharmed. Others 
were forced to move around constantly to avoid assassination attempts, 
violence, and death threats. In September Safia Ama Jan, the director 
of the Kandahar Department for Women's Affairs, was assassinated on her 
way to work. In November there was an unsuccessful attempt to kill a 
female provincial councilmember in Kandahar. Threats have been made 
against five heads of the Department of Women's Affairs across the 
southern and eastern parts of the country. The female director of 
education in Ghazni also received several death threats. In 2005 
antigovernment forces targeted women associated with the electoral 
process for violent attacks and threats. Of the 633 female candidates, 
51 withdrew their candidacy.
    Of the 249 seats in the Wolesi Jirga, the law requires that 10 
seats be allocated to Kuchis. There were no laws preventing minorities 
from participating in political life; however, different ethnic groups 
complained of not having equal access to jobs in local government in 
provinces where they were in the minority. For example Pashtuns, who 
constitute a majority along several provinces in the South, alleged 
that they were not given equal opportunities to work for local 
government in the provinces of Herat and Kapisa, where they were not in 
the majority. By contrast, other provinces, such as Ghazni prided 
themselves on the representation of several ethnic groups within local 
government.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was widespread 
public perception of government corruption, including ministerial level 
involvement in the illegal narcotics trade. The President replaced 
several governors, police chiefs and other officials, reportedly 
because of their corrupt practices. Border Police Commander Haji Zahir 
was asked to leave during the summer, due to allegations of corruption 
but refused to do so. The MOI stopped salary payment to the officers 
operating under Zahir; however, Zahir continued to pay their salaries 
and funded over 1000 additional officers, essentially forming a private 
militia, reportedly from his own funds. The newly-appointed attorney 
general arrested several government officials on charges of corruption.
    Government corruption was exacerbated by a lack of political 
accountability and capacity to monitor government spending, coupled by 
low salaries and substantial influx of international funding which 
ministries were not prepared to audit. During the year the parliament 
reviewed proposals to dismiss or consolidate certain ministries and 
raise the overall salaries of civil service employees. Observers 
alleged that governors with involvement in the drug trade or past 
records of human rights violations served in various Presidential 
appointments with relative impunity. On December 12, HRW released a 
press statement naming several prominent government officials as gross 
human rights violators during the mujaheddin period and called for a 
special court to try them. President Karzai defended these officials, 
stating his belief that the officials in question had played a positive 
role in ensuring peace in the country. The allegations and response 
marked a resurgence in the country's debate over transitional justice. 
At year's end, the MOI was reviewing the dismissal of several 
provincial police chiefs on charges of corruption and human rights 
abuses.
    The constitution provides citizens the right to access government 
information, except in cases where this right might violate the rights 
of others. The Government generally provided access in practice, but 
officials at the local level were less cooperative to requests for 
information. Lack of government capacity also severely restricted 
access to information.
Section 4. 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. There were cases in 
which government officials were cooperative and responsive to their 
views. Some of these human rights groups were based in Pakistan with 
branches inside the country. The lack of security and instability in 
parts of the country severely reduced NGO activities in these areas.
    NGO and international assistance workers or recipients were 
attacked on 57 occasions. 31 NGO staff members were killed, down from 
33 in 2005 but up from 23 in 2004. For most of the year NGOs were not 
the direct target of insurgents. Towards the end of the year, however, 
there was more evidence of direct threats and attacks against NGO 
workers by insurgents (see sections 1.a. and 1.g.).
    In June 2005 the Government passed a new NGO law in an effort to 
reduce the number of for-profit companies operating as NGOs. Many NGOs 
supported this action as a way to differentiate themselves from those 
organizations taking advantage of the system to pose as NGOs. In 
February the Government stripped the licenses of more than 1,600 NGOs 
accused of economic fraud and corruption. Local employees ran several 
international NGOs, including HRW, which monitored the human rights 
situation inside the country. The Government did cooperate with 
international governmental organizations and permitted them to visit 
the country.
    The constitutionally mandated AIHRC continued its role in 
addressing human rights problems within the country. The nine-member 
appointed commission generally acted independently of the Government, 
often voicing strong criticism of government institutions and actions, 
and accepting and investigating general complaints of human rights 
abuses. The AIHRC operated 10 offices outside Kabul. The AIHRC remained 
a reasonably influential organization, effective in its ability to 
document cases, raise public awareness, and influence national policy 
regarding human rights. This was evidenced by the December 10 launching 
of the National Action Plan for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation, a 
plan for transitional justice that was partly drafted by (in 
conjunction with the UN) and heavily promoted by the AIHRC. Dr. Sima 
Samar, Chairwoman of the AIHRC, unofficially holds status equivalent to 
a government minister and routinely met with President Karzai. During 
the year the AIHRC began development of a comprehensive database that 
will allow them to produce reliable statistics on various types of 
abuses as of early 2007. The AIHRC did not have adequate resources to 
focus on advocacy of human rights or intervention in individual cases 
reported to it.
    There are three parliamentary committees that deal with human 
rights in the Wolesi Jirga: the Gender, Civil Society, and Human Rights 
Committee; the Counternarcotics, Intoxicating Items, and Ethical Abuse 
Committee; and the Judicial, Administrative Reform and Anticorruption 
Committee. In the Meshrano Jirga, the Committee for Gender and Civil 
Society addresses human rights issues. During the year these committees 
vetted several draft laws that went before parliament and also 
conducted confirmation hearings on several Presidential appointees.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution states that any kind of discrimination between 
citizens is prohibited. The law provides for the equal rights of men 
and women; however, local customs and practices that discriminated 
against women prevailed in much of the country. Equal rights based on 
race, gender, disability, language, or social status was not explicitly 
mentioned in the law. There were reports of discrimination based on 
race and gender. The severity of discrimination varied from area to 
area, depending on the local leadership's attitude toward education for 
girls and employment for women and on local customs. The minority Shi'a 
faced discrimination from the majority Sunni population. Ethnic Hazaras 
faced discrimination at border checkpoints. Women entrepreneurs 
reported discrimination when seeking to purchase raw materials at local 
bazaars where they were quoted higher prices.

    Women.--Women in urban areas continued to make strides towards 
greater access to public life, education, health care, and employment; 
however, the denial of educational opportunities during the Taliban 
years, as well as limited employment possibilities, continued to impede 
the ability of many women to improve their situation. The Government 
and NGOs continued to promote women's rights and freedoms whenever 
possible; however, the number of female cabinet members was reduced 
from three (Minister of Women's Affairs, Minister of Martyrs and 
Disabled, and Minister of Youth) to one (Minister of Women's Affairs). 
According to the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA), women made up less 
than 25 percent of government employees nationwide. There were no women 
serving in the Supreme Court. A woman held the position of Second 
Deputy Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga in the Parliament. Women, 
particularly in villages and rural areas, nevertheless still faced 
pervasive human rights violations and remained uninformed of their 
rights under the law and constitution.
    There were no regulations explicitly outlawing domestic violence 
and no accurate statistics for the number of women affected by domestic 
violence. The director of the Women's Skills Development Center, which 
runs a shelter for victims of domestic violence, noted that it occurs 
in most homes but goes largely unreported due to societal acceptance of 
the practice. Domestic violence usually occurs in the form of beating 
of women and children and, less often, in the burning of women by other 
family members. During the year the AIHRC initiated additional efforts 
to collect statistics on violence against women. In a one-month pilot 
project 96 cases were reported in the cities of Kabul and Kandahar, 
compared to only 362 cases reported through existing channels 
nationwide. The Government, with the help of the United Nations 
Population Fund, also established its first special police unit to 
address the needs of women and children. The unit, which was created in 
January, was designed to provide assistance to victims of violence 
against women and children. Policewomen staffed the unit and kept 
complaints confidential.
    According to Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), four 
shelters in Kabul were home to more than 100 women and girls. The 
centers were supported by the MOWA and other agencies and were designed 
to give protection, accommodation, food, training, and healthcare to 
women who were escaping violence in the home or were seeking legal 
support due to family feuds. According to the MOWA up to 20 women and 
girls were referred to the MOWA's legal department every day. But space 
at the specialized shelters was limited. Many of the women who could 
not find a place in the four secure hostels in Kabul end up in prison. 
One shelter in Kabul reported that while it only had capacity for 20 
women, it held 26 women and 8 children during the year. Approximately 
120 women and girls have passed through the shelter seeking refuge 
since its opening in 2003.
    Some women's advocacy groups reported informal intervention from 
the central government in the form of letters to their local courts 
explaining domestic and Shari'a law in favor of several women facing 
trial for domestic violence cases or forced marriages.
    The law criminalizes rape, which is punishable by death, although 
this punishment did not extend to spousal rape. According to the MOI 
260 cases of rape were reported during the year. Of those, 146 cases 
were of rape against females and 114 cases were of rape against males. 
The MOI reported 409 arrests in connection with rape cases; however, 
statistics on convictions were not available. Rapes were difficult to 
document in view of the associated social stigma against the victims of 
rape; however, rape against women and boys and domestic violence 
against women remained serious problems. The majority of rape cases 
were never reported because victims face stringent societal reprisal, 
often being deemed unfit for marriage or even punished as a result of 
having been raped.
    In northern areas, commanders targeted women, especially from 
Pashtun families, for sexual violence. In 2005 there were at least four 
credible reports of soldiers and commanders loyal to local warlords 
raping girls, boys, and women in provinces in the eastern, northern, 
and central part of the country. In one of these cases police arrested 
two perpetrators, but the case remained open at year's end. A total of 
21 such cases were reported to the AIHRC during 2005. During the year 
an additional 12 were reported. The MOI recorded 134 cases of rape 
against women and 103 cases of rape against boys.
    Societal violence against women persisted, including beatings, 
rapes, forced marriages, kidnappings, and honor killings. Such 
incidents generally went unreported, and most information on the abuse 
was anecdotal. For example in November 2005 Farid Majid Naia beat and 
killed his wife Nadia Anjuman, a poet, in Herat. While Naia admitted 
beating Anjuman, he claimed he stopped before she died. Naia claimed 
Anjuman ingested poison, but he did not allow an autopsy. There was no 
available information about the ongoing investigation against Naia at 
year's end. Forced marriages were often intertwined in a cycle of 
violence and family problems for continuing generations. For example 
the AIHRC reported the case of a Kabul family in which the husband 
repeatedly beat his wife over a period of 25 years. The couple's four-
year-old daughter was diagnosed with psychological problems as a result 
of witnessing the violence, and the 20-year-old son eventually ran away 
from home.
    According to NGO reports hundreds of thousands of women continued 
to suffer abuse at the hands of their husbands, fathers, brothers, 
armed individuals, parallel legal systems, and institutions of state 
such as the police and justice system. Violence against women was 
widely tolerated by the community and is widely practiced. Abusers were 
rarely prosecuted and investigations were rarely carried out for 
complaints of violent attacks, rape, murders, or suicides of women. If 
the case did come to court, the accused were often exonerated or 
punished lightly. Women who reported rape face being locked up and 
accused of having committed crimes of zina.
    Forced marriages continued to be a widespread problem. Previous 
AIHRC reporting estimated that 60 to 80 percent of all marriages were 
forced. The AIHRC estimated that approximately 40 percent of marriages 
were forced, and distinguished this category from another 20 percent of 
marriages that were ``arranged,'' in which the woman was not allowed to 
choose her own spouse but may opt not to marry the man chosen for her 
by her family. During the year the AIHRC recorded 213 cases of forced 
marriages. There were 106 reported cases of self-immolation, several of 
which were women protesting a forced marriage.
    Exchanging or selling women or girls remained a customary method of 
resolving disputes or satisfying debts, even though it was outlawed by 
Presidential decree. For example, according to the UN Development Fund 
for Women (UNIFEM), Rosina, 18, was sold into marriage by her father to 
a man in his fifties. When she refused she was beaten.
    During the year the AIHRC recorded 41 cases of women being given to 
another family to settle disputes; however, the AIHRC believes the 
number of actual cases to be much higher. In the early part of the 
year, there was a very high-profile case involving a 13-year-old who 
was engaged to the son of an influential politician in Badakhshan 
province. She refused to marry the man and was threatened with stoning 
by residents of her village. The case eventually went to the Supreme 
Court; however, quiet negotiations involving local and central 
government led the case to be dropped and mediated informally. The girl 
did not have to marry the politician's son.
    Honor killings also continued to be a problem. The AIHRC documented 
a total of 50 cases throughout the year. During the year the AIHRC 
reported a case in which a girl was raped by her brother. A resulting 
pregnancy forced the girl to reveal the incident to her parents. In 
order to save the family's reputation the parents set the girl on fire. 
She died three days later. At year's end authorities had not 
investigated this case. There were no further developments in the 
December 2005 case of an honor killing in the Watapour District of 
Konar Province.
    According to MOI statistics at year's end there were 234 women 
detained around the country, of which 172 had been convicted and 
sentenced to jail time, while the remaining 62 had not yet had trials. 
Many women were imprisoned at the request of a family member, including 
those incarcerated for opposing the wishes of the family in the choice 
of a marriage partner, on adultery charges, or bigamy charges from 
husbands who originally granted a divorce but changed their minds when 
the divorced wife remarried. Women also faced bigamy charges from 
husbands who had deserted their wives and then reappeared after the 
wives had remarried. Many imprisoned women were also accused of 
murdering their husbands.
    In 2005 police in Ghazni Province discovered Agela, a 13-year-old 
girl who was sentenced to five years in prison after her much-older, 
former husband had the girl and her new husband arrested. At five years 
of age, Agela's family had married her to a 55-year-old man. When Agela 
was eight, the man changed his mind about the marriage and arranged for 
Agela to marry a younger man. She obtained a divorce and remarried. 
However, after returning from two years in Pakistan, the older man 
changed his mind and had her and her new husband arrested.
    Some women resided in detention facilities because they had run 
away from home due to domestic violence or the prospect of forced 
marriage. Several girls between the ages of 17 and 21 years of age 
remained detained in Pol-e-Charkhi prison because they were captured 
after fleeing abusive forced marriages.
    The concept of women's shelters was still not widely accepted in 
society, as many people treated them with distrust and did not 
understand their utility. As a result, many of the shelters were not in 
publicly disclosed locations. Policewomen trained to help victims of 
domestic violence complained that they were instructed to do no 
outreach to victims but simply to wait for victims to show up at police 
stations. This significantly hindered their work as reporting domestic 
violence was largely not socially accepted. On January 24 UNIFEM 
reported that a new Family Response Unit dealing with family violence, 
children in trouble, and female victims of crime started operating in 
Kabul. It allowed policewomen to address violence and crimes towards 
women and children; interrogate, detain, and investigate female 
suspects; and provide support to female victims of crime and ensure the 
security of women in communities.
    There were growing concerns about women committing self-immolation, 
most often to escape from oppressive family circumstances such as 
forced marriage. Although comprehensive statistics remained 
unavailable, the AIHRC documented at least 106 cases of self-immolation 
nationwide this year, and other organizations have reported an overall 
increase over the past two years. According to the AIHRC, Herat 
demonstrated the highest number of documented cases; however, AIHRC 
officers believed that incidence was actually higher in Kandahar 
province, although fewer cases were reported because it was less 
acceptable in more conservative areas like Kandahar to draw public 
attention to family disputes. In Herat the average number of cases was 
18 to 20 per month but not all were formally reported. The AIHRC found 
most self-immolations occurred to escape abusive marriages and to avoid 
marrying husbands that the victims did not want to marry. UNIFEM 
reported that over 65 percent of the 50,000 widows in Kabul view 
suicide as their only option to staying in abusive or forced marriages.
    Prostitution was illegal but common. Many observers, journalists, 
and international organizations also believed that ``temporary 
marriages'' were a form of prostitution. Temporary marriages allowed 
for short-term marriages, from a day to a few months, in exchange for a 
dowry. Some Chinese restaurants were believed to serve as fronts for 
brothels where prostitutes were solicited.
    Trafficking in persons remained a growing problem. The Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) reported that there was an increase in the trafficking in women 
for commercial sexual exploitation during the year (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    There was no law specifically prohibiting sexual harassment. Sexual 
harassment of Muslim women was not generally viewed as socially 
acceptable. There were reports of harassment of foreign women.
    The MOWA is the primary government agency responsible for assessing 
and combating the needs of women and had provincial offices open in 
most provinces; however, the organization suffered from a severe lack 
of capacity and clear definition of how it could best meet the needs of 
women. Several international organizations and foreign embassies were 
working to address its funding and capacity needs. The (MOFA) also had 
a unit that deals with women's issues.
    While local family and property law is not explicitly 
discriminatory towards women, in most parts of the country where 
knowledge of the actual law was minimal, elders relied on Shari'a law 
and tribal custom, which often was discriminatory towards women. For 
example rape cases require that a woman produce multiple witnesses to 
the incident while the man can simply claim that it was consensual sex 
often convicting the woman of adultery without any witnesses. On the 
whole, women reported having little to no access to justice at all in 
tribal shuras, where all presiding elders were men, and women in some 
villages were not allowed to approach them for dispute resolution. 
Discrimination against women in some areas was particularly harsh. Some 
local authorities excluded women from all employment outside the home, 
apart from the traditional work of women in agriculture; in some areas, 
women were forbidden to leave the home except in the company of a male 
relative (see section 2.d.). In 2005 according to the Institute for 
Media, Policy and Civil Society, women in Logar were prohibited from 
traveling to the area of town where a community radio station was 
based, and male journalists often were not allowed to interview women 
for their reports. Also in 2005 in Paktika Province, female 
parliamentary candidates reported that women were not allowed to leave 
their homes, were forbidden from attending schools, and needed the 
permission of their male elders to conduct activities outside the home. 
UNAMA reported that male relatives had forbidden some female students 
in Kabul from attending universities outside the country. During the 
year fewer girls were permitted to attend school in the southern 
provinces than in other parts of the country.
    In 2004 the Government established the first unit of female police, 
and small numbers of women began to join the police force during the 
year. However, there were reports that female police officers found it 
difficult to be accepted as equals among their colleagues. For example 
in 2005, six female police officers in Kunduz faced discrimination and 
hostility, and spent the first four months on the job cleaning the 
police station. They were paid $60 (3,000 AFNs), $10 dollars (495 AFNs) 
less than their official salary, and they were forced to wear burqas 
over their uniforms under threats of violence. The MOI reported that 
female recruitment was difficult because of cultural differences. 
Female officers often complained of disparate treatment by superiors 
and a lack of respect from their colleagues. There was one female 
Brigadier General among the ranks of the ANP.
    While some women continued out of personal choice to wear the 
burqa, many other women felt compelled to wear one out of fear of 
harassment, violence, or bringing shame to their families. Cases of 
local authorities policing aspects of women's appearance to conform to 
a conservative interpretation of Islam and local custom continued to 
diminish.
    The Department of Commerce had a Department of Women's 
Entrepreneurship. Several women served on the board of the Chamber of 
Commerce.

    Children.--The Government demonstrated an increasing commitment and 
willingness to address the concerns of vulnerable children and their 
families; however, a report released early this year by the AIHRC 
asserted that the country's civil code did not adequately address the 
rights of the child independent of family or property management 
issues. On May 16, the Government launched its National Strategy for 
Children at Risk (NSFCAR), which was designed by the Ministry of 
Martyrs, Disabled and Social Affairs, with support from UNICEF and 
other partners, in order to improve care for vulnerable children and 
families.
    The law makes education up to the secondary level mandatory, and 
provides for free education up to the college, or bachelor's degree 
level. According to the MOE there were 9033 basic and secondary 
schools. Local authorities made some progress in school attendance. A 
back-to-school campaign launched by the MOE increased school enrollment 
from 4.2 million children in 2003 to over 5.2 million during the year. 
This year UNICEF estimates that two million children (54 percent) were 
out of school, including 1.3 million girls. According to figures from 
the MOE, 40 percent of teachers were professionally accredited.
    The MOE estimated female attendance at 40 percent this year. UNICEF 
estimates break this down further to show that 40 percent of girls 
attended primary school, while only 5 percent went on to attend 
secondary school. The World Bank and many NGOs estimated female 
attendance at 32 to 35 percent. Estimates of female literacy varied 
from 5 to 13 percent.
    In most of the country girls' enrollment may have increased as a 
result of international donor efforts in school rehabilitation, teacher 
training, and increased education provision using NGOs. Current 
accurate nationwide enrollment information was not available at the end 
of the year. Nearly a third of districts and some provinces had no 
schools for girls to attend, and even in secure areas such as Kabul, 
some male family members did not allow girls to attend school. Even 
though the number of girls attending school increased, large 
disparities in access still remained from province to province, with 
enrollment as low as 15 percent in some areas.
    In most regions boys and girls attended primary classes together, 
but were separated for intermediate and high school level education. 
According to the UN schools continued struggling with high drop-out 
rates and serious shortages of teachers, especially female teachers. 
The MOE reported that, on average, girls in cities stopped attending 
school after completing high school and, in the villages, girls stopped 
attending school at the age of 12 and 13.
    Violence continued to impede access to education in some parts of 
the country where Taliban and other extremists threatened or physically 
attacked schools, officials, teachers and students, especially in 
girls' schools. The majority of school-related violence occurred in 11 
provinces in the south (Helmand, Farah, Zabul, Kandahar, Uruzgan, 
Ghazni) and the border region (Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Kunar, Logar). 
The MOE reported that 198 schools were attacked during the year and a 
total of 370 schools had been closed during the year due to attacks, 
preventing almost 220,000 students from receiving an education.
    On January 3, militants beheaded Malim Abdul Habib, the headmaster 
of a coed high school in Zabul province. Prior to his murder, Habib had 
also been warned to stop teaching girls at the school. In July 
militants abducted six teachers and blindfolded and beat them. Also in 
July a time bomb killed a female student at Herat University. On August 
8, unknown attackers kidnapped the district-level director of education 
from the district of Qarabagh in Ghazni province. He was found dead two 
days later, having been beaten and shot. His assailants had apparently 
warned him to stop educating girls prior to killing him, but he had 
refused. ``Night letters,'' a common form of intimidation by posting 
anonymous letters issuing threats around a town during the late hours, 
have also surfaced threatening the female provincial Director of 
Education for Ghazni, Fatima Mushtaq. On December 9, two female 
teachers were killed in Kunar province. According to press reports the 
two women had received death threats warning them to stop educating 
girls but had refused to obey. Gunmen reportedly entered their home and 
killed the two teachers, along with three other family members. At 
year's end the Government was still investigating this case.
    According to a HRW report on attacks on schools, there were entire 
districts where attacks by Taliban and other insurgents led to the 
closing of all schools. In others female pupils were being withdrawn 
because of a lack of security. Even more common were threatening 
``night letters,'' alone or preceding actual attacks, distributed in 
mosques, around schools, and on routes taken by students and teachers, 
warning them against attending school and making credible threats of 
violence. Physical attacks or threats against schools and their staff 
caused schools to close, either because the building was destroyed or 
because the teachers and students were too afraid to attend. Schools in 
the surrounding area frequently shut down as well. Afghan education 
officials have stated that attacks averaged one school a day. In areas 
where students did attend school, the quality of education was 
extremely low. Where schools did remain open, parents were often afraid 
to send their children--in particular, girls-?to school.
    Children did not have adequate access to health care; only one 
children's hospital existed in the country, and it was not readily 
accessible to those outside Kabul. Infant mortality statistics remained 
bleak. UNICEF estimated that one child out of four did not survive to 
his or her fifth birthday. A Ministry of Health survey revealed that 54 
percent of children under age five were chronically malnourished.
    Child abuse was endemic throughout the country, ranging from 
general neglect, physical abuse, abandonment, and confinement to work 
in order to pay off family debts. For example, in 2005 a six-year-old 
girl's parents traded her to another family to work as a housemaid 
after the girl's brother backed out of an engagement with that family's 
daughter. Although against the law, corporal punishment at schools was 
not uncommon. Some children reportedly had their hands struck while 
others were tied and had the soles of their feet beaten. According to 
July news reports, a nine-year-old girl in Herat was beaten so many 
times in school she was scared to go back. According to a recent UNHCR 
report, the practice of using young boys as objects of pleasure by 
commanders, tribal leaders, and others was more than a rare occurrence. 
Such relations were often coercive and opportunistic in that more 
influential, older men were taking advantage of the poor economic 
situation of some families and young males, leaving them with little 
choice. There were also a few documented cases of abduction of young 
boys for sexual exploitation by commanders. The MOI recorded at least 
130 cases of rape of young boys during the year. There were no child 
labor laws or other legislation to protect child abuse victims (see 
section 6.d.).
    Prevention of child abuse was addressed in the NSFCAR. The Ministry 
of Public Health trained over 1,600 health workers on prevention of 
child abuse and violence against children. UNICEF and Save the Children 
supported the MOE's efforts to prevent violence in schools by doing 
workshops on alternatives to corporal punishment and degrading children 
to encourage good behavior. The Government also participated in the 
South Asia Regional Consultation on Violence Against Children in both 
2005 and this year.
    The legal age for marriage was 16 for girls and 18 for boys. 
International and local observers estimated that 60 percent of girls 
were married before 16. There is no clear provision in the Criminal 
Procedure Law to penalize those who arrange forced or underage 
marriages. Article 99 of the Law on Marriage states that marriage of a 
minor may be conducted by a guardian. Measures were taken to 
standardize the legal age for marriage for both boys and girls. At 
year's end, the AIHRC and women and child advocacy groups had 
negotiated a draft law that would change the legal age of marriage for 
both girls and boys to 18. At year's end, the draft legislation had not 
yet been passed.
    Previous draft legislation set the legal age at 18 for boys but 17 
for girls. According to 2005 UN and government figures, most marriages 
continued to involve girls below the age of 16, many of them forced. 
Surveys conducted by the AIHRC found that many girls aged six to seven 
were forced to marry men several decades older. In June the Government 
set up a working group on ``early and forced marriages'' under the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) and the Ministry of 
Martyrs and Disabled (MOMD). Additionally President Karzai made several 
public statements that it was an unjust practice that was contrary to 
Islam.
    The AIHRC conducted a study on child sexual abuse this year 
revealed that girls were more vulnerable than boys. Sixty percent of 
child sexual abuse victims were girls, whereas 35 percent were boys 
(the remainder of victims surveyed did not record their gender). 
Eighteen percent of respondents knew of other children who had suffered 
sexual abuse. Five percent of victims said a female cousin had been 
sexually abused, and 2.7 percent of victims said a male cousin had also 
been sexually abused. When asked where the abuse took place, 45.5 
percent of child victims had been sexually abused at home. Abuse in 
alleys or villages (27 percent), by shopkeepers in stores (10.8 
percent), mountainous areas (8.3 percent), and hotels (2.7) percent was 
also common. Only 29 percent of victims had approached relevant 
authorities for help after the abuse, citing a lack of trust in the 
judicial system, fear of consequences and lack of family permission as 
the main reasons. Only 35 percent of victims who did file complaints 
were satisfied with the outcome. Article 427 of the penal code reads 
that ``any person who conducts adultery or sodomy with a female or 
sodomy with a male shall be sentenced to lengthened imprisonment in 
accordance with the circumstances.'' Article 247 authorizes lengthened 
punishment (not to exceed ten years), ``if the victim has not attained 
the age of 18.'' Article 430 more explicitly criminalizes sexual 
exploitation of children: ``Any person who incites a male or female, 
who has not completed the age of 18, to engaging in debauchery as a 
profession or facilitates such an engagement, shall be sentenced to 
intermediate imprisonment, no less than three years.''
    While there were no documented cases of child trafficking during 
the year, most experts believe the practice was widespread and 
continued to be a problem during the year (see section 5, Trafficking).
    A 2003 Presidential decree prohibited the recruitment of children 
and young persons under the age of 22 into the army; in the middle of 
the year the legal recruitment age was changed to 18. There were 
unconfirmed reports of children under 18 falsifying their 
identification records to join the national security forces, which was 
a large-scale source of new employment opportunities during the year. 
There were no reports of forced child conscription. UNICEF maintained 
that efforts to assist the Government in creating a national birth 
registry and ID system would greatly mitigate this problem.
    Beginning in 2004 an estimated 8,000 former child soldiers were 
demobilized under a UNICEF-initiated program. This year UNICEF 
supported educational and skills training for over 3,750 demobilized 
child soldiers and other war-affected children (1,162 of which were 
girls) in eight provinces. Since 2004 over 12,090 children affected by 
war have been supported through UNICEF's reintegration project in 28 
provinces.
    Child labor remained a problem (see section 6.d.). According to 
UNICEF estimates, at least 20 percent of primary school age children 
undertake some form of work.
    Living conditions for children in orphanages were not satisfactory, 
and they did not have access to health services, recreational 
facilities, or stimulation. According to a study conducted by UNICEF 
and MOLSA in 2003, 8,000 children were living in residential care 
facilities. The MOLSA operated 52 orphanages across the country. UNICEF 
estimates that some 80 percent of the 8,000 children currently living 
in orphanages have at least one living parent. Thus, the NSFCAR 
strongly advocates for taking most children out of these orphanages and 
promoting community-based care options; however, the existing capacity 
of social workers and child welfare services was extremely weak.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in 
persons; however, traffickers could be prosecuted under other laws, 
including statutes against kidnapping. In late 2005 the AIHRC worked 
with the Government to draft a National Plan of Action that included 
benchmarks and objectives for each governmental organization to work 
towards. One of those objectives included having the country removed 
from the UN blacklist. The country was a source and transit point for 
trafficked persons. Trafficked children were believed to most 
frequently be sent to Pakistan, Iran, and the Gulf states for 
commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, or camel jockeying. The 
lack of systematic monitoring prevented a quantitative assessment of 
the scale of the problem. What little data were available suggested 
that trafficking in children, mainly boys for labor, was the 
predominant form of trafficking across borders. Buying and selling of 
women and girls also continued. Internal trafficking of children for 
commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, and bonded labor 
remained a problem. There were no official estimates of the number of 
children involved in the sale and trafficking of drugs, however 
children under 18 have been arrested for drug trafficking related 
charges (see section 6.d). The Government did little to combat 
trafficking in persons, mainly as a result of a lack of capacity in the 
Government, a corrupt, weak judicial system, and the poor security 
situation. The MOI reported 231 cases of trafficking during the year 
for which 340 people were arrested. There were no available statistics 
on convictions.
    There were continued reports of poor families promising young girls 
in marriage to satisfy family debts. There were a number of reports 
that children, particularly from the south and southeast, were 
trafficked to Pakistan to work in factories, or internally for 
commercial sexual exploitation in brothels.
    A 2005 Presidential decree mandates the death penalty for child 
traffickers convicted of murder and provides for lengthened prison 
terms for child traffickers. Although prosecutions of traffickers 
reportedly continued to increase, and the Government devoted greater 
attention to trafficking in persons during the year, prosecution of 
perpetrators also continued to be inconsistent. At year's end work on a 
new trafficking in persons law was pending completion. Between March 
and December 2005, the AIHRC and UNICEF received more than 150 reports 
of child trafficking, and reported approximately 50 arrests of child 
traffickers. The AIHRC tracked and investigated cases of child 
abduction and worked to assist in international investigations of 
trafficking. The MOI, MOLSA, and MOFA have units responsible for 
monitoring and combating trafficking issues. There is an inter-
ministerial committee on trafficking comprised of these ministries as 
well as the MOJ, MOWA, MRA, Ministry of Refugees and Returnees, and 
Ministry of Finance.
    Some government officials were believed to be involved in 
trafficking in persons, particularly border guards who took bribes to 
allow traffickers to cross into Iran and Pakistan with victims and 
officials who issued false marriage licenses to traffickers.
    Trafficking victims, especially those trafficked for sexual 
exploitation, faced societal discrimination, particularly in their home 
villages. The country did not have a shelter dedicated for trafficking 
victims, and some adult victims were arrested and jailed for engaging 
in prostitution.
    In 2005 authorities repatriated 317 children from Saudi Arabia, 
Pakistan, Zambia, UAE and Oman. The MOLSA, with the assistance of 
UNICEF, set up a transit center to assist with these returns, and other 
agencies such as the AIHRC helped with the children's reunification and 
reintegration.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law requires the state to assist 
persons with disabilities and protect their rights, including 
healthcare and financial protection under the constitution. The 
Government took no measures to mandate accessibility to buildings for 
persons with disabilities.
    According to the MOMD sample surveys estimated a total disabled 
population of 2 million persons, 25 percent of whom had disabilities 
caused by the country's two-and-a-half decades of conflict. Domestic 
NGOs offered privately funded trade classes. Although community-based 
health and rehabilitation committees continued to provide services to 
approximately 100,000 persons, their activities were restricted to 60 
out of 330 districts, as a result they were able to assist only a small 
number of those in need. The MOMD worked within the framework of the UN 
Development Program's National Program for Action and Disability (NPAD) 
to coordinate and develop policy strategies that create employment 
opportunities, access to education, health care, and greater mobility 
for disabled citizens; however, during the year, the MOMD reported that 
the scope of NPAD was greatly reduced due to a lack of funds. Ministry 
services currently extend to only 16 of the 34 provinces. Disabled 
groups repeatedly protested the inaction of the minister for the 
martyred and disabled.
    The Afghanistan Landmine Monitor Report stated that the 
rehabilitation and reintegration needs of mine survivors and other 
persons with disabilities also were not being met. For every one person 
with a disability who received assistance, 100 more reportedly did not 
receive assistance. Disability services existed in only 20 of the 34 
provinces.
    In the Meshrano Jirga two of the 34 seats appointed by the 
President were reserved for persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--During the year claims of 
social discrimination against Hazaras and other Shi'as continued. The 
Hazaras accused President Karzai, a Pashtun, of providing preferential 
treatment to Pashtuns and of ignoring minorities, especially Hazaras. 
There were no further developments in the 2004 accusation by Pashtuns 
in Herat Province that then governor, ethnic Tajik Ismail Khan, 
discriminated against and abused their ethnic group. The nomadic Kuchis 
expressed concern that the voter registration process underrepresented 
their population; however, the Government and the Joint Electoral 
Management Body worked to address their concerns.
    A recent UNHCR paper reported that while attempts were made to 
address the problems faced by ethnic minorities and there were 
improvements in some areas, there was still a well-founded fear of 
persecution. Confiscation and illegal occupation of land by commanders 
caused displacement in isolated situations. Discrimination, at times 
amounting to persecution, by local commanders and local power-holders 
continued in some areas, in the form of extortion of money through 
illegal taxation, forced recruitment and force labor, physical abuses 
and detention. Other forms of discrimination concerned access to 
education, political representation and civil service employment.
    Also according to a recent UNHCR report, while Ismailis were not 
generally targeted or seriously discriminated against, they continued 
to be exposed to risks. In Baghlan Province, local commanders occupied 
or confiscated and then sold Ismaili land, and Ismailis were unable to 
reclaim their property. The Baghlan provincial court and other 
provincial authorities refused to dispense justice for Ismailis in 
land-related cases. Ismailis faced illegal taxation and extortion by 
local commanders. In Tala-wa-Barfak District, cases of rape of Ismaili 
women have been reported, with perpetrators acting with impunity.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law criminalizes 
homosexual activity; however, the prohibition was only sporadically 
enforced. However, a recent UNHCR report noted that, homosexual persons 
commonly hid their sexual orientation. Many observers believed that 
societal disapproval of homosexuality was partly the cause for the 
prevalence of rape of young boys. During the year the Taliban published 
a new set of rules that explicitly forbade the recruitment of young 
boys for sexual pleasure.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides broad provisions for 
protection of workers; however, little was known about their 
enforcement. Labor rights were not understood outside of the Ministry 
of Labor, and workers were not aware of their rights. There was no 
effective central authority to enforce them. The largest employers in 
Kabul were the minimally functioning ministries and local and 
international NGOs. Labor law does allow unionization and the formation 
of associations that pursue mutual vocational interests.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--As a 
consequence of 25 years of war, occupation, and civil strife, the 
industrial base was long since erased by the time the Taliban fell in 
2001; the social role of unions was ruined along with the economy. 
There was only one semi-active union, the Central Council National 
Union Afghanistan Employees (CCNUAE). This union was a Soviet-era 
organization, which formally separated from the Government after the 
fall of the Taliban. CCNUAE reported membership of 200,000 government 
workers and employees of state-owned enterprises. As a practical 
matter, this membership was more theoretical than real; most government 
workers did not consider themselves members of CCNUAE, and according to 
CCNUAE, fewer than 40 percent paid dues. The union survived mostly on 
proceeds from real properties and other investments. The Government 
allowed CCNUAE to operate without interference. The country lacked a 
tradition of genuine labor-management bargaining, and the law does not 
provide for the right to strike. There were no known labor courts or 
other mechanisms for resolving labor disputes. Wages were determined by 
market forces, or, in the case of government workers, dictated by the 
Government.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5, Children). There 
were reports of women being given away as laborers to other family in 
order to settle disputes.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law recognizes the standard legal age for work as 15, but there are 
provisions for 13 and 14-year-olds to work as apprentices, provided 
they only work 35 hours per week. Children under 13 may not work under 
any circumstances. There was, however, no evidence that authorities in 
any part of the country enforced labor laws relating to the employment 
of children. In 2005 UNICEF reported there was an estimated one million 
child laborers under the age of 14 in the country. UNICEF estimate, at 
least 20 percent of primary school age children undertake some form of 
work. An AIHRC report released this year estimated that most child 
laborers worked as street vendors (13 percent) or shop keepers (21 
percent). Other common forms of labor were workshop hands, blacksmiths, 
farming, auto repair and tailoring. In cities, a larger proportion of 
child laborers were involved in collecting paper, scrap metal, and 
firewood; shining shoes; and begging. Some of these practices exposed 
children to the danger of landmines. Eighty-six percent of child 
laborers were boys, and 14 percent were girls.
    While no statistics exist, children under 18 have been arrested for 
drug trafficking related charges. AIHRC reported that in Kabul there 
were about 60,000 child laborers, the majority of whom migrated to the 
city from other provinces. Many of them worked under unscrupulous 
employers who subjected the children to sexual exploitation and forced 
labor. UNHCR reported that many children worked on the streets of 
Kabul, Jalalabad, and Mazar-i-Sharif with numbers increasing. The child 
labor force was predominantly boys aged 8-14 with a smaller number of 
girls 8-10 years old.
    According to a UNHCR report, the majority of child laborers were 
involved in domestic work. MOLSA officials reported that the Government 
was working to tackle the problem of child labor. The NSFARC addressed 
child labor and demanded the creation of diversified services for 
vulnerable families to prevent family separation and exploitation of 
children. MOE efforts in promoting universal basic education also 
contributed to the prevention of exploitative child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--No information existed regarding 
a statutory minimum wage or maximum workweek, or the enforcement of 
safe labor practices. Many employers allotted workers time off for 
prayers and observance of religious holidays. Minimum wage was 5,000 
Afghani per month (approximately U.S. $100/month), including a stipend 
for lunch and transportation expenses. The law provides workers the 
right to receive wages, annual vacation time in addition to national 
holidays, health compensation for injuries suffered in the line of 
work, overtime pay, health insurance for the employee and immediate 
family members, per diem for official trips, daily transportation, food 
allowances, night shift differentials, retirement rights, and 
compensation for funeral expenses in case of death while performing 
official duties. Article 30 of the Labor Rights Law defines the 
standard workweek as 40 hours per week, 8 hours per day with one hour 
for lunch and noon prayers. Reduced standard workweeks were stipulated 
for youth, pregnant women, breast feeding mothers, miners and other 
occupations that present health risks to laborers. Enforcement 
mechanisms for these laws remained weak and citizens were not generally 
aware of the full extent of their labor rights under the law.

                               __________

                               BANGLADESH

    Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy of 147 million citizens. 
Khaleda Zia, head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), stepped 
down as prime minister on October 27 when her five-year term of office 
expired, and she transferred power to a caretaker government that would 
prepare for general elections in 2007. The civilian authorities 
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
    The Government's human rights record remained poor, and the 
Government continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Extrajudicial 
killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, and politically motivated 
violence were among the most egregious violations. Security forces 
acted with impunity, and committed acts of physical and psychological 
torture. In addition violence against journalists continued, as did 
infringement on religious freedoms. Government corruption remained a 
significant problem. Violence against women and children also was a 
major problem, as was trafficking in persons.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Security forces 
committed numerous extrajudicial killings. The police, Bangladesh 
Rifles (BDR), and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) used unwarranted 
lethal force.
    Although there was a decrease in the number of killings by security 
personnel (see section 1.c.), nearly all incidents received only 
administrative investigation. According to local human rights 
organizations, no case resulted in criminal punishment, and in the few 
instances in which charges were levied, punishment of those found 
guilty was predominantly administrative. The resulting climate of 
impunity remained a serious obstacle to ending abuse and killings. 
According to press reports and law enforcement agencies, the RAB, a 
paramilitary group composed of personnel from different law enforcement 
agencies, killed 355 persons. The deaths, all under unusual 
circumstances, occurred to accused persons while in custody or during 
police operations; however, the Government described the deaths of some 
identified criminals as occurring in exchanges of gunfire between the 
RAB or police and criminal gangs.
    ``Crossfire'' became a euphemism in the local media for 
extrajudicial killings, particularly by the RAB. Press reports of 
crossfire followed a similar pattern: members of the RAB arrested or 
ambushed suspects, who were then killed in the crossfire as they tried 
to escape. Law enforcement officials were responsible for 355 deaths, 
290 of which were attributed to crossfire. The RAB was responsible for 
181 crossfire deaths; members of the police were responsible for 100; 
other security forces were responsible for nine crossfire deaths. Since 
2004 when the Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs 
stated that crossfire under RAB or police custody could not be 
considered custodial death, no member of the RAB has been prosecuted 
for a killing. According to press reports, citizens filed 145 formal 
complaints against the RAB this year. At year's end 45 of these had 
been dismissed and the rest were pending.
    Between January and April, security forces killed 17 people and 
injured over 100 civilians in Kansat, Chapainawabgonj, during 
demonstrations against electricity shortages. The deputy inspector 
general of police of Rajshahi Division dismissed Shahabuddin Khalipha, 
officer-in-charge of the Shibiganj police station, for his role in the 
deaths.
    On March 9, members of the RAB shot and killed Iman Ali as he was 
leaving his court hearing. The RAB unit claimed that Ali was killed in 
a crossfire shooting, but witnesses contested this claim. On March 22, 
Iman's brother Nazrul Islam lodged a petition with the Metropolitan 
Session Judge's Court, alleging that his brother was killed by the RAB. 
As of year's end, there had been no investigation of this case.
    On September 1, according to the Asia Human Rights Commission 
(AHRC), members of the RAB shot and killed Abdul Hawladar and Md Shamin 
in Khulna. The RAB claimed that Hawladar and Shamin were involved in 
extortion using mobile phones, a charge that local human rights 
observers contested. RAB officials claimed that once they arrested 
Hawladar and Shamin and took them to the Baro Khalpar area, terrorists 
opened fire on the RAB, which responded with gunshots. At year's end 
the Government had taken no action to investigate this case.
    In June the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court issued a 
judicial inquiry into the case of Abdul Kalam Azad in response to a 
petition filed by the family of an Awami League (AL) member killed in 
2005. In May 2005 citizens found the body of an individual named Sumon, 
a member of the opposition AL youth front, in Banosree, a day after his 
arrest by a RAB team in Khilgaon. While eye-witnesses told independent 
human rights investigators that the RAB arrested Sumon at work, RAB 
members said Sumon was working with a gang of criminals and alleged he 
died in crossfire.
    There were no updates for the February 2005 death in custody of 
Delawar Hossain; the July 2005 extrajudicial killing by the detective 
branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) of Khandker Iqbal 
Hossain; or the 2004 extrajudicial killings by RAB forces of Sumon 
Ahmed Majumder and Pichchi Hannan.
    Violence often resulting in deaths was a pervasive element in the 
country's politics (see sections 1.c. and 3). Supporters of different 
political parties, and often supporters of different factions within 
one party, frequently clashed with each other and with police during 
rallies and demonstrations. According to human rights organizations, 
politically motivated violence accounted for 224 deaths and 13,152 
injuries during the year (see sections 1.c., 1.d., and 2.a.).
    On July 2 during an opposition-organized transportation blockade, a 
police officer and an opposition activist were killed in separate 
incidents (see section 2.b.).
    In two incidents in September, clashes between opposition activists 
and police resulted in hundreds of injuries (see section 2.c.).
    On September 23, unknown assailants shot Aftab Ahmad, a Dhaka 
University professor of political science, in his home in Dhaka. He 
later died from his wounds. Aftab was well-known for his progovernment 
political views, and police suspected a political motive for the 
attack. At year's end no action had been taken on this case.
    There were several developments regarding the January 2005 deaths 
of former finance minister and AL leader Shah A.M.S Kibria and four 
others in Habinjanj. In April 2005 police charged 10 persons, mostly 
local BNP leaders, for their alleged involvement in the attack. Eight 
of the 10 were arrested, and the remaining two remained at large. 
During the year the case against the eight persons arrested went before 
the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal. During the trial the 
complainant, Abdul Majid Khan, asked the tribunal for reinvestigation 
of the case, which the judge rejected. The following day the tribunal 
judge adjourned the trial because the complainant filed a petition 
asking for a four-week suspension to appeal the rejection for 
reinvestigation to the Supreme Court. On November 7, the Supreme Court 
hearing began.
    On September 3, police arrested four members of the banned militant 
Islamist organization Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) for complicity in 
the 2004 bombing of a Muslim shrine in Sylhet. One of the four people 
arrested admitted involvement in the Kibria murder. Press reports 
alleged that the HuJi planned to kill top AL leaders as part of a plan 
to kill secular leaders in the country.
    There was no investigation of charges filed in the May 2005 killing 
of Khorshed Alam Bachchu, who was shot by unknown gunmen near his home 
in Dhaka. Bachchu was the AL's Dhaka legal affairs secretary.
    There were several developments related to the August 2005 
coordinated bombings in 63 of the country's 64 districts, when two 
persons were killed and approximately 100 others were wounded. Leaflets 
found at the sites of the bombings indicated that the Jamiatul 
Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a recently outlawed Islamic militant group 
seeking to impose Islamic law (Shari'a), coordinated the attacks. At 
year's end 698 people had been arrested in connection with these and a 
subsequent series of bombings attributed to the JMB (see section 1.e.). 
The courts issued 32 death sentences, 62 life imprisonment sentences, 
and 59 other sentences of varying durations. Those sentenced to death 
included Bangla Bhai, a vigilante who in 2004 began his own anticrime 
campaign, initially with the support of the police, and later with the 
support of JMB leader Shaikh Abdur Rahman.
    There were several developments regarding the 2004 grenade attack 
at a rally in Dhaka which killed at least 20 persons, including the AL 
women's affairs secretary, Ivy Rahman, and injured several hundred 
others. By the end of 2005, authorities had arrested 20 persons in 
connection with this attack. As of September all but three persons had 
been released, and no charges had been brought against anyone in the 
attack.
    On September 3, police arrested four suspects allegedly involved in 
the 2004 explosion at a Muslim shrine that killed several persons and 
injured dozens of others, including the British high commissioner to 
the country. The four persons arrested later admitted involvement in 
the attack. The four were linked to HuJi. One of the four arrested was 
also linked to the Kibria killing.
    Vigilante killings were common. Newspapers reported 66 such 
incidents in the first eight months of the year. According to newspaper 
reports, on September 11, robbers broke into a house in Banshkhali. A 
neighbor called for help by using the local mosque's speakers, and a 
group of villagers intercepted several of the robbers, killing two and 
injuring a third. On May 18, three persons attempted to steal a 
motorcycle in Sylhet. Local villagers placed a barricade in the road to 
stop the theft, and captured the three muggers. The villagers beat the 
men, and one of them, Selim Ahmed, died the next day from his injuries, 
according to press accounts.
    Violence along the border with India remained a problem. According 
to local human rights organizations, the Indian Border Security Force 
(BSF) killed 147 citizens and injured 144. According to human rights 
organizations, BSF members and Indian-based gangs believed to be 
affiliated with the BSF killed approximately 600 persons and injured 
675 in border villages from January 2000 through year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--Disappearances and kidnappings remained serious 
problems during the year. According to human rights organizations, 411 
people were kidnapped during the year. Of those 48 were kidnapped 
allegedly for political reasons, and five persons were believed to have 
been killed. Child kidnapping for profit also continued to be a 
problem. According to local human rights organizations, during the year 
93 children were kidnapped.
    On May 7, Chhatak police in the Sunamganj district allegedly 
neglected to act on the report of Tera Mian's disappearance. The 
previous night, according to the AHRC, police refused to file a report 
regarding the disappearance after they were informed. On May 8, 
villagers found Mian's body in Haor, and police filed a complaint 
against the alleged perpetrators. According to local human rights 
organizations, police failure to act on the initial report of 
disappearance may have contributed to Mion's death.
    On August 22, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, supporters of the 
United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) engaged in a gunfight with 
supporters of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PSJSS). 
During the clash an armed UPDF group abducted six PSJSS supporters. By 
year's end, all had been released.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the law prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading punishment, security forces, the RAB, and police routinely 
employed severe treatment as well as psychological abuse during arrests 
and interrogations. Abuse consisted of threats and beatings and the use 
of electric shock. According to human rights organizations, security 
forces tortured 45 persons during the year, 14 of whom died. (see 
sections 1.a., 1.d., and 2.a.). The Government rarely charged, 
convicted, or punished those responsible, and a climate of impunity 
allowed such police abuses to continue.
    On February 15, RAB members arrested Asraf Hossain Khan, a local AL 
official in Munshigonj, on suspicion of theft. According to human 
rights organizations, security forces transferred Khan to the Vuggykul 
RAB-8 office, where they blindfolded and beat him. Security forces 
brought Khan to a field outside of town and twice used the threat of a 
staged crossfire death against him. Khan was released after local 
supporters blocked a road into town and demanded his release. A doctor 
who treated Khan verified that he appeared to have been mistreated. No 
charges were filed against the RAB.
    On July 20, members of the RAB arrested and severely injured 
Kishore Kumar Das. The RAB reportedly searched Kishore's house and 
found several tin tobacco containers, which RAB officials said were 
handmade bombs. On July 23, the RAB transferred Kishore to police who 
found Kishore to have severe injuries. The RAB claimed that Kishore was 
injured while attempting to flee at the time of his arrest. The High 
Court Division of the Supreme Court asked that authorities explain the 
grounds on which Kishore was arrested and whether he was held 
illegally. The President of the Bangladeshi nongovernmental 
organization (NGO) Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), Manzil 
Murshid, filed an affidavit as plaintiff against the Government, 
claiming the RAB failed to follow the Code of Criminal Procedures. The 
court directed the law enforcers, specifically the RAB, to follow the 
Code of Criminal Procedures in future arrests.
    On June 22, according to the AHRC, police in Kurigram District 
arrested Tajul Islam. When his brother, Kasim Uddin, went to the police 
station to request Islam's release, the subinspector allegedly kicked 
Uddin in the genitals. Subsequently, other police beat Uddin with 
sticks and boots until he died. Kurigram District officials said they 
arrested and suspended Si Hakim, the police officer in charge. Uddin's 
family reportedly was unable to get a copy of Uddin's report of death 
from Kurigram District Hospital.
    Odhikar, a local human rights NGO, recorded two incidents of rape 
by law enforcement personnel from January to August. Most NGOs believed 
the actual number of sexual assaults was higher than reported due to 
strong social taboos.
    There were developments in the July 2005 rape case against Nurul 
Islam. In July 2005, Nurul Islam, a riot police officer, told a woman 
he found at a bus station in Dhaka that he wanted to hire her as 
domestic help. Instead of escorting her to his home, the officer took 
her to a hotel and raped her with the assistance of a male hotel 
employee. The woman filed a rape case that resulted in the arrests of 
Islam and the hotel employee. At year's end Islam was in jail pending 
trial, and the hotel employee had been released on bail.
    Law enforcement personnel accused of rape and torture generally 
were not investigated. In some cases police detained women in safe 
custody after they reported a rape, but the safe custody often 
translated as confinement in jail cells where they endured poor 
conditions and were sometimes abused and raped again (see section 5).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
abysmal and were a contributing factor to custodial deaths. According 
to press reports, 52 persons died in prison and 162 died while in the 
custody of police and other security forces (see section 1.a.). All 
prisons remained overcrowded and lacked adequate facilities. According 
to the Bangladeshi Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR), 
the existing prison population of 72,013 was more than 250 percent of 
the official prison capacity. Of the entire prison population, 23,659 
had been convicted, but the rest were either awaiting trial or detained 
for investigation. In most cases cells were so crowded that prisoners 
slept in shifts.
    Juveniles were required by law to be detained separately from 
adults; however, in practice due to a lack of facilities, many 
juveniles were incarcerated with adults.
    Although the law prohibits women in safe custody from being housed 
with criminals, in practice, no separate facilities existed.
    In general the Government did not permit prison visits by 
independent human rights monitors, including the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Government-appointed committees of 
prominent private citizens in each prison locality monitored prisons 
monthly but did not release their findings. District judges 
occasionally visited prisons but rarely disclosed their findings.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, authorities frequently violated these 
provisions, even in nonpreventive detention cases. The law specifically 
allows preventive detention, with specified safeguards, and provides 
for the detention of individuals on suspicion of criminal activity 
without an order from a magistrate or a warrant. The Government 
arrested and detained persons arbitrarily and used national security 
legislation such as the 1974 Special Powers Act to detain citizens 
without filing formal charges or specific complaints.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police were organized 
nationally under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) and had a mandate 
to maintain internal security and general law and order. Police were 
generally ineffective, reluctant to investigate persons affiliated with 
the ruling party, and used frequently for political purposes by the 
Government.
    The RAB, a better-equipped paramilitary unit drawing personnel from 
various police units and security agencies, including the military, 
developed plans for overall police reform, but few concrete steps were 
taken to address human rights problems. The RAB committed serious human 
rights violations.
    There was widespread police corruption and a severe lack of 
training and discipline. The police often acted outside the law. For 
example, police frequently beat rickshaw drivers with batons for minor 
infractions or punctured their tires. Victims of police abuse were 
reluctant to file cases against police, as there was no independent 
body charged with investigation of criminal allegations against members 
of the police force. There were no developments during the year 
regarding the legality of the Joint Drive Indemnity Act, which barred 
persons from seeking remuneration for human rights violations that 
occurred during Operation Clean Heart in 2003.
    Police abuse of authority was common. For example, on October 2, 
police entered the National Shooting Federation Complex in Dhaka and 
severely beat 25 club members, including Commonwealth Games gold 
medalist Asif Hossain Khan. The incident began when the wife of police 
Special Branch Deputy Inspector General Sadiqur Rahman had her driver 
park her official vehicle in front of the complex. A security guard 
asked the driver to move, and a fight ensued. According to press 
reports, police, led by Subinspector Jasim and Gulshan Deputy 
Commissioner (DC) Obaidur Rahman Khan, used batons to beat club 
members. Asif was detained along with five others and taken to the 
Gulshan police station. According to Asif the police severely beat 
those detained with sticks. The five were later admitted to the 
hospital with arm fractures, head wounds and other injuries. The police 
filed charges against three club members, including Asif. At year's end 
there has been no investigation of police conduct.
    There were also widespread reports of increased politicization of 
the police. According to media reports, in August the Home Ministry 
sent letters to all district superintendents of police asking for 
analyses of the results of the last three elections, including the 
deficiencies of losing candidates and positive attributes of the 
winners. The superintendents reportedly passed the requests to the 
field for officers to collect the data.
    Police often used unwarranted force to suppress demonstrations. For 
example on March 30, police attacked opposition protestors in Dhaka. 
The protestors were staging a sit-in around the Government secretariat 
building in defiance of a court order banning the demonstration. Police 
initially tried to use batons to disperse the crowd and then fired tear 
gas shells and rubber bullets at demonstrators. Clashes spread from the 
secretariat to other parts of Dhaka as police pursued the protestors. 
Over 100 people, including protestors, police, and journalists, were 
injured in the day-long series of clashes.
    On August 26 in Phulbari, police and members of the BDR opened fire 
on a crowd protesting the establishment of an open-pit coal mine, 
killing five persons and injuring 100 others. After several days of 
violence, the Government began negotiations with the protesters and 
eventually announced the cancellation of the mining project. No charges 
were filed against the police, BDR, or magistrates for the deaths of 
the protesters.
    Plaintiffs rarely accused police in criminal cases due to lengthy 
trial procedures and from fear of retribution against them or their 
families. This created a climate of impunity for police.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law does not provide for the use of 
warrants in all cases. Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code and 
Section 86 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Ordinance provide for 
detention of persons on suspicion of criminal activity without an order 
from a magistrate or a warrant, and the Government regularly arrested 
persons without formal charges or specific complaints. Section 144 
limits gatherings of more than four people. Authorities misused 
ordinances during the year, and mass arrests, often politically 
motivated, continued to occur. According to official statistics, the 
RAB made more than 11,000 arrests since April 2004, including five 
individuals whom the Government termed ``top terrorists'' and 419 
``other terrorists.''
    According to Odhikar, during the year police arrested more than 
3,900 persons under Section 54. According to the local human rights 
organization Ain o Shalish Kendro (ASK), the Government used Section 
144 to ban assemblies of more than four people 164 times during the 
year.
    Authorities sometimes used Sections 54 and 86 to detain persons on 
false charges in order to suppress the expression of views critical of 
or different from those of the Government. According to ASK police in 
Dhaka arrested large numbers of opposition party members prior to 
opposition rallies throughout the year. The law provides for the right 
to a prompt judicial determination; however, this was rarely enforced.
    According to Odhikar police detained 28,651 people in mass arrests 
throughout the year. On June 11, according to 14 local human rights 
organizations, the Government began a program of mass arrests in Dhaka 
ahead of an opposition-organized rally. According to these groups, law 
enforcement officials used block raids and checkpoints to arrest over 
700 people coming to Dhaka to participate in the rally. Human rights 
organizations reported that these persons were later released.
    In September according to local human rights organizations, in 
anticipation of opposition protests in Dhaka, the Government 
indiscriminately arrested hundreds of persons, including opposition 
activists and NGO supporters, on old cases or false charges such as 
theft. Most detainees were released within a few days. Human rights 
organizations reported that the arrests were used to intimidate 
opposition activists from coming to Dhaka to participate in the 
protests.
    In mid-September police throughout the country arrested 172 workers 
at different offices of the NGO Proshika, according to press reports. 
The Government allegedly launched the crackdown because it believed 
Proshika intended to participate in an opposition protest at the Prime 
Minister's office on September 12. The accused were detained on 
suspicion of theft, vandalism, and destruction of property. The 
Government closed 200 offices of Proshika because employees feared 
arrest. All Proshika employees arrested were freed or released on bail 
pending the filing of charges.
    Under the Special Powers Act, the Government or a district 
magistrate may order that a person be detained for 30 days to prevent 
the commission of an act that could threaten national security; 
however, detainees were held for longer periods. In these cases the 
magistrate must inform the detainee of the grounds of his detention, 
and an advisory board is required to examine the detainee's case after 
four months. Detainees had the right to appeal.
    There was a functioning bail system in the regular courts, although 
under certain security and criminal law, a non-bailable period of 
detention existed. Criminal detainees were granted access to attorneys; 
however, detainees were not entitled to be represented by an attorney 
before an advisory board. State-funded defense attorneys rarely were 
provided, and there were few legal aid programs to offer financial 
assistance. Lawyers usually were allowed only after charges were filed. 
Legal representatives were granted access to their clients arrested 
under Section 54, but in practice police rarely allowed lawyers to 
confer with their clients arrested under these sections of the law. 
Arbitrary arrests were common. The Government also used serial 
detentions to prevent the release of political activists (see section 
4).
    The Government used Sections 54 and 86 to harass and intimidate 
members of the political opposition and their families. Police detained 
opposition activists prior to and during demonstrations without citing 
any legal authority, holding them until the event was over (see section 
2.b.).
    It was difficult to estimate the total number of those detained for 
political reasons. Many activists were charged with crimes, and many 
criminals claimed to be political activists. Most such detentions 
appeared to last for several days or weeks, and defendants in most 
cases received bail; however, acquittal or dismissal of wrongful 
charges took years.
    Arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. The 
backlog of criminal cases was approximately 43,000 in Dhaka alone. In 
addition, the Ministry of Law estimated that approximately 1,200 
prisoners had made no court appearance in at least six months, and many 
had served longer in pretrial detention than they would have had they 
been convicted and given the maximum sentences for their alleged 
crimes. According to Odhikhar approximately 75 percent of prison 
inmates were in pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, in practice a longstanding temporary 
provision of the constitution places the lower courts under the 
executive, and the courts were subject to executive influence largely 
because judges' appointments and their pay were dependent on the 
executive. The higher levels of the judiciary displayed some 
independence and often ruled against the Government in criminal, civil, 
and politically controversial cases. Corruption, judicial inefficiency, 
targeted violence against judges, and a large case backlog were serious 
problems.
    In November 2005 a suicide attack killed two judges in Jhalakati. 
Also that month, four suicide attackers killed two policemen at the 
courthouse in Chittagong and several attorneys inside the courthouse in 
Gazipur. In December 2005 unknown assailants attacked the municipal 
complex in Gazipur housing the courthouse. On May 29, an additional 
district and sessions court judge in Barisal gave death sentences to 
seven people, including Bangla Bhai and Shaikh Sabdur Rahman, for their 
roles in the Jhalakati incident (see section 1.a.).
    The court system has two levels: the lower courts and the Supreme 
Court. Both hear civil and criminal cases. The lower courts consist of 
magistrates, who are part of the executive branch, and session and 
district judges, who belong to the judicial branch. The Supreme Court 
is divided into two sections: the high court and the appellate court. 
The high court hears original cases mostly dealing with constitutional 
issues and reviews cases from the lower courts. The appellate court has 
jurisdiction to hear appeals of judgments, decrees, orders, or 
sentences of the high court. Rulings of the appellate court are binding 
on all other courts.
    The Government continued to delay action on the Supreme Court order 
asking that administrative measures be put in place separating the 
judiciary from the executive. In October 2005 the Supreme Court refused 
to entertain the Government's 21st appeal seeking another extension. 
However, at year's end the Government had failed to pass legislation or 
provide procedures to comply with this decision to separate the 
judiciary from the executive. In September 2005 a High Court panel 
rendered unconstitutional an amendment to the constitution that 
legitimized martial law in the 1980s. The Prime Minister's office 
arranged for a stay of the ruling because of its ramifications for the 
legacy of former President Ziaur Rahman, the late husband of the Prime 
Minister.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides accused persons with the right 
to be represented by counsel, to review accusatory material, to call 
witnesses, and to appeal verdicts. There is no jury trial, and all 
cases are tried by judges. Trials are public, and defendants have the 
right to an attorney; however, state-funded attorneys are rarely 
provided. Under the provisions of the public safety act, the Law and 
Order Disruption Crimes Speedy Trial Act (STA), and the Women and 
Children Repression Prevention Act, special tribunals hear cases and 
issue verdicts. Cases under these laws must be investigated and tried 
within specific time limits, although the law was unclear regarding the 
disposition of the case if it was not finished within the allotted time 
period. Defendants are presumed innocent, have the right to appeal, and 
have the right to see the Government's evidence against them.
    The court system was plagued by corruption and a substantial 
backlog of cases, and trials were typically marked by extended 
continuances. These conditions effectively prevented many persons from 
obtaining a fair trial due to witness tampering, victim intimidation, 
and missing evidence. A September 2004 Transparency International 
survey revealed that magistrates, attorneys, and court officials 
demanded bribes from defendants in more than 67 percent of the cases 
filed under the STA (see section 1.d.).
    In July 2004 parliament codified the use of Alternative Dispute 
Resolution (ADR) for civil cases and extended its use to Sylhet and 
Chittagong. ADR allows citizens to have the opportunity to present 
their cases before filing for mediation. According to government 
sources, wider use of mediation in civil cases quickened the 
administration of justice. While the ADR system has popular appeal, no 
independent entity conducted an assessment of its fairness or 
impartiality. The Muslim Family Ordinance codifies traditional Islamic 
law concerning inheritance, marriage, and divorce for registered 
marriages for members of the Muslim community. There are similar sets 
of laws in place for the Hindu and Christian communities.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government stated that it 
held no political prisoners; however, opposition parties and human 
rights monitors claimed the Government arrested many political 
activists and convicted them on unfounded criminal charges (see section 
1.d.). NGOs did not have access to prisoners.
    In April 2005 a Dhaka court granted bail to and released journalist 
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, who was detained at the airport for his 
attempted 2003 travel to Israel. Choudhury claimed to have been 
tortured during his 15-month imprisonment that began in 2003. His trial 
on sedition charges was scheduled to begin in September but was 
postponed (see section 2.a.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The Government did not 
interfere with civil judicial procedures.

    Property Restitution.--During the year the Government did not take 
any measures to implement the 2001 Vested Property Return Act providing 
for property restitution to persons, mostly Hindus, who had their 
property seized by the Government after the 1965 India-Pakistan war 
under the Vested Property Act. Approximately 2.5 million acres of land 
were seized from Hindus, and almost all of the 10 million Hindus in the 
country were affected. In April 2001, parliament passed the Vested 
Property Return Act, stipulating that land remaining under government 
control that was seized under the Vested Property Act be returned to 
its original owners, provided the original owners or their heirs who 
remained resident citizens. The Government was required to prepare a 
list of vested property holdings by October 2001. In 2002 parliament 
passed an amendment to the Vested Property Return Act, which allowed 
the Government unlimited time to return the vested properties and gave 
control of the properties, including the right to lease them, to local 
government employees. The Government did not publish a list of vested 
property under its control and as a result, the original land owners 
could not reclaim their entitled property (see section 2.c.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law allowed intelligence and law enforcement 
agencies to tap phones with the permission of the chief executive of 
MOHA. The ordinance also gives the Government, in the interest of 
national security, the authority to prevent telephone operators from 
delivering messages. In case of national emergency, the Government can 
revoke any permit to provide communications services without providing 
compensation to the holder of the license. The ordinance went into 
effect during a recess in parliament but must be approved as soon as 
parliament returns to become permanent law.
    Police, even in cases not affiliated with the Special Powers Act, 
rarely obtained warrants, and officers violating these procedures were 
not punished. RSF claimed that police monitored journalists' e-mail. 
The Special Branch of the police, National Security Intelligence, and 
the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence employed informers to 
report on and conduct surveillance on citizens perceived to be 
political opponents of the Government.
    The Government forcibly resettled people. On March 2, according to 
press reports, Dhaka City Corporation authorities evicted the dwellers 
of a slum in the Dhalpur area of Dhaka and demolished their shelters. 
Two platoons of police and 30 eviction laborers participated in the 
evictions. The evicted people protested the action.
    On June 21, according to press reports, the Capital City 
Development Authority of Dhaka, a semi-autonomous government 
development agency, evicted several thousand individuals, including 
women, children and the elderly, from a slum in the Gulshan area of 
Dhaka. The shanties were subsequently bulldozed for a development 
project. Police used batons to quell the eviction victims when they 
protested.
    Police sometimes threatened members of the families of individuals 
who were wanted by police. During the year there were instances of 
physical abuse or detention of family members by law enforcement 
personnel to extract information regarding wanted relatives.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and press; however, in practice the Government limited these 
rights.
    Individuals were not always able to criticize the Government 
publicly without fear of reprisal, and the Government often attempted 
to impede criticism by prohibiting or dispersing political gatherings.
    There were hundreds of daily and weekly independent publications. 
Many newspapers were at times critical of government policies and 
activities, including those of the Prime Minister. In addition to one 
official government-owned news service, there were two private news 
services, United News of Bangladesh, which is affiliated with Agence 
France-Presse, and BD News.
    Newspaper ownership and content were not subject to direct 
government restriction. The Government owned or significantly 
influenced one radio and some television stations; however, unlike in 
previous years, these stations did not focus the bulk of their coverage 
on the Government.
    There were six private satellite television stations in operation, 
and two private radio stations began broadcasting a few hours a day on 
a trial basis. There were also two foreign-based and -licensed 
satellite television stations that broadcast into the country and 
maintained domestic news operations. Cable operators generally 
functioned without government interference; however, cable operators 
were forced to drop several international channels, allegedly for 
nonpayment of taxes. All private stations were also required to 
broadcast, without charge, selected government news programs and 
speeches by the Prime Minister and the President as a condition of 
operation.
    Attacks on journalists and newspapers and efforts to intimidate 
them by the Government, political party activists, and others occurred 
frequently. Attacks against journalists by political activists were 
common during times of political violence, and many journalists were 
injured by police. According to Odhikar, one journalist was killed, 183 
journalists were injured, six were arrested, 53 were assaulted, and 114 
were threatened during the year.
    In its 2005 ranking of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders 
(RSF) ranked Bangladesh 151 out of 167 countries reviewed. This ranking 
reflected the lack of freedom for journalists and news organizations 
and the absence of efforts undertaken by the state to respect and 
ensure respect for such freedom.
    On January 13, gunmen shot and wounded S. Changma Sattyajit, 
President of the Panchhair Press Club and correspondent of the Daily 
Samakal, in front of his house in Nalkata. According to media reports, 
no charges were filed in the case.
    On April 16, police injured 20 journalists at a cricket match 
against Australia. The clash occurred during a protest of a previous 
attack by police against Prothom Alo photojournalist Shamsul Haq Tanku. 
According to press accounts, during a lunch break journalists demanded 
an apology from the police allegedly responsible for the attack on 
Shamsul. Police, led by Deputy Commissioner Ali Akbar, attacked the 
journalists, chasing them into a dressing room. Much of the attack was 
captured on film and received considerable international coverage, 
particularly in Australia. No charges were initially filed, but as a 
result of public pressure, on July 12, Home Minister Babar ordered 
administrative action against Akbar and the other police involved in 
the incident. The home minister also distributed financial compensation 
to the victims.
    On May 29, BNP activists injured over 25 journalists in Kushtia 
during a support rally for local journalists at the public library. The 
rally had been called to support journalists who were being sued for 
defamation by Member of Parliament Shahidul Islam of the BNP. Earlier 
in May police had closed a local paper, Andoloner Bazar, critical of 
Islam, claiming that the paper did not have proper permits. According 
to video footage, on May 29, a group of men gathered outside the BNP 
headquarters across the street from the rally, scaled the walls of the 
library property, and beat individuals with sticks, chairs, and bricks. 
Police were present but did not intervene once the attack began. Among 
the injured was Bangladesh Observer editor and then-President of the 
Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury. 
Despite the taped footage of the attack, no charges were filed. On July 
12, at a meeting chaired by Home Minister Lutfozzaman Babar, Islam 
formally apologized to Chowdhury and the other journalists for the 
attack and agreed to withdraw the defamation cases against the local 
journalists. However, at year's end the cases had not been dropped.
    On May 30, police in Satkhira dispersed a silent procession of 
journalists protesting the Kushtia attack. Police used batons on the 
protestors as they tried to enter the deputy commissioner's office to 
present a letter protesting the Kushtia attack. The journalists then 
regrouped and formed a human chain to protest the police action.
    On October 31, according to press reports, members of the RAB 
arrested and tortured Focus Bangla journalist Shafiqul Islam, citing 
section 54 of the criminal code as justification for his detention. 
While torturing Shafiqul members of the RAB allegedly cited staff 
reporters from The Daily Star, Sangbad, and Janakantha as their next 
targets. When he was taken before a judge, Islam said that he was 
tortured with electric shocks for eight hours by an RAB official. 
Authorities accused Islam of being in contact with Islamic extremists.
    Violence against journalists intensified during the November 
transition to an interim government. From November 13 to 22, six 
journalists were targets of attacks and threats. For example, on 
November 16, local militiamen in Mymensingh attacked and severely beat 
four journalists: Niamul Kabir Sajal of Dainik Prothom Alo; Babul 
Hossain of Dainik Janakantha; Mir Golam Mostafa of Dainik Shamokal; and 
a photographer known as Nuruzzaman. All four journalists were 
hospitalized and later filed complaints. Authorities arrested six of 
the assailants, but the leader remained at large. Also, on November 22, 
six or seven youths armed with bamboo sticks beat Hasibur Rahman Bilu, 
a reporter for the Daily Star, Radio Today, and Radio Deutsche Welle, 
as he was leaving a bank in Bogra. Bilu was hospitalized for leg and 
back injuries. The youths, who were allegedly affiliated with a BNP 
rally nearby, accused Bilu of reporting against the BNP.
    On January 4, the court ordered a new investigation into the 2004 
killing of Daily Janmabhumi editor Humayun Kabir Balu in Khulna. A 
trial had started in the Khulna Speedy Trial tribunal in October 2005, 
but the public prosecutor was accused of an improper investigation and 
insufficient evidence. At year's end two suspects were in custody, four 
had not been located, and two were killed in October and December 2005 
in RAB crossfires.
    On March 21, the Chittagong Speedy Trial tribunal sentenced one 
person to death and 11 others to life imprisonment for killing 
journalist Kamal Hossain in 2004. Fourteen others were acquitted of the 
crime.
    The sedition case of journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was 
scheduled to begin in January 2007. In 2005 a Dhaka court granted bail 
to and released Choudhury, who was detained at the airport in 2003 on 
charges of sedition and attempting to travel to Israel (see section 
1.e.).
    There were no developments in the 2004 killing of Khulna Press Club 
President Manik Chandra Saha or the 2004 killing of Daily Durjoy Bangla 
editor Dipanker Chakrabarty.
    Both the BNP and the AL attempted to control access to the media. 
Both the Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina 
selectively denied specific television stations access to political 
meetings.
    On October 10, the Government banned the import, marketing, or 
reprinting of the October 2 issue of the Indian biweekly magazine Desh.
    On July 22, Jatiya Party activists seized and destroyed copies of 
the daily newspaper Prothom Alo after it ran a story claiming that 
Jatiya Party leader and former President H.M. Ershad had evaded taxes. 
According to press reports, Jatiya Party supporters barricaded a main 
road in Magura and stole over 11,000 copies of the paper from a bus. 
Sagar Gazi, supervisor of the bus company, filed a case with Magura-
Sadar police station, accusing the Jatiya Party's district unit general 
secretary, Hasan Seraj Suja, and 70 others in the crime. No information 
was available regarding the status of the case.
    Foreign publications and films were subject to review and 
censorship. A government-run film censor board reviewed local and 
foreign films and had the authority to censor or ban films on the 
grounds of state security, law and order, religious sentiment, 
obscenity, foreign relations, defamation, or plagiarism. Video rental 
libraries and DVD shops stocked a wide variety of films, and government 
efforts to enforce censorship on rentals were sporadic and ineffective.
    Over the course of the year, the Government increased efforts to 
tighten censorship laws. In September the Government passed an act that 
enabled the Government to suspend broadcast of any private satellite 
channel for the ``public interest.'' The law permits the Government to 
shut stations broadcasting ``indecent'' movies and programs and 
prevents the sale of foreign products. The Government also amended the 
Censorship of Films Act, increasing penalties for showing films, 
posters or advertisements without censor certificates. In March the 
Information Ministry ordered an intensification of efforts to censor 
vulgarity in films playing in movie theaters.
    The Government followed no clear policy on issuing television 
licenses and rarely granted licenses to persons unaffiliated with the 
Government.
    The Government exercised censorship most often in cases of immodest 
or obscene photographs, perceived misrepresentation, defamation of 
Islam, or objectionable comments regarding national leaders.
    Novelist Taslima Nasreen remained abroad in Kolkata after being 
freed on bond in 2004 for criminal charges that she allegedly insulted 
Muslim beliefs (see section 2.c.).
    The review of a 2004 ban on Ahmidiyya publications remained pending 
in the high court at year's end.
    Government figures frequently used defamation charges to curb 
freedom of speech. For example, on February 2, BNP Public Works 
Minister Mirza Abbas filed a defamation case against the editor of 
Prothom Alo. Abbas filed the case after the editor published a story 
alleging that Abbas objected to the construction of a police complex in 
Razarbagh. The publisher had refused to allow Abbas to publish a 
response to the story.
    On April 2, the chief whip of the parliament, Khondaker Delwar 
Hossain of the BNP, sued the editors of Prothom Alo, Janakatha, 
Sangbad, Jugantor, and Ajker Kagoj for defamation because the 
newspapers had accused Hossain of abusing entertainment allowances and 
parliament resources for personal gain. Authorities released the 
editors and staff on bail. The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court 
eventually dismissed the charges, but Hossain filed an appeal petition 
which was pending at year's end.
    In June BNP MP Abdul Mannan filed a defamation case against the 
editor, publisher, and other staff from the Dainik Jugantor. Mannan 
accused staff members of the paper of defamation because they published 
a story on May 31 linking him to heroin smuggling.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no direct government restrictions on 
access to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 
mail. According to RSF police often misused surveillance of 
journalists' e-mail (see section 1.f.).

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government did not limit 
academic freedom or cultural events; however, authorities discouraged 
research on sensitive religious and political topics.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, subject to restrictions in the 
interest of public order and public health; however, the Government 
frequently limited these rights.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law allows the Government to ban 
assemblies of more than four persons, and according to Ain O Shalish 
Kendro, a local human rights NGO, the Government banned rallies for 
security reasons 164 times during the year. The Government also used 
mass arrests to deter demonstrators from participating in protests (see 
section 1.d.).
    There were frequent clashes between police and opposition 
supporters during the year. The opposition led by the AL organized 
numerous ``agitation programs'' protesting against the Government, 
including ``sieges'' of government institutions and transportation 
blockades of cities and the Chittagong port, and it enforced work 
stoppages (hartals) (see section 2.d.). During these protests police 
and demonstrators often clashed, resulting in deaths and injuries.
    On July 2, a police officer and an opposition demonstrator were 
killed during an AL-organized transportation blockade of roads, rivers, 
and railways. Demonstrators throwing stones killed police Subinspector 
Abul Bashar at Murgapara in Narayanganj. Goman Mustafa Milon, an AL 
activist, died in a separate clash in Dhaka the same day. In addition 
to the deaths, dozens of cars and a train were damaged or destroyed by 
demonstrators. Over 100 others were wounded throughout the country.
    On September 6, police and demonstrators clashed in Dhaka during an 
AL-organized ``siege'' of the Election Commission. According to media 
accounts, the clash occurred when demonstrators tried to break through 
barricades and approach the Election Commission offices. Over 100 
opposition activists and 15 police were injured in the fighting. Among 
the opposition supporters injured was Saber Hossain Chowdhury, 
political secretary to the head of the AL.
    On September 12, police and demonstrators clashed in Dhaka during 
an AL-organized ``siege'' of the Prime Minister's office. Demonstrators 
and police clashed in various locations throughout the city. Over 150 
AL supporters, including former home minister Mohammad Nasim and AL MP 
Asaduzzaman Noor, were injured during the demonstration. Ten policemen 
were also injured. A day earlier the Government had declared a ban on 
gatherings or protests in the vicinity of the Prime Minister's office.
    There were no developments related to the February 2005 case of 
police abuse during an AL Jubo League (JL) procession. Police wounded 
the JL's general secretary along with 30 other activists and two police 
officers.
    There were no reported developments in the March 2005 police attack 
against buses carrying AL activists in which 50 people were injured.
    There were no charges filed related to the June 2005 case in which 
BNP activists sabotaged a meeting of the Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh Party 
(BDB) by damaging the meeting's venue.
    There were no charges filed in the November 2005 case in which BNP 
activists and police disrupted the march of AL supporters on their way 
to an AL rally. Such obstructions took place in at least three sites 
within an hour's travel of Dhaka, specifically Dhamrai, Keraniganj, and 
Manikganj.
    By year's end the 2004 case in which police fired on a procession 
of tribal people protesting an eco-park project and killed Piren Snal, 
a member of the Garo tribe, in Tangail district, was still pending. 
Authorities conducted a judicial investigation, and the court dismissed 
the case due to insufficient information. At year's end Snal's family 
filed another petition contesting the legitimacy of the report.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of every 
citizen to form associations, subject to ``reasonable restrictions'' in 
the interest of morality or public order, and the Government generally 
respected this right. Individuals were free to join private groups.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law establishes Islam as the state 
religion and also stipulates the right, subject to law, public order, 
and morality, to practice the religion of one's choice. The Government 
generally respected this right in practice. Although the Government was 
secular, religion influenced politics. Discrimination against members 
of religious minorities existed at both the Governmental and societal 
level, and religious minorities were disadvantaged in practice in such 
areas as access to government jobs, political office, and access to 
justice.
    Shari'a (Islamic law) was not implemented formally and was not 
imposed on non-Muslims but played an influential role in civil matters 
pertaining to the Muslim community. Family laws concerning marriage, 
divorce, and adoption differed slightly depending on the religion of 
the persons involved. Each religion had its set of family laws. The 
Muslim Family Ordinance codifies traditional Islamic law concerning 
inheritance, marriage, and divorce for registered marriages of members 
of the Muslim community. Muslim men may marry up to four wives; 
however, a Muslim man must get his first wife's signed permission 
before taking a second wife. Under Hindu law, unlimited polygamy is 
permitted, and while there is no provision for divorce and legal 
separation, Hindu widows may legally remarry. There were no legal 
restrictions on marriage between members of different faiths. Marriages 
in rural areas often were not registered because of ignorance of the 
law.
    Religious organizations were not required to register with the 
Government, but the Government required all NGOs, including religious 
organizations, to register with the Ministry of Social Welfare. 
Additionally, NGOs must register with the NGO Affairs Bureau if they 
received or planned to receive foreign funds for social development 
projects. The Government had the legal authority to cancel the 
registration of an NGO or to take other actions such as dissolving its 
executive committee, freezing its bank accounts, or canceling projects; 
however, the Government rarely used such powers.
    Government protection of Ahmadiyyas improved, although 
discrimination continued. The Government ban on publishing of Ahmadiyya 
literature continued to be stayed by the high court, effectively 
allowing Ahmadiyyas to publish their materials (see section 2.a.).
    As in previous years, the Government failed to prepare a list of 
property that was expropriated by the Government from Hindus following 
the 1965 India-Pakistan War (see section 1.e.).
    Foreign missionaries were allowed to work in the country, but their 
right to proselytize was not explicitly protected by the law. Some 
missionaries faced problems in obtaining visas or renewing visas, which 
must be done annually. Some foreign missionaries reported that internal 
security forces closely monitored their activities; however, there were 
no reports of other government harassment during the year. The 
Government allowed various religions to establish places of worship, 
train clergy, travel for religious purposes, and maintain links with 
co-religionists abroad. The law permitted citizens to proselytize.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Discrimination against 
Ahmadiyyas, Hindus, and Christians occurred during the year.
    On June 23, approximately 1,500 members of the anti-Ahmadiyya 
organization International Khatme Nabuwat Movement Bangladesh (IKNMB) 
attempted to seize the Ashkona Ahmadiyya mosque in Uttara. The 
Government deployed over 3,000 police to prevent violence and cordon 
off the Ahmadiyya complex. Eventually, the demonstrators left the 
Uttara area and attempted to block the main entrance to Dhaka-Zia 
International Airport. Police dispersed the demonstrators, injuring 20.
    In September shortly before the annual Hindu festival of Durga 
Puja, the media reported that several idols of the Hindu goddess Durga 
were vandalized in various parts of the country, including Cox's Bazar, 
Nilphamari, Maulvi Bazar, and Tongail.
    On October 6, IKNMB demonstrators attempted to seize the Ahmadiyya 
mosque in Nakhalpara in Dhaka. Police prevented the protesters from 
approaching the mosque, and the demonstrators dispersed without major 
incident.
    Police arrested eight persons throughout the year in connection 
with the June 2005 arson and bombings at Ahmadiyya mosques in Nator, 
Brahhmanbaria, and Bhadugarh.
    No action was taken nor charges filed related to the July 2005 
deaths of two employees of the Christian Life Bangladesh NGO who were 
allegedly killed because they showed an evangelical film. Police 
initially arrested several suspects for the killing, but they were 
later released, and no charges had been filed at year's end.
    There was no corrective action taken related to the 2004 violence 
against Hindus. Armed attackers led by a local BNP leader set 20 Hindu 
houses on fire, injuring 30 persons. Victims alleged that the attack 
originated over a pending property dispute.
    There were no developments related to the 2004 death of Joseph 
Gomes, a Christian convert, near his home in Jamalpur district. Police 
arrested a local madrasah teacher, Maulana Abdus Sobhan Munshi, for the 
killing, held him for two weeks, and released him.
    Religious minorities were disadvantaged in seeking government jobs 
and political office. Selection boards for government services often 
lacked minority group representation.
    While there is no known local Jewish community, anti-Semitic 
commentary sometimes appeared in the press.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, 
there were instances in which the Government restricted these rights.
    The opposition frequently used enforced transportation blockades 
and hartals or enforced strikes as political tactics. These 
extrajudicial methods of protest, sanctioned by party leaders and often 
enforced with violence, obstructed freedom of movement.
    On July 2, for example, the AL-led 14-Party Alliance declared a 
country-wide transportation blockade. Supporters barricaded major 
streets as well as rail lines. Demonstrators also attempted to damage 
rail lines and attacked trains running throughout the country. On 
September 20, the opposition declared another transportation blockade 
that stopped all traffic into major cities from dawn to dusk.
    According to Odhikar, 23 people died and 1,522 people were injured 
in election-related violence from mid-October to December. In late 
October when the BNP-led government stepped down, the AL launched a 
series of violent demonstrations in Dhaka to prevent former chief 
justice K.M. Hassan from taking over as chief advisor of the caretaker 
government. Sheikh Hasina and other AL leaders called for supporters to 
come to Dhaka with their ``sticks"-a reference to the oars that are a 
symbol of the party. From October 27 to 29, there were violent clashes, 
resulting in 16 deaths. On October 29, after Hassan declined to assume 
the position of chief advisor, President Iajuddin was sworn in to lead 
the caretaker government. In November the 14-Party Alliance declared a 
country-wide transportation blockade in protest after the interim 
government announced the election date.
    Throughout December the AL and its partners continued an agitation 
program that included transportation blockades, enforced strikes, and 
``sieges'' of public buildings such as the President's office. On 
December 18, the opposition alliance expanded with the addition of two 
other parties, forming the Grand Alliance. On December 23, the Grand 
Alliance declared that it would participate in elections in spite of 
all its demands not being met, and it cancelled further agitation 
programs through the rest of the year.
    As in previous years, numerous opposition work stoppages were 
declared over the course of the year. During the stoppages the 
organization or group calling for the action generally permitted only 
emergency services and nonmotorized vehicles on the streets. Cars and 
buses on the road were often attacked and burned. Most shops, banks, 
schools, universities, and other public and private offices were forced 
to close for safety reasons (see section 2.b.).
    The law does not provide for exile, and it was not used. The 
country's passports were invalid for travel to Israel.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. Working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR), the Government provided temporary protection to individual 
asylum seekers whom UNHCR interviewed and recognized as refugees on a 
case-by-case basis.
    During the year the Government denied asylum to Rohingyas from 
Burma. The Government categorized these refugees as illegal economic 
migrants and turned back as many persons as possible at the border. 
According to UNHCR, some refugees returned by the Government were 
entitled to refugee status. Some unregistered persons in UNHCR camps 
returned illegally after their official repatriation to Burma, sharing 
food and lodging with relatives who received rations as registered 
members of the camps. On a number of occasions, camp officials 
transferred some of the unregistered persons over to police, who 
imprisoned them under the Foreigners Act. There were 71 Rohingya 
refugees in local prisons in the Cox's Bazar area at year's end. Of 
these persons five had been sentenced and 66 remained detained. In 
addition, at year's end there were two Rohingya refugees in local 
prisons in Comilla and two in Chittagong. Another two Burmese not 
registered with UNHCR were currently serving prison sentences, and 
another 261 had been detained pending trial.
    According to the Government, 21,322 Rohingya refugees remained in 
the two official camps administered by the Government in cooperation 
with UNHCR. However, a preliminary UNHCR estimate placed the number 
closer to 28,000. According to international aid organizations active 
in the area, there are approximately 200,000 Rohingyas not officially 
recognized as refugees living in the surrounding area of Teknaf and 
Cox's Bazaar. There were no repatriations of Rohingyas to Burma.
    Conditions in the refugee camps continued to deteriorate until 
September. There was some progress at the end of the year regarding the 
Government's attitude towards the Rohingya refugee camps near Cox's 
Bazar. After government personnel changes, UNHCR and the Government 
were able to reach a consensus on making improvements. For example, a 
pilot project was launched to build replacements for shelters that were 
sinking into the ground. A project to build new latrines was launched, 
and the Government agreed to improve education standards and to permit 
NGOs to work in the camps again. In addition, the Government indicated 
a new willingness to cooperate with UNHCR and other international 
organizations and NGOs to improve standards in the camps.
    According to UNHCR there were many reported cases of refugee abuse 
including rape, assault, domestic abuse, deprivation of food ration 
entitlements, and documentation problems.
    The Government did not take corrective action related to the March 
2005 case in which UNHCR received reports that a police inspector and 
his staff severely beat and attempted to rape six females, including 
two girls aged eight and 12. UNHCR strongly protested to camp 
authorities, but the Government took no action.
    According to Refugees International (RI), the Government, and 
specifically the former local refugee relief and repatriation 
commissioner in Cox's Bazar, Shoyebur Rahman, placed excessive 
restrictions on refugees' freedom of movement and ability to work or 
earn a livelihood. During his tenure which ended in August, Rahman 
created obstacles for UNHCR to work in the camps and blocked access to 
the camps by certain NGOs and programs designed to relieve poor 
conditions. After Rahman's departure the Government worked to address 
several of the most pressing concerns in the refugee camps.
    As in previous years, the Government continued to ignore UNHCR 
requests to allow Rohingya refugees who were unable to return to Burma 
to work locally, benefit from local medical programs, or participate in 
the education system. The Government insisted that all Rohingya 
refugees remain in camps until their return to Burma. The Government 
claimed Rohingyans were not allowed to possess money and that money in 
their possession could be confiscated at any time.
    The Government repeatedly rejected a UNHCR proposal to grant 
refugees rights for temporary stay and freedom of movement under a 
self-reliance program.
    Approximately 300,000 non-Bengali Bihari Muslims who emigrated to 
the former East Pakistan during the 1947 partition and who supported 
Pakistan during the 1971 war continued to live in camps throughout the 
country. According to RI, these persons lived in unsanitary living 
conditions with little access to both education and medical resources. 
Some Biharis declined citizenship in 1972 and were awaiting 
repatriation to Pakistan, where the Government was reluctant to accept 
them. Many of the stranded Biharis born after 1971 assimilated into the 
mainstream Bengali-speaking environment.
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, albeit with significant instances of violence.
    Members of parliament are elected at least every five years. The 
parliament has 345 members, 300 of whom are directly elected at-large. 
The remaining 45 are reserved seats for women nominated by the 
political parties, based on their proportional representation within 
the 300-member group of directly elected MPs. Party leaders appoint 
candidates for elections; some candidates allegedly purchased 
nomination from party leaders with generous campaign contributions or 
personal gifts.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Khaleda Zia, leader of the 
BNP, became prime minister following parliamentary elections in 2001, 
deemed to be free and fair by international and domestic observers. The 
2001 elections, supervised by a nonparty caretaker government, took 
place in a climate of sporadic violence and isolated irregularities. 
The BNP formed a four-party coalition government with the Jamaat-e-
Islami, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, and the Islami Oikko Jote; however, 
the BNP and the opposition AL dominated the political scene.
    Throughout the year, AL legislators participated in meetings of the 
parliamentary standing committees in various ministries but continued 
to boycott by-elections and staged frequent walk-outs of parliamentary 
sessions. In June 2004 the AL returned to parliament after a year's 
boycott; however, the AL walked out of parliament again in September 
2004, alleging the speaker's biased role in favor of the ruling party. 
AL members attended a parliamentary session for a few minutes in 
February to protest the January 27 killing of former finance minister 
Shah A.M.S. Kibria (see section 1.a.). AL leaders complained of 
government restrictions and interference in their political activities 
including their right to organize (see section 2.b.).
    There were seven women directly elected to parliament in 2001. In 
September political parties nominated 45 more women to fill in the 
newly established reserved seats for women created through the 14th 
constitutional amendment, ratified in May 2004. The AL, which did not 
participate in the debate on adding the 45 seats, did not accept its 
share of reserved seats, saying that the amendment fell short of the 
promise to make a provision for women to be elected directly by the 
people. Some women's rights groups also protested the amendment on 
similar grounds and challenged its validity in the high court. The 
Supreme Court dismissed the writs.
    In the parliament dissolved in October, there were two women with 
the status of minister-the Prime Minister and the leader of the main 
opposition party; the latter enjoyed the status of a cabinet minister. 
Four of the 76 judges of the Supreme Court were women.
    There was no provision for providing parliamentary seats for 
minorities. Members of minority groups constituted approximately 12 
percent of the population but held less than 3 percent of parliamentary 
seats.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption remained a 
problem throughout the Government. Transparency International 
Bangladesh (TIB) indicated in a July report that systemic corruption 
continued to pose a serious challenge to good governance. A TIB sample 
survey identified reports of corruption in 38 sectors and ranked 10 
sectors as ``most corrupt'' or ``very corrupt'' based on the number of 
reports. Data on financial loss was available in 20 percent of the 
reported cases and totaled more than $79 million. The report identified 
the Ministry for Local government and Rural Development as the most 
corrupt based on financial loss. A survey of primary education in two 
districts documented that 63 percent of students entitled to a 
government education stipend had to pay a bribe to receive the stipend. 
The study also documented the collection by school authorities of 
$31,000 in illegal monthly fees. In April TIB released a two-year study 
of bribery at the country's two major land ports, concluding that 
exporters and importers paid over $1.4 million in bribes.
    The three-member anticorruption commission, established in 2004, 
had little effect on combating corruption and focused in the past two 
years largely on organizational challenges.
    There was no law providing for public access to government 
information. Instead, 1923 the Official Secrets Act protected 
government officials from public scrutiny in the name of national 
security, hindering transparency and accountability at all levels.
Section 4. 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 independently and without government restriction, 
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. 
While human rights groups were often sharply critical of the 
Government, they also practiced self-censorship, particularly on 
politically sensitive cases and subjects. Unlike in previous years, the 
Government did not pressure individual human rights advocates by filing 
false allegations against them or by delaying reentry visas for 
international human rights activists. Some local human rights 
organizations, however, reported that they believed the Government was 
tapping their telephones and e-mail accounts.
    There were many examples of harassment by the intelligence 
agencies. For example, the Government threatened to block foreign 
funding to the PRIP Trust NGO unless the organization, which championed 
minority rights during the 2001 general election, agreed to change the 
membership of its board of directors.
    In mid-September police arrested 172 workers of the NGO Proshika 
because, according to media reports, the Government believed Proshika 
workers intended to participate in an opposition protest (see section 
1.d.).
    On July 9, the Government strongly criticized the local office of 
TI after TI announced its annual ``corruption perceptions'' index and 
named the country the most corrupt to do business in for the fifth year 
in a row. Several government ministers also accused the local TI 
representatives of corruption. On several occasions in August and 
September, the Government strongly criticized the Center for Policy 
Dialogue (CPD), which partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF), 
because the WEF published critical comments regarding corruption in 
foreign investment in the country.
    At year's end, Asudullah Al-Aalib was awaiting trial for the 
February 2005 attack on several offices of leading NGOs, such as the 
Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). 
Authorities in 2005 charged Al-Galib, the leader of Ahle Hadith, a 
local Islamic group, for bombing the Grameen and BRAC offices and for 
targeting a series of cultural events and organizations. The Government 
cooperated with international organizations such as the UNHRC and the 
ICRC; however, the ICRC did not visit the country during the year. In 
December 2004 the Asia Pacific director of the UNHCR visited the 
country to investigate the status of the Rohingyas. Despite its 
election pledge and repeated public announcements, the Government did 
not enact legislation establishing an independent National Human Rights 
Commission. Previous legislation authorizing the establishment of a 
human rights ombudsman remained dormant.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination; however, the Government did not 
strongly enforce laws aimed at eliminating discrimination. Women, 
children, minority groups, and persons with disabilities often 
confronted social and economic disadvantages.

    Women.--Laws specifically prohibit certain forms of discrimination 
against women, provide for special procedures for persons accused of 
violence against women and children, call for harsher penalties, 
provide compensation to victims, and require action against 
investigating officers for negligence or willful failure of duty; 
however, enforcement of these laws was weak. In 2003 parliament passed 
an amendment to the current law, weakening provisions for dowry crimes 
and addressing the issue of suicide committed by female victims of acts 
of dishonor. On October 3, parliament passed a law allowing release on 
parole of women prisoners of certain categories and their eventual 
freedom from imprisonment on fulfillment of certain conditions (see 
section 1.c.).
    Domestic violence was widespread. Although violence against women 
was difficult to quantify, recent research showed that up to 50 percent 
of all women experienced domestic violence at least once. Some of the 
reported violence against women continued to be related to disputes 
over dowries. From January to December, Odhikar reported 243 dowry-
related killings.
    The law prohibits rape and physical spousal abuse but makes no 
specific provision for spousal rape. From January to December according 
to local NGOs, there were 639 reported incidents of rape. The press 
reported that 126 of the rape victims were killed and that another 13 
committed suicide after being raped. Human rights monitors insisted 
that the actual number of rapes was higher, as many rape victims did 
not report the incidents in order to avoid social disgrace. Prosecution 
of rapists was uneven. In January 2005 at a workshop organized by 
BSEHR, then-attorney general A.F. Hassan Ariff said ``judges consider 
the seriousness of rape to be the same as theft, robbery, and other 
crimes.''
    On January 29, a Dhaka court sentenced two persons, Belal Hossain 
and Shah Alam, to 30 years' rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year 
old garment factory worker in January 2002.
    In April according to international observers, traffic police 
constable Azadul Islam raped a 12-year-old girl. The girl had fled from 
the house of Tajul Islam, a businessman in Islampur for whom she was 
working and whose family reportedly beat her. When Islam found the 
girl, he offered to take her to stay at his rented house in East 
Bashabo. On April 15, Islam's neighbors found the girl in his house and 
learned that she had been raped several times during her stay. The 
neighbors filed a case at the Shabuzbagh police station. Islam was 
suspended from service, but the case was not submitted to a court until 
July 22, at which point the accused had fled.
    Prostitution was legal and remained a problem during the year. The 
minimum age of 18 for legal prostitution was commonly ignored by 
authorities and circumvented by false statements of age. Procurers of 
minors were rarely prosecuted, and large numbers of underage girls in 
prostitution worked in brothels. UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated 
in 2004 that there were 10,000 underage girls used in commercial sexual 
exploitation in the country, but other estimates placed the figure as 
high as 29,000 (see section 5, Children). Trafficking of women 
internally and internationally remained a problem (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    According to government sources, the Social Welfare Department ran 
six homes for vagrants and one training center for destitute persons, 
with a total capacity of 2,300 individuals. In addition the Ministry of 
Women and Children Affairs ran six shelters for abused women and 
children, one each in the six divisional headquarters.
    NGOs, such as the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Associations 
(BNWLA), also ran facilities to provide shelter to destitute persons 
and distressed women and children. According to BSEHR persons in safe 
custody were no longer housed in prisons. Courts sent most of them to 
shelter homes. In a few cases, they were sent to the prison as a 
transit for short periods.
    Islamic tradition dictated that only those muftis (religious 
scholars) who have expertise in Islamic law were authorized to declare 
a fatwa. However, village religious leaders sometimes made declarations 
in individual cases and called the declaration a fatwa. Sometimes this 
resulted in extrajudicial punishments, often against women, for their 
perceived moral transgressions, particularly in rural areas.
    Incidents of vigilantism against women--sometimes led by religious 
leaders (by means of fatwas)--occurred, particularly in rural areas 
(see section 1.c.). Acid attacks remained a serious problem. Assailants 
threw acid in the faces of women and a growing number of men, leaving 
victims disfigured and often blind. From January to December, according 
to Odhikar, 161 persons were attacked with acid. Of these 105 of the 
victims were women, 36 were men, and 20 were children. According to 
Acid Survivors' Foundation (ASF), authorities prosecuted 36.
    The 2002 Acid Crime Control Law provides for speedier prosecutions 
in special tribunals and generally does not allow bail. The act also 
seeks to control the availability of acid and reduce acid violence 
directed towards women, but lack of awareness of the law and poor 
enforcement limited its effect. While the special tribunals were not 
entirely effective, according to the Acid Survivors Foundation, 
tribunals convicted 36 persons for acid attacks since 2002.
    Women remained in a subordinate position in society, and the 
Government did not act effectively to protect their basic rights (see 
section 1.e). Employment opportunities increased at a greater rate for 
women than for men in the last decade, largely due to the growth of the 
export garment industry. Women made up approximately 80 percent of 
garment factory staff. Programs run by the Government and NGOs 
extending microcredit to rural women improved their economic power. Pay 
was generally comparable for men and women.

    Children.--The Government was generally responsive to children's 
rights and welfare. Many of these efforts were supplemented by local 
and foreign NGOs, and these joint efforts allowed the country to make 
significant progress in improving health, nutrition, and education; 
however, slightly more than half of all children were chronically 
malnourished.
    Under the law children between six and 10 years of age must attend 
school through the fifth grade. Primary education was free and 
compulsory, but the implementation of compulsory education fell short 
in part because parents kept children out of school, preferring that 
they work for money or help with household chores. Government 
incentives to families sending children to school contributed 
significantly to the rise in the enrollments in primary schools in 
recent years. According to 2001 statistics provided by Campaign for 
Popular Education, 80 percent of school-age children were enrolled in 
schools with almost an equal male-female ratio. In a 2002 report, the 
Campaign for Popular Education stated that 70 percent of the children 
completed education up to the fifth grade and that the dropout rate was 
24.3 percent. According to Education Ministry statistics, 97 percent of 
school-age children were enrolled in primary schools during the year. 
The Government expanded incentives for female education by making 
education free for girls up to grade 12 and using a stipend system from 
grades six to 12. Boys received free education only to grade five.
    There were a few government hospitals designated exclusively for 
children, but boys and girls had equal access to medical care in 
government hospitals.
    While the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys, 
underage marriage was a significant problem. Reliable statistics 
concerning underage marriage were difficult to find because marriage 
registrations were sporadic and birth registrations to verify a 
person's age were far from universal. One local human rights NGO, Mass 
Line Media, conducted a survey in 2004 that estimated 40 percent of all 
marriages could be considered child marriages. In an effort to prevent 
child marriage, the Government offered stipends for girls' school 
expenses if parents promised to delay their daughters' marriage until 
at least age 18.
    According to human rights groups, 93 children were abducted, 366 
were killed, 139 were injured in violence, 227 were raped, 20 were 
victims of acid attacks, and 134 others were missing. According to 
child rights activists, violence against children declined to some 
extent due to growing awareness regarding child rights.
    According to human rights monitors, child abandonment, kidnapping, 
and trafficking continued to be serious and widespread problems. 
Despite certain advances, trafficking of children continued to be a 
problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor remained a problem; it frequently resulted in the abuse 
of children, mainly through mistreatment by employers during domestic 
service and occasionally included servitude and trafficking for 
commercial sexual exploitation abroad (see sections 6.c. and 6.d.). 
According to the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies, attacks on 
children constituted over 50 percent of the deaths, injuries, and 
sexual assaults reported among domestic workers during the year.
    According to a 2002 report published by the Government news agency 
Bangladesh Shongbad Shongsta, there were approximately 400,000 homeless 
children, of whom as many as 150,000 had no knowledge of their parents. 
Few facilities existed for children whose parents were incarcerated.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons; 
however, trafficking remained a serious problem affecting men, women, 
and children. Trafficking in children for ``immoral or illegal 
purposes'' carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, and the 
Government took measures for the expeditious prosecution of 
traffickers. During the year 78 trafficking cases were adjudicated by 
the special courts dealing with incidents of repression against women 
and children. Courts convicted 42 persons and ordered sentences ranging 
from death to 10 years in prison. Other than the police, the coast 
guard, BDR, the RAB, and a number of NGOs rescued and assisted victims 
of trafficking.
    There was extensive trafficking in both women and children, 
primarily to India, Pakistan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 
Kuwait, and destinations within the country, for commercial sexual 
exploitation and involuntary servitude. Men were also trafficked for 
the purpose of involuntary servitude in the garment industry in Jordan 
and the construction industry in the UAE. Similarly, entire families 
were victims of bonded labor throughout the country.
    According to government sources, law enforcement personnel rescued 
256 victims of trafficking from January to December. Since August 2005, 
a cooperative effort between NGOs, the Government, and the UAE resulted 
in the repatriation of 168 camel jockeys, 167 of whom were reunited 
with their biological parents. Some of the rescued victims remained in 
government homes or at NGO-run shelters and received social and 
vocational skills training while NGOs attempted to locate their 
families.
    BNWLA rescued 43 trafficking victims, including a Nigerian boy, 
from within the country and repatriated 27 others from the UAE and 
India during the year. The number of persons arrested for trafficking 
was difficult to obtain, as charges against traffickers were sometimes 
for lesser crimes, such as crossing borders without proper documents. 
According to the Centre for Women and Child Services, most trafficked 
boys were under 10 years of age, while most trafficked girls were 
between 11 and 16 years of age.
    The exact number of women and children trafficked was unknown. Most 
trafficked persons were lured by promises of good jobs or marriage, and 
some were forced into involuntary servitude outside of and within the 
country. Parents sometimes willingly sent their children away to escape 
poverty. Unwed mothers, orphans, and others outside of the normal 
family support system were also susceptible. Traffickers living abroad 
often arrived in a village to marry a woman, only to dispose of her 
upon arrival in the destination country, where women were sold into 
bonded labor, menial jobs, or commercial sexual exploitation. Criminal 
gangs conducted some of the trafficking. The border with India was 
loosely controlled, especially around Jessore and Benapole, continuing 
to make illegal border crossings easy.
    Large numbers of children were used in brothels for commercial 
sexual exploitation, and procurers of minors were rarely prosecuted. 
UNICEF estimated in 2004 that there were 10,000 children forced into 
commercial sexual exploitation in the country, but other estimates 
placed the figure as high as 29,000 (see section 5, Children).
    Government corruption greatly facilitated the process of 
trafficking. Police and local government officials often ignored 
trafficking in women and children for commercial sexual exploitation 
and were easily bribed by brothel owners and pimps (see sections 1.c. 
and 5).
    Although a lack of resources hindered investigations, the 
Government expanded antitrafficking police units to every district to 
encourage victims to testify against their traffickers and to compile 
data on trafficking. In response to inadequately trained police and 
prosecutors, the Government worked with legal experts to provide 
specialized training to prosecutors and with the International 
Organization on Migration to develop a trafficking course for the 
National Police Academy.
    The Government continued its efforts to combat trafficking in 
persons through the trafficking monitoring cell at police headquarters, 
a monthly interministerial committee headed by the secretary of the 
Home Ministry. The cell monitored the activities of the police and 
assisted in prosecuting relevant cases. The Government had district 
monitoring committees headed by an additional deputy commissioner in 
all 64 districts. Among their other responsibilities, these committees 
transmitted to Dhaka monthly progress reports on arrests, convictions, 
acquittals, and repatriation of trafficked victims.
    Arrests, prosecutions, and convictions continued steadily. During 
the year the Home Ministry reported 221 persons arrested on trafficking 
charges and 42 convictions. Of those four resulted in death sentences, 
28 in life sentences, and 10 in sentences of varying durations. 
Nevertheless, the Government's capacity to address this issue remained 
limited. Government projects included conducting awareness campaigns, 
research, lobbying, and rescue and rehabilitation programs. 
Additionally, the secretary of the Home Ministry met monthly with NGOs 
working on antitrafficking issues to facilitate coordination and 
cooperation between the Government and civil society. The Home
    Ministry also adopted an awareness and motivation campaign policy 
to combat trafficking in persons.
    The Government convened two special interministerial committees, 
with the cooperation of local and international NGOs, to monitor the 
repatriation, rehabilitation, and social integration of repatriated 
camel jockeys. The Government also formed community care committees 
headed by local female government officials to help with their 
rehabilitation process. While the Government provided support for 
returning trafficking victims, government-run shelters were generally 
inadequate and poorly run. The Government increasingly referred 
repatriated victims to private shelter homes for care.
    Many NGOs, community-based organizations, and local government 
leaders worked on trafficking through prevention, research, data 
collection, documentation, advocacy, awareness creation and networking, 
cross-border collaboration, legal enforcement, rescue, rehabilitation, 
and legislative reform. Despite constraints such as lack of birth and 
marriage records at the village level, trafficking cases were 
prosecuted. There was limited success in increasing shelter capacity 
and developing rehabilitation programs.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for equal treatment 
and freedom from discrimination for persons with disabilities; however, 
in practice persons with disabilities faced social and economic 
discrimination. The law focuses on prevention of disability, treatment, 
education, rehabilitation and employment, transport accessibility, and 
advocacy.
    The Ministry of Social Welfare, the Department of Social Services, 
and the National Foundation for the Development of the Disabled were 
the Government agencies responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Welfare set up a task 
force, composed of government officials and members of NGOs, that 
adopted an action plan in 2004 to improve the overall welfare of the 
disabled. The plan awaits cabinet approval.
    Government facilities for treating persons with mental handicaps 
were inadequate. Several private initiatives existed in the areas of 
medical and vocational rehabilitation, as well as employment of persons 
with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--Tribal people had a marginal ability to 
influence decisions concerning the use of their lands. Despite the 1997 
Chittagong Hill Tracks Peace Accord, which ended 25 years of insurgency 
in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, law-and-order problems and alleged human 
rights violations continued, as did dissatisfaction with the 
implementation of the Peace Accord. The Land Commission dealing with 
land disputes between tribal individuals and Bengali settlers did not 
function effectively in addressing critical land disputes. Tribal 
leaders remained disappointed with the lack of assistance provided to 
those who left the area during the insurgency.
    During the year according to a human rights organization, 29 
persons died and 361 were injured in violence in the Chittagong Hill 
Tracts. Moreover, 22 persons were kidnapped, three women were raped, 
and 42 persons were arrested.
    On April 3, a group of Bengali settlers clashed with tribal people 
in Saprue Karbaripara and two neighboring villages in Khagrachhari 
district, leaving 12 persons injured. According to a tribal group, the 
clash erupted after a group of Bengali women attempted to build a house 
on land owned by tribal villagers.
    On June 12, security forces killed 10 individuals, reported to be 
members of an insurgent group from India in a raid on a camp inside 
Rangamati hill district close to the Indian border. The joint team of 
army and RAB personnel recovered arms and ammunition from the camp 
after a gunfight.
    There was no corrective action relating to the 2004 case of 
violence against Bengalis in Rangamati.
    Tribal people in other areas also reported loss of land to Bengali 
Muslims. Government initiated ecoparks and national park projects on 
land traditionally owned by indigenous communities continued to develop 
in the Moulvibazar and Modhupur forest area despite the resistance 
efforts of indigenous groups. On August 21, forest guards shot and 
injured Sisilia Snal, a Garo woman, while she collected firewood in 
Madhupur forest. According to BSEHR, police refused to file a case 
against the forest guards.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexual acts are 
illegal; however, in practice the law is rarely invoked. The law states 
that ``whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of 
nature with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with 
imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a 
term which may extend to ten years, and shall be liable to fine.''
    There were a few informal support networks for homosexual men, but 
organizations to assist lesbians were almost non-existent.
    Incidents of attacks on homosexuals were difficult to track because 
victims' desired confidentiality and local human rights groups did not 
monitor this area, but they were known to occur. Government safeguards 
in this area were nonexistent. There were few studies on homosexuality 
in the county, and information was difficult to collect. According to 
one report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2002, homosexual men were 
subject to harassment and rape by police and local criminals without 
proper methods of recourse, due to societal discrimination. HRW also 
found that homosexual men often faced threats of extortion. According 
to HRW considerable official and societal discrimination existed 
against those who provided HIV prevention services and against high-
risk groups likely to spread HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to 
join unions and, with government approval the right to form a union; 
however, the Government did not always respect this right in practice. 
The total work force was approximately 65 million persons, of whom 1.8 
million belonged to unions, most of which were affiliated with 
political parties. There were no reliable labor statistics for the 
large informal sector, in which the vast majority (75 to 80 percent) of 
citizens worked. Special legislation on unionization prohibited unions 
in the country's export processing zones (EPZs), but effective November 
1, legislation permitted unions, called ``workers' associations,'' to 
have limited collective bargaining rights but with effective 
limitations to their right to affiliate with international and other 
local unions. EPZ management restricted individual EPZ factory unions, 
members, and representatives from affiliating, communicating, or 
meeting with other EPZ factory unions.
    The new labor law enacted during the year consolidated laws from 
eight separate acts into one law. According to the consolidated law, a 
workplace must have 30 percent union participation for union 
registration but is restricted to no more than three trade unions at 
the same time. Labor activists contended that this reduced the ability 
of workers to shift registrations from one union to another. Would-be 
unionists technically are forbidden to engage in many activities such 
as member advocacy prior to registration and legally are not protected 
from employer retaliation during this period. Labor activists protested 
that this requirement severely restricted workers' rights to organize, 
particularly in small enterprises and the private sector, and the 
International Labor Organization (ILO) recommended that the Government 
amend the 30 percent provision.
    During the year the ILO recommended that the Government amend 
provisions that bar registration of a union composed of workers from 
different workplaces owned by different employers. An estimated 15 
percent of the approximately 5,450 labor unions were affiliated with 25 
officially registered National Trade Union (NTU) centers. There were 
also several unregistered NTUs.
    Unions were generally highly politicized and were strongest in 
state-owned enterprises and in such institutions as the government-run 
port of Chittagong. Civil service and security force employees were 
forbidden to join unions because of their highly political character. 
Teachers in both the public and the private sector were not allowed to 
form trade unions. The new labor law allowed workers in specialized 
fields in civil aviation and on ocean going vessels to form trade 
unions under certain conditions.
    The Registrar of Trade Unions has the right to cancel registration 
of a union with the concurrence of the labor court, but no such actions 
were known to have taken place during the year. However, the law 
afforded unionists the right of appeal in the case of denial of 
registration, were it to occur.
    There were provisions in the Industrial Relations Ordinance for the 
immunity of registered unions or union officers from civil liability. 
Enforcement of these provisions was uneven. In past illegal work 
actions, such as transportation blockades, police officers arrested 
union members under the Special Powers Act or regular criminal codes.
    Trade unionists were required to obtain government clearance to 
travel to ILO meetings.
    During the year the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 
continued to note a number of exclusions of international trade union 
rights under the Industrial Relations Ordinance. These exclusions 
include restrictions on membership in unions and election of union 
officials, restrictions on activities of public servants' associations, 
and restrictions on the basic labor rights in the EPZs.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not protect unions from conducting their organizing activities free 
from interference by employers. In practice, private sector employers 
usually discouraged any union activity, fired workers suspected of 
organizing or sympathizing with unions, placed informants in work 
areas, and in some cases, intimidated workers using plain-clothed 
security forces working in collaboration with local police. The ITUC 
and trade unionists cited the requirement for 30 percent of the 
workforce to agree to unionization as an overly restrictive regulation 
on the right to organize. The right to strike is not recognized 
specifically by the law, but strikes were a common form of workers' 
protest and were recognized as a legitimate avenue for addressing 
unresolved grievances by the Industrial Relations Ordinance of 1969.
    The Registrar of Trade Unions rules on union-organizing 
discrimination complaints. In a number of cases, the labor court 
ordered the reinstatement of workers fired for union activities. 
However, the labor court's overall effectiveness was hampered by a 
serious case backlog. Alternative dispute resolution techniques began 
to be used to decrease the backlog.
    Collective bargaining was legal on the condition that unions 
legally registered by the Registrar of Trade Unions as collective 
bargaining agents represent workers. The law simplified and clarified 
the procedure for selecting a collective bargaining agent (CBA) and 
specified time limits for specified steps in the process. Collective 
bargaining occurred occasionally in large private enterprises such as 
pharmaceuticals, jute, or textiles, but due to concerns over job 
security, most workers did not practice collective bargaining. 
Collective bargaining in small private enterprises generally did not 
occur.
    In addition, opposition political parties used general strikes to 
pressure the Government to meet political demands. Some employees 
organized in professional associations or unregistered unions went on 
strike during the year.
    The Essential Services Ordinance permits the Government to bar 
strikes for three months in any sector it declares essential. During 
the year the Government continued to impose the ordinance on the Power 
Development Board, the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority, Bangladesh 
Biman Airline, the Chittagong Port Authority, and the Bangladesh 
Petroleum Corporation.
    The Government continued its ban on collective bargaining authority 
in jute mills during production time. In the past the Government had 
applied this ban to national airline pilots, water supply workers, and 
shipping employees. The Government is empowered to prohibit a strike or 
lockout at any time before or after the strike or lockout begins and to 
refer the dispute to the labor court.
    Mechanisms for conciliation, arbitration, and labor court dispute 
resolution are established under the Industrial Relations Ordinance and 
consolidated in the new labor law. The consolidation was intended to 
enhance and speed up the process of dispute resolution. Workers have 
the right to strike in the event of a failure to settle. If the strike 
lasts 30 days or longer, the Government may prohibit it and refer the 
dispute to the labor court for adjudication, although this had not 
happened in recent years.
    There are EPZs in the country. In July 2004 the Government enacted 
the EPZ Workers' Association and Industrial Relations Act (the ``EPZ 
law'') allowing limited freedom of association rights in EPZs. The 
country's eight EPZs are exempt from the application of the Employment 
of Labor (Standing Orders) Act, the Industrial Relations Ordinance, and 
the Factories Act, thereby excluding workers in the zones from 
protection for their rights to organize and bargain collectively, and 
from coverage by laws governing wages, hours, and safety and health 
standards. While substitutes for some of the provisions of these laws 
are implemented through EPZ regulations, EPZ officials interpreted the 
EPZ regulations and law narrowly. The EPZ did not permit Worker 
Representation and Welfare Committee (WRWC) members to meet with WRWC 
members in other factories, did not permit them to meet with outside 
labor organizations on their own time after the completion of the work 
day, and did not consistently afford time for WRWC members to meet 
together in their factories. Contrary to the law, individual factory 
owners fired members of the WRWC without prior authorization of the 
BEPZA Executive Chairman.
    Under the EPZ law, effective November 1, workers are permitted to 
form workers' associations, which would have the legal right to strike, 
to conduct collective bargaining, or to enjoy unlimited affiliation 
with other labor organizations. At year's end EPZ officials had not 
appointed a labor tribunal or a labor tribunal pursuant to the EPZ law. 
Workers in EPZs do not have any legal recourse for filing worker 
complaints since they are not allowed to file cases in labor courts.
    In May and June, labor unrest occurred in areas surrounding the 
Dhaka EPZ. In the wake of the unrest, EPZ managers conducted acts of 
intimidation and abuse, arbitrarily locked-out employees, and fired 
workers and WRWC members without the prior approval of the executive 
chairman in violation of the EPZ law.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, the Government 
did not enforce this prohibition effectively. The Factories Act and 
Shops and Establishments Act created inspection mechanisms to 
strengthen laws against forced labor, but these laws were not enforced 
rigorously, partly because resources were scarce. There was no bonded 
or forced labor in large-scale enterprises; nevertheless, numerous 
domestic servants, including many children, worked in conditions that 
resembled servitude and many suffered physical abuse, sometimes 
resulting in death. There continued to be numerous reports of violence 
against domestic workers. The Government brought criminal charges 
against employers who abused domestic servants. Many impoverished 
families settled instead for financial compensation. Trafficking of 
women and children was a problem (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are numerous laws regulating child employment depending on the 
type of work and the child's age. Because of widespread poverty, many 
children began to work at a very young age. The Government's 2003 
National Child Labor Survey estimated that approximately 3.2 million 
children between the ages of five and 14 years worked in 200 different 
types of activities. During the year the ILO released a 2005 Baseline 
Survey for Determining Hazardous Child Labor Sectors, which estimated 
that of the 2.2 million workers in 45 targeted hazardous sectors, 
532,000 child workers aged five to 17 did hazardous labor. According to 
the survey, no children worked in ship breaking, manufacture of 
cigarettes, manufacture of pesticides, or fireworks manufacture during 
the survey period. According to the study, child labor was prevalent in 
hazardous establishments such as saw milling, battery recharging, 
welding, metal works, and carpentry. In addition the report concluded 
that children often were subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
    According to consistent anecdotal reports, several thousand 
children worked in the fish drying industry for five months of the year 
under harsh conditions and supervised by abusive adults. There were 
government efforts to prevent this practice, mitigate the harsh 
conditions, and punish abusive employers.
    Children routinely performed domestic work. The Government 
sometimes brought criminal charges against employers who abused 
domestic servants. Under the law every child must attend school through 
grade five or the age of 10 years. However, there was no effective 
mechanism to enforce this provision. The National Labor Committee 
alleged that Harvest Rich Enterprises employed child workers in its 
garment factories, but the company denied the allegations.
    There was virtually no enforcement of child labor laws outside the 
export garment sector. Penalties for child labor violations were 
nominal fines ranging from an estimated four to 10 dollars (taka 228 to 
taka 570). Most child workers were employed in agriculture and other 
informal sectors, where no government oversight occurred.
    Before the new labor law consolidated various labor laws, the legal 
age of employment varied by sector and ranged from 12 to 16 years of 
age. Under the new law, employment of anyone under 15 years of age in 
any sector is prohibited.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage. Instead, the National Wage Board, which convenes sporadically, 
sets wages and benefits industry by industry, using a range based on 
skill level. In most cases private sector employers ignored this wage 
structure. In the garment industry, it was common practice for smaller 
factories to force workers to work overtime, delay their pay, or 
receive trainee wages well past the maximum three months. The wages in 
the EPZs were higher than wages outside the zones. During the year the 
ITUC reported that wages outside the EPZs were not sufficient to 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The 
National Wage Board announced an increase in the minimum wage, but 
there was widespread opposition from manufacturers towards its 
implementation as well as protests from workers who perceived the 
increase as insufficient.
    The September 2005 law that mandated a five-day, 40-hour work-week 
was unevenly enforced. The law applied to government employees, banks, 
NGOs, and other office workers. Factory workers continued to labor 
under the old law, a 48-hour workweek, with a mandated one day off and 
up to 12 hours of overtime.
    During the year a number of factory fires killed over 100 workers 
and injured many more. The Factories Act nominally sets occupational 
health and safety standards. Factory owner association efforts to 
improve safety were ineffective, according to local NGOs. The law is 
comprehensive but was largely ignored by employers. Workers may resort 
to legal action for enforcement of the law's provisions, but few cases 
were prosecuted. Enforcement by the Labor Ministry's industrial 
inspectors was weak, due both to the low number of labor inspectors and 
to endemic corruption and inefficiency among inspectors. Due to a high 
unemployment rate and inadequate enforcement of the laws, workers 
demanding correction of dangerous working conditions or refusing to 
participate in perceived dangerous activities risked losing their jobs.

                               __________

                                 BHUTAN

    Bhutan is a hereditary monarchy with a population of 672,000. On 
December 9, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck signed a royal decree handing 
power over to his son, Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. The 
King governs with the support of a National Assembly, a cabinet, and a 
Council of Ministers. As head of state, the King is responsible for 
matters relating to the country's security and sovereignty. Citizens 
elected 106 of the 150 representatives in the National Assembly in 
2003, with 10 ministers elected by the National Assembly, 10 
representatives nominated by the central Buddhist clergy, and 24 
government officials nominated in their ex-officio capacity by the King 
to represent government and other secular interests. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    The following human rights problems remained noteworthy: limited 
right to change government; restrictions on assembly and association; 
restrictions on freedom of religion, limited political expression, 
restrictions on political parties and discrimination against the ethnic 
Nepali minority.
    Political changes took place throughout the year as the country 
laid the ground work for its transition to a parliamentary democracy. 
In June and July, Parliament passed four legislative acts including the 
Anti-Corruption Act that launched a countrywide education and advocacy 
program; the Audit Act that enhanced the organizational and functional 
independence of the Royal Audit Authority; the Information, 
Communications and Media Act that contains provisions for freedom of 
speech and the press; and the Office of the Attorney General Act, which 
made the Office an autonomous agency. At the end of the year, the 
National Assembly also enacted the Labor and Employment Act.
                        respect for human rights
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 
reportedly were satisfactory, and buildings and installations remain in 
fairly good condition. In December the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC) conducted its 24th round of visits to the Lodrai Sub-
district Jail and Chamgang Central Jail. In both places authorities 
kept prisoners incarcerated for politically motivated crimes in areas 
separate from common criminals.
    During the year the Government extended the ICRC prison visits 
program for another year, as it had done annually since a five year 
Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the ICRC and the Government 
in 1998. Authorities allowed the ICRC unhindered access to prisons.

    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 Bhutan 
Police, under the control of the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, 
had responsibility for internal security. The Royal Bhutan Army had 
responsibility for external threats but also had some internal security 
responsibilities, such as guarding forests, providing VIP protection, 
and conducting counterinsurgency operations. Corruption and impunity 
were not problems during the year.

    Arrest and Detention.--Under the law police may not arrest a person 
without a warrant, must immediately inform the accused of the charge, 
must make a reasonable effort to inform the person's family of the 
arrest, and must bring an arrested person before a court within 24 
hours, exclusive of travel time from place of arrest. The police 
normally respected the law in practice. There were no reports of 
arbitrary arrest or detention during the year.
    An undetermined number of Nepal-based refugees who attempted to 
return to the country were turned over to Indian authorities and 
returned to camps in Nepal. ICRC and the Nepal Red Cross Society 
continued to partially reimburse fare for the families of the detainees 
living in United Nations UNHCR) run camps in Nepal wishing to visit 
their relatives detained in Chamgang.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law does not provide for an 
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary generally enforced 
the right to a fair trial.
    The judiciary is overseen by the National Judicial Commission 
(NJC).
    The judicial system consists of three branches, the sub-divisional 
court, the district court, and a high court. Local headmen and 
magistrates (thrimpon) hear cases in the first instance. Appeals may be 
made to a six-member High Court (also known as the Royal Court of 
Justice). From the High Court, a final appeal may be made to the King. 
Only the King can pardon or commute a sentence. The King appointed 
judges to the High Court and 20 district courts on the recommendation 
of the NJC. The judges may be removed, suspended, or censured by the 
King only at the request of the NJC. The chief justice, using 
recommendations of the Judicial Service Council, made judicial 
appointments to the sub-divisional courts.
    The Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) is the judicial support 
department of the Government and conducted state prosecutions, drafted 
and reviewed legislation, and rendered legal counsel. The OLA consists 
of a legal services division with domestic, international, and human 
rights sections, and a prosecution division with a criminal section and 
a civil section.

    Trial Procedures.--The law stipulates that defendants receive a 
fair and speedy trial, as long as it does not limit the ability of the 
accused to prepare an adequate defense, and these conditions generally 
were respected. Bail is also available depending on the severity of 
charges, the suspect's past criminal record, likelihood of flight, and 
potential threat to the public. A preliminary hearing must be convened 
within 10 days of registration with the appropriate court. Before any 
guilty or no contest plea is registered, the court must determine that 
the accused is mentally sound and understands the consequences of such 
action. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and all cases must 
be proved to the ``beyond a reasonable doubt'' standard. Juries were 
not used. Punishments included imprisonment, probation, fines, or 
restitution. Defendants have the right to appeal to the High Court and 
may make a final appeal to the King, who traditionally delegated the 
decision to the Royal Advisory Council. Trials were conducted publicly, 
except for family law and cases involving juveniles.
    Citizens generally had the right to a fair trial. Courts 
adjudicated criminal cases and a variety of civil matters under both 
customary law and the legal code. State-appointed prosecutors filed 
charges and prosecuted cases for offenses against the state. In other 
cases the relevant organizations and departments of government filed 
charges and conducted the prosecution. Defendants and their attorneys 
had access to government-held evidence.
    Defendants may choose legal representation from a list of 165 
government-licensed advocates. The OLA stated that most defendants 
sought legal assistance only in serious criminal cases. Legal counsel 
is not free; therefore, many citizens unable to afford representation 
did not receive professional legal assistance. Village headmen, who had 
the power to arbitrate disputes, constituted the bottom rung of the 
judicial system. Magistrates, each with responsibility for a block of 
villages, could review the decisions of village headmen. Magistrates' 
decisions could be appealed to district judges, of which there was one 
for each of the country's 20 districts.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--By year's end 43 persons 
remained incarcerated under the National Security Act of 1992 and the 
Supreme Law of the Land (Chinchun Chempo) in connection with violence 
associated with political dissidence from 1991 to 92. They were all 
sentenced, and the Government permitted ICRC regular access to them.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Criminal matters and most 
civil matters are resolved by application of the 17th century legal 
code as revised in 1957 and in 2001. Precedence is not used in the 
delivery of justice. Questions of family law are governed by 
traditional Buddhist or Hindu law. Minor offenses are adjudicated by 
village headmen.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Only an authorized 
agent of the Government may search mail without a warrant and only if 
there is cause to suspect that the parcel contains narcotics, 
contraband such as weapons or explosives, or information that could be 
harmful to public health or security. Wiretapping is not allowed 
without a warrant.
    Human rights groups argued that the Government interfered with 
individual rights by requiring all citizens, including minorities, to 
wear the traditional dress of the ethnic majority in all public places. 
The Government strictly enforced the law only for Buddhist religious 
buildings, government offices, schools, official functions, and public 
ceremonies; otherwise, the enforcement of this law was sporadic, and it 
was common to see people in nontraditional dress throughout the country 
(see section 5).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--In July the National Assembly 
adopted the Information, Communications and Media Act that contains 
provisions to ensure the freedom of speech and press. Individuals were 
able to criticize the Government publicly; however, the Government did 
at times attempt to impede criticism and monitor political meetings.
    During the year two independent newspapers started publication. On 
April 30, The Bhutan Observer, an English weekly newspaper, began 
printing, and on June 2, The Bhutan Times, a weekly newspaper published 
in English and in Dzongkha, began publication. The two new newspapers 
were critical at times of the Government. Along with Kuensel, a pro-
government private biweekly newspaper, they reported stories on a daily 
basis through online editions. On November 11, Bhutan Now, a monthly 
periodical, began publication. As reported in previous years, according 
to the editorial staff and management of Kuensel, publication was 
independent, funded entirely through advertising and subscription 
revenue, and was free to report on any subject. During the year Kuensel 
often published stories critical of the Government and highlighted 
societal problems. Its board consisted of senior civil servants and 
private individuals. Kuensel was published in English, Dzongkha, and 
Nepali. Foreign newspapers and magazines were available.
    On September 28, a private FM radio station, Kuzoo FM 90, began 
operating 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. The state-owned Bhutan 
Broadcasting Service ran other radio and television stations. The 
Government limited the number of television channels available, 
although a large variety of television programming was available in the 
country, including CNN, BBC, and a number of Indian news services. 
There were no private broadcasters. The Government did not censor 
content.

    Internet Freedom.--Internet access was growing and was 
unrestricted. There were no reports of government restrictions on 
access to the Internet; however, the Government regulated all material 
on the Internet that it considered pornographic. Individuals and groups 
could engage in peaceful expression of views via the Internet, 
including by electronic 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 does not provide for freedom of assembly, and the 
Government restricted this right in practice.

    Freedom of Association.--The law does not provide for freedom of 
association, and the Government restricted this right in practice by 
not permitting the creation of political parties and organizations; 
however, the Government allowed civic and business organizations to 
function freely. The Government regarded political parties organized by 
ethnic Nepalese exiles--the Bhutan People's Party, the Bhutan National 
Democratic Party, and the Druk National Congress--as illegal, 
terrorist, and antinational. These parties, which sought the 
repatriation of refugees and democratic reforms, were unable to conduct 
activities inside the country.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion; 
however, there were allegations that the Government restricted this 
right in practice and Mahayana Buddhism was the state religion.
    The Government subsidized monasteries and shrines of the Drukpa 
sect and provided aid to approximately one-third of the Kingdom's 
12,000 monks. The Government also provided financial assistance for the 
construction of Drukpa Kagyupa and Ningmapa Buddhist temples and 
shrines. The Government maintained that it supported the monastic 
establishment in accordance with an agreement it made with the 
Buddhists in 1956 when the Government seized land from them for 
redistribution to landless citizens. In exchange the Government 
committed to providing financial support to the monasteries. Societal 
pressure for conformity with Drukpa Kagyupa norms was prevalent.
    The King declared one major Hindu festival a national holiday and 
the royal family participated in it. There was only one Hindu temple in 
Thimphu. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that permission 
from the Government to build religious temples was required but rarely 
granted for non-Buddhist religious buildings, with the last reported 
Hindu temple constructed in the early 1990s. Followers of religions 
other than Buddhism and Hinduism were free to worship in private homes 
but could not erect religious buildings or congregate in public. 
International Christian relief organizations and Jesuit priests were 
active in education and humanitarian activities. Proselytism and 
conversion, particularly through the provision of financial and 
economic incentives, were deemed illegal by the Government due to the 
National Security Act, which prohibits ``words either spoken or 
written, or by other means whatsoever, promotes or attempts to promote, 
on grounds of religion, race, language, caste or community, or on any 
other ground whatsoever, feelings of enmity or hatred between different 
religious, racial or language groups or castes and communities". 
Violating the act is punishable with up to three years' imprisonment, 
although it was not clear that the Government enforced this provision 
of the act.
    On January 7, authorities arrested two civil servants for 
proselytizing Christianity in the village of Nago in the Paro District. 
The Government found them guilty of falsely calling a village meeting 
on the pretext of holding an official meeting, proselytism, maligning 
the Spiritual Head of Bhutan, posing as officials on business, and 
giving false information. Authorities released the prisoners on July 
29.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to dissidents living 
outside the country, the Government permitted only Buddhist religious 
teaching in schools. Some dissidents claimed that Buddhist prayer is 
compulsory in all government-run schools; however, the Government 
contended that Buddhist teaching was permitted only in monastic schools 
and that religious teaching was forbidden in other schools. Although 
students take part in a prayer session each morning, the sessions are 
nondenominational and non- compulsory. Government authorities sometimes 
asked applicants for government services to state their religion before 
services were rendered. The Government required all civil servants to 
take an oath of allegiance, did not have religious content but was 
administered by a Buddhist Lama (see section 5).
    The country does not have a Jewish population, and there were no 
reports of anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, but 
the Government placed limits on them in practice. There were highway 
checkpoints in districts that bordered China or Assam at which persons 
were required to show their citizenship identity cards. Citizens 
traveling in border regions were required to show these cards at 
immigration check points.
    The law does not address forced exile. Although the Government 
officially does not use formal exile, in previous years many political 
dissidents freed under government amnesties stated that they were 
released on the condition that they depart the country. The Government 
denied this. Many of those released subsequently registered at refugee 
camps in Nepal, while some relocated to India.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the Government has not 
established a system for providing or denying protection to refugees. 
There are no reports that the Government provided or denied protection 
against refoulement, the return of persons to a county where they 
feared persecution.
    The Government restricted emigration and prohibited the return of 
citizens who left the country. The country's citizenship laws state 
that persons who have left the country of their own accord, without the 
knowledge or permission of the Government, or whose names are not 
recorded in the citizenship register maintained in the Ministry of Home 
Affairs (MHA), will not be considered citizens of the country. Some 
dissidents claimed that this law was created specifically to deny 
citizenship to ethnic Nepalese Bhutanese. Over the years local 
government offices gave many such persons identity cards without 
registering them with the central offices of the MHA.
    Implementation of a nationwide census in 1980s, rather than changed 
citizenship requirements, resulted in the denaturalization of many 
ethnic Nepalese residents. The census, which was initially conducted 
across the country in 1985, was re-conducted in 1988-1989 in the 
southern districts. At that time people were required to demonstrate 
land documents from 1958. Those who lost citizenship under the 1985 law 
were permitted to apply for citizenship provided that certain 
conditions were met, including 20 years of residency, proficiency in 
speaking and writing Dzongkha, a ``good moral character,'' and no 
record of having spoken or acted against the King, country, and its 
people. Those who could not meet the new citizenship requirements were 
deemed to be illegal immigrants. In addition, citizens who voluntarily 
emigrated without government approval lost their citizenship. Beginning 
in 1988 the Government expelled large numbers of ethnic Nepalese under 
the 1985 citizenship law.
    From 1990 to 1993, more than 80,000 ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese 
entered Nepal seeking refuge. When they first arrived between 1990 and 
1991, prior to the establishment of camps and the provision of 
international assistance, the ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese refugees lived 
in harsh conditions. Numerous refugees told UNHCR that they want to 
return to Bhutan. Approximately 15,000 additional ethnic-Nepalese 
Bhutanese fled Nepal to India, but UNHCR did not accord them refugee 
status. Since 1993 the country has had a series of negotiations with 
Nepal, conducted under the auspices of the Joint Verification Team 
(JVT) to resolve the refugee problem; however, the JVT process has been 
delayed since 2003.
    The Citizenship Act provides for the revocation of the citizenship 
of any naturalized citizen who ``has shown by act or speech to be 
disloyal in any manner whatsoever to the King, country, and people of 
Bhutan.'' The Home Ministry later declared in a circular that any 
nationals leaving the country to assist ``anti-nationals,'' and the 
families of such persons, would forfeit their citizenship. Human rights 
groups alleged that these provisions were used widely to revoke the 
citizenship of ethnic Nepalese who subsequently were expelled from or 
otherwise departed the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens do not have the right to change their government. The 
country is a monarchy with sovereign power vested in the King. However, 
in 2005 the Government released a draft constitution stipulating a 
constitutional monarchy with limited right to change the Government, a 
separation of powers, and protection of human rights. The Government 
stated it would enact the constitution in 2008 and began establishing 
institutions required by the draft constitution.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2003 citizens elected 
106 members of the 150-member National Assembly. Of the remaining 44 
seats, the Buddhist clergy nominated 10, the National Assembly elected 
10 ministers, and the King nominated 24. The National Assembly has the 
power to remove ministers whom the King nominates, but it has never 
done so. Political authority has devolved to the National Assembly, 
which can pass legislation; however, ultimate control remained with the 
King and the cabinet, which is composed of the Royal Advisory Council 
and the Council of Ministers.
    The National Assembly, which convenes twice a year, elects the 
Council of Ministers and the Royal Advisory Council. A special session, 
if necessary, can be called at any time.
    Each national assembly constituency consisted of a number of 
villages. Each village was permitted to nominate one candidate, 
conducted by secret ballot, according to national election law. There 
is no provision for self nomination, and the law states that no person 
may campaign for the candidacy or canvass through other means. The 
Government did not allow political parties. The Government banned 
parties established abroad by ethnic Nepalese and eastern Bhutanese 
(see section 2.b.).
    The King nominates all cabinet ministers who are then elected by 
the National Assembly. A minister's term is limited to five years, 
after which he or she must pass a vote of confidence in the National 
Assembly to remain in office. The National Assembly, by a two-thirds 
vote of no confidence, can require the King to abdicate to be replaced 
by the next person in the line of succession. The position of chairman 
of the council of ministers rotates on a yearly basis, beginning with 
the minister who received the most votes. The chairman serves as prime 
minister and head of government. In September Foreign Minister Lyonpo 
Khandu Wangchuck became chairman and prime minister.
    There were 15 women in the 150-member National Assembly and two 
women on the High Court. Women constituted 23 percent of civil service 
employees, and women held more than 30 percent of positions at the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There was no provision for allocating a 
set number or percentage of parliamentary seats for women or members of 
minority groups.
    All major ethnic groups were represented in the National Assembly, 
including 14 ethnic Nepalese. Nevertheless, NGOs reported that ethnic 
Nepalese were underrepresented in the assembly.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were reports of 
government corruption during the year. The Government took an active 
role in addressing the issue through the Public Accounts Committee in 
the National Assembly and the Royal Audit Authority, which monitored 
the use of government funds. The anticorruption fraud alert system 
allowed citizens to post information on its Web site regarding corrupt 
practices. In December 2005 the King created an Anti-Corruption 
Commission by royal decree. The Government stated during the transition 
to a parliamentary democracy, ``it is very important to curb and root 
out corruption from the very beginning.'' On July 3, the Government 
passed the Anti-Corruption Bill creating a framework for investigating 
and prosecuting corruption. The bill allows the Government to freeze 
assets of suspects, blacklist companies from participating in 
government tenders, revoke licenses, and manage anticorruption 
policies.
    There is no law providing for public access to government 
information; however, NGOs reported that the Government regularly 
provided unclassified information upon request.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no legal human rights organizations in the country. The 
Government regarded human rights groups established by ethnic Nepalese 
exiles--the Human Rights Organization of Bhutan, the People's Forum for 
Human Rights in Bhutan, and the Association of Human Rights Activists-
Bhutan--as political organizations and did not permit them to operate 
in the country.
    ICRC representatives conducted an annual prison visit, and the 
Government provided them unhindered access to detention facilities, 
including those in southern districts inhabited by ethnic Nepalese. The 
ICRC stated that the Government was open and forthright during prison 
visits and, as of this year, stopped biannual checks.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, 
disability, language, or social status.

    Women.--The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence 
against women; however, the provisions of criminal law generally cover 
such crimes. Women have the same legal rights as men, and NGOs reported 
that women faced no overt discrimination and had equal access to health 
care, education, and public services. There was no evidence that rape 
or spousal abuse were extensive problems. However, NGOs reported that 
many women did not report rape because of cultural taboos or because 
they were unaware of their legal options.
    The Rape Act contains a clear definition of criminal sexual assault 
and specified penalties. In cases of rape involving minors, sentences 
range from five to 17 years in prison. In extreme cases a rapist may be 
imprisoned for life. Spousal rape is illegal. There were few reported 
instances of sexual harassment.
    Women were accorded respect in the traditions of most ethnic groups 
and participated freely in the social and economic life of the country. 
Inheritance law provides for equal inheritance among all sons and 
daughters, but traditional inheritance practices, which vary among 
ethnic groups, may be observed if the heirs choose to forego legal 
challenges. For example traditional inheritance laws for the majority 
of Buddhists stipulate that daughters inherit family land. As a result, 
60 percent of rural women hold land registration titles. These 
inheritance practices favoring daughters reportedly accounted for the 
large numbers of women who owned shops and businesses. Tradition 
dictates that the most capable member of the family runs the household, 
which often resulted in the mother or eldest daughter holding this 
position. Within the household men and women were relatively equal. 
Female school enrollment was 48.3 percent and was growing in response 
to government policies encouraging and funding universal attendance. 
Women in unskilled jobs generally were paid slightly less than men in 
the same positions. In 2004 women constituted approximately 30 percent 
of the formal work force. Dowries were not customary, even among ethnic 
Nepalese Hindus.
    Questions related to family law, including divorce, child custody, 
and inheritance, were adjudicated by the Marriage Act of 1996. The 
minimum age of marriage for women was 18 years. The law provides for 
equal treatment for both men and women. Polygamy is allowed provided 
the first wife gives her permission. Polyandry is permitted but rare. 
Marriages may be arranged by the marriage partners themselves as well 
as by their parents. The law requires that all marriages be registered.
    The National Women's Association of Bhutan tried to encourage women 
to improve their living standards and socio-economic status. In 2004 
the Government created a National Commission for Women and Children, 
which actively defended the rights of women and children during the 
year.

    Children.--The law provides for children's rights, and the 
Government's policies generally supported these provisions.
    There are 512 educational facilities with approximately 190,000 
students in the country. There was tremendous growth in the number of 
non-formal education (literacy courses) centers. In 1992 there were six 
institutions with 300 students; there are now 646 institutions with 
18,550 students. The Government provides 11 years of universal, free, 
and compulsory primary school education, and primary school enrollment 
increased 4.2 percent per year since 1995. The Ministry of Education 
reported that enrollment of girls at every level of general education 
(except government schools) is approximately 48 percent. During the 
year the participation rate for children between the ages of six and 12 
in primary schools was approximately 80 percent. Completion rates for 
girls continued to surpass that of boys. Rural areas were home to over 
80 percent of all primary schools.
    There is no law barring ethnic Nepalese children from attending 
school; however, the Government denied security clearance forms to 
children of ethnic Nepalese whom the Government claimed were anti-
nationals, thus denying them higher education. Exile groups claimed 
that Nepalese secondary-level students scoring highly on national 
exams, because of their inability to obtain a passport, were not always 
given the same advantages as other students, such as the chance to 
study abroad at government expense, particularly if they were related 
to prominent dissidents or refugees. The Government refuted this claim, 
stating that all scholarships were merit based.
    The law prohibits the employment of children, but child labor was 
present (see section 6.d.). Child abuse was rare.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in 
persons; however, there were no reports that persons were trafficked 
to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically protect 
the rights of citizens with disabilities; however, there was no 
evidence of official discrimination against persons with disabilities 
in matters of employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services. The law stipulates that new 
buildings must be constructed to allow access for persons with 
disabilities; however, the law was not always enforced. Under the 
Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Program, the Government seeks 
to provide medical rehabilitation for all types of disabilities, 
promote integration of children with disabilities into normal schools, 
support activities for vocational rehabilitation of adults with 
disabilities, and foster community awareness and social integration of 
persons with disabilities in community activities.
    There are special educational institutes for students with 
disabilities. The National Institute for the Disabled (NID) in Khaling 
educates visually handicapped children. The institute had an enrollment 
of 45 students and 12 teachers. There was a Deaf Education resource 
unit at In Drukgyel in Paro. In Changangkha in Thimphu, special 
education facilities were constructed to meet the needs of physically 
and mentally challenged children. While there were no government-
sponsored social welfare services available for people with 
disabilities, the National Pension and Provident Fund entitles benefits 
to people with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--In the late 1980s and early 
1990s, the Government committed numerous abuses against ethnic 
Nepalese. This led to the departure or involuntary expulsion of an 
estimated 100,000 ethnic Nepalese, although the Government asserted 
substantially fewer left. At the time the Government claimed it was 
concerned about the rapid influx and associated political agitation of 
ethnic Nepalese. Since then the Government claimed that ethnic and 
gender discrimination in employment was not a problem. It stated that 
ethnic Nepalese constituted 25 percent of the population and comprised 
16 percent of the civil service and government employment; however, 
human rights groups active outside the country claimed that ethnic 
Nepalese actually make up approximately one-third of the country's 
population and that the Government deliberately underreported their 
numbers. Ethnic Nepalese claimed that they were subject to 
discrimination and prejudice.
    The law requires that the national dress be worn for official 
occasions and as a school uniform and that the Dzongkha language be 
taught as a second language in all schools. No instruction in Nepali as 
a second language was required or offered. After the expulsion of many 
ethnic Nepalese in the early 1990s, discriminatory measures with regard 
to ethnic minority communities continued.
    The Government has resettled Drukpa Bhutanese in the southern part 
of the country on land vacated by the ethnic Nepalese living in refugee 
camps in Nepal. Human rights groups maintained that this prejudiced any 
eventual outcome of negotiations over the return of the refugees to the 
country. The Government maintained that it occasionally resettled 
ethnic Nepalese from the south on more fertile land in other parts of 
the country. In the same fashion the Government's one-time only policy 
on the forced retirement of refugee family members in government 
service and the resettlement of Drukpa on land vacated by expelled 
ethnic Nepalese in the south reinforced prejudice against ethnic 
Nepalese. The Government claimed that the resettlement scheme was part 
of a nationwide program to discourage migration to urban centers and 
reduce landless people's dependence on migrant farming.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form or 
join unions; however, there were no labor unions operating in the 
country during the year. The Government maintained that, with very 
little industrialization, there was little labor to be organized. The 
Ministry of Employment reported in 2004 that the total labor force 
numbered 216,500 persons, 166,200 of whom worked in rural areas.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not authorize collective bargaining or the right to strike.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred. The Government required 
community service to build local roads, schools, and hospitals. The 
Government and NGOs stated that rural workers often volunteered to work 
on national projects and were paid slightly above the minimum wage of 
$2.50 (112.70 ngultrums) per day. There was no evidence to suggest that 
the Government subjected domestic workers to coerced or bonded labor.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children; however, child labor was 
prevalent. There is no minimum age for employment. Children under 18 
often performed agricultural work and chores on family farms and shops 
after school and during holidays. NGOs estimated that there were 
approximately 45,000 persons under 18 who were working. A large 
majority of these children worked for their families.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--A 1994 circular establishes wage 
rates, the regulations for payment of workers' compensation. Wage 
rates, which were revised periodically, started from a minimum of 
roughly $2.50 (112.70 ngultrums) per day plus various allowances paid 
in cash or kind. The national minimum wage provided a decent standard 
of living for a worker and family. The workday is defined as eight 
hours with a one-hour lunch break, and employers must grant regular 
days of leisure. Work in excess of this must be paid at one and one-
half times normal rates.
    Civil service regulations require equal pay for equal work for men 
and women. All citizens are entitled to free medical care. The 
Government transported persons who could not receive adequate care 
within the country to other countries (usually India) for treatment. 
Workers are eligible for compensation in the case of partial or total 
disability, and in the event of death, their families are entitled to 
compensation. Existing labor regulations do not grant workers the right 
to remove themselves from work situations that endanger health and 
safety without jeopardizing their continued employment.

                               __________

                                 INDIA

    India is a longstanding and stable multiparty, federal, 
parliamentary democracy with a bicameral parliament and a population of 
approximately 1.1 billion. Manmohan Singh was named prime minister 
following his Congress Party-led coalition's victory in the 2004 
general elections, which were considered free and fair, despite 
scattered episodes of violence. Serious internal conflicts affected the 
state of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as several states in the northeast. 
The Naxalite conflict affected Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, 
Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and 
eastern Maharashtra. While the civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were 
frequent instances in which some elements acted independently of 
government authority.
    The Government generally respected the rights of its citizens; 
however, numerous serious problems remained. Major problems included 
extrajudicial killings of persons in custody, disappearances, torture 
and rape by police and security forces. The lack of accountability 
permeated the Government and security forces, creating an atmosphere in 
which human rights violations often went unpunished. Although the 
country has numerous laws protecting human rights, enforcement was lax 
and convictions were rare. Poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial 
detention without charge, and prolonged detentions while undergoing 
trial remained significant problems. Government officials used special 
antiterrorism legislation to justify the excessive use of force while 
combating terrorism and active, violent insurgencies in Jammu and 
Kashmir and several northeastern states. Security force officials who 
committed human rights abuses generally enjoyed de facto impunity, 
although there were investigations into individual abuse cases as well 
as punishment of some perpetrators by the court system. Corruption was 
endemic in the Government and police forces, and the Government made 
little attempt to combat the problem, except for a few instances 
highlighted by the media. The Government continued to apply 
restrictions to the travel and activities of visiting experts and 
scholars. Attacks against religious minorities and the promulgation of 
antireligious conversion laws were concerns. Social acceptance of 
caste-based discrimination remained a problem, and for many, validated 
human rights violations against persons belonging to lower castes. 
Domestic violence and abuses against women such as dowry-related 
deaths, honor crimes, female infanticide and feticide, and trafficking 
in persons remained significant problems. Exploitation of indentured, 
bonded, and child labor were ongoing problems.
    Separatist guerrillas and terrorists in Kashmir, the northeast, and 
the Naxalite belt committed numerous serious abuses, including killing 
armed forces personnel, police, government officials, judges, and 
civilians. Insurgents also engaged in widespread torture, rape, and 
other forms of violence, including beheadings, kidnapping, and 
extortion.
    In June 2005 the Government passed the Right to Information Act 
(RTI), mandating stringent penalties for failure to provide information 
or affecting its flow, and requiring agencies to self-reveal sensitive 
information. The implementation of the act marked a departure from the 
culture of secrecy that traditionally surrounded the Government's rule 
making.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Government forces 
continued arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of life of those in their 
custody. Police and prison officers also committed extrajudicial 
killings of suspected insurgents and suspected criminals by staging 
encounter killings. Terrorist and insurgent groups killed members of 
rival factions, government security forces, government officials, and 
civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, several northeastern states, and in the 
Naxalite belt in the eastern part of the country (see section 1.g.). 
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission, it received 
1,867 complaints of human rights violations since 2002.
    Security forces often staged encounter killings to cover up the 
deaths of captured non-Kashmiri insurgents and terrorists from Pakistan 
or other countries, sometimes after torturing them. Circumstances 
around allegedly faked encounter killings were often in dispute. On May 
18, the Defense Ministry reported that it was aware of two fake 
encounter killings that occurred in 2003, and it court martialled the 
officers involved. However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) could find no 
instances of a public prosecution leading to a conviction of those 
alleged to be responsible for fake encounter killings in Jammu and 
Kashmir. Human rights groups accused security forces of targeting 
suspected terrorists, insurgents and their suspected supporters. There 
were no widely accepted data on the magnitude of extrajudicial killings 
in Jammu and Kashmir, as estimates or reports depended on the political 
orientation of the source. However, according to Asia Centre for Human 
Rights (ACHR), only a minuscule percentage of encounter killings 
resulted in a trial or conviction. Some trials of security forces for 
alleged staged encounters in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab have lingered 
for over a decade.
    According to an NGO in Kashmir, security forces were responsible 
for seven extrajudicial killings in Jammu and Kashmir during the year. 
According to the Public Commission on Human Rights, it ordered 73 
inquiries since the new Jammu and Kashmir government was elected in 
2002, but by the year's end, it had only received information on six 
cases.
    In January, members of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and the Special 
Operations Group (SOG) allegedly killed three persons in Shopian 
District of Kashmir and buried them without a proper investigation. 
Authorities ordered an inquiry but at year's end had not conducted an 
investigation.
    There was a consistently high rate of encounter killings by law 
enforcement and security forces in the northeast--particularly in the 
states of Assam and Manipur--as law enforcement attempted to combat 
insurgent groups, many of whom financed their operations through 
criminal activities such as extortion, kidnapping and trafficking in 
narcotics.
    On August 22, Maharashtra police shot and killed an alleged 
Pakistani national, Abu Osama, in what appeared to be a staged 
encounter. Several journalists claimed that the police arranged the 
encounter and that the person killed was associated with the July 11 
perpetrators of the terror attack on Mumbai trains. There were no 
further developments in this case by year's end.
    Human rights groups noted that police officials often refused to 
turn over bodies in cases of suspected staged encounters. The bodies 
were often cremated before their families could view them. Most police 
stations failed to comply with a 2002 Supreme Court order requiring the 
central government and local authorities to conduct regular checks on 
police stations to monitor custodial violence.
    According to human rights activists, press reports, and anecdotal 
accounts, the bodies of persons suspected of terrorism and detained by 
security forces in Jammu and Kashmir often had bullet wounds or marks 
of torture, although according to the South Asian Human Rights 
Documentation Center (SAHRDC) and ACHR, the number of such incidents 
had declined in recent years in Jammu and Kashmir.
    On January 12, according to press reports, security forces 
allegedly abducted and killed a youth in the Barramulla District of 
Jammu and Kashmir. The media reported that the youth was blindfolded 
and tortured. They subsequently arrested and tortured a second youth 
and gave him a gun in order to claim he was a terrorist. Jammu and 
Kashmir police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the 
accused soldiers, and at year's end the army opened an investigation.
    In January police ordered an inquiry and charged two RR soldiers 
for torturing and killing a Kashmiri, Fayaz Ahmad Bhat. On January 16, 
RR troopers picked up Bhat and Abdul Majid Parray in Baramulla 
District. Parray died as a result of torture the same day. Bhat's 
relatives later told the media that the army had tried to rearrest Bhat 
while he was recovering in a Srinagar hospital, apparently wanting him 
to change his statement. Army officers claimed that they wanted to move 
Bhat to an army hospital. Bhat later died in an encounter with the RR.
    In early March police killed two suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET) 
terrorists in Delhi, claiming the two were responsible for the October 
bomb attack on a Hyderabad police station. The Hyderabad-based Civil 
Liberties Monitoring Committee reported that the encounter was staged.
    Border Security Forces (BSF) operating along the Indo-Bangladesh 
border killed 17-year-old Musaruddin Molla while he was working in his 
field. According to the ACHR, to conceal his death, BSF officers 
allegedly took six cattle from their camp and accused Molla of stealing 
them. The case was under review at year's end.
    There were no developments in the January 2005 killings of five 
passengers by soldiers on a moving train near Shikohabad railway 
station near Uttar Pradesh.
    There were no developments in the July 2005 killing of three 
teenage boys by security forces who allegedly mistook them for 
terrorists in the Kupwara area of Kashmir.
    In September 2005 Udayakumar, a citizen from Kerala, died in police 
custody allegedly due to torture during interrogation. According to the 
Confederation of Human Rights Organizations, police picked up Udaykumar 
for suspicious movements in a nearby park, questioned, beat, and killed 
him. After preliminary investigations, authorities arrested three 
police constables and charged two with murder. The Kerala government 
announced compensation of $6,500 (Rs 287,000) to his family (see 
section 1.c.).
    In August 2005 the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 
recommended the prosecution of four army officers, including Senior 
Superintendent of Police Farooq Khan, for the killing of five civilians 
in a staged encounter death in 2000. The Central Administrative 
Tribunal ruled the related 2003 suspension of Senior Superintendent of 
Police Khan as illegal and reinstated him. On May 11, the CBI filed 
charges of murder, abduction with intention to murder, wrongful 
confinement, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence against 
the officers. The investigation was ongoing at year's end.
    Custodial deaths remained a serious problem, and authorities often 
delayed prosecutions.
    According to data available with the National Crime Records Bureau 
(NCRB), there were 121 custodial deaths in 2003, 94 in 2004, and 144 in 
2005. On December 15, a court convicted three former Delhi police 
officers for their role in a 1987 custodial death of Mahender Kumar. 
Retired senior Delhi police officer Rishi Prakash Tyagi was sentenced 
with the death penalty and KP Singh and sub-inspector Tej Singh were 
sentenced to one and three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 
$566 and $680 (Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000) for shielding Tyagi and 
destroying evidence.
    On May 9, the army began the court-martial of Brigadier Suresh Rao 
for allegedly ordering his subordinates to fake terrorist killings to 
garner awards, citations, and positive public relations.
    From January 2005 through July of the year, the Home Ministry 
reported 139 deaths in police custody. However, the National Human 
Rights Commission (NHRC) confirmed 1,730 deaths in police and judicial 
custody during the same time period.
    Although Andhra Pradesh police recorded an 11 percent decrease in 
custodial deaths in 2005 compared with the previous year, they also had 
the largest number of deaths in judicial and police custody with a 
total of 145. In 2004 in Maharashtra, according to media reports, 
Mumbai police transferred officers linked to encounter killings from 
the crime branch; as a result, staged encounter killings in Maharashtra 
reportedly decreased from 94 in 2001 to 13 in 2004. Figures for 
encounter killings in Maharashtra for 2005 were not available. The 
Kerala State Human Rights Commission registered 25 cases of custodial 
deaths from January to June, compared with 39 cases in 2005.
    In an attempt to expedite prosecutions, in May 2005 authorities 
updated a law requiring a coroner to conduct a medical examination 
within 24 hours of a death in custody. However, by the end of the year, 
the law had not been implemented. From April 2003 to March of this 
year, the NHRC awarded $51,354 (Rs 2.3 million) in compensation for 
deaths in police and judicial custody.
    Human rights activists reiterated during the year that there was 
uneven compliance with a 1993 NHRC directive requiring district 
magistrates to report to the commission all deaths in police and 
judicial custody. In January the Indian Center for Human Rights and Law 
(ICHRL) filed a petition with the Mumbai High Court against custodial 
deaths, arguing that police were not adhering to NHRC guidelines for 
custodial deaths. The lawyer representing the Government of Maharashtra 
admitted that the Mumbai and Maharashtra police did not follow the 
guidelines.
    In December 2005 media reported that Shivkumar Jaiswala, an alleged 
thief, died in custody in Mumbai. On January 2, another alleged thief, 
Prem Yadav, died in custody in Mumbai. No officers were suspended in 
connection with these cases, and human rights activists argued that the 
police response to custodial death appeared to vary according to the 
social and financial backgrounds of the victims. Media reported that 
Mumbai police routinely conducted internal inquiries into all custodial 
deaths, but no police officer was convicted of a crime in connection 
with the 15 cases reported since 2001. Official inquiries ruled that 
none of the 15 deaths was caused by torture.
    On January 4, media and NGOs reported that Gurmail Singh died in 
the custody of the Railway Police after being arrested in connection 
with two bodies found near the Ghaggar railway station near Chandigarh. 
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission asked for a report on the 
incident, and a three-member board of doctors conducted the post-
mortem, with the report later handed over to the family. The findings 
were not released at year's end, but the Railway Police denied 
allegations of torture, claiming instead that Gurmail Singh died 
naturally.
    In March the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID) 
arrested six police officials for the 2004 custodial death of Uday 
Bhandge, who was detained for stealing gasoline from a private 
automobile. Police officers held Bhandge and an accomplice at the Aundh 
Police Station overnight, although the car owner asked the police to 
reprimand the men and release them. The next morning Bhandge was found 
dead in his cell. Local residents and Bhandge's family alleged that 
Bhandge died from beatings received in the station. By year's end, 
there were no further developments in this case, which remained under 
investigation.
    On April 7, Mumbai police suspended four police officers in the 
case of Premnath Janardan Rao, an accountant whom the Mumbai police 
initially said hanged himself on April 6 while in custody. On April 20, 
in response to a request by Rao's family, the Mumbai High Court ordered 
a second post-mortem of Rao's body and a magisterial inquiry; as of 
October police officials remained under suspension and the inquiry was 
pending.
    In June NGOs and media reported that a 20-year-old male Dalit 
(formerly known as ``untouchables'' who fall outside of the caste 
system), Madan Lal, died while in police custody in Ferozepore, Punjab. 
Lal was arrested on theft charges and died within two hours of his 
arrest during interrogation. Authorities suspended two policemen.
    In March 2005 the Maharashtra CID arrested four Mumbai police 
officers and charged them in the 2003 custodial killing of Khwaja 
Yunus, who was detained in connection with a bombing case. Police 
officers earlier claimed that Yunus had escaped from custody. In 
January the CBI filed charges against the police officers, who remained 
free on bail at year's end. In October the Division Branch of the 
Mumbai High Court ordered Maharashtra Director-General of Police P.S. 
Pasricha to transfer 10 police officers connected to the case out of 
Mumbai. He complied.
    In May 2005 Mumbai police arrested two Railway Police Protection 
Force (RPF) constables for killing railway porter Vijay Singh. After 
the discovery of Singh's body on the terrace of the Mumbai Central 
Railway Police Station, police stated there was no record of his 
arrest, but eye-witnesses reported seeing the two constables taking him 
into custody. As of year's end, the trial against the two police 
constables was underway in a Mumbai court.
    On April 30, army doctors found the body of Captain Sumit Kohli in 
Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. The army said that suicide was the cause of 
death, while Kohli's family alleged that he was killed because he was 
scheduled to testify as a witness against another officer in a 2004 
case of an encounter killing. The other officer had been accused of 
killing four porters in the Kupwara District of Jammu and Kashmir.
    After the July 11 serial terrorist bombings on seven Mumbai 
commuter trains that killed approximately 200 commuters and injured 
more than 700, the media reported that the Mumbai police reinstated so-
called encounter specialists by assigning two such officers to the 
Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) investigating the bombings.
    From May to August, newspapers and opposition parties in Kerala 
reported seven deaths in police custody of persons arrested for 
misdemeanor offenses. During the same period, another seven individuals 
drowned in separate incidents, allegedly while being pursued by the 
Kerala police. In August, following a media outcry, the Government of 
Kerala announced a judicial inquiry into the deaths.
    During the year, the Assam Rifles appealed the 2004 Manorama Devi 
rape and custodial death case to the Guwahati High Court in Assam, 
arguing that the state had no authority to handle a case involving the 
army. Manorama's family also appealed to the Guwahati High Court, 
asking that the findings of the commission and investigation by the 
Home Ministry in Delhi be made public. All appeals remained pending at 
year's end.
    On September 20, police killed four persons (including a child) and 
injured 45 when they opened fire in an area of Delhi as demonstrators 
protested the Government move to seal businesses illegally operating in 
residential areas.
    During the year the killing of civilians continued in the course of 
counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations, including those 
that took place in Jammu and Kashmir (see section 1.g.). Human rights 
activists stated that accurate numbers were not available due to 
limited access to the region, but the ACHR alleged that 355 civilians 
were killed and 373 injured in police firing in 2005. The security 
forces often claimed that those killed were insurgents or civilians who 
died in crossfire. According to the NHRC, state governments had not 
investigated at least 3,575 previous deaths in custody cases.
    Countermilitants were former separatist guerillas who surrendered 
but who were permitted by the Jammu and Kashmir government to retain 
their weapons and paramilitary structure and were inducted into police 
auxiliary units. Government agencies funded, exchanged intelligence 
with, and directed the operations of countermilitants as part of the 
counterinsurgency effort. During the year killings and abductions of 
suspected pro-government countermilitants continued to be a significant 
problem in Jammu and Kashmir, although the number of such instances 
declined substantially from the 1990s.
    Violence, often resulting in deaths, was a pervasive element in 
Jammu and Kashmir politics (see section 3). Separatist guerrillas and 
terrorists attempted to kill numerous senior politicians, political 
workers and political activists.
    In January insurgents attacked activists of Communist Party of 
India (Marxist) in Sophian district, Jammu and Kashmir, killing three 
persons.
    Countrywide, there were allegations that military and paramilitary 
forces engaged in abduction, torture, rape, arbitrary detention, and 
the extrajudicial killing of insurgents and noncombatant civilians, 
particularly in areas of insurgency (see sections 1.b., 1.c., 1.d., and 
1.g.). According to human rights activists and journalists, during the 
year a few Naxalites (Maoist guerillas) in eastern and central parts of 
the country (including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, 
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, parts of Uttar Pradesh, and 
Maharashtra) who surrendered were allowed to retain their weapons and 
worked for the police as ``anti-People's War Group (PWG) officers.'' 
Human rights groups alleged that police used former Naxalites to kill 
current Naxalites and human rights activists with Maoist links. Police 
denied the charges, attributing such killings to internal feuds within 
the PWG.
    Unlawful killings due to societal violence, including vigilante 
action, continued. For example, in January clashes during a protest 
over the building of a steel plant on tribal land in Jajpur, Orissa 
resulted in the deaths of twelve members of an indigenous community and 
one police officer (see section 5).
    In March approximately 200 villagers tried, sentenced to death, and 
publicly beheaded a family of tribals for practicing ``black magic'' in 
the Sonitpur district of Assam (see section 5).
    In July in Tinsukia district, Assam, local police fired into a 
crowd and killed eight civilians during protests over the custodial 
killing of Ajit Mahanta. A military court sentenced an army officer 
involved in Mahanta's death to one-year forfeiture of service and 
another to two months' rigorous military imprisonment. The army 
compensated Mahanta's family $2,130 (Rs 94,000).
    Dalits faced societal discrimination (see section 5).
    In 2005 the NCRB reported that there were 26,127 cases against the 
Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 5,713 cases against the Scheduled Tribes 
(STs). While the average conviction rate for the crimes against the SCs 
was 29.8 percent, the average conviction rate for the crimes against 
the STs was 24.5 percent. About 55.1 percent of the total displaced 
persons in the country as a result of development projects were tribals 
although they constituted only 8.2 percent of the total population of 
the country according to the 2001 census.

    b. Disappearance.--Although government complicity was not always 
confirmed, scores of persons disappeared in strife and insurgency-torn 
areas during the year. According to Association of Parents of 
Disappeared Persons (APDP) and other NGOs such as ACHR and SAHRDC, the 
number of newly reported disappearances has decreased compared with the 
early years of the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. However, there was 
still virtually no information about the fate of individuals who 
disappeared since the beginning of the Jammu and Kashmir insurgency.
    In 2003 the Jammu and Kashmir government stated that 3,931 persons 
had disappeared in the state since the insurgency began in 1990, 
compared with an APDP estimate of approximately 8,000 to 10,000. In 
2003 the Government investigated the APDP list and concluded that 22 
``disappeared'' persons from a list of 116 had joined insurgent groups 
or were in Pakistan, while the police had located 43 persons in their 
homes. Of the rest, the Government stated that six were dead, two were 
in custody with cases registered against them, and investigations were 
still ongoing in 13 cases. The APDP responded that only 22 had joined 
the insurgents, that those whom the Government claimed were at home 
were actually still missing, and it demanded details in the cases of 
the six people whom the Government claimed were dead.
    In September 2005 ACHR reported that more than 6,000 cases of 
disappearances remain unresolved in the state. However, according to 
the director general of police in Jammu and Kashmir, seven persons 
disappeared in 2003; three persons in 2004; and two persons in 2005-06. 
According to APDP, 41 persons had disappeared through September. 
Reports varied widely on the number of disappearances that occurred.
    According to former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister 
Muzaffar Hussain Beig, there were 14 cases of disappearances and 27 
cases of custodial deaths in the four years preceding August. In 
January Manzoor Ahmed Khan disappeared from Kupwara in Jammu and 
Kashmir. His family registered a case with the police.
    In April Ghulam Mohiuddin disappeared from Baramulla in Jammu and 
Kashmir. Ghulam's family alleged that he was arrested by the army and 
held in the Joint Interrogation Center in Baramulla. The army released 
Mohiuddin.
    In May Ghulam Nabi Mir disappeared from Pulwama in Jammu and 
Kashmir. RR officers allegedly raided Mir's residence. The army denied 
arresting Mir and by the end of the year, he was still missing.
    Human rights groups maintained that in Jammu and Kashmir and in the 
northeastern states, numerous persons continued to be held by military 
and paramilitary forces. Human rights activists feared that many of 
these unacknowledged prisoners were subjected to torture and that some 
may have been killed extrajudicially (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
    The Government maintained that screening committees administered by 
the state governments provided information about the unacknowledged 
detainees to their families. Other sources indicated that families 
could only confirm the detention of their relatives by bribing prison 
guards. During the year the screening committees released 140 persons 
detained under the 1978 Public Safety Act (PSA).
    The Government made little progress in holding hundreds of police 
and security officials accountable for serious human rights abuses 
committed during the Punjab counterinsurgency of 1984-94, despite the 
presence of a special investigatory commission. The CBI claimed to be 
pursuing charges against dozens of police officials implicated in the 
1980s for hundreds of deaths and secret cremations. The NGO ENSAAF 
estimated that security forces extrajudicially killed and caused to 
disappear more than 10,000 Punjabi Sikhs and cremated 6,017 Sikhs in 
Amritsar alone in counter insurgency operations during the militancy.
    In September Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the widow of human rights 
activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, filed a legal petition calling for the 
investigation and prosecution of former police chief Gill for the 
abduction, illegal detention, torture, and murder of her husband. 
According to ENSAAF and other human rights organizations, in September 
1995 members of the Punjab police operating under Gill's command 
abducted Khalra for investigating and exposing the ``disappearances'' 
and secret cremations of thousands of Sikhs in Punjab by security 
forces. Gill's subordinates illegally detained and tortured Khalra for 
nearly two months, before killing him in 1995.
    The NHRC continued to investigate 2,097 cases of murder and 
cremation that occurred between 1984 and the early 1990s. The NHRC 
asked families whose members had disappeared to provide evidence and 
ordered compensation to approximately 100 families. The NHRC has not 
released its findings, and no significant progress was made in bringing 
to justice those responsible for the killings.
    On May 15, the NHRC ordered the Punjab government to disburse 
monetary compensation of $5,700 (Rs 250,000) each to the next of kin of 
45 persons whom the state government admitted were in police custody 
immediately before they were killed and illegally cremated. In August 
2005 the Nanavati commission, tasked with conducting a re-inquiry into 
the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, released its report, citing several 
prominent Congress Party leaders for complicity in the violence and 
implicated law enforcement personnel in the deaths, accusing them of 
refusing to perform their duty to maintain law and order. The 
Government also set up two committees to disburse financial 
compensation promised by Prime Minister Singh to the victims' families. 
The Government approved an extra $158 million (Rs Seven billion) in 
compensation: $7,800 (Rs 344,000) for every family member killed and 
$2,800 (Rs 124,000) for those injured.
    One human rights activist and lawyer from the state of Punjab 
reported filing 4,000 disappearance cases. However, only 10 to 12 of 
these cases had been prosecuted. In July 2005 the NHRC directed the CBI 
to give the Punjab government access to documents regarding the illegal 
killing and cremation of 64 persons by the Punjab police during the 
insurgency. On April 3, NHRC Chairman A.S. Anand stated that the Punjab 
State government identified 570 persons who had been cremated secretly. 
On May 15, the NHRC directed Punjab authorities to pay $5,500 (Rs 
243,000) to the survivors of 45 victims.
    There were credible reports that police throughout the country 
often failed to file legally required arrest reports, resulting in 
hundreds of unresolved disappearances in which relatives claimed that 
an individual was taken into police custody and never heard from again. 
Police usually denied these claims, pointing to the lack of an arrest 
record.
    Insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states 
continued to use kidnappings to terrorize the population, obtain the 
release of detained comrades, and extort funds.
    At the end of 2004, the Government verified that few kidnappers 
were arrested or prosecuted. Insurgents and terrorists in Jammu and 
Kashmir and the northeast killed some victims who had been kidnapped 
(see sections 1.a. and 1.g.).
    On January 17, the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) kidnapped Dr. 
Tongkhojang Lunkim, Chairman of Kuki Movement for Human Rights (KMHR) 
and demanded a ransom of $200,000 (Rs 8.8 million) in Manipur. The KLA 
released him on March 18.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and generally did not allow for 
confessions extracted by force to be admissible in court; however, 
authorities often used torture during interrogations to extort money 
and as summary punishment. There were allegations of confessions 
derived under torture. In some instances, these confessions were 
subsequently used as evidentiary support for an execution sentence. The 
Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act of 2005 mandated a judicial 
inquiry into any death or rape of a woman in police custody; however, 
human rights groups asserted that the new law had not decreased the 
prevalence of custodial abuse or killings.
    The ACHR alleged that custodial deaths was a severe problem and 
that police regularly used torture. Because many alleged torture 
victims died in custody, and other victims were afraid to speak out, 
there were few firsthand accounts. Marks of torture, however, were 
often found on the bodies of deceased detainees. The prevalence of 
torture by police in detention facilities throughout the country was 
reflected in the number of deaths in police custody (see section 1.a.). 
Police and jailers typically assaulted new prisoners or threatened 
violence in exchange for money, favors, and personal articles. In 
addition, police commonly tortured detainees during custodial 
interrogation. Although police officers were subject to prosecution for 
such offenses, the Government often failed to hold them accountable. 
According to Amnesty International (AI), torture usually took place 
during criminal investigations and following unlawful and arbitrary 
arrests.
    NGOs asserted that custodial torture was common in Tamil Nadu. One 
human rights lawyer claimed that all police stations in Punjab, Andhra 
Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh have torture cells to ``soften up'' 
the accused prior to court appearance. However, increased reporting of 
custodial torture may be the result of greater awareness. In some 
cases, the state government provided compensation for victims. In July 
the Madras High Court ordered the state government to pay $6,666 (Rs 
294,000) to a woman. The AHRC claimed that local police in Kerala 
continued to use torture and assault as a means of criminal 
investigation.
    On September 23, three police officers arrested Saju, a private bus 
conductor, allegedly because of a complaint filed by the local 
telephone company. According to the AHRC, the police demanded a bribe 
of $68 (Rs 3,000). Police allegedly abused Saju when he refused to pay 
the bribe. Saju died while in police custody.
    There were no developments in the February 2005 torture and killing 
of a Dalit youth by Jalandhar district police or the May 2005 alleged 
infliction of injuries against Mariappan by police in Tamil Nadu.
    There were no developments in the August 2005 beating by assistant 
commissioner of police Arun Desai of Taj Mohammed in Mumbai.
    There were incidents in which police beat journalists (see section 
2.a.), demonstrators (see section 2.b.), and Muslim students (see 
section 2.c.). Police also committed abuses against indigenous people 
(see section 5).
    There were no developments in the January 2005 beating of Roop 
Narayan Yadav.
    In Jammu and Kashmir, torture victims or their relatives reportedly 
had difficulty filing complaints, as local police allegedly were 
instructed not to open a case without permission from higher 
authorities. In addition, under the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) 
Special Powers Act of 1990, no ``prosecution, suit, or other legal 
proceeding shall be instituted against any person in respect of 
anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers of the 
act,'' without the approval of the central government. The act gives 
security forces the authority to shoot suspected lawbreakers and those 
disturbing the peace, and to destroy structures suspected of harboring 
violent separatists or containing weapons. Human rights organizations 
alleged that this provision allowed security forces to act with virtual 
impunity (see section 1.d.).
    The rape of persons in custody was part of a broader pattern of 
custodial abuse. NGOs asserted that rape by police, including custodial 
rape, was more common than NHRC figures indicated. A higher incidence 
of abuse appeared credible, given other evidence of abusive behavior by 
police, and the likelihood that many rapes went unreported due to the 
victims' shame and fear of retribution. However, legal limits placed on 
the arrest, search, and police custody of women appeared to reduce the 
frequency of rape in custody. There were no recent NHRC data on the 
extent of custodial rape.
    There were no developments in the February 2005 rape of a minor 
girl in West Tripura district and subsequent soldier's arrest.
    The Ministry of Defense reported that it filed 17 rape cases and 10 
murder cases against army personnel from 2003 to 2004. By year's end, 
one rape case and five murder cases had ended in guilty verdicts. In 
the remaining cases, the investigations remained ongoing or the charges 
were proved false.
    There were no developments in the January 2005 rape case of 15-
year-old Nandeibam Sanjita Devi by two members of the 12th Grenadiers.
    There were no developments in the February 2005 rape case involving 
the Assam Rifles constable and the 12-year-old girl in the Karbi 
Anglong district of Assam since the arrest of the soldier and two women 
who assisted the rape.
    There were no developments in the September 2005 custodial rape of 
a widow detained on a murder charge by Bihar police.
    There was a pattern of rape by paramilitary personnel in Jammu and 
Kashmir and the northeast as a means of instilling fear among 
noncombatants in insurgency-affected areas (see section 1.g.), but 
these incidents were not included in NHRC statistics, as the NHRC does 
not have direct investigative authority over the military.
    There were no developments in the January 2005 dismissal from 
military service of Major Rehman or the January 2005 court martial 
conviction of a rifleman accused of molesting an elderly woman in 
Pahalgam.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of psychiatrists 
issuing false insanity certificates for the purpose of committing wives 
of divorce-seeking husbands.
    In 2004 the Government gave the NHRC the authority to recommend 
interim compensation in cases relating to human rights abuses by the 
armed forces. Officers of the rank of colonel were designated at the 
command, corps, division and counter insurgency headquarters to monitor 
human rights issues. Under the guidelines, the NHRC cannot charge or 
investigate a member of the armed forces of a human rights abuse 
without government permission.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh, life-threatening, and did not meet international standards. 
Prisons were severely overcrowded, and food and medical care 
inadequate. For example, in June a former inmate of Arthur Road Jail in 
Mumbai filed a complaint with the Maharashtra State Human Rights 
Commission (MSHRC) alleging that the prison's medical doctor ignored a 
prisoner suffering from chest pains who subsequently died. As of year's 
end, the MSHRC was investigating the complaint.
    In March an NHRC report indicated that the country's prisons were 
overcrowded on average by 38.5 percent. According to the NHRC report, 
the country's prisons had a population of 324,852 persons and an 
authorized capacity of 234,462. Overcrowded prisons that exceeded the 
national average included Delhi (231 percent), Jharkhand (155 percent), 
and Chhattisgarh (125 percent). Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, 
Bihar, Sikkim, Gujarat, Orissa, Tripura and Andaman and Nicobar islands 
also exceeded the national average.
    In December the Government took steps to ease overcrowding in the 
Tihar jail in New Delhi. Steps included construction of new jails; 
holding special courts to try cases involving petty offenses; compiling 
a list of under-trial prisoners who were granted bail but could not be 
released; sending these lists to District and Sessions Judges for 
consideration of their cases on relaxed surety conditions; providing 
legal aid by the Legal Aid Advocates; and nominating counsel deputed by 
the Delhi Legal Services Authority to advise prisoners on moving 
appropriate applications before the High Court for their early release. 
As of November 29, there were 11,978 inmates in Tihar Jail with a total 
sanctioned capacity of 5,200.
    According to one NHRC report, a large proportion of the deaths in 
judicial custody were from natural causes, in some cases aggravated by 
poor prison conditions (see section 1.a.). Tuberculosis caused many 
deaths, as did HIV/AIDS. The NHRC assigned its special rapporteur and 
chief coordinator of custodial justice to ensure that state prison 
authorities performed medical check-ups on all inmates. By year's end 
only a few examinations had been performed.
    In an effort to avert suicides in police jails, Mumbai police 
installed close circuit televisions (CCTVs) in police lock-ups across 
the city. As of January nearly 25 percent of the 84 police stations had 
CCTVs.
    There were no developments in the September 2005 Assam Human Rights 
Commission's request for appropriate action against jail authorities 
for mistreatment of Mithinga Daimary and Ramu Mech or the August 2005 
death of Robin Handique in detention.
    While local authorities often attempted to hide custodial killings, 
the NHRC and the courts investigated those cases brought to their 
attention and prosecuted some perpetrators. In most cases, the courts 
awarded monetary compensation of between $400 (Rs 17,600) and $2,200 
(Rs 97,000) to the next of kin. NGO sources stated that relatives often 
had to pay bribes to receive the compensation awarded, and in many 
cases never received it at all.
    By law juveniles must be detained in rehabilitative facilities, 
although at times they were detained in prison, especially in rural 
areas. Pretrial detainees were not separated from convicted prisoners.
    Some NGOs were allowed to work in prisons, within specific 
governmental guidelines, but their findings remained largely 
confidential as a result of agreements made with the Government. 
Although custodial abuse was deeply rooted in police practices, 
increased press reporting and parliamentary questioning provided 
evidence of growing public awareness of the problem. The NHRC 
identified torture and deaths in detention as one of its priority 
concerns.
    According to the Home Ministry, the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC) visited 61 detention centers and more than 9,000 
detainees during 2005, including all 25 acknowledged detention centers 
in Jammu and Kashmir, and all facilities where Kashmiris were held 
elsewhere in the country. The IRC registered 554 new detainees and 
followed up on 1,240 old detainees. The ICRC was not authorized to 
visit interrogation or transit centers, nor did it have access to 
regular detention centers in the northeastern states (see sections 1.c. 
and 4). In August the Government amended the 1993 Protection of Human 
Rights Act (PHRA), which eliminated the requirement of ascertaining 
prior notification for prison visits, enabling surprise visits, and 
empowering the NHRC to form an opinion on the actual conditions inside 
prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but both occurred during the year.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Although the 
Governments of 28 states and seven union territories have primary 
responsibility for maintaining law and order, the central government 
provides guidance and support. The Ministry for Home Affairs controls 
most paramilitary forces, the internal intelligence bureaus, and the 
nationwide police service, and provides training for senior police 
officers of the state-organized police forces. The civilian authorities 
maintained effective control of the security forces. Members of the 
security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses.
    Corruption in the police force was pervasive and acknowledged by 
many government officials. Officers at all levels acted with relative 
impunity and were rarely held accountable for illegal actions. When an 
officer was found guilty of a crime, the most common punishment was 
transfer to a different position or post. Human rights activists and 
NGOs reported that bribery was often necessary to receive police 
services.
    By the year's end, police had not filed charges against Delhi 
police inspector Satya Raj, who in November 2005 demanded $600 (Rs 
26,500) from a dead man's family for return of his body.
    The NHRC reported that the majority of complaints it received were 
against police. According the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NHRC 
recorded 6,923 cases against the police; 35 against armed forces and 39 
against the paramilitary forces for violation of human rights during 
the year.
    In 2005 the Government worked with a foreign government and the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on a two-year program to train and 
sensitize law enforcement officials and prosecutors in the country 
about victims of human trafficking and bring abusers to justice. 
Training material developed through this project was used to conduct 
courses for law enforcement officials in target states and worked on 
developing standard operating procedures and protocols to be used 
nationally and in police training academies.
    On July 9, the media reported that police failed to act against 
thousands of Shiv Sena (a regional Hindutva party) members who were 
damaging buses and property after a statue of their party's founder's 
wife was found defaced with mud at a park in central Mumbai.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law requires that detainees be informed 
of the grounds for their arrest, be represented by legal counsel, and, 
unless held under a preventive detention law, arraigned within 24 hours 
of arrest, at which time the accused must either be remanded for 
further investigation or released. However, thousands of criminal 
suspects remained in detention without charge during the year, adding 
to already over-crowded prisons.
    The law provides arrested persons the right to be released on bail, 
and prompt access to a lawyer; however, those arrested under special 
security legislation received neither in most cases. Court approval of 
a bail application is mandatory if police do not file charges within 60 
to 90 days of arrest. In most cases, bail was set between $11 (Rs 485) 
and $4,500 (Rs 198,000).
    By law, detainees should be provided an attorney and allowed access 
to family members. However, this was rarely implemented.
    In 2004 the Government repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 
(POTA) and replaced it with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 
(UAPA). Nonetheless, SAHRDC reported that more than 1,000 persons 
remained in detention awaiting prosecution under lapsed special 
terrorism legislation, and that cases opened under POTA and Terrorism 
and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) continued through the judicial 
system.
    TADA courts curtailed many legal protections provided by other 
courts. For example, defense counsel was not permitted to see 
prosecution witnesses, who were kept behind screens while testifying in 
court, and confessions extracted under duress were admissible as 
evidence (see section 1.c.).
    POTA contained a sunset feature, which gave the central POTA review 
committee one year to review all existing POTA cases. The Government 
established three central review committees to review the cases 
registered under POTA. The committees were required to review all cases 
registered under POTA by September 2005, but at year's end, numerous 
cases had not been reviewed and at least 400 persons remained under 
detention, according to AI. The sunset provisions also allowed the 
Government to make new arrests under POTA, despite its repeal, if the 
arrests were tied to an existing POTA case. The Government could issue 
a new indictment on a case opened five years earlier under POTA, even 
if the Government was never associated with the case. It can also 
extend the one-year limit for reviews; however, at year's end, it had 
not done so. The law provides that the review committees constituted by 
the Government shall review all cases registered under POTA by 
September 20, 2005. In June 2005 the POTA review committee reported 
that there were 11,384 persons wrongfully charged under POTA who 
instead should be charged under the regular law. According to the 
Ministry of Home Affairs, following the repeal of POTA in 2004, three 
Review Committees reviewed 263 cases involving 1,529 accused persons 
and determined that there was no prima-facie evidence under POTA 
against 1,006 of them.
    UAPA and POTA continued to be used to hold people in jail for 
extended periods prior to the filing of formal charges. Human rights 
groups reported that the revised UAPA contained important improvements 
over the POTA. For example, it does not allow coerced confessions to be 
admitted as evidence in court.
    In February 2005 the NHRC announced comprehensive guidelines 
regarding arrest, which included establishing reasonable belief of 
guilt; avoiding detention if bail is an option; protecting the dignity 
of those arrested; not allowing public display or parading, and 
allowing access to a lawyer during interrogation. Police often ignored 
these guidelines.
    In January after an eight-month review by a committee headed by 
Punjab Chief Secretary Jai Singh Gill, the Punjab government released 
three former insurgents arrested for actions during the Khalistan 
movement in the 1980s. The committee recommended that 19 others remain 
in jail.
    Police routinely resorted to arbitrary and incommunicado detention, 
denied detainees access to lawyers and medical attention, and used 
torture or ill treatment to extract confessions (see section 5). Human 
rights experts claimed that discrimination and custodial torture of 
those too poor to afford legal assistance was common. During the year 
the media reported that lower-caste individuals were more likely to be 
illegally detained than others. Human rights activists maintained that 
the Government increasingly avoided prosecuting security officers 
involved in illegal conduct, by providing financial compensation to 
victims' families in lieu of punishment. In some instances victims or 
their families who distrusted the military judicial system petitioned 
to have their cases transferred to a civil court. The NHRC has no 
jurisdiction over any courts, including military courts.
    In July Muhammad Saleem from Billawar in Jammu and Kashmir was 
sentenced to 15 years in prison for possession of binoculars, live AK 
47 cartridges, and a wireless set. This was the first conviction under 
POTA prior to its repeal.
    Through December 2005, 217 persons were arrested and remained in 
custody in Gujarat under POTA in connection with the 2003 killing of 
former Gujarat chief minister Haren Pandya, the 2003 Akshardham temple 
bombing, the 2002 Godhra train arson case, and the 2002 Tiffin bomb 
case. During the year the Tiffin bomb case trial was completed, leading 
to 12 acquittals and five convictions. In July the Supreme Court 
appointed a judge from the Delhi Sessions Court to review the evidence 
of nine major trials (the Godhra trial among them), which had been 
stayed by the Supreme Court since 2003. By year's end, the judge had 
not concluded his review. In July a POTA court in Ahmedabad convicted 
all six accused in the 2002 Akashardham temple terrorist attack, which 
killed 34 persons. Of the six accused, three were sentenced to death 
and one to life in prison. By the end of the year, the Godhra trial had 
not commenced.
    Throughout the year authorities in Jammu and Kashmir repeatedly 
detained Kashmiri separatist leaders for short periods of time ranging 
from several hours to one day, usually to prevent their participation 
in demonstrations, funerals, or other public events. For example, on 
March 10, the police took Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (Nanji) 
convener Javid Ahmad Mir and twelve others into preventative custody 
for violating a prohibitory order in Srinagar. Press reported that Mir 
was protesting against human rights violations and fake encounter 
killings when the authorities arrested him. He was released shortly 
thereafter. On June 22, Mir was arrested briefly again on June 22 on 
the same charges.
    On March 17, police took extremist Hurriyat Conference member Syed 
Ali Shah Geelani into preventative custody, along with four others, 
near Srinagar as he traveled to Baramulla to deliver a speech. Human 
rights groups asserted that the sole reason for the arrest was to 
ensure he did not address the assembly. He was arrested again on June 7 
and held until June 29 for ``inciting communalism.'' Jammu and Kashmir 
police arrested Geelani again on October 12 to prevent him from taking 
part in the funeral of a youth allegedly tortured and killed by Delhi 
police. The press reported that this was the seventh time during a 45-
day period that the Government placed restrictions on Geelani.
    The National Security Act (NSA) permits police to detain persons 
considered security risks anywhere in the country--except for Jammu and 
Kashmir--without charge or trial for as long as one year on loosely 
defined security reasons. State governments must confirm the detention 
order, which is then reviewed by an advisory board of three high court 
judges within seven weeks of the arrest. NSA detainees were permitted 
visits by family members and lawyers, and must be informed of the 
grounds of their detention within five days (10 to 15 days in 
exceptional circumstances). On January 12, Lucknow authorities arrested 
a doctor from the King George Medical University in Uttar Pradesh, and 
charged him with arson and violence. After the state's chief minister, 
Mulayam Singh Yadav, warned that ``trouble-makers'' at the university 
would be punished, authorities charged the doctor on January 19 under 
the NSA.
    Human rights groups alleged that the NSA allowed authorities to 
order preventive detention at their own behest after only a cursory 
review by an advisory board and that no court would overturn such a 
decision.
    The PSA, which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, permits state 
authorities to detain persons without charge and judicial review for up 
to two years. During this time, detainees do not have access to family 
members or legal counsel. According to the Office of Director General 
of Jammu and Kashmir Police, 473 persons in 2005 and 420 during the 
year were arrested under PSA. According to the ACHR, there were 140 
foreign nationals in prisons in Jammu and Kashmir under the PSA.
    On January 10, authorities released Sayeda Assiya Andrabi, the head 
of the all-female Dukhtaran-e-Millat, and eight of her associates. They 
had been arrested in September 2005 for campaigning against adultery, 
prostitution, and drug addiction.
    In August the Jammu and Kashmir High Court overturned the detention 
of seven persons held under the PSA, arrested for alleged involvement 
in militancy related incidents.
    During the year the Government released 140 persons held under the 
PSA.
    In March the Chhattisgarh State government enacted the Special 
Public Protection Act (SPPA), which HRW deemed ``a vague and overly 
broad law that allows detention of up to three years for unlawful 
activities.'' HRW asserted that the law loosely defines what ``unlawful 
activities'' entails and threatens the fundamental freedoms and 
protections set forth in the constitution. The Public Union for Civil 
Liberties in India filed suit, alleging that the ordinance is 
``amenable to gross abuse and misuse, arbitrariness and partiality'' 
and ``can result in harsh and drastic punishment to innocent persons 
without hearing or remedy.'' HRW noted particular concern that the law 
also criminalizes any support given to Naxalites, regardless of 
evidence of duress.
    The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) remained in effect in 
Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and parts of Tripura, and a version of the 
law was in effect in Jammu and Kashmir. Under AFSPA, the Government can 
declare any state or union territory a ``disturbed area.'' This allows 
the security forces to fire on any person in order to ``maintain law 
and order'' and to arrest any person ``against whom reasonable 
suspicion exists'' without informing the detainee of the grounds for 
arrest. Security forces are also granted immunity from prosecution for 
acts committed under AFSPA.
    In June 2005 a Home Ministry committee reviewed AFSPA and submitted 
its report and recommendations. On October 8, confirming years of press 
speculation, the Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Review Committee report was 
publicly released and recommended the repeal of the act and gave the 
central government power to send forces where required. The Jeevan 
committee recommended that inquires be allowed and offending soldiers 
not punished.
    The law provides a person in detention the right to a prompt trial; 
however, due to a severe backlog, this was not the case in practice. 
Human rights organizations reported that 60 to 75 percent of all 
detainees were in jail awaiting trial, drastically contributing to 
overcrowding. Human rights organizations asserted that approximately 65 
percent of those detained were found innocent. Due to persistent 
inefficiencies in the judicial system, there were numerous instances in 
which detainees spent more time in jail under pretrial detention than 
they would have if found guilty and sentenced to the longest possible 
term.
    For example, on February 16, media reports indicated that 
authorities incarcerated Shanka Dayal for 44 years without trial in the 
Unnao District Jail in Uttar Pradesh. The report said that Dayal had 
spent 43 years in a mental asylum and his family believed he was dead. 
Similarly, authorities incarcerated Jaldhar Yadav 20 years in Bihar for 
``wrongfully restraining a person and causing hurt.'' Under the law, 
the maximum sentence for this offense is one year in prison or a fine 
of $45 (Rs 1,985) or both. The NHRC requested Assamese authorities to 
submit reports on five other pretrial prisoners detained at the LGB 
Regional Institute of Mental Health in Tezpur, Assam.
    According to the ACHR, as of December 2005, there were 34,481 cases 
pending in the Supreme Court, approximately 3.5 million cases pending 
in the High Court, and approximately 25.6 million cases pending in the 
subordinate courts.
    The country had 1,734 operational fast-track courts, which provided 
some relief to the backlog and contributed to the growing consensus to 
increase the number of fast-track courts throughout the country.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice; however, serious problems remained. In Jammu and 
Kashmir, members of the judiciary were subject to threats and 
intimidation by insurgents and terrorists.
    The judicial system is headed by a Supreme Court, which has 
jurisdiction over constitutional issues, and includes the court of 
appeals and lower courts. Lower courts hear criminal and civil cases 
and send appeals to the court of appeals. The President appoints 
judges, who may serve until the age of 62 on state high courts and 65 
on the Supreme Court.

    Trial Procedures.--The criminal procedure code provides that trials 
be conducted publicly, except in proceedings involving official 
secrets, trials in which statements prejudicial to the safety of the 
state might be made, or under provisions of special security 
legislation. Sentences must be announced publicly, and defendants have 
the right to choose counsel independent of the Government. There are 
effective channels for appeal at most levels of the judicial system, 
and the state provides free legal counsel to indigent defendants. 
Defendants were allowed access to relevant government-held evidence in 
most civil and criminal cases; however, the Government had the right to 
withhold information and did so in cases it considered sensitive. In 
2003 the Delhi High Court issued new witness protection guidelines to 
reduce the number of witnesses who recanted their testimony under 
threat from defendants. NGOs reported that the guidelines were not 
effective, and many demanded a central law on witness protection. Under 
these guidelines, witnesses could apply to the Member-Secretary of the 
Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for protection. Such 
recommendations are sent to the Legal cell of the Delhi police, who in 
turn informs the concerned districts. However, only six recommendations 
were forwarded to the Delhi police by the DLSA in one year due to lack 
of police resources. High-profile guilty verdicts involving powerful 
elites accused of murder, such as Manu Sharma or Santosh Singh, were 
reached based largely on the testimony of witnesses.
    There was continued concern about the failure of the Gujarat 
government to arrest and convict those responsible for the widespread 
communal violence in 2002 following the burning in Godhra of the S-6 
coach of the Sabarmati Express train, in which 59 men, women, and 
children died. In the days following the train burning, Hindu mobs 
killed hundreds of Muslims, displaced tens of thousands, and destroyed 
thousands of dollars worth of property.
    In many cases attempts to hold perpetrators of the Gujarat violence 
accountable were hampered by the manner in which police recorded 
complaints. Victims related that police refused to register their 
complaints, recorded the details in such a way as to lead to lesser 
charges, omitted the names of prominent people involved in attacks, and 
did not arrest suspects, particularly supporters of the Bharatiya 
Janata Party (BJP). HRW alleged that instead of helping Muslims in 
finding their relatives' bodies, the Gujarat police victimized and 
harassed them. In August 2004 the Supreme Court instructed the Gujarat 
High Court to appoint a committee of high-level police officials to re-
examine the 2,032 closed cases out of a total of 4,252 complaints filed 
and determine whether any should be reopened. In February Gujarat 
police informed the Supreme Court that they would reexamine the closure 
of 1,600 of the 2,032 cases, and reinvestigate some of the cases by 
filing fresh FIRs. The media reported that officials attempting to 
conduct a serious investigation into the incidents were promptly 
removed from the case.
    The first of the convictions in post-Godhra riot cases came in 
2003, when the Kheda district court sentenced 12 persons to life in 
prison. In December 2005 a special court in Gujarat sentenced 11 Hindus 
to life in prison for killing 11 Muslims in the 2002 violence. In other 
cases that concluded during the year, the accused were acquitted due to 
a lack of evidence, faulty investigations or because witnesses had been 
bribed or were afraid to testify. Human rights groups alleged that, 
with the exception of the high profile cases in which the Supreme Court 
has taken interest, accused persons were most likely to be acquitted.
    In 2002, Hindu assailants burned the Best Bakery in Baroda, killing 
14 persons. On February 24, the Mumbai retrial of the Best Bakery case 
found nine defendants guilty of murder by arson and sentenced them to 
life imprisonment, while another eight were acquitted. In March the 
Supreme Court convicted principal witness Zaheera Shaikh, whose family 
owned the Bakery, of perjury after she repeatedly changed her 
testimony, according to HRW and AI, due to intimidation by prominent 
members of the BJP. On March 29, Shaikh was sentenced to one year in 
prison and was serving the sentence in a Mumbai jail.
    Police officials and local authorities allegedly unearthed mass 
graves from the 2002 Gujarat violence early in the year. It was alleged 
at the time of the violence that in several cases the police originally 
tried to bury and conceal evidence. For example in January, in Kalol, 
Gujarat, the investigating agency CBI arrested six policemen and two 
doctors for deliberately destroying evidence and thereby shielding the 
accused in the 2002 Randhikpur massacre.
    In addition, some bodies from the Kidiad killings, where over 70 
persons were burned alive in March 2005 in two cars at Limbadiya Chowki 
in Sabarkantha district, were found in the Panam dam. According to 
police records, a case of eight deaths was reported. Following the 2002 
acquittal of all the accused in the Kidiad killings by a judge based in 
Godhra, the Supreme Court issued a notice in 2003, and the state 
government fired the two prosecutors involved in the case. An appeal 
was filed before the State High Court. A senior police official said it 
was still unclear whether the discovered remains belonged to riot 
victims or whether an older graveyard had been unearthed. The Gujarat 
police dismissed the unearthing of the mass grave as an unnecessary 
publicity campaign by victims' family members.
    The other high-profile trial from the 2002 Gujarat violence, the 
Bilkis Bano gang rape case, was ongoing in a Mumbai court as of year's 
end (see Section 5).
    The Gujarat government claimed that police had re-opened 
investigations against 5,384 persons in the city of Ahmedabad and 
24,683 persons in the state as a whole. However, analysis by the 
Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat revealed that only a small number 
of these investigations actually led to convictions. As of October 
there were fewer than 10 convictions out of 217 cases concluded in the 
lower courts of Gujarat. The Gujarat government's legal department 
advised against appealing most of the acquittals in the remaining 
cases. As a result, only a handful of cases were appealed to higher 
courts. All Gujarat-related cases are under investigation in an 
official inquiry conducted by retired Justices G[.] T. Nanavati and 
K.G. Shah. The inquiry included gathering and analysis of 20,940 oral 
and written testimonies, both individual and collective, from survivors 
and independent human rights groups, women's groups, NGOs, academics, 
and police officials.
    HRW reported in 2005 that Hindu extremists threatened and 
intimidated victims, witnesses, and human rights activists attempting 
to prosecute those who committed crimes during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 
It asserted that instead of pursuing the perpetrators of violence, the 
Gujarat government nurtured a climate of fear. The report alleged that 
the Gujarat government launched selective tax probes against some 
Islamic organizations to pressure Muslim witnesses to withdraw murder 
and arson charges against Hindu nationalists. According to HRW's annual 
report published in January, ``The Gujarat government again failed to 
investigate and prosecute those responsible for attacks on Muslims 
during the Gujarat riots of 2002.'' According to AI's May annual human 
rights report, ``The perpetrators of human rights violations in India 
continue to enjoy impunity, particularly in Gujarat. The survivors of 
targeted killings and sexual violence in Gujarat in 2002 continued to 
be denied justice and reparation.'' The Gujarat government denied the 
charge.
    On September 5, according to media sources, 12 Kamptapur Liberation 
Organization (KLO) leaders, six Maoist activists and one United 
Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) cadre went on an indefinite hunger 
strike in the Jalpaiguri Central Jail, West Bengal, after their 
repeated requests for a speedy trial or bail during trial went 
unheeded. On September 18, 34 KLO prisoners in the same jail joined the 
hunger strike after some of their leaders fell seriously ill and were 
admitted to the hospital. About 300 members of the same groups all over 
the KLO in West Bengal went on a two-day hunger strike to protest the 
lack of progress in adjudicating the case.
    Fast track courts concentrated on a specific type of case, allowing 
judges to develop expertise in a given area of law. These courts gave 
preference to cases pending for extended periods and often focused on 
civil issues. Court fees were generally lower for these courts, since 
trials were shorter.
    As of October there were 1,734 fast track courts. A total of 18 
million cases were pending in courts across the country, of which 16 
million were criminal cases. There were approximately 10 judges for 
every million people.
    Unlike in previous years, courts were regularly in session and the 
judicial system began to normalize in Jammu and Kashmir. Nevertheless, 
the judicial system was hindered because of judicial tolerance of 
abuses committed as part of the Government's anti-insurgent campaign 
and because of the frequent refusal by security forces to obey court 
orders.
    Due in part to intimidation by insurgents and terrorists, courts in 
Jammu and Kashmir were often reluctant to hear cases involving 
insurgent and terrorist crimes and failed to act expeditiously, if at 
all, on habeas corpus cases. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 
there were currently 377 persons of unidentified ethnicity and 
Kashmiris and 136 foreigners in jails.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--While the Government maintained 
that there were no political prisoners, the All Parties Hurriyat 
Conference (APHC) claimed there were approximately 500 political 
prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir, and human rights activists based in the 
state placed the number at 150, although among these were persons whom 
the Government claimed had engaged in violent acts.
    The Government permitted international humanitarian organizations, 
such as the ICRC, access to such persons on a regular basis.
    There were no reports of political detainees during the year, 
although the Government detained hundreds of suspected terrorists, 
insurgents, and separatists.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are different 
personal status laws for the various minority religious communities, 
and the legal system accommodates religion-specific laws in matters of 
marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance. Muslim personal status 
law governs many noncriminal matters, including family law and 
inheritance (see section 5).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice; however, at times 
the authorities infringed upon them. Police must obtain warrants to 
conduct searches and seizures, except in cases where such actions would 
cause undue delay. Police must justify such warrantless searches in 
writing to the nearest magistrate with jurisdiction over the offense. 
The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Manipur have special 
powers to search and arrest without a warrant.
    The Information Technology Act grants police power under certain 
circumstances to search premises and arrest individuals without a 
warrant. The act specifies a one-year sentence for persons who fail to 
provide information to the Government on request and a five-year 
sentence for transmitting ``lascivious'' material (see section 2.a.). 
The act also requires Internet cafes to monitor Internet use and inform 
the authorities of offenses (see section 2.a.).
    The Indian Telegraph Act authorizes the surveillance of 
communications, including monitoring telephone conversations and 
intercepting personal mail, in cases of public emergency, or ``in the 
interest of the public safety or tranquility.'' The central government 
and every state government used these powers during the year.
    Although the Telegraph Act gives police the power to tap phones to 
aid an investigation, they were not allowed to use such evidence in 
court. The UAPA allows such evidence to be used in terrorist cases, and 
some human rights activists noted that the new UAPA ordinance confers 
additional powers on police to use intercepted communications as 
evidence in terrorism cases. While there were elaborate legal 
safeguards to prevent police from encroaching on personal privacy, 
there were no such protections in terrorist cases.
    Seven states (Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, 
and Maharashtra) enacted two-child laws for village council members 
with very low levels of enforcement. The laws provide government jobs 
and subsidies to those who have no more than two children and sanctions 
against those who do. National health officials in New Delhi noted that 
the central government was unable to regulate state decisions on 
population issues.
    The law limits inheritance, alimony payments, and property 
ownership of persons from interfaith marriages and prohibits the use of 
churches to celebrate marriage ceremonies in which one party is a non-
Christian. Clergymen who contravene its provisions could face up to 10 
years' imprisonment. However, the act does not bar interfaith marriages 
in other places of worship.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The AFSPA and the Disturbed Areas Act remained in effect in the Jammu 
and Kashmir districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, 
Srinagar, Budgam, Anantnag, Pulwama, Baramulla, and Kupwara, where 
active and violent secessionist movements existed. The Disturbed Areas 
Act gives police extraordinary powers of arrest and detention, and the 
AFSPA provides search and arrest powers without warrants (see section 
1.d.). Human rights groups alleged that security forces operated with 
virtual impunity in areas under the act. In January a committee headed 
by Supreme Court Justice Jeevan Reddy recommended the act be scrapped 
because the Government had authority under UAPA to combat the 
insurgency in the northeast. At year's end, the act remained in force.
    Accountability by the Jammu and Kashmir government remained a 
serious problem. Human rights groups estimated that 30,000 to 35,000 
persons died during the two decades of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. 
The Jammu and Kashmir governor, Lt. General S.K. Sinha, reported 39,000 
deaths during the conflict. Security forces committed thousands of 
serious human rights violations over the course of the insurgency, 
including extrajudicial killings, disappearances (see section 1.b.), 
and torture (see section 1.c.). Killings of security force members by 
insurgents and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir declined to 330 during 
2005, according to home ministry statistics. As of August 2005, the 
Jammu and Kashmir police claimed fighting in Kashmir had resulted in 
the deaths of 167 security forces, 359 civilians, and 622 insurgents. 
According to the Jammu and Kashmir police, militants killed 385 
civilians, security forces killed 554 terrorists, and insurgents killed 
177 security forces. According to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 
as of December 18, there were 340 civilians, 166 security force 
personnel, and 592 terrorists killed as a result of terrorist violence.
    There were continuing reports of civilians killed in cross fire in 
Jammu and Kashmir during the year. On February 22, four Kashmiri youth 
between the ages of eight and 18 were killed in cross fire between 
insurgents and soldiers in the Kupwara District in Northern Kashmir. 
The army stated that the killings occurred during a firefight when 
soldiers responded with rifle fire to an insurgent grenade. The 
killings sparked several days of antigovernment protests in the area. 
The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and the army launched separate 
inquires into the matter. On February 26, the army stated it provided 
$4,800 (Rs 212,000) compensation to the families of each of the 
victims. The state government provided $2,400 (Rs 106,000).
    Terrorists and insurgents operating in Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur, 
and Doda areas of Jammu and Kashmir repeatedly targeted the minority 
Pandit (Hindu Brahmin) community, stabbing and killing entire families 
at a time in numerous incidents throughout the year. For example, in 
June insurgents killed one man and injured 13 persons, cutting the 
noses and ears from two victims in the Udhampur District.
    Civic elections were held in February 2005 in Jammu and Kashmir. 
Despite threats and boycott calls, polling was largely peaceful, and 
the army and police presence was not large. After the declaration of 
results, terrorists killed two newly elected members and several of 
their relatives and friends. Several elected counselors resigned 
following threats from terrorists. Insurgents killed an official in 
Kulgam, a National Conference counselor in Ikhrajpora, and a People's 
Democratic Party (PDP) counselor in Beerwah, Budgam district.
    Members of the security forces continued to abduct and kill 
suspected insurgents, and security forces were not held adequately 
accountable for their actions. Reliable data on such cases were 
difficult to obtain.
    According to credible reports, in addition to harassment during 
searches and arbitrary arrests (see section 1.d.), security forces 
clearing minefields abducted and sometimes used civilians as human 
shields. Such abuses occurred mostly in the Kupwara and Doda districts.
    In September security forces killed three members of a family in 
the Kokernag area of south Kashmir. In Kupwara, security forces killed 
a girl and her uncle when they were heading towards a nearby jungle to 
get firewood. The army issued its regrets and advised the people 
against venturing out during night hours.
    On December 10, a soldier fired upon shopkeeper Manzoor Ahmad Wani 
at Mirmaidan village in south Kashmir. Wani had failed to immediately 
expose his arms from under his pheran (long Kashmiri robe) after a 
soldier asked him to do so. Wani was hospitalized.
    On December 17, Rashtriya Rifles troops killed a 62-year-old 
village headman, Sanaullah Magray. The army said the killing was a case 
of mistaken identity and that the villager had entered an ambushed area 
and ignored warnings to stop. The Government conducted an 
investigation, and the army ordered a separate inquiry into the 
incident.
    Unlike in previous years, tension along the Line of Control (LOC) 
in Kashmir was minimal. The Home Ministry reported no cases of 
artillery shelling, mortar, or small arms fire across the LOC or on the 
Siachen glacier.
    In February army personnel killed four youths playing cricket in 
Kupwara district. Massive protests followed the killing, and 15 persons 
were injured in police firing and use of tear gas. In September the 
Jammu and Kashmir government asked the district and session court to 
investigate the incident. On September 19, the army removed the unit's 
commanding officer, Colonel R.S. Guleria, for what was termed 
inefficiency and ineptitude. The NHRC asked the Jammu and Kashmir 
government to provide a detailed report of the killing. The Government 
had not done so by the end of the year.
    On May 21, the terrorist group Lashkar-E-Tayyiba (LET) killed seven 
persons and injured 25 in an attack on a Congress rally in Srinagar.
    On May 3, AI reported the killing of at least 35 Hindus and the 
additional wounding of 10 others in a predominantly Muslim area of 
Jammu and Kashmir ahead of a meeting between the Prime Minister and 
Hurriyat leaders.
    On July 8, the Jammu and Kashmir police claimed that rebel group 
Hizbul Mujaheedin detonated a powerful grenade in Kulgam that killed 
five people, including former National Conference (NC) legislator and 
state tourism minister Sakina Ittoo, and injured 50 others. The 
insurgents attacked Ittoo with a grenade as she was leaving a shrine in 
south Kashmir's Anantang District.
    There were no developments in the November 2005 killings of two 
village men used as human shields by insurgents in Pattan, Kashmir.
    There were no developments in the February 2004 killing of five 
civilian porters allegedly used as human shields by security forces in 
Kashmir.
    In the northeast, human rights groups observed that violence 
persisted despite ongoing talks between separatist groups and state 
government officials and a 2004 government ceasefire. Factional 
violence between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Isak-Muivah 
(NSCN-IM) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Khaplang 
(NSCN-K) continued during the year, resulting in numerous deaths. 
Between July 2005 and June, government representatives and NSCN-IM 
leaders met in Amsterdam and agreed to extend the ceasefire.
    In August the army operation against the banned ULFA group from 
Assam was suspended for one month to foster peace in the state. The 
decision to halt operations met a key demand of the ULFA, which 
responded to the suspension by announcing a ``cessation of 
hostilities.'' However operations were re-launched in September as ULFA 
resumed violence.
    According to the Home Affairs Annual Report, 76 districts in the 
nine states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, 
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were 
affected by Naxalite (Maoist insurgent) violence.
    Southern Chhattisgarh was a center of Naxalite violence, with over 
300 insurgent-related casualties from January to August. A 
counterinsurgency movement among the region's tribal population called 
``Salwa Judem'' began in June 2005 and was supported by the state 
government. Naxalite retaliations against the movement resulted in 
violent civil conflict in Dantewara district and a large number of 
civilian deaths.
    On March 2, an estimated 500 Naxalites raided a small village in 
Dantewara district, killing four with axes and knives and abducting 
five. During the year there were several reported instances of 
Naxalites using landmines to target government vehicles and police 
personnel. Also in March Naxalites destroyed a railroad engine in an 
attempt to disrupt iron-ore shipments from the large government-owned 
Bailadila mines. On June 20, insurgents killed seven persons and 
injured two others at Chikuarguda village in the Konta region of 
Dantewara district after the villagers refused to support the 
Naxalites' planned attack on a camp of internally displayed persons 
(IDPs) (see section 2.d.). On July 17, Naxalites attacked an IDP camp 
in Arrabore, killing an estimated 20 to 30 inhabitants, including 
several infants. An estimated 75 persons were injured.
    After the Naxalites shot and killed Congress legislator Chittam 
Narsi Reddy in Mahbubnagar District, Andhra Pradesh, in August 2005, 
the state government imposed a ban on the Communist Party of India-
Maoist (CPI-M) and seven Naxalite front organizations. After the ban, 
police arrested Vara Vara Rao, who had acted as the CPI-M emissary in 
earlier peace talks. Rao belonged to the outlawed People's War Group 
(PWG), which was a sub-group of CPI-M. Human rights activists claimed 
that the escalation in violence began in January when police shot and 
killed three Naxalites in Prakasan district. Reports of encounter 
killings were highest in Nizamabad District in 2005, where police shot 
and killed nine Naxalites. In September Naxalite guerrillas killed 10 
persons in a midnight attack in the Ranchi area of Jharkhand. According 
to the SATP, in September 2005, cadres of the CPI-M killed 17 civilians 
at Belwadari village in the Giridih district, Jharkhand. According to 
SATP, as of December 11, 263 civilians and 121 security forces were 
killed in Naxalite-related extremist activities during the year.
    The killing of civilians by Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh continued. 
ACHR estimated that Naxalite violence killed at least 460 persons in 
the first half of the year, including 90 security personnel, 189 
suspected Naxalites, and 181 civilians. According to Andhra Pradesh 
police, the number of civilian killings committed by Maoists decreased 
to 42 during the year, compared with 211 in 2005. The police combing 
operations resulted in encounter killings of 110 Maoists during the 
year, compared with 124 in 2005.
    On July 17, armed Naxalites attacked the Errabore Relief Camp in 
Dantewada district, killing approximately 30 unarmed civilians and 
injuring hundreds. The attackers abducted more than 45 persons and then 
reportedly released some hostages and killed six others, including 
security personnel. According to the police, all six hostages killed 
were surrendered Naxalites.
    In December 2005 the People's Liberation Army (PLA) killed Manipur 
Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) T. Thangthuam, along with a 
constable, in an ambush in Manipur's Bushnupur District. Heavily armed 
insurgents in a truck overtook the police officer's vehicle in the 
Oinam Bazaar area and fired indiscriminately, killing the two on the 
spot. On August 16, five civilians, including two children, were killed 
and 50 others injured when suspected terrorists threw a powerful 
grenade in a temple in Imphal during a Hindu festival. On August 20, 
the Zomi Revolutionary Army killed two civilians and injured four when 
the cadres opened fire on a crowded church, targeting a patrol party of 
Assam Rifles in Churachandpur District.
    On February 5, the army picked up Ajit Mahanta, a resident of 
Kakopathar, Tinsukia, Assam, on suspicion of having links to the ULFA. 
The next day his body was found in a gunny bag at Assam Medical 
College, Dibrugarh. Mahanta's death caused widespread resentment, and 
on February 10, a mob of 10,000 persons gathered to protest and march 
to the Lajum police station when police opened fire, killing eight 
persons. Protesters stoned to death one soldier. The army gave monetary 
compensation to Mahanta's widow. The Assam government also announced 
they would compensate the widow and the families of those killed in the 
shooting. The Defense Ministry convened a court-martial, which found an 
officer and a rifleman guilty. The findings and sentence remained 
subject to confirmation by higher army authorities.
    Between June 8 and 11, ULFA explosions in Assam killed five and 
injured 40.
    In November three civilians--including one woman and one child--
were killed and 11 injured when an explosion triggered by suspected 
ULFA militants at the railway station exploded in Guwahati, Assam.
    Through December 18, SATP reported the following deaths as a result 
of insurgency-related violence: 91 civilians, 37 security forces, and 
42 militants killed in Assam; 103 civilians, 37 security forces and 136 
militants killed in Manipur; 10 civilians, one security force member, 
and 80 militants killed in Nagaland; 11 civilians, 19 security forces, 
and 30 militants killed in Tripura.
    On February 28, according to AI, suspected Maoists belonging to the 
PWG set off a landmine in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, killing 236 and 
injuring 30.
    On March 3, Maoists disguised as a marriage party attacked a 
security check point in Jharkand and killed five security officers.
    Between March 4 and 5, Maoists killed two Communist Party of India-
Marxist (CPM) workers in separate attacks in West Bengal and kidnapped 
10 CPM members.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and expression; however, freedom of the press is not 
explicitly mentioned. The Government generally respected these rights 
in practice. An independent press, a somewhat effective judiciary, and 
a functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press. Under the 1923 Official Secrets Act, the 
Government may prosecute any person who publishes or communicates 
information that could be harmful to the state. However, no cases were 
reported during the year.
    Designed to be a self-regulating mechanism for the press, the Press 
Council (PCI) is a statutory body of journalists, publishers, 
academics, and politicians, with a government-appointed chairman, that 
investigates complaints of irresponsible journalism and sets a code of 
conduct for publishers nationwide. This code includes a commitment not 
to publish stories that might incite caste or communal violence. The 
council publicly criticized newspapers or journalists it believed had 
broken the code of conduct, especially regarding communal violence or 
vandalism.
    Independent newspapers and magazines regularly published and 
television channels regularly broadcast investigative reports, 
including allegations of government wrongdoing, and the press generally 
promoted human rights and criticized perceived government lapses. Most 
print media and 80 percent of television channels were privately owned. 
However, by law, only government-controlled radio stations were allowed 
to report news over the radio.
    With the exception of radio, foreign media generally was allowed to 
operate freely, and private satellite television was distributed widely 
by cable or satellite dish, providing competition for Doordarshan, the 
government-owned television network. While the public frequently 
accused the Government television of manipulating the news in the 
Government's favor, some privately owned satellite channels often 
promoted the platforms of political parties their owners supported.
    The Government often held foreign satellite broadcasters, rather 
than domestic cable operators, liable under civil law for what it 
deemed objectionable content on satellite channels--notably, tobacco 
and alcohol advertisements and adult content.
    AM radio broadcasting remained a government monopoly. Private FM 
radio station ownership was legal, but licenses only authorized 
entertainment and educational content. Local editions of foreign press 
were prohibited; however, the Government allowed country-specific 
editions published by a local company, with no more than a 26 percent 
foreign partnership.
    The authorities generally allowed foreign journalists to travel 
freely, including in Jammu and Kashmir, where they regularly met with 
separatist leaders and filed reports on a range of issues, including 
government abuses.
    The Newspapers Incitements to Offenses Act remained in effect in 
Jammu and Kashmir, which allows a district magistrate to prohibit 
publication of material likely to incite violence; however, newspapers 
in Srinagar reported in detail on alleged human rights abuses by the 
Government and regularly published separatist Kashmiri groups' press 
releases.
    There were some attacks on the media that were apparently intended 
to harass or inhibit the free expression of opinions. For example, on 
February 9, members of the Kangleipak Communist Party in Imphal shot 
and injured Ratan Luwangcha, general secretary of the All Manipur 
Working Journalists' Union.
    On June 10, unknown assailants attacked and killed Arun Narayan 
Dekate, a rural correspondent with the Marathi daily Tarun Bharat. 
According to press reports, Dekate had exposed and informed police 
about an illegal gambling racket headed by alleged gambling boss 
Dhampal Bhagat. Authorities arrested several suspects in the case.
    In June an imam of a mosque in Kolkata (Calcutta) issued a fatwa 
(religious edict) against exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, 
offering a reward of $1,100 (Rs 48,500) to anyone who smeared black 
paint on her face and drove her out of the country. The police 
commissioner reportedly summoned the imam, who denied issuing the 
fatwa.
    In August the Punjab State Human Rights Commission sought an 
inquiry into the arrest of two journalists, Harjit Singh Kohli and 
Gurmit Mann, who were investigating the arrest of one girl and three 
boys in a police constable's residence. Police allegedly filed a 
falsified FIR against the journalists after they refused to hand over 
their notes.
    There were no developments in the July 2005 harassment and 
intimidation of South Asia Tribune correspondent Arun Kumar Rajnath or 
the August 2005 arrest of Indian Express correspondent Gautam Dheer.
    There were no developments in the June 2005 harassment of 
journalists in Meghalaya by police and the Meghalaya government or the 
August 2005 Tamil Nadu issuance of ``breach of privilege'' notices 
against journalists who published two controversial articles.
    Violent intimidation of the press by terrorist groups in Jammu and 
Kashmir caused significant self-censorship, according to journalists 
based in the state. During the year the threat of losing government 
revenue contributed to self-censorship by smaller media outlets that 
relied heavily on state government advertising for their survival.
    In February members of a breakaway faction of the Jammu and Kashmir 
Liberation Front reportedly threatened editors of the newspaper Greater 
Kashmir for failing to cover adequately a general strike called by the 
group.
    In May the main cable television operator in Kashmir stopped airing 
programs following threats from separatists. The cable company noted 
that separatists, thought to be members of a little-known group called 
the Al-Madina Regiment, complained of the ``depraved nature'' of the 
programming. A larger insurgent group, Hizbul Mujahideen, denied that 
any separatists were involved and accused local officials of 
orchestrating a shut-down to divert attention from a sex scandal.
    The Government maintained a list of banned books that may not be 
imported or sold in the country. Censors claimed that some books, such 
as Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, aggravated communal tensions. In 
March 2004 the Maharashtra state government filed criminal charges 
against a foreign professor for allegedly slandering Shivaji, a 17th 
century Marathi warrior, and his mother in his book. The case remained 
open at year's end, and the Maharashtra state government continued to 
ban the book. In January the Maharashtra state government banned 
another book on Shivaji by the same author, published in 2001, for fear 
it would create communal tension. In September 2005 the Kolkata 
(Calcutta) High Court removed the April 2004 West Bengal government ban 
on Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's autobiography, Dwikhandita, 
Amaar Meyebela.
    In March and April the Government of Rajasthan banned Haqeeqat 
(Reality), a Hindi translation of a controversial anti-Hindu book by 
Kerala-based evangelist M.G. Mathew, claiming it would incite communal 
violence, and held Samuel Thomas, President of Emmanuel Ministries 
International (EMI), a Christian charitable institution, in judicial 
custody from March 17 to May 2 for distributing the book (see section 
2.c). The book Wo Sharm Se Hindu Kahate Hain Kyon? (Why Do They Say 
With Shame They Are Hindus) was banned at the same time as Haqeeqat.
    A government censorship board reviewed films before licensing them 
for distribution, censoring material it deemed offensive to public 
morals or communal sentiment.

    Internet Freedom.--The Informational Technology Act provides for 
censoring the Internet on public morality grounds, and defines 
``unauthorized access to certain types of electronic information'' as a 
crime. According to Reporters Without Borders, this law theoretically 
allowed police to search the homes or offices of Internet users at any 
time without a warrant, but that claim had not been tested in court. 
The Government retained the right to limit access to the Internet, 
specifically information deemed detrimental to national security.
    On July 13, the Department of Telecommunications asked Internet 
Service Providers (ISPs) to block several Web sites. The known list of 
blocked domains included blogspot.com, typepad.com and geocities.com, 
which terrorists allegedly used. The block was lifted after two days.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to 
apply restrictions to the travel and activities of visiting experts and 
scholars. In 2003 the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) 
passed academic guidelines requiring all central universities to obtain 
HRD permission before organizing ``all forms of foreign collaborations 
and other international academic exchange activities,'' including 
seminars, conferences, workshops, guest lectures, and research. These 
guidelines remained in force during the year. In most cases, the HRD 
ultimately permitted the international academic exchanges to take place 
after bureaucratic delays. However, in 2005 the Ministry of Home 
Affairs denied visas to six foreign scholars because the Government was 
``not in favor of undertaking the proposed research project.'' During 
the year, the Ministry of Home Affairs denied 21 scholars visas.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The authorities normally required permits and 
notification prior to holding parades or demonstrations, and local 
governments ordinarily respected the right to protest peacefully, 
except in Jammu and Kashmir, where the local government sometimes 
denied permits to separatist parties for public gatherings and detained 
separatists engaged in peaceful protest. During periods of civil 
tension, the authorities may ban public assemblies or impose a curfew 
under the Criminal Procedure Code.
    There were some instances of demonstrations where security forces 
either claimed harsh tactics were warranted or failed to protect 
demonstrators from violence.
    On January 1, police shot 12 adivasis (tribals) in Kalinga Nagar, 
Jajpur District, in Orissa. The police shooting occurred when 600 
tribals gathered to block the construction of a boundary wall at a Tata 
Corporation steel plant. When police tried to break up the 
demonstrations, the tribals attacked the police with arrows and stones, 
killing one policeman. The police responded by firing tear-gas shells 
and rubber bullets and opening fire with bullets. In addition to the 13 
deaths, 25 people were wounded in the clash. The Government of Orissa 
ordered the suspension of the district administration police chiefs and 
announced a compensation of $11,000 (Rs 485,000) for the victims' 
families.
    In March police fired into a crowd of protesting fishermen, killing 
one and severely injuring several others, at Gangavaram Port in Andhra 
Pradesh. The fishermen were demanding compensation for restrictions on 
fishing in the area. In June the Government agreed to a compensation 
plan.
    In May the NHRC requested that Mumbai and Delhi Police provide a 
``factual report'' to justify using a lathi, a bamboo stick used for 
crowd control, against students protesting medical school admittance 
quotas in New Delhi and elsewhere.
    In June police fired on demonstrators who were protesting custodial 
killings in Pattan town in north Kashmir, killing two and injuring 25, 
sparking attacks on police stations and highway blockades.
    In September two persons reportedly were killed and at least thirty 
policemen were injured during a traders' protest against the ongoing 
sealing drive in New Delhi. The chief minister Sheila Dixit, ordered a 
magisterial inquiry into the incidence of violence.
    There were no developments in the May 2005 killing of a nine-year-
old girl by police who were attempting to disperse a clash between 
villagers in Srinagar.
    There were no developments in the June 2005 Orissa police shooting, 
when protesters stormed a police station demonstrating against the 
delay in the arrest of a molester of minor girl.
    There were no developments in the August 2005 killing by police of 
two people in Bihar who were protesting the removal of a bus stand 
following the death of a child in a bus accident.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    NGOs must secure approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs before 
organizing international conferences. Human rights groups contended 
that this provided the Government with substantial political control 
over the work of NGOs and restricted their freedom of assembly and 
association. NGOs alleged that some members from abroad were denied 
visas arbitrarily.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for secular government 
and the protection of religious freedom, and the central government 
generally respected these provisions in practice; however, it sometimes 
did not act effectively to counter societal attacks against religious 
minorities and attempts by state and local governments to limit 
religious freedom. This failure resulted in part from legal constraints 
inherent in the country's federal structure and in part from 
shortcomings in the law enforcement and judicial systems. There is no 
state religion, although the fact that the majority of citizens are 
Hindus at times adversely affected the religious freedom of others. 
Some Hindu hardliners interpreted ineffective investigation and 
prosecution of their attacks on religious minorities as evidence that 
they could commit such violence with impunity.
    Some human rights groups alleged that there were ideological ties 
between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP state 
governments that may have influenced the BJP's response to acts of 
violence against religious minorities.
    Legally mandated benefits were assigned to certain groups, 
including some groups defined by their religion. For example, 
educational institutions administered by minority religions were 
allowed to reserve seats for their co-religionists even when they 
received government funding. Benefits accorded Dalits (formerly known 
as ``untouchables'') were revoked once they converted to Christianity 
or Islam, but not to Buddhism or Sikhism, ostensibly because once a 
Dalit converted to Christianity or Islam, he would no longer 
technically be a Dalit, although such caste distinctions informally 
existed in both religions.
    The Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1988 
criminalizes the use of any religious site for political purposes or 
the use of temples to harbor persons accused or convicted of crimes. 
While specifically designed to deal with Sikh places of worship in 
Punjab, the law applies to all religious sites. The Religious Buildings 
and Places Act requires a state government-endorsed permit before 
construction of any religious building. The act's supporters claimed 
that its aim is to curb the use of Muslim institutions by Islamic 
extremist groups, but the measure became a controversial political 
issue among Muslims.
    The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Chattisgharh, Madhya Pradesh, and 
Orissa have laws against forcible conversions. Gujarat passed anti-
conversion legislation which has never been enacted as the state 
government has yet to publish the regulations needed for enforcement.
    In 2003 Gujarat passed a ``Freedom of Religion'' Act that provides 
penalties of up to three years in prison and a fine of $1,000 (Rs 
44,000) for the use of inducement or force for religious conversion. On 
September 19, the state assembly passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion 
(Amendment) Bill. The amendment claimed that Buddhists and Jains were 
subsets of Hinduism, despite the 1992 National Commission for 
Minorities Act that identified Buddhism as a separate religion and 
Supreme Court action in the current year recognizing the sovereign 
identity of Jains. The amendment states that there would be no 
government intervention if a person changes from one sect to another 
(i.e. Shia to Sunni or Protestant to Catholic, or Hindu to Jain.)
    In March the Rajasthan government introduced and the state assembly 
passed legislation banning conversions by ``force, allurement, or 
fraudulent means,'' but by year's end it was not signed into law after 
both the state governor and President Abdul Kalam refused to endorse 
the legislation.
    In July the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh enacted 
changes to existing anti-conversion laws requiring prior permission of 
district authorities before any conversion takes place. The new 
amendments also excluded Christians intending to ``reconvert'' to 
Hinduism from the prior permission requirement. Chhattisgarh's 
legislation would protect Hindu ``purification rallies,'' which were 
large public events where Hindu activists ``re-convert'' entire 
villages of Christian tribal people. At year's end, the amendments were 
not operational.
    On May 22, the Tamil Nadu Assembly repealed the Tamil Nadu 
Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act, 2002.
    While there were some reported arrests throughout the country, 
there were no convictions under anticonversion laws during the year.
    Reports from faith-based NGOs and the media indicated that there 
were four arrests in Andhra Pradesh, 14 in Chhattisgarh, 28 in Madhya 
Pradesh, two in Orissa, and one in Uttar Pradesh between July 2005 and 
June. In most cases, the people picked up under the conversion laws are 
released on bail after spending a night in police custody. Faith-based 
NGOs allege that this is a systematic strategy to discourage Christian 
prayer meetings.
    There is no national law barring a citizen or foreigner from 
professing or propagating his or her religious beliefs; however, the 
law prohibits visitors in the country on tourist visas from engaging in 
religious proselytizing without prior permission from the Ministry of 
Home Affairs. During the year state officials continued to refuse 
permits to foreign missionaries to enter some northeastern states, on 
the grounds of political instability in the region. Missionaries and 
religious organizations must comply with the Foreign Contribution 
(Regulation) Act (FCRA) of 1976, which restricts funding from abroad. 
The Government can ban a religious organization that violates the FCRA, 
provokes intercommunity friction, or has been involved in terrorism or 
sedition.
    The legal system accommodates minority religions' personal status 
laws, and there were different personal laws for different religious 
communities. Religion-specific laws are paramount in matters of 
marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance. The personal status laws 
of the religious communities sometimes discriminated against women.
    Some laws, such as the repealed POTA, while not specifically 
written to target a minority group, affected particular ethnic or 
religious groups. A July 2004 study carried out by the NGO People's 
Tribunal in 10 states found that 99.9 percent of those arrested under 
POTA were Muslims.
    In response to EMI headquarters' distribution of Haqeeqat, deemed 
disrespectful of Hindu beliefs, a prominent Hindu leader offered a 
bounty of $26,000 (Rs 1.15 million) for the mission archbishop's ``head 
on a plate.'' According to the media, Hindu activists attacked a school 
run by EMI and burned an effigy of its founder. In February, the 
Government of Rajasthan suspended the registration of EMI property and 
froze its assets. By year's end, EMI's bank account had been re-opened 
and its registration had been restored (see 2.a.).
    In April communal clashes between Hindu and Muslim residents of 
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, which stemmed from the use of loudspeakers 
during a religious festival, resulted in two deaths and eight injuries. 
An NCM investigation determined that the Uttar Pradesh administration 
initially did not take appropriate steps to prevent the violence. The 
police launched a judicial inquiry.
    From March 2 to 4, groups of Hindus attacked and destroyed Muslim 
shops and vehicles in two towns in central Goa. The group protested the 
illegal construction of a mosque by recent Muslim immigrants.
    On March 7, three bombs exploded at the Sankat Mochan temple and 
railway station in Varanasi, killing at least 23 people and injuring 
several others. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed police killed 
one alleged attacker, a member of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba terrorist 
group.
    On May 1, police shot and killed two Muslims during protests over 
the removal of a Muslim shrine in Vadodara, Gujarat. In the violence 
that ensued, police injured another 60 persons, mostly Muslims. Unknown 
assailants stabbed and killed two Hindus. According to the media, the 
police reportedly dealt heavy handedly with Muslim rioters.
    On September 8, two bombs attached to bicycles exploded in 
Malegaon, Maharashtra, killing 37 people and injuring 125, most of them 
Muslim worshipers leaving a mosque after Friday prayers. On October 30, 
authorities arrested a member of the Students Islamic Movement of India 
(SIMI) for his alleged involvement with the blast.
    The Gujarat government paid a total of $3,400 (Rs 150,000) to the 
next of kin of each person killed in the 2002 violence and paid 
approximately $447,000 (Rs 19.7 million) towards relief and 
rehabilitation, according to Chief Minister Narendra Modi. NGOs and 
newspapers criticized the Gujarat government for discriminating between 
Hindus and Muslims in dispensing compensation. In November the central 
government announced payment of approximately $15,909 (Rs 700,000) to 
each of the families of the Gujarat riots as compensation. By year's 
end, this had not been implemented.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Tensions between religious 
groups, while rare, continued during the year. Attacks on religious 
minorities occurred in several states, which brought into question the 
state governments' ability to prevent sectarian and religious violence 
or prosecute those responsible.
    Several human rights and religious freedom NGOs, including the All 
India Christian Council and the All-India Catholic Union (AICU) 
expressed concern over growing anti-Christian violence in several 
states governed by the BJP, some of whom had affiliations with 
fundamentalist groups associated with the RSS. In November 2005 the 
AICU reported that there were approximately 200 attacks against 
Christians throughout the country during the year.
    On January 16, Hindu fundamentalists burned the houses of three 
Christian families of Matiapara village in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The 
police did not initially accept the FIR filed by the pastor and members 
of the church. However, the police did accept a FIR from Hindus 
accusing the pastor of forcible conversion. Both complaints were 
forwarded to the court. The police allegedly harassed the pastor and 
his acquaintances. The Orissa State Human Rights Commission conducted 
an investigation into the incident, which had not been concluded at the 
year's end.
    In March media reported that Hindus set a Christian church on fire 
at Gunthaput village in the Orissa district of Koraput. The All India 
Christian Council approached the District Collector for redress.
    Muslims in some Hindu-dominated areas continued to experience 
intimidation and reported a lack of government protection, resulting in 
their inability to work, reside, or send their children to schools. In 
some areas, primarily in Gujarat, Hindutva, groups displayed signs 
stating ``Hindus only'' and ``Muslim-free area.'' Hindutva is the 
ideology that espouses politicized inculcation of Hindu religious and 
cultural norms above other religious norms. There were also allegations 
of prohibitions on the Muslim call to prayer.
    There were no developments in the February 2005 killings of Gilbert 
Raj or Dilip Dalai.
    Hindu organizations frequently alleged that Christian missionaries 
forced or lured Hindus, particularly those of lower castes, to convert 
to Christianity. In Christian majority areas, there were occasional 
reports that Christians harassed members of other communities.
    There were no reports during the year of anti-Semitic acts against 
the country's small Jewish community which constituted 0.76 percent of 
the total population.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement, and the Government generally respected this in practice; 
however, in certain border areas the Government required special 
permits.
    Security forces often searched and questioned occupants at vehicle 
checkpoints, mostly in troubled areas in the Kashmir Valley or after 
major terrorist attacks. The Government also completed construction 
(except in areas of difficult terrain) of a 330-mile security fence 
along the LOC in Jammu and Kashmir, causing occasional difficulties for 
local residents, as it cut through some villages and agricultural 
lands. The Government erected the security fence to stop arms smuggling 
and infiltration by Pakistani-based terrorists or insurgents. The 
Government attributed a decline in insurgent crossings during the year 
in part to the fence.
    Under the Passports Act of 1967, the Government may deny a passport 
to any applicant who ``may or is likely to engage outside India in 
activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.'' In 
the past, the Government used this provision to prohibit foreign travel 
by some government critics, especially those advocating Sikh 
independence and members of the separatist movement in Jammu and 
Kashmir.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of the Government 
using the issuance of passports or travel documents to restrict travel 
of separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. However, citizens from 
Jammu and Kashmir faced extended delays, often up to two years, before 
the Ministry of External Affairs would issue or renew their passports. 
Government officials also regularly demanded bribes before issuing 
passports from Jammu and Kashmir that required special clearances. 
Applicants born in Jammu and Kashmir--even the children of serving 
military officers born during their parents' deployment in the state--
were subjected to additional scrutiny, requests for bribes, and police 
clearances prior to passport issuance.
    There was no law banning forced exile; however, there were no 
reports of forced exile during the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the Norwegian 
Refugee Council, at least 650,000 persons were displaced due to 
conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, and the northeast (see 
sections 1.a., 1.c., and 1.g.). Approximately 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits 
(Hindu Brahmins), who were forced to flee the Kashmir Valley in the 
early 1990s after the outbreak of separatist violence, remained in IDP 
camps in Jammu and New Delhi, some 15 years after the start of the 
insurgency; they were unable to return to their homes in Jammu and 
Kashmir because of safety concerns, including the on-going killings of 
Hindus in the state.
    The NHRC reported that the Pandit population in Jammu and Kashmir 
dropped from 15 percent in 1941 to 0.1 percent during the year. 
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs Annual Report for 2005, there 
were 55,476 Kashmiri Pandit migrant families of which 34,088 resided in 
Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi, and 2,050 in other states. There were 230 
migrant families living in 14 camps in Delhi and 5,778 families in 16 
camps in Jammu. The Government provided monthly cash relief of $70 (Rs 
3,100) and basic dry rations to 14,869 families in Jammu. In Delhi, 
authorities provided $75 (Rs 3,300) to 4,100 families.
    In October, according to the National Commission for Minorities 
(NCM), 5,307 Muslim families still lived in ``precarious conditions'' 
in 46 makeshift camps across Gujarat following the violence in 2002.
    More than 87,000 persons lived under poor conditions in IDP camps 
in Assam as a result of ongoing violence in the northeast. According to 
press reports, nearly 2,000 families who were riot victims from the 
Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, and Dhubri districts in Assam awaited 
rehabilitation grants sanctioned by the state government following the 
1993-99 riots in these areas.
    An NGO reported that the Assam state government released part of 
the grants during the year. The Government also provided assistance to 
IDPs and allowed them access to NGO and human rights organizations 
during the year. There were no reports that the Government attacked or 
forcibly resettled IDPs. There were no reports of government programs 
specifically designed to facilitate resettlement.
    During the year the Chhattisgarh government opened IDP camps in 
Dantewara district for tribals caught in fighting between Naxalites and 
activists of a counter-insurgent movement called ``Salwa Judum.'' An 
estimated 60,000 tribal villagers were encamped in 27 locations. By 
most accounts, the camps lacked adequate shelter, food, and security 
(see section 1.g.). There also were allegations of trafficking in 
persons in the camps (see section 5). Civil society and media alleged 
there was trafficking in child soldiers by Naxalites and ``Salwa 
Judum'' activists. NGOs in Chhattisgarh also criticized the practice of 
hiring teenage children of police personnel slain in Naxalite attacks 
as ``child police'' (the children were not given actual policing duty, 
but ran errands in police stations). Several such ``Bal-police'' 
continued to be employed in police stations in Madhya Pradesh and 
Chhattisgarh.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the Government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees or asylum 
seekers. In practice, the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement to Tibetans and Sri Lankans. The Government provided 
temporary protection to certain individuals who may not qualify as 
refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. According to 
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at the end 
of November, there were 11,585 refugees under UNHCR mandate in the 
country.
    UNHCR reported during the year that the Government hosted over 
300,000 refugees, including 1,803 from Burma, 9,528 from Afghanistan, 
and 254 others from Bhutan, Nepal, and Chakmas. Since 1960 the 
Government has hosted approximately 110,000 de facto refugees from 
Tibet. During the year Tibetan leaders in India stated that the 
Government treated them extremely well.
    The Government generally denied NGOs and the office of the UNHCR 
direct access to refugee and IDP camps, particularly in Mizoram. 
However, UNHCR was given access and maintained a local office in Tamil 
Nadu. The UNHCR had no formal status, but the Government permitted its 
staff access to refugees living in urban centers. The Government did 
not formally recognize UNHCR grants of refugee status, although it 
provided ``residential permits'' to many Afghans and Burmese. The 
Government considered Tibetans and Sri Lankans in settlements and 
refugee camps to be refugees, and provided assistance to them, but 
since it regarded most other groups, especially Bangladeshis, as 
economic migrants, it did not provide them with aid. However, in recent 
years, a number of court rulings extended protection to refugees whom 
the Government had formerly considered economic migrants.
    The Government permitted recognized refugees to work, and the state 
and central governments paid for the education of refugee children and 
provided limited welfare benefits.
    According to NGOs, conditions in the Sri Lankan refugee camps were 
generally acceptable, although much of the housing was of poor quality. 
The UNHCR continued to meet outside the camps with Tamil refugees 
considering voluntary repatriation. The NGO Organization for Eelam 
Refugee Rehabilitation (OfEER) had regular access to the camps during 
the year. According to OfEER, there were 121 refugee camps and one 
``special camp'' which housed suspected members of the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As of November 2005, only 11 refugees 
remained in the single camp. Sri Lankans who claimed to fear the 
escalating violence between LTTE cadres and Sri Lankan security forces 
in Sri Lanka took refuge in approximately 100 camps in Tamil Nadu. 
According to the UNHCR, 27 Tamil refugees returned to Sri Lanka during 
the year. As of August, there were 60,604 Sri Lankan refugees living in 
105 refugee camps. By year's end 16,492 additional refugees had 
arrived. The Government provided them with subsidized rice and other 
essential goods.
    Those living in the country not formally recognized as refugees 
included approximately 80,000 Chakmas and approximately 200,000 
Santhals, both from Bangladesh, who remained in Arunachal Pradesh, 
Mizoram, and Assam. In addition, there were Afghans, Iraqis, and 
Iranians without valid national passports living in the country. The 
Government either chose not to deport them, issued them renewable 
residence permits, or ignored their presence. Due to financial and 
other reasons, many refugees were unable or unwilling to obtain or 
renew their national passports and could not regularize their status.
    UNHCR provided refugee status and assistance to approximately 1,800 
Chin from Burma who were living in New Delhi. However, UNHCR did not 
have access to the larger population of ethnic Chin living in the 
northeastern states. An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Chins lived and 
worked illegally in Mizoram. NGOs estimated that in 2005 10,000 Chins 
with alleged ties to Burmese insurgent groups were expelled to Burma, 
where the military government reportedly jailed them. Mizoram human 
rights groups estimated that approximately 31,000 Reangs, a tribal 
group from Mizoram displaced by sectarian conflict, remained in six 
camps in North Tripura. Conditions in these camps were poor, and the 
Tripura government asked the central government to allot funds for 
their care. In 2004 Reang leaders in the camps pressed for reserved 
jobs, education benefits, and a comprehensive rehabilitation package. 
The Mizoram government rejected the demands, maintaining that only 
16,000 of the refugees had a valid claim to residence. After several 
rounds of negotiations, the Mizoram government and Reang-dominated Bru 
National Liberation Front (BNLF) insurgents signed a peace accord in 
June. Mizoram also agreed to take back Reangs who had fled to Tripura 
to escape the conflict.
    More than 1,000 Hmar refugees, one of the numerous tribes that 
belonged to the Chin-Kuku-Mizo tribe, were reportedly displaced in and 
around Mizoram, some of them from Manipur.
    In January 2005 the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Home 
Affairs, the election commission, and the Governments of Mizoram and 
Tripura to resettle approximately 40,000 displaced Reangs and add them 
to the electoral rolls. No further action had taken place by the end of 
the year.
    The BNLF and Mizoram government agreed on a $6.3 million (Rs 277.9 
million) financial package and paved the way for the return of Reang 
IDPs in North Tripura. However, the return was yet unimplemented. The 
return of Bru refugees was not implemented because civil society groups 
like the Young Mizo Association and the Mizo Students' Union objected 
with the argument that these Brus were not all originally from Mizoram. 
No decision was reached at the end of the year.
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.--The Government changed 
hands following free and fair national parliamentary elections in April 
and May 2004 in which approximately 675 million citizens participated. 
The country has a democratic, parliamentary system of government, with 
representatives elected in multiparty elections. Parliament sits for 
five years unless dissolved earlier for new elections, except under 
constitutionally defined emergency situations.
    Citizens elected state governments at regular intervals, except in 
states under President's rule. During the year, relatively peaceful 
elections took place in the states of Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, 
West Bengal and in the Union Territory of Puducherry, although some 
election-related violence occurred. According to press reports, 14 
people were killed and 36 injured in Bihar, and in April insurgents 
killed one person and injured 32 in Jammu and Kashmir. The press 
reported that despite the violence, voter turnout was the highest in 16 
years and that the polls were generally free and fair. The Tamil Nadu 
and Kerala elections led to peaceful transitions of power to opposition 
parties.
    There were 72 women in the 783-seat national legislature, and 10 in 
the 34-member cabinet of ministers. Numerous women were represented in 
all major parties in the national and state legislatures. The 
Constitution reserves 33 percent of seats for women in elected village 
councils (Panchayats).
    The constitution reserves seats in parliament and state 
legislatures for scheduled tribes and scheduled castes in proportion to 
their population (see section 5). Indigenous persons actively 
participated in national and local politics.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption was endemic in 
the executive and legislative branches of government. Transparency 
International (TI) determined that corruption was ``all-pervasive.'' 
According to a June 2005 TI study, the police ranked highest in the 
corruption index. There was widespread public perception of corruption 
in the Government. In June 2005 Transparency International and Centre 
for Media Studies issued the India Corruption Study and reported that 
approximately 62 percent of citizens believed they had experienced 
corruption firsthand by paying bribes or using a contact to get a job 
done in public office.
    Election campaigns for parliament and state legislature seats were 
often funded with unreported money, and the Government failed to combat 
the problem. In December 2005 the media highlighted a videotape showing 
11 members of parliament accepting bribes. By year's end no one faced 
legal action related to the bribery.
    On August 7, the Justice Pathak Committee indicted former external 
affairs minister Natwar Singh and his son, Jagat Singh, for their role 
in influencing and facilitating the procurement of oil contacts in 
Iraq.
    The 2005 Right to Information Act (RTI) mandated stringent 
penalties for failure to provide information or affecting its flow and 
required agencies to self-reveal sensitive information. The act's entry 
into force in October 2005 marked a departure from the culture of 
secrecy that traditionally surrounded rule making. The appointment of 
an independent civil servant with close ties to the Congress leadership 
as RTI Commissioner suggested the UPA government was committed to the 
full implementation of the law. While the Government took extended 
periods of time to reply to information requests, local community 
members began using RTI to get information on their personal 
documentation and city plans.
    In July the Government launched a national antibribery campaign to 
raise public awareness of the right to information.
Section 4. 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 abuses 
and publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, in a few 
circumstances, groups faced restrictions. Government officials were 
somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views. Some domestic NGOs 
and human rights organizations faced intimidation and harassment by 
local authorities. In February, the Ministry of Home Affairs barred 
8,673 organizations from seeking foreign funds under the Foreign 
Contribution and Regulation Act (FCRA), reportedly for failing to 
provide the proper paperwork. Under the ruling, these organizations 
need government approval before seeking aid from abroad. NGOs called 
the FCRA flawed and extremely restrictive and claimed that the 
Government failed to notify organizations when the requisite paperwork 
was needed. Some human rights groups contended that FCRA was a means of 
intimidation and substantial political control by the Government over 
the work of NGOs. NGOs expressed concern that the Home Ministry, which 
is normally not responsible for financial matters, was tasked with 
monitoring the finances of NGOs. The act has a clause that states the 
NGOs must also secure approval from the Government before organizing 
international conferences, and some NGOs alleged that the Government 
has denied visas to prevent members from holding conferences paid for 
with foreign funds.
    In May the Maharashtra Home Ministry placed 57 NGOs under 
investigation for allegedly assisting Maoist groups. The police stated 
the groups and their leaders would be monitored closely. In 2005 the 
central government banned 355 NGOs for misuse of funds. Unlike in 
previous years, ACHR did not allege harassment by local authorities or 
surprise visits from security forces. However, in November the 
Executive Director of the SAHRDC, Ravi Nair, reported being harassed by 
Special Branch Officials. On November 26, Nair was summoned by the 
intelligence agencies for violating the FCRA, because of his 
involvement in human rights advocacy. Human rights monitors in Jammu 
and Kashmir were able to move around the state to document human rights 
violations, but they were often restrained or harassed by security 
forces, counterinsurgents, and police.
    International human rights organizations were restricted, and 
foreign human rights monitors historically have had difficulty 
obtaining visas to visit the country for investigative purpose. In 
August Delhi police raided Pakistani human rights activist Asma 
Jahangir's hotel room. Jahangir was in the country on a private visit 
at the invitation of an NGO. Authorities ordered a high-level inquiry, 
and Prime Minister Singh personally apologized to Jahangir for the 
incident. In August Manipur police arrested Umakanta Meitei, 
spokesperson of Apunba Lup, a coalition of 34 human rights 
organizations in Manipur, for allegedly informing a Manipur separatist 
group about security force movements.
    The main domestic human rights organization was the government-
appointed NHRC, which acted independently of the Government, often 
voicing strong criticism of government institutions and actions. 
However, some human rights groups claimed the NHRC was hampered by 
numerous institutional and legal weaknesses, including statutory 
regulations and operational inefficiencies. The NHRC did not have the 
statutory power to investigate allegations and could only request that 
a state government submit a report. State governments often ignored 
these requests and rarely carried out NHRC recommendations. Human 
rights groups such as ACHR claimed that the NHRC did not register all 
complaints, dismissed cases on frivolous grounds, did not adequately 
protect complainants, and did not investigate cases thoroughly.
    The NHRC was able to investigate cases against the military; 
however, it could only recommend compensation for victims of abuse, and 
its recommendations were not binding. Many states had their own human 
rights commissions, and the NHRC only has jurisdiction if a state 
commission fails to investigate. Human rights groups alleged that state 
human rights commissions were more likely than the NHRC to be 
influenced by local politics and less likely to offer fair judgments.
    According to Home Ministry statistics, the NHRC received 28,378 
cases of human rights violations against police personnel; 100 against 
armed forces, and 82 against paramilitary forces in 2005.
    The Home Ministry examined several amendments to the 1993 
Protection of Human Rights Act proposed by the NHRC in its effort to 
increase its powers to investigate allegations of human rights 
violations by the armed forces. In the last three years the NHRC 
investigated 289 such cases, resulting in action against 59 officials 
and the punishment of 19 offenders. At year's end no additional 
information was available.
    The 1993 Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA) recommended that 
each state establish a human rights commission. As of October only 14 
of the 28 had state human rights commissions. The Jammu and Kashmir 
state legislature established a state human rights commission, but it 
had no authority to investigate alleged human rights violations 
committed by members of the security forces.
    In August the Government amended the PHRA to strengthen the NHRC in 
response to criticism by independent NGOs and the NHRC. The amended 
bill removed the requirement of prior notification and approval for 
visits to state-managed prisons. In August, the Ministry of Home 
Affairs stated that the NHRC had visited prisons in Chhattisgarh and 
Karanataka to assess conditions and possible abuses. However, the NHRC 
and NGOs said that the amendment did not address several concerns and 
instead contained regressive provisions. For example, NGOs stated the 
Government did not address the NHRC's inability to inquire 
independently into human rights violations by the armed forces, 
initiate proceedings for prosecution, and grant interim compensation. 
Further, NGOs argued that the need to guarantee the NHRC's financial 
independence should be included and that the NHRC's mandate should be 
expanded to include investigation of cases of human rights violations 
over one year old.
    In April 2005 the Jammu and Kashmir human rights commission charged 
the state government, particularly the deputy commissioners, with 
diluting its authority and brushing aside its recommendations. In 
August Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig 
told the state assembly that in the past four years, 14 disappearance 
cases and 27 custodial death cases were reported to the Jammu and 
Kashmir state human rights commission.
    Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had special courts to hear human 
rights cases. The Uttar Pradesh government continued to defy a court 
order to reactivate its special human rights court.
    The NHRC highlighted human rights abuses throughout the country, 
and recommended compensation for victims of human rights abuses. In 
October the NHRC awarded compensation of $1,054,347 (Rs 46.5 billion) 
to the next of kin of 194 deceased victims of the 1984-94 insurgencies 
in various Punjab districts.
    As a result of the NHRC's continued efforts to include human rights 
curricula in schools, the Central Board of Education announced in 
September it would include human rights subjects in grades 11 and 12. 
Several universities also introduced human rights courses at the behest 
of the NHRC.
    At year's end the CCDP, a Punjab-based human rights organization, 
had not received an NHRC response to its report documenting 672 
disappearance cases from the 1980s to mid 1990s (see section 1.b.).
    At year's end the two-member judicial commission created to 
investigate riot-related violence in Gujarat received an extension to 
complete its report.
    On December 7 and 8 UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres 
visited the country. International NGOs such as ICRC had access to most 
regions, with the exception of the northeast and Naxalite-controlled 
areas.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, 
religion, place of birth, or social status, and government authorities 
worked to enforce these provisions with varying degrees of success. 
Despite laws designed to prevent discrimination, social and cultural 
practices as well as other legislation had a profound discriminatory 
impact, and discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, 
indigenous persons, homosexuals, and national, racial, and ethnic 
minorities was a problem. The traditional caste system, as well as 
ethnic, religious, and language differences, deeply divided the 
society. According to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes, caste clashes were frequent in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, 
Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

    Women.--Domestic violence remained a common and serious problem. 
According to a 2004 National Commission for Women survey, 60 to 80 
percent of women were abused in some way by their spouses, 42 percent 
were beaten physically, and 22 percent were expelled from their homes 
for at least a day. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, a 
crime against women is committed every three minutes in the country. 
According to Majlis, a women's NGO based in Mumbai that provided legal 
protection and guidance to women in distress, many women were forced to 
remain in abusive relationships because of social and parental pressure 
and to protect their children.
    According to a survey conducted during the year by the 
International Institute for Population studies, 56 percent of women 
believed wife beating was justified in certain circumstances. 
Ineffective prosecution and societal attitudes made progress against 
domestic violence difficult. Human rights groups and the press claimed 
that reported numbers were much lower than the actual totals. According 
to NCRB statistics, there were reports of 58,121 incidents of cruelty 
by husbands and relatives against women in 2004. The NCRB reported 
155,553 crimes against women in 2005, including 68,810 cases considered 
domestic violence such as dowry deaths and cruelty by husbands and 
family.
    On October 27, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 
of 2006 took effect. Media reported that four cases were booked under 
the Act in Andhra Pradesh by early November. The new law bans 
harassment by way of dowry demands and gives sweeping powers to a 
magistrate to issue protection orders where needed. Punishment ranges 
from jail terms of up to one year and/or a fine of approximately $450 
(Rs 19,800). Domestic violence, under the new law, includes actual 
abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, emotional, or 
economic. In late October, Tamil Nadu police arrested a man after 
receiving a complaint from his wife. On November 15, a city court 
ordered Hiralal Chauhan to pay maintenance to his estranged wife as 
temporary relief and directed the police to provide protection to the 
woman, now living with her parents.
    Rape and other violent attacks against women continued to be a 
serious problem. Under the new Domestic Violence bill passed in 
October, spousal rape is criminalized. According to the NCRB, there was 
an instance of domestic violence every nine minutes. According to the 
National Family Health Survey (NFHS) that was conducted during the 
year, every third woman dealt with spousal violence. The NCRB reported 
that the number of rapes had increased from 14,809 in 2004 to 15,847 in 
2005, while reported molestations had increased from 31,716 to 33,169. 
According to the NCRB, two rapes took place every hour, one in five 
victims was a child, and 19 out of 20 of those arrested for rape went 
unpunished. According to the NCRB, victims knew their rapists in 15,619 
cases. As of June 248 cases of rapes were reported and registered in 
New Delhi, resulting in the arrest of 330 men in New Delhi and the 
closure of 232 cases.
    Although the Government prosecuted rape cases during the year, only 
10 percent were adjudicated fully by the courts, and police typically 
failed to arrest rapists, perpetuating a climate of impunity. 
Nonetheless, in April a Mumbai police officer convicted of raping a 
minor girl was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and a fast track court 
in Rajasthan sentenced a man to seven years in prison for raping a 
German tourist in March.
    In May 2005 parliament amended the Code of Criminal Procedure to 
stipulate mandatory DNA tests in all rape cases. In an effort to 
protect women from sexual assault by police officers, the bill also 
prohibits the arrest of women after sunset and before sunrise except in 
``exceptional circumstances.''
    Upper caste gangs at times used mass rape to intimidate lower 
castes, and there were reports of gang rape as punishment for alleged 
adultery or as a means of coercion or revenge in rural property 
disputes. The number of reported gang rape cases and the extent of 
prosecution varied from state to state. According to the NCRB, there 
were 1,172 rape cases against women lodged in 2005.
    On January 16, 18 armed insurgents belonging to the United National 
Liberation Front (UNLF) and Kanglaipak Communist Party (KCP) raped 25 
women between the ages of 15 and 27 in Manipur. The National Women's 
Commission requested the center and state governments to provide 
comprehensive rehabilitation packages and continued deployment of 
security forces in the area. The NHRC requested a report from the state 
government.
    On February 10, Assam Rifles soldiers conducting anti-insurgency 
operations in Tripura reportedly raped three women, including one who 
was pregnant. Assam Rifles denied the allegation. Police were 
investigating at year's end.
    On March 5, the Manipur Government suspended five policemen who 
harassed M. Naobi for 10 days while in police custody and transferred 
all senior officials in the district. M. Naobi allegedly had a romantic 
affair with a PLA insurgent involved in the killing of four policemen 
on February 20. The Manipur government ordered a magisterial inquiry.
    On May 28, five men from Madhya Pradesh allegedly raped two 
Christian women, reportedly for refusing to convert to Hinduism. The 
press reported that the police filed charges against the alleged 
rapists only after the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) 
intervened. The alleged rapists retaliated by lodging charges against 
the women and their husbands for forcibly converting village residents 
to Christianity. The Prime Minister sent a NCM team to Madhya Pradesh 
to investigate the alleged gang rape. The NCM noted with concern the 
countercharges filed against the rape victims; the investigation 
continued at year's end.
    In July a session court sentenced Constable Charakant Pawar to 15 
years prison and fined him $1,040 (Rs 46,000) for raping a minor girl 
in 2005 in Mumbai.
    In July a fast track court in Rajasthan sentenced Babloo to a fine 
of $110 (Rs 4,900) and seven years imprisonment for raping a Japanese 
woman during the Pushkar fair in April. The court also sentenced 
Babloo's mother Roshni and brother Raju to three years imprisonment and 
acquitted two others.
    In 2002, in Randhikpur village in Gujarat, a mob mass-raped and 
killed a woman and 18 members of her extended family. The sole survivor 
of the massacre was 19-year-old Bilkis Banu, who was raped (and 
pregnant at the time) and whose two-year-old daughter was killed. 
Although Banu lodged a complaint with the police and named the rapists 
and murderers, the Gujarat police closed the case in 2002, claiming 
``insufficient evidence'' and that the mental condition of the witness 
was ``unstable.'' However, because of the 2004 intervention of the 
Supreme Court the CBI reinvestigated the case and arrested the alleged 
culprits. The case was being tried in a Mumbai court (see section 
1.e.).
    There were no developments in the arrests of suspects after a 2004 
rape case in Lucknow involving six tribal women.
    There were no developments in the March 2005 case in which a 21-
year-old woman was tortured, stripped and paraded through Chandupur 
village on a donkey.
    There were no developments in the September 2005 case in which a 
woman was allegedly gang raped on the Toofan Express train by seven 
people, three of whom were Railway Protection Personnel.
    On October 19, a court in Muzaffarnagar convicted Imrana Bibi's 
father-in-law, Ali Mohammed, of raping her in June 2005. The lower 
court sentenced Mohammed to 10 years in prison and to compensate Imrana 
with approximately $173 (Rs 7,600). On a separate charge of criminal 
intimidation, Mohammed was sentenced to three years prison and fined 
approximately $65 (Rs 2,900). The court's decision followed Imrana's 
rape in June 2005. After the incident, local community and religious 
leaders had ruled that Imrana must separate from her husband and move 
in with her father-in-law.
    In July upper caste men in Bihar raped four Dalit women at gunpoint 
as punishment for not voting for a particular candidate in the 
Panchayat elections. The police filed the case, but arrested the 
accused after one month. At the end of the year, the National 
Commission for Women was investigating the incident.
    In September four members of a Dalit family were killed in 
Kherlanji, Maharashtra. The family's women were paraded naked before 
they were killed. The crime was allegedly committed by members of Kunki 
Caste (Other Backward Class) for opposing the requisition of their 
fields to have a road built on it. Due to initial lapses in the police 
investigation, five policemen were suspended and fired. In December the 
CBI filed charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly 
with deadly weapons, and outraging the modesty of women against 11 
persons. At year's end CBI was investigating charges against 36 persons 
in detention.
    In November two upper caste youth raped a pregnant Dalit woman in 
front of her three-year-old daughter in Uttar Pradesh. By the end of 
the year, the case was under investigation.
    There were other acts of societal violence and abuses against 
women. Providing or taking a dowry is illegal under the Dowry 
Prohibition Act of 1961; however, dowries continued to be offered and 
accepted, and dowry disputes remained a serious problem. In a typical 
dispute, the groom's family harassed a new wife for not providing a 
sufficient dowry. This harassment sometimes ended in the woman's death, 
which the family often tried to portray as a suicide or accident. In 
2005 NCRB reported 6,787 incidents of dowry deaths in the country.
    In June a court in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, sentenced seven 
persons, including the husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law of 
Kiran, to life in prison after they were found guilty of burning her to 
death for failing to provide dowry in December 2004.
    In July a Chennai court sentenced a man to seven years in prison 
for complicity in his wife's suicide. After Selvaguru married 
Jayageetha in 2002, he demanded a dowry of approximately $4,444 (Rs 
196,000) and a motorbike from her parents. Jayageetha committed suicide 
in May 2005.
    On August 4, Malati Malakar's husband and in-laws poured kerosene 
on her and burned her to death in Baruipur, West Bengal. Malati's 
father attempted to lodge a complaint against his son-in-law, but 
according to AHRC, Malati's husband remained at large and his parents 
were not charged.
    Under the law, courts must presume that the husband or the wife's 
in-laws are responsible for every unnatural death of a woman in the 
first seven years of marriage--provided that harassment was proven. In 
such cases, police procedures required that an officer of the rank of 
deputy superintendent or above investigate and that a team of two or 
more doctors perform the postmortem procedures; however, in practice 
police did not follow these procedures consistently.
    Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and several other states had a chief 
dowry prevention officer (CDPO), although it was unclear how effective 
they were. Madhya Pradesh also required that all government servants 
seeking to marry produce a sworn affidavit by the bride, the groom, and 
his father that no dowry exchanged hands.
    In May 2005 the Supreme Court ordered the creation of a commission 
to end dowry. In August 2005 parliament passed the Domestic Violence 
Bill to deal with dowry-related harassment and murder. The bill 
provides sweeping powers to magistrates to issue protection orders. In 
October parliament passed the Protection of Women from Domestic 
Violence Act which recognizes all forms of abuse against women in the 
home, including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, or economic abuse. 
The law empowers women to file a case against a person with whom she is 
having a domestic relationship in a ``shared household'' and who has 
subjected her to domestic violence. The law recognizes the right of 
women to reside in a shared household with her spouse or partner even 
while the dispute continues. Women can be provided with alternative 
accommodations, to be paid for by the spouse or partner. The law 
provides women with the right to police help, legal aid, shelter homes 
and access to medical care.
    The Government banned sati, the practice of burning a widow on the 
funeral pyre of her husband, in the 1800s, and there were few instances 
of sati in recent years.
    In April the NCW requested the Bihar state government to report on 
a woman who allegedly committed sati in the Gaya district. Press 
reports noted that after the sati, villagers erected a monument to her 
act which attracted a large number of visitors.
    In August the NCW requested that the Madhya Pradesh state 
government report on a woman who allegedly committed sati in Sagar 
district. Family members denied any knowledge, while villagers 
confirmed that it was sati. Police were investigating the case, but no 
criminal case had been registered.
    On September 20, a 95-year-old woman threw herself on her 100-year-
old husband's funeral pyre in Baniyani village in Madhya Pradesh. 
Police arrested four of the woman's relatives. A magisterial probe was 
ordered, but there were no developments by the end of the year.
    During the year honor killings continued to be a problem, 
especially in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana. Human rights 
organizations estimated that up to 10 percent of all killings in those 
two states were honor killings; however, the true number may be much 
higher. In July the Supreme Court condemned honor killings and directed 
police to take action against anyone harassing couples that married in 
spite of objections by their caste and religious communities.
    In August Delhi police arrested Deep Chand, his son Subhash, Kanti 
Prasad, and Pramod for the honor killing of Chand's daughter, Kamlesh, 
because she refused to marry the man her parents had selected. She was 
repeatedly hit on her face with a stone as an accomplice poured acid 
over her face. Later, her brother stripped her naked, and the body was 
left at the railway track in Shaki Nagar. All four assailants confessed 
during interrogation.
    There were no developments in the trial of Jai Singh and his four 
accomplices for the honor killing of his daughter, Sunita. Singh had 
been accused of hiring the four to kill his daughter for living 
separately from her husband.
    Dalit women were often singled out for harassment. For example, 
they were occasionally stripped naked by mobs and paraded in public for 
offending persons belonging to higher castes.
    In August a member of the state legislative assembly in Bihar was 
arrested and imprisoned for molesting a Dalit woman in February. The 
woman lodged a complaint with the local court when the police initially 
refused to take action.
    In August seven Dalit women were raped by members of an upper caste 
in Lakshimpursarai district. The police refused to issue a FIR. The 
women approached the chief minister of the state, who ordered an 
inquiry. The NHRC issued notices to the district magistrate and the 
senior superintendent of police asking them to reply to the victim's 
complaint.
    In September two Dalit women (a mother and daughter) from a single 
family were allegedly raped and killed along with two young men from 
the same family in Khairlanji village in eastern Maharashtra, leading 
to violent Dalit demonstrations throughout the state. The Government of 
Maharashtra arrested the alleged higher-caste culprits, suspended 
government officials suspected of a cover-up, and also handed over the 
investigation to the CBI. At the end of the year the investigation was 
continuing.
    During the year there were 20 witch-hunt cases reported in Assam in 
which informal courts passed death sentences on women labeled witches. 
Assam Police, in coordination with organizations like the All Bodo 
Students Union launched project Prahari in 2000 to create public 
awareness of the problem.
    Numerous laws exist to protect women's rights, including the Equal 
Remuneration Act of 1976, the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act of 1956, 
the Sati Prevention Act of 1987, and the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961. 
However, the Government often was unable to enforce these laws, 
especially in rural areas where traditions were deeply rooted. 
According to press reports, the rate of acquittal in dowry death cases 
was high, and due to court backlogs, they took an average of six to 
seven years to conclude. On March 5, the Manipur Legislative Assembly 
passed the Manipur State Commission for Women bill, which provides for 
the creation of a commission for women with a chairperson, three 
members, and a member secretary, along with supporting staff, to 
investigate complaints and issues related to women.
    In August 2005 parliament removed discriminatory clauses from the 
Hindu Succession Act by giving equal inheritance rights to Hindu, 
Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh women, including giving married daughters the 
same inheritance rights as male heirs.
    The Government took a number of steps to assist female crime 
victims, including telephone help lines, short-stay homes, counseling, 
occupational training, medical aid, and rehabilitation.
    While the act of prostitution is not illegal, most activities 
surrounding prostitution are illegal. The Immoral Trafficking 
Prevention Act (ITPA) criminalizes the selling, procuring, and 
exploiting of any person for commercial sex as well as profiting from 
the prostitution of another individual. Prostitution is not illegal 
when no third party is involved, it is not done in or near a public 
place, is not forced, there is no solicitation, or when the prostitute 
resides alone. Section 8 of the ITPA criminalizes the act of 
solicitation for prostitution, which has been used in the past to 
arrest and punish women and girls who were victims of trafficking. 
According to UNICEF, in 2004 the country contained half of the one 
million children worldwide who entered the sex trade. Many tribal women 
were particularly vulnerable and were forced into sexual exploitation 
(see section 6.c.).
    In recent years sex workers began to demand legal rights, licenses, 
and reemployment training. For example, in June 2004 numerous sex 
workers in Goa were displaced after authorities demolished their homes. 
According to the chairperson of the NCW, some of the displaced sex 
workers refused a government compensation offer, claiming that it had 
not been accurately described to them.
    The country is a significant source, transit point, and destination 
for many thousands of trafficked women (see section 5).
    Sexual harassment was common, with a vast majority of cases 
unreported to authorities. Hazards faced by women in the workforce 
included physical and verbal abuse from male supervisors, restricted 
use of toilets, and the denial of lunch breaks. In June 2004 a joint 
report released by the NCW and the national press institute found that 
most women experienced gender discrimination at their workplaces. 
Attempts by women to report harassment often resulted in further 
problems or dismissal.
    In 2004 the Supreme Court determined that a victim of sexual 
harassment had a right to compensation based on the findings of an 
internal departmental report or investigation. In January the Supreme 
Court expressed concern over the non-implementation of a prior judgment 
relating to sexual harassment at the workplace and instructed all state 
Chief Secretaries to inform the high court whether they had set up 
committees to handle complaints, pursuant to its mandate that all state 
departments and institutions with over 50 employees must have 
committees to deal with sexual harassment issues.
    The law prohibits discrimination in the workplace; however, 
enforcement was inadequate. In both rural and urban areas, women were 
paid less than men for the same job. Women experienced economic 
discrimination in access to employment and credit, which acted as an 
impediment to their owning a business. The promotion of women to 
managerial positions within businesses often was slower than that of 
males. State government and NGO-supported microcredit programs for 
women began to have an impact in many rural districts. In March the 
Government amended the law to provide flexibility for women to work in 
factories on the night shift. Women's organizations welcomed the move 
but stressed the need to improve security for such women.
    In 2004 the Government amended the divorce laws to expand the 
venues where a woman could file and obtain a divorce. Earlier 
provisions in the Hindu and Special Marriage Acts forced women to file 
cases in cities or towns where they had resided during the marriage or 
where the marriage took place; however, the amendment permits women to 
file where they currently reside.
    In May 2005, in response to concerns about the improper use of the 
triple talaq (which literally means ``divorce'' in Urdu), the All-India 
Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) adopted new talaq guidelines, 
stating that men should use a reversible single talaq followed by a 
three-month waiting period known as the iddat. The guidelines also call 
for the husband to pay compensation to the wife's family in case of 
divorce, equality in property rights, protection against physical and 
emotional abuse of wives by their husbands, and assurances that 
remarried women will be able to maintain contact with their families.
    On November 26, the All India Shi'a Personal Law Board unanimously 
approved a model nikahnama (marriage contract) that provided women the 
same rights as men for divorce.
    On November 21, deviating from traditional Hindu law, the Supreme 
Court granted custody of an 11-year-old child to his mother. In dong 
so, the court ruled that if a woman remarries after divorce, her 
custody rights over the child born in wedlock would not be affected.
    In 2004 the army allowed female military recruits to be examined by 
female doctors at their request.
    Many tribal land systems, notably in Bihar, denied tribal women the 
right to own land. Muslim women are subject to the Muslim Personal Law 
(Shariat) Application Act of 1937. Under this law, the Shariat 
superceded ``custom or usage to the contrary'' for all property, except 
agricultural land, on the basis of personal law for Muslims. Other laws 
relating to the ownership of assets and land accorded women little 
control over land use, retention, or sale. However, several exceptions 
existed, such as in Ladakh and Meghalaya, where women traditionally 
controlled family property and enjoyed full inheritance rights.

    Children.--The constitution provides for free, compulsory education 
for children between the ages of six and 14 years of age. However, the 
Government did not enforce this provision. In practice, children in 
poor and rural areas often did not attend school. UNICEF and the 
National Institute of Educational Planning Administration (NIEPA) 
reported that approximately 60 percent of the 203 million children 
between the ages of six and 14 were in schools, and net attendance in 
the primary level was 66 percent of enrollment. As per NIEPA 2005-06 
District Information System for Education (DISE) data, 168 to 172 
million children were in school.
    Data for the overall gender parity enrollment indicates the country 
made impressive gains in reducing the male-female gap in the gross 
primary enrollment rate in the last 50 years. The gender gap in gross 
enrollment rate narrowed between 1950 and 2004, as the gross enrollment 
rate for girls rose from 25 percent to 87 percent, while it rose from 
65 percent to 105 percent for boys. In addition, through the National 
Program for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) and the 
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) the Government launched 
programs to reach out to girls from marginalized social groups where 
the female rural literacy rate was below the national average and the 
gender gap in literacy was above the national average.
    While boys outnumbered girls, according to the Ministry of Human 
Resource Development, the enrollment of girls increased by 9 percent at 
the primary level (from 87 percent in 2002 to 96 percent by 2004). At 
the middle school level, there was an increase in enrollment from 52 
percent in 2002 to approximately 58 percent by 2004. The Government's 
Mahila Samakhya program complemented these new initiatives.
    Government schools were underfunded and understaffed. Schools that 
received large amounts of money under Sarva Shiksha Abighyan (SSA), a 
centrally sponsored scheme for universal elementary education, were 
often stymied by state governments that did not have the capacity to 
use these funds. For example, in August 2005 it was reported by media 
that a government school in Sara Village, Bihar, had only two teachers 
for 180 students. The national pupil to teacher ratio at the elementary 
level was one teacher for every 36 students, with the average for Bihar 
being the poorest at one teacher for every 65 students. Human rights 
groups asserted that teachers in government schools often did not show 
up for work or left their jobs early in the day. Government teachers 
often were not paid on time or in full, were not given adequate 
training and worked under very poor conditions. Corruption and 
misappropriation of educational funds was commonplace. However, 
government efforts intensified in recent years following the launch of 
several programs, including the District Primary Education Program in 
1992, the Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL) initiative and, more 
recently, the Sarva Shiksha Abhivan (or the National Program for 
Universal Elementary Education).
    Under SSA, the Government committed to providing financial 
allocations to the states per the approved district plans prepared 
after a thorough base line survey identified approximately 194 million 
out-of-school children between 6-13 years of age. SSA covers all 
government schools in the country. Under SSA, 40 percent of a total of 
34 million as identified beneficiaries in the six to 14 age group 
remained out of school. The number of out-of-school children has come 
down from 25 million in 2003 to less than 10 million in 2006.
    In July a report entitled ``Elementary Education in India'' 
revealed that the schools covered under development fund schemes had 
increased in 2004, but the utilization of available funds fell to 88.5 
percent, primarily in rural areas.
    In January a report commissioned by the Human Resource Development 
Ministry showed that lower caste and Muslim student attendance rates 
were much lower than those of children of high caste families. The 
report noted that nationwide 7 percent of children were out of school, 
although, the attendance rates were much higher or lower in certain 
locations and among certain caste and religious groups. For example, 
the report stated that in Delhi, 26 percent of scheduled caste children 
and 28 percent of Muslims in Bihar were not in school. The report noted 
also that the dropout rate for girls decreased from 45 percent to 34 
percent between 2003 and 2005. The dropout rate for boys also decreased 
from 37 percent to 30 percent.
    The law provides for free medical care to all citizens; however, 
availability and quality of that care remained problems, particularly 
in rural areas.
    The law prohibits child abuse; however, there were societal 
patterns of abuse of children, and the Government did not release 
comprehensive statistics.
    Abuse of children in both public and private educational 
institutions was a problem. Although banned, schoolteachers often used 
corporal punishment on their students.
    There were no further developments in the February 2005 case where 
a principal of a government school along with three others in northwest 
Delhi were arrested for raping a 16-year-old student. The Delhi 
government suspended two of the accused from their posts, but no 
criminal charges had been filed by year's end.
    In August a school teacher in Doda village in Jammu and Kashmir 
threw acid on several students to punish them. One student suffered 70 
percent burns and lost his left eye. The teacher fled, and an inquiry 
was ordered by the local authorities into the incident.
    In December 2005 after money disappeared from school premises, the 
principal of a primary school in Tamil Nadu forced seven students to 
prove their innocence by placing their palms over candle flames. The 
principal was arrested after parents filed complaints.
    The Government was responsive to some incidents of violence against 
children. In September 2005 the juvenile justice court ruled that any 
failure by school management or teachers to protect students from 
sexual abuse or provide them with a safe school environment is 
punishable with a prison term of up to six months. In August the 
Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of 
Children) Amendment Bill, which is the primary law for not only the 
care and protection of children but also for the adjudication and 
disposition of matters relating to children in conflict with law.
    Children were subjected to abuse during certain religious 
ceremonies. In April 2005 in the Virudhnagar district of Tamil Nadu, 
police arrested 80 persons for participating in a ritual during which 
infants were buried alive to appease a goddess. As a result of the 
arrest, Tamil Nadu enacted a law to stop this offense, but the practice 
continued. There was a toll-free telephone helpline for children in 
distress available in 72 cities. The ``Childline'' number was available 
around the clock and could be accessed by either a child or an adult. 
On receiving a call, immediate assistance, including medical, shelter, 
restoration, rescue, sponsorship, and counseling, was provided to the 
child. This initiative was organized by the Childline India Foundation 
(CIF), an organization that brought together the Government, UNICEF, 
NGOs, academic institutions, corporate sector and concerned 
individuals.
    On November 29, in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, a court sentenced a 
woman and her three sons to death for sacrificing an eight-year-old 
child on February 14.
    The sexual abuse of children was seldom mentioned due to societal 
denial and discomfort. The NGO TULIR (The Center for the Prevention and 
Healing of Child Sexual Abuse) released a study in March that included 
interviews from over 2,200 children up to age 18 in public and private 
schools in Chennai. According to the study, 42 percent of these 
children had experienced sexual abuse.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no confirmed reports of child 
ordination. Child rights activists alleged that various religious sects 
ordained children as young as eight years old and that children were 
not competent to make such decisions on their own. The high court ruled 
that it was acceptable for small children to become monks, as the 
children had the option to return to their families at any time.
    The law prohibits child marriage, a traditional practice that 
occurred throughout the country, and sets the legal marriage age for 
girls at 18 and boys at 21. In March the Supreme Court upheld the 
legality of marriages of 15- and 16-year-old girls as long as they 
appear before a judge to state they married of their own free will. On 
December 19, the Government passed a bill strengthening the 2004 
Prevention of Child Marriage Bill and declaring existing child 
marriages null and void. In addition, the new bill requires guardians 
of minor boys to pay ``maintenance'' to minor girls until they can 
legally marry; it penalizes priests who perform child marriage rituals 
with fines or jail time, and assigns child marriage prevention officers 
to rural districts to prevent such marriages. According to the Health 
Ministry's Country Report on Population and Development, published in 
2005, half of all women were married by the age of 15. The NFHS 
reported that 45 percent of women (18-24) and 32 percent of men (18-29) 
marry before the legal age of 18 years and 21 years, respectively. In 
August the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) reported 
that 57 percent of girls marry before turning 18. However, according to 
several media sources, 65 percent of girls were married before the age 
of 18. According to the 2005 report of Office of the Registrar General 
of India, 240 girls die every day due to pregnancy-related 
complications in early child marriages.
    According to the 2001 census, nearly 300,000 girls under 15 years 
had given birth to at least one child. ICRW concluded that those 
married under the age of 18 were twice as likely to be beaten, slapped, 
or threatened by their husbands compared with women married later; they 
were also three times more likely to report instances of marital rape. 
It reported that child brides often showed signs symptomatic of child 
sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress. Child marriages also limited 
girls' access to education and increased their health risks, since they 
had higher mortality rates and exposure to HIV/AIDs than girls married 
after 18.
    In May the press reported that at least 30 children in Rajasthan 
and 50 in Madhya Pradesh were married during the Askhay Tritiya 
festival and that many more child marriages likely went unreported. 
Although state governments conducted awareness campaigns during the 
year, enforcement was weak, and the practice was accepted in certain 
communities. In April 2005 the NCW launched the Bal Vivah Virodh 
Abhiyan (Child Marriage Protest Program), a nationwide awareness 
program against child marriages with particular focus on the states of 
Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttar 
Pradesh.
    In April 2005 the Government reported that it prevented 200 child 
marriages in the Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, a district known 
for mass child marriages in April and May each year. A local NGO, MV 
Foundation, claimed to have prevented 2,321 child marriages in the 
state of Andhra Pradesh since 2000.
    Child marriage was the norm among certain scheduled castes and 
tribal communities in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. Brides 
were typically between the ages of 8 and 12 years of age, while the 
groom was generally much older. In August, a 75-year-old man married a 
17-year-old girl in Purnea district, Bihar.
    Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children was a 
problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor was a problem (see section 6.d.).
    Sex determination tests are illegal in the country under the 1994 
Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PNDT). However, NGOs reported that 
some family planning centers continued to reveal the sex of fetuses. 
Both female infanticide and selective feticide targeting females 
occurred during the year as the traditional preference for male 
children continued. The Government did not enforce effectively the law 
prohibiting termination of a pregnancy for sexual preference. However, 
in 2001 authorities for the first time arrested a doctor in Haryana was 
arrested for performing a pre-natal sex determination test. On March 
28, a court sentenced the physician to two years in jail and a fine of 
$111 (Rs 4,900).
    In February the London based Lancet estimated that 10 million 
female babies may have been aborted in the country in the past 20 
years. The figure was contested by some activists working on this issue 
as exaggerated. The Observer newspaper reported that pregnant British 
women of Indian origin who were denied gender based abortions in the 
United Kingdom traveled to the country to abort female fetuses. 
According to Parivar Seva Sanstha, an NGO working closely with the 
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there were 5.7 million illegal 
abortions in the country each year. Per NFHS, nearly 50 percent of 
women did not receive prenatal care. According to the records of the 
Delhi government, only 700 of the 1,800 registered ultrasound clinics 
submitted monthly reports mandated under the PNDT. Easy availability 
and indiscriminate use of technology further abetted the situation.
    In August two mass graves of female fetuses were discovered in 
Patiala, Punjab. The court arrested Pritam Singh and his wife Amarjit 
Kaur for allegedly performing illegal abortions in Sahib Hospital. They 
were sent to judicial custody. The Punjab government ordered a 
crackdown on all private maternity homes, a large number of which were 
suspected of conducting illegal abortions.
    Parents often gave priority in health care and nutrition to male 
infants. The burden of providing girls with an adequate dowry was one 
factor that made daughters less desirable. The states of Punjab, 
Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, parts of 
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Karnataka reported particularly low 
female/male ratios. Nationally, there are only 927 girls per 1,000 
boys. In 14 districts of Haryana and Punjab there are fewer than 800 
girls per 1,000 boys. The problem was also acute among some of the 
wealthiest and best-educated communities.
    The Health and Family Welfare Ministry set up a ``National Support 
and Monitoring Cell'' to curb the practice of female feticide by 
targeting and apprehending those who carry out or abet female feticide. 
The Government also acknowledged that an education campaign is needed 
to change the social preference for boy children, and launched a ``Save 
the Girl Child'' campaign designed to highlight the achievements of 
young girls.
    Proving that such campaigns can be successful, authorities from the 
village of Lakhanpal in central Punjab ran a program to end female 
feticide, and, as a result, more girls were subsequently born there 
than boys. The latest figures showed 1,400 female and 1,000 male 
births. Historically, Punjab had the lowest girl-to-boy ratio in the 
country, at 776 to 1,000.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The ITPA prohibits trafficking in human 
beings; however, trafficking in persons remained a significant problem.
    The ITPA toughened penalties for trafficking in children, 
particularly by focusing on traffickers, pimps, landlords, and brothel 
operators, while protecting underage victims. Conviction for an offense 
committed against a child (under age 16) was punishable by imprisonment 
for seven years to life. In the case of minors (16 to 18 years), the 
punishment is from seven to 14 years' imprisonment. Other penalties 
under the act range from minimum terms of imprisonment of one year for 
brothel keeping, to minimum terms of seven years' to life imprisonment 
for detaining a person, with or without consent, for prostitution.
    Numerous NGOs provided training and conducted informational 
meetings. According to the NCRB, there were 6,131 human trafficking 
cases in 2005.
    The country was a significant source, transit point, and 
destination for numerous trafficked persons, primarily for the purposes 
of prostitution and forced labor. The country was a destination for 
Nepali and Bangladeshi women and girls trafficked for the purpose of 
labor and prostitution. Internal trafficking of women and children was 
widespread. Many girls were internally trafficked for the purpose of 
forced marriages, while other persons were trafficked for bonded labor. 
Women and girls are lured into commercial sexual exploitation through 
both deception and expectations of opportunities in other parts of the 
country. To a lesser extent, the country was a point of origin for 
women and children trafficked to other countries in Asia, the Middle 
East, and the West for forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual 
exploitation. Men were also trafficked to the Arabian Gulf for 
involuntary servitude in the construction sector. Women from Kerala 
trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation and abusive domestic 
employment in the Gulf was also extensive. The country also served as a 
transit point for Bangladeshi girls and women trafficked for sexual 
exploitation to Pakistan.
    Girls as young as seven years of age were trafficked from 
economically depressed neighborhoods in Nepal, Bangladesh, and rural 
areas of the country to the major prostitution centers of Mumbai, 
Kolkata (Calcutta), and New Delhi. In West Bengal, the organized 
traffic in illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was a principal source of 
bonded labor. Kolkata was a transit point for traffickers sending 
Bangladeshis to New Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and the Middle East. 
The Government cooperated with groups in Nepal and Bangladesh to deal 
with the problem and began to negotiate bilateral antitrafficking 
agreements, particularly through the South Asian Association for 
Regional Cooperation.
    Trafficking of children into domestic servitude and sweatshops 
remained a problem. States in the northeast region (Assam, Meghalaya, 
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim), and 
Bihar served as main sources points for domestic servants in Kolkata, 
Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and to a certain extent to Bangalore. The 
increasing number of domestic servant recruitment agents suggested that 
large trafficking networks operated in the region. In many cases women 
and girls were first brought by the agents through local transportation 
to Siliguri; then they traveled to different destinations with the 
traffickers. Often traffickers used truck drivers to carry women and 
girls from the northeast through National Highway 31, which connected 
the region to the central part of the country.
    A survey by INTUC, the trade union wing of the Congress Party, 
noted that the trends in trafficking can be determined by monitoring 
the reports of ``missing girls'' filed by parents in the northeast 
states. The report stated that 40 percent of the police officials 
interviewed were unaware of the growing trade in women and children. 
The media reported that nearly every third house in the poorest 
districts of Jharkhand had a child who left home in search of food and 
work and may have been a potential victim of trafficking.
    Traffickers usually targeted minors and Dalit women. A study 
prepared by Bhoomika Vihar, an NGO from Bihar, said that out of the 173 
identified cases of women who had become victims of the sex trade, 85 
percent were minors, and half were Dalits. The report claimed that 
trafficking, although not often reported, occurred almost everywhere. 
Pangsa and Dimapur in Nagaland and Moreh in Manipur were the major 
trans-border transit and demand centers. Women and children from Assam 
and Bangladesh were trafficked to Moreh and were moved from there to 
Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. The conflicts in the north-
eastern states made women and children highly vulnerable.
    Global Organization for Life Development (GOLD), an NGO working in 
Assam to combat trafficking and HIV/AIDS, said that there was usually 
an upsurge in trafficking of girls during natural disasters.
    There were numerous examples of trafficking and rescues. In March 
police rescued two Assamese girls forced into commercial sexual 
exploitation from traffickers at Golokgonj, Dhubri District.
    On April 4, Kolkata police rescued five girls between the ages of 
13 and 16 with the help of the NGO International Justice Mission (IJM). 
Kolkata police rescued four girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years 
with the help of the IJM in May.
    In June, 12 girls rescued from various parts of the country were 
residents of Dhubri district Assam.
    On July 24, the All Assam Bodo Students' Union rescued 63 Bodo 
tribal girls while being smuggled by train in Assam.
    On August 1, West Bengal police rescued 12 children between the 
ages of 12 and 16 years, from Kumarganj in South Dinajpur district from 
Himachal Pradesh.
    On September 12, Maharashtra police in Pune rescued six girls from 
Bengal. While bringing the girls to Kolkata, the policemen sexually 
abused them, and only five girls ultimately reached Kolkata. The 
Maharashtra police claimed that one girl ran away, while an NGO claimed 
she was thrown from the train. Investigations were underway, and the 
policemen involved were arrested.
    Although arrests and prosecutions under the ITPA increased 
slightly, the rate of trafficking convictions remained low, and 
collection of law enforcement data was difficult. Collection was 
difficult because there is no national system of collecting arrest 
information under the ITPA, and many police officials preferred to use 
India Penal Code (IPC) provisions to arrest traffickers because they 
claimed to have more success in getting convictions. However, since 
April the Kolkata police and NGOs, such as IJM, obtained convictions in 
two cases.
    Within the country, women from economically depressed areas often 
moved to cities seeking greater economic opportunities, and once there, 
were forced by traffickers into prostitution. In many cases, family 
members sold young girls into prostitution. Extreme poverty, combined 
with the low social status of women, often resulted in parents handing 
over their daughters to strangers for what they believed was employment 
or marriage. In some instances, parents received payments or the 
promise that their children would send wages back home.
    According to the Indian Center for Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, 
more than 40,000 tribal women, mainly from Orissa and Bihar, were 
forced into economic and sexual exploitation. A Haryana-based NGO 
revealed widespread trafficking of teenaged girls and young boys from 
poverty-stricken Assam to wealthier Haryana and Punjab for sexual 
slavery under the pretext of entering into arranged marriages or 
employment. There was also significant trafficking for real arranged 
marriages due to decades of large-scale and increasing female feticide.
    Girls and women were trafficked to the Persian Gulf states to work 
as domestic workers or for commercial sexual exploitation.
    Agents recruited mainly men from the southern states of Kerala and 
Tamil Nadu for work in the Middle East, where many faced conditions of 
involuntary servitude. Sources reported that most of the victimized men 
paid the recruiters $2,000 (Rs 88,200) or more in fees. Once in the 
Gulf the recruits were forced to work long hours for little pay in 
conditions different from those described in the original contract to 
repay their debts.
    The NCW reported that organized crime played a significant role in 
the country's sex trafficking trade and that trafficked women and 
children were frequently subjected to extortion, beatings, and rape. 
Although a few women were abducted forcibly or drugged, most were 
trafficked through false offers of marriage, employment, or shelter. 
Poverty, illiteracy, and lack of employment opportunities contributed 
to the trafficking problem as well as police corruption and collusion. 
However, police in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, and New 
Delhi also worked actively with NGOs to target traffickers and 
safeguard victims after their rescue.
    Victims of trafficking were subject to threats, including emotional 
blackmail, violence, and confinement, as well as the threat of 
apprehension by authorities, detention, prosecution, and deportation. 
Women involved in prostitution in Mumbai and Kolkata claimed that 
harassment, extortion, and occasional arrests on soliciting charges 
usually characterized police intervention.
    NGOs alleged that corruption at the enforcement level helped 
perpetuate trafficking.
    NGOs knowledgeable about the trafficking situation frequently 
identified traffickers and the locations of girls being held captive by 
brothel owners. However, other NGOs were reluctant to trust police with 
this information, due to their past conduct in brothel raids and the 
likelihood that many trafficking victims would be arrested and re-
victimized rather than assisted by such raids. Several NGOs had 
significant successes, however, in working with police to target 
brothels with children.
    The ITPA required police to use only female police officers to 
interrogate girls rescued from brothels. The ITPA also required the 
Government to provide protection and rehabilitation for these rescued 
girls. The vast majority of arrests made under ITPA were for 
solicitation rather than trafficking or trafficking-related crimes. 
During the year this pattern changed in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. 
Most police no longer arrested trafficked women and children for 
soliciting, and in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, such arrests 
diminished significantly.
    The increase in the number of cases under section five of the ITPA 
in Tamil Nadu in 2005 is indicative of better enforcement against 
traffickers in that state. Under section five, a trafficker working 
only on trafficking for sexual exploitation is still considered a 
criminal offender. For example, 109 cases were booked against 
traffickers, brothel owners and pimps in 2005 while 148 women victims 
were rescued. Police reported that the cases were in various stages of 
investigation.
    In recent years sex rackets flourished under the guise of massage 
therapy and dance bars. Advertisements appeared in the media about the 
availability of female masseurs. In late July Chennai police 
investigated four massage parlors and arrested 16 persons. Some rescued 
women had been trafficked from Kerala. The arrestees released on bail 
awaited trial.
    In July 2005 the Maharashtra State Assembly adopted a bill banning 
dance bars. Starting from August 2005, the ban was implemented across 
Maharashtra. However, on April 12, a Maharashtra state high court ruled 
the ban unconstitutional and gave the state eight weeks to file its 
case with the Supreme Court. At year's end the case was underway in the 
Supreme Court. In recent years, traffickers began favoring these bars 
as a venue in which to engage in trafficking, instead of the more 
blatant brothel-based model. However, the Government's implementation 
of this order without a rehabilitation plan caused displacement of 
women, forcing many to enter direct prostitution in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, 
and other major trafficking destinations.
    Implementation improved for the ITPA's provisions for protection 
and rehabilitation of women and children rescued from the commercial 
sexual exploitation. The Government significantly increased police 
training and modestly improved inter-state coordination of anti-
trafficking efforts, cooperated with NGOs, supported awareness 
campaigns, and increased the number of shelter facilities available to 
rescued trafficking victims. However, NGOs claimed that the conditions 
of shelters were not always suitable. They also stated that people 
claiming to be parents would remove girls and reinsert them back into 
the industry.
    The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) improved 
delivery of support services through greater coordination with its 
state counterparts and civil society organizations. Government-run 
shelters in some localities, specifically Mumbai, expanded 
significantly under the Swadhar (women's home) scheme. In July the 
Ministry of Women and Child Development implemented plans for rescuing 
trafficked victims in consultation with NGOs and state governments. The 
program included two main features: preventive activities through 
awareness generation programs, such as peer education, rallies, 
campaign, posters, booklets, and street plays; and the rescue and 
rehabilitation of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual 
exploitation, counseling, legal aid, medical care, repatriation and 
restoration.
    The Home Ministry and the Bureau of Police and Research Development 
(BPRD) began a law enforcement training program, considered a 
significant achievement by NGOs, to sensitize police and improve 
trafficking arrests and convictions.
    In November 2005 the Home Ministry organized a significant 
conference with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to 
raise awareness of human trafficking and to state, for the first time, 
their commitment to addressing this issue with resources and manpower. 
In September the Ministry of Home Affairs established a nodal cell 
responsible for collecting and analyzing the data related to 
trafficking from the state governments and union territory 
administrations; identifying problem areas and analyzing causes for 
their being source, transit, and destination areas; monitoring action 
taken to combat the crime; and organizing co-ordination meetings with 
the Nodal police officers of states and union territories.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution does not explicitly 
mention disability as a prohibited ground for discrimination. The 
Persons with Disabilities Act (PDA) provides equal rights to all 
persons with disabilities; however, advocacy organizations acknowledged 
that its practical effects were minimal, in part due to a clause that 
makes the implementation of programs dependent on the ``economic 
capacity'' of the Government. Widespread discrimination occurred 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, and access to health care. Neither law nor regulation 
required accessibility for persons with disabilities. Government 
buildings, educational establishments, public transportation and public 
spaces throughout the country had almost no provisions for wheelchair 
access. According to the 2001 census, there were 22 million persons 
with disabilities in the country, but NGOs estimated the actual number 
to be much higher.
    The PDA requires that 3 percent of public sector jobs be reserved 
for people with physical, hearing, and visual disabilities. It also 
provides a list of jobs for people with these disabilities. In 2004 
there were 1,075 jobs for persons with disabilities in the private 
sector and 1,900 in the public sector. More than 40,000 persons with 
disabilities held government jobs. The PDA provides benefits to private 
companies at which people with disabilities constitute more than 5 
percent of the workforce. The Government only recently began 
implementing these benefits, and private sector employment of people 
with disabilities remained low.
    The Tamil Nadu government introduced a 3 percent reservation for 
persons with disabilities in education and employment, and government 
buildings made arrangements for wheelchair access. However, human 
rights activists complained that available facilities were not 
sufficient. Despite the three percent mandated reservation for disabled 
in government jobs, a report released by the National Center for 
Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) revealed that 
disabled persons held less than 1 percent of government jobs. The 
report also documented that the Government spent less than 90 percent 
of the funds allocated for disabled programs in the 2005-06 budget.
    Mental health care was a problem. Hospitals were overcrowded and 
served primarily as dumping grounds for persons with disabilities. 
Patients generally were ill-fed, denied adequate medical attention, and 
kept in poorly ventilated halls with inadequate sanitary conditions. In 
July 2005 the NHRC determined that insufficient attention was paid to 
issues of mental illness, and called for better enforcement of national 
laws. At year's end, no action was taken on the 2001 NHRC 
recommendation to remove all persons with mental illness from jails. In 
March 2005 the NHRC issued guidelines to jails lodging mentally 
challenged persons, stipulating the need for open lawns, daily physical 
and mental activities, and strict rules limiting the use of force to 
self-defense and attempted escape.
    The Human Resource Development Ministry reported in January that 
children with mental disabilities had the lowest rate of school 
attendance out of any group at 53 percent, followed by the speech 
disabled at 57.5 percent and the hearing disabled at 68 percent.
    The disability division of the Ministry of Social Justice and 
Empowerment delivered rehabilitation services to the rural population 
through 16 district centers. A national rehabilitation plan committed 
the Government to provide rehabilitation centers to more than 400 
districts, but services were concentrated in urban areas. Moreover, the 
impact of government programs was limited. Significant funding was 
provided to a few government organizations, such as the Artificial 
Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India, the National Handicapped 
Finance and Development Corporation, and the Rehabilitation Council of 
India. With the adoption of the PDA, a nascent disabled rights movement 
slowly raised public awareness of the rights of persons with 
disabilities.
    The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) had 
the responsibility to recommend to the Government specific programs to 
eliminate inequalities in status, facilities, and opportunities for 
disabled persons, to review the status and condition of institutions 
delivering services, and to submit annual reports with recommendations. 
In February 2005 the Government constituted a new NCPD headed by a 
former governor, Sunder Singh Bhandari. In April 2005 the Rajasthan 
High Court directed the state government to promote the establishment 
of special schools for disabled children in both the public and private 
sectors; however, few teachers were trained to meet the special needs 
of disabled children. Also, the National Center for the Promotion of 
Employment for Disabled People stated in September 2005 that there was 
a shortage of educational institutions for the disabled and that the 
admissions process was marked by harassment.
    In February 2005 the country's civil services introduced an annual 
quota for the employment of 20 persons with disabilities. In 2005 the 
Indian Civil Service attempted to recruit and place 12 disabled persons 
(3 percent). In July 12 qualified candidates were identified, but as of 
October, only nine of the 12 applicants were placed in the Civil 
Service.
    In June 2005 the central board for secondary education issued 
guidelines requiring barrier-free education in schools, colleges, 
libraries, and hostels. It also took steps to provide Braille books to 
educational institutions.
    In July 2005 disabled rights NGOs reported that persons with 
disabilities were not able to obtain duty free imports of artificial 
limbs, crutches, wheelchairs, walking frames, and other medical needs. 
During the year the Government reduced the fees for duties on imports 
of devices used by disabled persons. NGOs also claimed that no effort 
was made to make railway compartments and platforms accessible to the 
disabled.
    In August 2005 the Government began the first disabled-friendly 
train service between Bhopal and Nizamuddin (Delhi) station. The train 
had an exclusive coach for persons with disabilities and Braille tags 
for seat and berth numbers in all coaches.
    The Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full 
Participation Act of 1995 stipulates a 3 percent reservation in all 
educational institutions for persons with disabilities; however, 
statistics showed that only about 1 percent of the students had 
disabilities. The Times Insight Group reported in September 2005 that 
most colleges and universities were unaware of the law. The Ministry of 
Social Justice and Empowerment offered 500 educational scholarships to 
persons with disabilities to pursue higher education. However, 
university enrollment of students with disabilities was still very low, 
and according to a 2005 NCDEP survey, only 1,574 students with 
disabilities were enrolled in the 119 universities that responded. The 
reasons for such low enrollment numbers included inaccessible 
infrastructure, poor availability of resource materials, 
nonimplementation of the 3 percent reservation, and attitudinal 
barriers.
    Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (Education for All), another government 
initiative that focused on educating children with disabilities in 
integrated settings, identified approximately 1.6 million children with 
disabilities in 2004. According to the Ministry of Social Justice and 
Empowerment Country Report, 755,408 children with disabilities enrolled 
in schools, suggesting an enrollment rate of approximately 46 percent. 
The percentage of children with disabilities between the ages of five 
and 18 enrolled in schools was higher in rural areas (47 percent) than 
in urban areas (44 percent). According to the Central Coordination 
Committee established under the PDA, approximately 100,000 children 
with special needs attended approximately 2,500 schools that provided 
integrated and inclusive education or non-formal education.
    In June the Goa government made it mandatory for all public 
buildings, transport systems, hospitals and tourist areas to provide 
easy access to persons with disabilities. Goa was the first state in 
the country to formulate a policy for the disabled.
    In July the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment released the 
Braille version of the Right to Information Act to persons with visual 
impairment.
    In August the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi Development 
Authority to accord preferential treatment and consider relaxing norms 
for applicants with disabilities and impairments while allotting plots 
and houses.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The 1955 Civil Rights Act made 
the practice of untouchability, which discriminated against Dalits and 
others defined as scheduled castes, a punishable offense; however, such 
discrimination remained ubiquitous, stratifying almost every segment of 
society. Many members of lower castes were relegated to the most menial 
of jobs and had little social mobility. The widespread belief that 
Dalits and low caste Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs were 
inferior compounded the discrimination they faced. Human rights groups 
asserted that the Government was not committed to ending caste-based 
discrimination, pointing at its failure to fill over 50,000 vacant 
positions specifically reserved for Dalits.
    The law gives the President the authority to identify historically 
disadvantaged castes, Dalits, and tribal persons (members of indigenous 
groups historically outside the caste system) for special quotas and 
benefits. These ``scheduled'' castes, Dalits, and tribes were entitled 
to affirmative action and hiring quotas in employment, benefits from 
special development funds, and special training programs. The impact of 
reservations and quotas on society and on the groups they were designed 
to benefit was a subject of active debate. According to the 2001 
census, scheduled castes, including Dalits, made up 16 percent (166.6 
million) of the population, and scheduled tribes 8 percent (84.3 
million). In June 2005 the Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved a 5 percent 
reservation for Muslims as a disadvantaged minority, in government jobs 
and educational institutions, raising total reservations in the state 
to 51 percent of the state government workforce.
    In December 2005 parliament passed a constitutional amendment 
providing reservations to scheduled castes, tribes, and the other 
backward classes in non-minority, unaided, private educational 
institutions.
    On December 22, parliament passed a bill to make 27 percent 
reservation mandatory for scheduled castes and backward classes in all 
educational institutions.
    Many rural Dalits worked as agricultural laborers for caste 
landowners without remuneration. The majority of bonded laborers were 
Dalits (see section 6.c.). Dalits, among the poorest of citizens, 
generally did not own land and often were illiterate. They faced 
significant discrimination despite laws to protect them and often were 
socially prohibited from using the same wells, attending the same 
temples, and marrying upper-caste Hindus. In addition, they faced 
social segregation in housing, land ownership, and public transport. 
There were episodes of vigilante retribution against Dalits who tried 
to assert their rights. While rare in urban settings, examples of 
intolerance occurred regularly in rural areas. Many Dalits were 
malnourished, lacked access to health care, worked in poor conditions 
(see section 6.e.), and continued to face social ostracism.
    Despite a high court order and judicial directives first issued in 
1998, Dalits continued to be excluded from the Kandadevi car festival, 
a Hindu temple celebration in Tamil Nadu. During the year, the Tamil 
Nadu government permitted only 26 Dalit families to take part in the 
festival. NGOs reported that crimes committed by upper caste Hindus 
against Dalits often went unpunished, either because the authorities 
failed to prosecute such cases or because the crimes were unreported by 
victims, fearing retaliation.
    On April 10, the Supreme Court requested from the central 
government, all state governments, the NHRC, and the National 
Commission for Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes information on the 
creation of offices and appointment of officials to monitor atrocities 
against Dalits. The request responded to an NGO petition seeking the 
formation of monitoring cells under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes 
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989. The NGO stated that the 
conviction rate under the act was 1 percent, and a dedicated office was 
needed to ensure that crimes against Dalits and tribals received 
adequate attention and speedy justice.
    In July the Supreme Court passed a judgment stating that the police 
and government are obliged to help inter-caste couples and prevent 
social ostracism. In September, the Ministry of Social Justice and 
Empowerment directed state governments to increase the incentive for 
inter-caste marriage by central government to $1,050 (Rs 46,000). The 
central government pays 50 percent.
    According to an article in the Hindu, in October, upper caste 
Hindus ``punished'' 80 Dalit families from Karnataka's Bijapur district 
with a social and economic boycott for attempting to drink water from 
the village well. Local landlords removed them from their work as 
agricultural laborers and barred them from ration shops and flourmills. 
Upper-caste Hindus then used the well to bathe their cattle, wash 
clothes, and defecate. The article reported that some of the highest 
reports of crime against Dalits in the last five years occurred in 
Bangalore, Gulbarga, and Bellary districts. In these districts, 
killings varied from 25 cases in 2002 to 40 in 2005, to 27 during the 
year. The article reported that 56 Dalit women were raped in 2005 and 
39 during the year.
    On January 3, in the Vaishali district of Bihar, a higher-caste mob 
burned alive a man, woman, and five of their children after the woman's 
husband, a Dalit, refused to withdraw a legal case over the theft of a 
buffalo against a member of the higher caste. The husband suffered 
severe burns over 90 percent of his body and was admitted to a local 
hospital. The suspected mob ringleader was arrested and later released 
on bail. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered an inquiry into the 
attack and suspended the local police station chief.
    In February a mob beat to death a man and severely injured his wife 
in Patna, Bihar, because they had married within their Hindu Gotra 
(clan), which some believed to be incestuous. Led by the father of the 
woman, the mob stoned and beat the couple to death in front of hundreds 
of spectators. Her father, Umesh Mishra, admitted to murder and was 
arrested for leading the mob. Police issued warrants for the others 
accused in the case.
    In December 2005 a woman who had married a man from a lower caste 
was attacked by her brother. The woman's brother stabbed her numerous 
times after she refused to follow a local council decision to annul the 
marriage. The woman survived the assault, but the brother beheaded her 
two days later as she recuperated in the hospital. At year's end police 
arrested the brother and an investigation was on-going.
    By the end of the year, there were no developments in the December 
2005 case in which upper-caste Hindus and a priest beat four Dalit 
women for entering a temple forbidden to them Keraragard, Orissa. The 
district collector ordered a probe into the incident. On December 14, a 
group of Dalits entered the temple following a high court order.
    Many Christians were converts from low caste or Dalit backgrounds, 
and continued to suffer the same social and economic limitations as 
Hindu Dalits, particularly in rural areas.
    The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of 
Atrocities) Act lists offenses against disadvantaged persons and 
prescribes stiff penalties for offenders; however, this act had only a 
modest effect in curbing abuse and there were very few convictions. 
According to a November article in the Hindu, between 2002 and the 
year's end, the cases reported under POA in the state of Karnataka 
alone increased significantly. The number of cases of atrocities 
reported in 2002 was 1,232 and 1,306 in 2005. During the year 1,056 
cases had been reported through October. Of the approximately 1,200 to 
1,300 cases reported each year in Karnataka over the last five years, 
there were 24 convictions in 2002 and five in 2005. Human rights NGOs 
alleged that caste violence was on the increase, and claimed hundreds 
of lives. Caste violence was especially pronounced in Uttar Pradesh, 
Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.
    In February a mob of upper caste youth attacked a group of 30 
Dalits for attempting to hold a religious procession through an upper 
caste neighborhood the previous day. The village headman's call for 
retribution, broadcast over a loudspeaker at the local temple, resulted 
in a mob attacking the Dalits with hatchets and sickles. The press 
reported that the police later arrested 15 Dalits on an assortment of 
charges, including attempted murder, and initially refused to file 
charges against the village leader. Instead, the police allegedly asked 
the community to form a peace committee to reach a settlement. After 
pressure from political groups, the police arrested the village headman 
and eight others, all of whom were released on bail.
    In June high-caste Hindus stoned a Dalit wedding procession in the 
Udaipur district of Rajasthan because they objected to the groom riding 
a horse. The press reported that the Dalits hoped that the groom riding 
a horse would be a step towards social equality, but upper caste 
Hindus, believing that Dalits were not allowed on horseback, attacked 
them. When the Dalits complained about the attack, the upper-caste 
Hindus refused to sell them basic foodstuffs and had the water supply 
to their part of the village turned off, forcing them to travel to a 
nearby town to buy provisions.
    Discrimination against Dalits covered the entire spectrum of 
social, economic, and political activities, from withholding of rights 
to killings and was not solely practiced by high-caste Hindus. The 
stratification within the Dalit community also resulted in 
discrimination by higher-level Dalits against lower-level Dalits. There 
was also discrimination within the Christian and Muslim community by 
older, established ancestral Christians and Muslims against more recent 
Dalit converts.
    In November the Sachar Committee headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar 
released its report, ``Social, Economic and Educational Status of 
Muslim Community in India,'' prepared at the request of the Prime 
Minister. The report provided statistics on the Muslim community after 
interactions at various levels through the country with the Muslim 
community. Results showed that the country's Muslims fell behind in 
many categories, including education, employment, access to credit, and 
had higher poverty levels and made up a greater proportion of the 
prison population.

    Indigenous People.--The Innerline Regulations enacted by the 
British in 1873 provide the basis for safeguarding tribal rights in 
most of the northeastern border states, and in practice the regulations 
were followed. These regulations prohibit any nontribal person, 
including citizens from other states, to cross an inner boundary 
without a valid permit. No rubber, wax, ivory, or other forest products 
may be removed from the protected areas without prior authorization. No 
outsiders were allowed to own land in tribal areas without approval 
from tribal authorities.
    The 2001 census indicated that 8.2 percent of the population 
belonged to scheduled tribes. According to the Indian Confederation of 
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, 80 percent of the tribal population 
lived below the poverty level, and more than 40,000 tribal women, 
mainly from Orissa and Bihar, were forced into situations of economic 
and sexual exploitation (see section 5, Trafficking, and section 6.c.). 
The 1955 Protection of Civil Rights Act prescribed special courts to 
hear complaints of atrocities committed against tribal people. In 
February 2004 the Supreme Court decided that the Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 still applied 
to crime victims from scheduled tribes and castes, even if they had 
converted from Hinduism to another religion. The decision was in 
response to an appeal of a Kerala high court decision, which held that 
because a rape victim had converted to Christianity she was no longer 
covered by the act.
    Despite constitutional safeguards, the rights of indigenous groups 
in eastern parts of the country often were ignored. The NCRB reported 
5,713 crimes against Scheduled Tribes in 2005. Indigenous peoples 
suffered discrimination and harassment, were deprived of their land, 
and subjected to torture and to arbitrary arrest.
    By the end of the year, no action had taken place in the December 
2005 case where four tribals who had worked for three months in the 
Kalahandi District of Orissa were severely beaten and locked in a shed 
while 15 others were forced to stand naked for hours when they asked 
for their wages.
    There was encroachment on tribal land in almost every eastern 
state, including by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, and by businesses 
that illegally removed forest and mineral products. In July 2004 forest 
department staff ignored a Supreme Court order and forcefully evacuated 
a tribal village in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. Persons from 
other backgrounds often usurped places reserved for members of tribes 
and lower castes in national educational institutions. Mob lynching, 
arson, and police atrocities against tribal persons occurred in many 
states (see section 1.c.).
    Numerous tribal movements demanded the protection of tribal land 
and property rights. The Jharkhand movement in Bihar and the Bodo 
movement in Assam reflected deep economic and social grievances among 
indigenous peoples. As a result of complaints, tribal-majority states 
were created in 2000 from the Jharkhand area of Bihar and the 
Chhattisgarh region of Madhya Pradesh, and authorities provided local 
autonomy to some tribal people in the northeast.
    There were also instances of violent tribal/nontribal conflict. For 
example, on January 1, 12 tribals and one police officer were killed 
after clashing during a protest against the building of a steel plant 
on tribal land in Jaipur, Orissa. Eight other tribals were injured. The 
tribals, reportedly upset with the land compensation package, attacked 
police with bows and arrows after authorities attempted to disburse the 
mob with tear gas. Police fired into the rioters after a police officer 
was killed. The Government compensated each victim's next of kin with 
$2,200 (Rs 97,000).
    In March approximately 200 villagers tried, sentenced to death, and 
publicly beheaded a family of tribals for practicing ``black magic'' in 
the Sonitpur district of Assam. The villagers accused the father, a 
traditional healer, of causing an unspecified disease that killed two 
villagers and made others sick. After executing him and his four 
children, the mob marched to the local police station with the heads 
and chanted slogans denouncing witchcraft. Police arrested six of the 
villagers. According to press reports, police records indicate 
approximately 200 Assamese were killed in the last five years for 
practicing witchcraft.
    Civil rights organizations, working with indigenous people in 
Kodagu district of Karnataka, accused the state government of actively 
promoting the establishment of jungle lodges in the Nagarhole National 
Park at their expense. The groups alleged that 1,600 families have been 
evicted since 1972, when the Government declared forests in the 
district part of the National Park. The organizations alleged that 
individuals removed from the park area were settled in locations that 
lack fresh drinking water, electricity, health care, adequate job 
opportunities and access to forests. A civil rights organization, 
Budakattu Krishikara Sangha, approached the state High Court in 2003 
seeking an order to direct the state government to provide basic 
facilities to effected tribals in those areas. During the year the 
court committee found that only 250 of the 1,738 families had been 
relocated.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Section 377 of the Penal 
Code punishes acts of sodomy, buggery and bestiality; however, the law 
was often used to target, harass, and punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
and transgender persons. Human rights groups argued that gay and 
lesbian rights were not addressed along with other human rights 
concerns in the country. In November 2005 the Government declined to 
change provisions of Section 377 outlawing homosexuality. In a response 
to a Supreme Court case, the Government stated, ``public opinion and 
the current societal context in India does not favor the deletion of 
the said offense from the statute book.'' Gays and lesbians faced 
discrimination in all areas of society, including family, work, and 
education. Activists reported that in most cases, homosexuals who do 
not hide their orientation were fired from their jobs. Homosexuals also 
faced physical attacks, rape, and blackmail. Police committed crimes 
against homosexuals and used the threat of Section 377 to coerce 
victims into not reporting the incidents. Section 377 allowed police to 
arrest gays and lesbians virtually at will. However, in July 2005 in 
Jharkand, two lesbians belonging to the scheduled tribes announced that 
they were ``married'' in defiance of both law and tradition, although 
same sex marriages are not recognized in the country.
    In September 2004 the Delhi High Court dismissed a legal challenge 
to Section 377. Plaintiffs filed the case in 2001 after police arrested 
four gay and lesbian rights workers at the NAZ Foundation International 
and National Aids Control Office premises in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 
Police charged the workers with conspiracy to commit ``unnatural sexual 
acts'' and possession of ``obscene material,'' which was reportedly 
safe-sex educational materials. The workers were detained in unsanitary 
conditions for 47 days and denied bail twice. The court dismissed the 
case, ruling that the validity of the law could not be challenged by 
anyone ``not affected by it,'' as the defendants had not been charged 
with a sex act prohibited by law. In April 2005 despite the September 
2004 challenge of Section 377 by two gay and lesbian NGOs, the NAZ 
Foundation International, and the National Aids Control Office, the 
Government submitted a petition to the Supreme Court reaffirming the 
validity of Section 377. In February the Supreme Court ruled that the 
Delhi High Court should not have dismissed the case because the NGO was 
not a directly affected party to the case. The Supreme Court referred 
it to the Delhi High Court, which has not reexamined the case.
    In July the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) filed an 
affidavit in the Delhi High Court supporting the demand to scrap 
Section 377 of IPC that declares homosexuality an offense. This 
affidavit supports the petition filed by the NAZ Foundation. The 
affidavit was filed after NACO conducted a survey that reported 8 
percent of the estimated 2.5 million homosexual population of the 
country was affected with HIV/AIDS as compared to 1 percent of the 
general population affected by the disease. A high-profile campaign to 
overturn Section 377, led by writers Vikram Seth and Amartya Sen, 
continued at year's end.
    Homosexuals were detained in clinics against their will and 
subjected to treatment aimed at ``curing'' them of their homosexuality. 
The NAZ Foundation filed a petition with the NHRC regarding a case in 
which a man was subjected to shock therapy. The NHRC declined to take 
the case, as gay and lesbian rights were not under its purview.
    In January Lucknow, police allegedly carried out a ``sting'' 
operation targeting gay men, which drew widespread condemnation from 
human rights NGOs. The press reported that police officers posed as gay 
men on the Internet and, entrapped one man. The officers then forced 
him to call other gay men, who were also arrested. The National 
Campaign for Sexual Rights (NCSR) stated that the arrests were illegal 
and the evidence against the men was fabricated. NCSR argued that the 
police violated the men's right to privacy and that there was no 
evidence that they were guilty under Section 377.
    In January a man in Mumbai registered a complaint against two 
constables of the Azad Maidan police station for using ``decoys'' in a 
public toilet at a train station to entrap and extort money from gay 
men. The Azad Maidan police apprehended the two constables and handed 
them over to the railway police. At year's end, there were no further 
developments in this case.
    Authorities estimated that HIV/AIDS had infected approximately 5.1 
million persons, and there was significant societal discrimination 
against persons with the disease. According to the ILO, 70 percent of 
persons suffering from HIV/AIDS faced discrimination.
    In July doctors at Meerut Medical College, Uttar Pradesh tied a 15-
year-old HIV positive boy to his bed to prevent him from falling or 
pulling his IV cord. The boy was in the same ward as patients suffering 
from tuberculosis and fevers--all of which could be passed to the boy. 
By the end of the year, the boy was paralyzed and could not speak 
because a lesion in his brain paralyzed the right side of his body.
    HRW reported that many doctors refused to treat HIV-positive 
children and that some schools expelled or segregated them because they 
or their parents were HIV-positive. Many orphanages and other 
residential institutions rejected HIV-positive children or denied them 
housing.
    In September a school for HIV-positive children opened in 
Karunapuram. HIV-positive children, denied admissions elsewhere, could 
study in this residential school, in addition to being given medical 
help and free anti-retro viral medicines.
    In January 2004 a Mumbai High Court ruled that HIV-positive persons 
could not be fired on the basis of their medical status. However, the 
army removed from service approximately 200 soldiers with AIDS between 
2003 and 2005, stating they were unfit for military duty. NACO stated 
it opposed the practice of discharging soldiers solely because they had 
AIDS. The army stated that, while the patients received medical care, 
it could not keep infected soldiers in the service.
    The National Council for Applied Economic Research, NACO, and the 
United Nations Development Program conducted a survey of 2,068 HIV-
positive households, 6,224 HIV-negative households, and 2,386 people 
living with HIV/AIDS patients in July. The survey revealed that 29 
percent were refused loans and nearly 30 percent denied promotions. 
More than 16 percent were forced to resign from their jobs, and 10 
percent forced to take voluntary retirement. Additionally, 42 percent 
felt neglected and isolated, and nearly 29 percent reported being 
verbally abused by their colleagues.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. Workers may establish and join unions of their own choosing 
without prior authorization. More than 400 million persons made up the 
country's active work force, and some 30 million of these workers were 
employed in the formal sector. The rest were agricultural workers and, 
to a lesser extent, urban non-industrial laborers. While some trade 
unions represented agricultural workers and informal sector workers, 
most of the country's estimated 13 to 15 million union members were 
part of the 30-million-member formal sector. Of these 13 to 15 million, 
some 80 percent of the unionized workers were members of unions 
affiliated with one of the five major trade union centrals.
    In practice legal protections of worker rights were effective only 
for the organized industrial sector. Outside the modern industrial 
sector, laws were difficult to enforce. The authorities generally 
prosecuted and punished those persons responsible for intimidation or 
suppression of legitimate trade union activities when the victims were 
members of nationally organized unions. Unaffiliated unions were not 
able, in any instance, to secure for themselves the protections and 
rights provided by law. Union membership was rare in the informal 
sector.
    The Trade Union Act prohibits discrimination against union members 
and organizers, and employers were penalized if they discriminated 
against employees engaged in union activities.
    Police arrested over 300 members of the Center for Indian Trade 
Unions (CITU) on March 21 when they demonstrated in front of the Madras 
Export Processing Zone demanding settlement of wages to workers who 
lost jobs following the closure of some units. The members of the 
Garment and Textile Workers Union formed a human chain in Bangalore in 
early May. Their demands included limiting the work day, a minimum 
wage, and a harassment-free work environment.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference and the 
Government protected this right. Although a system of specialized labor 
courts adjudicates labor disputes, there were long delays and a backlog 
of unresolved cases. When parties cannot agree on equitable wages, the 
Government may establish boards of union, management, and government 
representatives to make a determination. The legislation distinguishes 
between civil servants and other workers. Public service employees have 
very limited organizing and collective bargaining rights.
    Trade unions often exercised the right to strike, but public sector 
unions were required to give at least 14 days' notice prior to 
striking. Some states had laws requiring workers in certain nonpublic 
sector industries to give notice of a planned strike.
    The Essential Services Maintenance Act allows the Government to ban 
strikes in government-owned enterprises and requires conciliation or 
arbitration in specified essential industries; however, essential 
services have never been defined in law. Legal mechanisms exist for 
challenging the assertion that a given dispute falls within the scope 
of this act. Thus the act is subject to varying interpretations from 
state to state. State and local authorities occasionally used their 
power to declare strikes illegal and force adjudication. The Industrial 
Disputes Act prohibits retribution by employers against employees 
involved in legal strike actions, and this prohibition was observed in 
practice.
    The Supreme Court upheld a Kerala High Court verdict declaring all 
general strikes illegal and making organizers of such protests liable 
for losses caused by the shutdowns, drawing attention to the difference 
between a complete closedown of all activities and a general strike. 
While it is likely that the ruling was introduced to discourage 
political strikes, unions stated that it remained a potential threat to 
their activities. Other court rulings also declared strikes illegal and 
made striking workers pay damages because consumers and the public 
suffered during strikes. In August 2004 the Supreme Court declared all 
strikes by government employees to be illegal; however, in practice 
this was not enforced.
    There are seven export processing zones (EPZs). Entry into the EPZs 
ordinarily was limited to employees, and such entry restrictions 
applied to union organizers. While workers in the EPZs have the right 
to organize and to bargain collectively, union activity was rare. In 
addition, unions did not vigorously pursue efforts to organize private-
sector employees in the years since EPZs were established. Most EPZ 
workers were women. The International Confederation of Free Trade 
Unions reported that overtime was compulsory in the EPZs, that workers 
often were employed on temporary contracts with fictitious contractors 
rather than directly by the company, and that workers feared that 
complaints about substandard working conditions would result in their 
dismissal.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, such practices 
remained widespread. The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act prohibits 
all bonded labor by adults and children. Offenders may be sentenced up 
to three years in prison, but prosecutions were rare. Enforcement of 
this statute, which was the responsibility of state and local 
governments, varied from state to state and generally was not effective 
due to inadequate resources and societal acceptance of bonded or forced 
labor. On the occasions when inspectors referred violations for 
prosecution, long court backlogs and inadequate funding for legal 
counsel frequently resulted in acquittals. NGOs estimated that there 
were 20 to 65 million bonded laborers in the country, including a large 
number of children (see section 6.d.). According to the Institute for 
Socio-Economic Development (ISED) research on bonded labor in Bihar and 
Uttar Pradesh, the bondage of agricultural laborers was still the main 
form of bondage in these two states. According to NGOs, the 
nonagricultural sectors that had a high incidence of bonded labor were: 
stone quarries, brick kilns, fishing, forestry, beedi-making (hand-
rolled cigarettes), carpet weaving, pottery, and carrying head-loads. 
According to an ILO report published in 2005, an overwhelming majority 
of bonded laborers belonged to the scheduled castes and scheduled 
tribes.
    In May 78 children were rescued from embroidery units at Sarai Kale 
Khan in South Delhi by Bandhu Mukti Morch (BMM), an NGO based in Delhi 
headed by Swami Agnivesh. According to media reports, all of the 
children, between the ages of four and eight years, worked 14 to 16 
hours each day under inhuman conditions. BMM rescued the children under 
the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976. The police detained one 
person. On May 29, the Indian Express reported the owners of the 
factories and shops, where the children, most of whom were from Bihar 
were working, were arrested and being prosecuted.
    Government officials worked to release other bonded laborers in 
many states. In West Bengal, organized traffic by illegal Bangladeshi 
immigrants was a source of bonded labor (see section 5). According to 
the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the Government identified and 
rehabilitated 370 bonded laborers between April 2005 and February. In 
November 2005 authorities rescued 21 bonded laborers from Tamil Nadu, 
who had been working in a Bangalore stone quarry since 2002. Tamil Nadu 
Police worked with Bangalore police and NGOs to rescue the bonded 
laborers. The district collector where the children/victims were 
brought provided interim arrangement of food and shelter for the 
victims.
    According to UNICEF, Andhra Pradesh reportedly employed 200,000 
children in its hybrid seed industry. Most were girls between the ages 
of seven and 14. Many were migrants from other parts of the state. The 
majority were Dalits and members of economically disadvantaged castes 
and tribal groups forced to work in debt-bondage. They were routinely 
abused, subjected to dangerous pesticides, and denied access to 
education.
    Female bondage, forced prostitution, and trafficking in women and 
children for the purpose of prostitution were widespread (see section 
5). Devadasis, defined as prepubescent girls given to a Hindu deity or 
temple as ``servants of gods", were taken from their families and 
required to provide sexual services to priests and high caste Hindus. 
Many eventually were sold to urban brothels (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for 
Employment.--The Government prohibits forced and bonded child labor; 
however, this prohibition was not effectively enforced, and forced 
child labor was a problem. The law prohibits the exploitation of 
children in the workplace; however, NHRC officials admitted that 
implementation of existing child labor laws was inadequate, that 
administrators were not vigilant, and that children were particularly 
vulnerable to exploitation. The NHRC focused on the adequacy of 
existing legislation. There were few prosecutions and convictions under 
the 1986 Child Labor Act because of poor implementation due to 
administrative lapses and voids due to the definition of child labor. A 
child assisting his/her family is exempt from the provisions of the 
act, and employers in the cottage industries often exploited this void 
to claim that the children were assisting the family.
    There is no overall minimum age for child labor. However, work by 
children under 14 is prohibited in factories, mines, domestic work, 
roadside eateries and other hazardous industries. In occupations and 
processes in which child labor is permitted, work by children was 
permissible only for six hours between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., with one 
day's rest weekly. In addition to industries that utilized forced or 
indentured child labor (see section 6.c.), there was evidence that 
child labor was used in the following industries: hand-knotted carpets, 
gemstone polishing, leather goods, sari weaving, beadwork, and sporting 
goods. The Government assisted working children through the National 
Child Labor Project, established in more than 3,700 schools. Government 
efforts to eliminate child labor affected only a small fraction of 
children in the workplace. The law stipulates a penalty for employers 
of children in hazardous industries of $430 (Rs 19,000) per child 
employed, and establishes a welfare fund for formerly employed 
children. The Government is required to find employment for an adult 
member of the child's family or pay $108 (Rs 4,805) to the family. 
According to the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude, authorities 
were pursuing over 6,000 cases against employers. NGOs noted that 
requiring the Government to pay the family of a child laborer or 
finding the adult family member a job could be a disincentive to 
investigating crimes.
    Estimates of the number of child laborers varied widely. The 2001 
census recorded 12.66 million working children between the ages of five 
and 14, with 90 percent of the child workers from rural areas. NGOs 
claimed there were up to 115 million working children. The proportion 
of working children to the child population between the ages of five 
and 14, declined from 5.4 percent to 5 percent between 1991 and 2001. 
The Government's national sample survey from 2004 estimated the number 
of working children in the age group of 5 to 14 at 16.4 million. The 
ILO estimated the number of child workers at 44 million. However, NGOs 
reported that the number of child laborers was closer to 55 million. 
Most, if not all, of the 87 million children not in school did 
housework, worked on family farms, worked alongside their parents as 
paid agricultural laborers, or worked as domestic servants. In April 
UNICEF reported that an estimated 14 percent of children between the 
ages of five and 14 were engaged in labor. According to the 2001 census 
figures, released in August 2005, out of 226 million children aged 5-
14, 65.3 million (29 percent) had not attended any educational 
institutes. The census documented that children worked in the informal 
sector, often in private homes, with the highest rate (15 percent) in 
Uttar Pradesh. Unofficial sources claimed that between 25 and 30 
million children worked, mainly in the domestic and agricultural 
sectors.
    Through the Child Labor (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, the 
Government convicted 325 employers in 2002-03; 3,910 in 2003-04; and 
1,162 in 2004-05.
    A ruling, effective October 10, prohibits labor in domestic work 
and the hospitality industry for children under the age of 14, although 
child labor in some other non-hazardous industries is legally 
permissible. In September the Delhi High Court ordered the central and 
state governments to develop a plan to eradicate child labor in the 
capital area.
    In Maharashtra, raids on sweatshops to free child laborers 
continued. According to the Maharashtra Task Force to eliminate child 
labor from Mumbai, from May 2005 to October, 36 slum habitations were 
made child labor free. Spurred by government raids, many employers 
voluntarily repatriated several thousand child laborers from zari 
factories (embroidering or sewing beads and colored threads to fabric), 
leather workshops, and restaurants.
    In June the Government of Bihar announced a ban on employment of 
children below the age of 14 in shops and other establishments by 
amending the Bihar Shops and Establishments Act. The Bihar government 
prosecuted 1,493 employers of child labor and rehabilitated 438 bonded 
laborers through central government sponsored schemes since 2001.
    In August the Government of Punjab announced a complete ban on 
child labor to take effect on October 10. An action plan and directions 
were sent to all district offices and departments in the state to 
ensure strict compliance.
    Despite a ban, child labor continued in Karnataka. Varying sources 
estimated the number of child workers to be as high as 150,000. The 
Ministry of Labor continued efforts to eradicate the practice through 
regular police raids and work with public schools towards integrating 
rescued children into the mainstream. On January 6, labor inspectors in 
Mysore rescued 12 child workers from garages and roadside eateries. 
Charges were filed against employers and rescued children were handed 
over to district child welfare committees for rehabilitation.
    The Tamil Nadu Labor Department stated the number of child laborers 
in that state declined from 69,000 in 2003 to an estimated 25,589 in 
2005. NGOs said that the Government's figures excluded children 
employed for domestic help, in restaurants, and at roadside eateries.
    According to the Andhra Pradesh Department of School Education, 
there were 423,714 child laborers in 2005. This number included 
children between the ages of five and 14 not enrolled in schools.
    In July the NHRC reported increased employment of children in home 
establishments in both hazardous and non-hazardous occupations in the 
state of Uttar Pradesh. NHRC Special Rapporteur Chaman Lal stated that 
employment of children in brick kilns, stone quarries, and carpet-
weaving industries was on the rise. The NHRC expressed displeasure over 
the failure of the Government to punish offenders.
    The working conditions of domestic servants and children often 
amounted to bonded labor. Children were often sent away to work because 
their parents could not afford to feed them or to pay off a debt 
incurred by a parent or relative. Human rights organizations estimated 
that there were as many as 300,000 children working in the carpet 
industry, many under conditions that amounted to bonded labor. 
Officials claimed that they were unable to stop this practice because 
the children were working with their parents' consent. In addition, 
there was a reasonable basis to believe that products were produced 
using forced or indentured child labor in the following industries: 
brassware; hand-knotted wool carpets; explosive fireworks; footwear; 
hand-blown glass bangles; hand-made locks; hand-dipped matches; hand-
broken quarried stones; hand-spun silk thread and hand-loomed silk 
cloth; hand-made bricks; and beedis (hand-rolled cigarettes). A number 
of these industries exposed children to particularly hazardous work 
conditions.
    According to representatives of Vikasa, a community-based 
organization in the Magadi silk spinning industry, the number of child 
workers dropped from 3,000 in 2003 to 1,750 in January 2005. They 
attributed the drop to competition from silk yarn imported from China 
and concerted action by the state government against employers of child 
labor.
    In May seven child laborers were killed at a brick kiln in Rauna 
village of Chandauli district of Utter Pradesh when a wall of soil 
collapsed, burying them alive. Police attempted to arrest the owner of 
the kiln, who remained at large.
    At the end of the year, there were no developments in the February 
2005 case in West Bengal of a police sub-inspector allegedly torturing 
an eight-year-old girl he employed after accusing her of stealing 
cookies. The sub-inspector was not charged.
    Those employers who failed to abide by the law were subject to 
penalties specified in the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act (such as 
fines and imprisonment) and to disciplinary action at the workplace.
    Media began to take a role in raising awareness about child labor. 
A New Delhi Television broadcast in June 2005 reported the extensive 
prevalence of bonded child labor in illegal iron ore mines located in 
the northern districts of Karnataka. Child workers interviewed by the 
news channel alleged they were made to break stones for 10 hours per 
day to pay off debts contracted by their parents. The Karnataka 
government had promised action following the report; however, civil 
rights groups alleged little changed since the report was broadcast.
    The continuing prevalence of child labor was attributed to social 
acceptance of the practice, ineffective state and federal government 
enforcement of existing laws, and economic hardships faced by families.
    Employers in some industries took steps to combat child labor. The 
Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC), a quasi- governmental 
organization that received funding from the Ministry of Textiles, has a 
membership of 2,500 exporters who subscribed to a code of conduct 
barring them from purchasing hand-knotted carpets knowingly produced 
with child labor. The CEPC conducted inspections to insure compliance 
and allowed members to voluntarily use a government-originated label to 
signify adherence to the code of conduct. However, the CEPC stated that 
even with its programs, it was impossible to ensure that a carpet had 
been produced without child labor, given the difficulties of monitoring 
a decentralized and geographically dispersed industry. A private-sector 
research and consulting firm conducted inspections, covering only 10 
percent of registered looms, and had difficulty locating unregistered 
looms. The Government also cooperated with UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, and 
the ILO in its efforts to eliminate child labor.
    The Government participated in the ILO's International Program on 
the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC). Approximately 145,000 children 
were removed from work and provided with education and stipends since 
IPEC programs began in 1992. The NHRC, continuing its own child labor 
agenda, organized NGO programs to provide special schooling, 
rehabilitation, and family income supplements for children in the glass 
industry in Firozabad. The NHRC also intervened in individual cases. 
Press reports said that a Madurai NGO rescued 33 children who had been 
sold into slave labor during in 2005.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--State government laws set 
minimum wages, hours of work, and safety and health standards. The 
Factories Act mandates an eight-hour workday, a 48-hour workweek, and 
safe working conditions, which include adequate provisions for rest 
rooms, canteen, medical facilities, and proper ventilation. There was a 
minimum rest period of 30 minutes after every four hours of work and 
premium pay for overtime as mandated by law. These standards were 
generally enforced and accepted in the modern industrial sector; 
however, they were not observed in less economically stable industries. 
Some industries, such as the apparel and footwear, did not adhere to 
prescribed minimum wage.
    Minimum wages varied according to the state and to the sector of 
industry. Such wages provided only a minimal standard of living for a 
worker and were inadequate to provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. Most workers employed in units subject to the 
Factories Act received more than the minimum wage, including mandated 
bonuses and other benefits. State governments set a separate minimum 
wage for agricultural workers but did not enforce it effectively. Some 
industries, such as apparel and footwear, did not adhere to prescribed 
minimum wage.
    State governments were responsible for enforcement of the Factories 
Act. However, the large number of industries covered by a small number 
of factory inspectors, and the inspectors' limited training and 
susceptibility to bribery, resulted in lax enforcement.
    The enforcement of safety and health standards also was poor. 
Industrial accidents continued to occur frequently due to improper 
enforcement of existing laws. Chemical industries had the highest 
incidence of accidents. According to the director general of mines' 
safety rules, mining companies must seal the entrances to abandoned 
underground mines, and opencast mines must be bulldozed and reforested 
to stop people from entering them in efforts to pilfer or scrape coal 
and other minerals. However, these rules seldom were obeyed.
    Workers in the textile industry suffered from acutely unhealthy 
working and living conditions in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. Industrial 
premises lacked toilets and medical facilities. The town suffered from 
problems of drainage and industrial pollution such as disposal of 
effluents and sludge from dyeing units.
    Safety conditions were better in the EPZs than in the manufacturing 
sector outside by the EPZs. The law does not provide workers with the 
right to remove themselves from work situations that endanger health 
and safety without jeopardizing their continued employment. Legal 
foreign workers were protected under the law; however, illegal foreign 
workers had no protection. The country's undocumented foreign workers 
were not extended basic occupational health and safety protections.

                               __________

                               KAZAKHSTAN

    The Republic of Kazakhstan, with a population of approximately 15 
million, has a multiparty parliamentary system dominated by President 
Nazarbayev's Otan Party. President Nazarbayev was re elected for a 
third 7-year term in December 2005; observers criticized that election 
as falling short of a number of international standards. The 
constitution concentrates power in the presidency, permitting the 
President to control regional and local governments and to exercise 
significant influence over the legislature and judiciary. Changes or 
amendments to the constitution require Presidential consent. The 
President exercised control over the military and the security forces, 
although members of the security forces committed human rights abuses 
in a few instances.
    The following human rights problems were reported: severe limits on 
citizens' rights to change their government; an incident of unlawful 
deprivation of life; military hazing that led to deaths; detainee and 
prisoner abuse; unhealthy prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention, particularly of government opponents; lack of an independent 
judiciary; increased restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, 
assembly, and association; pervasive corruption, especially in law 
enforcement and the judicial system; restrictions on the activities of 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); discrimination and violence 
against women; trafficking in persons; and societal discrimination.
    During the year the Government advanced its efforts to combat 
trafficking in persons by enacting a comprehensive set of legislative 
amendments to strengthen its ability to investigate, prosecute, and 
convict traffickers, and to increase the amount of resources devoted to 
victim protection and prevention. The Government also repealed a law 
banning election-related demonstrations from the period following the 
end of the voting until the results are published.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--On February 13, 
opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly was found shot to death in a 
remote area outside of Almaty, along with his bodyguard Baurzhan 
Baibosyn and driver Vasiliy Zhuravliov. Following an official 
investigation, 10 suspects were charged with the kidnappings and 
murders, including five officers of an elite squad of the Committee for 
National Security (KNB). At the Government's request, a foreign law 
enforcement agency provided technical support for the investigation. On 
August 31, the regional court in Taldykorgan found all defendants 
guilty as charged. The court sentenced Rustam Ibragimov, a former 
ministry of internal affairs official, to death, though he will remain 
in prison as long as the death penalty moratorium remains in effect. 
The remaining defendants received prison sentences from 3 to 20 years. 
The Supreme Court upheld the sentences on December 8.
    Opposition leaders charged that the killing was politically 
motivated, and sharply criticized the conduct and remote location of 
the trial. The evidence strongly indicated the involvement of all those 
charged, but the court failed to follow up and investigate signs that 
other parties and high-level government officials may have been 
involved in instigating or ordering the killings. In a confession that 
he later retracted, Yerzhan Utembayev, the former chief of 
administration for the senate, claimed he ordered the killing in 
retribution for a public personal slight by Sarsenbaiuly.
    Military hazing was a serious problem that led to deaths, suicides 
and serious injuries (see section 1.c.). During the year, the 
procurator general's office reported six suicides within the military 
in the first six months of the year, compared with 26 in 2005.
    On February 4, conscript Amanzhol Akhmetov died on guard duty. The 
official investigation reported that Akhmetov left his post for an 
unknown reason, seized a machine gun from another soldier, and shot 
himself to death. Akhmetov's parents and the Soldiers' Mothers' 
Committee demanded further investigation of the incident, and believed 
that Akhmetov's death was the result of hazing.
    On February 15, Junior Sergeant Adalykov was sentenced to six years 
in prison for the November 2005 death of conscript Asylbek Abdikov. 
Abdikov died after being struck in the throat by Adalykov. Senior 
officers in the military unit also received disciplinary penalties.
    On November 22, soldiers from the Darkhan border guard detachment 
in the Saryagash district of South Kazakhstan reportedly hazed newly 
arrived conscripts over the course of two days, beating them and 
refusing to allow them to sleep. Eighteen conscripts were injured, and 
one conscript died from his injuries. The head of the military 
investigation department of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs 
(MVD) garrison reported the incident. A criminal investigation was 
pending at year's end.
    In November 2005 the military court of the Akmolinskiy army unit 
sentenced an older conscript, Abylair Ospanov, to five years in prison 
for the April 2005 death of conscript Samat Kapezov. On February 14, a 
higher military court extended the sentence to six and a half years 
based on an appeal by the procurator.

    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, but 
police and prison officials at times tortured, beat, and abused 
detainees, often to obtain confessions. In its Human Rights 
Commission's annual report, the Government acknowledged that torture 
and other illegal methods of investigation were still used by some law 
enforcement officers. Human rights and international legal observers 
noted investigative and procuratorial practices that overemphasized a 
defendant's confession of guilt over collecting other types of evidence 
in building a criminal case against a defendant.
    In February Supreme Court Judge Raisa Yurchenko publicly 
acknowledged that police used psychological and physical pressure on 
suspects under investigation, but said that law enforcement officials 
effectively concealed their abuses and victims were afraid to report 
them.
    The ombudsman's office reported 2,613 citizen complaints during the 
year, over 20 percent of which were allegations of abuse by law 
enforcement.
    On May 29, two police officers detained and beat alleged thief 
Yerbolat Ospanov after he was reportedly unable to pay a bribe to have 
the charges dropped. Ospanov's brother later paid a 51,200 tenge ($400) 
bribe and he was released. Yerbolat filed a complaint with the 
procuracy the next day, but no action was taken at year's end.
    On August 28, the head of the Mugalzhar district police office in 
the Aktobe region was sentenced to three years in prison for a January 
2005 incident in which he and several deputies severely beat several 
murder suspects. The beatings occurred over the course of two days in 
an attempt to extract confessions. The deputies were sentenced to 2 and 
one-half years in prison.
    There were unconfirmed reports that some women detained by law 
enforcement officers were subjected to coercive sexual advances or 
raped. In January an NGO in Kokshetau filed a complaint against police 
inspectors for sexually abusing underage detainees in the Kokshetau 
juvenile detention center. Local authorities initiated a criminal 
investigation. Three suspects were fired, though rape charges were 
brought against only one of the three--Yerlan Karabekov. The Kokshetau 
city court acquitted Karabekov of rape charges on October 12, but 
sentenced him to four years in prison for abuse of power. On appeal, 
the sentence was reduced to two years.
    The MVD reported that the number of crimes related to military 
hazing and abuse of power declined by 14 percent during the year, 
though military hazing remained a serious problem.
    A few army personnel continued to subject conscripts to physical 
and verbal abuse, despite noncommissioned officer (NCO) corps reforms 
that addressed patterns that led to conscript hazing. There were 
reports of hazing-related deaths and suicide that in some cases led to 
investigations and eventual convictions of service members. The 
Government investigated allegations of conscript hazing and prosecuted 
soldiers who engaged in this abuse; six soldiers were convicted in the 
first six months of the year. The Government took steps to root out 
soldier abuse by continuing to expand a professional NCO corps and 
gradually transitioning toward a largely volunteer military. The 
Government also implemented new human rights training and 
responsibilities for NCOs and continued a training program for military 
personnel at all levels, which included mandatory anti-hazing training. 
The Ministry of Defense (MOD) reported that it was tightening 
discipline to address hazing and other offenses, and was implementing 
ad hoc inspections and requiring systematic reports from senior 
officers concerning the situation in their units. The MOD reported that 
these efforts resulted in a 28 percent decline in crimes by military 
personnel compared with the previous year including a 48 percent 
decline in incidents of delinquency and a 61 percent decline in 
unauthorized service leaves.
    On July 31, 20-year-old Yerlan Kadenov, a sergeant in a Shymkent 
military unit, reported to military doctors with complaints of 
dizziness and nausea. On August 3, he was hospitalized and underwent 
emergency surgery for internal injuries. Military procurators suspect 
hazing, and were investigating the incident at year's end.
    On July 2, the media reported a hazing incident in an Almaty 
military unit. Nurlan Zhandagulov, the father of one of the conscripts, 
was reportedly rebuffed when he appealed to the commander of the 
military unit. However, the MOD responded to Zhandagulov's appeal and 
military procurators arrested two soldiers for the abuses. Several 
senior officers were also disciplined, and younger conscripts were 
separated from older soldiers.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Though the Government 
implemented prison reforms and granted greater access, prison 
conditions remained harsh and facilities did not meet international 
health standards. Mistreatment occurred in police cells, pretrial 
detention facilities, and prisons. The Government took some steps to 
address systemic patterns that encouraged prisoner abuse. These 
included continued operation of and increased access for regional 
penitentiary oversight commissions, training of prison officials, and 
seminars for MVD police; however, no prison officials were prosecuted 
for abuses during the year.
    The Government conducted 13 criminal investigations of penitentiary 
officials for corruption in the first eight months of the year. These 
investigations resulted in 12 convictions and one acquittal.
    A Council for Public Oversight, established in 2004, conducted 
internal investigations of abuse allegations and reported directly to 
the minister of justice. NGOs reported that the regional penitentiary 
oversight commissions established by law in 2005 actively monitored 
human rights conditions in prisons. The commissions, which include 
government, NGO, and academic experts, are generally granted access to 
the prison system, as is the International Committee for the Red Cross 
(ICRC). However, police cells operated by the MVD remained closed to 
outside observers.
    NGOs and international observers reported good cooperation with 
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) leadership, and credited the MOJ with taking 
some active steps to improve prison conditions. Provision of medical 
services improved, particularly with respect to fighting tuberculosis. 
However, observers reported that the pace of reform has slowed in 
comparison to previous years.
    Although the Government made some efforts to upgrade existing 
facilities and build new ones, buildings at many prisons remained 
outdated and hygiene conditions were substandard. In February the 
procurator general's office issued an order closing one of the 
buildings in the Semipalatinsk pretrial investigation facility because 
it did not meet sanitary standards and posed a threat to the health and 
lives of detainees. On May 25, the procurator general's office issued a 
statement criticizing the MOJ for failing to address overcrowding, 
sewage, and poor sanitation in prisons.
    During the year, 31 detainee deaths, including five suicides, were 
reported at pretrial detention facilities. The Government reported 268 
deaths in prisons during the year, including 26 suicides.
    Incidents of self-mutilation by inmates to protest prison 
conditions continued. On March 31, inmates in the Zarechniy prison 
outside of Almaty rioted to protest harsh conditions, mistreatment, and 
confiscation of personal belongings. According to human rights 
activists, the prison was originally designated to house convicted law 
enforcement officers. However, prior to the riot, regular criminals 
were added to the population, leading to increased tension and the 
tightening of controls. Twenty-four inmates mutilated themselves by 
cutting their abdomens, and three inmates were injured when prison 
guards restored order. Local NGOs were permitted to visit the facility 
and interview inmates after the incident. An activist from the Public 
Committee for Monitoring Human Rights reported that the prison 
officials' response to the riot was generally appropriate. Several 
officers of the prison administration were disciplined for their 
failure to deal with the protest action. After the incident, prison 
officials transferred the regular criminals out of the population to 
reduce tension and problems.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but they remained problems.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MVD supervises the 
national police force, which has primary responsibility for internal 
security, including the investigation and prevention of crimes and 
administrative offenses and the maintenance of public order and 
security. The Agency for Combating Economic and Corruption Crimes 
(financial police) has administrative and criminal investigative 
powers. The MVD reports to the Prime Minister. The Committee for 
National Security (KNB) plays a law enforcement role in border 
security, internal security, antiterrorism efforts, and the 
investigation and prevention of illegal or unregistered groups such as 
extremist groups, military groups, political parties, religious groups, 
and trade unions. The KNB also oversees the external intelligence 
service, Barlau. The financial police and the KNB report directly to 
the President.
    According to corruption surveys, public perception of police 
effectiveness was low, and corruption among law enforcement officers 
was high. Police were poorly paid and widely believed to be corrupt. 
According to Security Council Secretary Berik Imashev, police officers 
committed 182 corruption crimes during the year, although only 70 
officers were fired for corruption.
    During the year the Government maintained MVD hot lines to receive 
complaints about police corruption and abuse; there were no available 
statistics on the number of investigations. As part of an effort to 
address one of the underlying causes of corruption, the MVD increased 
police salaries during the year by 32 percent.
    A council for coordination of law enforcement operations, 
established in the 1990s, is chaired by the procurator general and 
staffed by heads of other law enforcement agencies. Among many things, 
it reviews complaints against law enforcement.
    The MVD cooperated with NGOs to provide human rights training 
seminars for police at the local level. The Government cooperated with 
international organizations to provide limited law enforcement training 
aimed at decreasing abuse by emphasizing investigative skill 
development.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that courts or procurators 
must sanction arrests and detentions, but the procurator general 
reported that illegal detention remained a problem. Warrants are 
required for arrest. Procurators have the power to authorize arrest and 
pretrial detention as well as investigative actions such as searches 
and seizures. The law allows police to hold a detainee for 72 hours 
before bringing charges. Human rights observers alleged that 
authorities often exceeded this limit in practice.
    A bail system exists but was not widely used, and many individuals 
remained in pretrial detention until their trial.
    Persons detained, arrested, or accused of committing a crime have 
the right to the assistance of a defense lawyer from the moment of 
detention, arrest, or accusation; however, police were not required 
under the law or in practice to inform detainees that they had the 
right to an attorney. Human rights observers alleged that law 
enforcement officials dissuaded detainees from seeing an attorney, 
gathered evidence through preliminary questioning before the person's 
attorney arrived, and in some cases used corrupt defense attorneys to 
gather evidence. The law states that the Government must provide an 
attorney for an indigent suspect or defendant when the suspect is a 
minor, has physical or mental disabilities, or is facing serious 
criminal charges.
    The 2005 Human Rights Report issued by the Presidential Human 
Rights Commission indicated widespread incidents of arbitrary arrest 
and detention of citizens in which they were brought to the police and 
kept in offices. The procurator general's office reported that 375 
individuals were illegally detained in police offices in the first half 
of the year. In the first half of the year, prosecutors released 20 
individuals who were illegally detained in pretrial detention 
facilities; criminal charges against them were dropped.
    The Government arrested and detained a few government opponents and 
critics, sometimes for minor infractions of the law such as 
unsanctioned assembly, and selectively prosecuted political opponents 
(see sections 1.e., 2.a., and 2.b.). However, there were no allegations 
of prolonged detention for political offenses.
    On May 27, about 15 members of the opposition youth group Socialist 
Resistance were detained by police for several hours in Almaty. The 
police first claimed that they were responding to a noise complaint, 
and later said that there had been an armed robbery in the 
neighborhood. The detained youths reported that police and KNB officers 
interrogated them and sought incriminating information about their 
leaders.

    Amnesty.--The MOJ released 3,445 prisoners in an amnesty campaign, 
and 14,300 other convicts were pardoned.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law does not adequately 
provide for an independent judiciary. The executive branch limited 
judicial independence. Procurators enjoyed a quasi-judicial role and 
were permitted to suspend court decisions.
    There are three levels in the court system: district, oblast 
(regional), and the supreme court. District courts are the court of 
first instance in nearly all criminal cases. Regional courts hear cases 
involving more serious crimes, and may handle cases in rural areas with 
no local courts. District court decisions may be appealed to the 
regional courts, and regional court decisions may be appealed to the 
supreme court. There are also military courts. Military courts have 
jurisdiction over civilian criminal defendants who were alleged to be 
connected to military personnel undergoing a criminal trial. Military 
courts use the same criminal code as civilian courts.
    The constitutional council rules on election and referendum 
challenges, interprets the constitution, and determines the 
constitutionality of laws adopted by parliament. Citizens have no right 
of direct appeal to the constitutional council.
    The Presidentially appointed High Judicial Council recommends 
nominees for the supreme court to the President, who in turn recommends 
them to the senate for approval. The council makes recommendations to 
the President for regional (oblast) level judges, but these 
appointments are made directly by the President. The President, upon 
the recommendation of the MOJ and the Qualification Collegium, 
appointed lower-level court judges. Judges are appointed for life. The 
parliament may remove supreme court judges upon recommendation by the 
President, and the President may remove lower court judges.
    Corruption was evident at every stage and level of the judicial 
process. Although judges were among the most highly paid government 
employees, lawyers and human rights monitors alleged that judges, 
procurators, and other officials solicited bribes in exchange for 
favorable rulings in the majority of criminal cases (see section 3).

    Trial Procedures.--The law allows for trial by jury, but jury 
trials were not scheduled for implementation until 2007. Trials were 
public, except in instances that could compromise state secrets, or to 
protect the private life or personal family concerns of a citizen. 
However, there were several reports during the year of journalists 
being denied access to open court hearings. Defendants in criminal 
cases have the right to counsel and to a government-provided attorney 
if they cannot afford one. Under the criminal procedure code, 
defendants must be represented by an attorney when the defendant is a 
minor, has mental or physical disabilities, does not speak the language 
of the court, or faces 10 or more years imprisonment. In practice 
defense attorneys reportedly participated in only half of all criminal 
cases, in part because the Government did not have sufficient funds to 
pay them. The law also provides defendants the right to be present at 
their trials, to be heard in court, and to call witnesses for the 
defense. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, are protected 
from self-incrimination, and have the right to appeal a decision to a 
higher court. These rights were generally exercised in practice; 
however, there were reports of individual cases of infringement. Lack 
of due process was a problem, particularly in politically motivated 
trials and in cases where improper political or financial influence was 
alleged.
    The high-profile trial of the suspects in the killing of opposition 
leader Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly and his two associates was widely 
criticized for procedural flaws, including a refusal to allow 
questioning of certain witnesses by the defense and a failure of law 
enforcement officials to investigate allegations that others, including 
high-level government officials, may have been involved. The remote 
location of the trial complicated public and media attendance (see 
section 1.a.). Likewise, attorneys for both the defendants and the 
victims' families criticized the conduct of the subsequent supreme 
court appeal. On December 7, the supreme court abruptly ended the 
appeal hearing before resolving several motions or allowing the 
victims' representatives to make final statements. On December 8, the 
court upheld the guilty verdicts and sentences.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners; however, there were reports of individuals 
imprisoned following politically motivated criminal prosecutions based 
on nonpolitical offenses. On January 14, former governor and Democratic 
Choice of Kazakhstan leader Galymzhan Zhakiyanov was granted early 
conditional release from prison. Zhakiyanov was convicted of abuse of 
power and corruption charges in 2002 following a trial that 
international observers maintained was politically motivated and lacked 
due process. In 2005 opposition political activist Alibek Zhumabeyev 
was arrested in Taraz for allegedly damaging a poster of the President 
and was charged with hooliganism and insulting the honor and dignity of 
the President. Opposition leaders claimed that the case was politically 
motivated, and that students were coerced to testify against 
Zhumabeyev. Zhumabeyev was eligible for amnesty but procurators added 
an additional charge of organizing mass disorder, which disqualified 
him. On May 15, the city court in Taraz sentenced him to five years in 
prison. On June 22, the Taraz regional court conducted an open and 
procedurally fair appeal proceeding, but rejected Zhumabeyev's 
arguments without elaboration.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil cases are handled by 
economic and administrative court judges under a court structure that 
largely mirrors the criminal court structure. The law and constitution 
provide for the resolution of civil disputes in court. In practice, 
civil courts are widely viewed as corrupt and unreliable. Observers 
noted that litigants experienced great difficulty in enforcing 
judgments, particularly if they did not agree to pay a percentage to 
the court administrator.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions; 
however, the Government at times infringed on these rights.
    The law provides procurators with extensive authority to limit 
citizens' constitutional rights. The KNB, MVD, financial police, and 
other agencies, with the concurrence of the procurator general's 
office, may infringe on the secrecy of private communications and 
financial records, as well as on the inviolability of the home. Courts 
may hear an appeal on procurators' decisions, but cannot issue an 
immediate injunction to cease the infringement. The criminal procedure 
code allows wiretapping and recording of communications, including e-
mail and electronic communications, without a warrant only in urgent 
cases.
    Government opponents and their family members continued to report 
that the Government monitored their movements and telephone calls on 
occasion.
    Though the constitution provides that housing shall be inviolable 
and that the Government may not deprive citizens of their housing 
without a court order, authorities in the Bakay neighborhood of Almaty 
demolished several hundred homes under questionable legal circumstances 
as part of a government campaign to clear illegal settlements. On July 
7, authorities appeared in Bakay with bulldozers and 1,500 riot police 
and demolished what they claimed were illegally built houses. Residents 
were given little notice of the planned eviction, and 350 to 400 houses 
were bulldozed with their belongings still inside. Residents claimed 
that the vast majority of evictions were not legally justified, as 
bailiffs presented court orders related to only 29 houses.
    A subsequent effort to demolish homes in the Shanyrak district was 
violently resisted by residents. On July 14, 2,000 law enforcement 
officers converged on 1,500 residents, and violent conflict ensued. 
Many were injured and arrested, and residents took several police 
officers hostage. One police officer was soaked with gasoline and set 
alight, and later died from his injuries. Several residents were in 
detention awaiting trial at year's end. Ultimately, the authorities did 
not succeed in carrying out the evictions or demolitions. On August 16, 
the procurator general issued an order suspending demolition of housing 
in Shanyrak and authorities agreed to allow residents time to appeal 
for legalization of their property.
    On November 21, authorities in the Karasai district near Almaty 
demolished multiple homes in a Hare Krishna commune in order to evict 
the property owners. Although authorities produced court orders, 
residents received little notice of the planned demolitions, and most 
of their possessions were damaged or destroyed (see section 2.c.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and the law 
provide for freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government 
used a variety of means, including laws, harassment, revocation of 
registration, and criminal and administrative charges, to control the 
media and limit freedom of expression. Judicial actions against 
journalists and media outlets, including civil and criminal libel suits 
filed by government officials, contributed to closure of media outlets 
and self-censorship.
    The Government limited individuals' ability to criticize the 
country's leadership, and regional leaders attempted to limit local 
media outlets' criticism of them. The law provides for the protection 
of the dignity of the President and prohibits insulting the President 
and other senior officials. As in previous years, the Government 
actively used the law to penalize media criticism of the President and 
other officials and members of the legislature. The Government 
continued to characterize the distribution of pamphlets by Hizb ut-
Tahrir (HT) members as incitement for political and terrorist purposes, 
beyond the bounds of constitutionally protected free speech. The 
Government did not release statistics on the number of people arrested 
for involvement with HT, though in a December 22 speech, acting Otan 
Party chairman Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov said that hundreds of HT 
supporters are currently serving sentences.
    During the year, Minister of Culture and Information Yermukhamet 
Yertysbayev took measures to assert government control of the country's 
official television outlets, which included installing new leadership 
in the official Kazakhstan-1 television network and consolidating 
government ownership of the Khabar network. He also criticized foreign 
ownership of media outlets, and threatened the broadcasting license of 
the privately owned Commercial Television of Kazakhstan (KTK) 
television network for allegedly failing to broadcast the legally 
required amount of Kazakh language programming and for its coverage of 
the Sarsenbaiuly killing. KTK television continued to broadcast at 
year's end.
    On July 5, the President signed controversial new amendments to the 
country's media law despite widespread criticism from national and 
international media advocacy groups. The amendments tightened 
government control over the media. The law now requires media owners to 
re-register upon any change in editor, address, or frequency of 
publishing; bans anyone convicted of libel from holding a managing 
editor position at another media outlet; prohibits registering an 
outlet under a name similar to one that was shut down by court action; 
and imposes fines against broadcasters for failing to offer the already 
required 50-50 mix of Kazakh and Russian language programming time. In 
a July 6 interview, the minister of culture and information 
acknowledged that the law was designed to increase government control 
of the media. However, no media outlets were closed under the new law 
during the course of the year.
    According to government statistics, 22 percent of the 2,479 media 
outlets were government-owned. The overwhelming majority of broadcast 
media considered to be independent, including the larger outlets, were 
owned by holding companies believed to be controlled by members of the 
President's family and close circle of friends. Many privately owned 
newspapers and television stations received government subsidies. The 
Government controlled nearly all broadcast transmission facilities. 
There were 177 television and 40 radio stations. Media observers 
believed that six of the seven nationwide television broadcasters were 
wholly or partly owned by the Government; one was nominally 
independent. Regional governments owned several frequencies; 
independent broadcasters arranged to use the majority of these.
    In contrast to 2005, a Presidential election year, the Government 
made no attempt to seize opposition newspapers during the year, and 
printing houses did not refuse to print opposition papers. Unlike the 
previous year, there were no known cases where opposition papers were 
refused registration; overall, they faced fewer problems.
    All media were required to register with the Ministry of Culture 
and Information (MCI), although Web sites were exempted from this 
requirement.
    The licensing system is not transparent. There was no tender for 
new licenses this year.
    The law limits the rebroadcast of foreign produced programming to 
20 percent of a station's total airtime. This provision burdened 
smaller, less-developed regional television stations that lacked 
resources to develop their own programs, although no media outlets were 
sanctioned under this provision.
    Harassment of and violence against journalists remained problems, 
though there were fewer incidents than in 2005, the Presidential 
election year. Press advocacy NGO Adil Soz reported 122 incidents of 
harassment and violence against journalists during the first 11 months 
of the year, compared to 706 such incidents during the first 11 months 
of the previous year.
    Several journalists were briefly detained in Almaty on April 26 
while covering a silent protest in honor of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly (see 
section 2.b.).
    On August 20, riot police disrupted Channel 31's coverage of a 
protest rally in Aktau. The journalists alleged that the police broke a 
television camera and struck one of the camera operators in the head. 
The Mangistau regional governor later accused the Channel 31 
journalists of being drunk and instigating the riot (see section 2.b.).
    During the year the four attackers of Azamat Dospanov of Altyn 
Gasyr were identified and arrested. The court dropped charges in 
exchange for the perpetrators paying compensation. An investigation 
produced no results, and there were no further developments in the 
August 2005 attack against Altyn Gasr's editor-in-chief.
    In November 2005 unknown assailants vandalized the office of the 
Region Plus newspaper in Kapchagay. The paper's staff believed the 
attack to be a response to its reporting. According to the paper, the 
police investigated the case but no charges were filed by year's end.
    The procurator took no action by year's end in the investigation of 
the 2004 assault against Ak Zhaik correspondents Tamara Sukhomlinova 
and Gulzhanat Isabayeva.
    Journalists covering organized crime and corruption reported 
harassment and intimidation by both government officials and private 
actors. On August 17, the minister of culture and information appealed 
to the media to launch a full-scale fight against government 
corruption, and promised to protect journalists if government employees 
tried to pressure them. NGO Adil Soz reported, however, that 
journalists were skeptical of the minister's support and his ability to 
intervene.
    The law enables the Government to restrict media content under 
amendments that prohibit undermining state security or advocating 
class, social, race, national, or religious superiority, or cruelty and 
violence. Owners, editors, distributors, and journalists may be held 
civilly and criminally responsible for content, regardless of the 
source of information, unless it came from an official source. The 
Government used this provision to limit freedom of the press. 
Legislation enacted in 2005 prohibits publication of any statement that 
promotes or glorifies ``extremism,'' a term which international legal 
experts considered unduly vague and called upon the Government to 
define.
    In some cases, media outlets willing to criticize the President 
directly were subjected to intimidation in the form of law enforcement 
actions or civil suits. While these events continued to cast a chilling 
effect on all media outlets, criticism of government policies continued 
to be reported during the year.
    The law on state secrets makes it a criminal offense to release any 
information about the health, finances, or private life of the 
President, as well as economic information about the country such as 
the volumes of national mineral reserves and the amount of government 
debt owed to foreign creditors. Media outlets generally practiced self-
censorship regarding information on the President and his family to 
avoid possible legal problems.
    The Government continued to intimidate newspapers that reported on 
a several year old scandal involving a foreign investigation into 
possible illicit payments, allegedly from foreign companies to senior 
government officials, including President Nazarbayev. Local media 
outlets, when they did report on the case, informally dubbed it 
``Kazakhgate". On February 8, the Almaty city court closed the 
newspaper Zhuma Times: Data Nedelye for insulting the President's 
dignity and honor. The paper had frequently printed articles on 
Kazakhgate, and was previously fined during an October 2005 closed 
trial for publishing the article ``Kazakhgate: History of One Crime.'' 
The paper resumed publishing under the new names Taszhargan and Aina 
Plyus. In early April the Government fined and suspended for three 
months Aina Plyus without notification of the court hearing. On April 
23 ten unknown assailants brutally beat Aina Plyus journalist 
Kenzhegali Aitbakiyev in an attack the editor said was connected to the 
paper's reporting on Kazakhgate. The chairman of the parliament's 
international affairs committee called on the procurator to bring the 
attackers to justice. In September local police asked Aitbakiyev to 
write up the attack as a routine brawl; he refused, and since then has 
received no communication from the police about the attack.
    Criminal libel suits could be initiated by private parties on 
behalf of the Government, and an individual filing such a suit would be 
able to file a civil suit as well, based upon the same allegations. 
Officials used the law's restrictive libel and defamation provisions to 
constrain media outlets from publishing unflattering information. Both 
the criminal and civil codes contain articles establishing broad libel 
liability. The fact that owners, editors, distributors, publishing 
houses, and journalists were held responsible for the content of 
information conveyed and had the burden of proving its veracity, 
regardless of its source, promoted self-censorship at each level. At 
times fines for libel were exorbitant and in previous years they 
resulted in the bankruptcy of small media outlets.
    On May 31, the chairman of the oblast court in Atyrau initiated a 
criminal case against journalist Lion Guzikov for publishing a 
newspaper article that criticized the court's handling of a murder 
case. On June 24, the Almaty KNB filed a lawsuit against opposition 
journalist Kazis Toguzbayev for insulting the President's honor in a 
May 3 online article alleging a cover-up in the Sarsenbaiuly murder 
investigation. On August 8, the Almaty KNB initiated a second lawsuit 
against Toguzbayev for an April 2 online article critical of the 
President. The trials for both cases were underway at year's end. On 
July 24, an Almaty district court fined the Central Asia Monitor 
5,120,000 tenge ($40,000) for insulting the honor of legislator Yersayl 
Abylkasymov in an December 2005 article. The newspaper sought a reduced 
fine on appeal, but the appellate court upheld the decision on October 
9.
    On July 31, the Government sentenced independent journalist 
Zhasaral Kuanyshalin to two years in prison for ``infringement upon the 
honor and dignity of the President'' under article 318/2 of the 
criminal code. A criminal investigation was launched against 
Kuanyshalin for his public demands to prosecute President Nazarbayev 
for treason. The case against Kuanyshalin was later commuted following 
an amnesty.
    The Government continued to influence most printing and 
distribution facilities and to subsidize periodicals, including many 
that supposedly were independent. Many publishing houses were 
government owned. Some journalists alleged that the KNB or tax police 
threatened publishing houses if they printed opposition media; concern 
over criminal or civil proceedings influenced publishing houses. Public 
access to newspapers critical of the Government was hindered by low 
circulation and limited distribution of these papers; they were dwarfed 
by official or pro-governmental media which reaches most of the 
population.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no formal government restrictions on 
access to the Internet, but independent web media reported that the 
Government monitored e-mail and Internet activity, blocked or slowed 
access to opposition Web sites and materials critical of Nazarbayev or 
members of his family, and planted pro-government propaganda in 
Internet chat rooms. The country's only Internet service providers, 
state-owned Kaztelecom and Nursat, which are privately owned but 
regulated by the state, introduced technical controls such as limiting 
bandwidth and blocking access via proxy servers. Web site content was 
regularly subject to civil and criminal libel suits.
    In 2005 the Agency for Information and Communication (AIC) issued 
regulations, without parliamentary discussion, to control the 
application process for registering .kz domains. The AIC may suspend or 
revoke registration under certain circumstances, including failure to 
locate servers in the country. Observers criticized the registration 
process as unduly restrictive and vulnerable to abuse. The Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Representative on 
Freedom of the Media asked the Government to withdraw these 
regulations. In December 2005 the Government deemed as offensive the 
content of a satirical web site controlled by British comedian Sacha 
Baron Cohen and revoked the .kz domain.
    Estimates of the number of regular Internet users in the country 
range from 100,000 to 600,000 (0.7 percent to 4 percent of the 
population), and these users live almost exclusively in urban areas. 
The Government ordered a reduction in the cost of access several times 
over the course of the year to increase Internet access. The Government 
reported a 50 percent increase in the number of Internet users in the 
first nine months of the year, and credited the rate cuts for the 
increase.
    During the year, the minister of culture and information stressed 
the need to expand public access to the Internet, but on several 
occasions declared the need to impose greater official control over the 
Internet and end libel and lies about government officials.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom, though academics, like journalists, 
could not violate certain restrictions, such as criticizing the 
President and his family.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for limited freedom of assembly; however, 
there were significant restrictions on this right in practice and 
police used force to disrupt peaceful demonstrations. The law defines 
unsanctioned gatherings, public meetings, marches, demonstrations, 
illegal picketing, and strikes that upset social and political 
stability as national security threats.
    On December 22, the President signed legislation repealing the 
April 2005 amendment to the elections law prohibiting any election-
related demonstrations from the period following the end of the voting 
until the Central Election Commission (CEC) publishes the official 
results.
    The February 2005 Extremism Law prohibits ``extremism'' during 
rallies and demonstrations. ``Extremism'' is ill-defined in the 
legislation. Human rights observers were concerned that the law could 
be used to silence critics, stifle opposition, and limit religious 
freedom, though the law was not applied in this manner during the year.
    Under the laws governing public assembly, organizations must apply 
to the local authorities for a permit to hold a demonstration or public 
meeting at least 10 days in advance, or the activity is considered 
illegal. Opposition and human rights monitors complained that 
complicated procedures and the 10 day notification period made it 
difficult for groups to organize public meetings and demonstrations, 
and reported that local authorities turned down most applications for 
demonstrations. Organizers of unsanctioned gatherings, including 
political party gatherings, frequently were detained briefly and fined 
(see section 3). Opposition parties at times chose to hold unsanctioned 
rallies and, as a result, members were arrested, detained, and fined.
    Authorities dispersed several gatherings in honor of slain 
opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly (see section 1.a.). On February 
26, Almaty police attempted to block approximately 4,000 citizens from 
marching to Republic Square to hold a rally in memory of Sarsenbaiuly 
and victims of political repression. After the rally, several 
organizers and participants were detained from 5 to 15 days in the 
local prison, and several received significant fines. Authorities 
arrested and fined participants in similar rallies on February 26 in 
Astana, on March 5 in Kyzlorda, and on April 26 in Almaty.
    On June 6, the Government refused to admit opposition Alga party 
members into the supreme court hearing on Alga's appeal of their 
registration denial. Some Alga members then set up a sound system on 
the steps of the building. Police met with resistance their attempt to 
seize the sound system and in response beat and detained a number of 
Alga supporters, including party head, Asylbek Kozhakhmetov, on charges 
of holding an unauthorized demonstration.
    Opposition activists from the For a Just Kazakhstan movement and 
the Socialist Resistance movement sought permission for a rally from 
the Aktobe city akim on July 12. The authorities did not respond until 
the eve of the planned rally, and then provided only a vague response. 
The organizers were forced to cancel the event.
    On August 20, several hundred residents of Aktau gathered in a 
central square to demand the dismissal of the oblast and city akims, 
alleging corruption and favoritism. Organizers promoted the gathering 
in advance with leaflets appealing to ethnic nationalism and strongly 
criticizing the akims. The police dispersed the rally and arrested 
about 20 protesters. According to news reports, police used batons and 
shields and several protesters were injured in clashes. The following 
day, the oblast akim issued a press release characterizing the event as 
hooliganism instigated by drunken reporters from the Channel 31 news 
service. Most media reports contradicted the press release (see section 
2.a.).
    On November 26, approximately 100 owners of right-hand drive 
vehicles held a rally in Almaty to protest a proposed a ban on their 
vehicles. The police dispersed the protest and arrested and fined the 
leader for holding an unauthorized rally.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for limited freedom of 
association; however, there were significant restrictions on this right 
in practice. Any public organization set up by citizens, including 
religious groups, must be registered with the MOJ, as well as with MOJ 
branches in every region in which the organization conducts activities. 
A public or religious association that acts outside the scope of its 
charter may be warned, fined, suspended, or ultimately banned. 
Participation in unregistered public organizations may result in 
administrative or criminal liability, such as fines, dissolution, 
probation, or imprisonment. The prohibition on unregistered 
organizations often provided a pretext for authorities to interfere 
with the activities of organizations. Membership organizations, 
including religious groups, must have 10 members to register at the 
local level and must have branches in over half of the regions for 
national registration. Political parties and labor unions were 
considered membership organizations but had additional specific 
registration requirements. The law requires parties to have 50,000 
signatures, including 1,000 in each region, and prohibits parties 
established on an ethnic, gender or religious basis (see section 3). 
The law prohibits members of the armed forces, employees of national 
security and law enforcement organizations and judges from 
participating in trade unions or political parties.
    NGOs reported that the registration process was fairly regularized, 
though bureaucratic corruption within the registration process was 
common and added to the cost of registration. Many organizations hired 
lawyers or other consultants to expedite registration through the 
bureaucracy, which increased the registration cost. The official 
registration fee was substantially reduced in December 2005. In 
general, NGOs and civil society activists reported that the frequency 
of government inspections and audits was less than in the previous 
year. However, NGOs involved in human rights advocacy and political 
activities faced greater administrative delays and obstacles (see 
section 4). The Almaty Helsinki Committee and the Kazakhstan 
International Bureau for Human Rights reported that several youth 
political movements faced harassment and registration problems during 
the year.
    The February 2005 extremism law criminalizes membership in certain 
prohibited organizations. At year's end, Islamist political 
organization HT was the only organization banned under this law. 
Several members of HT were convicted on charges including extremism and 
terrorism during the year. Although it maintained that it was committed 
to nonviolence, HT promoted hate and praised acts of terrorism. The 
party's virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Western literature called for 
the overthrow of secular governments, including those in Central Asia, 
to be replaced with a worldwide Islamic government called the 
caliphate.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of religion, and most religious communities worshiped largely 
without government interference. Higher-level officials or courts 
usually intervened to correct occasional attempts by local officials to 
limit the practice of religion by some nontraditional groups. Religious 
leaders praised the role the Government played in ensuring their right 
to the peaceful practice of religious beliefs. Some perceived the 
former chairman of the Secretariat of the Council on Relations with 
Religious Communities, now the deputy head of the newly-organized 
Religious Issues Committee (RIC), and the Ombudsman's Office, as 
advocates for religious freedom within the Government.
    The constitution and law define the country as a secular state. The 
generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed 
to religious freedom. The country is multiethnic, with a long tradition 
of tolerance and secularism. The population, particularly in rural 
areas, is sometimes wary of nontraditional religions. The Government 
invited the leaders of the two largest religions, Islam and Russian 
Orthodoxy, to participate jointly in some state events. Leaders of 
other faiths have at times also participated in some government events. 
In September, President Nazarbayev hosted the second Congress of World 
Religions in Astana, an event which featured the participation of a 
wide variety of religious groups, including nontraditional groups. In 
the run-up to the event, Nazarbayev publicly highlighted and praised 
the country's tradition of interethnic and interfaith tolerance.
    In July 2005 amendments to the religion law restricted legal 
protections of religious freedom. Under the law, religious groups must 
register both with the Government and in the individual regions in 
which they have congregations. Missionaries must register annually and 
be sponsored by a registered religious organization. All supporting 
materials must be provided with the registration applications; use of 
materials not vetted during the registration process is illegal. Only 
registered organizations may act as a legal entity to buy or rent real 
property, hire employees, or engage in other legal transactions.
    Most religious groups, including minority and nontraditional 
denominations, reported that in practice the amendments did not 
materially affect religious activities. However, unregistered religious 
groups reported an increase in court actions against them and an 
increase in the level of fines imposed for nonregistration. Some 
religious groups also criticized the intrusive nature of the 
registration process, which required them to provide information about 
ethnicity, family status, religious education, employment, and 
political affiliation. The RIC frequently intervened to assist with 
registration problems at the local level.
    Members of the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians and 
Baptists reported they were harassed by law enforcement for not being 
registered. The council has a policy of not seeking or accepting 
registration in former Soviet countries for religious reasons and as a 
result of persecution and government harassment suffered during Soviet 
times. Although the Government generally did not enforce court orders 
for congregations affiliated with the council to register or pay fines, 
the level of harassment, fines, and court cases increased. In one 
instance authorities imprisoned a pastor for three days for failure to 
pay a fine. In addition, local representatives of the KNB or police 
officials disrupted meetings in churches and private homes during the 
year. In May a group of 10 Baptist pastors were detained and fined in 
the Almaty oblast for preaching and distributing holy books without 
registration.
    According to media reports, members of the unregistered Tabligh 
Jamaat movement, an Islamic missionary group, also faced detentions and 
fines for conducting religious activities without registration. In 
September the Aktau prosecutor brought administrative charges against 
several Tabligh members for proselytizing in a mosque in the village of 
Kyzyl-Tobe. Five members were each fined 51,500 tenge ($400). In 
October police arrested six members of the group in the city of 
Ekibastuz for delivering a theological lecture at a local mosque. The 
leader of the group was fined 51,500 tenge ($400).
    Although the Spiritual Association of Muslims of Kazakhstan (SAMK), 
a coalition of mosques and clergy, is nominally independent and has no 
official status, there were reports that the Government attempted to 
coerce independent mosques and Muslim clergy to affiliate with the 
group to ensure liturgical orthodoxy. According to press reports, the 
SAMK itself criticized small, nontraditional Muslim groups such as the 
Ahmadis, Bahais, and Sufis, maintaining that their teachings 
contradicted the principles of Islam.
    The national Jehovah's Witnesses Religious Center had generally 
positive relations with the national government, but the group alleged 
several incidents of local government harassment during the year. 
Though Jehovah's Witnesses organizations are registered at the national 
level, in Astana and Almaty, and in thirteen regions, the Jehovah's 
Witnesses Religious Center has attempted unsuccessfully since 2001 to 
register in Atyrau Oblast. The Atyrau regional procurator's office 
maintained that the group has consistently failed to comply with 
registration laws. The group did not submit a registration application 
this year; its most recent application was turned down in December 2005 
based on incomplete registration materials. The center claimed that 
local officials sometimes denied the group permits to rent stadiums and 
other large public or private sites for religious meetings. However, 
the center also reported that government treatment of these requests 
varied. No other religious groups reported such instances of being 
denied permits for public gatherings.
    The Karasai regional government near Almaty continued a campaign to 
seize title to land used by the Hare Krishna movement. In April an 
appeals court upheld a lower court decision that the land should revert 
to the Karasai regional government because the farmer from whom Hare 
Krishna followers had purchased the land in 1999 did not hold title, 
and thus the land had not been properly privatized. On April 25, local 
officials went to the commune to evict the followers. Hare Krishna 
followers peacefully resisted and local authorities did not use force. 
The Hare Krishnas appealed to the supreme court. On August 24, the 
supreme court denied the Hare Krishna's appeal without elaboration on 
lower court rulings.
    Following the denial, the RIC formed a special commission to 
resolve the issue and promised that no further action would be taken 
against the commune until the commission completed its work. The 
commission was described by some participants as disorganized and 
subjective; Hare Krishna leaders alleged it was created merely to 
deflect criticism of the Government on the eve of the Congress of World 
Religions, which took place in the country in September. On November 
21, with little notice to residents, Karasai district officials arrived 
at the commune with court orders, bulldozers, trucks, and riot police. 
Authorities blocked access to the commune, cut electricity, and 
demolished multiple homes, destroying possessions and leaving 
homeowners without shelter or compensation. The police beat several 
Hare Krishnas and arrested at least one resident who protested the 
action. The police attempted to bar observers from the process. The 
demolitions occurred without the knowledge of the RIC and before the 
special commission released its results. On December 22 the commission 
released its decision; however, the commission took no steps towards 
resolving the situation by year's end. Government officials stated in 
public comments following the decision that the Hare Krishnas were in 
violation of various land-use laws and they were not victims of 
religious discrimination. Although observers believed the Karasai 
district government's actions were motivated primarily by a financial 
interest in the land, the Hare Krishnas claimed the local government 
targeted them because they are a nontraditional religious community. 
Local officials criticized the Hare Krishnas as an illegitimate and 
threatening religious group; in an April 25 television interview a 
Karasai akimat official stated that the Hare Krishnas were dangerous 
for the country and ``not accepted as a religion.''
    On October 23, the Ust-Kamenogorsk city administrative court 
convicted a foreign citizen of violating the terms of his business visa 
for giving a lecture at a legally registered protestant church. The 
foreign citizen was an administrator at a local university and had 
attended the church for many years. The court imposed a 41,200 tenge 
($322) fine, and ordered his deportation. On November 14, the appeals 
court upheld the fine but eliminated the deportation penalty, 
contingent on the defendant leaving the country voluntarily.
    Observers believed that security officials informally monitored 
some religious activity, particularly Muslim imams' sermons; however 
there were no reports that any monitoring manifested in interference or 
harassment.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Jewish community, 
estimated at below 1 percent of the population, has synagogues in 
several larger cities, including Almaty, Astana, and Pavlodar. There 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts apart from the distribution of 
anti-Semitic literature by banned extremist Islamist political 
organization HT. The country's chief rabbi consistently praised the 
Government for its proactive protection of the Jewish community.
    The Government made efforts to promote religious tolerance in its 
ranks. The MVD provides seminars to its police officers on sensitivity 
to religious minorities. Human rights training provided to law 
enforcement officers by NGOs in cooperation with the Government 
included information on religious rights under the law.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, but 
there were some regulatory restrictions. Citizens and foreigners in the 
country for more than five days were required to register with the 
migration police. Foreigners entering the country may register at 
certain border posts. Registration in most of the country generally was 
routine; nonetheless, some foreign citizens reported that local 
authorities regularly requested bribes before completing registration. 
Persons who were suspects in criminal investigations were often 
required to sign statements that they would not leave their place of 
residence. Individuals were detained routinely for identity checks 
without suspicion of a criminal offense (see section 1.d.).
    Although the Government did not require exit visas for temporary 
travel of citizens, certain instances in which exit from the country 
could be denied remained, including for travelers subject to pending 
criminal or civil legal proceedings, unserved prison sentences, or 
compulsory military duty. Travelers who presented false documentation 
during the exit process could be denied exit, and travel by active-duty 
military was controlled. The law on national security requires that 
persons who had access to state secrets obtain permission from their 
employing government agency for temporary exit from the country.
    Courts interpreted and the MVD enforced parole and travel 
restrictions in a manner that interfered with the activities of 
opposition leaders. Opposition leader Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, who was 
released from prison on January 14, (see section 1.e.) was barred from 
boarding a plane on April 24 to fly to Brussels and address the 
European Parliament. The terms of his parole did not require him to 
obtain permission to travel, but the MVD, working with the Pavlodar 
Oblast Court, retroactively imposed such a condition to justify their 
action. On May 3, the MVD denied Zhakiyanov's request to travel from 
Almaty to Astana to participate in a May 6 roundtable with a prominent 
foreign official, and on May 26 denied his request to travel to Moscow. 
However, the Government permitted Zhakiyanov to travel internally for 
nonpolitical purposes. Deputy chair of the opposition party True Ak 
Zhol, Bulat Abilov, was also barred from traveling to Brussels on April 
24. Police summoned him to Karaganda on April 23 concerning a July 2005 
criminal allegation, and ordered him not to leave the country pending a 
future court date (see section 3).
    The law prohibits forced exile and the Government did not employ 
it.
    The law provides for the right to emigrate and the right to 
repatriate, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. An exception is the law on national security, which prohibits 
persons who had access to state secrets from taking up permanent 
residence abroad for five years after leaving government service. A 
permanent exit visa was required for emigration; obtaining this visa 
required criminal checks, credit checks, and letters from any 
dependents expressing no objection to exit visa issuance.
    Foreigners were required to obtain prior permission to travel to 
some border areas with China and cities in close proximity to military 
installations. The Government continued to declare certain areas closed 
to foreigners due to their proximity to military bases and the space 
launch center at Baikonur. In practice foreigners could visit these 
areas with prior permission from the MVD.
    It was government policy to encourage and assist all ethnic Kazakhs 
living outside the country to return. The Government accorded special 
immigration treatment to ethnic Kazakhs and their families who fled 
during Stalin's era and wished to return. These returnees were in 
principle entitled to citizenship and many other privileges. Other 
persons, including ethnic Kazakhs who were not considered refugees from 
the Stalin era, had to apply for permission to return. Each region had 
a quota for returnees; apart from Almaty and the southern regions 
bordering Uzbekistan, these quotas went unfilled.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The absence of legislation to fully implement the convention 
allowed for the selective treatment of refugees, and left many aspects 
of refugee status unclear, such as whether refugees have a right to 
work. In practice the Government usually provided some protection 
against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution. In contrast to 2005, no refugees were forcibly 
returned to Uzbekistan during the year.
    The Government generally registered asylum seekers and determined 
their status, in consultation with the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) with the exceptions of citizens from the 
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries or China as 
described below. Only the President can grant political asylum, and he 
did not do so during the year. In some cases, asylum seekers and 
refugees were allowed to stay in the country while the UNHCR found 
third countries that would accept them. Although the Government did 
register refugees already present in the country, it did not accept any 
refugees for resettlement. The Government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals, including some Afghan refugees who may not 
qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
    In practice the Government does not grant refugee or asylum status 
to citizens of CIS countries or China. The Government maintains that 
citizens of CIS countries cannot by definition need refugee status 
because of the freedom of movement provided by the visa-free regime in 
the CIS. CIS citizens are processed under migration laws which give 
them some renewable temporary status in the country, though not the 
full protection of refugee status. Citizens from China are not granted 
any legal status, but are tolerated informally. Activists reported 
that, in practice, many refugees from CIS countries and China did not 
seek formal status. Those who sought protection from UNHCR generally 
had access to such processes, and the Government generally respected 
UNHCR refugee certificates.
    During the year, the UNHCR reported increased levels of government 
cooperation in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The Government 
usually allowed the UNHCR access to detained foreigners to determine if 
they qualified for refugee status. The Government was generally 
tolerant in its treatment of local refugee populations, except for a 
few citizens from former Soviet republics. The Government often did not 
allow refugees without passports or those who had entered the country 
illegally to register, though the UNHCR intervened on behalf of UNHCR 
mandate asylum seekers.
    The Agency for Migration was incorporated into the Ministry of 
Labour and Social Protection and renamed the Committee on Migration. It 
continued to work with the UNHCR and a local NGO, Kazakhstan Refugee 
Legal Support, in reviewing refugee claims. Consistent with the Minsk 
Convention on Migration within the CIS, the Government did not 
recognize Chechens as refugees. The Government, in cooperation with the 
UNHCR and Chechen organizations, did grant indefinite but temporary 
legal resident status to Chechens until they could return home to safe 
conditions. Even though there was a temporary registration procedure 
for Chechens, reports persisted that Chechens did not have the same 
access to registration as others, and often resorted to paying bribes 
to local officials to obtain registration.
    On June 24, the KNB detained Uzbek refugee Gabdurafikh Temirbayev 
in response to an extradition request from the Government of 
Uzbekistan. On August 15, the Government released Temirbayev into UNHCR 
custody. The UNHCR feared that his life would have been endangered upon 
return to Uzbekistan, and praised the Government for its handling of 
the case.
    The Government had an agreement with China not to tolerate the 
presence of ethnic separatists from one country on the territory of the 
other. Human rights monitors remained concerned with the impact of this 
agreement on Uighurs from China living in the country, and there were 
reports of Uighurs forcibly returned to China during the year, though 
none with a UNHCR refugee certificate. In July, the Government detained 
Arkin Yarmamat Sabirov, an ethnic Uighur and Chinese citizen, on 
unspecified charges. His wife requested asylum on his behalf, but 
neither his family nor the UNHCR was granted access to him during his 
detention. On October 23, an Almaty court acquitted him and he was 
released. He disappeared immediately after his release, and UNHCR 
officials feared he may have been deported to China.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide for a democratic government with 
universal suffrage for those over 18 years of age; in practice the 
Government severely limited the right of citizens to change their 
government.
    The constitution concentrates power in the presidency, granting the 
President considerable control over the legislature, judiciary, and 
local government. The President appoints and dismisses most high-level 
government officials, including the Prime Minister, the cabinet, the 
procurator general, the KNB chief, supreme court and lower-level 
judges, and the chairman and members of the CEC, who oversee 
Presidential and parliamentary elections. The parliament has never 
failed to confirm a Presidential nomination. Modifying or amending the 
constitution effectively requires the President's consent.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In December 2005 the 
country held its Presidential election. The OSCE reported that despite 
some improvements in the administration of this election in the pre-
election period, the December 2005 Presidential election did not meet a 
number of OSCE commitments and other international standards for 
democratic elections. The opposition also claimed that the Presidential 
election was marred by numerous violations.
    The OSCE assessment noted several areas of improvement over the 
conduct of the previous Presidential election, including that multiple 
candidates were allowed to participate in the election, the CEC acted 
with increased transparency and corrected voting-process deficiencies 
noted in prior elections, state media outlets generally met their legal 
obligations to provide free airtime to candidates, and the CEC 
responded to opposition and independent candidate complaints of denial 
of media access. Most lower-level election commission members were 
adequately trained and equipped to conduct voting; however, opposition 
parties were underrepresented in the makeup of these commissions. The 
CEC strengthened cooperation with the OSCE and accredited a large 
number of foreign observers.
    The OSCE noted that none of the OSCE recommendations regarding the 
legislative framework were implemented. The OSCE reported undue 
involvement of the authorities in the election campaign, serious 
limitations on political speech that prohibited certain criticism of 
the President, unequal access to the media for opposition and 
independent candidates, government refusal to grant the majority of 
opposition assembly permit requests, restrictions on holding outdoor 
meetings, inadequate venues, insufficient access to advertising space 
for opposition and independent candidates, and an overall atmosphere of 
intimidation. There were frequent reports of opposition campaign events 
being disrupted by organized protests that at times reportedly 
escalated to violence; opposition campaign staff were harassed, beaten 
and detained; opposition members were detained for unsanctioned 
assemblies. Domestic, international and foreign NGOs were also subject 
to stricter governmental scrutiny during the election period. The OSCE 
assessment noted apparent improvements to the e-voting system since its 
2004 introduction, but criticized the lack of a mechanism to verify or 
to audit election results.
    Of the more than 1,000 cases of alleged violations submitted to the 
courts, a handful were upheld. The authorities censured more than 50 
officials, mostly local administrators and members of precinct election 
commissions. Overall the Government refuted many alleged electoral 
violations and failed to investigate them fully.
    Several legal changes in 2005 limited the ability of opponents to 
campaign freely against incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev. Amendments 
prohibited election-related demonstrations and rallies during the 
period following voting until the CEC publishes the official election 
results (see section 2.b.), although on December 22 the Government 
repealed this prohibition. The amendments also restrict political 
blocs, which are required to have a coordinating council and written 
agreement between parties. July 2005 amendments to the political 
parties law require a founding congress with minimum attendance of 
1,000 delegates from two-thirds of the oblasts and the cities of Astana 
and Almaty. Additionally, parties must obtain 50,000 verified 
signatures with at least 700 members from each oblast and the cities of 
Astana and Almaty; registration from the CEC; and registration from 
each oblast-level election commission for final registration. The 
amendments also prohibit political party names that resemble the names 
of liquidated political parties. After the Presidential election, the 
OSCE issued a final report recommending multiple legislative changes to 
improve the legal framework for elections. By the end of the year, the 
Government had adopted only one--the repeal of the prohibition on 
election-related demonstrations during the period following voting.
    In June the President issued a decree establishing a trial election 
of 30 percent of district and city akims (county executives and mayors) 
for four-year terms. According to the rules developed by the CEC, 
regional akims (governors), who are appointed by the President, had the 
sole authority to nominate candidates for county executive and mayoral 
positions. Regional governors were required to nominate at least two 
candidates for each position. Directly elected local-level legislatures 
(maslikhats) had the sole authority to vote on the nominees.
    On October 20, the Government conducted the trial elections. The 
maslikhats chose 49 county executives and 10 mayors (representing 
roughly 30 percent of the country's regions). In some cases, the 
President's Otan Party recommended candidates to the regional 
governors, and the majority of candidates in the election were Otan 
Party members. Campaigning occurred, but was focused on influencing 
maslikhat members and not widely publicized. The CEC and observers 
reported that the elections were conducted without major procedural 
violations. Democracy activists and opposition leaders widely 
criticized the closed nature of the process, and did not consider the 
event an election.
    President Nazarbayev's Otan Party dominated political life, and 
beginning in October there was only one opposition member in 
parliament. Individuals and registered parties could declare their 
candidacy and stand for election if they met certain criteria. 
Candidates for presidency, for example, were required to provide 
financial statements, submit to a Kazakh language test, and provide a 
petition with 85,000 signatures. Independent candidates could run for 
office. Political parties must register members' personal information, 
including date and place of birth, address, and place of employment. 
This requirement discouraged many citizens from joining political 
parties. There were credible allegations that persons entering 
government service were pressured to join the pro-Presidential Otan 
party.
    At year's end there were nine registered political parties, 
including opposition parties Ak Zhol, True Ak Zhol, and the Communist 
Party of Kazakhstan. At year's end Alga, Atameken, and National Social 
Democratic Party's registrations were all pending. On March 17, the MOJ 
registered True Ak Zhol after one of its co-chairmen, Sarsenbaiuly, was 
murdered. The MOJ continued to deny attempts to register opposition 
party Alga. In September, despite extensive but unsuccessful 
litigation, the party reinitiated the registration process; Alga was 
still not registered at year's end. On December 22, in a series of 
moves to consolidate pro-Presidential parties, the Asar, Civic, and 
Agrarian parties merged with Otan, the President's party. The name of 
the party was changed to Nur Otan.
    The Government restricted the functioning of the political 
opposition by enforcing onerous registration requirements, hindering or 
denying party registration, charging critics with libel (see section 
2.a.), enforcing burdensome assembly permit requirements and refusing 
to grant assembly permits, dispersing opposition rallies (see section 
2.b.), arresting opposition leaders on politically motivated charges, 
and preventing opposition leaders from traveling (see section 2.d.).
    The law prohibits parties established on an ethnic, gender, or 
religious basis (see section 3). Acceptance of an illegal donation is 
penalized by a fine, administrative arrest for up to 15 days, and 
prohibition of political party activities. Political parties may also 
be fined or suspended if they fail to register or re-register or file 
an annual financial disclosure statement.
    On July 24, the Temirtau City Court convicted True Ak Zhol co-
chairman Bulat Abilov of attacking a police lieutenant and insulting a 
government official while campaigning on behalf of opposition candidate 
Zharmakhan Tuyakbay during the 2005 Presidential election. Abilov and 
his supporters claimed the charges were politically motivated. The 
court issued a three-year suspended sentence and two years of 
probation, and the conviction prevented him from registering as a 
candidate in future elections. In a separate case, he was charged with 
fraud and tax evasion in connection with earlier business activities 
and was not permitted to leave the country during the investigations. 
The trial was underway at year's end.
    There were 2 women in the 39-seat senate and 8 women in the 77 
member lower house of parliament. There were four women in the cabinet. 
Traditional attitudes sometimes hindered women from holding high office 
or playing active roles in political life (see section 5), although 
there were no legal restrictions on the participation of women and 
minorities in politics. There were 7 non-Kazakhs in the senate, and 14 
in the lower house of parliament. There were three non Kazakh cabinet 
members.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption remained a 
serious problem, including in the executive branch, various law 
enforcement agencies, local government administrations, the education 
system, and the judiciary. The MVD, financial police, KNB, and 
Disciplinary State Service Commission are responsible for combating 
corruption. Opposition leaders accused the Government of rampant 
corruption.
    The Government took some measures to address it and increased its 
attention to the problem through educational and public awareness 
efforts. An April 2005 anticorruption decree restructured disciplinary 
councils in all provinces, instructing them to become more accountable 
and transparent and to reduce government interference in business 
activities. The financial police and KNB conduct most corruption 
investigations under the supervision of the procurator general's 
office.
    Lower- and middle-ranking officials and minor political figures 
were penalized on corruption charges. There were no prosecutions of 
high-ranking officials for corruption.
    The law mandates the Government, public associations, officials, 
and media outlets to provide citizens with information that affects 
their rights and interests; in practice citizens' requests for 
information were not fulfilled in a timely manner.
    Although parliament published several draft laws, some 
parliamentary debates, and occasionally, its voting record, many 
parliamentary activities remained outside public view. Accredited 
journalists and representatives of public associations may observe some 
parliamentary sessions via video link from a separate room. Transcripts 
of parliamentary sessions are not available to the public. During the 
year parliamentary discussion of controversial pieces of legislation 
was closed to the public and the media.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated effectively, with relative freedom to investigate 
and publish their findings on human rights cases; however, the 
Government restricted certain activities of most domestic and 
international human rights NGOs. International human rights groups 
reported that the Government continued to monitor the work of NGOs that 
worked on sensitive issues and noted harassment including police 
visits, arbitrary tax investigations, and surveillance of NGOs' offices 
and personnel.
    The Kazakhstani International Bureau for Human Rights (KIBHR), the 
Almaty Helsinki Commission, the Republican Network of Independent 
Monitors, the Confederation of NGOs, Penal Reform International, and 
Adil Soz were among the most active local human rights NGOs. Less than 
10 percent of NGOs are engaged in civil liberties, human rights, and 
minority protection issues; these organizations are subject to the most 
stringent government control such as difficulties in registration and 
acquiring office space and technical facilities, periodic tax and 
financial audits, and legal constraints. Employees of local NGOs often 
were subjected to government harassment and intimidation.
    NGOs reported a decrease in government investigations and 
harassment compared to the level experienced in 2005, a Presidential 
election year, when the Government used tax, immigration and other 
administrative investigations to question international and local NGOs 
concerning their activities. NGOs perceived these actions as an attempt 
to intimidate and to restrict their activities.
    On July 25, the President signed a decree ``On the concept of civil 
society development in Kazakhstan for 2006-2011,'' which outlined the 
Government's vision for civil society development in the country. The 
document received mixed reviews among the NGO community, and did not 
have a tangible impact on civil society development during the year.
    In general the Government did not prevent international NGOs and 
multilateral institutions dealing with human rights from visiting the 
country and meeting with local human rights groups as well as with 
government officials. The Government cooperated with the OSCE and its 
field mission. The United Nations, International Organization for 
Migration, and International Red Crescent Society also operated freely 
in the country.
    National security laws, including July 2005 National Security 
Amendments, prohibit foreigners, international organizations, NGOs, and 
other nonprofit organizations from engaging in political activities, 
such as advocating for or against parties or candidates or attempting 
to influence elections. The July 2005 National Security Amendments 
stipulate that a noncommercial organization (NCO) must provide 
information to the tax authorities on its founders, activities, and 
foreign sources of funding, as well as income, property, expenses, and 
employee records. International organizations are prohibited from 
funding unregistered entities. Observers criticized the legal 
provisions as being vague.
    The procuracy general suspended nonpartisan political party 
building activities conducted by foreign NGOs on the basis of 
constitutional provisions. NGOs active in nonpolitical spheres, such as 
those supporting women and children or protecting the environment, were 
generally welcomed by the Government.
    The Presidential Commission on Human Rights is a 22-member 
consultative and advisory body that includes members from the public. 
Members are appointed by the President. The commission reviews and 
investigates complaints, issues recommendations, monitors fulfillment 
of international human rights conventions, and publishes annual human 
rights reports. The commission does not have legal authority to remedy 
human rights violations or implement its recommendations. In May 2005, 
the commission issued a report analyzing 1,500 complaints of human 
rights violations and containing recommendations for state agencies. 
The bulk of the complaints concerned court judgments, law enforcement 
actions, and violation of citizens' rights during inspections and 
investigations.
    The Presidentially appointed human rights ombudsman investigates 
complaints by citizens of violations of their rights by state agencies, 
though the ombudsman is not authorized to investigate complaints 
concerning the President, heads of government agencies, parliament, the 
cabinet, constitutional council, procurator general, CEC, or courts. 
The ombudsman's office has the authority to appeal to the President, 
cabinet, or parliament to resolve citizens' complaints, to cooperate 
with international human rights organizations and NGOs, to meet with 
government officials concerning human rights violations, to access 
certain facilities such as military units and prisons, and to publicize 
results of investigations in the media. The ombudsman also publishes an 
annual human rights report. During the year the ombudsman regularly 
briefed the press and issued regular reports discussing complaints 
investigated. The ombudsman received 2,613 complaints during the year, 
and reported a restoration of rights in 162 cases. Many of the 
complaints concerned court rulings over which the ombudsman had no 
jurisdiction. Some human rights NGOs credited the ombudsman for serving 
as a valuable voice on behalf of human rights within the Government 
while others believed that the ombudsman was influenced by the 
Government and did not vigorously pursue investigations.
    Domestic human rights observers noted that while government human 
rights investigators did some creditable work, the ombudsman's office 
and the human rights commission were limited in their ability to stop 
human rights abuses or punish perpetrators. Several human rights 
defenders criticized the proliferation of government commissions that 
nominally address human rights issues, none of which has independent 
authority to initiate criminal prosecutions of human rights abuses or 
corruption. On July 25, the constitutional council rejected draft 
amendments that would have allowed the ombudsman to intervene in court 
cases involving human rights.
    On March 20, the President signed a decree establishing the State 
Commission on Drafting and Elaborating the Democratic Reform Program 
(Democratization Commission) for the purpose of conducting a national 
dialogue on reforming the political system and deepening democratic 
transformation. The commission was chaired by the President and 
includes high-level government officials, legislators, and 
representatives of political parties and public associations. 
Representatives from opposition parties were invited to participate, 
but many declined, citing concerns about the structure and true purpose 
of the commission. During the year, the commission analyzed and debated 
a number of proposals and served as the Government's primary vehicle 
for discussing democratic reform in the country. Human rights activists 
and opposition leaders criticized the top-down, government-controlled 
nature of the dialogue and decision-making process, and lack of 
concrete changes resulting from the commission's work.
Section 5. 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 
this effectively. Violence against women, trafficking in persons, and 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, homosexuals, and non-
ethnic Kazakhs in government were problems.

    Women.--Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a 
problem. There is no specific domestic violence law, but it can be 
addressed under assault and battery provisions of the criminal code. 
The maximum sentence for spousal assault and battery is 10 years in 
prison, the same as for any beating.
    Police reviewed over 10,000 domestic violence complaints and opened 
1,157 criminal investigations during the first nine months of the year. 
An additional 4,700 of the complaints resulted in administrative 
punishment, including fines. NGOs reported that the actual number of 
domestic abuse crimes far exceeded the number of cases reported to 
police.
    Law enforcement officials' reluctance to investigate domestic 
violence was a problem; police declined to investigate one-third of 
domestic violence complaints, considering them to be family matters. 
Police intervened only when they believed that the abuse was life 
threatening. According to estimates offered by NGOs, the police 
investigated only 10 percent of domestic violence complaints.
    NGOs reported that women often withdrew their complaints as a 
result of economic insecurity. When victims did decide to press charges 
for domestic violence or spousal rape, police sometimes tried to 
persuade them not to pursue a case. When domestic violence cases came 
to trial, the charge was most often for light battery, for which 
domestic abusers were sentenced to incarceration at a minimum security 
labor colony and a minimum of 120 to 180 hours of work. Sentences for 
more serious cases of battery, including spousal battery, ranged from 
three months to three years imprisonment; the maximum sentence for 
aggravated battery was 10 years' imprisonment.
    The punishment for rape, including spousal rape, ranges from three 
to 15 years' imprisonment. The Government reported it opened 892 
criminal rape cases during the first seven months of the year, a 7 
percent increase over the same time period last year. The 
investigations resulted in approximately 400 prosecutions. NGOs 
credited the increase in investigations to a growing awareness of legal 
rights among women. Under the law, procurators cannot initiate a rape 
case, absent aggravating circumstances such as gang rape, unless the 
victim files a complaint. Once a complaint is filed, the criminal 
investigation cannot be dismissed if the rape victim recants or refuses 
to cooperate further with the investigation. This provision is intended 
to protect victims from coercion. There were anecdotal reports of 
police and judicial reluctance to act on rape and spousal rape cases.
    According to the Union of Crisis Centers of Kazakhstan, there are 
22 crisis centers in the country providing assistance to women, as well 
as a number of smaller NGOs that provide some assistance. Four of the 
crisis centers also provide shelter for victims of violence; the 
Government funded two additional shelters.
    Prostitution is not prohibited by law, although forced 
prostitution, prostitution connected to organized crime, and acts 
facilitating prostitution, such as operating a brothel or prostitution 
ring, are illegal. During the first nine months of the year the 
Government reported 241 criminal cases for prostitution-related crimes. 
Prostitution was a serious problem. NGOs reported that criminal 
prostitution rings often included local law enforcement officials.
    Trafficking in women remained a problem (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment remained a problem. The law prohibits only some 
forms of sexual harassment, and legal and gender experts regarded the 
legislation as inadequate to address the problem. There were reports of 
incidents of harassment, but in no instance was the victim protected 
under the law nor were there reports of any cases prosecuted.
    The constitution and law guarantee equal rights and freedoms for 
men and women. During the year, however, the Government's Human Rights 
Ombudsman and the Presidential Human Rights Commission publicly drew 
attention to the problem of discrimination against women. According to 
the Ombudsman's office, women in rural areas face greater 
discrimination than women in urban areas, and suffer from a greater 
incidence of domestic violence, limited education and employment 
opportunities, limited access to information, and discrimination in 
their land and property rights. The Presidential Human Rights 
Commission echoed these concerns, and reported a decline in the quality 
of employment opportunities for women.
    According to government statistics for 2005, women's salaries 
averaged 61.1 percent those of men, and women's average salaries in 
2005 were 147.7 percent greater than women's average salaries in 2003. 
Women had unrestricted access to higher education.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights, 
though budget limitations and other priorities severely limited the 
Government's effectiveness in dealing with child welfare. In January 
the Government established a Committee on Protection of Children's 
Rights within the Ministry of Education and Science.
    Education is mandatory through age 16, or the ninth grade; 
elementary schooling generally begins at age 6. Primary and secondary 
education were both free and universal. The law provides for equal 
access to education by both boys and girls. According to Ministry of 
Education figures, enrollment for the year was estimated at over 98 
percent of school-aged children. The law provides for access to public 
education for refugee and illegal migrant children. In some cases, 
these children were denied access to schools or their parents did not 
attempt to enroll them out of fear of discovery and deportation.
    The law provides for medical care to be provided for all children, 
irrespective of gender, and care was provided in practice.
    There were reports of child abuse, although there was no societal 
pattern of such abuse. During the year, the MVD permanently terminated 
custody rights of abusive parents in 1137 cases. Minors aged 16 and 
older have the right to file petitions related to their interests 
directly with a court.
    In the first five months of the year, the procurator general's 
office issued 218 warnings, filed five lawsuits, and initiated three 
criminal investigations concerning violations of children's rights in 
orphanages, boarding schools, and detention facilities for delinquent 
children. NGOs reported that a growing number of children in these 
facilities were victims of violence.
    Trafficking in girls was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor, prostitution and pornography were problems (see 
section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons, 
but it remained a problem. There was no evidence of a pattern of 
official complicity in trafficking, although corruption among law 
enforcement officials was widespread.
    On March 2, the Government enacted a comprehensive set of 
legislative amendments to strengthen its ability to investigate, 
prosecute, and convict traffickers. These amendments also include 
provisions to increase the amount of resources devoted to victim 
protection and prevention. The new amendments were preceded by the 
adoption of a National Action Plan for 2006-2008 and represented 
coordination between the MOJ, and the Ministries of Internal Affairs 
(MIA), Foreign Affairs (MFA), Labor and Social Welfare, Education and 
Science, Culture, Information and Sports; the KNB; the National 
Commission on Family and Women; and the Procurator General, all of 
which have some responsibility for combating trafficking. The 
Government also worked closely with international organizations and 
local NGOs to develop the legislation. Trafficking is now punishable by 
a maximum seven-year prison term. If a minor is involved, the maximum 
penalty increases to 10 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty 
increases to 10 years imprisonment if a victim was trafficked abroad 
and to 12 years if the victim was a minor. The maximum penalty is 15 
years imprisonment for cases involving an organized crime syndicate, 
the death of a victim, or other ``grave consequences'' incurred by the 
victim.
    The country was a source, transit, and destination country for 
victims of trafficking. Internal trafficking was also a problem. No 
reliable statistics were available on the number of victims each year, 
but NGOs estimated there were several thousand. Many NGOs reported a 
continued increase in identification of victims, which may be 
attributed to greater awareness of the problem. The International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that thousands of citizens 
were trafficked per year, with an increase in the number of foreigners 
trafficked into the country for labor exploitation. Individuals were 
trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Israel, South 
Korea, Greece, Russia, and Western Europe. They were trafficked from 
the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and South Asia.
    Traffickers targeted young women in their teens and 20s for sexual 
exploitation. According to the IOM, most women were recruited with 
promises of good jobs or marriage abroad. Travel, employment, and 
marriage agencies often recruited victims through advertisements 
promising lucrative jobs abroad. Offers to participate in international 
beauty contests also were used. Previously trafficked women reportedly 
recruited new victims personally. Many trafficking victims appeared to 
be aware or at least to suspect that they were going to work as 
prostitutes, but did not expect to work in slave-like conditions. Most 
trafficked persons traveled to their destinations on forged passports 
obtained abroad, most often from Russia or the Kyrgyz Republic.
    Adolescents raised in orphanages, regardless of gender, and 
residents of rural and economically disadvantaged areas were 
particularly vulnerable to being trafficked.
    Men and women were trafficked to the country for labor 
exploitation; children were trafficked for agricultural work. According 
to IOM, the number of men trafficked into the country for forced labor 
increased during the year. Officials often did not distinguish between 
illegal labor migrants and victims of trafficking. There were credible 
reports of organized criminal trafficking rings bringing construction 
laborers to Astana and other cities. Employers and trafficking 
accomplices usually held trafficked workers' passports during their 
stay in the country. Victims reported traffickers used debt bondage, 
violence, or threats of violence to compel them to work.
    NGOs suspected organized crime was probably involved in all forms 
of trafficking.
    Despite stronger legislation enacted during the year, some NGOs 
remained critical of the level of prosecutions for trafficking crimes. 
Prosecutions for trafficking were rare.
    The MOJ reported that 18 criminal investigations related to 
trafficking in persons were initiated during the first eight months of 
the year, though only five were prosecuted. In 2005 the Government 
investigated 29 cases; of these, courts prosecuted by cases and 
convicted 13 traffickers. However, convicted traffickers regularly 
receive suspended sentences and do not serve any prison time. Several 
arrests and investigations were reported in the press.
    The Government sought cooperation with authorities in both 
destination countries where its citizens were trafficked and in source 
countries of victims brought into the country. Embassies abroad 
assisted victims of trafficking; in 2005 the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MFA) assisted in the repatriation of 22 citizens, down from 36 
in 2004.
    There was no evidence of a pattern of official complicity with 
trafficking, although corruption of law enforcement officials, 
including migration and border officials, was widespread and 
contributed to trafficking.
    In February the Government passed legislation to provide 
trafficking victims with temporary resident status to ensure their safe 
repatriation or participation in trafficking prosecutions. Trafficking 
victims were no longer considered illegal immigrants under the law and 
were not deported or otherwise penalized as such. NGOs working with 
foreign trafficking victims reported government cooperation in 
providing administrative support for repatriation of identified 
trafficking victims.
    The Government increased its efforts to provide victim protection 
and assistance, though significant gaps remained in the level of 
assistance needed by victims. NGOs ran crisis support centers that 
provided legal and material assistance and counseling, under memoranda 
of understanding with the Government. In some cases the Government 
provided NGOs with reduced rate leases and other support. In general, 
NGOs reported good cooperation with government officials in 
coordinating assistance for trafficking victims.
    The IOM, in conjunction with 19 NGOs across the country, continued 
an information campaign on the dangers of trafficking and maintained 
victim hot lines. The MOJ maintained separate national hotlines for 
trafficking victims to report crimes and to receive information. The 
Government provided special training for law enforcement and other 
government officials to improve their abilities to recognize, 
investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking. The MVD continued 
enrolling migration police in a comprehensive antitrafficking training 
program at the Study Center for Specialists on Combating Illegal 
Migration and Human Trafficking established in August 2005.
    The procurator general's office enforced mandatory licensing for 
tourist agencies and conducted inspections throughout the year to 
uncover agencies involved in trafficking.
    During the year the Government encouraged media to publish and 
report on antitrafficking efforts. The Government continued airing a 
series of public service announcements (PSAs) provided by international 
organizations in both Russian and Kazakh. Public and private media were 
required to air these PSAs.
    The education ministry reported that curriculum of all high schools 
and colleges included trafficking awareness segments. According to the 
Ministry of Education, most universities had information and analysis 
centers that dealt with trafficking awareness issues, among other 
topics. As part of the new National Action Plan, a chapter on 
trafficking in persons was introduced into the university law 
curricula.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
healthcare, and in the provision of other state services. However, 
there were reports that discrimination was a problem. The law mandates 
access to buildings for persons with disabilities, although the 
Government did not enforce it. In September the Government enacted new 
legislation allowing inspectors to check buildings for their compliance 
with disability access laws and impose significant fines for 
noncompliance; the law takes effect in 2007.
    Mentally handicapped citizens could be committed to state-run 
institutions without their consent or judicial review. In practice, 
however, persons were generally committed at a young age by their 
families. Institutions were poorly managed and inadequately funded. 
Orphanages for children with physical and mental disabilities were 
reported to be overcrowded and unsanitary, with insufficient staff to 
adequately care for children's needs. KIBHR observed that the 
Government provided almost no care for persons with mental disabilities 
due to a lack of funds.
    The Government did not restrict the right of persons with 
disabilities to vote, and arranged home voting for individuals who 
could not travel to polling places as a result of their disability. The 
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is the primary government 
agency responsible for protecting the rights of people with 
disabilities; the Ministries of Health and Education also assist in 
their protection.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government continued to 
discriminate in favor of ethnic Kazakhs in senior government employment 
(see section 3).
    Kazakh is the official state language, although organizations and 
bodies of local self-administration may officially use Russian on an 
equal basis with Kazakh. Most ethnic Russians believed that Russian 
should be designated as a second state language. The language law was 
intended to strengthen the use of Kazakh without infringing on the 
rights of citizens to use other languages. In reality the Government 
had insufficient funding available to make Kazakh language education 
universal.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although there were no 
press reports or official statistics on sexual orientation 
discrimination, there were reports of such discrimination. 
Representatives of international organizations reported social 
attitudes towards marginalized groups, including homosexuals, impeded 
these groups' willingness to come forward and, consequently, hindered 
their access to HIV/AIDS programs. The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with HIV and AIDS; however, observers report that 
cultural stigmas against drug users and other at-risk groups continue 
to affect general access to information, services, treatment, and care.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to 
organize and form unions freely. In practice the Government restricted 
the exercise of this right, with the result that most workers were not 
able to join or form trade unions of their choice. The Government 
exercised considerable influence over organized labor and favored 
state-affiliated unions over independent unions. The largest trade 
union association, the Federation of Trade Unions, successor to 
formerly state-sponsored Soviet era labor organizations, remained 
affiliated with the Government in practice. At least one-third of the 
workforce was unionized.
    To obtain legal status, a trade union had to apply for registration 
with the MOJ. The registration procedure followed largely that of other 
membership organizations (see section 2.b.).
    The law prohibits the operation of foreign unions and prohibits the 
financing of unions by foreign legal entities and citizens, foreign 
states, and international organizations.
    Workers are protected by law against anti-union discrimination, but 
in practice there were violations of this right. Members of a few trade 
unions have been dismissed, transferred to lower paying or lower status 
jobs, threatened, and intimidated. Union leaders reported that some 
workers who were ostensibly fired for other reasons were actually fired 
in retaliation for union activity. There were no court cases filed on 
this basis during the year. Union leaders also reported cases of large 
employers creating conditions unfavorable to union formation and 
collective bargaining.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects the rights of unions to conduct their activities without 
interference. In actuality there were reports of government pressure on 
labor negotiators in tripartite negotiations. The law permits 
collective bargaining and collective agreements; unions and 
associations engaged in collective bargaining in practice. Collective 
bargaining agreements were allowed as long as they did not reduce 
protections afforded to workers in individual contracts or under law. 
According to the Federation of Trade Unions, approximately 75 percent 
of unionized enterprises had collective bargaining agreements.
    Union demands unacceptable to management could be presented to a 
tripartite commission, composed of the Government, employer 
associations, and labor union representatives. The tripartite 
commission is responsible for developing and signing annual agreements 
governing approximately 80 aspects of labor relations. The labor law 
provides for an individual contract between employers and each 
employee.
    The law provides for the right to strike, but exercising this right 
is subject to numerous legal limitations; the Government maintained a 
list of industries and enterprises providing essential services where 
strikes were not permitted. According to the law, workers may strike 
only if a labor dispute has not been resolved through existing 
compulsory arbitration procedures. Striking workers must give a 
mandatory 15-day advance notice to employers. The law neither sanctions 
nor prohibits the firing of employees for participation in an illegal 
strike. In practice there were reports of employers providing arbitrary 
justifications when firing employees attempting to organize strikes.
    In late September workers in a large international conglomerate's 
coal mines and steel plants in Karagandy Oblast held a series of 
strikes following the September 20 death of 41 miners in a coal mine 
explosion. The strikes, which ultimately encompassed thousands of 
workers, ended around October 5 after the company agreed to substantial 
pay raises, improved safety conditions, and significant monetary 
compensation to the accident victims' families. Although the strikes 
did not meet legal requirements, the workers were not penalized for 
striking.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except at the 
sentence of the court or in conditions of a state of emergency or 
martial law, but there were reports that such practices occurred (see 
section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. The minimum 
age for employment is 16 years; children between 14 and 16 years were 
permitted to perform light work that does not interfere with their 
health or education, with parental permission. The Government conducted 
labor inspections to enforce the minimum age for employment, but 
enforcement was uneven given inadequate resources for inspections, the 
vast size of the country, and poor economic conditions in rural areas.
    The Government did not maintain statistics on child labor. NGOs and 
activists reported that child labor was used routinely in agricultural 
areas, especially during harvest season. In urban areas, the country's 
increasingly formalized labor market led to a decrease in many forms of 
child labor. However, there were reports of children begging, unloading 
freight, delivering goods in markets, washing cars, and working at gas 
stations. There were also reports of children exploited in prostitution 
and pornography. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is responsible for 
enforcement of child labor laws and for administrative offenses 
punishable by fines; the MVD is responsible for investigating criminal 
offenses. In the first nine months of the year the MOL reported 94 
criminal cases involving child labor. In 2005 the Government began 
implementing a three-year International Labor Organization program to 
eliminate child labor. As part of the program, in June the Government 
conducted a 12-day national campaign to raise awareness of child labor 
and focus attention on preventing it. The Government also cooperated 
with trade unions, employers, and NGOs during the year to raise 
awareness and promote interagency cooperation in eliminating child 
labor.
    Trafficking in children was a problem (see section 5).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum 
wage of 9,200 tenge ($72.40) did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family; however, it was common for working 
class families to have more than one wage earner and most workers 
earned above minimum wage in urban areas. The minimum subsistence wage 
was $70.10 (8912 KZT). During the first six months of the year, the 
average monthly wage was $297.20 (37,769 tenge).
    The law stipulates the normal workweek should not exceed 40 hours 
and limits heavy manual labor or hazardous work to no more than 36 
hours a week. The law requires that overtime not exceed two hours in a 
calendar day or one hour a day for heavy manual labor, and requires 
overtime to be paid at a rate of no less than 1 and a half times normal 
wages for hours over the normal workweek. Overtime is prohibited for 
work in hazardous conditions. The law provides that labor agreements 
may stipulate the length of working time, vacation days, holidays, and 
paid annual leave for each worker.
    The Ministry of Labor enforced minimum wages, work hour 
restrictions, and limits on overtime established under the labor law. 
Ministry labor inspectors conducted random inspections of employers to 
enforce all laws and regulations under their purview. In spite of these 
random inspections, labor advocates reported that some employers 
regularly violated these laws.
    The law provides for the right to safe and hygienic working 
conditions. In reality working and safety conditions in the industrial, 
agricultural, and construction sectors were often substandard. Workers 
in factories usually did not have protective clothing, such as goggles 
and hard hats, and worked in conditions of poor visibility and 
ventilation.
    Management largely ignored regulations concerning occupational 
health and safety, which were not well enforced by the Ministry of 
Labor. In the first six months of the year, the ministry reported 
making 11,900 inspections and identifying 70,000 violations. In 
addition to the inspections by the ministry, unions conducted 
inspections of unionized enterprises. The law requires employers to 
suspend work that could endanger the life or health of workers and to 
warn workers about any harmful and dangerous work conditions and about 
the possibility of any occupational disease. Although the law does not 
specifically grant the right of workers to remove themselves from 
situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to 
their employment, this right was considered to be implied by general 
legal provisions on worker safety; workers' inability to refuse to work 
under unsafe work conditions was not a problem in practice.

                               __________

                            KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

    The Kyrgyz Republic's new December constitution defines the country 
as a sovereign, unitary, democratic, social state based on the rule of 
law. The country has a population of approximately 5,218,000. The 
country has a multiparty parliamentary system and was ruled by 
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whose July 2005 election, following the 
March overthrow of the Akayev regime, marked tangible progress towards 
meeting international standards. Only a dozen out of approximately 90 
registered political parties played a significant role, and no single 
party was dominant. On November 9, following a week-long opposition-led 
street protest, the country adopted a new constitution, which held out 
the possibility of greater checks and balances among the branches of 
government. On December 30, the parliament adopted a revised version of 
the constitution that restored many powers to the President. The new 
constitution envisages a greater role for political parties, with half 
the seats in the next parliament to be elected by party lists. The 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over the 
security forces, although some members committed serious human rights 
abuses.
    The following human rights problems were reported: some 
restrictions on citizens' right to change their government; arbitrary 
or unlawful killings; disappearance of and failure to protect refugee 
and asylum seekers; torture and abuse by law enforcement officials; 
impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; lack 
of judicial independence; pressure on nongovernmental organization 
(NGO) and opposition leaders, including physical assaults and 
government harassment; an increase in pressure on independent media, 
including assaults on staff and vandalism of property; government 
harassment of assembly organizers; pervasive corruption; discrimination 
against women, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and 
homosexuals; child abuse; child labor; and trafficking in persons.
    Despite these problems, the Government's respect for human rights 
improved in several areas. Assistance from international organizations 
helped improve prison conditions in several locations and promoted the 
proper handling of prisoners. Tuberculosis (TB) mortality rates in 
prisons decreased. Local NGOs observed a reduction in incidents of 
military hazing among soldiers and cadets of the armed forces. During 
the year several Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) officials were 
dismissed or prosecuted for abuses or misconduct. The Government also 
took initial steps to tackle systemic corruption in the public and 
private sectors, although comprehensive national action was not yet 
taken. The Government allowed several large-scale opposition rallies.
                        respect for human rights
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 August 6, the special forces of the National Security Service 
(SNB) shot and killed three persons, including Mukhammadrafiq Kamalov, 
imam of the largest mosque in Karasuu. Immediately following the 
incident, government officials said that the three were affiliated with 
banned the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and were killed in the 
course of an antiterrorism operation. Kamalov's family and observers, 
including the ombudsman for human rights, denied security officials' 
allegations about the possible involvement of the imam in religious 
extremist groups. Security officials later conceded that Kamalov might 
not have been part of the group but instead may have been kidnapped by 
the suspected terrorists and thus killed accidentally in the raid. On 
May 24, security forces detained Kamalov and searched his house on 
suspicion of his involvement in activities of the extremist Islamist 
political organization, Hizb ut Tahrir (HT).
    On October 15, Aibek Alimjanov, a businessman, deputy of the Osh 
City Council, and the leader of the Uzbek Cultural Center in Osh, was 
shot and killed. The Government denied any political connections to the 
crime and suspected the attack was related to Alimjanov's business 
dealings. The Uzbek community alleged that Alimjanov was targeted 
because of his ethnicity and expressed concerns about the sluggish 
investigation. The same community addressed a letter to the President 
requesting his assistance in expediting a resolution to the case. An 
investigation into the incident continued at year's end.
    There were no developments in the investigations into the April 
2005 killing of Usen Kudaibergenov and the June 2005 killing of 
parliamentarian Jalgarbek Surabaldiyev.
    At year's end the Bishkek court continued consideration of an 
appellate case regarding the September 2005 killing of parliamentarian 
Bayaman Erkinbayev. The appeal was filed by the late deputy's wife for 
the two defendants, Makhmudjan Ruzimetov and Sabyrkul Batyrov, who were 
sentenced to death in August for being accomplices to the crime. In 
December, Russian law enforcement agencies reported that Sultan 
Abalayev, a person who supposedly carried out the assassination of 
Erkinbayev and who was on the Interpol wanted list, was arrested in 
Chechnya, Russia. It was unclear if Abalayev, a Russian citizen, would 
be extradited for prosecution.
    On August 3, N31 prison colony inmates Rustam Abdullin, Azamat 
Zakirov, and Yevgeniy Golovin were sentenced to death for the October 
2005 killing of parliamentarian Tynychbek Akmatbayev and three other 
officials while they visited their prison colony near Bishkek.
    There were no reports on deaths due to military hazing.
    There were no developments or further information regarding the 
December 2005 Uzbek border guard shooting of a Kyrgyz citizen or the 
October 2004 death of Tashkenbay Moidinov while held in police custody.

    b. Disappearance.--According to an August 23 statement by the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), five Uzbek citizens that had 
applied for asylum status disappeared in July and August, with 
eyewitnesses claiming in at least two of these cases that the 
individuals had been seized from their homes and taken away in unmarked 
vehicles. The Prosecutor General's Office eventually initiated an 
investigation into the disappearances, but only after the UNHCR 
publicly appealed for government action. The investigation did not 
produce any results, and the whereabouts of these asylum seekers 
remained unknown at year's end (see section 2.d.).
    There were no developments and none were expected in the 
investigation of the 2004 two week disappearance of Tursunbek Akunov. 
Akunov alleged the SNB was involved. In 2005 Akunov became chairman of 
the State Commission on Human Rights.
    Local human rights advocates continued to report that approximately 
12 Kyrgyz citizens were serving sentences in Uzbek prisons after being 
kidnapped by Uzbek security services beginning in 2000.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, police and SNB 
forces employed them. At times police beat detainees and prisoners to 
extract confessions.
    In March and August the human rights ombudsman expressed concern 
over a number of incidents involving abuse of detainees, blaming the 
abuse on corruption and a low level of professionalism among jail and 
police officials. In June the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) established the 
Internal Security Service (ISS) to investigate and curb corruption and 
abuse within penitentiaries. As of December, the unit was investigating 
eight cases of alleged violations.
    On December 5, the NGO Spravedlivost and the Osh Advocacy Center, 
with support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
(OSCE) Office in Osh, conducted a two-day human rights training seminar 
for the heads of the Osh, Jalalabad, and Batken oblast penitentiaries. 
The training focused on educating prison staff in protecting prisoners' 
human rights and establishing better relations with human rights 
organizations.
    According to the NGO Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, military 
hazing steadily decreased over the preceding year. The NGO monitored 
various military units, recording all instances of hazing, and worked 
closely with military authorities to implement preventive measures. 
Hazing incidents reported during the year included physical abuse and 
money extortion by noncommissioned officers. On a quarterly basis, the 
NGO met with military representatives to discuss incidents of hazing 
and to plan activities for further improvement. According to the NGO, 
military authorities take every incident seriously and strive to 
develop measures to eliminate problems. The NGO published a quarterly 
magazine and aired a regular program on the National TV channel about 
the military service, including work and living conditions and morale 
of the troops. Representatives of the NGO visited military units on a 
regular basis, conducting interviews with soldiers and officers.
    In November Freedom House reported about two border servicemen, 
Gairat Torakeldiyev and Erkin Kamalov, who sustained injuries from 
physical abuse by their peers. The Military Prosecutor's Office and the 
senior leadership of the National Border Service were investigating 
both cases.
    On October 16, 143 cadets protested at the military college and 
refused to attend classes. According to the college authorities, the 
protest was organized by 10-15 informal cadet leaders who did not want 
to comply with the college's rigid internal disciplinary rules. They 
were also accused of harassing junior cadets and stealing their money 
and personal belongings. The college authorities conducted a meeting 
with parents, teachers, and cadets. The issue was reportedly resolved. 
Representatives of the Military Prosecutor's Office counseled those 
responsible for organizing the protest, hazing junior cadets, and 
committing other violations.
    On August 5, prisoners at the Temporary Detention Center in 
Jalalabad rioted to protest systematic beatings by on site police 
officers. According to Aziza Abdurasulova, a member of the Presidential 
Human Rights Commission, 15 police officers admitted they beat 
detainees to extort confessions. The Government opened an investigation 
into the incident, but results were not released at year's end.
    No additional information was available on the investigation of the 
2005 beating of 30 inmates or on whether there was any action taken 
regarding the 2005 beating of a 15-year-old in a pretrial facility in 
Jalalabad.
    During the year the attorney of an Uzbek citizen, Otabek Ahadov, 
filed a complaint with the UN Commission on Human Rights regarding 
claims of torture sustained by Ahadov in custody. Ahadov, arrested in 
2000 and convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for killing a Uighur 
community leader, claimed that he was severely tortured while in police 
custody. Ahadov claimed that while detained in the Bishkek City 
Police's Division of Interior in 2000, he was given psychotropic drugs 
and physically abused. Also in 2000, the Government's Republican Office 
of Forensic Medical Examination conducted a forensic medical 
examination that revealed that Ahadov had bruises and abrasions that 
could have been made during his detention.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--As of November, according 
to a department supervising penitentiary facilities (DSPI) official, 
there were over 16,000 prisoners.
    Prison conditions were very poor and included overcrowding, food 
and medicine shortages, poor health care and disease prevention 
facilities, and lack of heat and other necessities. Morbidity and 
mortality rates continued to decline, particularly those resulting from 
TB. During the year, the number of prisoners with TB decreased from 
2725 to approximately 2300 at year's end. A total of 135 prisoners died 
from complications due to TB, down from 159 deaths in 2005.
    Pretrial detention facilities were particularly overcrowded, and 
conditions and mistreatment generally were worse than in prisons.
    The NGO Ray of Solomon renovated cells, hallways, and recreation 
grounds to improve conditions at the pretrial detention center in Osh.
    On January 9, the President signed a law reforming the penitentiary 
system. The law outlines rules of employment, enrollment requirements, 
criteria for promotion, and benefits for penitentiary staff. Starting 
April 1, salaries of penitentiary facilities staff increased 30 
percent, and during the year approximately 200 workers participated in 
training exercises focusing on the psychological aspects of dealing 
with prisoners, especially in crisis situations such as riots. On March 
10, the Government also adopted the Ymyt national program to reform the 
penitentiary system by 2010 and bring legislation into compliance with 
international human rights standards.
    During the year the Government and NGOs conducted roundtable 
discussions on penal reform, specifically addressing mitigation of 
punishment for minor crimes or alternative methods of punishment in 
lieu of incarceration. In August, with OSCE support, the Government 
established an independent monitoring group for two southern provinces 
that included local government and NGO representatives and doctors. By 
year's end the group had visited penitentiaries in Osh and Jalalabad 
and prepared a report for the MOJ.
    Unlike the previous year, no prison deaths due to negligence or 
violence were reported. There were no further developments in the 
October and November 2005 deaths of five prisoners at the N31 prison 
colony and the November 2005 deaths of two prisoners at prison colony 
#8 during prison riots and subsequent police raids on the facilities.
    During the year, prisoners protested at a number of penitentiaries 
throughout the country. The protests were mainly brought on by the lack 
of food and medical care that affected the wellbeing of prisoners in 
several penitentiaries. Local NGOs likewise reported that the basic 
rights of prisoners were violated.
    On December 9, female and teenage prisoners of the N14 colony's 
pretrial detention center rioted and attempted to commit suicide by 
slitting their wrists. The protest was reportedly to publicize the poor 
living conditions and a lack of proper medicine. However, the DSPI 
stated that the riot was instigated by drug-dependent detainees 
following recent administrative operations that restricted the flow of 
illicit drugs into the prison. The prisoners submitted demands to the 
administration including more movement around the facility and a 
loosening of some restrictions. The conflict was peacefully resolved.
    In April the Ombudsman's Office reported that three detainees of 
the Temporary Detention Center in Naryn attempted suicide by slitting 
their wrists, to protest the use of force during interrogations. By 
year's end the Government has not provided a response.
    Authorities held 165 prisoners facing the death sentence in 16 
cells in the basements of pretrial centers in Bishkek and Osh; since 
1998 there has been a moratorium on the implementation of the death 
penalty. According to law, no more than two prisoners per cell are 
authorized; however, 10 death penalty convicts were being held per 
cell.
    The Government continued to permit domestic and international human 
rights observers to visit prisons. The International Committee for the 
Red Cross was allowed to visit detainees in MOJ and SNB prisons and 
pretrial detention centers and was granted access to inmates on death 
row.
    On March 10, the DSPI, the MOJ, and the Swiss NGO Doctors without 
Borders signed a memorandum to implement measures aimed at reducing TB 
outbreaks within the prison population of two penitentiaries. At the 
beginning of the year there were 2,725 prisoners with various forms of 
TB.
    According to an August International Crisis Group (ICG) report, the 
majority of prisoners were under tight control of criminal leaders who 
enforced a caste system inherited from the former Soviet Union. 
Corruption was rife and human rights violations widespread among prison 
officials. According to the ICG, HIV/AIDS and TB infection rates among 
inmates were higher than in the general population.
    According to the department supervising penitentiary facilities, 
there were 102 prisoners with HIV out of approximately 16,000 
prisoners.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, police at times used false charges to 
arrest persons and solicited bribes in exchange for their release.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Law enforcement 
responsibilities are divided between the MVD for general crime, the SNB 
for state level crime, and the Prosecutor's Office for both types of 
crimes. Corruption, particularly the payment of bribes to avoid 
investigation or prosecution, was a major problem at all levels of law 
enforcement. The Government took steps to address corruption in the 
police force, including public commitments to fight corruption and a 
July 2005 government decree that increased police officers' salaries by 
50 percent. On December 8, Kurmanbek Joroyev, the head of the National 
Agency for Corruption Prevention, blamed law enforcement officials for 
not taking active measures to fight corruption.
    Police impunity remained a problem; however, during the year 
numerous MVD officials were dismissed and prosecuted for various 
offenses, including corruption, abuse of authority, and police 
brutality. According to the Ministry of Interior, during the first 
eleven months of the year police uncovered 1,557 cases of economic 
crimes and other illegal activity committed by government officials. 
The report listed 300 cases of abuse of power, 198 cases of bribe 
taking, 83 cases of negligence of official duties and fraud, and 478 
cases of embezzlement. At year's end 352 officials had been prosecuted.

    Arrest and Detention.--The Prosecutor General's Office determines 
who may be detained, arrested, and prosecuted. An arrest warrant from 
the Prosecutor's Office is required to detain an individual, and there 
were no reports that this provision was abused. The law permits law 
enforcement officials to detain suspects for 72 hours before releasing 
them or charging them with a crime, and this was generally enforced in 
practice. The law requires that investigators notify a detainee's 
family within 12 hours of detention; however, this requirement often 
was not observed in practice. At year's end there were no reports of 
incommunicado detention of prisoners.
    All persons arrested or charged with crimes have the right to 
defense counsel at public expense. By law defense counsel is permitted 
to visit the accused immediately upon delivery to a detention facility. 
In practice the accused at times did not see defense counsel until 
trial. Human rights groups noted that arrested minors were usually 
denied lawyers; police often did not notify parents of children who 
were arrested, and generally neither parents nor lawyers were present 
during questioning, despite laws to the contrary. Consequently children 
often were intimidated into signing confessions. The law also 
authorizes house arrest for certain types of suspects. There were 
reports that at times law enforcement officials selectively 
incarcerated persons suspected of minor crimes, while other persons 
suspected of more serious crimes remained at large. There was a 
functioning bail system.
    On September 9, the President signed the law on witness protection. 
The law sets out a system of state protection for witnesses, victims, 
and other participants in criminal trials. Under this law, testimony 
from witnesses and other trial participants will also carry greater 
weight both in the investigation and in court proceedings. Observers 
believed the law would increase witnesses' willingness to testify. 
According to the NGO Golden Goal, up to 80 percent of witnesses refused 
to give evidence for fear of retaliation by the accused.
    The Government continued to express concern about perceived 
extremist groups with radical religious or political agendas. During 
the year security forces detained persons on charges related to 
activities connected to the banned extremist Islamist political 
organization HT and initiated criminal cases, mostly for possession of 
or disseminating leaflets and booklets of an extremist nature. Although 
HT maintained that it was committed to nonviolence, the party's 
virulently anti Semitic and anti Western literature called for the 
overthrow of secular governments, including in Central Asia, to be 
replaced with a worldwide Islamic government called the caliphate (see 
section 2.a. and 2.b.). During the year law enforcement agencies 
arrested a number of members of religious parties for possessing or 
distributing religious literature; in almost all cases, it was reported 
that they possessed munitions in addition to religious literature. On 
September 2, Rasul Ahunov, a leader of the Islamic Party of Turkestan, 
was killed by authorities during a security operation.
    The prosecutor has the discretion to hold suspects in pretrial 
detention for as long as one year, after which the prosecutor is 
required to release the suspect. There were no known instances in which 
the parliament was asked to extend a detention.
    During the demonstrations in early November, police temporarily 
detained approximately 600 participants of the rally under suspicion 
that the demonstrators had been paid and ordered to create civil 
unrest. They were released after their identities were checked and 
fingerprints taken.
    On November 9, Bakyt Kalpekov, an activist of the Ata-Meken 
opposition party, was taken into custody by security forces and charged 
with assaulting the deputy director of the National TV Company during 
the November rally. Even though he was released on bail two days later, 
the courts ordered him back into detention pending the outcome of his 
court case.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the executive branch at times 
interfered with the judiciary. Lawyers and citizens commonly believed 
that judges were open to bribes or susceptible to outside pressure, and 
low salaries remained a contributing factor.
    Cases originate in local courts and can move to appeals courts at 
the municipal or regional level and finally to the Supreme Court. There 
were separate military courts as well as a separate arbitration court 
system for economic disputes. Civilians may be tried in a military 
court if one of the codefendants is a member of the military. Military 
court cases can be appealed to a military appellate court and 
ultimately to the Supreme Court.
    The Constitutional Court has responsibility for determining the 
constitutionality of laws, resolving disputes concerning the 
interpretation of the constitution, and determining the validity of 
Presidential elections. The Constitutional Court may not intervene in 
actions of the Supreme Court, except in cases related to the 
constitution. The court has specific authority to determine the 
constitutionality of NGO activities, political parties, and religious 
organizations. Traditional elders' courts consider property and family 
law matters and low level crime. Local elders' courts are under the 
supervision of the prosecutor's office but do not receive close 
oversight since many are located in remote regions. However, decisions 
of elders' courts can be appealed to the corresponding regional court. 
Military courts and elders' courts follow the same rules and procedures 
as general courts.
    Under the new constitution, the President will nominate, and 
parliament approve, justices to the Supreme Court and the 
Constitutional Court. The President can propose the dismissal of 
supreme and Constitutional Court justices, subject to parliament's 
approval. The National Council for Judicial Affairs (NCJA) will 
nominate, the President appoint, and parliament approve local judges. 
Local judges can be relieved of duty by the President at the proposal 
of the NCJA. The NCJA will consist of representatives of legislative, 
executive, and judicial branches of power and civic society.
    During the year the President and other high-level officials spoke 
of the need for judicial reforms to strengthen the independence of the 
judiciary system. By year's end a program of judiciary reform was 
developed but not yet adopted.

    Trial Procedures.--Prosecutors bring cases before courts and judges 
direct criminal proceedings. A prosecutor participating in a trial is 
called the state prosecutor--his/her role is to maintain the indictment 
at all stages of the criminal process. The defendant's attorney defends 
the rights and interests of the defendant. The defendant may refuse 
attorney support and defend himself/herself. A criminal case is 
conducted by one judge; appellate cases, by three judges; and cases 
brought for supervisory consideration, by a judicial board of the 
Supreme Court. In the course of court proceedings, prosecutors provide 
support to charges against the defendant, and the attorney defends the 
accused. If a court renders a case indeterminable, it is returned to 
the investigative bodies for further investigation, and suspects may 
remain under detention.
    The law provides for defendants' rights, including the presumption 
of innocence. In practice, however, such rights were not always 
respected. The judicial system continued to operate in many cases 
according to Soviet laws and procedures in which there was no 
presumption of innocence, and the focus of pretrial investigation was 
to collect evidence sufficient to show guilt. The law provides for an 
unlimited number of visits between an attorney and a client. Although 
official permission for such visits is required, it was usually 
granted.
    The law permits defendants and counsel the right to access all 
evidence gathered by the prosecutor, attend all proceedings, question 
witnesses, and present evidence. However, these rights were not always 
respected in practice. Witnesses generally have to present their 
testimony in court; however, under certain circumstances specified in 
the law, witness testimony given during the investigation can be 
presented during the trial via audio or video recording without the 
witness being physically present. Indigent defendants were provided 
attorneys at public expense.
    The law does not provide for juries. Defendants and prosecutors 
have the right to appeal the court's decision. The law provides for 
transparency of court proceedings. Generally, trials are open to the 
public, unless state secrets or the privacy of defendants are involved; 
however, even in closed proceedings, the verdict is announced publicly.
    Military courts and elders' courts follow the same rules and 
procedures as general courts.
    In February, following the demands of the opposition, the Supreme 
Court revisited the court decision on the Aksy events of March 2002, 
when five protesters were killed by government forces. The case was 
reopened because of allegations that the previous court decision was 
unfair. In 2004 the Supreme Court upheld the local court decision 
acquitting several officials of giving the order to shoot at the 
protesters. In August the prosecutor general stated that his office was 
also reinvestigating the Aksy case to determine who the culprits were. 
By year's end no results for either investigation had been announced.
    On March 27, more than 20 prisoners on death row sent an appeal to 
the President, claiming that their cases were fabricated by the 
previous government and requesting their convictions be reexamined. At 
year's end the Government had not publicly responded to this appeal.
    Two citizens of Uzbekistan, detained in 2003 for allegedly 
conducting terrorist actions in the Oberon Market in Bishkek and the 
Bakai Bank in Osh, were placed on death row. Many NGOs claimed that 
they did not receive a fair trial because their cases were not fully 
investigated by the authorities.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Since the change of the 
Government in March 2005, there were no political detentions. There 
were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law 
provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. As 
with criminal matters, citizens believed the civil judicial system was 
subject to outside influence, including from the Government. Local 
courts address civil, criminal, economic, administrative, and other 
cases. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority which 
oversees the proceedings of the local courts and rules on appellate 
cases.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the 
Government at times violated these prohibitions. The law requires 
general prosecutor approval for wiretaps, home searches, mail 
interception, and similar acts.
    Opposition leader and member of parliament Melis Eshimkanov 
reported that his car was followed by security forces on September 9 in 
Bishkek. SNB officials admitted that security service agents followed 
his car but claimed that their target was Eshimkanov's driver, who was 
suspected of being involved in unknown criminal activities. Later in 
September, Eshimkanov reported harassment of his friends and relatives 
by law enforcement agents, as well as attempts by local officials to 
initiate a campaign to remove him from parliament.
    The Government continued to conduct widespread document checks of 
some foreigners of all nationalities.
    Family law prohibits divorce during pregnancy and while a child is 
younger than one year of age.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press. Although there were notable improvements after 
the March 2005 departure of Akayev, the Government at times restricted 
these rights in practice. After the March 2005 change of government, 
National TV offered airtime to various politicians, lawsuits against 
independent media decreased, and independent media experienced new, 
albeit limited, freedom of operations and news coverage. During the 
year reports continued that politicians critical of the Bakiyev 
government were not allowed on National TV. Despite such reports, 
however, critics had received air time.
    While the law provides for freedom of speech and the press, there 
were reports of harassment that were characterized as reprisal for 
criticizing the Government. The MVD reported that 158 persons were 
detained or prosecuted during the year for distribution or possession 
of HT literature; those arrested typically were charged for 
distribution of literature inciting ethnic, racial, or religious 
hatred.
    There were approximately 40 to 50 regularly printed newspapers and 
magazines, eight of which were state owned, with varying degrees of 
independence. Although the state printing house, Uchkun, was the 
primary newspaper publisher in the country, an independent printing 
press run by the nongovernmental Media Support Center (MSC) provided an 
alternative to state owned printing presses. Approximately 50 
television and radio stations operated in the country, with two 
television stations broadcasting nationwide: government TV and Radio 
Company (GTRK) and the People's TV and Radio (E1TR).
    Foreign media operated freely. The law prohibits foreign ownership 
of domestic media; however, there was a small degree of foreign 
ownership of media, through local partners. Russian television stations 
Channel One and RTR dominated coverage and local ratings. Mir 
Interstate TV and Radio Company, a member-funded Commonwealth of 
Independent States (CIS) television station network, was increasing its 
television and radio broadcasts throughout the country. A number of 
Russia based media outlets also operated freely in the country, 
although they were registered with the MOJ, and therefore the 
Government considered them domestic media.
    During the year ownership of major private television stations was 
challenged by new political and business leaders, through buyouts or in 
courts, which resulted in a change of political orientation of some 
channels, including Kyrgyz Public Education TV (KOORT), Independent 
Bishkek TV (NBT), and New Television Network (NTS), and the closing of 
another (Pyramida). Beginning in March 2005, Pyramida became the target 
of numerous attacks that aimed to disable its broadcast capabilities. 
These attacks were widely believed to be politically motivated due to 
the nature of the station's reporting, which was supportive of the 
opposition and critical of the President. In September unknown 
assailants physically assaulted several staff members and torched the 
television station, causing over $200,000 in damages. At year's end the 
attackers had not been identified, and there was no government 
response. There was also a fight over ownership of Pyramida between 
Adylbek Biynazarov, President and owner of 45 percent of the firm's 
stock, and InvestMedia. Pyramida television broadcasts were limited to 
UHF when the two sides went to court. At year's end court proceedings 
for ownership of Pyramida TV ended, but the outcome was not made 
public; Pyramida TV also resumed broadcasting on VHF.
    Unknown individuals cut power to NTS' antennae in Bishkek and Osh 
during its coverage of the opposition-led demonstrations in November. 
Although armed guards and generators quickly restored broadcasts from 
the Bishkek antenna, the southern antenna, rented from the Government, 
had not resumed operations at year's end.
    In September the President vetoed two parliamentary bills: ``On 
National Television and Radio Corporation'' that proposed making GTRK a 
public broadcaster, and a second bill that proposed wider and more 
balanced media coverage of the parliament.
    On November 14, the President signed a decree setting up a 
supervisory board for GTRK that would comprise equal numbers of 
Presidential representatives, parliamentarians, and GTRK employees. 
Opposition parliamentarians claimed that the November 9 constitutional 
amendments give parliament the right to reform the GTRK without 
consulting the President and that the director of GTRK should be 
appointed by the Prime Minister, not the President. The issue was not 
resolved at year's end.
    All media were required to register with the MOJ and receive 
ministry approval to operate. The media law states that registration 
should take no longer than one month, but in practice the process often 
took much longer. Part of the process included background checks on 
each media outlet's owner and source of financing, including 
international donor organizations. During the year no new television or 
radio licenses were granted. New licensing/frequency distribution 
procedures were being reviewed by the Government.
    At year's end the Government had not implemented its 2005 plan to 
privatize state-owned media. Government newspapers, television, and 
radio continued to receive state subsidies, and the Government remained 
the primary source of scarce advertising revenue, which allowed the 
Government to influence media content.
    During the year progovernmental media outlets published numerous 
negative articles about several parliamentary deputies, NGOs, and their 
leaders. The GTRK aired a program on September 17 that called for the 
removal of some opposition deputies, including Dooronbek Sadyrbayev and 
Azimbek Beknazarov.
    Although the GTRK initially was to become a public broadcaster, in 
November 2005 the Government announced that it would instead turn 
GTRK's southern branch, then called Osh3000, into a public broadcaster. 
The new broadcaster, dubbed ElTR, started operating in December 2005, 
although it did not have a separate channel. ElTR continued to depend 
on the GTRK for its national broadcasting, and the Government appointed 
E1TR's board of directors and senior management. Although officially a 
public broadcaster, E1TR did not operate independently of the 
Government.
    In May the Government cut off independent channel NTS' broadcasts 
to regions outside of Bishkek allegedly to give the transmission 
frequency to public broadcaster ElTR. ElTR never used the channel and 
NTS never resumed its nationwide broadcast.
    During the year harassment of journalists decreased, although 
unknown persons continued to intimidate members of the media. NTS's 
general manager, possibly in connection with NTS's live broadcast of 
the opposition-led demonstrations in November, was summoned by the SNB. 
The general manager's house was robbed soon after the November 
demonstrations ended.
    The Government used law enforcement agencies and state run media to 
intimidate independent media. Sever-Elektro, a state-owned electric 
power company, filed a slander suit against the opposition newspaper 
Agym. The owner of Agym, member of parliament Melis Eshimkanov, stated 
that Sever-Elektro's claim was an attempt to close down Agym's 
operations by potentially bankrupting the newspaper.
    Although the law prohibits censorship, a few independent 
journalists reportedly faced occasional government pressure over 
critical press coverage or were denied access to public meetings and 
information freely provided to state run outlets. The Government 
continued to interfere in the newspapers' editorial policies, in some 
cases replacing editors with government appointed individuals.
    Libel remains a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in 
prison. In May President Bakiyev submitted a bill to decriminalize 
libel; at year's end parliament had not passed it.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. 
During the opposition-led demonstrations in November, numerous Internet 
sources complained about attempts made by hackers to disrupt their 
broadcasts. At year's end there were no new developments regarding the 
Gazeta.kg case.

    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.
    Throughout the year opposition and progovernment groups held a 
number of demonstrations and rallies throughout the country. Between 
January and August, 164 rallies were held in Bishkek, 83 of which 
focused on political demands, while 81 focused on socioeconomic 
demands. Law enforcement authorities provided security for many of 
these demonstrations. There were no reported cases of the Government 
attempting to prevent demonstrations from occurring; however, 
authorities tried to place certain restrictions on the right to 
assemble. On April 6, the Bishkek Mayor's Office issued a decree 
stating that all rallies and demonstrations could be held only within 
preapproved locations.
    Before a mass opposition demonstration on April 29, the Government 
used law enforcement agencies to threaten and dissuade opposition 
members and leaders from participating in the demonstration. On the day 
of the demonstration, approximately 3,500 police and national guard 
troops surrounded the main Ala Too square in Bishkek, where 
approximately 7,000 persons were gathered demanding that the Government 
reform the constitution and combat corruption; however, the 
demonstrators were allowed to protest peacefully and there were no 
reports of police harassment or violence.
    On May 26, authorities in Jalalabad refused to provide the 
necessary permits, because of a technicality, to the Uzbek Cultural 
Center in Jalalabad to hold a rally to promote Uzbek as an official 
state language.
    On June 25, police used tear gas to end election related clashes in 
the south. Several persons were injured when supporters of Mamat 
Orozbayev and Sanzharbek Kadyraliyev began throwing rocks and Molotov 
cocktails at each other and exchanged gunfire in the southern town of 
Uzgen (see section 3).
    On September 17, an opposition rally took place without government 
interference in the southern city of Aksy. There were reports, however, 
that the Government attempted to limit participation at the rally by 
spreading rumors, through the state-owned press, that the event had 
been canceled. Additionally, some participants claimed that the rally 
was infiltrated by progovernment supporters who attempted to intimidate 
opposition supporters verbally. Despite these claims, the event took 
place without incident.
    In August police detained a small group of land squatters who were 
demonstrating in front of the Lenin District State Administration 
building in Bishkek. The police did not employ any aggressive tactics 
to detain the demonstrators, who were released soon after their 
detention, there were reports of skirmishes between opposing groups of 
demonstrators at the demonstration site. No casualties were reported 
and the Government did not issue any response to the incident.
    From November 2 through 8, thousands of opposition protesters held 
mass demonstrations calling for the Government to implement reforms or 
to step down. At one point, demonstrators peacefully occupied an 
administrative building in a suburb of Bishkek. The demonstrations were 
largely peaceful except for some altercations between opposition and 
progovernment protestors; law enforcement officials used tear gas to 
halt the violence and responded appropriately and generally respected 
freedom of assembly.
    On March 31, the supporters of a well known criminal leader 
gathered in front of parliament and demanded the resignation of the 
Prime Minister, blaming him for the death of the crime boss' brother. 
Despite the disruption, there were no reports of the authorities 
attempting to block the demonstration, nor were there reports of any 
acts of violence during the rally.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right, 
although the Government at times used law enforcement agencies to 
intimidate NGOs. NGOs, labor unions, political parties, and cultural 
associations must register with the MOJ. NGOs are required to have 
three members to register, and all other organizations require at least 
10 members. The MOJ did not deny any domestic NGOs registration during 
the year. During the year the MOJ reregistered the Kyrgyz Human Rights 
Committee. The law prohibits activities of foreign political parties 
and NGOs, including their representative offices and branches, from 
pursuing political goals (see section 3).
    The Government continued its ban of four organizations it deemed to 
be extremist due to alleged ties to international terrorist 
organizations: HT, the Islamic Party of Turkestan, the Organization for 
Freeing Eastern Turkestan, and the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party. 
Arrests and prosecution of persons accused of possessing and 
distributing HT literature continued during the year (see section 
2.a.). Most arrests of alleged extremists occurred in the south and 
involved ethnic Uzbeks. The majority of those arrested typically were 
charged with distribution of literature inciting ethnic, racial, or 
religious hatred.
    On January 9, the President signed amendments that provide for 
financial compensation to individuals undergoing physical 
rehabilitation and to those who suffered politically motivated labor or 
social rights violations.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion. 
The Government generally respected this right in practice, although 
there were some restrictions, particularly regarding the activities of 
Islamic groups that it considered to be extremists and a threat to the 
country. Islam is the most widely practiced faith.
    The State Agency for Religious Affairs (SARA)--called the State 
Commission on Religious Affairs, or SCRA, until November 2005--is 
responsible for promoting religious tolerance, protecting freedom of 
conscience, and overseeing laws on religion. Under the law all 
religious organizations, including religious schools, are required to 
register with SARA, and each congregation is required to register 
separately. In July SARA moved its headquarters to the southern city of 
Osh, reportedly to monitor more closely religious extremists within the 
predominantly Muslim Ferghana Valley.
    Although there has been a history of several groups having 
difficulties registering, almost all were eventually registered, except 
for the Hare Krishnas, who continued to have difficulties. Since 1996 
SARA has registered 270 religious groups and nearly 1,200 foreign 
citizens as religious missionaries.
    In December 2005 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 
reported ongoing problems in its efforts to register with SARA; the 
church had not been registered at year's end, and its application was 
pending its response to SARA's request for additional information. The 
church initially submitted its application for registration in August 
2004.
    Organizations applying for registration must have at least 10 
members who are adult citizens and must submit an application form, 
organizational charter, minutes of an institutional meeting, and a list 
of founding members. Each congregation must register separately. A 
religious organization then must complete a registration process with 
the MOJ to obtain legal status, which is necessary to own property, 
open bank accounts, and conclude contracts. If a religious organization 
engages in commercial activity, it is required to pay taxes. In 
practice the MOJ has never registered a religious organization without 
prior registration by SARA. The registration process with SARA is often 
cumbersome, taking one month on average, but in the past it sometimes 
took up to several years. According to SARA regulations, registration 
is rejected if a religious organization does not comply with the law or 
is a threat to national security, social stability, interethnic and 
interdenominational harmony, public order, health, or morality. An 
applicant whose registration is denied may reapply and may appeal to 
the courts.
    The Government was concerned about political extremism it believed 
was disguised as conservative Islam, particularly Wahhabist 
interpretations. During the year no incidents of domestic or foreign 
security services monitoring worshipers at mosques were reported. On 
August 6, SNB agents followed and killed Muhammadrafiq Kamalov, the 
imam of Karasuu's largest mosque, as well as two other alleged 
extremists who were riding in the same car (see section 1.a.).
    Law enforcement authorities, including the MVD and the SNB, often 
played a role in investigating religious organizations and resolving 
interreligious disputes. Representatives of smaller churches, such as 
the Church of Jesus Christ, complained of government attempts to hamper 
their activities in the past. During the year the police detained 158 
persons for religious activity and opened criminal cases regarding most 
of these detainees. There were 162 HT related cases reported during the 
year (see section 2.a.).
    Missionary groups of various religious organizations operated 
freely, although they are required to register with the Government.
    In December 2005 the Jalalabad City Education Department banned the 
wearing of hijabs or headscarves in that city's schools. Several 
parents protested the move and demanded that the ban be lifted. In May, 
following intervention by the State Muftiate, the ban was lifted for a 
short period of time before it was re-enacted at several schools. It 
continued to be in effect at year's end. According to the NGO 
Spravedlivost's lawyer, at year's end the city education administration 
still banned scarves at schools, arguing it was part of the school 
uniform regulations.
    The Government forbids the teaching of religion (or atheism) in 
public schools, but the State Muftiate has called for the introduction 
of religious studies into the school curriculum as a possible antidote 
to religious extremism.

    Societal Abuse and Discrimination.--In July a group of citizens 
attacked Zulumbek Sarygulov, a Protestant pastor in Osh, vandalized his 
home, and burned his religious books. The incident was reported to be 
under investigation, but no further information was available from the 
Government at year's end.
    During the year a local lawyer, who often represented Protestant 
churches, expressed concern regarding increasing pressure from Muslims 
and asserted that the authorities may be tacitly condoning such 
pressure.
    In February clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Dungans were reported 
in the Iskra village of the Chui Oblast. After claims of an attack on 
two young Kyrgyz men, a crowd of 150 ethnic Kyrgyz gathered and 
demanded that ethnic Dungan families immediately leave and resettle 
elsewhere. Shots were reportedly fired from a car, sparking violence as 
the crowd hurled stones and burned houses owned by ethnic Dungans. Four 
ethnic Dungan men were detained and charged with illegal possession of 
weapons and attempted murder. The men were released and all charges 
dropped. Criminal cases were opened against some ethnic Kyrgyz who 
participated in the destruction of houses belonging to ethnic Dungans.
    During the year there were no acts of violence, harassment, or 
vandalism reported against the Jewish community, its institutions, 
schools, synagogues, or cemeteries; however, there was some isolated 
anti-Semitism in the media. The President of the Jewish Cultural Center 
stated that he was concerned about harassment of worshippers coming to 
the center by one local resident, and he was frustrated with the lack 
of action on the part of the authorities. The leader of the center did 
not report any other incidents of anti-Semitism. Approximately 3,000 
Jews lived in the country.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law on internal migration provides 
for freedom of movement, and the Government generally respected the 
right in practice; however, certain policies continued to restrict 
internal migration, resettlement, and travel abroad.
    The law requires an official residence registration in order to 
work and live in a particular area of the country. Applicants for 
residence registration must file a request with the local police and be 
able to prove that they have a place to live in the area. Local 
administrations also tied the availability of social services to 
registration; individuals who did not register could be denied access 
to subsidized health care or schooling. The International Organization 
for Migration (IOM) confirmed reports of authorities detaining and 
fining individuals without residence registration.
    Citizens were able to move within the country with relative ease. 
However, many internal labor migrants coming from rural areas to cities 
looking for work were still registered in their hometowns, and 
consequently had limited access to subsidized healthcare.
    The law on migration prohibits travel abroad of citizens who had 
access to information classified as state secrets. The delay in 
issuance of new passports continued to be a problem, although the 
Government made several attempts to resolve the matter. According to 
media reports, corruption impeded passport issuance reform. As a 
result, citizens continued to experience difficulties traveling 
internally and internationally.
    The law does not provide for or prohibit forced exile, and there 
were no reports that the Government employed it in practice.
    In the summer authorities introduced a passport control system 
throughout the southern provinces to fight terrorism. Public 
information regarding the control system was limited, resulting in many 
citizens being detained for hours for not carrying proper 
identification while trying to cross the border. The passport control 
system was in effect for several months at the southern borders only 
and was no longer in effect at year's end. In June mass searches were 
conducted by law enforcement agencies in the Bazar Korgon district of 
Jalalabad Oblast.
    According to the MVD, only 45 individuals were officially 
registered as stateless. The most recent 1999 census indicated there 
were 13,000 stateless persons in the country.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. In practice 
the Government provided some protection against refoulement, the return 
of persons to a country where they faced persecution. The Government 
also provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify 
as refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, although 
the UNHCR reported no persons received such protection during the year. 
Although the Government at times cooperated with the office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Human Rights and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers, during the year the 
Government did not grant refugee status or asylum to any Uzbeks or 
Uighurs, nor did it adequately protect such individuals.
    On August 9, the Government forcibly returned four registered 
refugees and one asylum seeker to Uzbekistan. These five Uzbek citizens 
were part of the larger group of refugees who fled Andijan, Uzbekistan, 
in May 2005; the rest of the group was eventually resettled in third 
countries. While UNHCR voiced publicly its concern regarding the forced 
repatriation of the four Uzbek refugees and one asylum seeker, the 
Government defended its action. On August 10, an official from the 
Prosecutor General's Office issued a statement acknowledging that the 
Government had returned the five to Uzbek authorities in compliance 
with bilateral agreements. He also stated that his office had received 
written assurances from the Government of Uzbekistan that the 
individuals' rights would be observed during the litigation process. In 
November Uzbek authorities announced that the investigations were 
complete and the cases had been forwarded to the courts.
    Over July and August, an additional five registered Uzbek asylum 
seekers were reported missing, with eyewitnesses claiming in at least 
two of these cases that the individuals had been seized from their 
homes and taken away in unmarked vehicles. An investigation into their 
disappearance was eventually initiated by the Prosecutor General's 
Office, but only after UNHCR publicly appealed for government action. 
The investigation did not produce any results, and the whereabouts of 
these asylum seekers remained unknown at year's end. In September, out 
of concern for their safety, the UNHCR advised refugee and asylum 
seekers to move north away from the Kyrgyz Uzbek border. In November 
NGOs reported that Israil Khaldarov, one of the five Uzbek refugees who 
disappeared from Kyrgyzstan, was found in an Andijan prison.
    There were no refugee camps for Uzbek citizens operating in 
Kyrgyzstan. The media and some NGOs reported that Uzbek refugees 
continue to hide in Kyrgyzstan for fear of persecution by the Uzbek 
authorities. The number of current refugees was not available at year's 
end.
    As with Uzbek asylum seekers, the Government continued to deny 
Chechen refugees official refugee status but granted them asylum seeker 
status if they qualified and provided them with some legal protection.
    According to the UNHCR, Uighurs remained at risk of deportation or 
extradition, particularly if they were involved with political and 
religious activities in China. Uighurs also risked deportation at the 
request of the Chinese government.
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. Although some restrictions remained, the Government made 
progress in respecting citizens' ability to do so. Under the 
constitution in effect until November 9, the President could veto any 
legislative act and dissolve the legislature and dismiss members of the 
Government; the President also had immunity after leaving office. The 
parliament could override Presidential vetoes, which it occasionally 
did in the past. On November 8, parliament passed amendments to the 
constitution, which the President signed into effect on November 9. The 
new constitution shifted several powers from the President to 
parliament and provided the possibility for an improved system of 
checks and balances between the branches of government. Parliament 
would be increased from 75 to 90 members with half elected by party 
lists; the majority party, not the President, would choose the Prime 
Minister and form the Government, although the President could still 
dismiss ministers. All ministries, including the SNB, would report to 
the Prime Minister rather than the President. The President's ability 
to dissolve parliament was diminished, while parliament's ability to 
impeach the President was enhanced. The President could no longer 
extend his tenure or be re elected via constitutional changes. On 
December 30, parliament voted to adopt a new version of the 
constitution that restored certain powers to the President lost in the 
November 9 constitution, to include nomination of constitutional and 
Supreme Court judges, appointment and dismissal of regional governors 
and the heads of local administrations, and control over defense and 
security bodies.
    During the year there were cases of government harassment of 
members of the political opposition.
    Following the November opposition-led demonstrations, opposition 
members and sympathizers noted increased government harassment by way 
of heightened scrutiny by the SNB and tax authorities.
    On November 12, two grenades were thrown into the house of 
opposition parliamentarian Isa Omurkulov. No casualties were reported. 
The Government opened a criminal investigation into the case. At year's 
end no results of the investigation were available.
    On November 9, security forces detained Ata-Meken party activist 
Bakyt Kalpekov and charged him with assaulting the deputy director of 
the National Television station during the opposition-led 
demonstrations in November. Although he was released on bail a few days 
later, he was sent back to jail under court order, pending trial.
    On November 30, head of the NGO Coalition for Democracy and Civil 
Society Edil Baisalov was physically assaulted by an unknown assailant 
in Osh. On April 12, Baisalov was attacked by another unknown assailant 
in Bishkek and sustained head injuries. The investigations into both 
incidents continued at year's end. Baisalov claimed publicly that each 
attack was related to his political activities.
    On December 1, the spouse of opposition member Omurbek Abdrakhmanov 
was detained and questioned by the financial police under charges of 
tax evasion. Only after opposition parliamentarians came to her aid and 
the detention attempt was made public was she released. The Government 
proceeded with an investigation, and the case against her continued at 
year's end.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Following former President 
Akayev's March 2005 departure from government, Prime Minister Kurmanbek 
Bakiyev assumed the interim presidency. He was elected President in 
July 2005 in an election the OSCE reported marked tangible progress 
towards international standards. Fundamental civil and political 
rights, such as the freedom of expression and the freedom of assembly, 
were generally respected leading up to the election, and the media 
provided all candidates with opportunities to present their views. 
Despite concerted efforts to improve voter lists, however, some aspects 
of the revision of voter lists breached legal provisions. Unexplained 
fluctuations in the number of voters on the main voter lists, up to and 
on election day, raised questions about the accounting of ballots.
    During the year parliamentary by elections were held in five 
districts: the Kadamjaiskiy, Kurshabskiy, and Balykchinskiy districts 
on April 9, the Mailysuu District on May 14, and the Myrzaakinsky 
District on October 29. In Kurshabsky, voting results were heavily 
contested, resulting in a revote at several polling stations. During 
the June 25 revoting several persons were injured when supporters of 
Mamat Orozbayev and Sanzharbek Kadyraliyev began throwing rocks and 
Molotov cocktails at each other and exchanged gunfire in the southern 
town of Uzgen. Police used tear gas to end the clashes, and local 
authorities were forced to close the polling station and suspend the 
vote. In October the Central Election Committee (CEC) endorsed only 
those votes that were made at CEC-validated polling stations. As a 
result, Sanzharbek Kadyraliyev was recognized as the winner. In other 
districts, the voting was not associated with any significant 
irregularities or disturbances.
    During the February 2005 parliamentary election, individuals and 
parties could stand for election. However, the Government infringed the 
right of opposition parties to seek votes and publicize views by 
restricting the availability of meeting places, limiting air time on 
state television, and running negative stories about opposition 
candidates in state-controlled media. The Alga Kyrgyzstan 
progovernmental party enjoyed the Government's support during the 
electoral campaign.
    After March 2005 the political party landscape changed 
significantly. Out of nearly 90 registered political parties, only a 
dozen were active, and no single party was dominant. Many government 
officials were affiliated with progovernmental parties; no opposition 
party representatives were in the cabinet.
    On September 6, Polish authorities detained parliamentarian Omurbek 
Tekebayev at the Warsaw airport because of an Interpol tip that 
Tekebayev was transporting illegal drugs. Authorities found illegal 
drugs in his luggage, but Tekebayev asserted his innocence. Tekebayev 
and opposition leaders asserted government involvement. On September 8, 
a Polish court released Tekebayev due to a lack of evidence. A number 
of pro-opposition politicians suggested that President Bakiyev's 
brother and first deputy chairman of the SNB, Janysh Bakiyev, was 
involved in planting the drugs in Tekebayev's luggage. President 
Bakiyev dismissed his brother and also accepted the resignation of the 
SNB Chairman Busurmankul Tabaldiyev. Separate parliamentary and state 
commissions, as well as the Office of the Prosecutor General, opened 
investigations into the case. On September 21, the parliamentary 
commission ruled that the SNB set up the incident to compromise 
Tekebayev's reputation as an opposition leader.
    On February 15, member of parliament Kubatbek Baibolov gave a press 
conference at which he said that law enforcement organs began a black 
public relations campaign against him. According to Baibolov's 
opponents in the Government, he was responsible for spreading leaflets 
with instructions for overthrowing the Government. No proof linking 
Baibolov to such leaflets was found. Baibolov believed he was singled 
out because of his involvement in politics and because he was widely 
considered to be a potential candidate for speaker of parliament.
    There were no women in the 75 seat legislature. Women held several 
high level government posts, including chief justice of the 
Constitutional Court, the chair of the State Committee on Migration and 
Employment Issues, and chair of the Social Fund. In November parliament 
voted against a government-initiated draft law stipulating that at 
least 30 percent of ministerial positions be held by women.
    There were 12 members of four minorities represented in the 75 seat 
legislature. Russians and Uzbeks, the two largest ethnic minority 
groups, remained underrepresented in government positions. Members of 
minority groups held top posts, including the minister of labor and 
social protection and chair of the Social Fund. Russian speaking 
citizens alleged that a ``ceiling'' precluded promotion beyond a 
certain level in government service.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption remained a 
serious problem at all levels of society. During the year the 
Government took limited steps to address the problem including reports 
of arrests of government officials on corruption charges. In 2005 the 
Government established the Agency for Preventing Corruption and the 
National Council for Fighting Corruption. During the year the agency 
conducted a nationwide survey of corruption within government agencies. 
Based on the results of the study, it released a list of the most 
corrupt governmental bodies. The list included tax and customs 
agencies, law enforcement bodies, courts, and agencies controlling 
construction and the issuance of business licenses.
    According to the MVD, 198 cases of bribe taking, 83 cases of 
negligence of official duties and fraud, 478 cases of embezzlement, and 
1,520 cases of malfeasance took place between January and November. The 
MVD reported that criminal charges were filed against 352 government 
officials as a result. On August 7, the President signed a new anti-
money laundering law.
    Even though there were press reports about arrests on corruption 
charges, no convictions were reported. During the year the National 
Agency for Corruption Prevention received more than 800 complaints 
about corruption in government offices, conducted preliminary probes 
into each one, and forwarded cases to the Prosecutor's Office for 
prosecution. However, no significant action was taken. In September 
Parliamentarian Iskhak Masaliyev, addressing the International Business 
Council, stated the country lacks the political will essential in 
fighting corruption.
    Tax authorities released to the media a list of officials who did 
not submit income declarations. However, there were no reports of any 
action taken against officials that failed to comply with the income 
disclosure law.
    Following the 2005 change of government, a special commission was 
established to identify assets that had belonged to former President 
Akayev and his entourage. After the results of the commission were 
released, the Office of the Prosecutor General launched more than 100 
investigations to assess the legality of these acquisitions and 
businesses. The investigations continued at year's end.
    The law gives persons the right to request information from the 
Government. The Government generally complied with such requests but 
sometimes took a long time to do so. In October General Prosecutor 
Kanbaraly Kongantiyev issued an internal regulation forbidding the 
prosecutor's staff from sharing official information with the media, 
NGOs, or individuals. According to the regulation, official information 
can be released only upon approval of the general prosecutor, through 
his press service.
    On November 14, parliament adopted a freedom of information law 
that was initiated by the President. The law grants broad access to 
information that has not been deemed by the Government to be either 
commercially sensitive or a state secret.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Bakiyev government made significant efforts to reach out to 
human rights groups and civil society in general. However, during the 
year harassment and pressure by law enforcement agencies and unknown 
persons on human rights activists increased.
    According to local NGO leaders, the following major human rights 
NGOs operated independently: Citizens Against Corruption, Coalition for 
Democracy and Civil Society, Kylym Shamy, Adilet Legal Clinic, 
Spravedlivost, Foundation for Tolerance International, Association of 
Centers of Support for Civil Society, Interbilim, and the Bureau of 
Human Rights.
    In March Jalalabad local police filed a case against well known 
human rights activists Valentina Gritsenko, Abdumalik Sharipov, and 
Mukhamdjan Abdujaparov, employees of the NGO Spravedlivost NGO headed 
by Valeriy Uleyev, claiming they published false information about the 
police during the year. The case continued at year's end.
    Representatives of the NGO Civil Society Against Corruption 
reported that on several occasions between March and October their 
office was broken into and searched by unknown persons who copied their 
computer files, which was confirmed by a computer expert's 
investigation. Several affiliate offices of the NGO Coalition For 
Democracy and Civil Society reported harassment and attempts to disrupt 
their activities by local authorities.
    In 2005 the Jety-Oguz District Court ordered the removal of the 
Issy-kul-based NGO Karek from an office previously claimed by the NGO. 
Karek immediately appealed the court's decision, and on October 17 the 
Interdistrict Court revised the District Court's verdict ruling in 
favor of Karek's claim. The plaintiff continued to contest the 
interdistrict court's decision and contended that the office space was 
improperly acquired. By year's end the Issyku-Kul Oblast Arbitrary 
Court supported the interdistrict court's decision and issued a verdict 
in favor of Karek's claim.
    In September 2005 human rights activist Aziza Abdrasulova and her 
family received threatening phone calls, and her husband was beaten in 
connection with her support of protesting railway workers. According to 
Abdrasulova, she and her husband filed complaints and spoke to an 
investigator, but no official investigation was opened. At year's end 
no further developments were expected in the case.
    In December 2005 the Government filed slander charges against Maxim 
Kuleshov, leader of human rights NGO Peace, Light and Culture and 
coordinator of the resource center in Tokmok. The case was initiated 
after Kuleshov filed a lawsuit against police officers for interrupting 
a December 2005 peaceful rally in Tokmok against torture in 
penitentiary facilities. Early in the year a police officer filed a 
lawsuit against Kuleshov for slander because the police denied that 
torture had ever been used in penitentiary facilities. This case was 
closed by the end of February because the plaintiff failed to appear in 
court three times, which enabled the judge to close the case. On 
December 13, 2005, the city prosecutor closed the case that was opened 
on December 2, 2005, due to a lack of evidence.
    During the year foreign funded NGOs were generally able to pursue 
their work free from government interference. However, the Government 
attempted to restrict the activities of and intimidate some local 
foreign funded NGOs. Government interference into the activities of 
foreign funded NGOs increased slightly after the SNB claimed, at the 
beginning of the year, that local NGOs were working in the interest of 
foreign donors. On January 24, Minister of Justice Marat Kaipov 
publicly instructed the ministry's registration department to launch an 
investigation of all NGOs operating in the country that receive foreign 
funding. In a speech to senior Justice Ministry staff, Minister Kaipov 
specifically called on the registration department to determine which 
NGOs funded from abroad might threaten national security and implied 
that government support should go to those NGOs that advanced the 
country's development. Government officials later said no NGO 
investigations would take place and it was a misunderstanding 
attributable to a bad translation. While no local NGOs reported any 
attempts by the Government to investigate their activities, the General 
Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation in November into the 
local activities of the National Democratic Institute, the 
International Republican Institute, and the International Foundation 
for Election Systems. The results of these investigations were pending 
at year's end.
    During the year state owned and progovernment media outlets also 
frequently published articles criticizing foreign funded NGOs, calling 
for a halt to their activities (see section 2.b.) and the Government 
used law enforcement agencies to threaten and intimidate NGOs. In July 
the Government expelled foreign diplomats allegedly for conduct 
incompatible with their diplomatic status; observers believed the 
Government was unhappy with the diplomats' contact with NGOs and 
opposition members.
    The Government generally cooperated with the numerous international 
organizations that reported on human rights problems in the country.
    The Government generally cooperated with international 
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other 
organizations, including the OSCE, International Committee of the Red 
Cross, and IOM.
    The ombudsman's mandate is to act as an independent advocate for 
human rights on behalf of private citizens and NGOs, and it has the 
authority to recommend cases to courts for review. The Ombudsman's 
Office actively advocated for individual rights. The Ombudsman's Office 
claimed that after the March 2005 events, the number of complaints grew 
to 62,012. By year's end the Ombudsman's Office received 11,937 
appeals, most having to do with land ownership issues and official 
corruption. The Ombudsman's Office confirmed that in a number of cases 
its advocacy was effective in reversing court verdicts against 
complainants.
    The parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Law, State Structure, 
Legality, Court, Judiciary Reform, and Human Rights drafts or reviews 
legislation affecting human rights before it goes before the full 
parliament for approval. The committee also reviews all draft 
legislation that has a human rights component. In addition, the 
Democratic Security Council under the President is nominally tasked 
with protecting human rights in the country; however, it remained 
relatively inactive during the year.
    The Presidential State Commission on Human Rights' responsibilities 
included implementing the Government's policy on human rights, 
improving relevant legislation, conducting information campaigns to 
increase public awareness about human rights issues, and establishing 
relations with international human rights organizations. At year's end 
the commission had not yet published its report.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, although in practice there was 
discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, ethnic 
minorities, and homosexuals.

    Women.--The law specifically prohibits domestic violence and 
spousal abuse; however, violence against women remained a problem. Some 
estimates indicated domestic violence constituted between 40 and 60 
percent of all crimes committed against women. Many crimes against 
women were not reported due to psychological pressure, cultural 
traditions, and apathy of law enforcement officials. Penalties ranged 
from fines to 15 years' imprisonment (if abuse resulted in death). 
There were 249 reported crimes committed against women as of October 1; 
the majority of those cases were sent to court.
    Several local NGOs provided services for victims of domestic 
violence, including legal, medical, and psychological assistance, a 
crisis hot line, shelters, and prevention programs. Organizations 
involved with battered women also lobbied for new laws on domestic 
violence. The Government also provided offices for the Sezim Shelter 
and paid its bills.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal. Activists noted that the 
official number of rape cases continued to increase, although it was 
not clear whether this was due primarily to increased reporting of 
attacks. Interior Ministry statistics indicated that during the year 
there were 239 registered cases of rape, the majority of which were 
sent to court. Actual figures were believed to be significantly higher; 
NGOs estimated the number could be up to 10 times the reported figure. 
The NGO Sezim estimated that 90 percent of cases brought against 
alleged rapists would never be brought to court. All experts concurred 
that most of the cases would be mired in corruption; however, as 
bribery has been used commonly to curtail investigations against 
individuals charged with rape.
    Although prohibited by law, rural inhabitants continued the 
traditional practice of kidnapping women and girls for forced marriage. 
During the year there were 10 reported cases of forced marriage, but 
the actual figure may have been much higher. Cultural traditions 
discouraged victims from going to the authorities. NGOs maintained 
antitrafficking hot lines, using toll-free numbers provided by the 
Government, to help potential and actual trafficking victims. The IOM 
established hot lines, staffed by lawyers and social workers, in each 
province during June and July. The MOI provided free-of-charge office 
space for the IOM-sponsored hotline staff. The IOM also initiated a 
countrywide antitrafficking information campaign, including awareness 
advertisements on television, radio, and billboards.
    Prostitution is not a crime, although the operation of brothels, 
pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution is illegal, with 
penalties of up to five years. With no legal measures in place to 
regulate the industry, it was an ongoing problem. NGOs that defended 
prostitute's rights, including the NGO Tais-Plus, continued to advocate 
for legal protection for prostitutes' rights.
    Trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation and 
forced labor was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    According to an expert at the local NGO Shans, sexual harassment is 
prohibited by law; however, it was rarely reported or prosecuted. 
Penalties range from fines to imprisonment.
    Women enjoy the same rights as men, including under family law, 
property law, and in the judicial system, although discrimination 
against women persisted in practice. The National Council on the Issues 
of Family, Women and Gender Development, under the President, is 
responsible for women's issues. Average wages for women were 
substantially less than for men. Women made up the majority of 
pensioners, a group that was particularly vulnerable to deteriorating 
economic conditions. After the demise of the Soviet Union, traditional 
attitudes toward women reemerged in the countryside, where women were 
relegated to the roles of wife and mother and educational opportunities 
were curtailed. Data indicated that women were less healthy, more 
abused, less able to work outside the home, and less able to dispose of 
their earnings independently than men.

    Children.--The Government was generally committed to the rights and 
welfare of children, although it lacked resources to address basic 
needs for shelter, food, and clothing fully. In September the 
Government initiated a program providing each elementary student with a 
free glass of milk and a roll every morning. Rural and urban schools 
administered the program effectively.
    The law provides for compulsory and free education for the first 
nine years of schooling, or until age 14; secondary education is free 
and universal up to age 17. However, financial constraints prevented 
the Government from providing free basic education for all students. 
Families that kept children in public schools often had to pay 
burdensome and illegal administrative fees. In September the Government 
issued a decree stating that parents of schoolchildren should refrain 
from paying administrative fees to schools. Girls and boys attended 
school in equal ratios. During the year the primary school enrollment 
ratio was 99 percent for both girls and boys, according to UNICEF; the 
secondary school enrollment ratio was 78 percent for boys and 85 
percent for girls. The law penalizes parents who do not send their 
children to school or who obstruct their attendance. This law was only 
sporadically enforced, particularly in rural areas. In 2005-06 76,100, 
or 6.8 percent, of total school age children completed secondary 
school.
    The Government continued to fund the work of two programs to 
provide benefits for low income children and children with 
disabilities, such as school supplies and textbooks. Legally, all 
textbooks should be free, but the Government was unable to provide free 
textbooks to all, and students had to pay for some of the textbooks. At 
the beginning of the academic year, the Government initiated a program 
that provided all public schoolchildren with free textbooks. According 
to experts in the field, the program was not completely successful 
because some schoolchildren throughout the country still had to 
purchase books.
    The Government provided health care for children, and boys and 
girls had equal access. The system of residence registration restricted 
access to social services, including health care and education, for 
certain children, such as refugees, migrants, internally displaced 
persons, and noncitizens (see section 2.d.).
    Child abuse, including beatings, child labor, and sexual 
exploitation continued to be a problem.
    Underage marriage was not a significant problem in the country. The 
practice of bride kidnapping remained a concern, with two underage 
abductions reported during the year. Criminal cases were opened on both 
cases. Information on the outcome of those investigations was not 
available at year's end. Children ages 16 and 17 may legally marry with 
local authority consent, although marriage before age 16 is prohibited 
under all circumstances.
    Trafficking of children for the purposes of sexual exploitation and 
labor remained a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Children from low income families continued to work as street 
vendors or in markets and were not able to attend school. According to 
the NGO Center for Protection of Children, the number of children in 
the south involved in child labor reached 125,000, while the number of 
children working on tobacco fields was approximately 15,000 (see 
section 6.d.). According to UNICEF, approximately 4 percent of the 
country's children aged 5 to 14 years were engaged in child labor.
    As in previous years, there were numerous reports of child 
abandonment due to parents' lack of resources, which led to larger 
numbers of children in institutions, foster care, or on the streets. 
State orphanages and foster homes also faced a lack of resources and 
often were unable to provide proper care. Some children too old to 
remain in orphanages were transferred to mental health care facilities, 
even when they did not exhibit mental health problems. Many street 
children left home because of abusive (8 percent) or alcoholic (10 
percent) parents or desperate economic conditions (75 percent). 
Government and NGO estimates of the number of street children 
nationwide ranged from approximately 2,000 to 15,000, depending on the 
time of the year. Approximately 80 percent of street children were 
internal migrants. Street children were detained by police and either 
sent home (if an address was known) or to a rehabilitation center or 
orphanage. The two MVD maintained rehabilitation centers, one each in 
Bishkek and Osh, continued to lack sufficient food, clothes, and 
medicine and remained in poor condition. According to UNICEF, children 
staying at these MVD-maintained centers claimed that they were 
physically and mentally abused. Employees at these centers contested 
those claims and insisted that their practices conformed to normal 
standards of discipline.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons; 
however, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and 
within the country. Trafficking remained a persistent problem, and 
victims alleged that government officials facilitated, or were 
complicit in, trafficking. However, the Government continued to make 
significant efforts to address trafficking, including prosecuting 
several officials involved in trafficking and improving assistance to 
victims.
    The country was a source and transit, and to a lesser degree, a 
destination for trafficked persons. Internal trafficking for both labor 
and sexual exploitation also occurred, generally from poor rural areas 
to larger cities such as Bishkek in the north and Osh in the south. The 
Government recognized that trafficking in persons was a problem, but it 
was not able to address the issue without financial and practical 
assistance from various international and nongovernmental 
organizations. With that assistance, the Government was able to improve 
legislation on prosecution of traffickers, participate and support a 
countrywide information campaign, and train law enforcement and foreign 
affairs officials on trafficking awareness.
    There was no reliable data on the number of persons trafficked. 
Local NGOs and government officials estimate that approximately 4,000 
Kyrgyz women were working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the sex 
industry. Most were presumed to be victims of trafficking. A 
significant number of trafficking victims were also estimated to be 
working in Kazakhstan and Russia as labor migrants. According to 
estimates by IOM, Eurasia Foundation, and the Kyrgyz State Committee 
for Migration and Employment, the number of Kyrgyz labor migrants 
working in Kazakhstan ranged from 30,000 to 50,000 or from 300,000 to 
600,000, depending on the season. Another 300,000 to 500,000 Kyrgyz 
citizens were estimated to be working in Russia. The number of Kyrgyz 
citizens working in both countries who may have been victims of 
trafficking was unknown.
    IOM estimated that about 70 percent of trafficking victims were 
from the southern provinces of Jalalabad and Osh, where unemployment 
rates were highest. Women, especially from impoverished southern areas, 
were trafficked for sexual exploitation to the UAE, China, South Korea, 
Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria.
    Traffickers were often persons who previously operated local 
prostitution networks. Relatives or close family friends were also 
reportedly used to recruit trafficking victims. Tour agents, 
restaurants, and nightclubs supplemented their activities by 
trafficking young women to foreign prostitution rings. Traffickers also 
included organized crime rings that often used former trafficking 
victims as recruiters. In some cases traffickers provided escorts, 
usually an older woman, to accompany victims and facilitate border 
crossings into countries such as the UAE, where young women were 
generally not allowed to enter alone. Labor trafficking was much less 
organized and often involved self employed recruiters who simply loaded 
persons onto buses and transported them to the country for work on 
farms, as well as to labor recruitment firms (see section 6.c.).
    Trafficking in persons, including organizing illegal migration and 
smuggling, is a criminal offense punishable by up to 20 years in 
prison. Other provisions of the criminal code used to prosecute 
traffickers included kidnapping, trading in children, recruiting 
persons for exploitation, coercion into prostitution, rape, and 
deprivation of freedom. The maximum sentence for those prosecuted under 
these laws is 15 years. In January the President enacted a new Law on 
External Labor Migration. The law regulates recruitment of citizens for 
work abroad and legal assistance to labor migrants, including cases 
that pose potential trafficking risks. In February amendments to the 
Code on Administrative Responsibility increased the punishment for 
violating visa issuance rules; the amendment is aimed at preventing 
trafficking of foreign citizens to the country.
    According to the MVD, 22 trafficking-related crimes were registered 
during the first 10 months of the year, with completed investigations 
on 20 of those cases. According to IOM, there were at least three 
convictions during the year.
    During the year no trafficking victims were prosecuted for illegal 
migration or other charges related to trafficking; the Government 
respected their status as victims.
    The Government's efforts to address trafficking included 
participating in and supporting public information campaigns and 
improving laws to protect against trafficking in persons, and providing 
training for law enforcement, diplomatic, and government officials.
    On February 14, the SNB prevented the trafficking and potential 
sexual exploitation of 61 young women by taking them off a UAE bound 
plane in Osh. The IOM office in Osh interviewed all 61 apprehended 
women and offered assistance to those considered to be trafficking 
victims; only six of the women were considered to be victims (including 
two minors). According to their testimonies, they were told they would 
be offered lucrative jobs in Dubai. The remainder of the group stated 
they were traveling voluntarily to work in the sex industry in the UAE. 
The SNB arrested four organizers who facilitated travel of the group 
through Kyrgyz territory; one of the organizers admitted that the six 
recognized victims were intended to be sold into slavery upon arrival 
in Dubai. At year's end the investigation of the case continued and no 
further information about the investigation was available.
    The MVD has a designated antitrafficking police unit. The National 
Antitrafficking Council chaired by the vice prime minister is 
responsible for enforcing a government policy to fight trafficking and 
oversee the efforts of different government agencies to implement 
antitrafficking action plans. During the year new officials whose 
portfolios include combating trafficking were appointed, due to a 
significant turnover within the Government. In late 2005 the 
responsibility for coordinating antitrafficking activities was assigned 
to the trafficking division of the newly established State Committee on 
Migration and Employment (SCME). Together with the OSCE, the SCME was 
developing a program on preventing and combating trafficking.
    Endemic corruption impeded the Government's efforts to curb 
trafficking. Victims reported that local police, immigration officers, 
and airport security officials often cooperated with highly organized 
trafficking operations. Observers believed that some government 
authorities facilitated or were otherwise complicit in trafficking 
activities. In 2005 and at a October press conference, Kubanychbek 
Isabekov, chair of the parliamentary Commission on Labor Migration, 
stated law enforcement officers were directly involved in trafficking.
    In January the President signed amendments to article 124 of the 
Criminal Code that made explicit that trafficking victims would not be 
prosecuted if they cooperate with an investigation. With this provision 
in place, it was reported that trafficking victims were cooperative 
during investigations. According to local NGOs, during the year there 
were no reported cases of trafficking victims treated or prosecuted as 
illegal migrants for not cooperating. Since 2005 trafficking victims 
have not been prosecuted for document fraud or illegal border crossing 
if they assisted in the prosecution of traffickers. According to the 
law, the Government may provide foreign trafficking victims with 
criminal immunity and immunity from deportation for violations 
committed while being trafficked, provided they cooperate with law 
enforcement officials. In addition, such individuals may be granted 
temporary or permanent residence status. According to local 
antitrafficking NGOs, trafficking victims no longer refused to 
cooperate with police for fear of prosecution for offenses committed 
while being trafficked into or out of the country. However, it was 
reported that the trafficking victims feared possible retaliation from 
traffickers should it be revealed that they provided information to the 
authorities about traffickers' activities. There were no reports that 
the Government deported foreign victims of trafficking during the year. 
OSCE and IOM reported that many of those who returned from commercial 
work overseas stated they were forced to pay bribes to law enforcement 
officials to avoid imprisonment for having improper or falsified travel 
documents. However, border authorities reported that Kyrgyz victims who 
admitted to the use of false documents or illegal entry into the 
country were not penalized.
    The Government implemented information campaigns warning persons 
against the dangers of being trafficked. In April the NGO Golden Goal 
launched an antitrafficking information campaign sponsored by the 
Canadian government and implemented jointly with local law enforcement 
authorities. As part of the program, training was held for law 
enforcement officials in Osh on how to treat trafficking victims and 
enhance antitrafficking activities. Golden Goal also carried out an 
information campaign within schools and colleges to raise awareness 
about the dangers of trafficking. In June the Government, jointly with 
IOM and foreign donors, started information campaigns and victims 
assistance. As part of the campaign, the Government established a toll 
free hot line that callers could use to receive information in Kyrgyz 
and Russian languages about rules and laws for labor migrants and all 
others seeking employment opportunities abroad. Callers could receive 
legal advice on the possibility of being trafficked while seeking 
employment abroad.
    In October the parliament ratified a CIS agreement on combating 
trafficking aimed at coordinating efforts of CIS law enforcement 
agencies.
    In November Golden Goal and the OSCE launched a Web site, aimed 
primarily at Ferghana Valley residents, that provided information on 
combating trafficking, including antitrafficking programs implemented 
in the region, helpline information for trafficking victims, relevant 
laws on trafficking, and other useful information. The site also serves 
as a venue for information sharing between Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik 
NGOs involved in antitrafficking activities.
    Numerous articles in governmental and independent media outlets 
publicized the dangers of working abroad, and posters on public 
transport raised public awareness of the problem.
    Although the Government lacked adequate resources to carry out 
comprehensive antitrafficking programs, it actively participated in and 
helped implement numerous NGO and other foreign sponsored 
antitrafficking programs and cooperated with international 
organizations and other countries to combat trafficking. The Government 
carried out or participated in a number of antitrafficking and 
education campaigns. Central and local governments worked with 
approximately 12 domestic NGOs on information campaign.
    According to some NGOs, the Government did not directly assist 
trafficking victims, including those repatriated, with any special 
services or care facilities. However, the Government supported NGOs by 
providing them with office space, space for two shelters (one in 
Bishkek and one in Osh), and free advertising in government owned media 
outlets. The Government provided space for a new shelter for juvenile 
trafficking victims in the south, which opened in November. Law 
enforcement organs increasingly referred victims to private shelters 
such as Sezim, which provided shelter for 35 female trafficking victims 
as well as legal and employment advice to 10 women in Bishkek during 
the year. Many NGOs conducted workshops for law enforcement officers. A 
number of NGOs, including Women's Support Center, TAIS Plus, New 
Chance, Sezim, Podruga, and Golden Goal provided legal, medical, and 
psychological assistance as well as economic aid to trafficking 
victims.
    The NGO Sezim reported that it received 68 calls to its hot line 
during the first two months of the year; beginning in March, such calls 
were made on IOM-sponsored and government operated toll free number. 
Due to suspension of funding, the Podruga hot line operated only for 
three months during the year; during this time, it received about 200 
calls on their hot line. At year's end IOM provided assistance to 104 
trafficking victims, including repatriation, psychological support, 
shelter upon arrival in Bishkek or Osh, vocational training, and 
monthly stipends.
    IOM, OSCE, various local organizations, and foreign governments 
sponsored a wide range of preventive programs, including 
antitrafficking public service announcements, roundtables, and 
workshops to increase awareness among the Government, nonprofit, 
tourism, and media sectors.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, but in practice there was 
discrimination in employment, education, access to health care, and in 
the provision of other state services for persons with disabilities. 
The law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities, 
although the Government generally did not enforce these provisions in 
practice. The law provides for access to public transportation and 
parking for persons with disabilities, subsidies to make mass media 
available to the hearing or visually impaired, and free plots of land 
for the construction of a home; however, in practice few special 
provisions were in place to allow persons with disabilities access to 
transportation, public buildings, and mass media. In addition, persons 
with disabilities often had difficulty finding employment because of 
negative societal attitudes and high unemployment among the general 
population. The lack of resources made it difficult for persons with 
disabilities to receive adequate education. Hospitals, special 
institutions, and boarding homes for persons with mental disabilities 
were severely strained, due to low budgets and heavy workloads.
    Serious problems continued within psychiatric hospitals. The 
Government was unable to provide basic needs such as food, water, 
clothing, heating, and healthcare, and facilities were often 
overcrowded. There were documented cases of animal feed being purchased 
to substitute normal rations for mentally ill patients. Inadequate 
funding played a critical factor. Mentally disabled children were put 
into psychiatric hospitals rather than socially integrated with other 
children. Although they have the right to an education, they were not 
allowed to go to school. Their parents had established special 
educational centers to educate their children, but they did not receive 
any government assistance. Other patients were also often admitted 
involuntarily, including children without mental disabilities who were 
too old to remain in orphanages. Patients were sometimes engaged in 
forced labor on hospital grounds (see section 6.c.). The NGO Mental 
Health and Society continued its work with the Health Ministry to 
develop programs aimed at improving conditions in psychiatric 
hospitals.
    There were no further developments and none were expected in the 
2005 death of the institutionalized patient at the Chym-Korgon 
hospital. Relatives of the deceased made attempts to bring the case to 
the attention of authorities with little success.
    The lack of transparency in the administration of mental health 
facilities contributed to abusive conditions.
    Most judges lacked the necessary experience and training to 
determine whether persons should be referred to psychiatric hospitals, 
and the practice of institutionalizing individuals against their will 
continued.
    In August the Government issued a decree on creating a special 
independent entity for the protection of psychiatric patients' rights, 
based on a law originally adopted in 1999. The Office of the Prosecutor 
General is the Government's implementing body for the decree and 
facilitating the protection of rights for the disabled. According to 
local NGO lawyers, the members of the Prosecutor's Office had no 
training and little knowledge on the protection of these rights and 
were ineffective in assisting disabled citizens.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minorities alleged 
discrimination, including from officials, in hiring, promotion, and 
housing, but no official reports were registered with the local 
authorities. Statistical data from 2005 reflected the following ethnic 
breakdown of the population: 67.4 percent Kyrgyz; 10.3 percent Russian; 
14.2 percent Uzbek; 1.1 percent Dungan (ethnic Chinese Muslims); and 1 
percent Uighur. Other ethnic groups, including Tatars and Germans, 
comprised 6.4 percent of the population.
    Uighur representatives reported no discrimination against Uighurs 
during the year. However, in February clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and 
ethnic Dungans were reported in the Iskra village of the Chui Oblast. 
(see section 2.c).
    In April and May an ethnic Uzbek parliamentarian advocated that 
Uzbek become an official language. Shortly after the parliamentarian's 
statement, a number of unknown perpetrators, the majority of whom were 
reported to be ethnic Kyrgyz, seized his property. The deputy claimed 
that the local authorities supported the perpetrators because of their 
objection to Uzbek becoming an official language. However, other Uzbek 
community representatives disputed this claim. The police, at the 
behest of the parliamentarian, managed to remove the illegal occupants 
from the property.
    In August opposition leader and member of the parliament Kadyrjan 
Batyrov accused security forces of violating the human rights of the 
Uzbek minority in the south by targeting them during antiterrorism and 
extremism operations. Security service authorities denied the 
accusations.
    The law designates Kyrgyz as the state language and Russian as an 
official language and provides for preservation and equal and free 
development of minority languages. Russian speaking citizens alleged 
that a ceiling precluded promotion beyond a certain level in government 
service. They also alleged that some otherwise qualified candidates 
were previously disqualified in elections on the basis of exams, the 
fairness of which was questioned. Both Uzbek and Russian were widely 
used both officially and unofficially. A 2004 language law requiring, 
among other provisions, that the President, prime minister, speaker of 
parliament, and a number of other unspecified public servants be 
proficient in Kyrgyz was pending implementation until 2015. The Bakiyev 
government's initiative to revive the Kyrgyz language and calls for 
increased official usage of Kyrgyz raised concerns among non Kyrgyz 
ethnic groups fearing possible discrimination on the basis of language. 
In the December 30 version of the constitution, Russian remained an 
official language of the country.
    On May 26, authorities in Jalalabad refused to provide the 
necessary permits, because of a technicality, to the Uzbek Cultural 
Center in Jalalabad to hold a rally to promote Uzbek as an official 
state language.
    On June 6, police in Jalalabad detained Mamatkadyr Karabayev for 
allegedly misusing state funds. Karabayev claimed that he was arrested 
for organizing and leading an ethnic Uzbek-led demonstration that 
sought official status for the Uzbek language. Karabayev was released 
under a seven-year suspended sentence and three years' probation.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to a 2005 
Dutch study, persons of nontraditional sexual orientation, particularly 
homosexual men, were among the most oppressed groups, although the 
country does not outlaw homosexuality. Those whose sexuality was 
publicly known risked physical and verbal abuse, possible loss of work, 
and unwanted attention from police and authorities, particularly lower 
ranking police. Incarcerated gay men were often openly victimized in 
prisons by inmates and officials alike.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of all 
workers to form and belong to trade unions, and workers exercised this 
right in practice. The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) remained the 
only trade union umbrella organization in the country, although unions 
were not required to belong to it. The FTU had 1.06 million members, or 
56 percent of the country's employed workforce. Growing numbers of 
smaller unions were not affiliated with the umbrella organization. One 
of the largest of these was the Union of Entrepreneurs and Small 
Business Workers, with a membership of approximately 60,000. The FTU 
must approve all draft legislation affecting workers' rights.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference and the 
Government protected this right in practice. The law recognizes the 
right of unions to organize and bargain collectively and trade unions 
exercise the right on behalf of their members. The Government set the 
minimum wage, after which each employer set its own wage level.
    While the right to strike was not granted, it was not prohibited, 
and several strikes took place during the year. In June Bishkek city 
minibus drivers went on a strike to protest an increase in the price of 
diesel fuel. Authorities convinced them to return to work after 
promising to consider their demands, but none of the drivers' demands 
were satisfied at year's end. Neither the Government nor the strikers 
raised this issue again.
    There are Free Economic Zones (FEZs) that function as export 
processing zones. All local labor laws apply to the approximately 4,900 
workers in the FEZs. According to the World Bank, wages were about 2.3 
times higher in FEZs.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see sections 5 and 6.d.).
    The press continued to report that Kyrgyz citizens were forced to 
work without pay on tobacco farms in Kazakhstan. However, this practice 
declined significantly after the 2004 signing of a bilateral labor 
agreement with Kazakhstan.
    In July the Kazakh President signed a decree protecting the rights 
of Kyrgyz labor migrants. The decree prolonged the compulsory 
registration period for Kyrgyz labor migrants from 3 to 90 days and 
obliged Kazakh employers to provide social and medical insurance to all 
Kyrgyz labor migrants.
    In 2005 local media reported that approximately 20 Kyrgyz citizens 
were held hostage in China due to their families' inability to pay for 
goods purchased from Chinese merchants. According to local NGOs, 
however, the actual number of individuals being held hostage in China 
have been more than 100. The IOM claimed that at least three hostages 
escaped China during the year. The Kyrgyz MFA, according to IOM, 
continued to negotiate the release of the remaining Kyrgyz citizens 
with the Chinese government.
    The Government worked with the Governments of Russia and Kazakhstan 
to protect the rights of Kyrgyz labor migrants in these countries. In 
July Presidents Bakiyev and Nazarbayev agreed to legalize Kyrgyz labor 
migrants in Kazakhstan. Since the beginning of September, over 6000 
Kyrgyz labor migrants had been registered, thereby gaining legal 
protection of their rights and social benefits.
    In September the Government tightened licensing rules of 
recruitment companies to include rules for recruiting persons to work 
abroad. Recruiters are required to monitor the working conditions of 
labor migrants while a work contract is in effect and check if an 
employer complies with the terms of employment. In September the 
Government prohibited the activities of the Kazakh company Royal Park, 
which operated in Osh, that illegally recruited Kyrgyz citizens for 
work abroad.
    Following the change of the structure of the Government, a new 
agency, the State Committee for Migration and Employment Issues, was 
established and is responsible for streamlining labor migration. 
Working with the OSCE and the IOM, the Government started the 
development of a new program to combat trafficking for 2006 08.
    There were reports that patients in psychiatric hospitals were 
routinely used for unauthorized labor on hospital grounds and as 
domestic service for doctors and local farmers. The patients allegedly 
did not have a choice to refuse and were only paid with food.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law provides for the protection of children from economic exploitation 
and from work that poses a danger to their health or spiritual, 
physical, mental, or academic development. On January 24, President 
Bakiyev signed a decree aimed at reducing child labor in the country, 
but at year's end no actions had been taken. In accordance with this 
decree, the Government, in cooperation with trade unions, employers, 
and the IOM, drafted a state program that seeks to improve child labor 
regulations. The program reinforces controls over child labor, develops 
legal forms of child employment and provides for child labor awareness 
activities. At year's end the Ministries of Justice and Finance were 
considering the proposal. According to the State Labor Inspectorate, 
the inspectorate conducts spot checks to confirm compliance with child 
labor law requirements only at large industrial sites with strong trade 
unions, which generally do not allow the use of child labor. The lack 
of employer employee contracts in small and medium sized businesses 
made it impossible to investigate child labor exploitation at those 
businesses.
    Under the law the minimum age for basic employment is 16, except 
for certain limited circumstances including odd jobs such as selling 
newspapers. In addition, the law bans the employment of persons under 
18 in a wide variety of categories of employment involving difficult or 
dangerous conditions, including the metal or oil and gas industries, 
mining and prospecting, the food industry, entertainment, and machine 
building. Children between 14 and 15 are allowed to work a maximum of 
five hours a day; children between 16 and 18 are allowed a maximum of 
seven hours a day. These laws also apply to children with disabilities.
    Child labor remained a widespread problem. Child laborers were 
prevalent in the following sectors: tobacco, cotton, rice, cattle 
breeding, gasoline sales, car washing, shoe cleaning, and retail sales 
of tobacco and alcohol. Large families traditionally considered it 
necessary for children to work at an early age to help support the 
family. Children also were involved in family enterprises, particularly 
in agriculture, domestic duties, and selling products at roadside 
kiosks.
    According to reports from various NGOs, child labor was 
particularly evident in the south. During the fall, classes were 
cancelled and children were sent to fields to pick cotton. During the 
summer children were involved in all levels of tobacco production. 
Schools required children to participate in the tobacco harvest (some 
fields were located on school grounds), and the income went directly to 
the schools, not to the children.
    Internal trafficking of children for the purposes of sexual 
exploitation and labor remained a problem (see Section 5). Children 
were generally trafficked from poor rural areas to Bishkek and Osh.
    The Prosecutor's Office and the State Labor Inspectorate were 
responsible for enforcing employers' compliance with the labor code. 
During the year the inspectorate had 54 inspectors throughout the 
country. During the first six months of the year, the General 
Procurator's Office conducted 21 checks, resulting in eight written 
notifications, 14 demands for immediate action, 12 warnings, and two 
disciplinary actions. Since many children worked for their families or 
were self employed in such occupations as selling newspapers, pushing 
handcarts at markets, and selling cigarettes and candy on the streets, 
it was difficult for the Government to determine whether their work 
schedules and environment conformed to government regulations. The 
legislative assembly's committees of health protection, women and 
family, and education, science, and cultural affairs oversaw the legal 
protection of the interests of minors whenever new laws were discussed 
in parliament. Trade unions enforced compliance with the labor code. 
The FTU also had the right to carry out child labor inspections when it 
received a complaint; there were no inspections during the year.
    The Government was unable to enforce child labor laws adequately 
due to a lack of resources. Although employers caught violating the 
labor code could be charged with disciplinary, financial, 
administrative, or criminal penalties, punishment was usually minimal.
    The Government supported several social programs to prevent the 
engagement of children in exploitative child labor. Araket, a national 
poverty reduction program, provided financial support for low income 
families. New Generation, a children's rights program, worked to define 
suitable working conditions for children and to introduce new methods 
of monitoring employers' compliance with labor legislation.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government mandated national 
minimum wage of approximately $2.54 (100 Kyrgyz Som) per month did not 
provide a decent standard of living for workers and their families. 
However, industries and employers generally paid somewhat higher wages. 
The FTU was responsible for enforcing all labor laws, including the 
minimum wages law; minimum wage regulations were largely observed. 
Salaries in the health care field were among the lowest, averaging 
$33.80 (1,385 Kyrgyz Som) per month. Although the enforcement of labor 
laws was nonexistent in the growing underground economy, market forces 
helped wages in the unofficial sector keep pace with official wage 
scales.
    In accordance with the Law on Foreign Labor Migration, adopted on 
November 14, 2005, all foreign workers are provided with the same 
rights and conditions as citizens.
    The standard workweek is 40 hours, usually within a 5 day week. For 
state owned industries, there is a mandated 24 hour rest period in the 
workweek. According to the labor code, overtime work cannot exceed 4 
hours per day and 20 hours per week; premium pay of between 150 and 200 
percent the hourly wage or compensatory leave for overtime work are 
provided for. These provisions were mainly enforced at large companies 
and organizations with strong trade unions.
    Safety and health conditions in factories were poor. The law 
establishes occupational health and safety standards, as well as 
enforcement procedures. The state labor inspectorate is responsible for 
protecting and educating workers as well as informing business owners 
of their rights and responsibilities. The state labor inspectorate is 
also tasked with carrying out inspections for all types of labor issues 
but rarely did so in practice. The Government failed to enforce 
existing health and safety regulations. Besides government inspection 
teams, trade unions are assigned active roles in assuring compliance 
with these laws, but compliance was uneven among businesses. Workers 
have the right to remove themselves from workplaces that endangered 
their health or safety without jeopardy to their employment, and 
workers exercised this right in practice.

                               __________

                                MALDIVES

    The Republic of Maldives has a parliamentary style of government 
with a strong executive and, according to current estimates, a 
population of approximately 360,000. The President appoints the cabinet 
and eight members of the 50-member parliament. The President derives 
additional influence from his constitutional role as the ``supreme 
authority to propagate the tenets of Islam.'' The unicameral 
legislature, the People's Majlis, chooses a single Presidential nominee 
who is selected or rejected in a national referendum. Voters approved 
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for a sixth five-year term in 2003. In 
May 2004 voters elected the members of the Special Majlis, a body 
convoked by the President specifically to address constitutional 
reforms. In January 2005 the Government held general parliamentary 
elections. A Commonwealth Expert Team commended the broad participation 
of voters and the peaceful nature of the elections, but made a number 
of recommendations to reduce the ``democratic deficit'' in Maldives. In 
June 2005 the Government legally recognized political parties for the 
first time, and President Gayoom formed the Dhivehi Rayyethunge Party 
(DRP), which he leads. The DRP is considered the governing party, 
although the current government came to power before the party system 
was implemented. The civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces.
    Although the Government's human rights record improved somewhat 
during the year, serious problems remained. In March the Government 
published a ``Roadmap for the Reform Agenda'' and subsequently 
introduced several bills in parliament to address significant 
structural difficulties. Although the proposed legislation was the 
subject of intense national debate, none of the bills had passed by the 
end of the year. Citizens faced restrictions on their ability to change 
their government; some security forces occasionally abused detainees; 
and the Government limited freedom of the press, freedom of assembly 
and association, and freedom of religion. Unequal treatment of women 
existed, as did restrictions on workers' rights.
                        respect for human rights
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 December 27, the High Court overturned the conviction of former 
National Security Services captain Adam Mohamed on charges related to 
three custodial shooting deaths at Maafushi prison in 2003. Mohamed had 
served 20 months of his sentence before the High Court heard his appeal 
and overturned the Criminal Court's conviction. An independent news web 
site reported that the Attorney General (AG) will refer the case to the 
President's Judicial Committee in order to uphold the initial 
conviction.

    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, although there were 
credible reports of occasional mistreatment of persons by some security 
forces. On January 5, police went to one of the islands of Fares-
Maathodaa to take two persons into police custody; the two were part of 
a group that had refused to let a survey team leave the island until 
the Government provided a written guarantee that a promised 
construction project would be carried out. The Government provided the 
guarantee and the survey team left. However, when security forces later 
tried to arrest these individuals, a group tried to block police entry 
to the island. According to opposition press reports police responded 
with force, injuring several bystanders by striking out with batons and 
using pepper spray for crowd control. The Government claimed that 
security forces' actions were a proportional response to the crowd 
blocking the security forces' passage.
    On January 19, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) 
reported that police entered a regional party office and hit Mohamed 
Ibrahim Didi, an MDP member of parliament present in the office, in the 
stomach.
    On June 22, the opposition press reported that prisoner Mohamed 
Shameen, being held in Male's penitentiary block 373, was hospitalized 
after having been beaten in custody; there was no report of an official 
follow-up investigation.
    On August 28, following a violent antigovernment demonstration in 
Male MDP official Aishath Aniya, accompanied by two other activists and 
pro-opposition radio news reporter Fathimath Shaheeda, went to a police 
station to elicit information about the arrest of MDP members. Aniya 
reported that a policeman punched her in the face, dragged her and 
Shaheeda to a police van, drove them some distance away, and shoved 
them out of the parked vehicle.
    In general, punishments were limited to fines, compensatory 
payment, house arrest, imprisonment, or banishment to a remote atoll 
(see section 2.d.). The Government generally permitted those who were 
banished to receive visits by family members.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to those who 
conducted visits, prison conditions generally met international 
standards, although pretrial detainees were not held separately from 
convicted prisoners.
    Some pro-opposition prisoners who were released during the year 
reported being kept in cramped quarters or in solitary confinement 
during detention. Early in the year the Government invited a consultant 
from the Western Australian Police to evaluate prisons and make 
recommendations. The consultant remained for 10 months, but his report 
was not made public.
    The Government permitted prison visits by foreign diplomats and the 
Maldives Human Rights Commission (MHRC). There were no ICRC visits 
during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrests and detention, but it gives the Government broad authority to 
conduct arrests and detain suspects; in practice, there were reports 
that police arrested and held persons arbitrarily.
    On May 15, following the publication of a Presidential decree 
regulating freedom of assembly, the MDP staged a series of 
demonstrations in which over 120 protesters were arrested. Within 24 
hours, authorities released without charge the majority of those 
detained. However, on May 29, a court sentenced four detainees from the 
May 15-21 protests to six-month jail terms without permitting them 
access to lawyers. The court reportedly denied one of these four, 
Mariyam Rahma, the opportunity to speak in her own defense.
    The opposition reported that from October 30 to November 10 when an 
opposition rally was planned, the Government arrested 108 persons, 34 
of whom were released by November 22. The opposition posited that the 
planned demonstration would be peaceful and was intended for party 
members to urge parliamentarians to speed up the process of 
constitutional reform. The Government reported receiving intelligence 
that the demonstration would turn violent and accused some members of 
the opposition of inciting revolution. However, according to Amnesty 
International (AI), the Government failed to provide substantive 
evidence to support allegations that any of the detainees used, 
planned, or advocated violence. AI also reported that some security 
forces hit or otherwise ill-treated arrestees in the lead-up to 
November 10, and the Government severely restricted some detainees' 
access to lawyers and medical treatment. In a press release the 
Government countered that the AI report failed to recognize the planned 
demonstration was illegal and accused the organization of making 
judgments based on ``hearsay'' from ``militants.'' The opposition 
reported that as of November 22, 66 persons were in detention and six 
under house arrest under charges related to the planned November 10 
protest. Almost all were released by December 31, but according to 
opposition reports, at year's end, authorities were investigating 76 
persons in relation to the planned November 10 protest.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The 287-officer 
Maldives Police Service collects intelligence, makes arrests, and 
enforces house arrest. Although the Maldives National Defense Force 
(MNDF) is responsible for external security, it also retains a role in 
internal security. The director of the MNDF reports to the minister of 
defense.
    Police initiated investigations in response to written complaints 
from citizens, police officers, government officials, or on suspicion 
of criminal activity. They are not legally required to obtain arrest 
warrants or inform an arrested person of his rights, but government 
officials stated that in practice they urged law enforcement officials 
to inform arrested persons of their rights. The AG referred cases to 
the appropriate court based on the results of police investigations. 
The authorities generally kept the details of a case secret until they 
were confident that the charges were likely to be upheld.
    Neither police corruption nor impunity was a significant problem.
    In September, per an agreement reached with the opposition during 
British-mediated talks in Colombo, the Government established a Police 
Integrity Commission. The opposition complained that the Government's 
appointees did not include genuinely independent commissioners with 
legal or police expertise. The commission had not begun substantive 
deliberations by the end of the reporting period.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution provides for an arrestee to 
be informed of the reason for arrest within 24 hours, and provides for 
the right to hire a lawyer. In addition, regulation requires that a 
detainee should be informed of the right to a lawyer at the time of 
arrest. The court does not appoint legal counsel, and there is no legal 
requirement for search or arrest warrants. According to the AG's 
office, an arrestee's family is normally informed of the arrest within 
24 hours, although the law does not require that police inform the 
family of the grounds for the arrest. Detainees are generally permitted 
to have counsel present during police questioning. Under a bail system 
introduced in 2005, a prisoner has the right to a ruling on bail within 
36 hours; however, there were reports that bail procedures were not 
publicized adequately, explained, or implemented consistently.
    The law provides for investigative detention. Once a person is 
detained, the arresting officer must present evidence to a legal 
committee within 24 hours. The committee can then recommend detention 
for up to seven days pending further investigation. After the seven 
days expire, the officer can petition a second committee, which can 
then recommend detention for a maximum additional 15 days. If the 
authorities are unable to present sufficient evidence after the 22 days 
provided, the prisoner is eligible for release, although judges have 
the authority to extend detention past 22 days upon receiving a 
petition from the arresting officer, on the basis of factors such as 
the detainee's previous criminal record, the status of the 
investigation, the type of offense in question, or whether the detainee 
might pose a threat if released.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law does not provide for an 
independent judiciary, and the judiciary is subject to executive 
influence. Until November 2005, in addition to his authority to review 
high court decisions, the President influenced the judiciary through 
his power to appoint and dismiss judges. In November 2005 the 
Government announced the creation of a 10-member judicial services 
commission (JSC) led by the chief justice, himself a Presidential 
appointee. In total, seven of the 10 JSC members are government 
officials appointed by the President and serving on the JSC by virtue 
of their role, such as Justice Minister or Attorney General. The JSC is 
supposed to appoint, dismiss, and examine the conduct of all judges, 
and recommend candidates for judgeships to the President; the 
legislation setting up the commission permits the body to accept or 
veto Presidential appointments to judgeships. The JSC did not establish 
its rules of procedure until July, eight months after it was formed; it 
is unclear whether the JSC discussed substantive matters in the course 
of the reporting period. Since its founding, the JSC has not publicized 
deliberations or made public recommendations on the hiring, dismissal, 
or discipline of any judges.
    There are three courts: One for civil matters, one for criminal 
cases, and one for family and juvenile cases. There is also a high 
court in Male that handles a wide range of cases, including politically 
sensitive ones. The President's judicial advisory council, led by the 
chief justice, is empowered to review all court rulings as the final 
arbiter of appeals.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides that an accused person be 
presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that an accused person has 
the right to defend himself ``in accordance with Shari'a (Islamic 
law).'' The judiciary generally enforced these rights. During a trial, 
the accused may call witnesses and has the right to be represented by a 
lawyer, although one is not appointed at public expense (see section 
1.d.). Regulations rather than laws govern trial procedures, and during 
the reporting period there were complaints that the lack of uniformity 
in courts made it difficult for defendants to argue their cases. By 
tradition the prosecution collects all evidence and presents it to a 
judge, who has the discretion to choose what evidence he will share 
with the defense. Judges question the concerned parties and attempt to 
establish the facts of a case.
    Most trials were public and were conducted by judges and 
magistrates, some of whom were trained in Islamic, civil, or criminal 
law. There were no jury trials.
    Opposition activist Ahmed Abbas was tried in absentia on November 1 
for comments he made to a newspaper in August 2005 saying that police 
should be made to feel that physical abuse is painful. Abbas reported 
that he first learned of the case against him when he read about his 
sentencing on a pro-government web site on November 2. For 
clarification, he contacted a relative working in the Ministry of 
Justice, who confirmed that the court had sentenced him. Abbas then 
unsuccessfully sought asylum at both the Indian High Commission and the 
UN. The UN turned Abbas over to the authorities on November 3 after 
receiving government assurances that Abbas would not be harmed and 
would have access to legal representation. Authorities said Abbas's 
trial in absentia followed legal requirements, which permit a trial in 
absentia if the accused does not appear in court despite several 
attempts to inform him/her of the court date. Abbas was taken to 
Dhoonidoo detention center and transferred to Maafushi Jail to begin 
serving his sentence on November 5.
    Civil law is subordinate to Shari'a, which is applied in situations 
not covered by civil law, as well as in family law matters such as 
divorce and adultery. Courts adjudicating matrimonial and criminal 
cases generally do not allow legal counsel in court because, according 
to a local interpretation of Shari'a, all answers and submissions 
should come directly from the parties involved. However, the high court 
allows legal counsel in all cases, including those in which the right 
to counsel was denied in a lower court. Those convicted have the right 
to appeal. Under the country's Islamic practice, the testimony of two 
women equals that of one man in matters involving Shari'a, such as 
adultery, finance, and inheritance. In other cases, the testimony of 
men and women are equivalent (see section 5).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government maintained that 
there were no political prisoners; however, the MDP, international 
NGOs, and some foreign governments asserted that some persons were held 
for political reasons.
    On February 22, the Government released two AI Prisoners of 
Conscience, Naushad Waheed and Ahmed Didi. In 2001 Waheed had been 
arrested and charged for crimes against the state for publicizing 
accusations of abuses in prisons, while Didi had been arrested in 2002 
for his involvement with an antigovernment news magazine. Both served 
over three years in prison until being released with a Presidential 
pardon.
    During the week of July 23 the Government released a number of pro-
opposition detainees being held on unlawful assembly charges, but 
according to the MDP, as of August 1, 81 opposition activists remained 
in jail on politically motivated charges. After a series of discussions 
between the opposition and the Government with British facilitation in 
Colombo between July and August, the opposition committed to limit 
protests and minimize antigovernment rhetoric. In exchange, the 
Government released all but six detained opposition members.
    On August 16, the Government released Jennifer Latheef, the 
daughter of an MDP founding member and herself a human rights activist 
who was under house arrest serving a sentence on a terrorism 
conviction. In October 2005 the criminal court sentenced Latheef to 10 
years of imprisonment for her participation in a violent demonstration 
in Male in 2003. She served three months of her sentence at Maafushi 
Prison before being transferred to house arrest on December 21. Four 
others were charged with Latheef and received the same sentence; 
although Latheef was freed with a pardon, the other four remain in 
Maafushi jail. Latheef maintained her innocence and sought a full 
exoneration through a judicial appeal to overturn her conviction. The 
Government did not accept her petition for an appeal hearing, citing 
the Presidential pardon that granted her release as adequate redress.
    On September 21, the Government released Mohamed Nasheed, the 
chairman of the MDP. The Government announced in a public statement 
that the charges against Nasheed would be dropped if he adopted ``a 
more conciliatory approach'' to the Government. Human rights groups, 
the MHRC, and the MDP stated that the August 2005 arrest and subsequent 
prosecution of Nasheed on charges of terrorism and crimes against the 
state were politically motivated. Police initially informed Nasheed 
that he was being taken into protective custody. Later, police charged 
him with one count of terrorism and one count of committing a crime 
against the state--tantamount to sedition.
    Before his release in September, Nasheed did not receive a long-
term trial schedule, making the term of his pretrial detention under 
house arrest indefinite. In addition, his hearing dates changed several 
times without adequate notice, creating obstacles for his defense team 
and for an international trial observer. The broad charges against 
Nasheed fell under antiterrorism legislation, but the specific charges 
against him changed at various points during his trial. At his initial 
hearing, Nasheed was told he was being tried for his participation in 
an August 2005 demonstration that turned violent following his arrest; 
he was later informed that the charges against him spanned events over 
the last 17 years. One such accusation was ``instilling fear in the 
people's hearts.''
    Between October 30 and November 10, police arrested and detained 
108 activists in the lead-up to a planned demonstration November 10.
    On November 14, the Government charged MDP acting President Ibrahim 
Hussein Zaki with ``inciting enmity against the lawful government'' for 
an October 13 speech in which he commended an act of civil disobedience 
and discussed revolution. The Government posited that Zaki's speech was 
inciting a violent overthrow, while Zaki said he did not advocate 
violence and was exercising appropriate freedom of political 
expression. The opposition called the charges against Zaki politically 
motivated.
    As of December 31, according to opposition reports, of the 108 
activists arrested prior to the November 10 demonstration, two persons 
were convicted and serving jail sentences, one person was under 
investigative detention, 76 persons were released from detention but 
told investigations and charges were pending, and 26 persons were 
released without charge. The opposition called the detentions and 
subsequent charges politically motivated, while the Government 
responded that all detainees had violated local laws.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a Civil Court 
that addresses non-criminal cases. However, as with the criminal 
courts, the judiciary is subject to executive influence. There were no 
reported cases of individuals seeking redress for human rights 
violations through civil courts, although an individual filed an unfair 
dismissal case after being fired for participating in an antigovernment 
demonstration (see section 2.b.). No administrative remedies were 
available.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits security officials from opening or 
reading wireless messages, letters, telegrams, or monitoring telephone 
conversations, ``except as expressly provided by law''; and the 
Government generally respected privacy rights in practice. Security 
forces may open the mail of private citizens and monitor telephone 
conversations if authorized to do so in the course of a criminal 
investigation. In 2005 opposition sympathizers reported that security 
services intercepted some of their SMS messages. Also in 2005, hackers 
broke into pro-opposition activists' e-mail accounts and published 
doctored e-mails on pro-government web sites.
    Although the law provides that residential premises and dwellings 
should be inviolable, there is no legal requirement for search or 
arrest warrants. The AG or a commanding officer of the police must 
approve the search of private residences.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for limited 
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government generally 
did not respect these rights in practice. The law limits a citizen's 
right to freedom of expression in order to protect the ``basic tenets 
of Islam,'' and prohibits inciting citizens against the Government.
    In 2005 the Government registered almost 200 independent newspapers 
and periodicals, but either a current or former government minister 
owned three, Aafathis, Haveeru, and Miadhu, of the four publications 
put out on a daily basis throughout the year.
    The Government or its sympathizers owned and operated the only 
television and radio stations. The Government did not interfere with 
the sale of satellite receivers. The Government radio and television 
stations aired reports drawn from other foreign newscasts. Although the 
Government implicitly committed to permitting the functioning of 
independent radio stations in the ``Media'' section of its March Reform 
Roadmap, by the end of the year the legislature had not passed the 
necessary bill to recognize independent radio stations.
    Journalists, primarily pro-opposition reporters, stated that they 
faced harassment throughout the course of the year. On April 20, a 
court sentenced Minivan journalist Fahala Saeed to life in prison on 
drug charges. Saeed had been called to the police station with advance 
notice, was searched once, declared free of contraband, then separated 
from his attorney, strip searched, and told that drugs had been found 
in his pockets. At Saeed's trial, a witness testified that 1.1 grams of 
heroin had been discovered in his trousers; possession of over one gram 
of drugs is considered prima facie intent to sell. Saeed was denied the 
right to present two defense witnesses and to attest that he was not 
carrying drugs, although he maintained his innocence. On July 30, 
authorities allowed Saeed to leave prison and visit his home for three 
days. He was also permitted to remain in Male to have access to medical 
care for injuries unrelated to his incarceration. In late December 
authorities returned Saeed to Maafushi prison.
    On May 6, authorities arrested Minivan's sub-editor, Nazim Sattar, 
on undisclosed charges when he accompanied a visiting international 
press freedom delegation to a rally for World Press Freedom Day. Also 
on May 6, an independent news web site reported that Ahmed Moosa, the 
UK-based editor of Dhivehi Observer, a banned antigovernment web site, 
was denied a renewal of his passport.
    On May 14, police in Male arrested Minivan radio host, Fathimath 
Shaheeda, on unlawful assembly charges for participating in a pro-
opposition rally. Shaheeda also reported being ill-treated by police 
when she accompanied an MDP official to the Male police station to 
elicit information about the arrest of activists on August 28 (see 
section 1.c.).
    On May 15, Minivan's sub-editor Sattar also faced a hearing on a 
disobedience to order charge. The charge stemmed from Minivan's August 
2005 publication of an article quoting activist Ahmed Abbas saying 
police should be made to feel that physical abuse was painful; the 
article allegedly incited violence and antipathy toward police (see 
section 1.e). The case was adjourned without being resolved.
    On May 27, police used pepper spray against a BBC journalist 
covering the trial of MDP chairperson Mohamed Nasheed.
    On November 4, police brought a foreign national accredited to 
Minivan news and a free-lance British journalist affiliated with The 
Observer to a police station for questioning and requested they delete 
audio files and photos. The two refused and were released without 
charge after four hours. Subsequently, the two were asked to leave the 
country; they were held at the airport over night before being 
permitted to board flights the following morning.
    The Government issued a press release claiming they were not 
genuine journalists accredited to ``reputable news organizations,'' and 
accusing them of attempting to destabilize society. Both reporters 
denied those charges. One had a valid work permit issued by the 
Government and Minivan News, his employing organization in the country. 
Minivan was the only pro-opposition daily newspaper, had an independent 
news web site, and transmitted a radio program confined only to the 
Internet because the Government had not registered the radio station 
for on-air broadcast. However, the Government tolerated the lone radio 
reporter's news gathering.
    On November 20, a journalist from Minivan Daily reported that 
police were investigating two Minivan staff for publishing an article 
quoting a foreign analyst who criticized the President. There was no 
further information at year's end.
    In April 2005 the Government blacklisted three British nationals, 
including one who edited and wrote for the independent Minivan News web 
site, a lawyer then consulting for the opposition, and another 
individual running a pro-democracy NGO, alleging the three had ties to 
Islamic terrorism. Pro-government web sites have accused the lawyer and 
the NGO activist of conducting Christian missionary work in addition to 
supporting Islamic fundamentalism/terrorism. All three British 
nationals remained blacklisted.
    In December 2005 authorities initiated an investigation of 
Minivan's Colombo offices on charges that two Minivan employees were 
conducting seditious activity and arms trafficking. Sri Lankan police 
served a search warrant and examined Minivan premises in Colombo but 
found no evidence of criminal activity. Minivan stopped broadcasting 
radio news programs, and the web site's writers left Sri Lanka to work 
from the United Kingdom. The radio program resumed broadcasting via the 
Internet from Europe in February. Because the Government did not 
register the radio station, the radio show's editor, based in Male, 
audio recorded the program and e-mailed the sound files abroad, from 
where they were re-broadcasted online.
    Although an amendment to the law decriminalizes ``true account(s)'' 
of government actions by journalists, both journalists and publishers 
practiced self-censorship (see section 2.d.).
    There were no legal prohibitions on the import of foreign 
publications except for those containing pornography or material 
otherwise deemed objectionable to Islamic values.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government generally did not interfere with 
the use of the Internet; however, it blocked the pro-opposition Dhivehi 
Observer news web site and sites deemed pornographic. The Internet was 
widely present and used within the capital, but there was limited 
Internet availability in outlying atolls due to infrastructure 
constraints.
    The blocked Dhivehi Observer, which many citizens reportedly viewed 
via mirror sites, featured personal photos, cartoons, and commentary 
about government sympathizers. Several progovernment web sites, none of 
which was blocked, featured sexual allegations and personal photos 
(some doctored) of perceived pro-opposition women. Some of these web 
sites included the women's mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses 
along with their photos, and the women reported receiving numerous 
harassing communications as a result.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law prohibits public 
statements contrary to government policy or to the Government's 
interpretation of Islam. Therefore, although there were no reported 
cases of transgressions of these laws in the academic arena, the laws 
constrain academic freedom to the extent that academics practiced self-
censorship.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the Government imposed limits on this right in practice.
    The Government permitted members of political parties, including 
those in the opposition, to hold public meetings and rallies with prior 
notification to the Government. Unlike previous years, some rallies and 
demonstrations passed without incident and with minimal arrests. 
However, several rallies led to police arresting and detaining 
demonstrators on unlawful assembly charges. Members of the opposition 
stated that their right to peaceful protest was restricted, while 
government officials countered that demonstrators gathered late at 
night and violated reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on 
assembly. Most demonstrators arrested were later released without 
formal charges.
    The opposition stated that protests on January 13 and 18, April 15, 
May 15-19, and June 15 resulted in forceful police responses, with 
several demonstrators and by-standers reportedly injured by police on 
each occasion. There were reports that some police wielded batons 
indiscriminately and hit or kicked demonstrators. Government officials 
responded that security force conduct was a proportionate response to 
protestors throwing stones or physically assaulting others. On November 
10, the MDP cancelled a rally because of a prior government crackdown 
that led to the arrest of over 100 MDP activists. The Government 
claimed that the activists were planning to incite violence; the MDP 
denied these charges (see section 1.d.).

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government imposed some limits on freedom of 
association in practice. The Government only registered clubs and other 
private associations if they did not contravene Islamic or civil law.
    In June 2005 parliament unanimously voted to allow political 
parties to register and function for the first time. This followed a 
May 2005 legal opinion from the AG, who interpreted the constitution as 
permitting political parties.
    According to the opposition, some MDP members who were civil 
servants were dismissed for their political affiliations. Government 
officials responded that the political beliefs of those dismissed 
created a conflict of interest and made it impossible for them to 
function. On December 11, Zaheena Rasheed attended the first hearing of 
an unfair dismissal case she initiated against the Ministry of Atolls 
Development. Rasheed, who had served as a Planning and Monitoring 
Officer, reportedly received two job dismissal notices, the latter 
citing her for holding a banner at a demonstration calling for the 
President to resign. She said her action at that time was legal, and at 
year's end she had petitioned the civil court for financial 
compensation and a reinstatement of her position.
    Few NGOs existed in the country. Many NGOs focused on tsunami 
relief and not on human rights. Those NGOs reported that they exercised 
self-censorship (see section 4).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law does not provide for freedom of 
religion, and it was significantly restricted. The constitution 
designates Sunni Islam as the official state religion, and the 
Government interpreted this provision as imposing a requirement that 
citizens be Muslims. The law prohibits the practice of any religion 
other than Islam. The Government observes a combination of Shari'a and 
civil law. Civil law is subordinate to Shari'a, which is applied in 
situations not covered by civil law as well as in cases such as divorce 
and adultery. Non-Muslim foreign residents were allowed to practice 
their religion only if they did so privately and did not encourage 
citizens to participate. President Gayoom repeatedly stated that no 
other religion should be allowed in the country, and the home affairs 
ministry announced special programs to safeguard and strengthen 
religious unity. The President, the members of the People's Majlis, and 
cabinet members must be Muslim.
    There were no places of worship for adherents of other religions. 
The Government prohibited the import of icons and religious statues, 
but it generally permitted the import of religious literature, such as 
Bibles, for personal use. It also prohibited non-Muslim clergy and 
missionaries from proselytizing and conducting public worship services. 
Conversion of a Muslim to another faith is a violation of the 
Government's interpretation of Shari'a and may result in punishment, 
including the loss of the convert's citizenship; however, there were no 
known cases of loss of citizenship from conversion to a non-Islamic 
religion. In the past, would-be converts were detained and counseled 
regarding their conversion from Islam.
    Islamic instruction in school is mandatory, and the Government 
funded the salaries of religious instructors. The Government 
established a Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs to provide guidance on 
religious matters. The council certified imams, who were responsible 
for presenting Friday sermons. Imams may choose to use a set of 
government-approved sermons on a variety of topics, but they are not 
legally empowered to write sermons independently. No one, not even an 
imam, may publicly discuss Islam unless invited to do so by the 
Government.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Under the country's Islamic 
practice, certain legal provisions discriminate against women (see 
sections 1.e., 3, and 5). There were no known Jewish citizens, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice. Citizens are free 
to travel at home and abroad, to emigrate, and to return. Employers 
often housed foreign workers at their worksites.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (see section 
5), and the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees or asylees. The Government has cooperated in the 
past with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; however, 
asylum issues did not arise during the year. The Government provided 
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country 
where they feared persecution. The Government did not routinely grant 
refugee status or asylum.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law limits citizens' ability to change their government, and 
the strong executive exerted significant influence over both the 
legislature and the judiciary. Under the constitution the People's 
Majlis, or legislature, chooses a single Presidential nominee, who must 
be a Sunni Muslim male, from a list of self-announced candidates for 
the nomination. Would-be nominees for President are not permitted to 
campaign for the nomination. The final nominee is confirmed or rejected 
by secret ballot in a nationwide referendum. From a field of four 
initial candidates in 2003, the legislature nominated and confirmed 
President Gayoom by referendum for a sixth five-year term. Observers 
from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation stated that 
the referendum was conducted in a free and fair manner. All citizens 
over 21 years of age may vote.
    By both law and custom, the Office of the President is the most 
powerful political institution in the country, and the law designates 
the President as the ``supreme authority to propagate the tenets'' of 
Islam.
    The President's mandate to appoint eight of the 50 members of the 
legislature provides him strong political leverage. The elected members 
of the legislature, who must be Muslims, serve five-year terms. 
Individuals or groups are free to approach members of the legislature 
with grievances or opinions on proposed legislation, and any member of 
the legislature may introduce legislation.
    In 2004 the President assembled a Special Majlis, or special 
legislature, to discuss constitutional reform. Of the 113 people who 
serve on the special legislature, the President directly appoints 29. 
The special legislature consists of all 50 members of the normal 
legislature, including the eight appointees and 42 elected members; 
eight additional Presidential appointments directly to the special 
legislature and another 42 members elected by the public; and 13 
members of the President's cabinet.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In January 2005 legislative 
elections, citizens elected several candidates sympathetic to the 
opposition. Critics of the Government claimed that some candidates who 
remained under house arrest were unable to file applications to contest 
the elections by the November 2004 deadline; nevertheless, at least one 
candidate who was in detention at the filing deadline was able to file 
an application, conduct a campaign, and get elected.
    In 2004 citizens elected 42 members of the People's Special Majlis, 
the body convened by the President to address constitutional reforms. 
The special legislature met several times during the year, and unlike 
in past years, debated some substantive issues. Nevertheless, by the 
end of the year, the special legislature had not taken concrete steps 
toward constitutional reform.
    In June 2005 the Government allowed the establishment of political 
parties (see section 2.b.). There were two elected women and four 
female Presidential appointments in the 50-member legislature. Of the 
113-seat special legislature, 13 women served, including the six women 
from the normal legislature, two female cabinet members, and one 
elected woman and four women appointed directly to the special 
legislature. There were two women in the cabinet. Women are not 
eligible to become President but may hold other government posts.
    In November 2005 a by-election was held to fill three seats in the 
legislature. While candidates were not permitted to campaign on party 
tickets, parties were permitted to endorse candidates.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were anecdotal 
reports that the power of the President and his family directed many 
decisions, including economic activities and political reform. An 
anticorruption board investigated allegations of corruption in the 
Government. The board met regularly and referred cases, usually 
concerning monetary fraud, to the AG's office.
    There are no laws that provide for access to government 
information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were a few independent local human rights groups, including 
one called Hama Jamiyya. During the year, the Foreign Minister and AG 
established an NGO called the Open Society Association; authorities 
officially registered an NGO called the Maldivian Detainee Network, 
although previously it faced a number of bureaucratic obstacles.
    NGOs reported that they exercised self-censorship.
    The ICRC conducted prison visits in April and August 2005, and the 
International Committee of Jurists sent an observer to some of 
opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed's hearings.
    On August 8, parliament passed legislation making the Maldives 
Human Rights Commission (MHRC) compliant with UN guidelines, and the 
President ratified the bill August 17. On September 9, the President 
submitted five nominees to serve on the MHRC, and in November the 
authorities officially reconstituted the MHRC, but it was not yet fully 
operational by the end of the year. It had remained nonfunctioning 
following the 2005 resignation of the previous MHRC Chairman Ahmed 
Mujthaba and two other members.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for the equality of all citizens, but there is no 
specific provision to prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, 
religion, disability, or social status. Women traditionally were 
disadvantaged, particularly in the application of Shari'a, in matters 
such as divorce, education, inheritance, and testimony in legal 
proceedings.

    Women.--There were no laws regarding domestic violence against 
women. There were no firm data on the extent of violence against women, 
although a 2005 MRHC baseline attitude survey indicated that many 
citizens believed men should be permitted to hit their wives under some 
circumstances. A November NGO report concerning the UN Convention on 
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women said that many women 
reported encountering sexual harassment in public places and at their 
places of employment. There were no specific laws dealing with spousal 
rape. Police officials reported that they received few complaints of 
assaults against women.
    Prostitution is illegal but occurred on a small scale.
    There are no laws pertaining to sexual harassment. Although women 
traditionally played a subordinate role in society, they participated 
in public life in growing numbers. Women constituted approximately 39 
percent of government employees. The literacy rate for women was 
approximately 98 percent. A Gender Equality Council advised the 
Government on policies to help strengthen the role of women. The 
minimum age of marriage for women is 18 years, but marriages at an 
earlier age were common.
    Under Islamic practice, husbands may divorce their wives more 
easily than vice versa absent mutual agreement to divorce. Shari'a also 
governed in estate inheritance, granting male heirs twice the share of 
female heirs. A woman's testimony is equal to one-half that of a man in 
matters involving adultery, finance, and inheritance (see section 
1.e.). Women who worked for wages received pay equal to that of men in 
the same positions.

    Children.--Education is not compulsory, but there is universal 
access to free primary education. In 2004 the percentage of school-age 
children in school grades one to seven was 79 percent; in grades eight 
to 10 it was 62 percent; and in grades 11-12 it was 16 percent. Of the 
students enrolled, 49 percent were female and 51 percent male. In many 
instances, parents curtailed education for girls after the seventh 
grade by not allowing them to leave their home island for another 
island with a secondary school.
    Children's rights are incorporated into law, which specifically 
seeks to protect them from both physical and psychological abuse, 
including at the hands of teachers or parents. The Ministry of Gender 
and Family Development has the authority to enforce this law and 
received strong popular support for its efforts. During the year, the 
ministry reported continued child abuse, including sexual abuse. 
Penalties for the sexual abuse of children range from as much as three 
years' imprisonment to banishment.
    Government policy provides for equal access to educational and 
health programs for both male and female children.
    Child labor remained a problem, primarily in agriculture, fishing, 
and in small commercial activities, including in family enterprises. 
There were no reports of children being employed in the industrial 
sector (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in 
persons; however, there were no reports that persons were trafficked 
to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--No law specifically addresses the 
rights of persons with physical or mental disabilities. Local NGOs 
claimed in 2005 that there were thousands of persons with disabilities 
due to high levels of malnutrition during pregnancy. The Government 
established programs and provided services for persons with 
disabilities, including special educational programs for persons with 
hearing and vision disabilities. The Government integrated students 
with physical disabilities into mainstream educational programs. 
Families usually cared for persons with disabilities; when family care 
was unavailable, persons with disabilities lived in the Ministry of 
Gender and Family's Institute for Needy People, which also assisted 
elderly persons. When requested, the Government provided free 
medication for all persons with mental disabilities in the islands, but 
follow-up care was infrequent.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
homosexuality, and citizens did not generally accept homosexuality. The 
punishment for men includes banishment from nine months to one year or 
whipping from 10 to 30 times. For women, the punishment is house arrest 
for nine months to one year.
    There were no reports of official or societal discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the law does not prohibit 
unions, it recognizes neither a worker's right to form or join a union 
nor the right to strike. Small groups of similarly employed workers 
with mutual interests have formed associations, some of which include 
employers as well as employees. These associations have not acted as 
trade unions.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not recognize workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively. 
Wages in the private sector are set by contract between employers and 
employees and are usually based on rates for similar work in the public 
sector.
    There were no reports of efforts to form unions or of strikes 
during the year.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law bars children less than 14 years of age from paid or hazardous 
work. Guidelines prohibit government employment of children under 18 
and employment in hazardous jobs such as construction, carpentry, 
welding, and driving.
    According to a 2003 report by the International Confederation of 
Free Trade Unions, child labor was a problem in agriculture, fishing, 
small commercial activities, and family enterprises. Working hours for 
children 14 years or older are not limited specifically by statute. A 
unit for children's rights in the Ministry of Gender, Family 
Development and Social Security is responsible for monitoring 
compliance with the child labor regulations, but it was not charged 
with their enforcement. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has an 
employment relations and compliance unit that deals with child labor 
problems.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no national minimum 
wage for the private sector, although the Government established wage 
floors for government employment. These wage floors provided a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. Given the severe shortage 
of labor, employers offered competitive pay and conditions to attract 
skilled workers.
    There are no statutory provisions for hours of work, but the 
regulations require that a work contract specify the normal work and 
overtime hours on a weekly or monthly basis. The public sector provides 
a seven-hour day and a five-day workweek.
    The Ministry of Employment and Labor's employment relations and 
compliance unit resolves wage and labor disputes, visits worksites, and 
enforces labor regulations. There are no national laws governing health 
and safety conditions. There are regulatory requirements in certain 
industries such as construction and transport that employers provide a 
safe working environment and ensure the observance of safety measures. 
In the absence of a labor law, it was unclear whether workers would be 
protected from retaliatory dismissal if they attempted to remove 
themselves from, or eliminate, unsafe working conditions.

                               __________

                                 NEPAL

    Nepal is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of 
government and a population of approximately 28 million. Until April 
27, King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev had direct control of the 
Government, citing the need to fight a Maoist insurgency under the 
emergency powers article of the constitution. After the successful 
popular uprising in April, the King restored parliament and ceded power 
to a government headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and run 
by an alliance of the seven main political parties (Nepali Congress, 
Nepali Congress-Democratic, Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist 
Leninist, Nepal Sadbhavana Party-Anandi Devi, People's Front Nepal, 
Nepal Peasants and Workers Party, and the United Left Front). On 
November 21, the Government and the Maoists signed a comprehensive 
peace agreement that called for an interim government, with the 
participation of the Maoists, to be formed by December 1. At year's 
end, the Government and the Maoists had not yet formed an interim 
government. The most recent national parliamentary elections were held 
in 1999 and were considered generally free and fair by international 
observers. The King held municipal elections in February that most 
political parties boycotted and the international community criticized. 
While the King generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces, elements of the security forces sometimes acted independently 
of government authority before the popular uprising. After the April 
uprising, the newly formed government took over control of the security 
forces; however, the Government has not used the security forces 
effectively to enforce law and order. The November 21 peace agreement 
called for the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force (APF) to enforce 
law and order across the country. Authorities reestablished some police 
posts across the country, but Maoists subsequently forced many of them 
to close. The Government ordered the police not to endanger the peace 
process by taking action against the Maoists.
    Members of the security forces and the Maoist insurgents committed 
numerous grave human rights abuses during the year. Arbitrary and 
unlawful use of lethal force, including torture, as well as 
disappearances, occurred frequently. In addition, arbitrary arrest and 
lengthy pretrial detention, restrictions on the right to assemble, 
obstruction of citizens' right to change the Government, and impunity 
for security forces remained serious problems. The Government also 
compromised independence of the judiciary, suspended news broadcasts, 
restricted the Tibetan community, restricted internal travel, and 
discriminated against persons with disabilities and lower castes. 
Violence against women and trafficking in women and girls continued. 
Maoist acts of violence, extortion and intimidation continued 
throughout the year (see section 1.g.).
    There has been some improvement in the human rights situation since 
the transition of power on April 27. Government abuses decreased 
substantially, while Maoist abuses, such as abduction, extortion, and 
violence, continued relatively unabated.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Before the popular 
uprising in April, security forces continued to commit arbitrary and 
unlawful killings. According to a local nongovernmental organization 
(NGO), Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), security forces killed 
247 people between January 1 and November 20. Additionally, Nepal Army 
(NA) soldiers killed numerous others before the cease-fire declaration 
on April 27, including those in custody who were tortured, according to 
NGO sources (see section 1.c.). The National Human Rights Commission 
(NHRC) reported that the Government and Maoists killed 43 persons 
between April 27 and December 31. During the year, the NA's human 
rights investigative cell conducted 102 new investigations involving 
163 individuals. In most cases of arbitrary or unlawful killings, the 
security forces claimed that the victims were Maoists. After the 
restoration of parliament in April, NA abuses lessened substantially.
    On February 8, security forces shot and killed Umesh Chandra Thapa 
in Dang. Thapa was shot when security forces fired on a peaceful 
demonstration protesting the municipal elections.
    On March 8, according to INSEC, security forces shot and killed 
Rishiram Kumal, a civilian. Kumal met security forces while he was 
walking to his home in Kusundeter. Security forces were on a search 
operation, and when they asked Kumal where he had come from, and Kumal 
did not respond, security forces shot and killed him. After the 
incident, five security forces went to the nearby Rambhadevi Primary 
School and took two teachers of that school to the place of the 
incident. The security forces asked the teachers to identify the dead 
body, but the teachers were unable to recognize him. Security forces 
buried Kumal near Rambha Devi Primary School and did not notify Kumal's 
family. When Kumal's family inquired about their son, villagers and 
teachers of the school said that there was a shooting near the school 
that day. The victim's family went to the burial place and excavated 
the body.
    During the 19-day popular uprising in April, INSEC reported that 
security forces killed 21 persons nationwide. Those killed included 
Bhimsen Dahal in Pokhara and Tulasi Chetri in Bharatpur on April 8, and 
Bishnu Pandey in Nawalparasi on April 12.
    Security forces used excessive force against persons in custody, 
resulting in deaths during the year. On January 5, security forces 
arrested Devendra Rai in Bhojpur on suspicion of being a Maoist. The 
security forces beat and subsequently killed Rai. On April 26, security 
forces arrested Sapana Gurung on suspicion of being a Maoist. The 
soldiers allegedly raped and beat Gurung before they shot and killed 
her. At year's end, the NA had not reached a verdict on this case.
    At year's end, there had been no action taken to investigate the 
July 2005 deaths in custody of Laxmi Yadab, Hari Prasad Yadab, Kari 
Kapar, and Kari Saha.
    There were no developments in the 2004 killings of Rajendra Paneru, 
Ganesh Syangtang, Subhadra Chaulagain, Reena Rasaili, Kishori Patel 
Kurmi, Suresh Raut Patel, Govinda Poudel, or for any victims of the 
February 2004 raid in Ward 4 Handikhola VDC.
    During the year there were no reports of injuries or deaths from 
NA-planted landmines protecting military installations and 
infrastructure. The Maoists used landmines in and alongside roads, 
killing both security forces and civilians (see section 1.g.). There 
were more than 117 civilian casualties, with 23 resulting in death, 
from accidental explosions of landmines or improvised explosive devices 
during the year. The November 21 peace agreement called for all 
landmines to be identified and located within 30 days and removed 
completely within 60 days. At year's end, there had been no indication 
that this process had started.
    Maoist rebels repeatedly clashed with security forces and engaged 
in targeted killing of security forces, government officials, and 
civilians during the year. Maoist killings lessened after the cease-
fire in April, but other abuses continued nearly unabated.
    INSEC reported that insurgents killed 240 civilians during the year 
(see section 1.g.), including on January 22, when Maoists shot and 
killed Bijay Lal Das, a local leader of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party-
Anandi Devi.
    There was a notable upswing in vigilante groups, increasing the 
level of violence experienced by the civilian population during the 
year. For example, on June 30, an anti-Maoist vigilante group killed 
two Maoists in Kapilvastu district (see section 1.g.). The Government 
did not penalize villagers who were involved in vigilante killings.

    b. Disappearance.--Before June 12, there were disappearances of 
persons while in the custody of security forces. In some cases, 
individuals disappeared, and their whereabouts remained unknown until 
much later when the Government acknowledged that the individuals were 
detained under the Terrorist and Destructive Activities Ordinance 
(TADO) (see section 1.d.). On June 12, the Government repealed TADO and 
released between 300 and 600 Maoists held under the act. Under TADO, 
suspects had to appear before a court within 60 days of their arrest, 
and the Government could hold suspects in preventive detention for 360 
days.
    In May the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) 
reported on the status of 49 disappeared people whom the Bhairabnath 
Battalion of the NA arrested and detained at the Maharajgunj barracks 
in Kathmandu in 2003 on suspicion of being linked to the Maoists. The 
Government denied knowledge of their whereabouts. While members of the 
Bhairabnath battalion acknowledged arresting 137 people between 
September and December 2003, battalion officials claimed that prisoners 
were released or transferred after short periods of detention.
    INSEC data of unresolved disappearances lists the Government as 
responsible for the disappearance of 1,305 persons from the beginning 
of the insurgency in 1996 through 2005. The Maoists, according to INSEC 
figures, were responsible for the abduction of 46,794 persons and the 
disappearance of 8,715 persons in 2005. By year's end the Government 
had not prosecuted government officials or Maoists for their 
involvement in disappearances.
    The NHRC reported that the Government was responsible for the 
disappearances of 2,032 people from 2000 until 2006 and had made public 
the whereabouts of all but 646 by year's end. The home ministry created 
a committee to conduct an investigation into the whereabouts of the 
other 646, but at year's end had not publicly released any information.
    Two of the three members of the NA implicated in the 2004 death and 
disappearance of Maina Sunawar remained in service in the military; the 
other left the NA voluntarily. Details concerning the investigation 
conducted by the Court of Inquiry Board (CIB) indicated that the 
military was responsible for Maina's torture and subsequent death, and 
identified the geographic area in which her body was buried. The NA 
formed a second CIB and a court martial that handed down a verdict 
against a colonel and two captains in the case. Authorities sentenced 
the colonel to six months in prison and mandated that he not be 
promoted for two years. The colonel also paid a $675 (50,000 NR) fine. 
The two captains were given six-month prison terms, could not be 
promoted for one year, and were forced to pay a $338 (25,000 NR) fine.
    There were no developments in the 2004 disappearance of Hari 
Krishna Adhikari.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture, beating, and mutilation; 
however, security forces regularly engaged in such activities to punish 
suspects or to extract confessions, especially before the popular 
uprising in April. The Center for Victims of Torture (CVICT) and 
Advocacy Forum-Nepal, local NGOs, reported that blindfolding and 
beating the soles of feet were commonly used methods. Abuse of those in 
custody also included beatings with plastic pipes, submersion in water, 
sexual humiliation, restricted movement, and prolonged sensory 
deprivation. Prisoners were forced to remain day and night in a prone 
position on a thin mat on the floor with their hands cuffed and shared 
one bathroom. The Government failed to conduct thorough and independent 
investigations of reports of security force brutality and generally did 
not take significant disciplinary action against those involved. 
Citizens were afraid to bring cases against the police or the army for 
fear of reprisals.
    On April 18, the NA arrested, abused, and killed six individuals, 
including Berendra Thapa and Wakil Shahi, two suspected Maoists. 
According to INSEC, the NA beat Thapa and Shahi before shooting Thapa 
in the waist, chest, and back and Shahi in the chest and mouth. The NA 
also took Keshab Singh and Ramebak Chaudhari from a house, tied their 
hands behind their backs, and assaulted them. On the same day, the NA 
took suspected Maoists Bibek and Rajendra to an artillery battalion, 
where they were abused. The NA released Rajendra on May 10. According 
to INSEC, authorities released Bibek afterwards.
    On July 29, soldiers from the NA's Bhairabnath Battalion in 
Kathmandu abducted three police officers by force, allegedly beating 
and torturing them in the battalion's barracks. According to an October 
29 press release from the NA, the General Military Court issued 
sentences against four NA officers and 12 non-commissioned officers 
involved in the attack. Ring leader Captain Rana was sentenced to one-
year imprisonment and was terminated from service. Other senior NA 
officers involved in the attack lost potential promotion, and several 
officers spent 45 days in military custody.
    The NA stated it had reviewed 179 cases of alleged torture 
presented by the UN, but the NHRC had not received information 
regarding disciplinary action taken by the NA in these cases.
    The law provides for compensation for victims of torture. According 
to CVICT, from 1996 until the end of the year, the NHRC filed 200 
torture cases. Of these, approximately 90 cases had been decided at 
year's end, and 30 of those were in favor of the torture victim. Of the 
30 decisions in favor of the victim, only five torture survivors 
received compensation from the Government. During the year two 
survivors received compensation, one because of a court decision and 
one because of a recommendation from the NHRC.
    The NA soldiers involved in the 2005 Sunsari rape case did not 
receive a civilian court verdict but remained in a civilian jail in 
Biratnagar at year's end.
    There were no developments in the 2005 case of Shiv Bohara.
    There were no developments in the 2004 abuse case of two Tibetan 
refugee girls in Lukla.
    There were numerous allegations of torture by Maoists insurgents. 
(see section 1.g.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
extremely poor and did not meet international standards. According to 
the Department of Prisons, 5,580 prisoners remained in jail at year's 
end. Of these, 5,155 were male, 360 were female, 50 were juvenile 
cases, and 15 were minor children.
    Due to a lack of adequate juvenile detention facilities, children 
sometimes were incarcerated with adults as criminal offenders or were 
allowed to remain in jails with their incarcerated parents due to lack 
of other available options.
    The Government generally permitted the NHRC and OHCHR to make 
unannounced visits to prisons and detainees in army and police custody.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but arbitrary arrest continued during the year.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Before the popular 
uprising, the NA exercised responsibility for security in the country 
under an operational structure referred to as the ``unified command,'' 
which included elements of the police.
    After the uprising, the home ministry did not give orders to any of 
the security forces regarding maintenance of law and order, and the 
unified command was dissolved in July. During peace negotiations from 
April to November between the Maoists and the seven-party alliance, the 
Government instructed police not to intervene in the case of Maoist 
acts of violence, including intimidation, extortion and killings, for 
fear of compromising the peace process. The November 21 peace agreement 
called on the Nepal Police and the APF to enforce law and order across 
the country. Authorities reestablished several police posts between 
November 21 and year's end. Subsequently, the Maoists forced many of 
the re-established posts to close. At year's end, the Government had 
again ordered police not to take any actions against Maoists for fear 
of endangering the peace process. The chief district officer (CDO), the 
highest-ranking civil servant in each of the country's 75 districts, 
had limited discretion in maintaining law and order under this 
government mandate.
    Both the police and NA have human rights cells to promote human 
rights and to investigate cases of abuse; however, corruption and 
impunity remained problems. Before the April 27 cease-fire, police were 
generally unarmed and had the role of preventing and investigating non 
terrorist related criminal behavior, while the APF were armed and 
deployed as riot control at checkpoints or with NA units directly 
engaged against Maoist insurgents. After April 27, the NA was confined 
to its barracks.
    During the year the NA investigated 102 cases of abuse involving 
163 individuals. Of the 163, 114 cases resulted in prison sentences for 
one month to 10 years; 60 cases resulted in discharge from service; 39 
cases resulted in demotion; 47 resulted in forfeiture of grade or 
promotion; nine resulted in warnings in personnel files; and six 
resulted in payment of compensation to the victim's family.
    Following the cease-fire on April 27, corruption and impunity 
remained a problem in the police force. Although a few police officials 
accused of abuses were removed from their posts because of human rights 
violations, human rights groups reported that these individuals were 
promoted or re-assigned as advisors at the home ministry. According to 
human rights groups, a culture of impunity continued to exist within 
the police. At the district level, police often operated without 
significant guidance from superiors, allowing vast discretion in the 
enforcement of laws. As in 2005, there were many reports of police 
abuse and bribery.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law stipulates that, except in cases 
involving suspected security and narcotics violations, the authorities 
must obtain a warrant for arrest, arraign or release a suspect within 
24 hours of arrest, and file a case in court within seven days of 
arrest, but security forces regularly violated these provisions (see 
section 1.f.).
    If the court upholds a detention, the law authorizes the police to 
hold the suspect for 25 days to complete an investigation, with a 
possible extension of seven days. However, security forces occasionally 
held prisoners longer. In some cases the Supreme Court ordered the 
release of detainees held longer than 24 hours without a court 
appearance. Some foreigners, including refugees, reported difficulty in 
obtaining bail.
    Detainees have the legal right to receive visits by family members, 
and they are permitted access to lawyers once authorities file charges. 
In practice the police granted access to prisoners on a basis that 
varied from prison to prison; however, the King's government 
consistently denied Maoist suspects visits from family members and 
lawyers. There is a system of bail, but bonds were too expensive for 
most citizens. Pretrial detention often exceeded the period to which 
persons subsequently were sentenced after a trial and conviction. Human 
rights groups alleged that arrest without a warrant, prolonged 
detention without trial, and police torture were especially evident in 
heavily Maoist-affected areas (see section 1.c.).
    Under the Public Security Act (PSA), security forces may detain 
persons who allegedly threatened domestic security and tranquility, 
amicable relations with other countries, or relations between citizens 
of different classes or religions. The Government may detain persons in 
preventive detention for up to six months without charging them with a 
crime. The detention period can be extended after submitting written 
notice to the home ministry. The security forces must notify the 
district court of the detention within 24 hours. The court may order an 
additional six months of detention before the Government must file 
official charges.
    Before the uprising, the Government commonly applied this act in 
cases involving suspected Maoists and political and civil rights 
activists (see section 1.b.). Human rights groups alleged that the 
security forces used arbitrary arrest and detention to intimidate 
communities considered sympathetic to the Maoists.
    On January 18, security forces arrested 16 political party 
activists under the PSA, including youth activists. The king's 
government later announced they would hold 15 of the prisoners in 
custody for up to three months as permitted by the PSA.
    On April 5, the Government arrested over 100 political party 
leaders in their homes during the early morning. The Government cited 
fears that the Maoists would infiltrate the April 6-9 peaceful protest 
program of the seven-party alliance as the reason to carry out the 
arrests.
    The king's government held hundreds of political prisoners under 
the PSA. On May 15, the new government arrested and held five members 
of the former royal government without charges under the PSA. On June 
5, the Supreme Court ordered all of the detainees released.
    On May 25, the Government ordered the release of most Maoists held 
under the PSA to help move the peace process forward, although the 
Government did not release 200 Maoists being held on criminal charges. 
At year's end, these persons remained in jail, pending adjudication of 
their cases.
    Other laws, including the Public Offenses Act, permit detention 
without charge. This act, and its many amendments, covers crimes such 
as disturbing the peace, vandalism, rioting, and fighting. Human rights 
monitors expressed concern that the act vests too much discretionary 
power in the CDO. Police arrested many citizens involved in public 
disturbances, rioting, and vandalism and detained them for short 
periods without charge. Both before and after the popular uprising, the 
Government routinely arrested journalists, civil society members, and 
politicians for trying to enter restricted areas to protest. Police 
released most within 24 hours of their arrest.
    According to international observers, in the course of the 19-day 
demonstration in April, police detained more than 1,000 persons in 
police stations and ad hoc detention centers and held several thousand 
activists arbitrarily under the PSA.
    Before the popular uprising, authorities occasionally detained 
journalists on suspicion of having ties to or sympathy for the Maoists 
(see section 2.a.). No journalists have been held or charged for these 
reasons since parliament was restored in April.
    There were reports of political detainees held during the year, 
especially before the popular uprising. Most political leaders were 
either under house arrest or held in Army or APF barracks before the 
popular uprising in April. After the restoration of parliament, all of 
them were released. There were no reports of political detainees under 
the new government.
    According to Advocacy Forum, incommunicado detention remained a 
problem throughout the country, although it decreased after the cease-
fire agreement on April 27.

    Amnesty.--On February 19, the King granted pardons to 174 persons 
being held in prison in Nepal. In May parliament declared that the King 
no longer had the power to grant pardons to criminals, and any pardons 
would be granted by the council of ministers after recommendation from 
the home minister. The cabinet pardoned an unknown number of people in 
October.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but courts remained vulnerable to political 
pressure, bribery, and intimidation.
    The Supreme Court has the right to review the constitutionality of 
legislation passed by parliament. Appellate and district courts were 
increasingly independent, although occasionally they remained 
susceptible to political pressures. On November 27, the parliament 
declared that the Supreme Court could not challenge the 
constitutionality of any of the parliamentary proclamations based on 
the mandate of the people's movement.
    The judicial system consists of three levels: district courts, 
appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. Before the popular uprising, 
the King appointed judges on the recommendation of the judicial 
council, a constitutional body chaired by the chief justice. Until a 
new constitution is formed, the judicial council nominates and confirms 
judges. The council also is responsible for the assignment of judges, 
disciplinary action, and other administrative matters. A special court 
hears cases related to narcotics trafficking, trafficking in women and 
girls, crimes against the state, corruption, and crimes related to 
foreign currency. The appellate courts heard cases against suspects 
charged with violations under TADO until its repeal on June 12.
    Delays in the administration of justice were a severe problem. As 
of July 2005, the Supreme Court reported a backlog of 16,293 cases, the 
appellate courts had 10,157, and district courts had 25,699. There was 
no indication that this backlog improved during the year.

    Trial Procedures.--While the law provides for the right to counsel, 
equal protection under the law, protection from double jeopardy, 
protection from retroactive application of the law, and public trials, 
these rights were not equally applied except in a few security and 
customs cases. Judges decide cases; there is no jury system. All lower 
court decisions, including acquittals, are subject to appeal. The 
Supreme Court is the court of last resort.
    The law provides detainees with the right to legal representation 
and a court-appointed lawyer, a government lawyer, or access to private 
attorneys; however, the Government provided legal counsel only upon 
request. Consequently, those persons unaware of their rights may be 
deprived of legal representation. Before TADO was repealed, police 
often denied suspects detained under TADO access to both attorneys and 
family members.
    Military courts adjudicate cases concerning military personnel 
under the military code, which provides military personnel the same 
basic rights as civilians. Military personnel are immune from 
prosecution in civilian courts, except in cases of homicide or rape 
involving a civilian. Military courts cannot try civilians for crimes, 
even crimes involving the military services; these cases are handled in 
civilian courts.
    The authorities may prosecute terrorism or treason cases under the 
Treason Act. Specially constituted tribunals hear these trials in 
closed sessions, but no such trials have occurred since 1991.
    In most districts, the Maoists set up ``people's courts.'' In July, 
Maoist Supremo Prachanda claimed he had ordered Maoists people's courts 
to stop functioning in urban areas, although such courts continued to 
function across the country. These courts had no due process, and 
handled both criminal and civil cases. According to international 
observers, after Prachanda's July declaration, Maoists extended the 
people's courts into villages where they had not previously been 
present. For example, on September 24, Maoists established a people's 
court in a temple in Chandranigapur and stopped people from coming to 
the temple to worship. According to OHCHR, the people's courts did not 
provide minimum guarantees of due process and fair trial. The November 
21 peace agreement called for an end to people's courts across the 
country, but the Maoists continued to operate these courts in most 
districts, including in the capital.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were political prisoners 
at the beginning of the year, but all were released after the popular 
uprising and the restoration of parliament. There were no reported 
political prisoners at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--During the year there were 
no reported government abuses of civil procedures.
    Property Restitution
    At year's end, in most cases, the Maoists had not returned 
previously seized property; however, on November 15, Maoists unlocked a 
house in Hetauda that they had seized in 2002 and allowed the owner to 
return. Maoists continued to seize property after the cease-fire 
declaration in April.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Before and during the popular uprising, the King 
suspended the right to privacy. The Government occasionally suspended 
all cellular telephone lines and the Internet during the popular 
uprising, allegedly for security concerns. Human rights activists and 
politicians said that when cellular telephone and Internet service was 
available, authorities also monitored those services before and during 
the popular uprising. Cellular telephones were reactivated on April 27. 
The Government did not interrupt cellular telephone or Internet service 
after the popular uprising. (see section 2.a.).
    Security forces routinely entered and searched houses without 
warrants before and during the popular uprising. This activity 
substantially lessened after the popular uprising.
    Security personnel frequently conducted vehicle and body searches 
at roadblocks in many areas of the country.
    There were no reports of the Government forcing civilians to 
resettle. However, Maoists regularly forced civilians to flee their 
homes in order to escape extortion, recruitment, or retaliation.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
From January through April, there was significant internal conflict 
between the Government and Maoist insurgents. Both parties injured and 
killed numerous civilians.
    The NA used helicopter bombardment to attack Maoists between 
January and April, sometimes causing unnecessary civilian casualties. 
On February 28, several army helicopters dropped a mortar shell and 
shot at Maoists while a crowd of civilians gathered in a village 
square. Several people were injured and a 14-year-old boy was killed.
    On March 13, Maoists killed a civilian while firing on a group of 
police in Nepalgunj.
    According to international observers, hospitals treated over 1,350 
injured protesters, including children, during the first two weeks of 
the April People's Movement. According to medical personnel in one 
hospital, nearly one-third of the 250 protesters treated there had been 
struck by rubber or live bullets, and many had multiple wounds.
    On April 11, in Gongabu, a group of 15 to 20 police beat medical 
personnel from a Kathmandu hospital who were providing assistance 
during a demonstration. Later, the country's senior superintendent of 
police, Madhav Thapa, refused requests from the NHRC to appear before 
the commission to respond to allegations of excessive use of force by 
security personnel.
    On August 26, locals of Dhanusha district apprehended four Maoist 
cadres and handed them over to police. At year's end, the fate of the 
four cadres was unknown.
    The Government did not take any action to compensate the students 
shot in Kanchanpur District in 2005.
    Maoists were also responsible for numerous abductions during the 
year. For example, on February 12, Maoists abducted 17 civilians, 
including 11 youths, from the Ramechhap District. On June 10, according 
to INSEC, Maoists abducted and killed a schoolboy in Sindhupalchowk. On 
June 15, Maoists abducted and abused two men in the Kavre District.
    Before April, Maoists expanded a campaign of abducting civilians, 
primarily students and teachers, allegedly for indoctrination programs 
and forced paramilitary training. There were fewer reports of Maoist 
abductions of students and teachers after the cease-fire in April, 
although such abductions continued. For example, on July 1, Maoists 
abducted Satish Shukla from a village in Kapilvastu allegedly in 
retaliation for an anti-Maoist vigilante group's killing of two Maoists 
on June 30 (see section 1.a.).
    Maoists used landmines in and alongside roads to attack police, 
military, and government vehicles, injuring numerous civilians before 
the April cease-fire. The November 21 peace agreement called for all 
landmines to be identified within 30 days and removed within 60 days. 
At year's end, there was no indication that this process was underway 
(see section 1.a.).
    Before the cease-fire, Maoists used civilians, including children, 
as human shields in wave attacks against fortified military positions. 
Both sides in the conflict used children as informants (see section 5). 
The November 21 peace agreement forbids the use of children under the 
age of 18 as soldiers in the armies of either side; however, the 
Maoists continued to recruit large numbers of children after signing 
this agreement.
    On March 31, the Maoists bombed a testing center in Dailekh where a 
high school completion exam was taking place, injuring 11 children who 
were taking the test. The Maoist leadership said that the bombing was 
against party policy.
    On July 2, a bomb blast attributed to an anti-Maoist vigilante 
group in the southern part of the country injured four people.
    The ANNISU-R (the student wing of the Maoists) demanded, often 
violently, the halving of tuition, curriculum changes, and banning the 
singing of the national anthem. In some areas Maoists demanded that 
schools follow a calendar devoid of religious holidays (see section 
2.c.). In some areas Maoist extortion and pressure forced private 
schools to close. Security forces also apprehended Maoists on the 
charge of forcibly making a school principal sign ``contract papers'' 
promising to pay them money.
    The Maoists regularly blocked relief organizations from reaching 
civilian populations in order to force NGOs to sign agreements with 
Maoist regional committees. Maoists regularly extorted money from 
businesses, workers, and NGOs. When individuals or companies refused or 
were unable to pay, Maoist recrimination frequently was violent. NGOs 
needed permission from the Maoists to work in the majority of 
districts. This policy did not change after the November 21 peace 
agreement.
    Maoist-inspired work stoppages, enforced through violence and 
intimidation, caused particular hardship to workers in many economic 
sectors. During the April uprising, the Maoists enforced a complete 
country-wide transportation closure and blockade of the capital valley.
    Maoists regularly forced family members of those serving in the 
police or army, and thousands of civilians, including political party 
activists, to flee their homes (see sections 1.a., 1.f., and 2.d.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press; however, the Government imposed restrictions 
on these rights before and during the popular uprising. Most of these 
restrictions, including those enacted in October 2005, were removed 
after the restoration of parliament. Before the popular movement, the 
law prohibited speech and writing that would threaten the sovereignty 
and integrity of the kingdom; disturb the harmonious relations among 
persons of different castes or communities; promote sedition, 
defamation, contempt of court, or crime; or, contradict decent public 
behavior or morality. After the popular uprising, the Government 
generally allowed free speech and press.
    In January the Government increased the fees for licensing a radio 
station by up to 40 times, effectively banning independent radio 
stations. The hike was repealed after the popular uprising in April.
    The Election Code of Conduct limited media freedom in covering 
elections. For instance, the code restricted media from publishing a 
candidate's attack against an opponent and required that speeches by 
party leaders or candidates be published verbatim. The Election Code 
was repealed after the popular uprising in April. The Maoists imposed 
restrictions on free press through intimidation and the killing of 
journalists and the destruction of radio and television towers. On 
November 26, Maoists attacked journalists in Chitwan and Taplejung 
after the journalists allegedly published a negative report about the 
Maoists.
    Until the parliament repealed it on May 9, the Press and 
Publications Act had prohibited publication of material that, among 
other things, promoted disrespect toward the King or the royal family; 
undermined security, peace, order, the dignity of the King, or the 
integrity or sovereignty of the kingdom; created animosity among 
persons of different castes and religions; or, adversely affected the 
good conduct or morality of the public. Foreign publications were 
widely available, and none was banned or censored during the year. 
Foreign print media operating in and reporting on the country were 
allowed to operate freely.
    The independent media was active and expressed a wide variety of 
views. Hundreds of independent vernacular and English-language 
newspapers were available, representing various political points of 
view. Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post (Nepali and English language 
versions of the same paper) reported independently. Gorkhapatra, the 
government-owned Nepali-language daily, and The Rising Nepal, the third 
largest English-language daily, both reflected government policy. 
Janadesh, the Maoist-published newspaper, remained a source of Maoist 
propaganda.
    Police arrested numerous journalists before and during the popular 
uprising, many for protesting in favor of press freedom in restricted 
areas. Police released most journalists within 24 hours of their 
arrest.
    On January 21, security forces beat and injured Mahendra Thapa of 
the Annapurna Post while he was reporting a student protest at Butwal. 
On January 22, police arrested Khem Bhandari, editor of Abhiyan Daily, 
for allegedly attacking policemen.
    In March international observers noted the high prevalence of 
intimidation, harassment, and attacks and detention of media 
professionals. Sophisticated methods of intimidation, such as the 
``one-door advertisement policy,'' which directed public expenditure on 
advertising to co-operative media and imposed a de-facto ban on all 
public advertising in newspapers that were critical of the Government, 
were used to silence the media. By March, thousands of journalists had 
lost their jobs.
    During the April protests, dozens of journalists were beaten, 
detained and arrested. For example, on April 12, police arrested more 
than two dozen journalists from Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu as they 
protested against police atrocities and demanded total press freedom.
    The Broadcast Act allows private television and FM radio 
broadcasts. The Government owned two television stations-Nepal TV and 
Nepal TV Metro-and controlled one radio station that broadcast both 
shortwave AM and FM signals. There were 47 independent radio stations 
that reached over 90 percent of the population. Radio remained the 
primary source of information for a majority of the population.
    The Government restricted radio and television broadcasts during 
the popular uprising in April. The Government did not otherwise 
restrict access to foreign radio broadcasts, private cable networks, or 
the purchase of television satellite dishes. Before the uprising, the 
Government censored FM broadcasts of the BBC English radio service, 
replacing its 15-minute news service with music. BBC Nepali on 
shortwave, however, generally continued to be available. After the 
restoration of parliament, restrictions on radio and television 
broadcasts were removed.
    The Maoists opposed freedom of expression and attempted to restrict 
print and broadcast media. Maoists threatened private FM radio stations 
to force them to broadcast Maoist propaganda, and the Maoists 
themselves operated small, mobile FM radio stations that broadcast 
propaganda. After the restoration of parliament in May, Maoist radio 
stations broadcast widely all over the country, including in the 
capital.
    According to Reporters without Borders, Maoist cadres assaulted, 
detained, wrongly summoned or censored at least eight journalists 
between April and November.
    On January 19, Maoists bombed a state-run television tower in 
Hetauda.

    Internet Freedom.--Human rights activists and politicians reported 
blocked or monitored Internet service before and during the popular 
uprising. The Government blocked more than 20 Web sites, including the 
Maoist Web site, that were hosted in other countries and were not 
supportive of the King (see section 1.f.). After the popular uprising, 
there was no reported monitoring or blocking of Internet sites.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
    Maoist groups curtailed academic freedom, regularly extorted money 
from private schools and teachers, and inflicted punishment on school 
officials. According to INSEC, from 2002 through 2005, Maoists abducted 
18,852 students and 9,261 teachers from schools for indoctrination 
programs, and bombed over a dozen schools across the country (see 
section 1.g.). Despite the cease-fire, the country's media continued to 
report instances of abduction, extortion, and intimidation by Maoists 
outside Kathmandu valley.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association; however, the royal government 
restricted this right in practice. Before and during the popular 
uprising, the Government restricted freedom of assembly, claiming it 
was necessary to prevent the undermining of the sovereignty and 
integrity of the state or for disturbing law and order. After the 
popular uprising, the new government sometimes restricted freedom of 
assembly. On June 19, authorities arrested more than 24 female 
activists after a peaceful protest against lack of female 
representation in the newly formed government outside Singha Durbar, 
the main government building in the capital.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; 
although large public demonstrations were common in parts of the 
country, the Government generally restricted demonstrations before and 
during the popular uprising. Under domestic law, CDOs are authorized to 
impose curfews if there is a possibility that peace may be disturbed as 
a result of demonstrations or riots. The right to assemble is protected 
under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 
to which Nepal is a State Party. The ICCPR requires that any 
restrictions on assembly are: 1) in conformity with the law; 2) for the 
objective of national security or public safety; and 3) necessary in a 
democratic society. The curfews imposed during the April People's 
Movement, including those on April 5 and 9 in Kathmandu, did not meet 
the third requirement under the ICCPR, according to the OHCHR.
    INSEC reported that government security forces killed 21 people 
during the popular uprising in April. Police used baton charges, water 
cannon, rubber bullets, and live ammunition to break up demonstrations.
    INSEC reported that during the popular uprising in April, security 
forces injured 3,723 people country-wide during pro-democracy 
demonstrations.
    Throughout the year local authorities in Kathmandu prevented the 
Tibetan community from holding public celebrations, including those to 
venerate the Dalai Lama, although private celebrations were allowed in 
schools or monasteries. (see section 2.c.).
    During the year Maoists deprived citizens of the right to assembly 
(see section 1.a.).

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, although the Government restricted these rights before and 
during the popular uprising. The Government claimed it restricted 
freedom of association in order to protect the country's sovereignty; 
the Government did not substantially restrict the freedom of 
association after the April uprising.
    Government officials refused to register any organizations whose 
titles contain the words, ``Jesus, Bible, Christian, or church.'' (see 
section 2.c.) These groups noted that, unless registered, such 
organizations could not own land, which is important for establishing 
churches or burial of members. These groups have been able to register 
their organizations and practice their faith as NGOs.
    In November the Government revoked the registration of the Bhota 
Welfare Society, a legally formed NGO created to provide humanitarian 
assistance to Tibetan refugees resident in Nepal. The directors on the 
board of the NGO were all citizens. The NGO had gone through all legal 
requirements for registration, and the Government had issued a 
registration certificate and number to the NGO. The Government 
nevertheless subsequently revoked the registration of the NGO without 
explanation.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion 
and permits the practice of all religions, but members of minority 
religions occasionally complained of police harassment. Some Christian 
groups were concerned that the ban on proselytizing limited the 
expression of non-Hindu religious belief. In May the restored 
parliament declared the country a secular state.
    The Press and Publications Act prohibited the publication of 
materials that created animosity among persons of different castes or 
religions.
    A conviction for conversion or proselytizing can result in fines or 
imprisonment, or in the case of foreigners, expulsion from the country; 
however, there were no incidents of arrest for conversion or 
proselytizing during the year.
    The Government restricted to private places (school grounds or 
inside monasteries) all celebrations by local Tibetans (Tibetan New 
Year, the Dalai Lama's birthday, Democracy Day, and International Human 
Rights Day/Celebration of the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Peace 
Prize).

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although prohibited by law, 
citizens practiced caste discrimination at Hindu temples in rural 
areas, and such discrimination strongly influenced society.
    On March 21, upper caste locals barred dalit (lower caste) youths 
from entering the Saileshwori Temple in Dipayal by padlocking the 
temple door.
    On August 30, a dalit woman filed a case against a priest alleging 
that she was not allowed to enter a temple during a religious 
celebration because the priest would only allow high caste people into 
the temple.
    On September 7, demonstrators in Silgadhi protested the entry of 
dalits into the local temple. Locals demonstrated after dalits tried to 
enter the temple.
    There were regular reports of Maoists enforcing a ``people's 
calendar'' in schools that did not allow for religious holidays. 
Maoists forced churches to close after the churches refused to meet 
their demands.
    There are no known Jewish adherents in the country except for 
foreign diplomats and expatriates, and there were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights; 
however, the Government suspended freedom of movement within the 
country before and during the popular uprising. The Government 
prevented many prominent human rights activists and politicians from 
traveling within, or in some cases leaving, the country before and 
during the popular uprising. After the restoration of parliament, the 
Government did not restrict freedom of movement.
    In advance of the popular uprising in April, the home ministry 
released a statement instructing people not to travel to the capital 
unless absolutely necessary. The Government prevented vehicles 
transporting groups of people from entering the capital during this 
time, citing security concerns. The restored parliament lifted these 
restrictions.
    The Government regularly restricted refugees' right to travel 
freely inside and outside of the country.
    Maoists restricted freedom of movement within the country, 
including forcing transportation strikes and using landmines to target 
civilian transportation (see sections 1.a. and 1.g.). During the 
popular uprising, Maoists enforced a nationwide transportation 
blockade. On September 13, Maoists called a nationwide transportation 
strike to protest alleged importation of weapons by the Government. On 
December 19, the Maoists enforced another nationwide transportation 
strike to protest the Government's nomination of commissioners to the 
NHRC.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and forced exile was not used 
during the year. The Government allowed citizens to emigrate and those 
abroad to return and was not known to revoke citizenship for political 
reasons.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Although the Government and 
Maoists agreed to support the safe and dignified return of IDPs to 
their homes, the agreement was not implemented. Several UN agencies, 
including the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), OHCHR, and the UN 
Development Program began working with the Government to develop an IDP 
policy that was consistent with international principles. These 
agencies estimated a current population of between 100,000 and 200,000 
IDPs in Nepal. The Government allowed several international 
organizations, such as the International Committee for the Red Cross, 
CARITAS and Action Aid Nepal, to initiate programs to assist IDPs. The 
Government also requested total contributions of $14 million from donor 
countries for IDP assistance. According to UN agencies, the main 
obstacle preventing IDPs from returning was fear of Maoist reprisal and 
refusal by local Maoist commanders to allow IDPs to return home.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (see section 5), but the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, and the Government generally cooperated with UNHCR and 
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylees. 
UNHCR maintained an office in Kathmandu and a sub-office in Damak.
    Between 1959 and 1989 the Government accepted as residents 
approximately 20,000 Tibetan refugees, most of whom remained in the 
country. The Government allowed Tibetan refugees to transit the 
country. During the year, 2,405 Tibetan arrivals registered with UNHCR 
for transit to India, and 2,946 reportedly departed. The discrepancy 
between arrivals and departures was due to a backlog of nearly 1,000 
refugees at the end of 2005. Since 1991 the Government has provided 
asylum to approximately 107,000 persons who claimed Bhutanese 
citizenship. The great majority of these refugees lived in UNHCR-
administered camps in the southeastern part of the country. The 
Government allowed UNHCR to begin conducting a census of the camps on 
November 15. Approximately 15,000 additional Bhutanese refugees resided 
in the country and in India outside of camps. The Government allowed 
UNHCR to provide services for other asylum seekers, such as individuals 
from Nigeria and Pakistan. The Government allowed UNHCR unrestricted 
access to the border areas during the year. UNHCR visited four border 
districts during the year.
    The People's Republic of China and the Government tightened control 
of movement across the border in 1986, but neither side consistently 
enforced these restrictions. Police and customs officials occasionally 
harassed Tibetan asylum seekers who fled China. According to UNHCR, 
police conduct improved since 1999, although border police sometimes 
extorted money from Tibetans in exchange for passage. There were 
unconfirmed reports that Tibetan asylum seekers occasionally were 
handed back to Chinese authorities after crossing the border. Maoists 
regularly robbed Tibetan refugees traveling from border areas to 
Kathmandu.
    The UNHCR monitored the condition of Bhutanese refugees and 
provided for their basic needs, and the Government agreed to allow 
UNHCR to conduct a census in the Bhutanese refugee camps. The 
Government accepted the temporary refugee presence on humanitarian 
grounds. The UNHCR administered camps; the World Food Program (WFP) 
provided supplemental food assistance; and the Government made a 
contribution to the WFP earmarked for the refugees.
    The Government officially restricted Bhutanese refugees' freedom of 
movement and work, but it did not strictly enforce its policies. 
Bhutanese refugees were not allowed to leave the camps without 
permission, but permission was consistently granted. Local authorities 
attempted to restrict some of the limited economic activity in the 
camps permitted by the central government. Violence sometimes broke out 
between camp residents and the local population.
    In September the Government agreed to allow 16 extremely vulnerable 
Bhutanese refugees to leave the country for resettlement abroad. At 
year's end, the Government had only allowed three of these refugees to 
leave.
    In May the Government reversed its policy implemented in October 
2005 and resumed issuing exit permits to Tibetan refugees transiting to 
India. The Government continued to allow Tibetans to enter the country, 
and to apply for and receive UNHCR protection.
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; however, citizens were not afforded this right in practice. 
The King reinstated the 1999 parliament in April; according to the 
November 21 peace agreement, elections were to be held later. In May 
seven of the largest political parties formed a ruling alliance and 
chose Girija Prasad Koirala, President of the Nepali Congress Party, as 
the Prime Minister.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Past elections generally 
were held throughout the country according to schedule, and 
parliamentary elections are to be held every five years. International 
observers considered the 1999 elections, the last elections held, to be 
generally free and fair. The King held municipal elections in February 
that most political parties boycotted and the international community 
criticized.
    The law bars the registration and participation in elections of any 
political party that is based on religion, community, caste, tribe, 
region, or that does not operate openly and democratically. Under the 
law, individuals may contest elections in the district in which they 
are on the election rolls, whether independently or with a political 
party. Most larger political parties had associated youth wings, trade 
unions, and social organizations. A new chief election commissioner was 
appointed in November. At year's end, three election commissioners had 
been appointed, and two others had been nominated to fill vacant 
positions. Parliament had only promulgated one new election law, 
allowing people to vote outside their home districts (especially for NA 
soldiers in barracks or Maoists in cantonments). No other election laws 
had been promulgated at year's end.
    There are no specific laws that restrict women, indigenous people, 
or minorities from participating in government or in political parties, 
but tradition limited the roles of women and some castes in the 
political process. The law requires that women constitute at least 5 
percent of each party's candidates for the House of Representatives. 
The law also requires that at least 20 percent of all village and 
municipal level seats be reserved for female candidates. Prime Minister 
Koirala appointed one woman to his cabinet in May.
    No specific laws prevented minorities from voting or restricted 
their participation in government or political parties on the same 
basis as other citizens. There were no special provisions to allocate a 
set number or percentage of political party positions or parliamentary 
seats for any minority group. Members of certain castes traditionally 
held more power than others. Of the current 20-member cabinet, five 
members are from ethnic minority communities and one is from the dalit 
community.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The law provides for an 
anticorruption authority, the Commission for the Investigation of the 
Abuse of Authority, which is mandated to investigate official acts of 
corruption.
    In 2005 the King constituted another corruption investigation body, 
the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC), which acted as 
investigator, prosecutor, and judge. On February 13, the Supreme Court 
declared the RCCC unconstitutional, ordered it dissolved, and voided 
all of its decisions.
    The law provides citizens with a right to information ``on any 
matter of public importance,'' except in cases where secrecy is 
required by law; however, there is no formal legislation providing 
citizens with access to government information. There were no known 
examples of this section of the law being tested.
Section 4. 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 and were able to 
investigate and publish their findings on human rights cases. 
Government officials sometimes were cooperative and responsive to their 
views. Before and during the popular uprising, the Government detained 
a number of civil society members and prevented others from leaving the 
country or traveling outside the capital (see section 2.d.). In 
addition, there were complaints of intimidation against human rights 
NGOs and workers by both the Government and the Maoists. After the 
uprising, there were no reports of the Government arresting human 
rights workers, although the Maoists continued to intimidate them.
    There were approximately 10 independent, domestic human rights 
NGOs, including the Human Rights Organization of Nepal; INSEC; the 
International Institute for Human Rights, Environment, and Development; 
and the Human Rights and Peace Society. The Nepal Law Society also 
monitored human rights abuses, and a number of other NGOs focused on 
specific areas such as torture, child labor, women's rights, or ethnic 
minorities.
    The insurgency caused many NGOs to reduce their activities 
substantially. There were frequent credible claims that Maoists refused 
to allow human rights NGOs and journalists to enter certain western 
districts. In addition, Maoists killed and abducted some NGO workers. 
Even after the cease-fire and peace agreement, Maoists did not allow 
NGOs to function freely in most districts without their permission.
    The Government welcomed and regularly granted visas to 
international NGOs and other human rights monitors, including members 
of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Authorities generally 
gave international observers access to barracks and places of 
detention. International observers noted that they have not been 
granted access to courts martial and military investigations.
    OHCHR worked with the Government to formulate and implement 
policies and programs for the promotion and protection of human rights. 
In the November 21 peace agreement, the Government and the Maoists 
agreed that OHCHR should continue to monitor human rights abuses.
    OHCHR released four reports during the year: the first was the 
report on torture at the Maharjgunj Barracks of the NA in 2003; the 
second was a report on Maoist atrocities committed during the cease-
fire; the third was a report on excessive use of force by security 
forces during the popular uprising in April; and the fourth was a 
report on human rights abuses by the Maoists. The media covered all 
four reports freely.
    After the restoration of parliament, the commissioners of the NHRC 
resigned under considerable public pressure. In December the Government 
nominated new commissioners, but Maoist pressure caused the 
appointments to be suspended. At the end of the year, no commissioners 
had been appointed to the NHRC. While the commission continued to 
operate independently, it was unable to move investigations forward 
without effective leadership. Resource constraints and insufficient 
manpower restricted the number of cases the commission investigated. 
Once the NHRC completes an investigation and makes a recommendation, 
the Government has three months to respond. The commission received 518 
complaints of human rights violations during the year. The NHRC 
identified 646 persons who disappeared in government custody and who 
remained unaccounted for at year's end. According to the NHRC, the 
Maoists had abducted 184 persons who remained unaccounted for at year's 
end. The NHRC also investigated illegal detention and arrest of 
acquitted persons. The NHRC reported open access to government and 
Maoist detainees across the country.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law specifies that the Government shall not discriminate 
against citizens on grounds of race, sex, caste, or ideology; however, 
a caste system operated throughout the country in many areas of daily 
life. Societal discrimination against lower castes, women, and persons 
with disabilities remained common, especially in rural areas.

    Women.--Domestic violence against women was a serious problem that 
received limited public attention. There was a general unwillingness 
among police, politicians, citizens, and government authorities to 
recognize violence against women as a problem. Sensitizing programs by 
NGOs for police, politicians, and the general public have led to a 
greater awareness of the problem. The women's cell of the police 
received 939 reports of domestic violence during the country's fiscal 
year, which ended June 15. However, in the absence of a domestic 
violence law, police were unable, or unwilling, to file cases against 
the accused.
    Police had 18 women's cells in 16 of the country's 75 districts. 
The female officers in the cells received special training in handling 
victims of domestic violence and trafficking. Police also issued 
directives instructing all officers to treat domestic violence as a 
criminal offense that should be prosecuted. Nevertheless, according to 
police officials, this type of directive was difficult to enforce 
because of entrenched discriminatory attitudes among police. Even if 
police made arrests, often neither the victim nor the Government 
pursued prosecution.
    More than 20 NGOs in Kathmandu worked on the problem of violence 
against women and on women's issues in general, and provided shelter, 
medical attention, counseling, and legal advocacy for the victims of 
violence.
    Laws against rape provide for prison sentences of 10 to 15 years 
for the rape of a child under the age of 10, seven to 10 years' 
imprisonment for the rape of a child between 10 and 16 years old, and 
five to seven years for the rape of a woman 16 or older. If the victim 
is handicapped, pregnant, or mentally retarded, an additional five 
years is added to the standard sentence. A 2003 Supreme Court order 
prohibits spousal rape. Between 2004 and September, 178 cases of rape 
and 26 cases of attempted rape were filed in the court, according to 
the women's police cell. A survey conducted by SAATHI, an 
antitrafficking NGO, found that 39 percent of rape victims who reported 
the crime to police were under the age of 19. Of those victims who 
reported the crime to the authorities, 25 percent said the Government 
arrested and convicted the perpetrator. According to SAATHI, police and 
the courts were quick to respond to rape cases.
    Incidents of rape continued to be a problem and went unreported in 
most cases.
    The dowry tradition was strong in the Terai districts bordering 
India; however, the killing of brides because of defaults on or 
inadequacy of dowry payments was rare. More often, husbands or in-laws 
seeking additional dowry physically abused wives, or forced the woman 
to leave so that the man could remarry.
    Traditional beliefs about witchcraft generally involved elderly 
rural women and widows. Shamans or other local authority figures 
sometimes publicly beat and physically abused suspected witches as part 
of an exorcism ceremony. The media or NGOs reported numerous cases of 
witchcraft-related violence during the year, including a case on 
December 6 in Rautahat in which a woman was forced to eat human feces 
by neighbors who accused her of practicing witchcraft. Local officials 
took no action against the neighbors. In 2003 the NHRC asked the 
Government to develop a mechanism to prevent such abuses and to provide 
compensation to the abused. The district administration office in the 
district where the violence occurred handled all cases of witchcraft 
violence.
    Trafficking in women remained a serious problem throughout the 
country, and large numbers of women were forced into commercial sexual 
exploitation in other countries (see section 5, Trafficking). Forced 
prostitution was illegal, but there were no laws banning prostitution 
by choice.
    Although the law provides protections for women, including equal 
pay for equal work, the Government did not take significant action to 
implement those provisions, even in many state industries. Women faced 
systematic discrimination, particularly in rural areas, where religious 
and cultural traditions, lack of education, and ignorance of the law 
remained severe impediments to the exercise of basic rights, such as 
the right to vote or to hold property in their own names. Unmarried, 
widowed, and divorced women were able to inherit parental property.
    The citizenship law passed by the parliament on November 26 
provides citizenship to anyone born and living in the country before 
April 1990. For the first time, the law allows citizenship to pass 
through the mother; the children of female citizens married to foreign 
spouses can claim citizenship.
    Women may register birth and death information. Women did not need 
permission from their husband or parents to get a passport. Women did 
not need the permission of their husband, son, or parents if they 
wished to sell or hand over ownership of property.
    On March 30, the Supreme Court ruled that the provision in the 
civil code allowing men to divorce women on the grounds of a woman's 
infertility was contrary to the constitutional guarantee to equality. 
Under the old law, a married man could seek divorce after 10 years of 
marriage if a government medical board proved his wife was infertile.
    Many other discriminatory laws remain. According to legal experts, 
there were more than 50 laws that discriminated against women. For 
example, the law on property rights favors men in its provisions for 
land tenancy and the division of family property. The Foreign 
Employment Act requires women to get permission from the Government and 
their guardian before seeking work through a foreign employment agency. 
The law encourages bigamy by allowing men to remarry without divorcing 
their first wife if she becomes crippled or infertile.
    The November 21 peace agreement called for the rights of women to 
be protected in a special way. It was unclear at year's end what that 
would mean in practice.
    According to the 2001 census, the most recent statistics available, 
the female literacy rate was 43 percent, compared with 65 percent for 
men. NGOs focused on integrating women into active civil society and 
the economy. Most political parties had women's groups that advocated 
for women's rights and brought women's issues before the party 
leadership.

    Children.--Although the law provides for the welfare and education 
of children, its implementation was uneven, in part due to violence 
resulting from the ongoing insurgency. Education was not compulsory. 
However, government policy provided free primary education for all 
children between the ages of six and 12 years. The quality of education 
was often inadequate, and many families could not afford school 
supplies and clothing. Schools did not exist in all areas of the 
country. Approximately 60 percent of the children who worked also 
attended school. However, approximately 70 to 75 percent of boys who 
worked went to school, compared with only 50 to 60 percent of the girls 
who worked. Human rights groups reported that girls attended secondary 
schools at a rate half that of boys. In 2003 the Department of 
Education issued a report that one-quarter of elementary school-aged 
girls were deprived of basic education. The Government claimed that 86 
percent of school-age children were attending public schools. There 
were a reported 1,500 madrassas functioning throughout the country.
    The Government provided basic health care free to children and 
adults, but government clinics were poorly equipped and few in number, 
and serious deficiencies remained. Some health clinics in rural areas 
were forced to close due to Maoist intimidation.
    Violence against children was rarely prosecuted, and abuse 
primarily manifested itself in trafficking of children. Commercial 
sexual exploitation of young girls remained a serious problem (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    Societal attitudes in parts of the country viewed a female child as 
a commodity to be bartered in marriage, or as a burden. Some persons 
considered marrying a girl before menarche an honorable, sacred act 
that increased one's chances of a better afterlife. As a result, 
although the law prohibits marriage for girls before the age of 18, 
child brides were common. Social, economic and religious values 
promoted the practice of child brides. According to the Ministry of 
Health, girls' average age of marriage was 16 years of age, and boys' 
average age was 18. An age difference in marriage often was cited as 
one cause of domestic violence.
    Maoists abducted teenagers and some younger children to serve as 
porters, runners, cooks, and armed cadre. Most children abducted from 
their schools for political education sessions were returned within a 
few days, but some remained with the Maoists, either voluntarily or 
under compulsion. The Maoists denied recruiting children. The NA 
estimated that 30 percent of Maoist guerillas were under the age of 18, 
and some were as young as 10 (see section 1.g.). The November 21 peace 
agreement expressly forbade the recruitment of children into the armed 
forces of either side, but the Maoists continued to recruit children in 
large numbers.
    There were reports of children held in jail or in custody as 
suspected Maoists; however, all of them were released when TADO was 
repealed.
    There were at least nine cases of female infanticide reported to 
the police women's cell during the year. Six of these were reported 
between August and November.
    Internal displacement due to the conflict, including of children, 
continued to be a problem, with estimates of the number displaced 
ranging widely. According to a 2005 report by CARITAS, approximately 
40,000 children had been displaced due to the armed conflict in the 
last ten years. As IDPs, children faced inadequate access to food, 
shelter, and health care, and had limited access to education.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons 
and prescribes imprisonment of up to 20 years for infractions; however, 
trafficking in women and children remained a serious problem. During 
the year enforcement of antitrafficking statutes improved but remained 
sporadic. The law prohibits selling persons in the country or abroad.
    The country was a source country for trafficking. Young women were 
the most common targets. Trafficking of boys for commercial sexual 
exploitation rarely was reported, but girls as young as nine years of 
age were trafficked, primarily to neighboring countries. While the vast 
majority of trafficking was of women and girls for sexual exploitation, 
men, women and children were trafficked for domestic service, manual or 
semi-skilled bonded labor, work in circuses, or other purposes. Men 
were also trafficked for involuntary servitude in Iraq by use of 
deception and fraud; they generally were promised jobs in other Gulf 
countries, but were subsequently transferred to Iraq under threat or 
deception. Most women and girls trafficked from the country went to 
India, lured by promises of good jobs or marriage. Internal trafficking 
for forced labor and sexual exploitation also occurred. Save the 
Children and Action Aid conducted research linking conflict, migration, 
and employment. The studies indicated that internal trafficking likely 
was on the rise due to the insurgency, as rural women and children left 
their homes to seek both employment and security in urban centers. 
Despite the cease-fire, many women and children were afraid to return 
home due to Maoist pressure and intimidation.
    The Government has a national plan to combat trafficking and a 
National Rapporteur on Trafficking. However, political instability and 
security problems associated with the Maoist insurgency hindered the 
Government's antitrafficking efforts.
    According to the Attorney General's office, the Government filed 
203 trafficking cases in the district attorneys' offices across the 
country for one year following July 2005. By July 14, of the 203 cases, 
60 resulted in full or partial convictions, 35 in acquittal, and 108 
remained under investigation.
    An estimated 12,000 women and children were trafficked into sexual 
exploitation in Indian brothels, and an unspecified number were victims 
of internal sex trafficking. Traffickers sent women to Saudi Arabia, 
Malaysia, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and other gulf states 
for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.
    In 2003 the Government lifted a ban on female domestic labor 
leaving the country to work in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the 
gulf. The Government did not monitor adequately labor recruiting 
agencies to ensure that workers going abroad attended pre-migration 
orientation sessions, or that labor contracts were honored after worker 
arrival in receiving countries. Recruiters in the country who used 
deception to trick workers into forced labor in Iraq despite a 
government ban remained largely unmonitored and unpunished.
    Hundreds of women and girls returned voluntarily or were rescued 
and repatriated to the country after having worked as commercial sex 
workers in India. Many had been expelled from their brothels after 
contracting sexually transmitted diseases or tuberculosis. Most were 
destitute and, according to estimates by local NGOs Maiti Nepal and ABC 
Nepal, 50 percent were HIV-positive when they returned. Maiti Nepal, 
the country's largest antitrafficking NGO, operated a hospice for HIV-
positive trafficking victims and their children.
    Traffickers were usually from the country or India, and had links 
to brothels in India, but recruiters who sought girls in villages were 
primarily citizens. In many cases, parents or relatives sold women and 
young girls into sexual slavery. NGOs' unverified estimates suggested 
that 50 percent of victims were lured to India with the promise of good 
jobs and marriage, 40 percent were sold by a family member, and 10 
percent were kidnapped. Corruption was also believed to facilitate 
trafficking, but there were few reported investigations or prosecutions 
of complicit government officials. The Government identified 26 high-
priority districts as source areas of trafficking and established 
antitrafficking task forces in nine districts of the country. Women and 
youth displaced from homes as a result of the insurgency were 
especially vulnerable to being trafficked.
    While the Government lacked both the resources and institutional 
capability to address effectively its trafficking problem, the 
Government established a National Task Force at the Ministry of Women, 
Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) with personnel assigned to 
coordinate the response. There were programs in place to train police, 
and the MWCSW worked closely with local NGOs to rehabilitate and 
otherwise assist victims. Police women's cells in 18 districts worked 
with NGOs to provide referral services to victims of trafficking and 
domestic violence. Official corruption related to identity 
documentation and at ports of entry continued to facilitate the illicit 
movement of persons across the country's borders.
    The Government provided limited funding to NGOs to give assistance 
to victims with rehabilitation, medical care, and legal services. The 
MWCSW sponsored job and skill training programs in several poor 
districts with high rates of commercial sex workers who were sent to 
India. The Government protected the rights of victims and did not 
detain, jail, or prosecute them for violations of other laws.
    The Government, together with NGOs and international organizations, 
implemented local, regional, and national public awareness campaigns on 
trafficking in persons; however, the Government failed to budget for 
adequate police training and resources, and the courts were 
overburdened. Government welfare agencies worked with NGOs to deliver 
public outreach programs and assistance to trafficking victims.
    Cultural attitudes toward returned victims of trafficking were 
often negative. There were more than 50 NGOs combating trafficking, 
several of which provided rehabilitation and skills training programs 
for trafficking victims. With the Government's endorsement, many NGOs 
created outreach campaigns using leaflets, comic books, films, speaker 
programs, and skits to convey antitrafficking messages and education in 
urban, cross-border, and rural areas. Maiti Nepal, which stationed 
rehabilitated trafficking victims as guards with government officials 
to intercept trafficking victims at border crossings, reported that 
some of their female border guards had been attacked because of their 
work.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities, 
and there was discrimination against persons with disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, and in the provision of 
other state services. The law mandates access to buildings, 
transportation, employment, education, and other state services, but 
these provisions generally were not enforced. Despite government 
funding for special education programs, the Government did not 
implement effectively nor enforce laws regarding persons with 
disabilities. The MWCSW was responsible for the protection of those 
with disabilities. Some NGOs working with persons with disabilities 
received funding from the Government; however, most persons with 
physical or mental disabilities relied almost exclusively on family 
members for assistance.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides that each 
community shall have the right ``to preserve and promote its language, 
script, and culture'' and that each community has the right to operate 
schools at the primary level in its native language. In practice the 
Government generally upheld these provisions.
    There were more than 75 ethnic groups that spoke 50 different 
languages. In remote areas school lessons and radio broadcasts often 
were in the local language. In urban areas, education was almost 
exclusively offered in Nepali or English.
    Discrimination against lower castes was especially common in rural 
areas in the western part of the country, even though the Government 
outlawed the public shunning of dalits and made an effort to protect 
the rights of the disadvantaged castes.
    Economic, social, and educational advancement tended to be a 
function of historical patterns, geographic location, and caste. Better 
education and higher levels of prosperity, especially in the Kathmandu 
valley, were slowly reducing caste distinctions and increasing 
opportunities for lower socioeconomic groups. Better educated, urban-
oriented castes continued to dominate politics and senior 
administrative and military positions, and to control a 
disproportionate share of natural resources.
    Caste-based discrimination, including barring access to temples, is 
illegal; however, dalits were occasionally barred from entering 
temples. Progress in reducing discrimination was more successful in 
urban areas.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The country has no laws 
that specifically criminalize homosexuality; however, government 
authorities, especially police, sometimes harassed and abused 
homosexuals. According to Blue Diamond Society (BDS), an indigenous NGO 
that worked to protect against discrimination against the lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender communities, harassment of homosexuals did 
not stop after the popular uprising.
    On March 14, according to BDS, police arrested 26 transgender 
people and HIV/AIDS outreach workers in the Thamel and Durbar Marg 
areas of Kathmandu. They were charged reportedly with ``creating a 
public nuisance'' and were taken to Hanoman Dhoka police station in 
Kathmandu. Several members of the group were later moved to Kalimati 
police station. They were not permitted to speak to a lawyer for 
several days.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the freedom to 
establish and join unions and associations, and these rights were 
protected in practice. The law permitted the restriction of unions only 
in cases of subversion, sedition, or similar conditions. Trade unions 
developed administrative structures to organize workers, to bargain 
collectively, and to conduct worker education programs. The three 
largest trade unions were affiliated with political parties.
    Union participation in the formal sector accounted for 
approximately 10 percent of the formal work force. The Labor Act of 
1992 and the Trade Union Act of 1992 formulated enabling regulations; 
however, the Government had not fully implemented these acts. The Trade 
Union Act defines procedures for establishing trade unions, 
associations, and federations. It also protects unions and officials 
from lawsuits arising from actions taken in the discharge of union 
duties, including collective bargaining, and prohibits employers from 
discriminating against trade union members or organizers.
    The Government did not restrict unions from joining international 
labor bodies. Several trade federations and union organizations 
maintained a variety of international affiliations.
    The Maoist trade union organized workers and intimidated businesses 
extensively after the announcement of the cease-fire in May. On 
November 1, Maoists captured the building of the government-owned 
Hetauda Textiles Industry and established a party office in the 
building without permission from the Government administration. On 
November 15, Maoist-affiliated trade union members locked up six 
officials of the Gorkha Brewing Company, demanding that they raise 
salaries and pay a tax on their product to the Maoists. In December the 
Maoist-affiliated trade union forcefully closed down many hotels and 
restaurants in the tourist destination of Pokhara, demanding permanent 
positions and a raise in salaries and benefits.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The Labor Act 
provides for collective bargaining, but the organizational structures 
to implement the act's provisions were not established. The Government 
allowed unions to operate freely and without interference. Collective 
bargaining agreements covered an estimated 10 percent of wage earners 
in the organized sector; however, in general, labor remained widely 
unable to use collective bargaining effectively due to legal obstacles 
to striking and inexperience on the part of labor leaders.
    The law provides the right to strike except by employees in 
essential services, and workers exercised this right in practice. The 
law empowers the Government to halt a strike or to suspend a union's 
activities if the union disturbed the peace or if it adversely affected 
the nation's economic interests. Under the Labor Act, 60 percent of a 
union's membership must vote in favor of a strike in a secret ballot 
for the strike to be legal.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see sections 5 and 6.d.). The 
Department of Labor enforced laws against forced labor in the small 
formal sector, but remained unable to enforce the law outside that 
sector.
    Enforcement of the Kamaiya Prohibition Act by the Government was 
uneven, and social integration of the Kamaiyas--former bonded 
laborers--was difficult. By 2004, according to the International Labor 
Organization, 12,019 Kamaiyas had received land, 7,149 families had 
received approximately $143 (10,00 NRS) for building homes, and 
approximately 3,000 had received timber to build houses. The Government 
set up temporary camps for approximately 14,000 other Kamaiyas awaiting 
settlement.
    The Maoists regularly used forced labor to build roads and carry 
out other projects. Forced labor by children occurred during the year 
(see section 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law stipulates that children shall not be employed in factories, mines, 
or 60 other categories of hazardous work and limits children between 
the ages of 14 and 16 years to a 36-hour workweek (six hours a day and 
six days a week, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.). The Child Labor Act 
applies only to formal sectors of the economy, such as tourism, 
cigarette or carpet factories, and mines.
    Child labor is a significant problem, particularly in the large 
informal sector, which included such businesses as portering, rag 
picking, and rock breaking. Resources devoted to enforcement were 
limited, and NGOs estimated that 2.6 million children, most of them 
girls, participated in the labor force. Of that number, 1.7 million 
children worked full time. The agricultural sector accounted for an 
estimated 95 percent of child laborers.
    The law establishes a minimum age for employment of minors at 16 
years in industry and 14 years in agriculture, and it mandates 
acceptable working conditions for children. Employers must maintain 
records of all laborers between the ages of 14 and 16. The law also 
established specific penalties for those who unlawfully employ 
children. However, the necessary implementing regulations have not been 
passed. In 2003 the Government established the minimum wage for 
children aged 14 to 16 at approximately $22 ($1,580 NRS) per month, 
with additional allowances of roughly $5 ($359 NRS) per month for food 
and other benefits. Roughly 60 percent of children who worked also 
attended school.
    Maoists forcibly recruited children, including girls, as soldiers, 
human shields, runners, and messengers (see section 5).
    The Ministry of Labor, responsible for enforcing child labor laws 
and practices, had a mixed enforcement record. According to the 
ministry, there were ten labor inspectors employed during the year.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum monthly wage for 
unskilled labor has not increased since 2003, when the Government 
raised it to $27 (1,940 NRS). The law also set monthly minimum wages 
for semi-skilled labor at approximately $28 (2,011 NRS), skilled labor 
at approximately $29 (2,084 NRS), and highly skilled labor at 
approximately $32 (2,299 NRS). Additional allowances for food and other 
benefits totaled just over $7 (503 NRS) per month. Wages in the 
unorganized service sector and in agriculture often were as much as 50 
percent lower. The law calls for a 48-hour workweek, with one day off 
per week, and limits overtime to 20 hours per week. None of these 
minimum wages were sufficient to provide a decent standard of living 
for a worker and family.
    The Government set occupational health and safety standards, and 
the law established other benefits such as a provident fund and 
maternity benefits. Implementation of the Labor Act was slow, as the 
Government had not created the necessary regulatory or administrative 
structures to enforce its provisions. Workers did not have the right to 
remove themselves from dangerous work situations without fear of losing 
their jobs. Although the law authorizes labor officers to order 
employers to rectify unsafe conditions, enforcement of safety standards 
remained minimal.

                               __________

                                PAKISTAN

    Pakistan is a federal republic with a population of approximately 
168 million. The head of state is President Pervez Musharraf, who 
assumed power after overthrowing the civilian government in 1999 and 
was elected President in 2002. He affirmed his right to serve 
concurrently as chief of army staff in August 2002 through a series of 
controversial amendments to the 1973 constitution called the Legal 
Framework Order. The head of government is Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, 
whom the National Assembly elected in 2004. Domestic and international 
observers found the 2002 National Assembly elections deeply flawed. The 
Government was affected by internal conflicts in Balochistan and in the 
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). While the civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces, there were instances when local police acted independently of 
government authority.
    The Government's human rights record remained poor. Major problems 
included restrictions on citizens' right to change their government, 
extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape. The country experienced an 
increase in disappearances of provincial activists and political 
opponents, especially in provinces experiencing internal turmoil and 
insurgencies. Poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy 
pretrial detention remained problems, as did a lack of judicial 
independence. Harassment, intimidation, and arrests of journalists 
increased during the year. The Government limited freedoms of 
association, religion, and movement, and imprisoned political leaders. 
Corruption was widespread in the Government and police forces, and the 
Government made little attempt to combat the problem. Domestic violence 
and abuse against women, such as honor crimes and discriminatory 
legislation that affected women and religious minorities remained 
serious problems. Widespread trafficking in persons and exploitation of 
indentured, bonded, and child labor were ongoing problems. Child abuse, 
commercial sexual exploitation of children, discrimination against 
persons with disabilities, and worker rights remained concerns.
    The Government's Anti Trafficking Unit (ATU) was fully functional 
and reportedly resulted in increased arrests and prosecutions of human 
traffickers. Cooperative efforts between the military, ATU, and 
international organizations prevented human trafficking resulting from 
the social dislocation following the 2005 earthquake. Training efforts 
within the security forces greatly improved treatment of trafficking 
victims.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Security forces 
extrajudicially killed individuals associated with criminal and 
political groups in staged encounters and during abuse in custody. 
Through July, human rights observers reported at least 37 instances of 
encounter killings and 79 killings in police custody.
    Police stated that many of these deaths occurred when suspects 
attempted to escape, resisted arrest, or committed suicide; however, 
family members and the press reported that many of these deaths were 
staged.
    There were no developments in the March 2005 death in custody case 
of Samiullah Kalhoro, the vice chairman of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida 
Mahaz.
    There were no developments in the January 2005 death in police 
custody of Abu Bakar Panwhar. A case was charged against Officer 
Mohammad Rafiq Siyal, Senior Inspector Khamiso Khan, assistant senior 
inspector Ghulam Shabbir Dasti, and Police Constable Mohammad Aslam 
after protests by the Sindh People's Students Federation and the 
Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians.
    On January 13, police arrested Habibur Rehman in a car theft case 
in Chitral. According to Rehman's father, police tortured Rehman while 
he was in police custody. Rehman was subsequently taken to district 
headquarters hospital, where he died on January 16. The doctor stated 
Rehman was in shock and critical condition from being beaten. At year's 
end, police had not taken any action.
    On July 8, Muslim Town police in Lahore killed a 14 year-old boy 
named Salman and seriously injured his 15 year-old friend Asqhar. The 
police fired randomly at the boys and later alleged that Salman was 
killed in a police encounter, claiming that the boys were armed and 
shot at the police. According to eyewitnesses, the boys were not armed. 
The Government began an official inquiry and registered a murder case 
against constable Munammad Sarwar of the antiterror police. However, 
authorities did not charge Malik Munir, the SHO who ordered the 
shooting, or any other Muslim Town police officers responsible for the 
incident. SHO Malik Munir was transferred after a brief suspension, 
while the constable remained in custody. Salman's family was reportedly 
under pressure not to pursue the case against constable Sarwar in 
return for a cash payment from his relatives.
    There were no developments in the 2004 death-in-custody cases of 
Nazakat Khan and Syed Qutbuddin Shah or the 2004 killing of Tabassum 
Javed Kalyar.
    The Government frequently investigated police officials for 
extrajudicial killings; however, failure to discipline and prosecute 
consistently and lengthy trial delays contributed to a culture of 
impunity.
    Continued clashes between security forces and terrorists in the 
FATA resulted in 289 deaths, including civilians, militants, and 
security forces. According to media reports, more than 100 civilians 
were killed, along with dozens of government security forces, in 
Balochistan.
    On March 1, militants associated with the Taliban movement seized 
government buildings in Miranshah, North Waziristan. On March 3, the 
Government began a military operation to retake the buildings. 
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), thousands of residents fled 
Miranshah to avoid the fighting. The Government reported that 140 
militants were killed in the fight.
    In Balochistan, according to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 
119 civilians and 57 members of the security forces died as a result of 
the ongoing insurgency. The Government claims approximately 125 
Balochistan Liberation Army militants were killed.
    According to Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Commission 
of Pakistan (HRCP), local people in Balochistan demanded a greater 
share of the revenue generated by their province's natural resources. 
They resented the slow pace of economic development and persons who 
settled there from other provinces. A number of Balochi groups sought 
more rights for the province and campaigned peacefully, while others 
resorted to violence.
    On August 26, militant Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Bugti, 35 of 
his followers, and 16 military officers and soldiers were killed in an 
explosion inside a cave in Balochistan. According to the media, Bugti 
and his followers were killed when the Air Force bombed Bugti's 
hideout. The media reported that 16 soldiers died in the ensuing 
battle. The Government stated the officers were trying to reach Bugti 
to speak to him when an unexplained explosion caused the cave to 
collapse.
    There were reports of politically motivated killings perpetrated by 
political factions.
    There were numerous political killings reported in Karachi, where 
political parties Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and Jamaat e Islami 
(JI) accused each other of killing political rivals. According to MQM 
sources, JI activists killed 18 MQM active members. JI accused MQM of 
killing 11 JI activists. Human rights observers reported that the total 
politically motivated death toll in Karachi was 31 (see section 3).
    In June an Awami National Party activist, Gul Khair Khan, was 
killed in Nowshera in a street shoot-out. The party blamed the 
religious extremists of JI and Jamiat Ulema i Islami, Fazlur Rehman 
group. The police maintained that the shooting happened because Gul 
Khair Khan was involved in the lending of money. There was no further 
information at year's end.
    During the year, HRW and AI expressed concern about reports and 
documentary evidence that armed Taliban supporters in the tribal areas 
engaged in vigilantism and violent acts, including murder.
    Attacks on houses of worship and religious gatherings linked to 
sectarian, religious extremist, and terrorist groups resulted in the 
deaths of 127 individuals during the year (see section 2.c.). According 
to HRW, approximately 4,0004 persons, largely from the Shi'a branch of 
Islam, died as a result of sectarian hostility since 1980. The Ahmadi 
community claims that 171 of their members have been killed since 1988 
and that the Government made little effort to bring those responsible 
for these and other acts of sectarian violence to justice or to provide 
protection for the targets or their families.
    Religious extremist organizations killed and attempted to kill 
government officials and Islamic religious figures from opposing sects 
(see section 2.c.). On February 9, a suicide bomber killed 29 people 
and injured more than 50 in an attack on a religious procession in the 
town of Hangu in North Western Frontier Province (NWFP). The explosion 
disrupted a congregation of Shia marking the Ashura festival and 
sparked a riot. As a result of the explosion, the Army imposed a 
curfew. Police arrested three members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned 
Sunni-Deobandi militant organization.
    On April 11, terrorists killed 59 persons and injured more than 100 
in a bombing at a Sunni (Brelvi Sect) birthday celebration of the 
Prophet Muhammad in Karachi. Media reports attributed this bombing to 
intra Sunni violence targeted against the leadership of Sunni Tehrik. 
The Government made many arrests and constituted a judicial tribunal, 
but its report was not released to the public at year's end.
    On May 30, a suicide bombing on a Shia mosque in Karachi killed 11 
persons, including two worshippers, a policeman, and the other 
attacker. Police arrested Muhammad Tehsin, a member of the terrorist 
organization Lashkar e Jhangvi. On September 28, an antiterrorism court 
sentenced Tehsil to death.
    On September 21, unidentified gunmen assassinated Syed Bashir 
Hussain Bukhari, an 85-year-old Shia religious leader in the main 
bazaar of Sargodha, Punjab. The assailants fled after the firing, and 
no one claimed responsibility for the attack.
    In June 2005 a Karachi antiterrorism court convicted Gul Hasan for 
murder and sentenced him to death for the May 2005 bombing of a Shi'a 
mosque that killed 45 persons.
    There were no developments in any of the cases of attacks on houses 
of worship that occurred in 2004.
    The Government had not conducted investigations on the sectarian 
violence from 2005, including the March 2005 bombing of the shrine of 
Pir Syed Rakheel Shah, which killed 40 and wounded more than 100; the 
May suicide bombing of the Bari Imam shrine, which killed 20 and 
wounded more than 100; or the May suicide bombing of a Shi'a mosque in 
Karachi, which killed five and injured 30. No one was arrested for 
these actions. The trial of members of the radical Islamist Jandullah 
group implicated in attacks on foreigners and government officials in 
2004 continued at year's end. There were no developments in the other 
2004 cases of the killing of government officials and religious 
figures, or terrorist attacks on foreign targets.
    Foreign terrorists and their local tribal allies attacked and 
killed military personnel, government officials, and progovernment 
tribal chiefs in the FATA. There were some investigations but no 
arrests in the 2005 killings of progovernment chiefs in Waziristan.
    A report released by the HRCP in January noted with concern that 
armed Baloch fighters opposing the army's presence laid landmines, as a 
result of which civilians were indiscriminately killed and maimed.
    On January 16, three children were reportedly killed in Kahan by 
aerial bombing, and on February 7, 13 persons were killed by a bomb 
planted by armed fighters.
    On November 8, a suicide bomber killed approximately 42 soldiers at 
they exercised at an army training school in Dargai, NWFP. According to 
media reports, the attack was allegedly carried out by Tanzim Nifaz 
Shariat Mohammadi, which has links to the Taliban.
    On January 7, months after militants killed the tribal elder of 
South Waziristan, Malik Khandan Khan, unidentified assailants killed 
five members of Khan's family in an attack on their vehicle in Wana. 
Khan's two sons, a nephew, and two grandchildren died on the spot. 
Because the attack took place in FATA, there was no police 
investigation.
    On May 19, suspected militants killed another senior progovernment 
tribal chief of the Dawar tribe, Tooti Gul, in the Khaddi area of 
Miranshah in North Waziristan.
    On July 22, suspected tribal militants killed three top 
progovernment tribal elders, six of their close relatives and one 
bystander in three separate incidents at different places in South 
Waziristan. In the first incident, armed individuals killed chief of 
Ahmadzai Wazir tribe Malik Mirza Alam Khan, his two brothers, son and 
nephew when they opened indiscriminate firing on their vehicle at Dazja 
Ghundai near Wana. In the second incident, armed militants at Karama in 
Laddha Teshil shot Malik Khandan Khan along with his son and a close 
relative. Meanwhile, government agencies recovered the body of Malik 
Taj Muhammad, who had been killed by unknown assailants.
    Honor killings continued to be a problem, with women as the 
principal victims. During the year local human rights organizations 
reported between 1,337 and 1,511 cases. Most took place in Sindh. Many 
more likely went unreported (see section 5).

    b. Disappearance.--There was an increase of politically motivated 
disappearances. Police and security forces held prisoners incommunicado 
and refused to provide information on their whereabouts, particularly 
in terrorism and national security cases.
    AI cited a report issued by HRCP in late January, which found 
``scores of cases of arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, 
extrajudicial killings, 'disappearances' and uses of excessive force by 
security and intelligence forces committed in Balochistan since early 
2005.'' AI cited a January statement by self-exiled Senator Sanaullah 
Baloch, who noted that at least 180 people died in bombings, 122 
children were killed by paramilitary troops, and hundreds of people 
were arrested since the beginning of the campaign in early 2005.
    According to the NGO Asia Human Rights Commission (AHRC), during 
the year more than 600 people disappeared after being taken into 
custody, including 200 persons from Sindh. AHRC reported that in 
Balochistan, 1,000 persons had been killed since military operations 
began in 2001. According to a statement by the federal minister for 
internal affairs, more than 4,000 persons were arrested in Balochistan 
since the beginning of 2005, although many were released shortly after 
their arrests.
    NGOs such as AI and AHRC reported that the Government increasingly 
used the war on terror as an excuse to arrest and detain political 
opponents. They noted the judiciary's inaction in answering habeas 
corpus orders filed by family members. According to AI, ``The practice 
of enforced disappearance, which was rare before 2001, has become more 
common in contexts besides the 'war on terror.' Over the past two 
years, dozens of Baloch nationalists are believed to have been 
subjected to enforced disappearance and there are recent reports that 
leaders of Sindhi parties and members of the Shi'a minority have as 
well.''
    Families of some missing Baloch and Sindh nationalists have 
petitioned the courts for redress, claiming that government agencies 
held their relatives without due process. On November 10, the Supreme 
Court ordered the Ministry of Interior to disclose the whereabouts of 
41 illegal detainees. Since then, 25 have been released, according to 
the Government, although human rights groups have only accounted for 
18.
    On September 29, AI released a report entitled ``Human Rights 
Ignored in the 'War on Terror''' that documented the Government's 
abuses against hundreds of its citizens and foreign nationals. AI 
reported that as the practice of enforced disappearance spread, people 
were arrested and held incommunicado in secret locations with their 
detention officially denied. They were at risk of torture and unlawful 
transfer to third countries. The report noted that the ``practice of 
offering rewards running to thousands of dollars for unidentified 
terror suspects facilitated illegal detention and enforced 
disappearance.''
    During the year there was no update on the case of Arifa and Saba 
Baloch, charged as potential suicide bombers in 2004.
    According to AI, security forces detained two leaders of a Baloch 
political party, the Jamhoori Watan, Abdul Rauf Sasoli, and Saeed 
Brohi. On February 3, two plainclothes police officers picked up 
Sasoli, and on March 10, they picked up Brohi. According to AI, 
authorities denied holding the individuals. Family members feared that 
they were being held and were in danger of being tortured.
    On February 24, a group of 16 men, presumed to be plainclothes 
police officers, seized Dr. Safdar Sarki, an American citizen and a 
Sindhi nationalist, in Karachi. According to AI, witnesses saw Sarki 
being taken in a van, ``blindfolded and bleeding.'' AI reported that 
police ransacked Sarki's apartment and took his laptop computer and 
passport. Sarki was the secretary general of the Jeay Sindh, a Sindhi 
nationalist political organization advocating for the rights of Sindhi 
citizens.
    On April 4, Muneer Mengal, managing director of the first Baloch 
satellite television channel, disappeared after he returned to Karachi 
from Bahrain. His sister, Aziza Mangal, reported that the Government 
did not accept her appeals and petitions to gain access to her brother, 
who was reportedly being held by the Inter-Services Intelligence. At 
the end of the year, his whereabouts remained unknown.
    On June 11, police arrested Naser Baloch, a Baloch student leader 
at Karachi University. Security agencies detained Baloch and did not 
bring any charges against him. On August 19, police released Baloch.
    In early July, Bilal Bugti, the younger brother of Jamhoori Watan 
Party Secretary General Agha Shahid Bugti, and Murtaza Bugti, the son 
of Balochistan's first finance minister, Ahmed Nawaz Bugti, were 
allegedly kidnapped by intelligence agencies in Karachi.
    On July 16, intelligence agencies arrested Samiullah Baloch and 
Obaidullah Baloch, brothers of Senator Sanaullah Baloch Zehri (Baloch 
National Party). Authorities released Obaidullah Baloch on July 19 and 
Samiullah on December 10. Both brothers allegedly reported being 
tortured while in custody.
    In 2005 political opponents kidnapped Moto Meghwar and Gyan Chand 
Meghwar, potential candidates for local office in Chachro, Tharparkar 
District, reportedly to keep them from contesting the elections against 
candidates of the chief minister of Sindh Province. They were both 
released unharmed in January, and no charges were brought against their 
kidnappers.
    On October 4, police from the Anti-Terrorism Force of the Punjab 
police reportedly picked up Abid Raza Zaidi in Lahore, Punjab. The 
victim disappeared soon after he gave testimony about his earlier 
illegal arrest, prolonged 110 day detention and alleged constant abuse 
by the army and police officers. Prior to this arrest, Zaidi had 
protested his treatment in custody at a conference jointly organized by 
AI and HRCP. No habeus corpus application was filed on his behalf and 
he was not produced before a court of law. At the end of the year, his 
whereabouts remained unknown.
    On September 29, according to AI, Afghan national Abdur Rahim 
Muslim Dost was arrested without a warrant in Peshawar. AI reported 
that Dost was allegedly arrested due to his criticism of government 
agencies which had arrested, detained, and transferred him and his 
brother to a third country.
    On December 3, during a protest in Karachi against the death of 
Baloch leader Akbar Bugti during a military operation, police arrested 
two Balochi political party leaders, Ghulam Muhammad and Sher Mohammad 
Baloch of the Jamhoori Watan Party. On December 6, family members filed 
a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the two disappeared politicians 
with the Sindh High Court. Sher Muhammad was later released, but 
Ghulam's whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
    There were no developments in the December 2005 disappearance of 18 
members of the Pakistan Petroleum Workers' Union from Balochistan who 
had gone to Karachi for negotiations with their management or the 
November 2005 disappearance of Dr. Hanned Shareef, a writer, medical 
doctor, and member of the Balochistan Student Organization.
    There was no new information available on a British national who 
disappeared after being detained by security agencies at Lahore 
University in January 2004.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading treatment; however, security forces tortured and abused 
persons. Under provisions of the Anti Terrorist Act, coerced 
confessions are admissible in special courts, although police did not 
use this provision to obtain convictions. Security force personnel 
continued to severely abuse persons in custody throughout the country. 
Human rights organizations reported that methods included beating, 
burning with cigarettes, whipping the soles of the feet, prolonged 
isolation, electric shock, denial of food or sleep, hanging upside 
down, use of electric shocks, and forced spreading of the legs with bar 
fetters. Security force personnel reportedly raped women and children 
during interrogations.
    During the year, the NGO Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid 
recorded 1,513 cases that they labeled torture. The NGO Asia Human 
Rights Commission reported approximately 1,319 cases of torture during 
the year. In May the NGO reported over 1,250 cases being committed 
during the previous 16 months, with most reported in Punjab and Sindh. 
Punjab had 743 cases, Sindh had 503, eight were reported in 
Balochistan, 43 in NWFP, and 23 in Islamabad. Torture occasionally 
resulted in death or serious injury (see section 1.a.).
    On February 19, police arrested Arif Ali and Irfan Ali in Multan 
and charged them with murdering a jeweler. Police reportedly tortured 
both detainees while they were in custody. Irfan Ali developed kidney 
problems because of his abuse and was released in April. Arif was 
released in May, after their family appealed to the family of the dead 
jeweler. Local political and social leaders also called on the police 
to produce evidence against the accused. According to human rights 
NGOs, Station House Officer (SHO) Sadaat Ali admitted there was no 
proof that either Irfan or Arif had been involved in the murder. No 
charges were brought against SHO Ali.
    On July 11, three policemen in Adiala Jail allegedly tortured and 
beat Gul Waiz when Waiz threatened to complain about the bribes the 
police forced his family to pay when they came to visit him. Waiz 
reported severe beatings and the withholding of all food. On July 17, 
Waiz's condition deteriorated, and he was moved to the jail hospital. 
After his family hired a lawyer, jail Superintendent Nadeem Kokab 
Warraich promised the Civil Court Rawalpindi that he would hold an 
independent inquiry and take appropriate action against the culprits. 
One constable, Muhammad Idrees, was suspended for the month of August. 
No action was taken against the other police officers involved.
    In October police arrested Muhammad Arshad, a young shopkeeper, for 
``misbehaving'' with a female customer at his small grocery store. 
Police held Arshad at the Banni Police Station in Rawalpindi, where 
they reportedly broke his leg while beating him after he verbally 
abused the inquiring officer. Police maintained Arshad slipped in the 
toilet and twisted his ankle. Arshad was taken to a hospital and later 
discharged. No inquiry against the perpetrators was held, and police 
dropped the case against Arshad.
    In June Shahnaz Fatima and Javeria Alam complained to the special 
superintendent of police Islamabad that they were sexually assaulted at 
a police station in Islamabad after the police illegally picked them 
up. Police maintained that both were prostitutes and were negotiating 
with some clients on the roadside. Fatima and Alam escaped but were 
later brought to the police station. After approximately two weeks, the 
complainants withdrew their petition from the Office of SSP, Islamabad. 
The SHO of the police station Idrees Rathore, reportedly coerced the 
petitioners and also paid money to have them withdraw the complaint 
against him and his staff.
    In July policeman Liaqat Ali was arrested for allegedly raping a 
rape victim who went to a police check point in Islamabad to report 
being attacked. The accuser, Ms. Surriya, went to the check point along 
with her mother to complain about the incident. Ali requested the 
mother to wait at the check point while he pretended to take Surriya to 
the police station for further investigation and medical checkup. 
Surriya reported that Liaqat instead took her to a house and sexually 
assaulted her. She filed a complaint in Islamabad civil courts and at 
the Office of SSP Islamabad. The civil court ordered an inquiry into 
the complaint, and Liaqat Ali was suspended from his job and arrested. 
Ali remained in prison at the end of the year.
    In May 2005 police claimed to have resolved the April 2005 case 
involving Shabbir Hussain, Zafar Abass and Muhammad Sadiq, in which 
they claimed they were detained, beaten, and forced to drink urine and 
eat mud. According to press accounts, the police apologized but denied 
that they made them drink urine or eat mud. The matter was settled 
informally when the accusers withdrew their charges through a gathering 
of local notables.
    In June 2005 the Multan Bench heard a case against eight police in 
Vehari accused of sewing shut the lips of Mohammad Hussain, and ordered 
that the victim receive medical treatment. While the case against the 
eight progressed, there was severe social pressure on Hussain to accept 
an apology and a cash settlement from the eight policemen, according to 
press accounts.
    The Hudood Ordinances provide Koranic punishments for violations of 
Shari'a (Islamic law), including death by stoning and amputation. 
Authorities did not use such punishments during the year, as they 
required a high standard of evidence.
    According to human rights organizations such as HRW and HRCP, 
security forces sometimes used excessive force in combating domestic 
insurgencies in FATA and Balochistan, which resulted in civilian deaths 
(see section 1.a.).
    There were also incidents of societal violence against members of 
religious minorities such as Christians, Ahmadis, and Shi'as (see 
section 2.c).
    Honor killings and mutilations, including cutting off of women's 
noses and stripping women naked to dishonor them, occurred during the 
year (see section 5).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not 
meet international standards and were extremely poor, except for those 
cells of wealthy or influential prisoners. Overcrowding was widespread. 
According to the Society for Human Rights and Prisoners Aid (SHARP), 
there were 86,500 prisoners occupying 87 jails originally built to hold 
a maximum of 36,075 persons. The number declined from the previous year 
because on July 1, President Musharraf ordered the release of children 
and prisoners charged with petty offenses. Others were released as part 
of the religious festivals of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha. During the 
year the Government began a prison expansion and improvement program.
    Inadequate food in prisons led to chronic malnutrition for those 
unable to supplement their diet with help from family or friends. 
Access to medical care was a problem. Foreign prisoners often remained 
in prison long after their sentences were completed because there was 
no one to pay for deportation to their home country.
    Authorities routinely shackled prisoners, including juvenile 
prisoners. The shackles were tight, heavy, and painful and reportedly 
led to gangrene and amputation in several cases.
    Police held female detainees and prisoners separately from male 
detainees and prisoners. Child offenders were generally kept in the 
same prisons as adults, albeit in separate barracks. According to a BBC 
report, an independent NGO investigation found that 70 percent of 
children who came into contact with the police were abused in some way. 
Since the children were not separated from adult prisoners, they were 
also subject to sexual abuse. The report noted that the majority of the 
children were pre-trial prisoners, who were often acquitted one to 
three years later for lack of evidence. Police often did not segregate 
detainees from convicted criminals. Mentally ill prisoners usually 
lacked adequate care and were not segregated from the general prison 
population (see section 5).
    There were reports of prison riots, largely due to the poor living 
conditions inside the prisons. According to an Islamabad based NGO, 
inmates complained about their treatment by jail staff and the 
``culture of bribery'' that prevailed at various levels of jail 
administration. Few resources were allocated to the maintenance of 
prison facilities.
    In June 2005 inmates at the Sargodha jail took two assistant 
superintendents and four wardens hostage to protest mistreatment. In 
the ensuing clash, nine inmates and one guard were injured. One of the 
inmates later died from injuries sustained during the riot. An 
investigative committee found three main culprits, including jail 
inspector Asghar Syed guilty of mistreating the prisoners. Syed was 
suspended from service and two years of his service were taken from his 
retirement plan. The report blamed Syed for the use of excessive 
violence to quell the protest. The punishment of the other two accused 
was not known. The prison department gave the relatives of the prisoner 
who died a compensation of $3,300 (Rs 200,000).
    On April 3, three prisoners in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi went on a 
hunger strike against jail officials for not granting visitation rights 
to their relatives. When the police tried to force feed the prisoners, 
a prison riot ensued. All 5,000 inmates of Adiala jail subsequently 
went on a hunger strike and clashed with police, injuring three police 
officers and 11 prisoners. Provincial prison authorities resolved the 
issue through negotiation between the prisoners and jail 
administrators.
    In 2005 authorities established special women's police stations 
with all female staff in response to complaints of custodial abuse of 
women, including rape. The Government's National Commission on the 
Status of Women claimed the stations did not function effectively in 
large part due to a lack of resources. Court orders and regulations 
prohibit male police from interacting with female suspects, but male 
police often detained and interrogated women at regular stations. 
According to women's rights NGOs, there were approximately 2,500 women 
in jails jail nationwide at the end of the year, following the July 1 
Presidential order to release several thousand women and children who 
were imprisoned for petty offenses.
    Authorities subjected children in prison to the same harsh 
conditions, judicial delay, and mistreatment as the adult population. 
Local NGOs estimated that approximately 2,317 children were in prison 
at the end of the year. Child offenders could alternatively be sent to 
one of two residential reform schools in Karachi and Bahawalpur until 
they reached the age of majority. Abuse and torture reportedly also 
occurred at these facilities. Nutrition and education were inadequate. 
Family members were forced to pay bribes to visit children or bring 
them food. Facility staff reportedly trafficked drugs to children 
incarcerated in these institutions.
    The Supreme Court continued the suspension of a December 2004 
Lahore High Court ruling that struck down the Juvenile Justice System 
Ordinance as unconstitutional. The ordinance is a separate procedural 
code for accused juveniles. It provides numerous protections for 
juvenile offenders not found in the normal penal code.
    Landlords in Sindh and Punjab, as well as tribes in rural areas, 
operated illegal private jails. According to a BBC report, a religious 
seminary in Haripur, NWFP, headed by Maulana Ilyas Qadri was used as a 
private ``jail'' to treat drug addicts. In October police raided the 
seminary and freed 112 persons, including seven British nationals. 
Police reported that they were held in chains. Some bore signs of 
torture and sexual abuse.
    Persons held for political offenses, or on ``national security'' 
grounds, were usually held in different conditions than the general 
prison population and often in separate facilities.
    The Government permitted visits to prisoners and detainees by human 
rights monitors, family members, and lawyers with some restrictions 
(see section 1.d.). Visits by local human rights monitors occurred 
during the year; however, the Government denied the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to alleged terrorist 
detainees.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, the authorities did not always comply 
with the law.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police have primary 
internal security responsibilities. Under the Police Order (Second 
Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on July 2005, control of the police 
falls under elected local district chief executives known as nazims. 
Paramilitary forces such as the Rangers, the Frontier Constabulary, and 
the Islamabad Capital Territory Police fall under the Ministry of the 
Interior. Provincial governments control these forces when they assist 
in law and order operations. During some religious holidays, the 
Government deployed the regular army in sensitive areas to help 
maintain public order.
    Corruption within the police was rampant. Police charged fees to 
register genuine complaints and accepted money for registering false 
complaints. Bribes to avoid charges were commonplace. Persons paid 
police to humiliate their opponents and avenge personal grievances. 
Corruption was most prominent among police station SHOs, some of whom 
reportedly operated arrest for ransom operations and established 
unsanctioned stations to increase illicit revenue collection.
    Police force effectiveness varied greatly by district, ranging from 
reasonably good to completely ineffective. Some members of the police 
force committed numerous, serious human rights abuses. Failure to 
punish abuses, however, created a climate of impunity. Police and 
prison officials frequently used the threat of abuse to extort money 
from prisoners and their families. The inspector general, district 
police officers, district nazims, provincial interior or chief 
ministers, federal interior or prime minister, or the courts can order 
internal investigations into abuses and order administrative sanctions. 
Executive branch and police officials can recommend and the courts can 
order criminal prosecution. However, these mechanisms were rarely used. 
Police often failed to protect members of religious minorities 
particularly Christians, Ahmadis, and Shi'as from societal attacks (see 
sections 2.c. and 5).
    The Punjab provincial government initiated regular training and 
retraining of police at all levels, both in technical skills and human 
rights. In July 2005 President Musharraf reissued and amended the 2002 
Police Order, which transfers oversight responsibility of police from 
provinces to districts and establishes the district level chief 
executive as principal supervisor. The order also calls for the 
immediate establishment of local oversight bodies that have been 
stalled since 2002. In Punjab and NWFP, public safety commissions were 
established and functioned. Similar commissions in Balochistan and 
Sindh were not as well developed. The Government argued that these 
reforms would make police more responsive to the local community. 
Opponents charged that they would politicize the police force.

    Arrest and Detention.--A First Information Report (FIR) is the 
legal basis for all arrests. Police may issue FIRs provided 
complainants offer reasonable proof that a crime was committed. A FIR 
allows police to detain a named suspect for 24 hours, after which only 
a magistrate can order detention for an additional 14 days, and then 
only if police show such detention is material to the investigation. In 
practice the authorities did not fully observe these limits on 
detention. FIRs frequently were issued without supporting evidence as 
part of harassment or intimidation or not issued when adequate evidence 
was provided unless the complainant could pay a bribe. Police routinely 
did not seek magistrate approval for investigative detention and often 
held detainees without charge until a court challenged them. 
Incommunicado detention occurred (see section 1.c.). When requested, 
magistrates usually approved investigative detention without reference 
to its necessity. In cases of insufficient evidence, police and 
magistrates colluded to continue detention beyond the 14 day period 
provided in the law through the issuance of new FIRs.
    The police sometimes detained individuals arbitrarily without 
charge or on false charges to extort payment for their release.
    Some women continued to be detained arbitrarily and were sexually 
abused (see sections 1.c. and 5). Police also detained relatives of 
wanted criminals to compel suspects to surrender (see section 1.f.). 
Courts appointed attorneys for indigents only in capital cases. In some 
cases persons had to pay bribes to see a prisoner. Foreign diplomats 
could meet with prisoners when they appeared in court and could meet 
with citizens of their countries in prison visits, although not in all 
cases. Despite repeated requests to ascertain the whereabouts of 
``disappeared'' foreign citizen Safdar Sarki, diplomats were denied 
both information about his whereabouts and access (see section 1.b.). 
Local human rights activists reported few restrictions to their access 
to prisons.
    The district coordinating officer may order preventive detention 
for up to 90 days; however, human rights monitors reported instances in 
which prisoners were held in preventive detention for up to six months. 
Human rights organizations charged that a number of individuals alleged 
to be affiliated with terrorist organizations were held in preventive 
detention indefinitely. A magistrate may permit continued detention for 
up to 14 days if necessary to complete the investigation. In corruption 
cases, the National Accountability Board (NAB) may hold suspects 
indefinitely provided that judicial concurrence is granted every 15 
days (see section 1.e.).
    The law stipulates that detainees must be brought to trial within 
30 days of their arrest. Under both the Hudood and standard criminal 
codes, there are bailable and non bailable offenses. Bail pending trial 
is required for bailable offenses and permitted at a court's discretion 
for non bailable offenses with sentences of less than 10 years. In 
practice judges denied bail at the request of police, the community, or 
on payment of bribes. In many cases trials did not start until six 
months after the filing of charges, and in some cases individuals 
remained in pretrial detention for periods longer than the maximum 
sentence for the crime for which they were charged. Human rights NGOs 
estimated that 50 to 52 percent of the prison population was awaiting 
trial.
    As in previous years, the Government used preventive detention, 
mass arrests, and excessive force to quell or prevent protests, 
political rallies, or civil unrest (see section 2.b.).
    Several dozen Mohajir Quami Movement Haqiqi (MQM H) activists, 
arrested between 1999 and 2003, remained in custody at year's end, some 
without charge for violent acts against members of other parties as 
well as expressing views critical of the Government. MQM H claims that 
their enemy, the MQM, is behind these delays.
    On December 1, President Musharraf signed the Women's Protection 
Bill, which reversed the most negative aspects of the Hudood 
Ordinances. Although, according to human rights monitors, 80 percent of 
the female prison population was awaiting trial on adultery-related 
offenses under the Hudood Ordinances, few if any of those women had 
been released at the end of the year, despite the new law. Most of 
these cases were filed without supporting evidence, trials often took 
years, and bail was routinely denied. The Hudood Ordinances were used 
by family members to control their children for making their own 
choices in marriage, abusive husbands, or neighbors to settle personal 
scores. According to the NGO Asian American Network Against Abuse, 
research in the country's prisons showed that many of women imprisoned 
under zina (adultery or fornication) laws were single or widowed women 
living alone, young brides who make their in-laws angry for not 
bringing enough dowry, or elderly women whose husbands did not want to 
be married to them anymore. There were also several cases of pimps who 
filed zina charges against women who were trafficked and refused to 
work.
    Special rules apply to cases brought by the NAB or before 
antiterrorist courts. Suspects in NAB cases may be detained for 15 days 
without charge (renewable with judicial concurrence) and, prior to 
being charged, are not allowed access to counsel. Despite government 
claims that NAB cases were pursued independently of an individual's 
political affiliation, opposition politicians were more likely to be 
prosecuted (see section 1.d.). The NAB prosecuted no serving members of 
the military or judiciary.
    Accountability courts may not grant bail; the NAB chairman has sole 
power to decide if and when to release detainees. Antiterrorist courts 
do not grant bail if the court has reasonable grounds to believe that 
the accused is guilty. Security forces may without reference to the 
courts restrict the activities of terrorist suspects, seize their 
assets, and detain them for up to a year without charges.
    In June 2005 the Government assigned a security detail to Mukhtiar 
Mai (Mukhtaran Bibi), at her request. Mai was concerned for her safety 
following the court-ordered release of five men convicted in her 2002 
gang rape ordered by a village council because of an alleged infraction 
committed by her brother. Human rights groups claimed that when the 
Government learned Mai wished to travel abroad to speak publicly of her 
experience, the protection detail controlled her movements and 
communication, such that she was under virtual house arrest. The 
Supreme Court later intervened and suspended the acquittals of the five 
men as well as the eight who were acquitted in the original 2002 trial. 
All remained in custody.
    On July 22, Sarhad police arbitrarily arrested Naveed Ahmed, a 
local reporter for the Daily Koshish, a Sindhi language newspaper, 
while Ahmed was recovering from gunshot wounds in the hospital. 
According to AHRC, Ahmed was falsely implicated in a kidnapping case. 
AHRC reports that Ahmed was a vocal and prominent journalist in the 
district, who reported on police atrocities and on cases of financial 
corruption by local authorities.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary remained 
subject to executive branch influence at all levels. In nonpolitical 
cases, the high courts and Supreme Court were generally considered 
credible. Lower courts remained corrupt, inefficient, and subject to 
pressure from prominent religious and political figures. The 
politicized nature of judicial promotions enhanced the Government's 
control over the court system. Unfilled judgeships and inefficient 
court procedures resulted in severe backlogs at both trial and 
appellate levels. According to the AHRC, more than 15,000 cases were 
pending before the Supreme Court. Ordinary cases take a minimum of five 
to six years, while cases on appeal can take as long as 20 to 25 years.
    There were several court systems with overlapping and sometimes 
competing jurisdictions: criminal, civil and personal status, 
terrorism, commercial, family, military, and Shariat.
    Feudal landlords in Sindh and Punjab and tribal leaders in Pashtun 
and Baloch areas continued to hold jirgas (local councils), at times in 
defiance of the established legal system. Such jirgas, particularly 
prevalent in rural areas, settled feuds and imposed tribal penalties on 
perceived wrongdoers that could include fines, imprisonment, or even 
the death sentence. In Pashtun areas, such jirgas were held under the 
outlines of the Pashtun Tribal Code. Under this code, a man, his 
family, and his tribe are obligated to take revenge for wrongs real or 
perceived to redeem their honor. Frequently these disputes arose over 
women and land and often resulted in violence. In the tribal areas, the 
settling of many family feuds, particularly over murder cases, involved 
giving daughters of the accused in marriage to the bereaved (see 
section 5).
    Many tribal jirgas instituted harsh punishments such as the death 
penalty or watta-satta (exchange of brides between clans or tribes) 
marriages (see section 5).
    The Supreme Court had a history of annulling the rulings and 
validity of the military courts trying civilians. A civilian prime 
minister, Nawaz Sharif, established military courts in 1998 to dispense 
``quick justice.'' The human rights and the lawyers' community appealed 
to the Supreme Court to invalidate military courts on the grounds that 
they operated outside the rule of law. A 1999 Supreme Court decision 
invalidating military courts was not implemented. The Supreme Court 
continued to attempt to nullify military court decisions involving 
civilians. However, this was often difficult since judges were under an 
oath required by the 1999 Provisional Constitutional Order, which 
forbids court review of actions taken by the chief executive (President 
Musharraf's title at the time) or his designees.

    Trial Procedures.--The civil, criminal, and family court systems 
provide for an open trial, the presumption of innocence, cross 
examination by an attorney, and appeal of sentences. There are no jury 
trials. Due to the limited number of judges, heavy backlog of cases, 
lengthy court procedures, and political pressures, cases routinely took 
years, and defendants had to make frequent court appearances. Cases 
start over when an attorney changes.
    The Anti Terrorist Act allows the Government to use special 
streamlined courts to try violent crimes, terrorist activities, acts or 
speech designed to foment religious hatred, and crimes against the 
state. Cases brought before these courts are to be decided within seven 
working days, but judges are free to extend the period as required. 
Under normal procedures, the high court and the Supreme Court hear 
appeals from these courts. Human rights activists criticized this 
expedited parallel system, charging it was more vulnerable to political 
manipulation.
    Special accountability courts try corruption cases (see section 
1.d.), including defaults on government loans by wealthy debtors 
brought by the NAB. The NAB has not targeted genuine business failures 
or small defaulters. Accountability courts are expected to try cases 
within 30 days. In accountability cases, there is a presumption of 
guilt.
    Despite government claims that NAB cases pursued independently of 
an individual's political affiliation, opposition politicians were more 
likely to be prosecuted (see section 1.d.). The NAB prosecuted no 
serving members of the military or judiciary, which rely on courts 
marshal and Supreme Judicial Council venues, respectively.
    On December 1, President Musharraf signed into law the Women's 
Protection Act, which rolled back the most negative sections of the 
Hudood Ordinances, particularly those sections that had dealt with 
sexual relations. The zina clause had made it difficult for rape 
victims to seek justice and put them at rise of prosecution for 
fornication. Sections of the Hudood Ordinances that remain in effect, 
such as those prohibiting gambling, alcohol, and some property 
offenses, are tried by ordinary criminal courts. The ordinances set 
strict standards of evidence, which discriminate between men and women 
and Muslims and non Muslims, for cases in which Koranic punishments are 
to be applied (see sections 1.c. and 5). For Hudood cases involving the 
lesser secular penalties, different weight is given to male and female 
testimony in matters involving financial and contractual obligations. 
The Hudood ordinances do not apply to non-Muslims, although non-Muslims 
can be implicated in cases that involve wrong-doing by Muslims.
    Laws prohibiting blasphemy continued to be used against Christians, 
Ahmadis, and members of other religious groups including Muslims. Lower 
courts often did not require adequate evidence in blasphemy cases, 
which led to some accused and convicted persons spending years in jail 
before higher courts eventually overturned their convictions or ordered 
them freed.
    The Federal Shariat Court is the court of first appeal in all 
Hudood cases that result in a sentence of more than two years. The 
Supreme Court, however, determined that in cases where a provincial 
high court decides to hear an appeal in a Hudood case, even in error, 
the Federal Shariat Court lacks authority to review the provincial high 
court's decision. The Shari'a bench of the Supreme Court is the final 
court of appeal for federal shariat court cases. A 2005 ruling allows 
the full Supreme Court to bypass the Shari'a bench and assume 
jurisdiction in such appellate cases in its own right.
    The Federal Shariat Court may overturn legislation that it judges 
to be inconsistent with Islamic tenants, but such cases are appealed to 
the Shari'a bench of the Supreme Court and may ultimately be heard by 
the full Supreme Court.
    In September the Supreme Court heard a case of a 13 year-old rape 
victim who gave birth after she was raped while captive of a government 
official. On September 28, the Chief Justice remarked that efforts to 
charge the girl with fornication demonstrated that the police were a 
``highly negligent department,'' unaware of their fundamental duties 
without the court's assistance.
    The law allows for the victim or his/her family to pardon criminal 
defendants in exchange for monetary restitution (diyat) or physical 
restitution (qisas). While diyat was invoked, particularly in NWFP and 
in honor cases in Sindh, qisas have never been used.
    The FATA have a separate legal system, the Frontier Crimes 
Regulation, which recognizes the doctrine of collective responsibility. 
Authorities are empowered to detain fellow members of a fugitive's 
tribe or to blockade a fugitive's village, pending his surrender or 
punishment by his own tribe. Tribal leaders are responsible for justice 
in the FATA. They conduct hearings according to Islamic law and tribal 
custom. The accused have no right to legal representation, bail, or 
appeal. The usual penalties consisted of fines. Federal civil servants 
assigned to tribal agencies oversee proceedings and may impose prison 
terms of up to 14 years.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Some political groups claimed 
their members were marked for arrest based on their political 
affiliation (see sections 1.c. and 1.d.). In 2001 police arrested Syed 
Yousaf Raza Gilani, a former speaker of the National Assembly and an 
accountability court in Rawalpindi charged Gilani with misusing his 
position. On October 5, Gilani was released on bail. Pakistan Muslim 
League-Nawaz (PML N) leader Javed Hashmi remained in jail, sentenced to 
27 years on sedition charges in 2004 after reading in the cafeteria of 
the National Assembly a letter critical of the military. His appeal was 
ongoing at year's end.
    According to Baloch nationalist political leaders and human rights 
organizations, there were more than 500 Baloch nationalist political 
prisoners who had been detained by military intelligence and security 
forces since the military operation began in the province in December 
2004. The exact number of the prisoners was not available. The 
Government denied imprisoning people because of their political 
beliefs, but it was commonly and widely believed that there were 
hundreds of Sindhi and Baloch nationalist leaders and activists 
imprisoned without any formal charges.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Persons may petition high 
courts to seek redress for human rights violations, and courts often 
take such actions. Persons may seek redress against government 
officials, including on grounds of denial of human rights, in civil 
courts. However, observers reported that civil courts seldom or never 
issued official judgments in such cases, and that most cases were 
settled outside of court. While there were no official procedures for 
administrative redress, informal reparations were common.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law requires court issued search warrants for 
property but not persons. Police routinely ignored this requirement and 
at times stole items during searches. Police were seldom punished for 
illegal entry. In cases being pursued under the Anti Terrorist Act, 
security forces were allowed to search and seize property related to 
the case without a warrant.
    The Government maintained several domestic intelligence services 
that monitored politicians, political activists, suspected terrorists, 
the media and suspected foreign intelligence agents. Despite a Supreme 
Court order, credible reports indicated that the authorities routinely 
used wiretaps and intercepted and opened mail without the requisite 
court approval.
    In accordance with the Anti Terrorist Act, the Government banned 
the activities of and membership in several religious extremist and 
terrorist groups. However, some of the groups that the Government 
banned changed their names and remained active. Examples included: 
Lashkar e Taiba (new name: Jamatud Dawa), Jaish e Muhammad (new name: 
Tehrikul Furqan & Al Rehmat Trust), Tehrik e Ja'afria Pakistan (new 
name: Tehrik e Islami Pakistan), Sipah e Sihaba Pakistan (new name: 
Millat e Islamia Pakistan).
    While the Government generally did not interfere with the right to 
marry, local officials on occasion assisted influential families to 
prevent marriages that the families opposed. The Government also failed 
to prosecute vigorously cases in which families punished members 
(generally women) for marrying or seeking a divorce against the wishes 
of other family members. Upon conversion to Islam, women's marriages 
performed under the rites of their previous religion were considered 
dissolved, while the marriages of men who converted remained intact 
(see section 2.c.).
    In some cases, authorities detained relatives to force a family 
member who was the recipient of an arrest warrant to surrender (see 
section 1.d.). NGOs alleged that intelligence personnel often harassed 
family members of Baloch nationalists (see section 1.b.).
    Human rights NGOs expressed concern with the Frontier Crimes 
Regulation (FCR) Act, noting that it applied the concept of collective 
punishment. According to HRW, the FCR empowered authorities to detain 
members of fugitives' tribes, demolish their homes, confiscate or 
destroy their property, or lay siege to a fugitive's village pending 
his surrender or punishment by his own tribe in accordance with local 
tradition.
    AI reported that under the FCR, people suspected of committing 
criminal offenses did not have legal representation at a formally 
constituted tribal jirga or council which submits its recommendations 
regarding convictions or acquittals to a Political Agent. There is no 
possibility of appealing against conviction or punishment under the 
FCR, as the judiciary's appellate powers do not extend to the FATA.
    Reports of religious extremists forming parallel administrations, 
including justice administrations, in FATA increased during the year. 
For example, on March 26, AI reported that Hayatullah Gul in Tiarza, 
South Waziristan, was shot by the father of taxi driver who Gul 
allegedly killed two weeks earlier. The decision to sanction the 
shooting was made by a council of persons described in the media as 
``local Taliban.'' Gul had no legal counsel to assist him and no 
possibility to challenge the conviction and punishment. Gul was not 
brought before a proper jirga, and his case was not decided by the 
Political Agent for South Waziristan.
Section 2: Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and citizens generally were free to discuss 
public issues; however, some journalists were harshly intimidated and 
others practiced self censorship. Newspapers and periodicals had to be 
given permission by the Kashmir Council and Ministry of Kashmir Affairs 
in order to publish within the territory. According to HRW's recently 
released report on Azad Kashmir, these bodies were unlikely to grant 
permission to publications sympathetic to an independent Kashmiri 
cause.
    There were numerous English and Urdu daily and weekly newspapers 
and magazines. All were independent. The Ministry of Information 
controlled and managed the country's primary wire service, the 
Associated Press of Pakistan, which is the official carrier of 
government and international news to the local media. The military has 
its own press wing, as well as two sections to ``monitor'' the press. 
The few small privately owned wire services practiced self censorship. 
Foreign magazines and newspapers were available, and many maintained in 
country correspondents who operated freely.
    The Government directly owned and controlled Pakistan Television 
and Radio Pakistan, the only non fee national electronic broadcasters. 
Both reflected government views in news coverage. Private cable and 
satellite channels GEO, ARY, Indus, and Khyber all broadcast domestic 
news coverage and were critical of the Government. Cable and satellite 
television with numerous international news stations was generally 
affordable. Private radio stations existed in major cities, but their 
licenses prohibited news programming. Some channels evaded this 
restriction through talk shows, although they were careful to avoid 
most domestic political discussions. International radio broadcasts, 
including from the BBC and the Voice of America, were available.
    Newspapers were free to criticize the Government, and most did so. 
Condemnation of government policies and harsh criticism of political 
leaders and military operations were common. Media outlets practiced 
self-censorship for fear of government agents engaging in retribution 
against papers and journalists critical of certain governmental 
policies.
    There was an increase in government arrests, harassment, and 
intimidation of journalists during the year. According to the NGO AHRC, 
the Government banned three FM radio stations and two television 
channels, although service was restored after protests from civil 
society.
    According to Internews, an NGO that monitors the state of the media 
in the country, there were 127 attacks against the media and 
journalists during the year. By the end of the year, at least five 
journalists had been killed; nine abducted (of which seven were later 
released without charges being filed against their abductors); 191 
attacked, beaten, tortured, or shot at; 45 arrested; four jailed; and 
13 threatened. In addition 15 publications, 3 television channels, and 
23 Web sites were temporarily banned; three newspaper presses were 
raided; one FM station was sealed. Seventeen journalists and media 
organizations were going through court cases; 30 were prevented from 
covering official functions; and 11 newspapers or magazines were denied 
state-sponsored advertising from public funds for being critical of 
government policies. Internews believed that many cases were not 
reported because journalists in small cities and towns functioned at 
the mercy of local authorities and were reluctant to complain of 
intimidation, even if they knew where to register their problems.
    In December 2005 unknown assailants kidnapped journalist Hayatullah 
Khan from North Waziristan. According to the Committee to Protect 
Journalists (CPJ), on June 16, Hayatullah was found dead, handcuffed, 
and shot in the head from behind. Khan's family accused intelligence 
agencies of the crime. According to the CPJ, Khan reported on a 
December 2005 explosion in the town of Haisori in North Waziristan that 
the Government claimed killed a senior Al-Qaeda commander. Colleagues 
suspected that authorities detained Khan after he contradicted a 
government report that the senior leader died when munitions exploded 
inside a house. Khan quoted local tribesmen as saying the house was hit 
by a missile fired from an aircraft.
    According to CPJ, on January 14, authorities in Bajaur Agency, 
FATA, briefly detained two journalists who were reporting on an 
incident in Damadola village, where missiles were fired into three 
houses. Both security forces and militants allegedly warned Daily Times 
bureau chief Iqbal Khattak and BBC World Service correspondent Haroon 
Rashid against reporting in the area. According to CPJ, few journalists 
remained in Waziristan, FATA, after attacks and threats from security 
forces and militants forced many to flee.
    According to the CPJ, intelligence agencies illegally detained GEO 
television correspondent Mukesh Rupeta and cameraman Sanjay Kumar on 
March 6. In June, the Government filed criminal cases against Rupeta 
and Kumar and accused them of filming a government air force base in 
violation of the Official Secrets Act. According to international news 
reports and human rights organizations, Rupeta was tortured while in 
custody. On June 22, family members reported that the two men were kept 
blindfolded and that Rupeta and Kumar were released.
    On May 30, Munir Ahmed Sangi, a cameraman for the Sindhi-langauge 
Kaswish Television Network, was killed while covering a gunfight 
between members of the Unar and Abro tribes in Larkana. According to 
the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Sangi may have been 
deliberately killed by the Unar tribe since he had been reporting on 
their tribal council.
    On June 6, men associated with a provincial minister, Sohrab Sarki 
and a member of the National Assembly from the Pakistan's People's 
Party party, Bijarani, beat and ransacked the office of a journalist 
named Sarmad who worked for a Sindhi television station. Sarmad had 
reported on the outcome of a jirga decision related to a 12-year-old 
murder case. The jirga, which included the local feudal landlords and 
district mayor, had ordered the murderers to hand over five girls not 
exceeding the age of 10 to the members of the deceased family as 
compensation.
    On July 2, police arrested Mehruddin Mari, a reporter for the 
Sindhi language newspaper the Daily Kawish who had reported on human 
rights abuses at a police roadblock near Golarchi, in southern Sindh. 
Other reporters witnessed the police picking up Mari. At the end of the 
year, Mari remained missing.
    On August 23, authorities in NWFP, under orders from the Pakistan 
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), closed radio station FM 
103 for airing the concerns of earthquake victims who had not received 
relief or rehabilitation assistance. The officials at FM 103 strongly 
criticized the Government for banning their transmission and filed an 
appeal in the district court of Mansehra. Prior to the closure, the 
Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Authority had warned FM 103 to 
``mend its ways.''
    On September 3, police and intelligence agencies arrested Rafiq 
Ajis, editor of the daily Chamag in Turbat, Balochistan, and Abdul 
Sattar Khan from Chiniot, Punjab. On September 20, Saeed Sarbazi from 
Karachi, Sindh, was arrested. On September 23, intelligence agencies 
released Sarbazi and confirmed that he had been detained by 
intelligence agencies without charge. According to the CPJ, Sarbazi 
told reporters that he was dragged by unknown kidnappers who covered 
his face with his shirt. Sarbazi alleged being interrogated about his 
personal and professional life, including his connection with the 
Baloch Liberation Army. Sarbazi had written recently of disputes over 
access to political unrest in Balochistan.
    On September 13, private guards of Federal Minister for Labor and 
Manpower Ghulam Sarwar Khan severely beat a senior journalist, C.R. 
Shamsi, inside the Parliament premises. Shamsi had asked the minister, 
who later apologized to other media personnel for the incident, about a 
legal case pending against him. No one was arrested for the incident.
    On September 15, two masked gunmen killed journalist Maqbool 
Hussain Siyal in Dera Ismail Khan. Siyal worked for the Pakistani 
Online News Network and was on his way to interview a leader of the 
PPP. The CPJ was investigating whether Siyal's death was related to his 
work as a journalist. By the end of the year, police had not made any 
arrests.
    On September 16, police beat and seized the equipment of two 
journalists, Wadood Mushtaq from ARY and Zahid Malik from ATV along 
with cameraman Nazir Awan from ARY at a religious congregation in Minar 
e Pakistan in Lahore. They had filmed police demanding bribes from 
participants in the rally. The journalists also filmed the police 
impounding buses under false pretenses. All three were treated for 
multiple fractures. By the end of the year, the police officer 
involved, Mukhtar Shan, had not been charged.
    On September 17, Shakeel Anjum, a senior correspondent for the 
News, was included in a FIR involving a triple murder case in 
Islamabad. He had written a series of articles highlighting problems in 
the police, and the SHO of the Shehzad Town police included his name in 
the FIR. On October 16, the police cleared him. The CPJ alleged that 
the FIR was punishment for Mari's criticism of the police.
    On September 17, officials in Punjab directed cable operators in 
the province to stop airing the ARY Digital television network after 
ARY repeatedly broadcast the beating of the three journalists at Minar 
e Pakistan. The Government allowed the network to resume broadcasting a 
week later. A similar incident took place on September 26 after 
officials in Punjab forced cable operators in Taxila, Wah Cantonment to 
stop broadcasting ARY on September 26 and 27.
    On November 8, PEMRA allegedly verbally instructed cable operators 
throughout the country not to transmit a Bangkok-based television 
network, Sindh Television. According to AHRC, the Sindhi channel had 
gained popularity for highlighting government mismanagement. In late 
October the channel had broadcast a satirical show about high-level 
government officials, including the President and prime minister.
    On November 20, unknown individuals in plainclothes illegally 
detained Dilawar Khan Wazir, a BBC correspondent and reporter for the 
Daily Dawn. The kidnappers released Wazir after detaining and beating 
him for approximately 30 hours. During his interrogation, Wazir's 
captors allegedly questioned him about his reporting in South 
Waziristan. Observers and human rights groups believed security 
services were responsible for Wazir's kidnapping and torture.
    On December 19, a British reporter working for the New York Times 
in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Carlotta Gall, was assaulted by military 
intelligence officers for covering a story in Quetta. The officers 
searched Gall's room and took her equipment. Gall's photographer was 
detained and released a few hours later.
    The Anti Terrorist Act prohibits the possession or distribution of 
material designed to foment sectarian hatred or material obtained from 
banned organizations. As part of the Government's crackdown on 
extremists, President Musharraf ordered police to take action against 
radical publications. There were no reported cases of such crackdowns 
during the year.
    Court rulings mandate the death sentence for anyone blaspheming 
against the ``prophets.'' The law provides for life imprisonment for 
desecrating the Koran and up to 10 years in prison for insulting 
another's religious beliefs with the intent to outrage religious 
feelings (see section 2.c.). This law was used only against those who 
allegedly insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Groups such as the Khateme 
Nabuwwat Movement, which considered anyone who questioned the finality 
of Prophet Muhammad to be a heretic, were known to insult Ahmadi 
beliefs; however, the law was not used against them. Foreign books must 
pass government censors before being reprinted. Books and magazines may 
be imported freely but are subject to censorship for objectionable 
sexual or religious content.
    Obscene literature, a category broadly defined by the Government, 
was subject to seizure. Television stations broadcast dramas and 
documentaries on previously taboo subjects, including corruption, 
social privilege, narcotics, violence against women, and female 
inequality.

    Internet Freedom.--While there were no reports that the Government 
limited public access to the Internet, it attempted to control some 
extremist and Baloch separatist Web sites based in the country. Telecom 
authorities claimed that Internet access had risen by 750 percent in 
five years (10.5 million total subscribers during the year, compared 
with 1.2 million in 2001), and service existed in nearly all of the 
country's urban areas.
    On April 23, according to the AHRC, the Government shut down four 
Web sites that focus on the area of Balochistan. The Government said 
the sites had spread misinformation. Supporters of the sites believed 
that sites were shut down because the news offered on these sites 
detailed military operations in Balochistan.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom; however, the atmosphere of violence and 
intolerance fostered by student organizations, typically tied to 
political parties, continued to limit academic freedom. On some 
university campuses, well armed groups of students, most commonly 
associated with the All Pakistan Mutahidda Students Organization 
(affiliated with the MQM) and the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT)(affiliated 
with the JI), clashed with and intimidated other students, instructors, 
and administrators over issues such as language, syllabus content, 
examination policies, grades, doctrines, and dress. These groups 
frequently facilitated cheating on examinations, interfered with the 
hiring of staff, influenced those admitted to the universities, and 
sometimes also influenced the use of funds of the institutions. Such 
influence generally was achieved through a combination of protest 
rallies, control of the campus media, and threats of mass violence. In 
response, university authorities banned political activity on many 
campuses, but with limited effect.
    The religious party coalition (MMA) government in NWFP banned the 
use of music in public transportation. Daewoo Bus Service, a major 
line, shuts down its in-bus movies and music when it crossed the Attock 
river into NWFP. MMA also directed that billboards not feature women.
    The Ministry of Culture operated the Central Film Censor Board, 
which previewed all foreign and domestic films before exhibit in the 
country.
    There were no incidents of government crackdowns on art exhibitions 
or other musical/cultural activities.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom ``to assemble peacefully and without arms subject to any 
reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public 
order,'' and freedom of association, and the Government generally 
observed these rights, but with some restrictions.

    Freedom of Assembly.--While the law provided for this right, in 
practice, the Government placed selective restrictions on the right to 
assemble and sometimes refused permits for processions in urban areas. 
Ahmadis have been prohibited from holding any conferences or gatherings 
since 1984 (see section 2.c.).
    The HRCP expressed concern that the Government had permitted a 
rally on April 8 of the banned terrorist organization, Sipah-e-Sahaba 
Pakistan, during which the participants preached violence against non-
believers and sold videos depicting violent acts.
    Police often used preventive detention and excessive force against 
demonstrators.
    On February 2, police detained leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir 
Liberation Front, including Amanullah Khan. Police detained Khan after 
he attended a peaceful demonstration in Rawalpindi against the 
construction of the Basha Dam in the Gilgit region of the Northern 
Areas. According to AI, Khan was not permitted to receive visitors, and 
his health deteriorated during his one-week detention.
    On April 15, police baton charged and used tear gas to disperse a 
rally of journalists and human rights activists in Choa Saidan Shah, 
Chakwal, Punjab, when they demanded compensation for the owners of two 
shops that caught fire during the Government's anti encroachment drive. 
Police also registered two criminal cases against Chaudhary Farzand 
Ali, President, and Malik Wazir Muhammad, secretary general, of a 
journalists' union, citing their disruption of the public order. Police 
also injured local human rights activist Chaudhary Nematullah.
    On August 22, approximately 2,000 teachers of the Sindh Employees 
Alliance protested in front of the Karachi Press Club against the 
Government's ban on teachers' unions. According to the AHRC, police 
used teargas and batons to disperse the demonstration. Police arrested 
45 teachers and injured six.
    On October 12, to protest General Musharraf's coup against Pakistan 
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML N) Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999, the 
PML N demonstrated in Karachi, Lahore and other cities. In Lahore, 
police charged the crowd with batons when they did not disperse. 
According to the Dawn and other newspapers, police injured 11 
demonstrators and arrested others under section 16 of the Maintenance 
of Public Order law.
    On November 27, according to AHRC more than 400 human rights and 
political activists were arrested in Balochistan to prevent them from 
participating in peaceful protests in advance of President Musharraf's 
visit to the province. Virtually all were released after the visit.
    Unlike in previous years, the authorities did not restrict the 
domestic movements of leaders of religious political parties.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
association subject to restriction by government ordinance and law. 
NGOs were required to register with the Government under the 1960 
Cooperative Societies and Companies Ordinance. No prominent NGO 
reported problems with the Government over registrations during the 
year. Some continued to operate without registering and were not 
prosecuted.
    According to HRW's recently released report on freedom of 
expression and civil liberties in Azad Kashmir, individuals and 
political parties who did not support Kashmir's accession to the 
country were barred from participating in the political process, thus 
excluding individuals who supported Kashmir's independence. HRW noted 
that individuals who did not support Kashmir's accession to the country 
were subject to abuse by the intelligence agencies and the military.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution states that adequate 
provisions shall be made for minorities to profess and practice their 
religions freely; however, the Government limited freedom of religion 
in practice. Islam is the state religion, and the constitution requires 
that laws be consistent with Islam. All citizens were subject to 
certain provisions of Shari'a, including extensions such as the 
blasphemy laws. Reprisals and threats of reprisals against suspected 
converts from Islam occurred. Members of religious minorities were 
subject to violence and harassment, and police at times refused to 
prevent such actions or charge persons who committed them, leading to 
an atmosphere of impunity. The constitution stipulates that the 
President and the Prime Minister must be Muslim. The Prime Minister, 
federal ministers, and ministers of state, as well as elected members 
of the Senate and National Assembly (including non Muslims), must take 
an oath to ``strive to preserve the Islamic ideology,'' which is the 
basis for the creation of Pakistan (see section 3).
    Religious groups must be approved and registered; there were no 
reports that the Government refused to register any group.
    The law declares the Ahmadi community, which considers itself a 
Muslim sect, to be a non Muslim minority. The law prohibits Ahmadis, 
who claimed approximately two million adherents, from engaging in any 
Muslim practices, including using Muslim greetings, referring to their 
places of worship as mosques, reciting Islamic prayers, and 
participating in the Hajj or Ramadan fast. Ahmadis were prohibited from 
proselytizing, holding gatherings, or distributing literature. 
Government forms, including passport applications and voter 
registration documents, require anyone wishing to be listed as a Muslim 
to denounce the founder of the Ahmadi faith. In 2005 the Government 
reinstated the religion column for machine readable passports (see 
section 2.d.). Ahmadis were frequently discriminated against in 
government hiring and in admission to government schools and faced 
prosecution under the blasphemy laws.
    On June 24, a mob attacked Ahmadi residents in Jhando Sahi near 
Sialkot district, Punjab, after allegations of the desecration of the 
Koran. The rumors alleged that Ahmadi men were seen burning pages of 
the Koran in public. The police arrested the accused Ahmadis, but a mob 
gathered and started burning houses, shops, and vehicles of Ahmadis. 
There were reports that prior to the incident, Muslim clerics had 
encouraged mobs to attack Ahmadis by calling out to Muslims on the 
loud-speakers of their mosques that non Muslims should not be allowed 
to live among Muslims. Reports indicated that two Ahmadis were injured, 
and about 100 Ahmadi villagers fled their homes where they had lived 
for 60 years.
    On September 10, the Government of Punjab banned the century old 
Ahmadi newspaper the Daily Al Fazal and raided its office in Chenab 
Nagar, Chiniot District, Punjab. Police arrested printer Sultan Dogar 
and journalist Abdul Sattar Khan and lodged cases under (``anti-
Ahmadi'' provisions) 298B and 298C of the Penal Code, Maintenance of 
Public Order, and the Anti Terrorism Act against them. Police 
confiscated all the publications and sealed their offices. While police 
released Khan on September 23, Dogar remained in custody at year's end. 
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Saeed Tatla, the raid was 
part of the Government's campaign to confiscate religious ``hate 
literature.'' In the FIR, the police accused the newspaper of preaching 
Qadiyani (``Ahmadian'') beliefs and describing Ahamdis as Muslims, 
which is illegal. Qadiyani is a derogatory word for Ahmadis.
    Complaints under the blasphemy laws, which prohibit derogatory 
statements or action against Islam, the Koran, or the prophets, were 
used in business or personal disputes to harass religious minorities or 
other Muslims. Most complaints were filed within the majority Sunni 
Muslim community. Most blasphemy cases were ultimately dismissed at the 
appellate level; however, the accused often remained in jail for years 
awaiting the court's decision. Trial courts were reluctant to release 
on bail or acquit blasphemy defendants for fear of violence from 
religious extremist groups. In January 2005 President Musharraf signed 
a bill into law revising the complaint process and requiring senior 
police officials to review such cases in an effort to eliminate 
spurious charges. However, according to human rights and religious 
freedom groups, this was not effective because senior police officers 
did not have the resources to review these cases. During the year the 
courts convicted one person and acquitted three under the blasphemy 
laws; 73 cases were ongoing.
    On January 26, Parvez Aslam Choudhry, a prominent human rights 
lawyer and chairman of the NGO Legal Aid for Destitute and Settlement, 
was attacked and beaten by extremists who tried to intimidate him 
because of his work defending blasphemy cases. Prior to the incident, 
Choudhry had been threatened outside of court and received death 
threats because of his work.
    On March 3, according to the NGO Center for Legal Aid and 
Settlement, police lodged a blasphemy case against Naseem Bibi for 
failing to show respect to a picture of the Kaaba in Mecca. According 
to Naseem Bibi, the Muslims in her neighborhood tried to seize her land 
by force. In the dispute that ensued between Naseem and the local 
residents, the Muslims vandalized a crucifix from Naseem's home, to 
which Naseem responded by vandalizing a picture of the Kaaba. On 
November 27, Naseem was released.
    On August 31, after police refused to register a theft case against 
Shahid Masih and Mohammad Ghaffar in Faisalabad, police lodged a false 
case against them under the blasphemy law for allegedly burning the 
Koran. Local residents attacked Masih and Ghaffar's homes, and their 
families were forced to flee. According to AHRC, while in police 
custody, both men were tortured.
    On November 10, the Lahore High Court overturned the conviction 
Ranjha Masih, a Christian, of blasphemy. Masih had been arrested in 
1998 and sentenced to life in prison in 2003. While some witnesses 
claimed to have seen Masih throw stones at a commercial sign that 
included a verse from the Koran, the Lahore High Court found the 
witnesses' testimony not credible. Prior to his acquittal, Masih spent 
almost 8+ years in jail, where he reportedly was beaten and mistreated.
    There were no restrictions on Christian or Hindu places of worship. 
District Nazims had to authorize the construction after they assessed 
whether a new church or temple was required.
    According to HRCP, on November 25, unknown persons burnt down an 
Ismaili place of worship in Chitral district. HRCP reported that no 
arrests had been made.
    On February 19, a mob attacked St. Mary's Church, St. Xavier's 
Church, and St. Mary's School at Sukkar, Sindh, after Irfan, a convert 
to Islam, allegedly tried to accuse his Christian father-in-law, 
Saleem, of burning a copy of the Koran.
    According to AHRC, during the year, four churches, five Ahmadi 
mosques, and two Hindu temples were burnt, attacked, or destroyed in 
different parts of the country, with most occurring in the Punjab. 
Religious extremists killed ten Christians and four Ahmadis who were 
accused of blasphemy. AHRC reported that 49 Ahmadis and 110 Christians 
faced trials or were in prison on charges for desecrating the Koran. 
According to AHRC, there were 35 reported cases of forcible conversion 
of religious minorities.
    The All Pakistan Minority Alliance reported that approximately 25 
Hindu girls were allegedly forced to convert to Islam in Sindh.
    NGOs such as AHRC reported that during the year, several Hindu 
girls had been raped inside a Hindu compound in Karachi. In April 
police refused to register a FIR against Javed Qasai for allegedly 
kidnapping and raping a Hindu girl. According to the AHRC, police 
forced the girl's family to settle the matter with Qasai and did not 
arrest him.
    All religious groups experienced bureaucratic delays and requests 
for bribes when attempting to build houses of worship or obtain land. 
The Government prevented Ahmadis from building houses of worship.
    Islamiyyat (Islamic studies) was compulsory for all Muslim students 
in state run schools. Students of other faiths were exempt from such 
classes; however, in practice teachers induced many non Muslim students 
to complete Islamic studies.
    The Hindu community faced harassment and demands for bribes from 
security forces.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Sectarian violence between 
Sunni and Shi'a extremists continued during the year and attacks on 
mosques and religious gatherings resulted in 127 deaths (see sections 
1.a. and 5). Shi'as, Christians, and Ahmadis were the targets of 
religious violence (see section 1.a.).
    Police arrested five suspects in connection with the October 2005 
attack in Mongh, District Mandi Bahauddin that killed eight and wounded 
14 Ahmadis.
    There were no developments in the March 2005 case where five gunmen 
fired at Christians leaving Easter services at a church in Lahore or in 
the April kidnapping and murder case of Pastor Shamoon Babar or his 
driver.
    In October 2005 gunmen opened fire at an Ahmadi worship service in 
Mong, Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, killing eight and injuring 14. On May 
11, police arrested four persons linked to the terrorist organization 
Lashkar e Jhangvi in Toba Tek Sing, Punjab. Police charged Malik Abrar 
and Amjad Shah for planning and executing the attack. The state filed a 
case against them under the Anti Terrorism Act. According to the Ahmadi 
community, judges feared for their lives if they accepted such cases.
    Following the attack by an angry mob in Sangla Hills, Punjab, in 
November 2005, high level provincial officials visited the site to 
express solidarity with the Christian community. The provincial 
government provided funds to reconstruct the destroyed buildings, and 
church services resumed in December 2005. At year's end, no charges had 
been brought against the mob that destroyed the buildings or its 
leaders.
    Ahmadi leaders charged that militant Sunni mullahs and their 
followers sometimes staged marches through the streets of Rabwah, a 
predominantly Ahmadi town and spiritual center in central Punjab. 
Backed by crowds of between 100 and 200 persons, the mullahs reportedly 
denounced Ahmadis and their founder, creating a situation that 
sometimes led to violence. The Ahmadis claimed that police generally 
were present during these marches but did not intervene to prevent 
violence.
    On February 20, a mob attacked St. Mary's Catholic Church in Sukkur 
after rumors that the Christian speakers at a Sunday gathering spoke 
against Islam and its Prophet. Police arrested seven people including a 
local religious leader. All of them were released on bail.
    On August 7, three Christians were hospitalized with serious wounds 
in Mominpura Thaiki village near Sharaqpur, Punjab. The injuries 
occurred during a dispute over land sharing between the Christian 
community and Muslims living in the village. Police took action and 
Yaqub Maher, a Muslim landowner, was accused and arrested for plotting 
the attack on the Christian community.
    The Ahmadi, Christian, Hindu, and Shi'a Muslim communities reported 
significant discrimination in employment and access to education, 
including at government institutions.
    Although there were few Jewish citizens in the country, anti 
Semitic sentiments appeared to be widespread, and the press commonly 
published anti Semitic press articles.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2005 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights; 
however, the Government limited them in practice. The Government 
required that foreigners have special permission to enter certain 
restricted areas, including parts of the FATA and Balochistan.
    The law prohibits travel to Israel. Despite this, Pakistani 
journalists reported on the Israel Lebanon conflict from inside Israel 
in July. Government employees and students must obtain ``no objection'' 
certificates before traveling abroad, although this requirement rarely 
was enforced against students. Persons on the publicly available Exit 
Control List (ECL) were prohibited from foreign travel. There were 
approximately 3,740 names on the ECL. While the ECL was intended to 
prevent those with pending criminal cases from traveling abroad, no 
judicial action was required to add a name to the ECL, and it was 
sometimes used to harass human rights activists or leaders of 
opposition and nationalist parties. Those on the list had the right to 
appeal for removal to the Secretary of Interior and the advocate 
general of the senior judiciary.
    Mukhtar Mai was temporarily placed on the ECL, which barred her 
from leaving Pakistan. In June 2005 the Government confiscated her 
passport after she received a visa to attend an event abroad. Her 
passport was returned in August 2005.
    The law prohibits forced exile; however, former prime minister 
Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, remained in exile abroad, 
in accordance with his 2000 agreement with the Government. In late 2005 
the Government granted Nawaz Sharif and his immediate family new 
passports, allowing them to travel outside Saudi Arabia. Neither Shabaz 
nor Nawaz were permitted to enter Pakistan. Shabaz was denied entry 
when he arrived in country by plane in 2004. Former prime minister 
Benazir Bhutto remained in self imposed exile. A number of corruption 
and contempt of court charges against her remained pending.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to press reports 
there were approximately 1.5 million displaced Kashmiris, from Indian 
held Kashmir, in the country. The law entitles Kashmiris to the same 
rights as citizens. According to UN Children's Fund, up to 80,000 
Baloch civilians were displaced as the result of clashes between 
government forces and Baloch nationalists. These were including among 
the more than 200,000 persons who, according to AHRC, migrated to 
different places of the country from areas affected by military 
operations. According to newspaper reports, many of the displaced lived 
in terrible conditions with no safe drinking water and no medical help.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; however, the 
Government has a system to protect refugees. In practice, the 
Government provided protection against refoulement, the return of 
persons to a country where they feared persecution. The Government did 
not grant refugee status or asylum.
    Since 1979 the Government has provided temporary protection to 
millions of refugees from neighboring Afghanistan. According to the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) approximately 2.4 million Afghan 
refugees remained in country. The Government continued to work closely 
with the UNHCR to provide support to this population. As of October 13, 
the last day of UNHCR-assisted repatriations, the Government cooperated 
with UNHCR in the voluntary repatriation of 133,338 Afghan refugees. 
There were also 9,681 spontaneous refugee returns known to UNHCR.
    The Afghan refugee camps that the Government scheduled for closure 
during the year remained open. A registration of those Afghan refugees 
counted in the 2005 census in the country began on October 15 and was 
scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, but was extended. The 
registration, conducted jointly by country's National Database and 
Registration Authority and UNHCR, issues a proof of registration card, 
valid for three years, and identifies the holder as an Afghan resident.
    Police in some cases demanded bribes from Afghan refugees. There 
were credible reports that members of the intelligence services 
harassed refugees during their search for al Qa'ida. Some female 
refugees who accepted jobs with NGOs reported harassment from Taliban 
sympathizers in their own community. Refugees faced societal 
discrimination and abuse from local communities, which resented 
economic competition, and blamed refugees for high crime rates. Single 
women, female headed households, and children working on the streets 
were particularly vulnerable to abuse, including trafficking.
    Approximately 300,000 Biharis, Urdu speaking non Bengali Muslims in 
Bangladesh without citizenship rights since 1971, continued to campaign 
for resettlement in the country.
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; however, this right was restricted in practice. In October 
1999, General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the elected government of 
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a military coup and was elected 
President in 2002 in deeply flawed elections. Since then, President 
Musharraf has controlled the Government and dominated the PML-Q federal 
coalition government.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Domestic and international 
observers found the 2002 national assembly elections, the most recent 
national elections, and the August 2005 local elections deeply flawed. 
HRW's 2006 report on Azad Kashmir noted that the July Azad Kashmir 
Legislative Assembly elections were flawed and ``greeted with 
widespread charges of poll rigging by opposition political parties and 
independent analysts.'' HRW reported that 60 pro-independence 
candidates who belonged to the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, the All 
Parties Nationalist Alliance, and smaller political parties were barred 
from participating in the state elections.
    The Supreme Court sanctioned General Musharraf's 1999 coup; 
however, it directed Musharraf to restore elected government within 
three years. In 2002 President Musharraf held a nationwide referendum 
on a five year extension of his presidency and claimed to have received 
a 97.5 percent vote in favor of the extension. Independent observers 
found evidence of widespread fraud and coerced voting. The Supreme 
Court ruled that the referendum was constitutional; however, the court 
allowed the results to be revisited by an elected parliament. In 2003 
the National Assembly affirmed Musharraf as President for a five-year 
term. Musharraf reportedly promised some members of parliament to 
remove his uniform in 2004 but did not do so.
    In 2002 elections were held for the national and provincial 
assemblies. Musharraf's Legal Framework Order (LFO) created a number of 
new candidate eligibility prerequisites. International and domestic 
observers found the elections greatly flawed, identifying serious 
problems in the election framework and tampering of results in certain 
districts. After a number of floor crossings, which the opposition 
claims were induced, the PML formed a governing coalition in concert 
with the MQM, smaller parties, and dissident groups from opposition 
parties. The February 2003 indirect Senate elections resulted in a 
majority for the governing coalition. In December 2003, despite 
opposition protests, the Parliament incorporated a large part of the 
LFO into the 1973 constitution as its 17th Amendment. The amendment 
affirmed Musharraf's presidency until 2007 and his right to serve 
concurrently as chief of army staff until the end of 2004. The 
amendment allowed the President to dissolve parliament but required him 
to obtain the consent of the Supreme Court within 30 days. Opposition 
parties said the amended constitution legitimized the powerful role of 
the military in politics and transfers significant powers from the 
Prime Ministership to the previously ceremonial presidency. In October 
2004 the National Assembly, over objections from the opposition 
parties, approved a bill extending Musharraf's exemption to hold two 
offices through 2007.
    The National Assembly and the cabinet functioned normally during 
the year. In August 2004 the National Assembly elected the PML 
candidate, former finance minister Shaukat Aziz, prime minister, 
although all opposition parties boycotted the vote because their 
candidate, PML N leader Javed Hashmi, was not allowed to appear at the 
assembly, having been convicted of sedition. Opposition parties 
criticized Aziz's election, claiming his two by election victories to 
the assembly were fraudulent. Domestic and international observers 
found irregularities but concluded the elections were generally free, 
fair, and credible.
    President Musharraf continued to back reforms proposed by the 
National Reconstruction Bureau to empower local governments. In August 
2005 the country held direct local elections to choose members and 
executives for the lowest tier of local government, the union council. 
International observers found serious flaws in the contests in Sindh 
and Punjab provinces, principally during the August 25 round. 
Intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters, use of state 
resources to influence the election, vote buying, and voting 
irregularities that appeared to benefit government endorsed candidates 
occurred and likely had an impact on the results of the August 18 
contest in Karachi as well as the August 25 contests in Sindh and 
Punjab.
    In October 2005 indirect elections for executives of reserved 
minority and women's seats on the tehsil (county) and district councils 
occurred. International observers found that all political parties 
engaged in attempted intimidation, coercion, and vote buying during 
these contests. According to press reports, in Upper Dir and Battagram 
districts, NWFP, local community and religious leaders prevented women 
from voting or holding official office. In response, the adviser to the 
Prime Minister on women's affairs visited Upper Dir to mobilize women 
to stand in elections.
    The Government permitted all existing political parties to 
function. The Government forced the PPP and PML N to elect in country 
leaders other than former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz 
Sharif by refusing to register any parties whose leaders had a court 
conviction. The amended Political Parties Act bars any person from 
becoming prime minister for a third time, effectively eliminating 
Bhutto and Sharif.
    The Government detained two opposition leaders, Javed Hashmi and 
Yousaf Raza Gilliani, on what the opposition claimed were politically 
motivated charges. In April 2005 Hashmi was convicted in closed 
proceedings on charges of sedition and sentenced to 27 years in prison 
for reading in the cafeteria of the National Assembly an anonymous 
letter critical of the military. On October 5, the Rawalpindi Bench of 
Lahore High Court accepted the bail plea of Yousaf Raza Gillani in a 
case for which he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on charges of 
giving jobs in the National Assembly secretariat during his 
speakership. Hashmi remained in prison at the end of the year.
    The Government ban on political party activities in the FATA 
continued. According to the Frontier Crimes Regulation Act (FCRA) the 
Political Parties Act does not apply to the FATA and no political party 
can legally campaign or operate an office there. Two secular political 
parties, the Awami National Party and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), 
complained that this rule was void, since religio-political parties 
such as Jamiat e Ulema e Islam and Jamaat e Islami openly campaigned in 
the FATA. The Government did not allow candidates to register by 
political party, and did not permit political party rallies. Several 
religio-political parties campaigned covertly during the 2002 national 
elections.
    Inhabitants of the northern areas (Gilgit, Hunza, and Baltistan) 
were not covered under the constitution and had no representation in 
the federal legislature. An appointed civil servant administered these 
areas and an elected Northern Areas Council served in an advisory 
capacity. Members of the Azad Jammu Kashmir assembly and government are 
required to claim allegiance to Pakistan before they can stand in 
elections. Some Kashmiri political parties advocating an independent 
Kashmir were not allowed to stand in elections.
    On September 21, HRW released a report entitled ``With Friends Like 
These. Human Rights Violations in Azad Kashmir'' that noted: ``Azad 
Kashmir is a land of strict curbs on political pluralism, freedom of 
expression, and freedom of association; a muzzled press; banned books; 
arbitrary arrest and detention and torture at the hands of the 
Pakistani military and the police; and discrimination against refugees 
from Jammu and Kashmir state. Singled out are Kashmiri nationalists who 
do not support the idea of Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. Anyone who 
wants to take part in public life has to sign a pledge of loyalty to 
Pakistan, while anyone who publicly supports or works for an 
independent Kashmir is persecuted.''
    There were 73 women in the 342 seat National Assembly, five women 
in the cabinet, and none on the Supreme Court. Women had 60 reserved 
seats in the National Assembly. Women also had 128 reserved seats of 
the 758 seats in provincial assemblies and one third of the seats in 
local councils. In some districts social and religious conservatives 
prevented women from becoming candidates; however, in several districts 
female candidates were elected unopposed. Women participated in large 
numbers in elections, although some were dissuaded from voting by their 
families, religious and tribal leaders, and social customs. The PML-Q 
and PPP prohibited their local leaders from entering into agreements 
that would prevent women from standing for or voting in the local 
elections. The Election Commission of Pakistan invalidated union 
council elections in parts of NWFP where women were not allowed to 
vote. Provincial chief ministers named women to serve in their 
cabinets.
    According to press reports, between 2001 and June 2006, four women 
councilors were killed in Upper Dir, NWFP, including, in 2004, Zubeida 
Begum, a prominent female political activist. Gunmen shot and killed 
Zubeida Begum along with her 19 year-old daughter. Women in Upper Dir 
had actively campaigned for political power, despite local attempts to 
suppress the female vote and the marginalization of women once elected.
    There were 10 religious minority members in the 342 seat 
legislature, one on the Supreme Court, and one in the cabinet. All 
minority members of the National Assembly held reserved religious 
minority seats. Such seats are apportioned to parties based on the 
percentage of seats each wins in the assembly. Previous direct 
elections for minority seats were abolished. Under the law, minorities 
held reserved seats in the provincial assemblies. The Government 
required voters to indicate their religion when registering.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption among executive 
and legislative branch officials remained a problem during the year, 
and public perception of corruption was widespread. The National 
Accountability Ordinance prohibits those convicted of corruption by the 
NAB from holding political office for 10 years (see section 1.d.). The 
NAB disproportionately targeted opposition politicians for prosecution 
and did not prosecute the active duty members of the military.
    The Freedom of Information Ordinance is fairly restrictive in 
defining citizens' entitlement to information. The ordinance's 
effectiveness was unclear, and there were no reports of citizens using 
the act to obtain information during the year.
Section 4. 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 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views. The Government 
sought their technical cooperation, especially from international NGOs, 
in the fields of women's empowerment, election training, election 
commission capacity building and other areas. They are required to be 
registered, although this requirement was not generally enforced. Human 
rights groups reported that they generally had good access to police 
stations and prisons. The HRCP investigated human rights abuses and 
sponsor discussions on human rights issues during the year.
    On January 8, a fact-finding team of the HRCP and journalists was 
attacked when their cars were fired at near Kashmore, Balochistan. 
According to NGOs, it was not clear who was responsible for the attack. 
By the end of the year, the HRCP submitted an application to the police 
in Rojhan to file a complaint, but police did not proceed beyond 
determining that the assailants were tribals and hard to track down.
    International observers were permitted to visit the country and 
travel freely. The Government generally cooperated with international 
governmental human rights organizations. The ICRC had a delegation in 
country and had access to prisons and detention centers. ICRC staff 
characterized the Government as ``cooperative.''
    The Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on Law, 
Justice, and Human Rights held hearings on a number of issues, 
including honor crimes, police abuse of the blasphemy law, and the 
Hudood Ordinance. While the committees served as useful fora to raise 
public awareness of such issues, their final actions generally adhered 
to government policy. The Parliamentarians' Commission for Human 
Rights, an interparty caucus of parliamentarians, lobbied effectively 
for reform in key areas. The proposed National Human Rights Commission 
remained stalled between the Ministry of Law and Justice and the 
Speaker's Secretariat.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equality for all citizens and broadly 
prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, caste, residence, or 
place of birth; in practice, however, there was significant 
discrimination based on each of these factors.

    Women.--Domestic violence was a widespread and serious problem. 
Husbands frequently beat, and occasionally killed, their wives. Newly 
married women were at times abused and harassed by their in laws. Dowry 
and family related disputes often resulted in death or disfigurement 
through burning or acid. According to the Karachi-based Lawyers for 
Human Rights and Legal Aid, 31,000 crimes against women had been 
reported from 2000-2005, including murder, rape, torture, honor 
killings, abduction, and torture by police. Approximately 249 cases of 
honor killing and attempted honor killing were also reported in the 
media in Punjab. SHARP recorded 1,127 incidents of violence against 
women during the year. While the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution 
against acid attacks in 2003, it was not followed up by action to 
control the sale of acid and other corrosive substances. HRCP 
documented 96 cases of burnings during the period between November 2004 
and August 2005. The Citizen's Commission for Human Development 
reported 21 burn cases during the first six months of the year.
    According to HRCP estimates, one out of every two women was the 
victim of mental or physical violence. On November 28, Oxfam's 
representative claimed that approximately 80 percent of the country's 
women faced domestic violence in their lives. A survey conducted in 
March by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and reported by AI 
in Lahore found that at least 90 percent of married women in the 
country reported being physically or sexually abused by their husbands. 
However, the precise figure was difficult to obtain, given the fact 
that the crimes took place within homes. The National Commission on the 
Status of Women advocated on behalf of specific domestic violence 
legislation. In its absence, abusers may be charged with assault, but 
cases rarely were filed. Police and judges were reluctant to take 
action in domestic violence cases, viewing it as a family problem. 
Abused women were usually returned to their abusive family members. 
Women were reluctant to pursue charges because of the stigma attached 
to divorce and their economic and psychological dependence on 
relatives. Relatives were reluctant to report abuse for fear of 
dishonoring the family reputation.
    During the year there were 97 reported cases of ``stove deaths,'' 
many of which related to disputes with in laws.
    On April 13, Ayesha Jabeen of Chakwal was burned allegedly while 
cooking food. She was brought to the district hospital where she died. 
Jabeen's family contacted NGOs in Islamabad, suspecting that her in 
laws were involved in a plot to kill Jabeen. No further information was 
available at year's end.
    On April 3, Zakia Bibi married a man of her choice. On October 3, 
Zakia was found dead in Ali Khan Brohi village in Sindh. The Ratodero 
police said her body was recovered from the house of her husband, 
Mohammad Brohi, on report of Araz Mohammed Langah, Zakia's father. 
Brohi and other family members escaped from the house. Zakia's parents 
reported that her husband and in laws had tortured their daughter to 
seek her consent for the second marriage of her husband. Brohi's 
parents stated that Brohi had already been engaged to a woman of his 
clan. Doctors said Zakia had been hit on the head, causing her death. 
Doctors found marks of torture on her body.
    In September 2005 according to her in-laws, Safia Khatoon suffered 
fatal injuries after a leaking gas cylinder exploded in Gujar Khan, 
Punjab. Safia's family lodged a complaint against her in-laws, and the 
police found that Safia's husband was involved in spraying her with 
kerosene and setting her afire. Police arrested***** her husband, but 
by year's end no case has been filed.
    The Government established Crisis Center for Women in Distress 
locations, which referred abused women to NGOs for assistance. There 
were 276 district run emergency centers for women in distress where 
they were sheltered and given access to medical treatment, limited 
legal representation, and some vocational training. In some cases, 
women were abused in the shelters.
    For example, in August 2005 Kanwal fell from the roof of the 
shelter in Hyderabad and died while trying to escape what other shelter 
residents reported were abusive conditions. A preliminary inquiry 
charged the night staff of the shelter with neglect for failing to 
provide adequate first aid and for failing to summon medical assistance 
immediately. Police arrested the caretaker Daarul Aman, Atiya Khatoon, 
and two of her staff members. No further activity in the case was 
reported.
    Rape, other than by one's spouse, is a criminal offense. One cannot 
be prosecuted for marital rape or for rape in cases where a marriage 
between the perpetrator and victim has been contracted but not 
solemnized. Although rape was widespread, prosecutions were rare. It 
was estimated that rape victims reported less than one third of rape 
cases to the police. Rape victims were often reluctant to report cases 
of rape for fear of being implicated in consensual fornication or 
adultery under the Hudood Ordinance and because of negative societal 
attitudes associated with rape. Since rape was considered a sub-
category of non-marital sex, courts often viewed a woman's allegation 
of rape as an admission of illegal sex, making sexual assault victims 
susceptible to prosecution themselves, prior to the December 1 signing 
of the Women's Protection Bill.
    Police were at times implicated in rape cases. According to the NGO 
Women Against Rape (WAR), there were 369 rape cases reported in the 
media, which WAR estimated to be less than 5 percent of actual 
incidents. According to the HRCP, statistically a woman was raped every 
two hours, or gang-raped every eight hours.
    In April 2005, the speaker of the National Assembly ordered Sonia 
Naz's arrest for illegally appearing on the floor of the house to seek 
assistance for her husband, who had been allegedly harassed in 
connection with an investigation into stolen vehicles. In May 2005, 
police allegedly abducted Sonia Naz and detained her for 10 to 12 days, 
during which time she claimed that the SHO, Jamshed Chishti, raped her 
on the orders of Abdullah Khalid, Faisalabad superintendent of police 
for investigation. Police originally refused to file rape charges 
against the accused, but following a Supreme Court order in October 
2005, they arrested the officers for rape. After an initial 
investigation into the rape incident resulted in conflicting 
conclusions, including one accusing Naz of falsifying the rape claim, 
the Supreme Court established a new investigation team. Courts 
cancelled initial bail for Abdullah and Chishti, and the Punjab chief 
minister suspended both from the police force. Both Chishti and 
Abdullah remained suspended at the end of the year. In April Sonia Naz 
complained that she received threats from her husband's brothers, who 
later attacked and severely injured her for bringing shame to the 
family.
    On August 25, the Kabirwala police and 12 persons associated with 
Raza Hayat Hiraji, the minister of state for law, parliamentary affairs 
and human rights, allegedly kidnapped two lower caste women, Ghazala 
Shaheen and her mother Mumtaz Mai from the Batti community in 
Kabirwala, Punjab. Shaheen had completed her masters in education from 
Baha uddin Zakaria University against the wishes of members of the 
higher caste Mirali. The abductors kept the victims captive for 12 days 
and gang raped Shaheen and Mai until local villagers raided the house, 
caught three of the perpetrators, and helped release the victims. The 
police allegedly threatened Shaheen and Mai, warning that if they told 
their story to anyone, they would be paraded nude and their male 
relatives would be killed in a false police encounter. Local human 
rights organizations and activists recorded the women's statements, but 
Hiraji allegedly called the police, instructing them not to allow the 
women to register a FIR. On September 28, police raided Shaheen and 
Mai's home and ordered them to leave the village under orders from a 
``big personality.'' No action was taken against the culprits, and both 
victims feared for their lives.
    On July 28, three staff members of the Islamic Law Department at 
Karachi University attempted to rape a female student on campus. She 
resisted and escaped. Along with friends and family, she lodged a 
complaint with the vice chancellor who suspended all three 
perpetrators. The vice chancellor asked the student not to file a 
formal police report since he was taking action against the culprits. 
All three staff members were reinstated after three weeks. When the 
student and her supporters protested, an inspector of the Sindh Rangers 
suggested that they not make unnecessary ``noise,'' as the ones who 
tried to rape her had been ``punished.'' By the end of the year, no 
action had been taken against the staff members.
    Many rape victims were pressured to drop charges. Police and 
prosecutors often threatened to charge a victim with adultery or 
fornication if she could not prove the absence of consent, and there 
were many cases in which rape victims were jailed on such charges. When 
the zina clause was still included in the Hudood Ordinance prior to the 
December 1 passage of the Women's Protection Bill, the standard of 
proof established in the Hudood Ordinances was based on whether the 
accused was to be subjected to Koranic (hadd) or secular (tazir, or 
lesser) punishment. In cases of Koranic punishment, which could result 
in public flogging or stoning, the victim was required to produce four 
adult male witnesses to the rape or a confession from the accused. No 
Koranic punishment has been applied for rape. The punishment for rape 
can include up to 25 years in prison, 30 lashes, and $5,000 (Rs 303,000 
rupees) fine.
    Police often abused or threatened the victim, telling her to drop 
the case, especially when bribed by the accused. Police requested 
bribes from some victims prior to lodging rape charges, and 
investigations were often superficial. Medical personnel were generally 
untrained in collection of rape evidence and were at times physically 
or verbally abusive to victims, accusing them of adultery or 
fornication. Women accused of adultery or fornication were forced to 
submit to medical exams against their will, although the law requires 
their consent. Judges were reluctant to convict rapists, applied 
varying standards of proof, and at times threatened to convict the 
victim for adultery or fornication rather than the accused for rape. 
Families and tribes at times killed rape victims or encouraged them to 
commit suicide.
    The January 2005 rape of Dr. Shazia Khalid at the Sui gas field in 
Balochistan remained unresolved. Baloch nationalists claimed she was 
raped by Frontier Corps personnel; the Government claimed DNA evidence 
indicated otherwise. Dr. Khalid was condemned to death by a tribal 
jirga for dishonoring the tribe. She and her husband left the country 
in March 2005. According to human rights organizations, the Government 
pressured Dr. Khalid to leave the country.
    After the Lahore High Court overturned the conviction and death 
sentence of five of the six persons convicted in the gang rape of 
Mukhtar Mai and commuted the sixth to 25 years in prison, the Supreme 
Court intervened and assumed jurisdiction of the case. In June 2005 the 
court ordered the five convicted to be rearrested and held without 
bail. At the end of the year, they remained in custody and the case was 
on-going.
    There were no developments in the January 2005 Aysha Javed case and 
the March Arebeli cases. Javed's uncle Riaz shot and killed her after 
accusing of her of having sexual relations with her neighbor. Arbeli 
was killed two hours after her wedding ceremony by her husband Yousif, 
who accused her of having had sexual relations with her cousin.
    Prior to the December 1 signing of the Women's Protection Bill, 
husbands and male family members often brought spurious adultery and 
fornication charges against women under the Hudood Ordinances in order 
to control their behavior as a means of intimidation. The Hudood 
Ordinance made rape victims liable to prosecution and led to thousands 
of women being imprisoned under false pretext. According to HRCP's 2005 
report, there were approximately 4,621 women in jail under the Hudood 
Ordinances. Even when courts ultimately dismissed charges, the accused 
spent months, sometimes years, in jail, with reputations destroyed.
    Honor killings and mutilations, including cutting off of women's 
noses and stripping women naked to dishonor them, occurred during the 
year. Women were often the victims at the hands of their husbands or 
male relatives. No accurate statistics existed on the number of honor 
crimes committed during the year. Official statistics stated an average 
of 1,000 persons were murdered each year in the name of honor. Other 
sources, including the media, reported 1,137 honor killings, through 
November. An official from the Citizen's Commission for Human 
Development reported that 229 women were murdered from January to June 
in the name of honor. Approximately 54 percent were married. The CCHR 
estimated that 27 percent were killed by their fathers, brothers, or 
in-laws; 25 percent by their husbands; 11 percent by relatives; and 19 
percent were murdered by unidentified persons. Human rights groups 
believed that such incidents were common in the Sindh, in the Punjab 
and among tribes in Balochistan, NWFP, and FATA. In January 2005 
President Musharraf signed a bill into law that provides for additional 
penalties for all crimes involving honor and criminalizes the practice 
of giving women in marriage as restitution for crimes.
    However, human rights groups criticized the legislation as not 
being forceful enough because it still allows for the victim or the 
victim's heirs to negotiate physical or monetary restitution with the 
perpetrator of the crime in exchange for dropping physical charges. 
Since honor crimes generally occurred within families, perpetrators 
were able to negotiate nominal payments and avoid more serious 
punishment.
    On April 24, The Daily Times reported that the Nihag Dara Wari 
jirga in Dir ruled that anyone reporting honor killings to police or 
other authorities would be killed. Malik Faiz Muhammad, a leading jirga 
member, explained this was because honor killing reporting was giving 
the area a bad reputation. According to the report, Muhammad said, ``We 
stick to our verdict that honor killing is permissible and those who 
commit it will not be liable to any punishment. We will also not allow 
the aggrieved party to report the case to the police or file the case 
before a court. We will kill those who will violate the jirga 
verdict.'' Sajid Mohmand, senior superintendent of police for Upper Dir 
declared this ruling illegal and said that honor killings would 
continue to be registered and prosecuted.
    According to HRCP, on September 5, Khanewal police arrested Ejaz 
Draaz, Emtiaz Draaz, Riaz Draaz, and Umer Draaz for allegedly stripping 
a widow, Shamim Bibi, and parading her naked in the village market as 
punishment for her son disgracing their cousin.
    On September 15, Jamroz Khan shot his wife Shahida Bibi in Kohi 
Barmol village, district Mardan, NWFP. Khan, who alleged his wife was 
of bad repute, escaped. The Katlang police registered the case, but by 
the end of the year, Khan had not been located.
    On October 2, according to an Islamabad based NGO, Akram Shambhani 
killed his niece, Ms. Zadi, daughter of Ameer Bux Shambhani, when she 
was in her home, and killed his stepbrother Barocho, son of Bahawal Din 
Shambhani. Shambhani suspected that the two were having an affair and 
declared them ``karo kari'' (adulterers). By the end of the year, 
police had not charged Shambani with the double murder.
    On November 20, Hyder Ali Shar of the village Sikandar Shar in 
Khairpur axed his daughter Fahmida and her alleged lover, Anwar Ali, to 
death. Shar confessed to the crime and admitted he could not control 
his anger when he found his daughter and Ali together.
    On November 29, a group of armed men killed Mohammad Ayub Mahar's 
three daughters and his daughter-in-law, Safia Mahar in the Abdoo 
village in Shikarpur district for allegedly having illicit affairs with 
other men. The honor killing allegedly occurred at the behest of Shafi 
Mohammed Mahar, Safia's father.
    In December 2005 Nazir Ahmed of Multan, slit the throats of his 
step-daughter and his three young daughters to salvage his family's 
``honor.'' Ahmed killed his step-daughter Muqadas for allegedly 
committing adultery, and his daughters because ``he didn't want them to 
do the same when they grow up.'' Police arrested Nazir in December 2005 
while he was attempting to flee Multan. By the end of the year, he 
remained imprisoned in Multan, awaiting trial.
    Despite laws barring child marriages, there was evidence that many 
took place. According to HRCP, the sale of minor girls in marriage to 
men much older than them by impoverished families increased, with a 
growing number of instances reported in Sindh and southern Punjab. 
Despite bans on the handing over of women as compensation for crimes 
committed by rival tribes (also known as vani or swara) the practice 
continued in the Punjab and NWFP. HRCP reported that watta satta, the 
practice in which two men marry each other's sisters, took place 
routinely.
    In rural Sindh landowning families continued the practice of 
``Koranic marriages'' in an effort to avoid division of property. 
Property of women married to the Koran remains under the legal control 
of their father or eldest brother, and such women are prohibited from 
contact with any male over 14 years of age. These women were expected 
to stay in the home and not maintain contact with anyone outside of 
their family. HRCP documented women in Sindh had been ``married'' to 
the Koran.
    On July 11, Arisha Bibi was beaten by her father and brothers when 
she refused to marry Ghulam Akbar to settle a family dispute that had 
led to one death. Arisha, a college student, refused to marry the much 
older Ghulam. She was beaten unconscious, her thumb print was taken on 
the marriage contract, and her signature was forged. On July 13, her 
mother approached the Progressive Women's Association for assistance, 
but under pressure from other family members, Arisha finally consented 
to the marriage.
    On December 7, police arrested Jamal Arain in Harappa district, 
Punjab for killing his daughter. Arain argues that he killed his 
daughter because she had been possessed by a demon. Arain and his sons 
set his daughter's body on a pyre and set it on fire.
    The estimated 100,000 Bohra Muslims practiced female genital 
mutilation (FGM), which was prohibited by law. While no statistics on 
the current prevalence of FGM among the Bohras existed, the practice 
reportedly declined.
    Prostitution was not legal. Most prostitutes were victims of either 
domestic or international trafficking and were held against their will. 
Police generally ignored the activity, as long as they were bribed. 
Police raided brothels during the year, but many continued to operate 
underground, particularly in larger cities. Trafficking in women for 
sexual exploitation was a problem.
    Sexual harassment was a widespread problem. There was no law to 
protect women at the workplace. Press reports indicated that harassment 
was especially high among domestic workers and nurses. While the Penal 
Code prohibits harassment, prosecution was rare.
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex; however, in 
practice this provision was not enforced. Women faced discrimination in 
family law, property law, and in the judicial system (see section 
2.c.). Prior to the enactment of the Women's Protection Act, the Hudood 
Ordinances created judicial discrimination against women. Women's 
testimony in cases involving proposed Koranic punishment was considered 
invalid or discounted significantly. In other cases involving property 
matters or questions of contractual future obligations, a woman's 
testimony was equal to half that of a man's testimony.
    Family law provides protections for women in cases of divorce, 
including requirements for maintenance, and lays out clear guidelines 
for custody of minor children and their maintenance. Many women were 
unaware of these legal protections or unable to obtain legal counsel to 
enforce them. Divorced women were often left with no means of support 
and were ostracized by their families. While prohibited by law, the 
practice of buying and selling brides continued in rural areas. Women 
are legally free to marry without family consent, but women who did so 
were often ostracized or were the victims of honor crimes.
    Inheritance law discriminates against women. Female children are 
entitled to only half the inheritance of male children. Wives inherit 
only one eighth of their husband's estate. Women often received far 
less than their legal inheritance entitlement.
    Women faced significant discrimination in employment and were 
frequently paid less than men for similar work. In many rural areas of 
the country, strong societal pressure prevented women from working 
outside the home. Some tribes continued the traditional practice of 
sequestering women from all contact with males other than relatives.
    The Ministry for the Advancement of Women lacked sufficient staff 
and resources to function effectively. Continuing government inaction 
in filling vacant seats on the National Commission for the Status of 
Women hampered its efficacy until Arifa Syed Zehra was appointed its 
chair on February 1 and began hiring staff. In 2003 the Government 
mandated that the NCSW develop policy supporting women. After former 
chairperson Majida Rizvi recommended complete repeal of the Hudood 
Ordinance in August 2003, the Government funded a further study of the 
suggestion. This resulted, in part, in the December 1 Women's 
Protection Act.
    Numerous women's rights NGOs such as the Progressive Women's 
Association, Struggle for Change, and Aurat Foundation, were active in 
urban areas. Their primary issues of concern included domestic 
violence, the Hudood Ordinance, and honor crimes.

    Children.--The Government does not demonstrate a strong commitment 
to children's rights and welfare through its laws and programs. Local 
laws do not mandate free public education, and schools generally charge 
tuition. While some state governments passed laws requiring free public 
education, such as Punjab, many public schools continued to charge 
tuition and fees for books, supplies, and uniforms. Public schools, 
particularly beyond the primary grades, were not available in many 
rural areas, leading parents to use the parallel private Islamic 
school, the madrassa system. In urban areas many parents sent children 
to private schools due to the lack of facilities and poor quality of 
education offered by the public system.
    According to an Islamabad-based organization, of the 19.1 million 
children between the ages of five and nine, only 42 percent were in 
school. Less than half of children who enrolled completed more than 
five years of education, six percent of enrollees completed grade 12. 
The national literacy rate of 38 percent showed a significant gap 
between males (57 percent) and females (32 percent) due to historical 
and societal discrimination against educating girls. While anecdotal 
evidence suggested increasing female participation in education, such 
discrimination continued, particularly in rural areas.
    Madrassas served as an alternative to the public school system in 
many areas. Many madrassas failed to provide an adequate education, 
focusing solely on Islamic studies. Graduates were often unable to find 
employment. A few madrassas reportedly continued to teach religious 
extremism and violence. The Government continued its efforts to 
modernize madrassa education during the year. An agreement was reached 
with the country's five independent madrassa boards to register the 85 
percent of madrassas under their control and to introduce a modern 
educational curriculum in those madrassas that are registered. At 
year's end, approximately 8,000 of the estimated 13,000 madrassas were 
registered.
    At the vast majority of madrassas, students were well treated. 
However, press reports claimed that there were madrassas, primarily in 
isolated parts of NWFP and interior Sindh, where children were confined 
illegally, kept in unhealthy conditions, and physically or sexually 
abused.
    Child health care services remained seriously inadequate. According 
to the National Institute of Child Health Care, more than 70 percent of 
deaths between birth and the age of five years were caused by easily 
preventable ailments such as diarrhea and malnutrition. While boys and 
girls had equal access to government facilities, families were more 
likely to seek medical assistance for boys. There were 919 hospitals 
and 4,632 dispensaries in the country. In addition, there were 907 
maternity/child welfare centers.
    Child abuse was widespread. According to child rights NGOs, abuse 
was most common within families. According to the NGO Lawyer's 
Committee for Human Rights, 3,100 children were sexually harassed or 
abused during the first nine months of the year in Sindh Province 
alone. In rural areas, poor parents sold children as bonded laborers 
(see section 6.d.) and at times sold daughters to be raped by 
landlords. The legal age of marriage for males is 18 and 16 for 
females. There are no provisions to allow marriages at a lower age with 
parental consent. No credible statistics were available on the 
frequency of child marriage, but NGOs agreed that it was a problem, 
especially in the Dir and Swat districts of the NWFP, where the sale or 
trading into marriage of girls as young as 11 was reportedly common 
practice among the Pashtun subtribes as acts of retribution and to 
settle scores between tribes.
    Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation were problems (see 
section 5, Trafficking). According to SAHIL, an NGO that focuses on 
child sexual exploitation, sexual exploitation of children without the 
intervention of a third party was rare.
    Child labor was a significant problem (see section 6.d.).
    NGOs such as Sahil, SPARC, and Rozan worked on child labor, child 
sexual abuse, and child trafficking. NGOs played an important role in 
providing counseling and medical services to victims and in raising 
awareness of these problems. There was a general consensus among these 
NGOs that approximately 100,000 children lived on the streets in urban 
cities. Many were run-aways from the interior of Punjab and Sindh 
provinces or Afghan refugees and lived in cities

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits international 
trafficking in persons but remains silent on internal trafficking; 
however, both forms of trafficking were serious problems. All forms of 
international trafficking are prohibited under the Prevention and 
Control of Human Trafficking, Ordinance 2002, and maximum penalties 
range from seven to 14 years' imprisonment plus fines. The Government 
arrested 1,393 suspected traffickers and prosecuted 685 under the 
ordinance during the year, but it was unclear whether these cases 
included human smuggling. According to SHARP, the Government registered 
1,700 cases of human trafficking during the year. The Federal 
Investigation Agency's (FIA) dedicated antitrafficking unit (ATU) had 
primary responsibility for combating trafficking. An Inter Ministerial 
Committee on Human Trafficking and Smuggling coordinated federal 
efforts. The Government assisted other countries with international 
investigations of trafficking.
    Although no accurate statistics on trafficking existed, the country 
was a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked persons. 
Women and girls were trafficked from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, 
Burma, Nepal, and Central Asia for forced commercial sexual 
exploitation and bonded labor in the country based on deceptive 
promises of legitimate jobs. The NGO Ansar Burney Welfare Trust 
estimated that approximately 200,000 Bengali women and 250,000 Burmese 
women were trafficked into the country and forced to engage in 
prostitution. In a similar fashion, men and women were trafficked from 
the country to the Middle East to work as bonded laborers or in 
domestic servitude. Upon arrival, traffickers confiscated both groups' 
passports and forced them to work to pay off their transportation debt.
    While the problem of child camel jockeys was effectively dealt with 
in May 2005 when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) banned the use of 
children as camel jockeys, the NGO Ansar Burney Welfare Trust reported 
that at least 46 child jockeys were sent to the UAE during the year. 
The boys were primarily recruited from the impoverished districts of 
the southern Punjab and interior Sindh.
    Women and children from rural areas were trafficked internally to 
urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation and labor. Bonded 
labor of children in brick kilns, rice mills and textile factories 
remained a serious issue. In some cases families sold these victims 
into servitude or believed they were marrying off their children or 
sending them for legitimate employment, while in other cases they were 
kidnapped. Women were trafficked from East Asian countries and 
Bangladesh to the Middle East via the country. Traffickers bribed 
police and immigration officials to facilitate passage. During the year 
authorities reportedly prosecuted governmental officers and arrested 
FIA inspectors for facilitating trafficking. According to an Islamabad 
based NGO, 13 officials of the FIA were punished under departmental 
laws. The details of the punishment were not available.
    The Government rescued some kidnapped victims. The Overseas 
Pakistani Foundation and the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust repatriated 
nearly 298 camel jockeys from the UAE and Qatar. In March 2005 the 
central government opened one model shelter specifically for 
trafficking victims. There were 276 additional district run emergency 
centers for women in distress where trafficking victims could be 
sheltered and given access to medical treatment, limited legal 
representation, and some vocational training. The Government provided 
temporary residence status to foreign trafficking victims. The FIA and 
the International Organization for Migration held training and seminars 
on trafficking for government officials and NGOs during the year. Very 
few NGOs dealt specifically with trafficking; however, many local and 
provincial NGOs provided shelter to victims of trafficking and those at 
risk for trafficking.
    With the establishment of a dedicated ATU, treatment of trafficking 
victims improved, although some women forced into commercial sexual 
exploitation may have been treated as criminals under the Hudood 
Ordinances before the law was amended during the year. Foreign victims, 
particularly Bangladeshis, faced difficulties in obtaining repatriation 
to their home countries. Women trafficked abroad and sexually exploited 
faced societal discrimination upon their repatriation.
    In April the Lahore High Court decided the case of Aisha Parveen, 
who was forced into prostitution in Khanpur at the age of 14 by Gul 
Sher, who ``married'' her in 1999. Parveen was permitted to start a new 
life with Muhammad Akram, her husband who had helped her escape from 
Gul Sher's brothel. Both Akram and Aisha left Khanpur, and their 
whereabouts were unknown. On March 28, police had arrested Sher and 
jailed him for three days. After Sher's release in December, he tried 
to kidnap Aisha. The court issued a restraining order against Sher and 
later sent Aisha to Darrul Aman (a women's shelter in Lahore) where she 
was given protection.
    Several NGOs held workshops on trafficking during the year, and the 
Government and NGOs worked to publicize the plight of camel jockeys 
through press advertisements and the plight of camel jockeys public 
awareness campaigns to discourage the continuation of the practice.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not discriminate against 
people with disabilities; there are employment quotas at both federal 
and provincial levels. The Government has not enacted legislation or 
otherwise mandated access to buildings or government services for 
persons with disabilities. Families cared for the vast majority of 
persons with physical and mental disabilities. However, in some cases 
these individuals were forced into begging, and organized criminals 
took much of the proceeds. The law requires public and private 
organizations to reserve at least 2 percent of their jobs for qualified 
persons with disabilities.
    Organizations that do not wish to hire persons with disabilities 
instead can give a certain amount of money to the Government treasury, 
which uses funds for persons with disabilities. This obligation was 
rarely enforced. The National Council for the Rehabilitation of the 
Disabled provided some job placement and loan facilities as well as a 
degree of subsistence funding. The Council also operated the ``Pakistan 
Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled'' which provided 
rehabilitation, vocational training and some medical support to the 
disabled. Mentally ill prisoners normally lacked adequate care and were 
not segregated from the general prison population (see section 1.c.).
    There are no restrictions on the rights of the disabled to vote or 
participate in civil affairs.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Homosexual intercourse 
is a criminal offense; however, the Government rarely prosecuted cases.
    Homosexuals rarely revealed openly their sexual orientation, and 
there were no allegations during the year of discrimination on the 
basis of sexual orientation.
    In cooperation with donors and the UN, the Government established 
the National AIDS Control Program (NACP), which managed an aggressive 
campaign to educate its citizens regarding AIDS. NACP held rallies, 
public campaigns and spoke about birth control and AIDS awareness in 
mosques. Those suffering from HIV/AIDS faced broad societal 
discrimination.
    The Shi'a, Christian, Hindu, and Ahmadi communities all faced 
discrimination and societal violence (see section 2.c.). The Government 
removed religiously sensitive material from new text books.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The Industrial Relations Ordinance 
(IRO) provides industrial workers the right to form trade unions. The 
Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), which applies to the 
security forces, most of the civil service, health care workers, and 
safety and security personnel at petroleum companies, airports, and 
seaports, was often invoked to limit or ban strikes or curtail 
collective bargaining rights. Agricultural workers, nonprofit workers, 
and teachers, among others, are not afforded the right to unionize. 
According to government estimates, union members were approximately 10 
percent of the industrial labor force and 3 percent of the total 
estimated work force; however, unions claimed that the Government 
underestimated the number of union members. The large number of workers 
in the informal sector (70 percent of a total labor force of 51 
million) was not represented by unions.
    On July 21, the Sindh provincial government's education department 
banned teachers' unions and sent ``forced leave'' letters to 34 
teachers. In addition, the Government threatened another 150 teachers 
and lecturers for their involvement in the teacher's association. On 
December 13, the Sindh High Court stayed the ban and the education 
department was ordered not to interfere with the creation of a union. 
At year's end, both teachers' unions were active again.
    On August 26, the Registrar of Trade Unions of Sindh banned the 
trade union at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW). The 
Government reportedly took this action at the behest of the Federal 
Minister of Defense Production, who believed the action would result in 
higher productivity. This action affected approximately 3,000 workers. 
Authorities imposed the ban while KSEW management held conciliation 
meetings with a labor union, the sole collective bargaining agency of 
the KSEW, regarding the charter of demands that had been pending with 
the Ministry of Defense Production since 2003. The ban remained in 
place at the end of the year.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--A few sectors 
are exempted from the IRO: the police, armed forces, ministry of 
defense, Pakistan security printing corporation, civil defense, fire 
services, and oil installations. In the rest of the economy the 
Government allowed unions to conduct their activities without 
interference. The IRO protects the right to collective bargaining, 
subject to restrictions, but limits the right of unions to strike. The 
IRO allows only one union to serve as the collective bargaining agent 
within a given establishment, group of establishments, or industry. In 
cases where more than one union exists, the IRO establishes a secret 
balloting procedure to determine which union shall be registered as 
agent.
    Legally required conciliation proceedings and cooling off periods 
constrain the right to strike, as does the Government's authority to 
end any strike that may cause ``serious hardship to the community,'' 
prejudice the national interest, or has continued for 30 days. The 
Government can and has prohibited all strikes by public utility 
services under the IRO. The law prohibits employers from seeking 
retribution against leaders of a legal strike and stipulates fines for 
offenders. The law does not protect leaders of illegal strikes.
    On July 8, the Labor Party of Pakistan organized a 39 day strike in 
Faisalabad. More than 15,000 textile workers went on strike when the 
owners of the looms and mills fired people who demanded a salary 
increase from $1.60 (Rs 97) per day to $2.66 (Rs 161) per day. The 
owners of the textile units registered cases of looting, plundering and 
sabotage against the union leaders. The Government arrested 28 union 
leaders. Following negotiations, the owners withdrew the cases. On 
August 16, the union leaders were released; however, by the end of the 
year, worker demands were not addressed.
    National labor laws require the Government to determine every six 
months whether collective bargaining is to be allowed. In cases where 
collective bargaining was prohibited, special wage boards decided wage 
levels. Such boards were established at the provincial level and were 
composed of representatives from industry, labor, and the provincial 
labor ministry. Unions generally were dissatisfied with the boards' 
findings. Disputes were adjudicated before the National Industrial 
Relations Commission.
    The estimated 12,500 employees working in the country's three 
Export Processing Zones (EPZs) are exempt by the ESMA from the 
protection and right to form trade unions provided by the IRO. The 
Export Processing Zone Authority drafts labor laws within the EPZs.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, the Government 
did not enforce these prohibitions effectively, and there were reports 
that such practices occurred. The Bonded Labor System Abolition Act 
outlaws bonded labor, cancels all existing bonded debts, and forbids 
lawsuits for the recovery of such debts. The act makes bonded labor by 
children punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $825 (Rs 
50,000) in fines.
    Estimates by NGOs SPARC and SHARP suggested that between 1.5 and 2 
million persons were involved in some form of bonded labor, primarily 
in Sindh Province. Bonded labor was most common in the brick, glass, 
carpet, and fishing industries. In rural areas, particularly in the 
Tharparkar District of Sindh, bonded labor in the agricultural and 
construction sectors was fairly widespread. A large proportion of 
bonded laborers were low caste Hindus, or Muslim and Christian 
descendants of low caste Hindus. Bonded laborers were often unable to 
determine when their debts were fully paid. Those who escaped often 
faced retaliation from former employers. Some bonded laborers returned 
to their former status after being freed due to a lack of alternative 
livelihoods. Although the police arrested violators of the law against 
bonded labor, many such individuals bribed the police to release them. 
Human rights groups reported that landlords in rural Sindh maintained 
as many as 50 private jails housing approximately 4,500 bonded 
laborers. Ties between such landlords and influential politicians 
hampered effective elimination of bonded labor.
    Children were forced to work in the brick kiln and carpet weaving 
industries as well as agriculture tied to their family's obligation to 
their feudal overlord.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Government adopted laws and promulgated policies to protect children 
from exploitation in the workplace; however, enforcement of child labor 
laws was lax, and child labor was a serious problem. According to HRCP, 
there were approximately 10 million child laborers. The media reported 
that 70 percent of non-agricultural child labor took place in very 
small workshops, complicating efforts to enforce child labor laws as, 
by law, inspectors may not inspect facilities that employ fewer than 10 
persons. Child labor in agriculture and domestic work was common.
    Forced and bonded labor, sexual exploitation, and the trafficking 
of children occurred (see section 5).
    The Employment of Children Act prohibits the employment of children 
under age 14 years in factories, mines, and other hazardous occupations 
and regulates their conditions of work. For example, no child is 
allowed to work overtime or at night and should be guaranteed one day 
off per week; however, there were few child labor inspectors in most 
districts, and the inspectors often had little training, insufficient 
resources, and were susceptible to corruption. In 2001 the Ministry of 
Labor identified 35 hazardous forms of child labor, including street 
vending, surgical instrument manufacturing, deep sea fishing, leather 
manufacturing, brick making, production of soccer balls, and carpet 
weaving, among others.
    Authorities obtained hundreds of convictions for violations of 
child labor laws, but low fines levied by the courts ranging from an 
average of $6 (Rs 364) in the NWFP to an average of $121 (Rs 7,344) in 
Balochistan were not a significant deterrent. The Employment of 
Children Act allows for fines of up to $333 (Rs 20,200). Penalties 
often were not imposed on those found to be violating child labor laws.
    The International Labor Organization-International Program for the 
Elimination of Child Labor (ILO IPEC) continued programs in the carpet 
weaving, surgical instrument, rag-picking, and deep sea fishing 
industries as well as a Time Bound Program for the Elimination of the 
Worst Forms of Child Labor. Working with industries and the Government, 
ILO IPEC used a combination of monitoring, educational access, 
rehabilitation, and family member employment to transition children out 
of these industries.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage for 
unskilled workers was $42 (Rs 2,500) per month. It applied only to 
industrial and commercial establishments employing 50 or more workers. 
The national minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living 
for a worker and family. Significant parts of the work force (such as 
those in the informal sector, domestics and migrant workers) were not 
covered. Additional benefits required by the Federal Labor Code include 
official government holidays, overtime pay, annual and sick leave, 
health care, education for workers' children, social security, old age 
benefits, and a worker's welfare fund.
    Federal law provides for a maximum workweek of 48 hours (54 hours 
for seasonal factories) with rest periods during the workday and paid 
annual holidays. These regulations did not apply to agricultural 
workers, workers in factories with fewer than 10 employees, domestic 
workers, and contractors.
    Health and safety standards were poor. There was a serious lack of 
adherence to mine safety and health protocols. For example, mines had 
only one opening for entry, egress, and ventilation. Workers could not 
remove themselves from dangerous working conditions without risking 
loss of employment.
    Provincial governments have primary responsibility for enforcing 
all labor regulations. Enforcement was ineffective due to limited 
resources, corruption, and inadequate regulatory structures. Many 
workers were unaware of their rights.

                               __________

                               SRI LANKA

    Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty republic with a 
population of approximately 20 million. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, 
elected on November 17, 2005, and the 225 member parliament, elected in 
April 2004, both for six year terms, share constitutional power. 
According to the European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM), 
the 2005 Presidential election was generally conducted in a free and 
fair manner, except for the boycott enforced by the Liberation Tigers 
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north and east, which intimidated most 
Tamil civilians from voting. In 2002 the Government and the LTTE signed 
a formal Cease-Fire Accord (CFA) to end a 17-year armed conflict. 
During the year violations of the CFA increased in frequency and 
seriousness, leading to a de facto breakdown of the agreement, which 
technically remained in force. Military confrontations occurred in 
several areas of the east and the northern Jaffna peninsula.
    The Government's respect for the human rights of its citizens 
declined due in part to the breakdown of the CFA. Credible sources 
reported human rights problems, including unlawful killings by 
government agents, high profile killings by unknown perpetrators, 
politically motivated killings by paramilitary forces associated with 
the Government and the LTTE, and disappearances. Human rights monitors 
also reported arbitrary arrests and detention, poor prison conditions, 
denial of fair public trial, government corruption and lack of 
transparency, infringement of religious freedom, infringement of 
freedom of movement, and discrimination against minorities. There were 
numerous reports that armed paramilitary groups linked to government 
security forces participated in armed attacks, some against civilians. 
Following the December 1 LTTE attempt to assassinate Defense Secretary 
Gothabaya Rajapaka, the Government strengthened emergency regulations 
that broadened security forces' powers in the arrest without warrant 
and non-accountable detention of civilians for up to 12 months.
    The LTTE continued to control large sections of the north and east 
and engaged in politically motivated killings; suicide attacks; 
disappearances; torture; arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of fair 
public trial; arbitrary interference with privacy; denial of freedom of 
speech, press, and of assembly and association; and the recruitment of 
child soldiers.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
confirmed reports of politically motivated killings by the Government; 
human rights organizations and other credible sources reported an 
increase in encounter killings by police. Sources further alleged that 
paramilitary groups, sometimes with the aid of government security 
forces, engaged in targeted killings of political opponents and 
civilians. The Government and the army denied the allegations.
    In January five Tamil youths were shot execution-style in a coastal 
High security zone in Trincomalee heavily controlled by the police 
Special Task Force (STF) and the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN). Although civil 
groups and members of the Government widely suspected police STF 
involvement in the incident, a ballistic report indicated that 
standard-issue STF guns had not killed the individuals, and the case 
was dropped. Some credible observers believe the STF committed the 
killings using non-standard issue weapons.
    On May 2, paramilitary cadres entered the offices of the Tamil-
language newspaper Uthayan in Jaffna (Northern Province) and killed 
Marketing and Circulation Manager, B. G. Saeadas, and the night 
supervisor, R. Ranjith. On October 30, unknown gunmen killed Tamil 
National Alliance local government member for Serunuwara, Trincomalee 
district-Eastern Province, Gopala Krishnan Padmanathan. On November 10, 
assailants linked to a paramilitary organization shot dead moderate 
Tamil National Alliance Member of Parliament, Nadaraja Raviraj, on a 
main road in Colombo. (The Tamil National Alliance supports the 
political goals of the LTTE.)
    In May there were a number of civilian killings in Kayts Island, 
allegedly by the SLN. For example, unidentified gunmen entered the 
house of Sellathurai Amalathas and killed eight people. Another 
individual died later in the hospital. Other killings included that of 
an elderly man and two members of his family, and a tea shop owner. 
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Government called for a 
police investigation of the incidents. The Government appointed a 
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team, headed by Senior 
Superintendent of Police Mahesh Perera, to look into the civilian 
deaths. The team went to Jaffna and recorded the statements of the 
survivors. One survivor, the only eye-witness, made a statement to the 
Magistrate that navy personnel shot her husband and brother, and that 
she could identify these sailors. Although Jaffna Magistrate Trotsky 
ordered an identification line-up, the police CID team took no action. 
At year's end, the case was still pending.
    On June 17, uniformed men fired into a church in Pesalai, Mannar, 
in which several hundred Tamil civilians had taken refuge, killing one 
and injuring at least five others. Authorities published no progress in 
these investigations by year's end.
    On August 10, military aerial bombardment on LTTE-controlled 
Trincomalee left 50 civilians dead and 200 wounded. On August 14, the 
army dropped 12 to 16 bombs on a compound in Mullaitivu, killing 51 
teenage girls, and injuring more than 100. No investigations have been 
conducted.
    On August 17, 17 local employees-16 Tamil and one Muslim-of the 
French Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Action Contre La Faim (ACF) 
were shot execution-style on their compound in Muttur. The Sri Lanka 
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) asserted that security forces had been 
responsible for the murders, a charge which the Government denied. The 
Government called upon Australian investigators to assist with the 
case, agreeing on terms of reference in September. At year's end, 
police had made no arrests.
    There were several reports of high profile killings by unknown 
actors during the year. For example, on April 7, unknown gunmen killed 
Tamil National Alliance parliamentary nominee V. Vigneswaran within 
sight of a navy checkpoint. Police had made no arrests at year's end.
    On April 26, civilians discovered five Tamil farmers beheaded near 
Batticaloa. On May 13, on navy-controlled Kayts Island off the Jaffna 
Peninsula, unknown assailants killed a family of 13 Tamils in their 
home.
    On February 5, police arrested Polwatta Ratubaduge Ajiith Wishantna 
for his role in the November 2004 shooting death of Gerard Perera. 
Authorities had tortured Perera while he was in custody in 2002 and 
killed him in November 2004 after he had complained to police and human 
rights monitors about his treatment at the hands of the police. Three 
of the seven police officers accused of torturing Perera in 2002 
admitted that they had Perera killed because they feared his testimony 
would lead to their imprisonment. At year's end six officers implicated 
in the conspiracy remained in custody. There were two cases before the 
Negombo High Court for the original torture of Perera in 2002 and his 
2004 death. The trial was ongoing at year's end, after the Chief 
Justice ordered that the trial judge hearing the case be removed.
    On March 25, in Kalutara District, two police officers from the 
Panadura police station beat Nallawarige Sandasirilal Fernando 
unconscious while trying to arrest his brother. On March 28, Fernando 
died in a local hospital. Authorities indicted two police officers, but 
at year's end the officers remained on duty. No one has been arrested 
or prosecuted regarding this matter at year's end.
    On April 10, in Colombo District, Maharagama police allegedly 
pulled Don Wijerathna Munasinghe from his three-wheel taxi for failing 
to stop. The officers beat him in front of his wife and son, and then 
beat him again while he was in custody. On April 11, Munasinghe was 
released, but he subsequently died on April 16 from injuries sustained 
during the police beating. At year's end the case was referred to the 
Attorney General's department for further action, and the three police 
constables accused of the beating remained on duty. Police have made no 
arrests in the case.
    During the year the LTTE was implicated in attacks on high-profile 
political opponents and civilians. An April 17 suicide attack at Army 
Headquarters severely wounded Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka and 
killed eight others (see section 1.g.). In June a LTTE suicide bomber 
killed Army Third-in-Command General Kulatunga in a Colombo suburb (see 
section 1.g.).
    On August 13, presumed-LTTE gunmen killed Ketheshwaran Loganathan, 
Deputy Secretary of the Secretariat for Coordination of the Peace 
Process (SCOPP).A former member of the Eelam People's Republican 
Liberation Front (EPRLF), Loganathan had served as Conflict Analysis 
Director for the Colombo-based think tank, the Centre for Policy 
Alternatives.
    On August 14, Pakistan's High Commissioner escaped when a bomb hit 
his convoy; according to HRW at least seven people died in the 
incident.
    On September 17, authorities discovered the mutilated bodies of 10 
Muslim construction workers in Pottuvil, near Arugam Bay. A survivor 
implicated the LTTE in the killings. A Presidential Commission of 
Inquiry to investigate serious violations of human rights, appointed in 
December, has a mandate to investigate this and a number of other 
cases.
    On November 24, two brothers wanted by the police surrendered to 
the Galle Magistrate's Court. They were taken into custody by the 
Special Investigating Unit of Galle from the court premises and were 
killed while in the custody of the Ambalangoda Police two days later. 
The police officers on site claimed they killed the men in self-
defense. At year's end, no inquiry into the killings had been 
conducted.
    There were no developments in the 2004 shooting death of 
Bellanavithanage Sanath Yasarathne, the 2004 custodial killing of 
Muthuthanthrige Chamal Ranjith Cooray, or the October 2004 killing, 
allegedly by police, of Herman Quintus Perera.
    A trial remains pending and no compensation has been paid to 
Perera's family.
    There were no developments in the 2005 killing of E. Kausalyan, 
political head of the Batticaloa-Ampara division of the LTTE, and 
former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian A.C. Nehru. The 
LTTE blamed military intelligence for colluding with the breakaway 
Karuna faction and other paramilitaries in the killing.
    At year's end former People's Liberation Organization of Tamil 
Eelam (PLOTE) Arumugam Sriskandarajah, alias Peter, arrested for the 
April 2005 murder of Tamil journalist Sivaram Dharmaratnam, awaited 
trial. The court released Sriskandarajah on bail.
    In December 2005 unidentified gunmen shot and killed TNA 
parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham while he was attending midnight 
mass within a high security zone in Batticaloa. The LTTE accused 
government security forces of conspiring with paramilitaries in the 
killing. On April 24, the Government constituted a Presidential 
Commission of Inquiry. In July police arrested two suspects in the 
killing, but no indictments had been made at year's end.
    Land mines continued to be the cause of death and injury for 
civilians (see section 1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) 
reported 345 instances countrywide of politically motivated 
disappearances at the hands of the security forces or by paramilitary 
forces allegedly tied to the Government, or the LTTE (See section 
1.a.).
    The SLHRC reported 33 known abductions in the Colombo district with 
ransom paid ranging from $23,251 (rupees 2,526,221) to $558,035 (rupees 
60,630,502). Of those abducted, 12 have not been released although 
ransom was paid. President Rajapaksa appointed former High Court Judge 
Mahanama Tilakaratna to inquire into incidents of abductions, but at 
year's end no report had been issued.
    On May 6, according to Amnesty International (AI), eight Tamil men 
decorating a Hindu Temple in Manthuvil East, northeast of 
Chavakachcheri town in Jaffna District, disappeared around the time 
that security personnel were seen at the temple. The whereabouts of the 
eight remained unknown at year's end.
    On August 20, two unidentified men abducted Reverend Thiruchchelvan 
Nihal Jim Brown and Wenceslaus Vinces Vimalathas of St. Mary's Church 
at Allapidy on Kayts Island. Because Allapidy was controlled by the 
SLN, involvement by SLN personnel was suspected, according to AI.
    On September 29, two unidentified men abducted Balasingham Sugumar, 
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Culture, in Batticaloa town, Batticaloa 
District. The abductors reportedly threatened Sugumar's family not to 
inform anyone of their earlier visit to Sugumar. According to AI, 
because the abduction occurred in a government-controlled area, 
observers suspected security force involvement. The abductors demanded 
the resignation of Eastern University Vice-Chancellor Professor 
Raveendranath in return for the release of Dean Sugumar. Professor 
Raveendranath submitted his resignation on October 3, and Dean Sugumar 
was released subsequently. After submitting his resignation, Professor 
Raveendranath moved to Colombo. On December 15, he disappeared while 
attending a conference in a High security zone of Colombo. At year's 
end he had not been released.
    There were no developments in any of the unclassified disappearance 
cases cited by the 2000 UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary 
Disappearances; neither was there any apparent effort put forth by the 
Government to gather information on these cases. Since 2000, 12 
disappearances from previous years were reported by the UN Working 
Group, seven of which were still pending.
    In 2004 a government commission investigating disappearances that 
occurred in Jaffna from 1996 to 1997 issued letters to next of kin 
confirming that after being arrested by security forces, the victims 
disappeared. Next of kin have used these letters to support habeas 
corpus cases, and at year's end there was one case pending.
    At year's end the HRC continued to investigate 16,305 past cases of 
disappearance by security forces, some of which had been pending for 
over a decade. There were no indictments, investigations, or 
prosecutions of security force personnel for past disappearances.
    During the year the LTTE continued to detain civilians, often 
holding them for ransom (see section 1.g.). The SLMM reported that LTTE 
and Karuna Faction abductions increased significantly during the year.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law makes torture a punishable offense but does not 
implement several provisions of the UN Convention Against Torture. 
Human rights groups maintained that while torture is prohibited under 
specific circumstances, it was allowed under others. According to the 
HRC and other credible sources, the use of police torture to extract 
admissions and confessions was endemic and conducted with impunity. In 
addition, the Emergency regulations make confessions obtained under any 
circumstance, including by torture, sufficient to hold a person until 
the individual is brought to court; 528 arrests were made under the 
Emergency regulations during the year, although 288 of those arrested 
were released within 12 hours. The majority of those arrested were 
Tamil, although detainees included Sinhalese and Muslims as well. In 
addition to suspicion of terrorism, people were detained for lack of 
identification, narcotics, and outstanding warrants (see section 1.d.). 
Observers estimate that 200 persons remained in custody under detention 
orders at years end. The SLHRC reported that 433 individuals were 
tortured in police custody during the year (see section 1.c.).
    Methods of torture included beatings-often with sticks, iron bars 
or hose; electric shock; suspending individuals by the wrists or feet 
in contorted positions; burning; genital abuse; and near-drowning. 
Detainees reported broken bones and other serious injuries as a result 
of their mistreatment.
    The trial that began in October 2005 of three police officers 
indicted by the Kurunegala High Court for the 2002 alleged torture and 
sexual abuse of Nandini Herat continued at year's end.
    The majority of the 44 allegations of police torture came from 
police stations outside the north and east. The Government continued to 
investigate most cases of torture, according to the SLHRC, with 14 
torture cases pending in courts at year's end, with no convictions.
    The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported that on August 
24, police arrested and tortured farmer Suddage Sirisena at the 
Kekirawa Police Station, where he allegedly sustained bodily injuries, 
including a fractured nose and the loss of five front teeth. He was 
later hospitalized for several days. At year's end, no disciplinary 
action had been taken against the police officers implicated in 
Sirisena's case.
    Separate 2005 police torture cases involving Hevana Hennadige 
Priyadarshana Fernando and Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara were 
still pending at year's end. In the 2005 torture case of Palitha Tissa 
Kumara, the Supreme Court held that the police subinspector had 
violated article 11 (torture) of the constitution by severely torturing 
the victim. The amount ordered as compensation was $250 (rupees 
25,000). The High Court judge concluded that the police subinspector 
had caused the physical injuries mentioned in the medical report, that 
his actions amounted to the use of unnecessary force but that the 
treatment of Kumara did not amount to torture.
    Special sections of the Attorney General's office and the criminal 
investigation unit focused on torture complaints. During the year the 
units forwarded 218 cases for indictments against 139 police and 
security personnel, in which 65 resulted in an indictment, with 30 
cases still pending. The interparliamentary permanent standing 
committee and its interministerial working group on human rights issues 
also continued to track criminal investigations of torture.
    In October the Appeals Court ruled that the Inspector General of 
Police (IGP) must invalidate promotions offered to officers accused of 
human rights violations.
    In 2004 the HRC established a torture prevention monitoring unit to 
implement its ``zero tolerance'' torture policy (see section 4). The 
HRC provided extra training for officers assigned to this unit and 
established a policy of quick investigation for torture complaints. The 
HRC also assigned special teams to investigate deaths in police 
custody. By year's end the HRC had opened cases on 433 torture 
complaints.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not 
meet international standards due to acute overcrowding and lack of 
sanitary facilities. In some cases juveniles were not held separately 
from adults. Pretrial detainees were not held separately from those 
convicted.
    The Government permitted visits by independent human rights 
observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC), which reported unrestricted access during its 15 visits to 
government and LTTE-controlled prison facilities and detention centers. 
Credible observers reported that conditions in prisons were on par with 
local standards.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, such incidents occurred. There were 528 
arrests while the emergency regulations were active. The Government 
stated that most of those arrested were released within a few days.
    In December in a reaction to the December 1 LTTE attempt to 
assassinate the defense secretary, the Government reinstated certain 
provisions of the pre-CFA Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) as an 
additional emergency regulation. This gives security forces broader 
arrest and detention prerogatives than previously allowed.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Following the November 
2005 Presidential election, the Government eliminated the Ministry of 
Internal Security and placed control of the 66,000-member police force, 
which included the 6,000-strong paramilitary Special Task Force, under 
the Ministry of Defense. Senior officials in the police force handled 
complaints against the police, as did the civilian-staffed National 
Police Commission (NPC). Few police officers serving in Tamil majority 
areas were Tamil and generally did not speak Tamil or English. 
Impunity, particularly for cases of police torture and disappearances 
of civilians within high security zones, was a severe problem. Several 
NGOs claimed that corruption was also a problem in the police force.
    The NPC, composed entirely of civilians, was authorized to appoint, 
promote, transfer, discipline, and dismiss all police officers, except 
for the inspector general of police. The NPC also has the power to 
establish procedures to investigate public complaints against the 
police. In practice, however, the NPC devolved responsibility for 
discipline of less senior police officers to the inspector. In November 
2005 the three-year term of the NPC lapsed, and by year's end, the 
Government had not appointed new commissioners to the NPC.

    Arrest and Detention.--Under the law authorities must inform an 
arrested person of the reason for arrest and bring that person before a 
magistrate within 24 hours, but in practice, detained persons generally 
appeared within a few days before a magistrate. A magistrate may 
authorize bail for bailable and many non-bailable offences or may order 
continued pretrial detention for up to three months or longer. Police 
do not need an arrest warrant for certain offenses, such as murder, 
theft, robbery, and rape. In the case of murder, the magistrate must 
remand the suspect, and only the high court may grant bail. In all 
cases, suspects have the right to legal representation. Counsel is 
provided for indigent defendants in criminal cases before the high 
court and the courts of appeal, but not in other cases.
    In August 2005 following the assassination of the foreign minister, 
parliament approved emergency regulations, giving power of arrest to 
members of the armed forces, who were required to turn suspects over to 
the police within 24 hours. Individuals arrested under the emergency 
regulations may be detained for up to a year without trial.
    In the majority of cases in which security force personnel may have 
committed human rights abuses, the Government had not identified those 
responsible or brought them to justice. Human rights organizations 
noted that some judges were hesitant to convict on cases of torture 
because of a seven-year mandatory sentence for committing torture. 
There was no witness protection program. According to human rights 
organizations, obtaining medical evidence was difficult, as there were 
only 25 forensic specialists, and medical practitioners untrained in 
the field of torture assessment examined most torture victims. In some 
cases doctors were intimidated by police, making accurate medical 
reporting on torture victims difficult.
    The HRC investigated the legality of detention in cases referred to 
it by the Supreme Court and by private citizens.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The President appoints judges to the Supreme Court, the high court, 
and the courts of appeal. A judicial service commission, composed of 
the chief justice and two Supreme Court judges, appoints and transfers 
lower court judges. Judges may be removed for misbehavior or incapacity 
but only after an investigation followed by joint action of the 
President and the parliament.

    Trial Procedures.--In criminal cases, juries try defendants in 
public. Defendants are informed of the charges and evidence against 
them, and they have the right to counsel and the right to appeal. The 
Government provides counsel for indigent persons tried on criminal 
charges in the high court and the courts of appeal, but it does not 
provide counsel in other cases. Private legal aid organizations 
assisted some defendants. The legal aid commission offered legal aid to 
assist those who could not afford representation; however, some sources 
reported that its representatives extorted money from beneficiaries. 
There are no jury trials in cases brought under the PTA. Defendants are 
presumed innocent, and confessions obtained by various coercive means, 
including torture, are inadmissible in all criminal proceedings except 
PTA cases. Defendants bear the burden of proof to show that their 
confessions were obtained by coercion. Defendants in PTA cases have the 
right to appeal. Subject to judicial review in certain cases, 
defendants may spend up to 18 months in prison on administrative order 
waiting for their cases to be heard. Once their cases came to trial, 
decisions were made relatively quickly.
    Despite the law calling for court proceedings and other legislation 
to be available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil, most court proceedings 
outside of Jaffna and the northern parts of the country were conducted 
in English or Sinhala, which, due to a shortage of court-appointed 
interpreters, restricted the ability of Tamil-speaking defendants to 
get a fair hearing. Trials and hearings in the north were in Tamil and 
English. While Tamil-speaking judges existed at the magistrate level, 
only four high court judges, one appeals court judge, and one Supreme 
Court justice spoke fluent Tamil. Few legal textbooks existed in Tamil, 
and the Government had not complied with legislation requiring that all 
laws be published in English, Sinhala, and Tamil.
    In August 2004 the Office of the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) 
found that Nallaratnam Singarasa's right to a fair trial had been 
violated when in 1993 he was tortured and forced to put his thumb print 
on a confession that he could not read. The UNHRC called for his 
release or retrial and gave the Government 90 days to respond. In 
February 2005 the Government replied that the law does not provide for 
release or retrial after the conviction is affirmed by the high court. 
At year's end Singarasa remained in prison, and his legal team was 
preparing a fundamental rights case for the Supreme Court. At year's 
end the Government had taken no action in the 2003 Tony Fernado case. 
The UNHRC found in March 2005 that the Government should enact 
legislative changes and pay Fernado compensation.
    The Government permits the continued existence of certain aspects 
of personal laws discriminating against women in regard to age of 
marriage, divorce, and devolution of property (see section 5).
    During the year the LTTE continued to operate its own court system. 
The LTTE demanded that all Tamil civilians stop using the Government's 
judicial system and rely only on the LTTE's alternative legal system. 
Credible reports indicated that the LTTE used the threat of force to 
back its demands.
    The LTTE's legal system is composed of judges with little or no 
legal training. LTTE courts operated without codified or defined legal 
authority and essentially as agents of the LTTE rather than as an 
independent judiciary. On August 26, the LTTE released the last of 
three police officers from the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) 
arrested in September 2005 when they entered LTTE-controlled territory 
while pursuing a suspect. The first policeman was released on January 
26 and the second policeman was released on February 18 in exchange for 
four LTTE navy cadres.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
government-held political prisoners. The LTTE reportedly held a number 
of political prisoners; however, the number was impossible to determine 
because of the secretive nature of the organization, and the LTTE 
refused to allow the ICRC access to these prisoners (see section 1.c.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for the right to privacy, and the 
Government generally respected this provision in practice; however, it 
infringed on citizens' privacy rights in some areas. Police generally 
obtained proper warrants for arrests and searches conducted under 
ordinary law. In response to frequent claymore bomb attacks on security 
forces in the north and east during the year, and the discovery of 
several claymore bombs in Colombo, cordon and search operations were 
conducted regularly on nearby houses.
    The LTTE routinely interfered with the privacy of citizens by 
maintaining an effective network of informants.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The LTTE routinely used excessive force in the war, including attacks 
targeting civilians. Since the peace process began in 2001, the LTTE 
has engaged in targeted killings, kidnapping, hijackings of truck 
shipments, and forcible recruitment, including of children.
    There were regular reports that the LTTE expropriated food, fuel, 
and other items meant for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from both 
the conflict with the Government and the 2004 tsunami.
    During the year there were credible reports that the LTTE killed 
531 members of the police and military, more than 34 members of anti-
LTTE Tamil paramilitary groups such as the Eelam People's Democratic 
Party (EPDP), LTTE cadres loyal to the Karuna faction, alleged Tamil 
informants for the security forces, and civilians. The LTTE targeted 
both current and former members of anti-LTTE Tamil political parties. 
During the year 59 current and past anti-LTTE EPDP members were killed. 
Credible sources indicated that the LTTE killed 30 members of the 
breakaway military leader Karuna's group. There was also credible 
evidence that the LTTE killed 10 members of the military intelligence 
apparatus in a targeted campaign.
    In April and June separate suicide attacks severely wounded army 
commander General Sarath Fonseka and killed the third ranking officer 
in the army, General Kulatunga (see section 1.a).
    On April 22, six Sinhalese farmers in Kalyanapura were killed, 
allegedly by the LTTE. On May 27, three LTTE pressure mines killed 
seven local tourists, including novelist Nihal de Silva, in the 
Wilpattu National Park. On May 29, the LTTE allegedly killed 12 
Sinhalese civilians in Ominiyamandu, Valachchennai.
    On June 15, LTTE terrorists at Kongollawa, Anuradhapura district, 
carried out a claymore bomb attack in a bus carrying at least 150 
civilians, Killing 64 and injuring over 86.
    At year's end, no arrests had been made in the alleged LTTE 
killings in May 2005 of Major Nizam Muthalif, commanding officer of the 
First Intelligence Battalion, or the August 2005 assassination of 
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
    The LTTE used claymore bombs against police and military targets 
throughout the year, killing an average of five soldiers per week, 
according to military sources. In June suspected LTTE cadres detonated 
a claymore bomb against a civilian bus near Anuradhapura, killing 69 
civilians, one Home Guard soldier, and two security force personnel. No 
arrests were made in any of these attacks.
    Gunmen from Karuna's paramilitary group allegedly killed 16 LTTE 
cadres, including (alias) Ramanan (Deputy Military Commander for 
Batticaloa) and Akbar (Artillery Division Director). Karuna's group was 
believed also to have killed several hundred civilians, including the 
10 killings in conjunction with abductions (see section 2.a.). There 
were reports that the Government provided protection and military aid 
to Karuna and his cadres to assist them in their fight against LTTE 
cadre. The Government denied any connection to Karuna and his cadres.
    According to the CFA, the LTTE have no authority to use 
international waters. The LTTE says the waters off Mullaitivu, Northern 
Province, are in its territory; in the CFA, the territorial waters are 
not assigned to the LTTE. On December 23, LTTE cadres boarded and 
seized a Jordanian merchant vessel. The captain of the ship stated the 
LTTE held his crew by force until their release a few days later. At 
year's end, the ship was still aground on a sand bar outside 
Mullaitivu.
    Landmines were a serious problem in Jaffna and the Vanni region in 
the northern part of the country and, to some extent, in the east (see 
section 5). Landmines, booby traps, and unexploded ordnance posed a 
problem to resettlement of IDPs and rebuilding. The United Nations 
Development Program (UNDP) reported 16 mine-related deaths and nine 
mine-related injuries. Humanitarian demining operations in the north 
and east were suspended periodically due to increasing violence, 
although NGO and army demining resumed by the end of the year.
    The LTTE forcibly recruited 451 children during the year (see 
section 6.d.). However, the LTTE also released 80 children, at least 52 
of whom were again recruited. There were intermittent reports of 
children as young as eight years escaping from LTTE camps.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. Individuals could criticize the Government 
generally without fear of reprisal. The August 2005 Emergency 
regulations allow the Government to stop the publication, distribution, 
showing, performance or broadcast of any book, magazine, newspaper, 
poster, movie, play, song, radio or television program that it finds 
likely to cause public disorder; however, it did not enact any of these 
provisions during the year.
    According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on 
December 6, the Government enacted the Prevention and Prohibition of 
Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities Regulations. The 
regulations attempt to define terrorism and allow the Government to 
take any necessary actions to imprison suspected terrorists. As 
reported by CPJ, one journalist was detained under these provisions.
    Although the Government owned the country's largest newspaper 
chain, two major television stations, and a radio station, private 
owners operated a variety of independent, privately owned newspapers, 
journals, and radio and television stations. Several foreign media 
outlets operated in the country. Most independent media houses freely 
criticized the Government and its policies. The Government imposed no 
political restrictions on the establishment of new media enterprises.
    There were reports that journalists, especially those in the 
eastern part of the country, practiced self-censorship due to pressure 
from both the security forces and the LTTE. In September the Ministry 
of Defense announced it must clear all defense-related stories in the 
interest of national security.
    In Jaffna the security forces commander reportedly asked the staff 
of the Tamil newspaper group Uthayan Publications not to report on 
military operations on any basis other than information provided to 
them by the Government.
    On January 24, soon after he reported on the January 2 killing of 
five Tamil students in Trincomalee, unidentified gunmen killed Tamil 
journalist Subramaniyam Sugitharajah. He was a reporter for Tamil 
Language daily Sudar Oli (also under Uthayan Publications) and had 
published photographs of the head wounds of the dead students.
    On May 2, gunmen entered the offices of Uthayan newspaper, and 
opened fire on equipment and personnel. Two employees, Suresh Kumar and 
Ranjith Kumar, died in the shooting, and four employees sustained 
injuries.
    On May 31, an unknown assailant killed Aiyathurai Nadesan, an 
independent Tamil correspondent in Batticaloa. Independent Tamil and 
English media personnel reported incidences of intimidation by unknown 
actors.
    On July 1, unknown gunmen killed journalist Sampath Lakmal, the 
defense correspondent of the independent Sinhala newspaper Sathdina. He 
reported on crime and the conflict between the Government and the LTTE 
rebel group.
    On August 15, Sathasivam Baskaran, a driver attached to Uthayan, 
was shot and killed at the wheel of his delivery truck. On August 23, 
suspected government security forces set fire to the Uthayan office in 
Jaffna.
    On October 16, air force planes destroyed the broadcasting towers 
of the Voice of Tigers radio station in Killinochchi, injuring two 
workers in the attack.
    On October 23, suspected members of the Karuna group burned 10,000 
copies of the Tamil daily newspaper Virakesari.
    On November 24, police arrested Parameswaree Maunasami, a writer 
for the weekly newspaper Maybina. Colleagues believed she may have been 
arrested for her work covering the fighting between the military and 
the LTTE. She was reportedly held under anti- terrorism legislation 
that allowed for prolonged detention without charge.
    There were no developments on separate 2005 attacks on a TELO-
operated television retransmission station in Vavuniya district and the 
Colombo printing and advertising offices of the pro-LTTE newspaper 
Sudar Oli. There were also no developments in the June and September 
2005 killings of two news agents distributing the pro-LTTE newspaper 
Eelanatham in Batticaloa, allegedly by the Karuna Faction of the LTTE, 
or in the December 2004 attacks on the Tamil daily Thinakkural or the 
MTV/MBC transmitter.
    The LTTE tightly restricted the print and broadcast media in areas 
under its control. There were reports of LTTE intimidation of Colombo-
based Tamil journalists, and self-censorship was common for journalists 
covering LTTE-controlled areas.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. For 
example, Tamilnet, an LTTE Web site, is accessible throughout the 
country. There are also hate Web sites that call for the killing of 
``traitors to the Sinhala nation.''

    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; however, some restrictions 
existed. For example, the August 2005 Emergency regulations give the 
President the power to restrict meetings, assemblies and processions.
    The law states that rallies and demonstrations of a political 
nature cannot be held when a referendum is scheduled; however, the 
Government generally granted permits for demonstrations, including 
those by opposition parties and minority groups.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice; however, some restrictions existed, such as those under the 
Emergency regulations.
    The LTTE did not allow freedom of association in the areas it 
controlled and reportedly used coercion to make persons attend its 
rallies.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law accords Buddhism a foremost 
position, but it also provides for the right of members of other faiths 
to practice their religions freely, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice. There is no state religion; however, 
the majority of citizens were followers of Buddhism, and this at times 
adversely affected the religious freedom of others.
    Foreign clergy may work in the country, but the Government sought 
to limit the number of foreign religious workers that were given 
temporary work permits. Permission usually was restricted to 
denominations registered with the Government.
    While the courts generally upheld the right of Christian groups to 
worship and to construct facilities to house their congregations, a 
Supreme Court decision promulgated in 2003 ruled against recognizing a 
Roman Catholic group and determined that its medical services 
constituted ``allurement.'' At the same time, the Supreme Court ruled 
that although the constitution supports the right of individuals to 
practice any religion, it does not support the right to proselytize. 
Since late 2003, there have been approximately 250 attacks by unknown 
assailants on Christian churches and occasionally pastors and 
congregants. During the year there were sporadic attacks on Christian 
churches by Buddhist extremists and limited societal tension due to 
ongoing allegations of forced conversions and debate on anti-conversion 
legislation.
    In June rebels opened fire on Somawathi Shrine, located northeast 
of Colombo. The military accused the LTTE of shooting at the ancient 
Buddhist shrine to stir conflict between Tamils and Hindus, according 
to Worldwide Religious News.
    In June a Catholic Church in Mannar was attacked by navy grenades, 
killing five persons and injuring dozens. In a letter to the Vatican, 
the bishop subsequently stated that 200 Tamils had taken shelter in the 
church before the grenade explosion.
    In June 2005 villagers attacked an Assembly of God pastor in 
Ambalangoda in Galle District, his brother, and an associate pastor, 
all of whom required hospitalization. While police arrested six of the 
attackers, all were free on bail at year's end awaiting trial. The case 
remained pending at year's end.
    Most Muslims expelled by the LTTE since 1990 remained displaced. 
During the year the LTTE continued its intimidation and extortion of 
Muslims in the east.
    It appeared that attacks by the LTTE against Muslims were not 
religiously motivated but were instead part of an overall strategy to 
clear the north and east of persons not sympathetic to the cause of an 
independent Tamil state. The LTTE made some conciliatory statements to 
the Muslim community, but most Muslims viewed the statements with 
skepticism.

    Societal Abuse and Discrimination.--There were instances of 
societal violence and harassment against members of the Christian 
community. There were no reported cases of anti-Semitism against the 
Jewish community, which numbered less than 100.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law grants every citizen ``freedom 
of movement and of choosing his residence'' and ``freedom to return to 
the country,'' and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice; however, during the year it restricted the movement of 
Tamils. The war with the LTTE prompted the Government to impose more 
stringent checks on travelers from the north and the east and on 
movement in Colombo, particularly after dark. Tamils were required to 
present special passes for fishing and transiting through high security 
zones in the north and the east. While Tamils were no longer required 
to obtain police passes to move around the country, they were 
frequently harassed at checkpoints.
    On August 11, the Government closed entry points to the A-9 Kandy 
to Jaffna highway following the start of military engagement between 
government forces and the LTTE on the Jaffna peninsula. The road 
closure restricted the movement of passengers and supplies through the 
LTTE-controlled Vanni region,'' including LTTE headquarters in 
Killinochchi. Commercial flights were also suspended in August, and the 
LTTE refused to guarantee the safety of civilian flights or passenger 
and supply chains by sea operated by the ICRC or the Government.
    Limited access continued to certain areas near military bases and 
high security zones, defined as areas near military emplacements, 
camps, barracks, or checkpoints where civilians could not enter. 
Beginning in June the SLMM reported that monitors were restricted from 
accessing sites of reported CFA violations. High security zones 
extended up to a four-kilometer radius from the fences of most military 
camps. Some observers claimed the high security zones were excessive 
and unfairly affected Tamil agricultural lands, particularly in Jaffna. 
According to government officials, the zones displaced 109,815 persons, 
with an additional 46,716 displaced since fighting broke out in August 
and occupied over 60 square kilometers. In 2004 the Government lessened 
restrictions at one site in Chavakachcheri and allowed farmers and 
their families to return to their land; nevertheless, the general 
public was still denied access to this area and all other high security 
zone areas. In addition, citizens of Jaffna are required to obtain 
permission from the army's Civil Affairs unit in order to leave Jaffna. 
According to several sources, this waiting list was over five months 
long. Curfews imposed by the army from 8 p.m. to8 a.m. also restrict 
the movement of Jaffna's citizens.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the UNHCR, as of 
May, approximately 418,000 conflict IDPs had returned to their places 
of origin, leaving approximately 312,000 IDPs displaced by the 
conflict. There were 268 camps for those displaced by ethnic conflict, 
and during the year approximately 67,000 persons were in welfare 
centers, with approximately 246,000 staying with host families or 
relatives. According to various sources, approximately 50,000 IDPs, 
primarily Tamils, were unable to relocate as a result of the high 
security zones. The UNHCR found sexual abuse to be endemic in IDP camps 
and engaged in a number of initiatives with local and international 
NGOs to address the problem. According to the UNHCR, approximately 
16,000 Tamils fled to India during the year. The Government continued a 
program to relocate more than 200 landless IDP families to state lands 
in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi districts in the north. Most of the 46,000 
Muslims expelled in 1990 by the LTTE remained displaced and lived in or 
near welfare centers. Although some Muslim IDP families returned home, 
the majority did not move and awaited a guarantee from the Government 
for their safety in LTTE-controlled areas.
    The LTTE occasionally disrupted the flow of persons exiting the 
Vanni region through the two established checkpoints. The LTTE 
regularly taxed civilians traveling through areas it controlled.
    Fighting between the LTTE and government forces continued to 
threaten the safety of IDPs. In early September the Government closed 
down IDP camps, and turned off water supplies, forcibly returning IDPs 
from Kantale to Muttur. On November 8, artillery from the army hit an 
IDP camp in Kathiraweli in the Batticaloa district, killing 47 and 
injuring 136 persons.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 Convention 
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees; however, the Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting IDPs and refugees. The 
Government assisted in returning to their homes approximately 40,000 
civilians displaced in July and August by military engagement in 
Muttur. There were no reports of refoulement, the forced return of 
persons to a country where they feared persecution. According to UNHCR, 
over 16,000 citizens fled to India during the year.
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, free, and fair elections held on the basis of 
universal suffrage. However, recent elections were marred by violence 
and some irregularities.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The President, elected in 
November 2005 for a six-year term, holds executive power, while the 
225-member parliament, elected in April 2004, exercises legislative 
power.
    The EUEOM described the November 2005 Presidential election as 
generally satisfactory. The LTTE-enforced boycott of the polls and 
seven grenade attacks in the north and east marred the election, 
however, and allowed less than 1 percent of voters in the north to 
exercise their right to vote. Unlike previous years, there were no 
deaths or serious injuries on election day, although the inspector 
general of police refused to release any data on election violence. The 
EUEOM cited the occurrence of state media bias and misuse of public 
resources for campaigning.
    The EUEOM described the 2004 general election as having been 
conducted in a democratic matter, with the exception of irregularities 
in the north and east, where widespread voter impersonation and 
multiple voting occurred. Several sources cited the LTTE as responsible 
for the irregularities. The EUEOM reported that more than 2,000 
incidents of election violence, resulting in the deaths of five persons 
and the serious injuring of another 15. Voter turnout was 75 percent. 
Unlike in previous elections, the Government allowed persons living in 
LTTE-controlled areas to vote in cluster polling booths in government-
controlled areas.
    There were 11 women in the 225-member parliament, three women in 
the cabinet, and two women on the Supreme Court. There were 34 Tamils 
and 24 Muslims in the 225-member parliament. There was no provision for 
or allocation of a set number or percentage of political party 
positions for women or minorities.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was corruption in 
the executive and legislative branches. Transparency International (TI) 
identified nepotism and cronyism in the appointment of officials to 
government and state-owned institutions. The tendering and procurement 
process for government contracts was not transparent, leading to 
frequent allegations of corruption by the losing bidders. TI also noted 
that corruption was a problem in high value tender processes, including 
the establishment of business operations.
    The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption 
(CIABOC) received 3,212 complaints, of which 943 were under 
investigation at year's end. According to the Deputy Director General 
of the CIABOC, the trial was still in progress at year's end. The focus 
of the prosecution was the questionable acquisition of assets by former 
Deputy Defense Minister Ratwatte.
    There was no law providing for public access to government 
information.
Section 4. 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. Many domestic human 
rights NGOs, including the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies; Home 
for Human Rights; the University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna; the 
Civil Rights Movement; and the Law and Society Trust monitored civil 
and political liberties. The Government officially required NGOs to 
include action plans and detailed descriptions of funding sources as 
part of the initial registration process, and every five years 
thereafter. In August the Government required that NGOs working in the 
north and east register with the Ministry of Defense but did not 
enforce this requirement with all agencies. NGO workers viewed the 
renewal requirement as an attempt by the Government to exert greater 
control over the NGO sector after previous human rights groups' 
criticisms. Most NGOs complied with these reporting requirements. After 
August the Government did not renew work permits for international NGO 
staff working in LTTE-controlled areas.
    The Government continued to allow the ICRC unrestricted access to 
detention facilities (see sections 1.c. and 1.d.). The ICRC provided 
international humanitarian law training materials and training to the 
security forces. During the year the ICRC also delivered health 
education programs in LTTE-controlled areas in the north and east (see 
section 1.g.).
    By statute the SLHRC has wide powers and resources and may not be 
called as a witness in any court of law or be sued for matters relating 
to its official duties. However, according to many human rights 
organizations, the SLHRC often was not as effective as it should have 
been. The SLHRC did not have enough staff or resources to process its 
caseload of pending complaints, and it did not enjoy the full 
cooperation of the Government. The SLHRC had a tribunal-like approach 
to investigations and declined to undertake preliminary inquires in the 
manner of a criminal investigator.
    In June 2004 the SLHRC established a torture prevention monitoring 
unit to implement its zero-tolerance torture policy. HRC provided extra 
training for officers assigned to this unit and established a policy of 
quick investigation for torture complaints. To ensure its 
sustainability, HRC urged the treasury to cover costs of the monitoring 
unit. Like in previous years, HRC was not able to function without 
interruptions.
    In August Sweden, Finland, and Denmark announced their withdrawal 
from the SLMM in response to LTTE demands that European Union (EU) 
countries withdraw following the EU's designation of the LTTE as a 
terrorist organization. Subsequently, 37 monitors departed, leaving 
about 30 civilian monitors in the country.
    In July 2004 the LTTE set up the Northeast Secretariat of Human 
Rights (NESOHR). Since its inception, NESOHR received hundreds of 
complaints ranging from land disputes to child recruitment complaints. 
Some groups questioned NESOHR's credibility because of its close ties 
to the LTTE.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equal rights for all citizens, and the 
Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, there 
were instances where gender and ethnic based discrimination occurred.

    Women.--The law prohibits domestic violence, but it was not 
strictly enforced. Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse continued to 
be serious and pervasive problems. The law specifically addresses 
sexual abuse and exploitation and contains provisions in rape cases for 
an equitable burden of proof and stringent punishments. Marital rape is 
considered an offense only in cases of spouses living under judicial 
separation. While the law may ease some of the problems faced by 
victims of sexual assault, many women's organizations believed that 
greater sensitization of police and the judiciary was necessary. The 
Bureau for the Protection of Children and Women received 876 complaints 
of violent crimes against women in the first half of the year.
    At year's end a case continued against two policemen who in 2003 
attempted to rape Mrs. Selvarajan in Uyilankulam in Mannar district. 
The AG has not yet filed a charge sheet against the two, and as of 
year's end they were on active duty.
    According to the Bureau for the Protection of Children and Women, 
there were 481 reported incidents of rape. The bureau indicated that 11 
of the victims were below the age of 18. Services to assist victims of 
rape and domestic violence, such as crisis centers, legal aid, and 
counseling, were generally limited.
    Prostitution was illegal but occurred during the year. Some members 
of the police and security forces reportedly participated in or 
condoned prostitution. Trafficking in women for the purpose of forced 
labor occurred (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment is a criminal offense carrying a maximum sentence 
of five years in prison; however, these laws were not enforced.
    The law provides for equal employment opportunities in the public 
sector; however, women had no legal protection against discrimination 
in the private sector, where they sometimes were paid less than men for 
equal work. They often experienced difficulty in rising to supervisory 
positions, and faced sexual harassment. Even though women constituted 
approximately half of the formal workforce, according to the Asian 
Development Bank (ADB), the quality of employment available to women 
was less than that available to men, as the demand for female labor was 
mainly for casual and low-paid, low-skill jobs in the formal and 
informal sectors.
    Women have equal rights under national, civil, and criminal law; 
however, questions related to family law, including divorce, child 
custody, and inheritance, were adjudicated by the customary law of each 
ethnic or religious group. The minimum age of marriage for women is 18 
years, and there was no provision for marriage at an earlier age with 
parental consent except in the case of Muslims, who may follow their 
customary marriage practices and marry at the age of 15. Women were 
denied equal rights to land in government-assisted settlements, as the 
law does not institutionalize the rights of female heirs. Different 
religious and ethnic practices often resulted in uneven treatment of 
women, including discrimination.

    Children.--The law requires children between the ages of five and 
14 to attend school, and the Government demonstrated its commitment to 
children through extensive systems of public education and medical 
care. Approximately 85 percent of children under the age of 16 attended 
school. Education was free through the university level. Health care, 
including immunization, was also free.
    Many NGOs attributed the problem of exploitation of children to the 
lack of law enforcement rather than inadequate legislation. Many law 
enforcement resources were diverted to the conflict with the LTTE, 
although the police's Bureau for the Protection of Children and Women 
conducted investigations into crimes against children and women.
    Under the law the definition of child abuse includes all acts of 
sexual violence against, trafficking in, and cruelty to children. The 
law also prohibits the use of children in exploitative labor or illegal 
activities or in any act contrary to compulsory education regulations. 
It also broadens the definition of child abuse to include the 
involvement of children in war. The NCPA included representatives from 
the education, medical, police, and legal professions and reported 
directly to the President. During the year the Bureau for the 
Protection of Children and Women received 1,278 complaints of violent 
crimes against children.
    The Government pushed for greater international cooperation to 
bring those guilty of pedophilia to justice. The penalties for 
pedophilia range from five to 20 years' imprisonment and an unspecified 
fine. During the year the Government opened 1,692 files; of which 700 
indictments were served for pedophilia, including statutory rape; 134 
were discharged; and 992 concluded; 158 files were under further 
investigation and the remainder was pending at the end of the year.
    Following the 2004 tsunami, the NCPA launched a successful 
awareness campaign to protect orphaned or displaced children from 
pedophiles.
    Child prostitution was a problem in coastal resort areas. The 
Government estimated that there were more than 2,000 child prostitutes 
in the country, but private groups claimed that the number was as high 
as 6,000. Citizens committed much of the child sexual abuse in the form 
of child prostitution; however, some child prostitutes were boys who 
catered to foreign tourists. Some of these children were forced into 
prostitution (see section 5, Trafficking). The Department of Probation 
and Child Care Services provided protection to child victims of abuse 
and sexual exploitation and worked with local NGOs that provided 
shelter. The tourist bureau conducted awareness-raising programs for 
at-risk children in resort regions prone to sex tourism.
    The LTTE used child soldiers and recruited children, sometimes 
forcibly, for use in battlefield support functions and in combat. LTTE 
recruits, some as young as eight years of age, escaped LTTE camps and 
surrendered to the military or the SLMM. Credible reports indicated 
that in February the LTTE and Karuna faction increased recruiting 
efforts, particularly in the east (see section 1.g.). Credible sources 
reported that there were more than 450 cases of forcible child 
recruitment by the LTTE. The Karuna faction of the LTTE forcibly 
recruited an estimated 200 children. These sources also reported that 
more than 1,000 children remained in LTTE custody at year's end. 
Several sources reported that the LTTE continued to obstruct the 2003 
action plan between UNICEF and the LTTE on the demobilization and 
rehabilitation of child soldiers. Several sources reported that the 
LTTE used intimidation or bribes to facilitate recruitment. Some senior 
LTTE officials claimed that all child soldiers were volunteers.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons, 
and the legal penalties for trafficking in women include imprisonment 
for two to 20 years and a fine. For trafficking in children, the law 
allows imprisonment of five to 20 years and a fine. However, the 
country was a point of origin and destination for trafficked persons, 
primarily women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced 
labor and sexual exploitation. Some women were trafficked under the 
guise of legitimate employment to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the 
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar for the purpose of involuntary 
servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. A smaller number of Thai, 
Chinese, and Ethiopian women were trafficked to the country for 
commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children were trafficked 
internally for domestic and sexual servitude. Boys and girls were 
victims of commercial sexual exploitation by pedophiles in the sex 
tourism industry. Children were also trafficked as child soldiers in 
areas controlled by the LTTE.
    Internal trafficking in male children was also a problem, 
especially from areas bordering the northern and eastern provinces. 
Protecting Environment and Children Everywhere, a domestic NGO, 
estimated that 6,000 male children between the ages of eight and 15 
years were sexually exploited at beach and mountain resorts. Some of 
these children were forced into commercial sexual prostitution by their 
parents or by organized crime.
    The NCPA has adopted, with International Labor Organization (ILO) 
assistance, a comprehensive national plan to combat the trafficking of 
children for exploitative employment. With the NCPA, police began work 
on children's issues, including trafficking in children.
    The Government established rehabilitation camps for trafficking 
victims and initiated awareness campaigns to educate women about 
trafficking; however, most of the campaigns, with support from the 
Bureau of Foreign Employment, were conducted by local and international 
NGOs.
    Government programs to monitor immigration with computer programs 
designed to identify suspected traffickers or sex tourists continued, 
as did a cyber-watch project to monitor suspicious Internet chat rooms.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law forbids discrimination against 
any person on the grounds of disability; however, there were instances 
of discrimination against the disabled in the areas of employment, 
education, and provision of state services. The law does not mandate 
access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and such facilities 
were rare. The Department of Social Services operated eight vocational 
training schools for persons with physical and mental disabilities and 
sponsored a program of job training and placement for graduates. The 
Government also provided financial support to NGOs that assisted 
persons with disabilities. Such assistance included subsidizing 
prosthetic devices, making purchases from suppliers with disabilities, 
and registering 74 NGO-run schools and training institutions for 
persons with disabilities. The Department of Social Services selected 
job placement officers to help the estimated 200,000 work-eligible 
persons with disabilities find jobs. Despite these efforts, persons 
with disabilities faced difficulties because of negative attitudes and 
societal discrimination.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were approximately one 
million Tamils of Indian origin, the so-called Hill, Tea Estate, or 
Indian Tamils, whose ancestors originally were brought to the country 
in the 19th century to work on plantations. In the past approximately 
300,000 of these persons did not qualify for citizenship in any country 
and faced discrimination, especially in the allocation of government 
funds for education. In 2003 parliament passed a bill granting full 
citizenship to more than 460,000 tea estate Tamils. In August 2004 
UNHCR began awareness campaigns to alert Tamils to the new legislation 
and by the end of 2005 had registered approximately 276,000 persons. 
UNHCR confirmed registration for an additional 75,000 persons during 
the year. At year's end 117,000 registrations remained unconfirmed.
    Both local and Hill Tamils maintained that they suffered 
longstanding systematic discrimination in university education, 
government employment, and in other matters controlled by the 
Government. According to the SLHRC, Tamils also experienced 
discrimination in housing.

    Indigenous People.--The country's indigenous people, known as 
Veddas, numbered fewer than 1,000. Some preferred to maintain their 
traditional way of life and are protected by the law. There are no 
legal restrictions on their participation in the political or economic 
life of the nation. Some Veddas complained that they were being pushed 
off their land in protected forest areas.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law criminalizes 
homosexual activity between men and between women, but the law was not 
enforced. NGOs working on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 
issues did not register with the Government. As in recent years human 
rights organizations reported that police harassed, extorted money or 
sexual favors from, and assaulted gay men in Colombo and other areas.
    There was no official discrimination against those who provided HIV 
prevention services or against high-risk groups likely to spread HIV/
AIDS, although there was societal discrimination against these groups.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The Government respected the legal 
right of workers to establish unions, and the country has a strong 
trade union tradition. Any seven workers may form a union, adopt a 
charter, elect leaders, and publicize their views, but in practice such 
rights were subject to administrative delays. Nonetheless, 
approximately 20 percent of the seven-million-person work force 
nationwide and more than 70 percent of the plantation work force was 
unionized. In total, there were more than one million union members. 
Approximately 15 to 20 percent of the nonagricultural work force in the 
private sector was unionized. Unions represented most workers in large 
private firms, but workers in small-scale agriculture and small 
businesses usually did not belong to unions. Public sector employees 
were unionized at very high rates.
    Most large unions were affiliated with political parties and played 
a prominent role in the political process, although major unions in the 
public sector were politically independent. The Ministry of Employment 
and Labor is authorized by law to cancel the registration of any union 
that does not submit an annual report, the only grounds for the 
cancellation of registration.
    Employers found guilty of discrimination must reinstate workers 
fired for union activities but may transfer them to different 
locations. Anti-union discrimination is a punishable offense liable for 
a fine of $166 (20,000 SLR).

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to collective bargaining; however, very few 
companies practiced it. Approximately 50 companies belonging to the 
Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC), the leading employers' 
organization, had collective agreements. All collective agreements must 
be registered at the Department of Labor. Data on the number of 
registered collective agreements were not available. More than half of 
EFC's 435-strong membership was unionized.
    All workers, other than police, armed forces, prison service, and 
those in essential services, have the right to strike. By law, workers 
may lodge complaints with the commissioner of labor, a labor tribunal, 
or the Supreme Court to protect their rights. The President retains the 
power to designate any industry as an essential service.
    The law prohibits retribution against strikers in nonessential 
sectors; however, in practice employees were sometimes fired for 
striking.
    Under the law, workers in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) have 
the same rights to join unions as other workers. While the unionization 
rate in the rest of the country was approximately 20 percent, the rate 
within the EPZs was under 10 percent. Fewer than 10 unions were active 
in EPZs, partially because of severe restrictions on access by union 
organizers to the zones. Trade unions were formally recognized in eight 
out of approximately 200 factories in the EPZs. In a few other 
factories, management had begun discussions with the unions. There was 
only one operating collective agreement in the EPZs during the year. 
Labor representatives alleged that the Government's Board of Investment 
(BOI), which managed the EPZs, including setting wages and working 
conditions in the EPZs, discouraged union activity. The short-term 
nature of employment and the relatively young workforce in the EPZs 
made it difficult to organize.
    Labor representatives alleged that the labor commissioner, under 
BOI pressure, failed to prosecute employers who refused to recognize or 
enter into collective bargaining with trade unions.
    According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 
as in recent years, there were some violations of trade union rights in 
the EPZs. The non-recognition of trade unions became a contentious 
issue, in part because of obligations under various multilateral and 
bilateral trade agreements.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or bonded labor; however, there were reports that such practices 
occurred. The law does not prohibit forced or compulsory labor by 
children specifically, but government officials interpreted it as 
applying to persons of all ages (see section 6.d.). There were credible 
reports that some rural children were employed in debt bondage as 
domestic servants in urban households, and there were numerous reports 
that some of these children had been abused.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum age for employment is 14, although the law permits the 
employment of younger children by their parents or guardians in limited 
family agriculture work or to engage in technical training. An 
amendment to the Employment of Women and Youth Act prohibits all other 
forms of family employment of children below 14. A child activity 
survey, carried out in 1998 and 1999 by the Department of Census and 
Statistics, found almost 11,000 children between the ages of five and 
14 working full time and another 15,000 engaged in both economic 
activity and housekeeping. The survey found 450,000 children employed 
by their families in seasonal agricultural work throughout the country.
    Persons under age 18 may not be employed in any public enterprise 
in which life or limb is endangered. There were no reports that 
children were employed in the EPZs, the garment industry, or any other 
export industry, although children sometimes were employed during 
harvest periods in the plantation sectors and in non-plantation 
agriculture. Sources indicated many thousands of children were employed 
in domestic service, although this situation was not regulated or 
documented. Many child domestics reportedly were subjected to physical, 
sexual, and emotional abuse. Regular employment of children also 
occurred in family enterprises such as family farms, crafts, small 
trade establishments, restaurants, and repair shops. In 2003 a rapid 
assessment survey sponsored by the International Labor Organization/
International Program for Elimination of Child Labor on domestic child 
labor in five districts found child domestic workers (under 18 years) 
in roughly 2 percent of households, but the prevalence of child 
domestics was much larger.
    The NCPA is the central agency for coordinating and monitoring 
action on the protection of children. The Department of Labor, the 
Department of Probation and Child Care Services, and the police are 
responsible for the enforcement of child labor laws. The Bureau of 
Child Protection reported 18 complaints of child employment during the 
year, out of which litigation charges were filed for one case. 
Penalties for employing minors were increased from approximately $9 
(rupees 1,000) and/or 6 months' imprisonment to $93 (rupees 10,000) 
and/or 12 months' imprisonment.
    Although the law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by persons of 
any age, some rural children reportedly served in debt bondage (see 
sections 5 and 6.c.).
    The LTTE used children as young as age 13 years in battle, and 
children as young as eight often were recruited forcibly (see section 
5).
    A UNICEF-supported action plan sought to restore normalcy to former 
LTTE child soldiers through release and reintegration. Under this 
program UNICEF supported the establishment of a transit center in 
Kilinochchi for child recruits released by the LTTE.
    As required by ILO Convention 182, the Government identified a list 
of 50 occupations considered to be the worst forms of child labor (for 
children under 18 years). Laws proscribing these worst forms of child 
labor have not been formulated.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--While there is no national 
minimum wage, 38 wage boards established by the Ministry of Labor set 
minimum wages and working conditions by sector and industry. These 
minimum wages did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker 
and family.
    The law prohibits most full-time workers from regularly working 
more than 45 hours per week (a 5-day workweek). Regulations limited the 
maximum overtime hours to 15 per week. Several laws protect the safety 
and health of industrial workers, but the Ministry of Labor's small 
staff of inspectors was inadequate to enforce compliance. Health and 
safety regulations do not meet international standards. Workers have 
the statutory right to remove themselves from dangerous situations, but 
many workers were unaware or indifferent to such rights and feared that 
they would lose their jobs if they removed themselves from the work 
situation.

                               __________

                               TAJIKISTAN

    Tajikistan, with a population of approximately 7.3 million, is an 
authoritarian state; political life is dominated by President Emomali 
Rahmonov and an inner circle of loyal supporters. While the country has 
a constitution and a multiparty political system, in practice 
democratic progress was slow and political pluralism limited. The 
November Presidential election lacked genuine competition and did not 
fully test democratic practices or meet international standards, 
although there were some improvements on voting procedures. The 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the 
security forces.
    The Government's human rights record remained poor and corruption 
continued to hamper democratic and social reform. The following human 
rights problems were reported: restricted right of citizens to change 
their government; torture and abuse of detainees and other persons by 
security forces; threats, extortion, and abuse by security forces; 
impunity of security forces; lengthy pretrial detention; lack of access 
to prisoners by family members and lawyers; confessions obtained by 
torture accepted as evidence in trials; harsh and life-threatening 
prison conditions; restricted international monitor access to prisons; 
extralegal extradition of prisoners from third countries with apparent 
government complicity; restricted freedom of speech and the press; 
restricted freedom of association; restrictions on freedom of religion, 
primarily for women; registration denial of opposition political 
parties; imprisonment of political opposition, including journalists; 
harassment of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); 
difficulties with registration and visas; violence and discrimination 
against women; trafficking in persons; child labor and forced labor.
    The Government made significant efforts in combating trafficking in 
persons by working to repatriate victims to the country, and it 
reported a dramatic increase in the number of trafficking convictions. 
The Government permitted registration and licensing of some independent 
media, an improvement over last year.
                        respect for human rights
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.
    Land mine deaths occurred on the border with Uzbekistan and 
Afghanistan; there were a reported five deaths and 12 wounded, 
including both civilians and border guards. The Government continued to 
work with international organizations to remove land mines along the 
border to prevent deaths and casualties.
    Several clashes between Tajik border guards and drug traffickers on 
the border with Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of two border 
guards. In November border guards accidentally shot and killed an Uzbek 
border guard.

    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, government 
security officials reportedly employed them.
    Torture and abuse occurred during the year. Security officials, 
particularly from the Ministry of Interior (MOI), continued to use 
systematic beatings, sexual abuse, and electric shock to extort 
confessions during interrogations. Several alleged members of Hizb Ut-
Tahrir (HT), an extremist Islamist political organization, and members 
of their families claimed they were tortured and beaten while in police 
custody (see sections 1.d. and 2.b.).
    In May police arrested Sadullo Marupov, a member of the Islamic 
Renaisssance Party (IRPT), on two separate occasions in the Sughd 
region. Marupov's relatives and fellow IRPT members alleged he was 
tortured while detained and subjected to electric shocks. By official 
government accounts, Marupov subsequently committed suicide while in 
custody. During a government investigation of the alleged police abuse, 
three prison guards under suspicion of involvement were released from 
their jobs. One guard remained under investigation at year's end.
    There was no official investigation into the 2005 beating and 
electric shocks police allegedly administered to Yoribek Ibrohimov 
``Shaykh'' and Muhammadruzi Iskandarov while they were in custody.
    Beatings and mistreatment were also common in pretrial detention 
facilities, and the Government took some action against those 
responsible for the abuses (see section 1.d.).
    Citizens in the southern regions of the country complained of 
harassment and abuse committed by border guards involved in drug 
trafficking.
    During the year media reported that the main military prosecutor 
admitted there were 27 cases of brutal hazing of new soldier recruits 
between January and September. This was a decrease of 10 cases from the 
previous year.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and life threatening. Prisons were generally overcrowded and 
unsanitary. In March Minister of Justice Khalifabobo Homidov 
acknowledged that bad conditions existed in prisons, which in some 
incidents led to deaths among inmates. Disease, particularly the spread 
of tuberculosis, and hunger were serious problems. There were reports 
that up to 73 prisoners died of tuberculosis; 957 prisoners had 
tuberculosis and 87 had HIV. With the help of international 
organizations, the Government improved conditions in the women's 
penitentiary.
    On May 4, Sadullo Marupov died by falling from the third story of a 
police station in Isfara while in police detention. Authorities 
subsequently took three police officers into custody in connection with 
the death, although the Government later claimed the incident was a 
suicide. Three MOI investigators involved in Marupov's arrest were 
dismissed from their positions, and a criminal case against another 
investigator was ongoing at year's end.
    A separate prison held only former members of so-called ``power 
ministries,'' such as the police, intelligence and security officers, 
and the military. Conditions in such prisons were better than in normal 
prisons. The Drug Control Agency's prison facility for criminals 
convicted of drug related crimes was also reportedly better than normal 
facilities.
    In August a court convicted 12 prisoners of inciting the August 
2005 riots at Qurghon-Teppa prison in response to Izzatullo Sharipov's 
appointment to be deputy minister of justice in charge of the 
penitentiary system; Sharipov reportedly had a reputation for cruelty 
and corruption. The court sentenced prisoners to as much as 29 year's 
additional imprisonment. Four prison officials involved in the riots 
also received shorter sentences.
    The Government denied the International Committee for the Red Cross 
free and unhindered access to prisons controlled by the Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ), including pretrial detention centers. As in the previous 
year, the ICRC continued to negotiate with the MOJ to regain free and 
unhindered access to all prisons. The MOJ granted some foreign 
diplomatic missions limited access to prisons and detention facilities, 
including the Drug Control Agency's prison. The MOJ granted a select 
group of local NGOs limited access to facilities in order to implement 
their assistance programs.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law allows for lengthy 
pretrial detention, there were few checks on the power of prosecutors 
and police to make arrests, and arbitrary arrest and detention remained 
serious problems.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministries of 
Interior, Security, Defense, Emergency Situations, National Guard, the 
Drug Control Agency, and the State Committee for Border Protection 
shared responsibility for internal security. The MOI is responsible 
primarily for public order and controls the police force, the Ministry 
of Security (MOS) has responsibility for intelligence, and the Ministry 
of Defense (MOD) is responsible for military security. Officially the 
MOD is responsible for external security; however, it can be employed 
in serious domestic conflicts. The Ministry of Emergency Situations 
responds to internal problems including natural disasters. The National 
Guard is also involved in internal security, but its primary function 
is to protect Presidential sites and confront internal threats; it 
answers directly to the President. The Drug Control Agency is 
responsible for investigating and interdicting narcotics and other 
illicit contraband. The State Committee for Border Protection maintains 
the border area and is responsible for protecting the country from 
external threats crossing the border. The police and security forces in 
general were not effective at responding to individual incidents of 
crime, although the State Committee on Border Protection and the Drug 
Control Agency improved their effectiveness at drug interdictions and 
seizures.
    Impunity remained a serious problem, and officers who committed 
abuses were rarely prosecuted. Officers often bribed their commanders 
for promotion. Traffic police frequently stopped cars, unofficially 
fined the drivers for traffic violations, and pocketed the fines. The 
Government acknowledged that police, army, and security forces were 
corrupt and that most abused citizens remained silent rather than risk 
retaliation by authorities. However, some abuses were brought to light 
and prosecuted. During the year 89 MOI officials were arrested for 
corruption or abuse of power. Three officers in a regional police 
department were also convicted for mistreatment of suspects and 
received sentences of between five and five and a half years 
imprisonment (see section 1.c.). Victims of police abuse may submit a 
formal complaint in writing to the officer's superior. Victims who 
bring their cases to the media have greater success of seeking justice 
than those who do not.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police may detain persons without a warrant 
for up to 72 hours; prosecutors are empowered to detain persons for 10 
days, after which charges must be filed. This process was generally 
followed in practice. Detainees are given access to an attorney of 
their choice. In principle the Government provides state-appointed 
attorneys to indigent detainees; however, government-appointed 
attorneys generally serve the interests of the Government. In practice 
attorneys were not always provided due to a limited state budget. By 
law if a detainee is disabled, a juvenile, a high profile figure or 
accused of a grave crime, or facing the death penalty, the Government 
must provide an attorney, and this requirement was generally followed 
in practice. If a detained person does not demand access to an 
attorney, government officials often overlook this right. There is no 
requirement for judicial approval or a preliminary judicial hearing on 
the charge or detention. There is no bail system, although criminal 
case detainees may be conditionally released and restricted to their 
place of residence pending trial; those on conditional release sign a 
``promise letter'' that they will not leave an area around their 
residence. According to the law, family members are allowed access to 
prisoners only after indictment; officials occasionally denied 
attorneys and family member's access to detainees. Many detainees were 
held incommunicado for long periods of time and remained in police 
custody without being formally charged.
    In some cases security officers, principally from the MOI and the 
MOS, did not obtain arrest warrants and did not bring charges within 
the time specified by the law. Persons released from detention often 
claimed they were mistreated, beaten, and tortured (see section 1.c.).
    The Government always provided a reason for arresting people, 
although in some cases authorities falsified reasons for arrest or 
inflated minor problems to make politically motivated arrests. Police 
authorities occasionally arrested innocent people, accused them of 
committing crimes the police were attempting to solve, and subsequently 
framed them in order to falsely report resolution of the case.
    According to the General Prosecutor's Office, during the year 61 
members of HT were arrested. An unknown number were sentenced in 
connection with crimes related to their membership in the banned 
extremist political organization (see sections 1.c. and 2.b.).
    A person may be detained for two months after an investigation 
begins. The prosecutor may petition to detain the suspect for up to 15 
months before his case reaches the court system. Once an investigation 
is completed, the person may be detained for an additional month. 
Following indictment, the law allows for pretrial detention of up to 15 
months. The first three months of detention are at the discretion of a 
local prosecutor; the next three months must be approved at the 
regional level. The prosecutor general must approve longer periods of 
detention, and the Government generally followed this in practice. 
Pretrial detention was a problem, the Government did not always follow 
pretrial procedures in practice, especially if detainees were unaware 
of their rights.
    International and local sources estimated that approximately 300 
former opposition fighters of the United Tajik Opposition remained in 
prison after the civil war despite two general amnesties in 1998 and a 
review of cases in 2004. Most fighters were determined to be 
appropriately jailed for grave crimes, while others were released.
    On August 17, the parliament passed a law granting amnesty to 3,960 
prisoners. By year's end 2,457 prisoners had been granted reduced 
prison terms.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, in practice the executive branch and criminal 
networks exerted pressure on courts and judges, and corruption and 
inefficiency were problems.
    The President is empowered to appoint and dismiss judges and 
prosecutors with the consent of parliament. Judges at the local, 
regional, and national level were generally poorly trained and had 
extremely limited access to legal reference materials and other 
resources. Low wages for judges and prosecutors left them vulnerable to 
bribery, which remained a common practice. Judges were commonly subject 
to political influence. In 2005 the UN Special Rapporteur on the 
Independence of Judges and Lawyers noted in its mission report the 
increased roles and powers of prosecutors threatened the separation of 
power. The Special Rapporteur's report also concluded that judges are 
not independent, and are subject to corruption and influence by the 
executive branch.
    The judicial system is composed of city, district, regional, and 
national courts, and there are parallel economic and military court 
systems. Higher courts serve as appellate courts for lower ones. There 
also is a constitutional court that reviews citizens' claims of 
constitutional violations.
    As in the previous year, the Government took steps to improve the 
overall situation and address problems of judicial integrity by holding 
judges accountable and arresting some of the most corrupt judges and 
prosecutors. During the year two judges and three justice system 
employees were arrested for corruption.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public and juries are used, except in 
cases involving national security or the protection of minors. While 
the law stipulates that a case must be brought before a judge within 28 
days after it is entered for trial, most cases were delayed for months 
(see section 1.d.). Under the law courts appoint attorneys at public 
expense; however, in practice arrested persons often were denied timely 
access to an attorney, and some cases were not allowed access to any 
legal counsel.
    Prosecutors are responsible for conducting all investigations of 
alleged criminal conduct. Prosecutors also have the right to initiate 
cases. According to the law both defendants and attorneys have the 
right to review all government evidence, to confront witnesses, and to 
present evidence and testimony. No groups are barred from testifying, 
and, in principle, all testimony is given equal consideration.
    MOJ officials maintained that defendants benefit from the 
presumption of innocence, despite an unmodified Soviet-era statute that 
presumes guilt rather than innocence. In practice an indictment implied 
that the Government was convinced of a suspect's guilt, and government 
officials routinely made public pretrial statements proclaiming a 
suspect's guilt. The law provides for the right to appeal. Media 
reports stated that over half of cases were appealed, and 10 to 15 
percent were successful--an increase over previous years. The law 
extends the rights of defendants in trial procedures to all citizens.
    ``Supervisory powers'' provided for by law allow authorities to 
reopen and re-examine court cases, indefinitely in criminal cases, 
after the appeal period has expired; re-examinations are conducted by 
the court presidium. The general prosecutor and deputies are included 
among those who can protest a court decision under supervisory powers, 
thereby annulling the effect of the decision and forcing it to be re-
examined by the presidium or at a higher court level. The General 
Prosecutor's Office has used such powers, as in the unsuccessful 2005 
attempt to annul the supreme court's release of journalist Jum'aboy 
Tolibov.
    Prosecutors are legally allowed to intervene in cases between 
private parties that do not involve the Government, and the Office of 
the General Prosecutor has a department that supervises the court 
system to ensure cases are correctly decided. There were no reported 
incidents of prosecutors exercising this right to intervene in purely 
private cases.
    Courts routinely used confessions obtained through torture and 
beatings (see section 1.c.).
    In rare instances military courts try civilians, who have the same 
rights as defendants in civilian courts, but there were no reports of 
such cases during the year. A military judge and two officers drawn 
from the service ranks hear such cases.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Authorities officially stated 
there were no political prisoners. During the year authorities made 
politically motivated arrests, although there was no reliable estimate 
of the number of political detainees. There were reports that the 
Government illegally detained other members of rival political 
factions.
    Many of those arrested are charged with hooliganism or other 
unrelated crimes.
    Some political detainees alleged torture and abuse during 
imprisonment and some political detainees were kept in a separate 
facility and not granted visiting access afforded to other prisoners.
    On February 21, Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT) member 
Fayzinoso Vohidova was released from prison after being charged in 2005 
with forgery and tax evasion. The ruling against Vohidova prohibited 
her from occupying official positions or leadership roles for two 
years. Vohidova maintained her innocence and believed the charges 
against her were politically motivated. During the year Vohidova 
attempted to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, but her application 
was rejected.
    In May the General Prosecutor's Office repeatedly questioned 
Rahmatullo Zoyirov, Chairman of the SDPT, following his assertion that 
the Government detained up to 1,000 political prisoners. The office 
accused him of HT membership but later informed Zoyirov the office 
would not press charges. Zoyirov later suffered from health problems 
and claimed to have been poisoned.
    IRPT member, Sadullo Marupov, was arrested in the Sughd region in 
May for alleged membership in an extremist group (see section 1.c.).
    On August 11, former Drug Control Agency chairman General Ghaffor 
Mirzoyev was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges including 
murder, illegal use of bodyguards, possession of arms, and 
privatization of government property and other illegal economic 
activities; observers believed the charges to have a political element, 
but most recognized Mirzoyev as a corrupt official with alleged 
narcotics connections. Fifteen of his supporters were also imprisoned. 
During the year Mirzoyev petitioned to appeal his conviction, but the 
courts rejected his application.
    Muhammadruzi Iskandarov, head of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan 
and former chairman of Tojikgaz, the country's state-run gas monopoly, 
remained in detention following his April 2005 kidnapping and return to 
the country from Moscow by unknown forces. In October 2005 the Supreme 
Court sentenced Iskandarov to 23 years in prison as well as other 
penalties, including restitution of $434,782 (1.5 million somoni) 
allegedly embezzled from Tojikgaz. While most observers believed 
allegations of corruption and embezzlement were well-founded, local 
observers, human rights activists, and the political opposition charged 
that Iskandarov's arrest, trial, and verdict were politically motivated 
to intimidate future political challengers. Although Iskandarov was 
convicted, he remained in a pretrial detention facility at year's end.
    Former interior minister Yakub Salimov remained in prison serving a 
15-year sentence for crimes against the state and high treason 
following his April 2005 closed trial.
    IRPT member Saifiddin Fayzov, arrested and sentenced to four years 
in jail in November 2005 for allegedly being ``rough'' towards an 
election official following the parliamentary elections, remained in 
jail after an unsuccessful IRPT appeal.
    Rustam Fayziev, deputy chairman of the unregistered Party of 
Progress, was serving a five-year sentence in jail for insulting and 
defaming President Rahmonov in a 2005 letter. Mukhtor Boqizoda, editor 
in chief of the independent newspaper Nerui Sukhan, was serving a two-
year sentence for stealing electricity. Nizomiddin Begmatov, Chairman 
of the SDPT in Rasulov District, and Nasim Shukurov, member of the 
presidium of the SDPT in the same district, were released in January 
and February, respectively.
    Yoribek Ibrohimov ``Shaykh'' remained imprisoned serving a 24-year 
sentence for attacking a government office. Ibrohimov maintained his 
innocence and alleged that authorities tortured and beat him, resulting 
in a broken leg (see section 1.c.).
    IRPT officials Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov and Qosim Rakhimov, both 
sentenced in 2004, remained in prison. The IRPT alleged that their 
convictions were politically motivated to discredit the party and not 
an abuse of religious freedom.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the constitution 
provides for it, the judiciary is not independent or impartial in civil 
matters. There is no court system to bring lawsuits seeking damages 
for, or cessation of human rights violations and no administrative 
remedies.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, although police forces 
committed some violations in practice.
    Under the law police cannot enter and search a private home without 
the approval of a prosecutor, except in special circumstances in which 
a delay would impair national security. If police search a home without 
prior approval, they must inform a prosecutor within 24 hours. In 
practice police frequently ignored these laws and infringed on 
citizens' right to privacy. There is no independent judicial review of 
police searches conducted without permission.
    The law prohibits the Government from monitoring private 
communications; however, it is believed that they do so in certain 
cases.
    Family members of alleged HT members claimed that they were 
mistreated and beaten while in police custody (see sections 1.c., 1.d., 
and 2.b.).
    Police and Interior Ministry officials often harassed the families 
of suspects in pretrial detention or threatened to do so to elicit 
confessions (see section 1.c.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press; however, in practice the Government restricted 
these rights.
    On occasion individuals who disagreed with government policies were 
subjected to intimidation and discouraged from speaking freely or 
critically. Government interference was particularly acute surrounding 
the November Presidential election.
    Of the 61 HT members detained during the year, the majority faced 
charges of publicly calling for the overthrow of the constitution and 
the dissemination of subversive literature.
    The independent media were active but subjected to different means 
of government control and intimidation; some exerted self-censorship 
out of fear of government reprisal. As in previous years, the 
Government maintained control over the media. According to 
international observers and media monitoring groups, the pattern was 
part of the Government's effort to consolidate power and influence in 
advance of the November Presidential elections.
    There were numerous print media outlets, private television, and 
radio stations, as well as six government television stations. Of the 
25 private television stations, only a handful were genuinely 
independent, and not all of them operated without official 
interference. During the year the MOJ registered two new newspapers 
publishing political material, Fakti I Kommentari and Sobitiye. Six new 
publications were registered in total; the other two focused on 
entertainment or other nonpolitical topics. The Government also 
permitted an opposition newspaper, published by the Democratic Party of 
Tajikistan, to print for a limited time. Newspapers can be freely 
printed and distributed without government registration as long as the 
number of copies does not exceed 99. Some newspapers abided by that 
rule in order to avoid registration. In August the Government 
registered three television stations and five radio companies as 
official organizations; only the three television stations and one 
radio station received licenses to operate. Broadcasting entities 
require registration and a license in order to apply for frequency 
operation and before the entity can truly be on the air. The majority 
of international media were allowed to operate freely, including 
rebroadcasts of Russian television and radio programs.
    During the year the BBC was denied a renewal of its license to 
broadcast on FM radio; it remained operational on a middle frequency 
wavelength with limited broadcasting ability. Observers generally 
attributed the delay in issuance of registration and license to the 
Government's efforts to keep tight control on media prior to the 
November election. The Government claimed that the BBC had not properly 
registered and that an intergovernmental agreement on television 
broadcasting was required. At year's end the BBC was not broadcasting 
on FM frequency.
    From April to July, the Government temporarily suspended the Union 
of Journalists. The suspension was a move to oust the corrupt former 
chairman. A new chairman was appointed and the Union of Journalists 
continued to operate at year's end. The union is perceived as being 
largely government influenced.
    In July three leading media associations collaborated to form a new 
coalition, Partnership for Democracy, to address misunderstandings 
among journalistic bodies and foster improved relations between mass 
media and the Government. Partnership for Democracy consisted of the 
National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan (NAMSIT), 
the Tajik Association of Independent Electronic Media, and the Media 
Alliance of Tajikistan. All three organizations continued to operate as 
individual entities as well.
    International NGO Internews continued to experience registration 
and licensing problems that prevented the launch of six new community 
radio stations under its auspices (see section 4).
    The Government subsidized a large majority of state-sanctioned 
publications and broadcast productions. Some of the independent 
stations had their own studio facilities and broadcast equipment, but 
most depended on government-owned transmission equipment to broadcast 
their programs; the Government did not interfere with their broadcasts.
    Independent radio and television stations continued to experience 
administrative harassment and bureaucratic delays. Individual 
journalists were also subjected to harassment and intimidation on 
occasion, sometimes perpetrated by government authorities. Unlike the 
previous year, there were no instances of violence against journalists 
by unidentified persons.
    Mukhtor Boqizoda, editor in chief of independent newspaper Nerui 
Sukhan, was sentenced in 2005 to two years' labor for the illegal use 
of electricity (for use for his foundation's printing house); such 
offenses ordinarily receive an administrative fine. Boqizoda's 
newspaper was known for criticizing government policy and the 
President. In January the Supreme Court ordered the Dushanbe City court 
to reverse the verdict and issue a penalty of a fine instead of two 
year's labor, and he was released. However, Nerui Sukhan was not 
published during the year. There was no progress in the case of Rajabi 
Mirzo, the editor in chief of Ruzi Nav, who was beaten in 2004 by 
unknown assailants near his home in Dushanbe.
    In September police detained two journalists for filming students 
picking cotton in Qorghan-Teppa, a violation of labor laws. Authorities 
released the journalists and warned them not to publish material that 
may destabilize the country.
    Other common types of harassment included trials to intimidate 
other journalists, warnings made by telephone and in person at a 
prosecutor's office or during visits to editorial offices, selective 
tax inspections, and close scrutiny of relatively independent 
publications and television and radio stations, such as by counting the 
number of copies compared to the declared circulation to make sure 
publications do not exceed the permitted number. Although this practice 
was mainly a tax issue, it was also used for political harassment.
    The Government controlled most printing presses, the supply of 
newsprint, and broadcasting transmission facilities. In January 2005 
the Government closed the private printing house Kayhon, the publisher 
of independent newspaper Nerui Sukhan, which was among four popular 
independent newspapers (including, Ruzi Nav and Odamu Olam) that 
remained unpublished in 2005 because state and private printing houses 
refused to print them. Odamu Olam and Nerui Sukhan did not print during 
the year. Other independent newspapers faced similar difficulties. In 
September Shafohi, a new press operated by the owners of Kayhon, began 
printing Adolat, the newspaper belonging to Iskandarov's faction of the 
Democratic Party of Tajikistan. However, in November the Government 
pressured Shafohi to stop printing Adolat. At approximately the same 
time, the new faction of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan began 
printing its own paper, also called Adolat, which was allowed to print 
unhindered.
    The Government also restricted broadcast licenses. To obtain a 
broadcast license, individuals must apply to the Ministry of 
Communications and the State Television and Radio Committee. The 
Government continued the revision of broadcast licensing regulations 
with public debate and input by journalists, but the process was 
lengthy and licensing of new broadcast outlets generally remained 
suspended. The Government granted three broadcast licenses, one for the 
state-controlled Bahoriston and two for nongovernmental television 
stations.
    Journalists reported that government officials limited their access 
to information or provided advice on what news should not be covered. 
Editors and reporters frequently exercised self-censorship to avoid 
problems with the authorities, including reprisals, and fearing 
violence such as that committed against journalists during the civil 
war. NANMSIT annual reports articulated the primary problem facing 
media to be correspondents' limited access to information. In response 
the Government mandated regular press conferences by ministries in 
which generally laudatory reports were presented and hard questions 
ignored.
    Under the law a person can be imprisoned for up to five years for 
insulting the President. In 2005 Rustam Fayziev received this sentence 
for insulting the President (see section 1.e.).
    Latif Vakhob, deputy director of Nerui Sukhan, completed his 2005 
sentence of one-year forced labor and a fine for a 2004 article 
accusing a professor of bribery; this was seen as a comparatively 
excessive penalty for libel.
    Opposition politicians had very limited access to state-run 
television. The Government allowed opposition leaders limited airtime 
during the Presidential election campaign in October and November. The 
August Presidential election decrees permitted candidates limited free 
airtime on state-operated television. The incumbent President received 
more airtime on state media than the opposition candidates.

    Internet Freedom.--On September 7, the Communications Ministry 
ordered Internet providers to block access to Web sites that 
``undermined the state's policies,'' including at least five sites that 
frequently criticized the Government: centralasia.ru, ferghana.ru, 
tajikistantimes.ru, charogiruz.ru, and arianastorm.com. Some service 
providers did not initially comply with the request. On October 11, the 
Government reversed its decision after many complaints, but four sites 
remained blocked 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 law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the 
Government at times restricted this right in practice.
    A permit from a local executive committee is required to organize 
any public assembly or demonstration; only registered organizations may 
apply for permits. Fear of reprisal was so widespread that unapproved 
public protests or political demonstrations were rare; the public was 
also wary of any action that could precipitate a return to the civil 
war violence of the 1990s. In general the Government refused to grant 
demonstration permits in fear that large gatherings of people would 
lead to violence and political upheaval.
    In August the IRPT applied for a permit to organize a rally 
protesting Israel's actions in Lebanon. The Government denied its 
application. No public demonstrations were permitted during the year.
    On November 4 the authorities arrested four members of the 
Iskandarov-led faction of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, including 
Rajabi Mirzo (see section 2.a.) for protesting in front of the MOJ. On 
November 19, members were released after 15 day's imprisonment.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government sometimes restricted this right in 
practice. All NGOs must register with the MOJ. International NGOs, 
particularly ones supported by Western donors and involved in 
democracy-building activities, faced registration problems from the 
Government (see section 4). Officials cited technical application and 
legal problems, which delayed the process.
    As in the previous year, the Government increased its monitoring of 
the activities of religious institutions, as well as groups, to prevent 
them from becoming overtly political. Authorities arrested some 
individuals, such as members of the banned extremist HT organization, 
and sentenced them to long prison terms for subversion and other 
crimes. Others remained in detention awaiting trial or sentencing (see 
sections 1.c. and 1.d.).
    In 2004, the Government's concern about Islamic fundamentalism 
among the country's Muslim population prompted it to ban HT for alleged 
links with terrorist organizations. The group promoted hate and praised 
acts of terrorism, although it maintained it was committed to 
nonviolence. HT's anti-Semitic and anti-Western literature called for 
the overthrow of secular governments, including those in Central Asia, 
to be replaced with a worldwide Islamic government called the 
Caliphate.
    According to the Prosecutor General's Office, during the year the 
Government filed 60 criminal proceedings against 61 HT activists. All 
61 were convicted on charges of active membership in the organization, 
failure to report criminal activity, distribution of extremist 
literature, inciting religious hatred, and seeking to disrupt 
constitutional order; they were sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.
    The Government continued to refuse to register political parties 
and associations that it considered opposition groups.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion; 
however, the Government imposed some restrictions.
    The country is a secular state, and the Government did not 
explicitly ban, prohibit, or discourage specific religions from 
practicing their beliefs. Islam is the majority religion, and the 
Government promoted respect for traditional Islam; however, it viewed 
extremist Islamist groups as a threat to national security (see section 
2.b.). The law requires all religious communities to be registered by 
the State Committee on Religious Affairs (SCRA). The Government 
maintained that registration helped to ensure that religious groups 
acted in accordance with the law; in practice the provision was 
sometimes used to control political and religious activities.
    The SCRA sometimes put up bureaucratic and technical hurdles to 
impede registration of new religious organizations. Many mosques and 
organized groups remained unregistered. The SCRA organized regular 
annual training courses for imams and other mosque employees. Local 
observers reported the Government used the exercise as a means to 
improve the knowledge of the imams by teaching them the Government's 
perceptions about various sects and new developments in Islam as well 
as the dangers of HT.
    During the year 16 new large ``Friday praying'' mosques and 16 
regular daily praying mosques were registered.
    The Government in Tursunzoda would not register the local chapter 
of Jehovah's Witnesses, although the national charter was approved and 
the group was registered. During the year the militia confiscated 
religious literature imported by Jehovah's Witnesses. The militia 
released the material after detaining nine members and questioning them 
for three hours.
    In April 2005 the SCRA banned activity of the Son Min Church in the 
Sughd Region for violations of their charter. Son Min revised its 
charter and functioned without interference.
    Missionaries of registered religious groups were not legally 
restricted and proselytized openly. However, the Government's fear of 
Islamic extremism prompted it to restrict visas for Muslim 
missionaries. Local communities did not always welcome missionaries and 
harassed some religious groups in response to evangelical activities. 
In response to public complaints regarding missionaries, the Government 
issued warnings and questioned groups that proselytized. Local Islamic 
missionaries proselytizing in Kulob were detained briefly by police.
    The Council of Ulamo, an NGO of Islamic scholars that addresses 
religious issues and questions, issued a fatwa in 2004 that prohibited 
women from worshipping in mosques. Some Mullahs spoke out against women 
attending mosques, despite support from some Islamic scholars and 
several mosques for them to attend.
    Some regional and local interior departments, mainly in the Sughd 
region, continued to refuse to issue internal identification documents 
to women who refused to be photographed without the hijab (headscarf). 
The SCRA intervened as needed to allow those women to obtain documents. 
In October 2005 the Minister of Education issued a statement during a 
press conference banning hijabs in schools and institutions of higher 
education; he cited the need to uphold secular education, although this 
provision is not the law. Many female students and teachers were 
expelled from schools for wearing hijabs. There was no official 
government reaction to the ongoing expulsions.
    A mandatory course on the History of Religions was taught in 
schools at the 10th grade level.
    The Government indicated that religious instruction should not take 
place at home, which could deprive many women and children access to 
religious practice.
    Authorities at times restricted Muslim religious activities. For 
example, government printing houses are prohibited from publishing 
texts in Arabic and generally did not publish religious literature; 
however, they did so in special cases, including copies of the Koran in 
Arabic script. There were no restrictions on private Arabic language 
schools, but restrictions on home-based Islamic instruction remained in 
place because of political concerns.
    The SCRA controlled and organized hajj participation by citizens. 
The SCRA required hajj pilgrims to register with authorities and travel 
by air using the state-owned airline, citing hygiene and safety 
concerns regarding other means of travel. During the January hajj 
campaign, the SCRA placed a quota of 3,500 citizen hajjis, far below 
Saudi Arabia's 6,000 limit for the country, and only permitted 3,450 to 
travel. During the year the newspaper Najot alleged that Chairman of 
the SCRA Murodullo Davlatov had solicited one million dollars from 
hajjis, who are required to deposit $2,300 (7,935 somonis) for travel 
costs with the SCRA. There was no official investigation into the 
accusation. The Government also controlled a second hajj campaign in 
December. As opposed to previous state controlled hajj trips, the 
Government lifted the quota limit and all restrictions except for a 
minimum age requirement of 18 years. The cost of the hajj campaign was 
$2,500 and 4,600 people participated.
    During the year the SCRA issued a draft law on religion for 
commentary. The draft law restricts freedom of religion, tightening 
registration requirements to make it more difficult for religious 
institutions to register and establish themselves, prohibiting the 
religious education of children under the age of seven in private homes 
without registration, and limiting the number of mosques in a 
geographic region. The draft law was being reviewed by some parliament 
committees at year's end.
    Under a Presidential decree that reorganized the Government 
structure, the SCRA was placed under the control of the Ministry of 
Culture; some observers felt this was an effort to exercise more 
control and oversight over the committee. The committee chairman 
remained in place.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were about 200 Jews in 
the country. Some imams and mullahs reportedly preached anti-Semitic 
messages in mosques. In August and September, unknown assailants 
attacked the only synagogue in the country using Molotov cocktails. The 
September attack coincided with an attack on the Russian Orthodox 
Church and followed a break-in at the rabbi's residence. At year's end 
authorities were investigating the incidents. On February 8, municipal 
officials partially tore down Dushanbe's synagogue, along with one 
mosque and several administrative buildings, in a land dispute 
unrelated to religious discrimination.
    In a July 13 press conference, Murodullo Davlatov reportedly stated 
that Jehovah's Witnesses' proselytizing aroused ``public indignation.''
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, 
although the Government imposed some restrictions.
    Foreigners are prohibited from traveling within a 15-mile zone 
along the country's borders with China and Afghanistan without 
permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The restriction 
was not always enforced along the western part of the border with 
Afghanistan, although a special visa was required for travelers--
including international workers and diplomats--to Gorno Badakhshan. 
Diplomats and international aid workers could travel to the Afghanistan 
border region without prior authorization.
    There are no laws that provide for exile and there were no reports 
of forced exile. Some government opponents remained in self-imposed 
exile in Russia.
    Persons wishing to emigrate to countries of the former Soviet Union 
must notify the MOI prior to their departure. Persons who wish to 
emigrate to other countries must obtain an immigrant visa to receive a 
passport, and persons who settle abroad are required to inform the 
country's embassy or interest section of the nearest Russian embassy or 
consulate.
    Most persons who left the country were permitted to return freely. 
A few people active with the opposition who left during the civil war 
experienced administrative difficulty in obtaining new documents that 
would permit them to return. Those who were pardoned are permitted to 
return; high-level military officials were not pardoned. The Government 
provided protection and modest assistance to resettle any citizens who 
returned voluntarily and cooperated with international organizations 
that helped fund assistance and resettlement programs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status to persons in accordance with the 1951 UN 
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
and the Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. During the year, however, the Government's protection of 
refugees continued to deteriorate. During the year refusals to 
applicants for asylum or refugee status continued to increase.
    In practice the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, and granted refugee status or asylum. However, some 
refugees were not protected from refoulement. In past years the 
Government registered asylum seekers up to one year. However, during 
the year, in an effort to ensure that asylum seekers do not become 
residents, the Government only granted refugee status to asylum seekers 
for three months. Refugee status could be continually renewed in three-
month increments. The Government also provided some temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 
1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol. In April 2005 the Government denied 
UNHCR its observer status in the Refugee Status Determination 
Commission; but in August the Government reinstated UNHCR's 
participation.
    The Government deported four refugees to Afghanistan, prompting 
UNHCR protest. The refugees were not given access to lawyers or the 
opportunity to appeal the decision, as provided for by law. During the 
year two of the three deported refugees were permitted to return to the 
country.
    A group of mostly Afghan refugees, whom UNHCR had prescreened for 
asylum, remained in the country with no clear future. They were 
awaiting integration into society or third country resettlement. Police 
officers continued to mistreat and harass the country's Afghan 
refugees, who resided mainly in the capital and in Khujand. Although 
their treatment improved in some areas, many Afghan refugees claimed 
they were frequently harassed and intimidated into paying illegal 
registration fees, bribes, and other fines to police who falsely 
accused them of being affiliated with the Taliban. Afghan refugee 
children also faced discrimination and harassment from classmates in 
schools. UNHCR was working with the Government to implement legislation 
allowing refugees to obtain legal residency or citizenship; no refugee 
was granted citizenship or presumed legal residency during the year.
    Afghan refugees were summarily deported without consultation with 
UNHCR, families were broken up, and the Government was not responsive 
to UNHCR's 2005 protests.
    Refugees currently in detention were denied the right to speak to a 
lawyer and the right to appeal a deportation decision within one week, 
as provided by law.
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; however, the Government restricted this right in practice.
    The country's political process made little progress in its 
transition from a Soviet-style system. The President, together with an 
inner circle of loyal supporters primarily from his home region of 
Kulob, continued to dominate the Government and further consolidated 
his power. The President's political party, the People's Democratic 
Party of Tajikistan (PDPT), held the majority of parliamentary seats 
and government positions. The President had broad authority to appoint 
and dismiss officials.

    Elections and Political Participation.--International observers 
concluded that democratic electoral practices were not fully tested in 
the November 6 Presidential election due to the absence of genuine 
competition and political pluralism, which allowed voters only nominal 
choices. Requirements for candidates to collect signatures from 5 
percent of the electorate-approximately 160,000 signatures-in a short 
time span prohibited many opposition candidates from competing. Five 
candidates were registered, including incumbent President Rahmonov; the 
other four were considered to support the incumbent administration's 
policies. President Rahmonov won a third seven-year term with a 
reported 79.3 percent of the vote. The Organization for Security and 
Co-operation in Europe reported the Government did not adequately 
implement improvements in the legislative and administrative framework, 
officials exercised excessive control during the campaign period, and 
that the actual voter turnout, while high, did not reach the 91 percent 
officially reported.
    There were some improvements to the election process. The 
Government worked with NGOs to educate the public on proper voting 
procedures. Prior to the election, the Central Commission on Elections 
and Referenda issued official decrees to clarify media airtime 
regulations for candidates, candidate's registration procedures, and 
voting day rules.
    President Rahmonov and his administration stressed a policy of 
noninterference in the election process prior to November. Despite this 
stance, during the election observers witnessed examples of officials 
failing to follow procedure and denying the presence of official and 
accredited observers; family, proxy, and multiple voting; and ballot 
box stuffing. The media environment was largely under government 
control and Internet sites were blocked in advance of elections (see 
section 2.a.). Prior to election day, election commission officials 
were seen actively campaigning on behalf of the incumbent President.
    The PDPT continued to control an overwhelming majority of seats in 
both houses of parliament, the Majlisi Oli. The PDPT's majority status 
resulted in a legislative branch dominated by the executive branch.
    Eight political parties were legally registered in the country. 
Four parties continued to be banned during the year: the Adolatkhoh 
Party, the Party of Popular Unity, the Party of Political and Economic 
Reforms, and the Agrarian Party. At year's end the MOJ had not 
registered the Unity Party, although it was not banned explicitly. Of 
three new parties seeking registration, only the Party of Economic 
Reform of Tajikistan and a second Agrarian Party of Tajikistan were 
successful. The Party of Vahdat (Unity) was not registered due to 
technical registration difficulties, but the party asserted the delay 
was politically motivated. The Progress Party of Tajikistan did not 
seek registration during the year. The law prohibits political parties 
from receiving support from religious institutions, but religiously 
affiliated parties, such as the IRPT can be registered.
    Opposition political parties, including unregistered ones, remained 
small, had limited popular support, and were kept under close scrutiny 
by the Government. While they were generally able to operate, they had 
difficulty obtaining access to state-run media (see section 2.a.). The 
chairman of the SDPT alleged that the Government systematically 
harassed its supporters. The Government occasionally sidelined 
political opponents and potential rivals by bringing criminal charges 
against them. While some of the charges were likely accurate, observers 
suggested the court cases were politically motivated (see section 
1.e.).
    During the year Rahmatullo Zoyirov, Chairman of the SDPT, was 
questioned by the General Prosecutor's Office. Zoyirov also suffered 
health problems and alleged he was poisoned.
    The Democratic Party of Tajikistan alleged that the Government 
assisted in dividing the party leading to the Presidential election. 
The Central Committee on Election and Referenda officially recognized 
the new faction of the party and refused to acknowledge the original 
Democratic Party, led by imprisoned Chairman, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov. 
The party appealed to the MOJ to affirm its status as the only 
Democratic Party of Tajikistan.
    The parliamentary election code requires candidates to pay a 
registration fee of approximately $405.80 (1,400 somonis), 200 times 
the minimum monthly wage, which could prevent opposition candidates 
from running in parliamentary elections. The Presidential election code 
does not require Presidential candidates to pay a registration fee.
    There were 16 women (11 in the lower and five in the upper house) 
in the 96-seat parliament; one held a position as deputy speaker of the 
parliament and two were heads of committees in the lower house of 
parliament. Most ministries have one female deputy minister, according 
to unofficial quotas; one of the deputy prime ministers and one 
minister were women.
    There were three members of minorities (two Uzbeks and one Kyrgyz) 
in the 96-seat legislature. Ethnic Uzbeks were represented in the 
Government, although not in direct policymaking roles.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption in the country 
was widespread and pervasive, particularly bribery and nepotism and the 
majority of citizens acknowledge corruption is endemic. The Government 
acknowledged the problem and took steps to combat corruption, including 
trying officials and judges for taking bribes. During the year the 
President also acknowledged that over 800 civil servants had been 
arrested on drug-trafficking charges in the past five years.
    The Government's Center for Strategic Research Studies in 
cooperation with the UN Development Program conducted a study on 
government corruption and held seminar discussions on the topic. The 
General Prosecutor's Office also investigated 112 cases of corruption 
by government employees. According to a survey published during the 
year in the newspaper Asia-Plus, 65 percent of respondents stated they 
would like to talk about corruption if given the opportunity to speak 
with the country's President. According to a Center for Strategic 
Research Studies survey, participants responded that the most common 
form of corruption was bribery of civil servants. Over 58 percent of 
respondents believed corruption was a serious problem that affected 
their daily lives and nearly 64 percent felt corruption was a priority 
problem for the country.
    Although the law requires government officials to provide 
information to journalists upon request, there was no legal provision 
for regular citizens' public access to government information. In 
practice the Government did not permit free access to information, and 
some officials disregarded the law concerning journalists, as there was 
no enforcement. In response to criticisms, the Government mandated 
regular press conferences by ministries in which generally laudatory 
reports were presented and critical questions ignored.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups continued to face 
increasing government pressure, and international NGOs engaged with 
democracy issues encountered registration and visa problems. The 
Government continued to request sensitive information from NGOs such as 
employees' personal information, information about students affiliated 
with the organizations, activities, and financial status. Government 
officials were only somewhat responsive to the views of human rights 
groups. The Government generally shared information and cooperated with 
most local and international NGOs and diplomatic missions on joint 
projects and conferences.
    The Government did not block the registration of local NGOs 
addressing human rights, and the number of domestic human rights 
organizations slightly increased during the year. There were over 2,700 
NGOs in the country focusing on a wide variety of issues, including 
child welfare, civil society, mass media, and health. At times 
authorities restricted freedom of assembly and association for 
organizations involved in political activities, and forming and 
registering an NGO with the MOJ remained cumbersome and bureaucratic. 
Otherwise, local NGOs generally did not face systematic governmental 
harassment.
    The Government permitted some international NGOs to operate in the 
country. During the year the Government continued to deny the 
registration and reregistration of several international NGOs working 
on democracy issues. NGOs were asked to reregister with the MOJ to 
implement a law passed three years ago; observers believed the 
provision was designed to control NGO activity. International NGOs and 
their local staff continued to face a pattern of harassment on a 
variety of issues.
    The Government's Office for Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens' 
Rights under the President continued its work of investigating and 
answering citizens' complaints; however, the country does not have an 
independent ombudsman. Staffing inadequacies and uneven cooperation 
from other government institutions hampered the office's effectiveness.
    The parliament's committee on legislation and human rights also 
monitored human rights violations, but lacked full independence. The 
committee's primary responsibility is to vet new proposed legislation 
for compliance with human rights obligations.
    The Government commission on fulfillment of international human 
rights is a centralized body that receives human rights complaints and 
coordinates a response. It delegates each complaint to local 
administration and informs the General Prosecutor's Office, MOI, and 
other relevant ministries. The body operated at the deputy prime 
minister level and was somewhat effective.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for the rights and freedoms of every person 
regardless of race, gender, disability, language, or social status; 
however, in practice there was discrimination against women, and 
trafficking in persons was a problem.

    Women.--Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a 
widespread problem. Most cases of domestic abuse went unreported, and 
reported cases were seldom investigated. Although the law does not 
specifically prohibit domestic violence, there are provisions within 
the criminal code regarding domestic violence offenders. Penalties 
include a minimum fine of 300 times the minimum wage up to 15 years' 
imprisonment. Accurate statistics on the number of domestic violence 
cases were difficult to estimate. There continued to be reports, 
particularly in rural areas, about abductions of young women who were 
then raped or forced to marry their abductors.
    The law prohibits rape (although not specifically spousal rape), 
which is punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment. As with abuse 
incidents in general, it was widely believed that most cases were 
unreported and that the problem was growing, particularly in urban 
areas. In addition family members and acquaintances often used threats 
of rape to intimidate women. There were no official statistics on the 
number of rapists charged, prosecuted, or convicted.
    A handful of domestic and international NGOs supported women's 
resource centers to assist rape and spousal abuse victims. Government 
funding for such centers was extremely limited, although it had a 
specific committee for women's and family affairs within the office of 
the President. NGOs and some government structures discussed violence 
against women in the framework of the Government's reporting 
obligations for UN conventions. A shelter in Khujand reported 
organizing over 300 psychological and legal consultations over a nine-
month period and another 1,000 consultations over a telephone hot line.
    Prostitution is illegal, although in practice apprehended 
prostitutes were assessed a nominal fine and released. Pimps and madams 
were prosecuted regularly. Prostitution was a growing problem.
    Trafficking and women and children for the purposes of sexual 
exploitation trafficking of men for the purpose of forced labor was a 
serious problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment with penalties of up to two 
years. In practice women were often sexually harassed or had to perform 
sexual favors in order to get a job or maintain one. Cases often went 
unreported because of the social stigma attached to victims. Due to 
traditional attitudes, it was common for men to sexually harass and 
commit acts of violence against women.
    Women faced traditional societal discrimination, diminished 
educational opportunities, and increased poverty. The law provides 
women with equal pay for equal work with men, but it was not always 
enforced in practice. The Committee on Women's Affairs sought to 
protect women's rights, but enforcement was not effective.
    In 2004 the country's highest Islamic body, the Council of Ulamo, 
issued a fatwa that prohibited women from praying in mosques. The 
Government supported the fatwa but expressed concern over the 
separation of church and state. Local observers said the fatwa was 
discriminatory and a step backwards from gender equality. In July the 
IRPT opened a ``Friday praying'' mosque that permitted women.
    The law protects women's rights in marriage and family matters; 
however, some female minors were pressured to marry men against their 
will, and high incidences of informal polygamy, although illegal, were 
reported. Inheritance laws do not discriminate against women although 
in practice some inheritances passed disproportionately to sons.

    Children.--The Government remained committed to children's rights 
and welfare, but it did not devote adequate financial resources to 
maintain the social security network for child welfare. Poverty and a 
lack of resources contributed to a deterioration of the public school 
system and the medical infrastructure available to children.
    Free and universal public education is compulsory until age 16. The 
law was not enforced and, while most children were enrolled in school 
until the mandatory secondary level, attendance was estimated to be 
lower because children worked in the home or in informal activities to 
supplement family income (see section 6.d.). Girls were disadvantaged, 
especially in rural school systems, where families elected to keep them 
home to help take care of siblings or work in the fields. International 
organizations' statistics reported 71 percent of children attended 
school. With the decline of the country's underfunded public schools, a 
small number of poor male students were recruited and sent to Egypt, 
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan to receive a free Islamic education.
    There were a few reports of violence against children.
    Underage marriage was widespread in rural areas, a practice 
influenced by the high level of poverty and unemployment which 
compelled many families to marry off their daughters as soon as 
possible.
    Trafficking continued to be a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor continued to be a problem (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons; 
however, trafficking in persons from the country was a problem. The 
Government acknowledged that officials facilitated trafficking.
    Trafficking in persons was a serious problem. The country was a 
source point for trafficked persons, primarily women and girls; 
trafficking within the country was also a problem. Men and boys were 
reportedly trafficked and used for labor. Media reports estimated that 
over 1,000 persons were victims of trafficking during the year. 
According to the MOI and information gathered from antitrafficking hot 
lines, victims came primarily from Khujand or Dushanbe and most were 
trafficked to Russia, former Soviet countries, the Persian Gulf states 
(including the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia), 
and Turkey. According to official MOI data, at least 420 women from the 
country were trafficked for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation 
to the former Soviet Union and Middle East countries, including over 
250 in the United Arab Emirates.
    The majority of trafficking victims were female, single, and 
between the ages of 20 and 26. Many were new arrivals to Dushanbe or 
Khujand from rural areas with little formal education. Child 
trafficking victims usually were in the care of extended family. Ethnic 
minorities were overrepresented among victims, particularly those of 
Slavic origin. Rural, uneducated, and poor communities were also 
particularly vulnerable.
    Women and girls were trafficked from the country primarily for 
cheap domestic labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Male 
trafficking victims were primarily used for labor abroad in 
agriculture, factories, or construction; some were without pay.
    Traffickers included former field commanders--so-called warlords--
who rose to positions of power and wealth during the country's civil 
war. Others, including women, were powerful local figures with private 
links to the destination country who used their wealth to cultivate 
patron-client relationships throughout their community to create a 
trafficking network. Recruiters were also often individuals familiar to 
victims, such as neighbors, acquaintances, or relatives.
    Victims commonly were recruited through false promises of 
employment. Advertisement of such work was conducted through social 
contacts; traffickers used their local status and prestige to help 
recruit victims. There also were cases of false wedding proposals and, 
on occasion, kidnappings in rural areas. Traffickers generally 
transported victims by air to the Middle East and by train to Russia 
and other former Soviet countries. Traffickers tightly controlled 
arrangements for travel and lodging and employed contacts among tourism 
agencies. They sometimes used forged documents to evade entry 
restrictions in destination countries. Victims commonly were separated 
from their travel documents upon arrival in the destination country. 
Debt bondage was a common form of control. There were also reports of 
male and female medical professionals trafficked from the country to 
Yemen to work at medical clinics for substandard wages; traffickers 
reportedly seized their travel documents and forced female medical 
personnel into prostitution.
    The law criminalizes trafficking in persons with penalties of 
imprisonment from two to 12 years and confiscation of personal 
property. The average sentence for convicted traffickers ranged from 
five to 12 years imprisonment. There were no suspended sentences. 
Traffickers may also be prosecuted under laws prohibiting exploitation 
of prostitution, rape, kidnapping, buying and selling of minors, 
document fraud, and immigration violations. The penalties for these 
offenses range from fines to imprisonment from five to 20 years.
    According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 
during the year 43 cases of trafficking in persons were reported 
compared to 81 cases in 2005, nine of which were related to trafficking 
of minors and newborns during the first six months of the year. The 
rest were mostly related to trafficking of women abroad for commercial 
sexual exploitation. According to the MOI, 23 criminal groups involved 
in trafficking of persons were exposed during the year; 13 of them were 
revealed as the result of international cooperation. Specialized 
antitrafficking law enforcement units continued to investigate reported 
trafficking cases, with 43 trafficking cases launched and 61 
traffickers convicted during the year, a dramatic increase from 27 
convictions in the previous year.
    The MOI is responsible for trafficking investigations and arrests, 
the General Prosecutor's Office is responsible for prosecuting and 
sentencing convicted traffickers, and the MFA is responsible for 
trafficking-related repatriation and extradition matters. The 
Trafficking in Persons Investigative Unit, composed of four female 
investigators within the MOI, was responsible for combating kidnapping, 
trafficking in persons, and racketeering; the five officers in this 
year-old division were assigned to investigate trafficking cases. The 
division reported that there were at least 12 criminal rings in the 
country involved in trafficking young girls to Gulf countries for 
commercial sexual exploitation. A high-level interagency commission 
focused on coordinating antitrafficking efforts and signed the National 
government Action Plan on People Trafficking for 2006-10. The 
Government generally worked openly and cooperatively with the 
international community and the IOM to combat trafficking. In February 
the MOI opened an Intelligence and Analytical Center for Counter-
Narcotics and Trafficking in Persons. Border Guards were trained to 
screen for potential traffickers and victims. Authorities established a 
data analysis center at the Dushanbe Airport to monitor travelers' data 
in and out of the country. During the year the State Migration Service 
established a database to track trafficking acts.
    During the year government and IOM representatives repatriated 21 
women to the country. Upon return they were provided with medical 
assistance, training, and other types of support. During the year the 
IOM assisted in repatriating three men who were victims of labor 
trafficking.
    There was no indication of widespread institutional involvement in 
trafficking by the Government. However, corruption was endemic, and 
reports indicated that high- and low-level government authorities 
working in customs, border control, immigration, police, and tourism 
took bribes from traffickers. It was also believed that certain 
government officials acted as patrons or protectors of individuals who 
were directly involved in trafficking. During the year authorities 
prosecuted some low-level government officials for involvement in 
facilitating trafficking such as providing false passports. Traffickers 
used their contacts in government agencies to illegally obtain false 
documents. In 2005 14 low-level law enforcement officers who were 
arrested in 2004 for engaging in the commercial sexual exploitation of 
underage girls were dismissed from their positions; no more recent 
statistics were available.
    Victims of forced prostitution and labor trafficking cannot be 
charged for crimes committed while they were victims. Victims usually 
did not pursue legal action against traffickers due to the social 
stigma. According to an IOM survey, nearly half of trafficking victims 
who returned to the country were blackmailed by local officials 
(themselves extorted by traffickers) to change their story or face 
exposure as a victim.
    There were few resources available to trafficking victims. The 
Government officially provided security and assistance to trafficking 
victims and endorsed efforts by international and domestic NGOs to 
prevent trafficking and provide services to victims. During the year 24 
repatriated trafficking victims received such government assistance. 
The Government, with the help of IOM, established two shelters for 
female trafficking victims.
    There were approximately 20 NGOs involved in antitrafficking 
activities throughout the country. Several provided various services to 
trafficking victims and carried out a wide range of information 
programs in conjunction with local authorities throughout the country. 
NGOs matched victims with social services, operated crisis centers, and 
maintained a hotline for trafficking and domestic abuse victims.
    Local NGO programs worked with support from international 
organizations to increase awareness of trafficking; NGOs worked with 
local officials to conduct training and awareness seminars for the 
general public. The Government cooperated with NGOs to raise public 
awareness on trafficking in persons. The Government issued press 
releases warning about the dangers of trafficking and produced 
television programs educating the public about the issues. It also 
promoted announcements as well as informational materials produced and 
distributed by local and international organizations. The Government 
also cooperated with international organizations on prevention programs 
by holding joint seminars, conferences, and distributing 
antitrafficking brochures. The Government operated a 24-hour telephone 
hot line.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination in 
employment, education, access to health care, and provision of other 
state services, and discrimination was not a problem. There is no law 
mandating access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and the 
Government did not require employers to provide such access.
    Although there were group-living and medical facilities for persons 
with disabilities, funding was limited and facilities were in poor 
condition.
    During the year 13 mentally or physically disabled children were 
killed in an orphanage fire in Dushanbe. The Government established a 
commission to investigate the tragedy and the director and other 
administrators of the orphanage were sentenced to between 2 and 15 
years imprisonment for a variety of charges including negligent 
homicide, abuse of power, embezzlement of state funds, and 
misappropriation of foreign aid.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the Government commission 
on fulfillment of international human rights, the Prosecutor General's 
Office, the Society of Invalids, and appropriate local and regional 
governmental structures were all charged with protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions and they did so in practice. According to official figures 
approximately 90 percent of the labor force was unionized. Most unions 
were affiliated with the Federation of Trade Unions of Tajikistan, an 
independent umbrella organization that attempted to represent all trade 
unions in the country. However, it was largely seen as ineffective and 
generally supportive of government policies. The law does not 
specifically prohibit antiunion discrimination; however, there were no 
reported incidents of antiunion discrimination in practice.
    From April to July, the Government temporarily suspended the Union 
of Journalists. The suspension was a move to oust the former chairman 
who was widely perceived as corrupt (see section 2.a.).

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, except ``in 
cases specified by law,'' and the Government protected this right in 
practice. The laws provide for the right to organize and bargain 
collectively, and workers exercised this right in practice. Collective 
bargaining contracts covered 90 percent of workers. The law does not 
restrict the right to strike, but there were no strikes during the 
year. In practice people were reluctant to strike due to fears of 
government retaliation.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including of children, except in cases 
defined in the law; however, there were reports that such practices 
occurred (see sections 5 and 6.d.).
    Owners of privatized farms regularly compelled former state or 
collective farm workers to pick cotton. The Government requested 
collective farm workers to participate in this labor, and although 
there were no official consequences for refusal, workers feared they 
would be expelled from their collective farms or that the Government 
would destroy their land if they did not oblige. Although all state 
farms were privatized, some farmers chose to work in collective groups 
for financial reasons. Workers usually were neither paid nor provided 
the services they were given under the former collective system for 
this labor, such as health care and education.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor remained a problem, and the Government neither effectively 
enforced child labor laws nor strengthened existing regulations on 
acceptable working conditions for children.
    The minimum age for children to work is 16, although children may 
work at age 15 with local trade union permission. By law children under 
the age of 18 may work no more than six hours a day and 36 hours per 
week. Children as young as seven years old may participate in household 
labor and agricultural work, which are separately classified as family 
assistance. Many children under age 10 worked in bazaars or sold goods 
on the street.
    The Government does not have a comprehensive policy or national 
action plan to prevent or eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
    Trafficking of children occurred (see section 5).
    Unions were responsible for reporting any violations in the 
employment of minors. Unresolved cases between unions and employers may 
be brought before the prosecutor general for investigation, who may 
charge the manager of the enterprise with violations of the law. Very 
few violations were reported as most children worked under the family 
assistance exception. Enforcement of child labor laws was the 
responsibility of the Prosecutor's Office, the MOJ, the Ministry of 
Social Welfare, the MOI, and appropriate local and regional 
governmental offices.
    The illegal Soviet-era practice of closing secondary schools and 
universities at cotton harvest time and putting students to work 
continued, but to a lesser degree than previous years. The IOM 
estimated that 40 percent of the country's cotton was picked by 
students, and according to World Bank statistics, as many as one in 
eight children worked full-time instead of attending school.
    In August the President issued a decree against students picking 
cotton, and some authorities in the west and south of the country noted 
this was the first harvest students had not picked cotton. However, 
there were also reports that local authorities pulled students from 
school to help with the annual cotton harvest. According to media 
reports, during the year approximately 7,000 students, mostly from the 
northern Sughd region, were involved in cotton picking. Working 
conditions, wages, and living standards associated with the harvest 
were extremely poor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The official national minimum 
monthly wage, which increased to $5.80 (20 somoni) a month during the 
year, did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family. The World Bank indicated that 42.5 percent of the population 
lived below the poverty line which they designated at $2.00 per day 
(6.88 somoni). Some observers estimated that a minimum of $23.19 per 
month (80 somoni) was required to avoid abject poverty in the capital. 
The Government acknowledged the problem of low wages and provided 
certain subsidies for workers and their families at the minimum wage. 
Some establishments, both governmental and private, compensated their 
employees in kind with food commodities or with enterprise-produced 
products, which employees either sold or bartered in local private 
markets.
    The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours for adults 
over the age of 18. The law mandates overtime payment, with the first 
two hours paid at 1+ times the normal rate and the remainder at double 
the rate. Overtime payment was inconsistent in all sectors of the labor 
force. The Ministry of Finance enforces financial aspects of the labor 
law, and the Agency of the Financial Control of the Presidential 
administration oversees other aspects of the law.
    Government-established occupational health and safety standards 
fell far below accepted international norms, and the Government did not 
enforce them in practice. The State Technical Supervision Committee 
under the council of ministers was responsible for enforcing health and 
safety standards. The law permits workers to remove themselves from 
hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment. This law was 
not enforced effectively, and few workers did so in practice.

                               __________

                              TURKMENISTAN

    Although the constitution declares the country to be a secular 
democracy and Presidential republic, Turkmenistan, with a population of 
approximately 5 million people, is an authoritarian state that was 
dominated by President-for-life Saparmyrat Niyazov, who retained his 
monopoly on political power until his death on December 21. The Halk 
Maslahaty (people's council) decided on December 26 to select Niyazov's 
successor through public elections on February 11, 2007. Government 
efforts continued to focus on fostering centralized state control and 
the glorification of the President. All candidates who ran in the 2004 
parliamentary elections were members of the Democratic Party, the only 
legally recognized political party in the country, and were cleared by 
authorities. Candidates who ran in the village, city, and district 
elections in July and December did not have to be members of the 
Democratic Party or a state union, though it is unclear how many, if 
any, of the ``non-party'' candidates won. The elections did not meet 
international standards. Of the country's two parliamentary bodies, the 
2,500-member people's council is the supreme legislative body and 
surpasses the 50-member Mejlis (parliament) in authority. The President 
controlled the judiciary. The civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces.
    The Government continued to commit serious abuses, and its human 
rights record remained extremely poor. Authorities severely restricted 
political and civil liberties. Human rights problems included: 
citizens' inability to change their government; torture and 
mistreatment of detainees; incommunicado and prolonged detention; abuse 
of religious minority group members; arbitrary arrest and detention, 
including family members of accused criminals; house arrest; denial of 
due process and a fair trial; arbitrary interference with privacy, 
home, and correspondence; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, 
assembly, and association; restrictions on religious freedom; a 
government-maintained blacklist of individuals not permitted to travel 
abroad; violence against women; and restrictions on free association of 
workers.
    The Government continued to restrict freedom of movement, speech, 
press, and assembly. Measured improvements in human rights included: a 
continued decrease in harassment of religious groups, release without 
sentencing of two conscientious objectors, and dramatically less 
evidence of child labor during the cotton harvest.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reliable reports that the Government or its agents committed any 
politically motivated killings, although families who have not heard 
news of imprisoned family members for some time frequently speculated 
that they may have died in prison.
    In August journalist Ogulsapar Myradova was sentenced to six years 
in prison for weapons possession. On September 13, Myradova died in 
prison under suspicious circumstances (see sections 1.c. and 2.a.).

    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 prohibits such practices; 
however, security officials tortured, routinely beat, and used 
excessive force against criminal suspects, prisoners, and individuals 
critical of the Government, particularly in detention while seeking a 
confession. There was no follow-up action in the 2005 case of Alexander 
Fatalyiev, who was living in exile at year's end.
    The Helsinki Foundation in the country claimed that Ogulsapar 
Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy Hajiyev were tortured 
during detention in the summer to extract confessions of weapons 
possession. All three were subsequently sentenced to prison (see 
sections 1.a. and 2.a.). On September 13, Myradova died in prison under 
suspicious circumstances.
    In September 2005 according to the Helsinki Foundation in the 
country, a young woman was beaten and raped during seven days at a 
Turkmenbashy detention facility; she was subsequently sentenced to 
prison. After this case received international attention, the Supreme 
Court released her on the grounds that she needed to provide for the 
child she gave birth to as a result of the rape.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that Ministry of 
National Security (MNB) members beat Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 
(RFE/RL) associates or members of religious minorities. There were no 
developments in the case of the 2004 abduction and beating of RFE/RL 
associate Saparmyrad Ovezberdiev, who was living in external exile.
    Authorities detained people in psychiatric hospitals as punishment. 
For example, on January 4, according to the Moscow-based Memorial Human 
Rights Center and several other NGOs, Kakabay Tejenov, a 70-year-old 
pensioner, was forcibly hospitalized in Turkmenabat after he tried to 
distribute to foreign embassies a statement on human right violations 
in the country. Amnesty International reported that Tejenov was 
released on October 24 and was hospitalized for a preexisting medical 
condition. On October 19, President Niyazov granted Krishna 
Consciousness Society member Cheper Annaniyazova amnesty; Annaniyzova 
was released from prison.
    There were no known reports during the year of specific incidents 
of hazing. However, hazing of military conscripts reportedly remained a 
problem and led to cases of desertion from units where conditions were 
particularly difficult, according to the Memorial Human Rights Center 
and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. According to this 
report, corruption within the defense ministry and draft commissions, 
tribal and ethnicity-based rivalries and disregard for the rights of 
soldiers have led to an increasing number of deaths caused by brutal 
treatment meted out by soldiers on fellow conscripts. In addition, the 
standard of combat training decreased as regular military units were 
transformed into an unpaid labor army doing things that had little to 
do with the military, such as growing wheat, gathering cotton, and 
working as hospital attendants, factory workers, or construction 
laborers.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor; prisons were unsanitary, overcrowded, unsafe, and posed a threat 
to life. Disease, particularly tuberculosis (TB), was rampant. There 
continued to be concerns that prisoners with TB were released untested 
and untreated into the general population, although the Government 
reportedly began screening prisoners for TB, among other diseases, upon 
their release and provided some treatment in some cases. Prisoners 
diagnosed with TB were transferred to a special Ministry of Interior 
hospital in Mary Welayat for treatment. Government officials protested 
foreign diplomatic missions' allegations of poor prison conditions, but 
they did not respond to direct inquiries. Nutrition was poor, and 
prisoners depended on relatives to supplement inadequate food supplies, 
although prisoners convicted for treason were unable to receive 
supplies from relatives. The Government defined treason as any 
opposition to the Government.
    Former government officials and others imprisoned for various 
alleged crimes, including those implicated in the 2002 armed attack 
against the President, were singled out for harsh treatment. There were 
no reports available on the conditions and treatment of prisoners 
arrested after the 2002 armed attack.
    Local sources reported that authorities continued to detain and 
threaten relatives of those implicated in the 2002 attack to coerce 
confessions and limited their contact with foreigners. Many were placed 
on a blacklist that prevented them from traveling outside of the 
country (see section 2.d.).
    Government opponents reported that former high-level officials were 
denied proper medical treatment and suffered beatings while in 
detention. Security forces also denied them medical treatment and food, 
and used verbal intimidation to coerce confessions.
    Two members of Jehovah's Witnesses were detained for several weeks 
of physical and psychological harassment; they were subsequently 
released without being charged (see section 2.c.). On April 12, 
Gurbandurdy Durdykulyev, detained since February 2004 in a psychiatric 
hospital for petitioning the Government to hold a peaceful 
demonstration, was released from the hospital under international 
pressure.
    The Helsinki Foundation in the country claimed that Ogulspapar 
Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy Hajiyev were tortured 
during detention in the summer in order to extract confessions of 
weapons possession. All three were subsequently sentenced to prison 
(see sections 1.a. and 2.a.). On September 13, Myradova died in prison 
under suspicious circumstances.
    Family members and international publications claimed some 
prisoners died due to the combination of overcrowding, untreated 
illnesses, and lack of adequate protection from the summer heat. There 
was no investigation or government response in the August 2005 death in 
prison of political prisoner Yazgeldi Gudogdyev. According to Turkmen 
Initiative for Human Rights, in June former Lebap Welayat Hakim 
(provincial governor) Geday Ahmedov died in prison due to lack of 
medical care.
    There were three types of incarceration facilities throughout the 
country: educational-labor colonies, correctional-labor colonies, and 
prisons. Some prisoners, usually former government officials, were sent 
into internal exile. In the correctional-labor colonies, relatives of 
prisoners reported excessive periods of prisoner isolation. There were 
reports that prisoners were forced to work under hazardous and 
unhealthy conditions in a kaolin mine in Gyzylgaya Prison, near 
Dashoguz.
    Prisoners connected with the November 2002 attack were reportedly 
held separately at the Owadan Depe Prison. Government officials refused 
to respond to inquiries from family members and diplomats about 
political prisoners' location or condition. Government officials also 
refused to permit family members, foreign diplomats, or international 
observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC), access to detainees or prisoners associated with the November 
2002 attack. During the year the ICRC did not conduct any prison 
visits, due to unacceptable government limitations on visiting certain 
types of prisons and prisoners (see section 1.e.).

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, arbitrary arrest and detention were 
serious problems.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Internal Affairs (MVD) directs the criminal police, who worked closely 
with the MNB on matters of national security. The MNB exercises control 
over personnel changes in other ministries and enforces Presidential 
decrees. Both the MNB and criminal police operated with impunity. 
Corruption existed in the security forces.
    In some cases receiving international attention, the Government 
investigated allegations of abuse and held some members of the security 
forces accountable for abuses. The MNB's primary responsibility was 
ensuring that the Government remained in power. The MNB limited 
personal freedoms and maintained a blacklist of citizens restricted 
from foreign travel. This list was enforced by the MVD's sixth 
department, the Department of Organized Crime and Terrorism Prevention.

    Arrest and Detention.--A warrant is not required for an arrest. 
Authorities can detain individuals for 72 hours without a formal arrest 
warrant but legally have to issue a formal bill of indictment within 10 
days of arrest to hold detainees longer; however, these provisions were 
not always adhered to in practice. The chairman of the Cabinet of 
Ministers, a position held by the President, had sole authority for 
approving arrest warrants.
    Detainees are entitled to immediate access to an attorney once a 
bill of indictment is issued, and they were able to choose their 
counsel; however, in practice they did not have prompt or regular 
access to legal counsel. In some cases legal counsel ceased advising 
their clients after government officials altered the charges or case 
details initially provided to defendants. Incommunicado detention was a 
problem. By law detainees are to be charged within 72 hours; 
authorities did not respect this right in practice. There was no bail 
system. Authorities denied some prisoners visits by family members 
during the year. Families sometimes did not know the whereabouts of 
imprisoned relatives (see section 1.c.).
    The law characterizes any opposition to the Government as an act of 
treason. Those convicted faced life imprisonment and were ineligible 
for amnesty or reduction of sentence. Unlike in previous years, there 
were no known treason convictions during the year. Those expressing 
views critical of or different from those of the Government were 
arrested on charges of economic crimes against the state and various 
common crimes (see section 2.a.).
    Members of Jehovah's Witnesses are occasionally detained for 
proselytizing in public; although such detention generally lasts only a 
few hours, two Jehovah's Witnesses were detained for several days in 
late October, likely because government offices were closed during 
celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the country's independence.
    Pretrial detention may legally last no longer than two months, 
which in exceptional cases may be extended to one year. In practice 
pretrial detentions averaged two to three months; authorities often 
exceeded legal limits.
    The Government used house arrest without due process to control 
regime opponents and prevent citizens from meeting with foreign 
diplomats. Some nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders were also 
discriminately placed under house arrest. During the year relatives of 
those suspected in the 2002 armed attack and some of the 100 
individuals placed under house arrest in 2003 to prevent meeting with 
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) remained 
under occasional or permanent house arrest or were restricted from 
traveling outside of certain regions.
    Maral Yklymova, daughter of Saparmurat Yklymov, who was sentenced 
to lifelong imprisonment in absentia for involvement in the November 
2002 assassination attempt against the President, remained in house 
arrest in Mary. Gurbandurdy Durdykulyev, detained since February 2004 
in a psychiatric hospital for petitioning the Government to hold a 
peaceful demonstration, was not always allowed to leave his home, 
although he was released from the hospital April 12 under international 
pressure. Occasionally, RFE/RL correspondent Halmyrat Gylychdurdyev 
(see section 2.a.) and Jehovah's Witnesses leader Andrey Zhbanov were 
not allowed to leave their Ashgabat homes.
    During the year numerous former ministers and government officials 
were dismissed from their positions, sent into internal exile, placed 
under house arrest, or sentenced to jail terms, often for valid, 
although politically motivated, charges (see sections 2.e. and 3.). 
During the year at least 16 former ministers and government officials 
were sentenced to jail terms or sent into internal exile after 
dismissal; 35 more officials were fired from their positions, but 
remained free or their whereabouts were unknown. One of the fired 
ministers, former Prosecutor General Gurbanbibi Atanayova (see section 
3), probably died in prison.

    Amnesty.--President Niyazov granted amnesty to 10,056 prisoners on 
October 19. There were reports of prisoners' families purchasing 
amnesty, for anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, 
depending on the severity of the crime. Amnestied prisoners swore an 
oath of allegiance to the Ruhnama, President Niyazov's spiritual 
guidebook on the country's culture and heritage.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary was 
subordinate to the President. There was no legislative review of the 
President's judicial appointments, except for the chairman (chief 
justice) of the Supreme Court, who was reviewed by the rubber-stamp 
parliament. The President has the sole authority to dismiss all judges 
before the completion of their terms and has done so frequently down to 
the city level.
    The court system consists of a Supreme Court, six provincial courts 
(including one for Ashgabat), and, at the lowest level, 64 district and 
city courts. Criminal offenses committed by members of the armed forces 
are tried in civilian courts under the authority of the Office of the 
Prosecutor General.

    Trial Procedures.--The draft revised criminal procedure code 
released in 2004 remained pending at year's end. The code could 
significantly alter the 1961 Soviet code, which was still in force. The 
proposal incorporated rights of the accused, including the introduction 
of the presumption of innocence, restraints on police searches, 
establishment of a bail mechanism, and limits on pretrial detention.
    The law provides due process for defendants, including a public 
trial, access to accusatory material, the right to call witnesses to 
testify on their behalf, a defense attorney, a court-appointed lawyer 
if the defendant cannot afford one, and the right to represent oneself 
in court. In practice authorities often denied these rights, and there 
were few independent lawyers available to represent defendants. There 
is no jury system. At times defendants were not allowed to confront or 
question witnesses against them, defendants and their attorneys were 
denied access to government evidence against them, and defendants 
frequently did not enjoy a presumption of innocence. In some cases, 
courts refused to accept exculpatory evidence provided by defense 
attorneys, even if that evidence would have changed the outcome of the 
trial. Even when due process rights were observed, the authority of the 
Government prosecutor far exceeded that of the defense attorney, and it 
was very difficult for the defendant to receive a fair trial. Court 
transcripts were frequently flawed or incomplete, especially in cases 
in which defendants' testimony needed to be translated from Russian to 
Turkmen. Lower courts' decisions could be appealed, and the defendant 
could petition the President for clemency. However, in most cases, 
courts allegedly ignored allegations of torture that defendants raised 
in trial.
    Foreign observers were permitted at some trials. However, many more 
trials, especially those considered to be politically sensitive, 
including the trial of Helsinki Foundation affiliate and RFE/RL 
correspondent Ogulsapar Myradova, were closed to observers (see section 
1.c.).
    There were regular reports of individuals being arrested and 
requested to pay fines for breaking specific laws; however, when asked 
to see the law, government officials refused or stated that the laws 
were secret.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The law characterizes any 
opposition to the Government as an act of treason. Those convicted 
faced life imprisonment and were ineligible for amnesty or reduction of 
sentence.
    At year's end the Government held at least one political prisoner, 
Mukhametkuli Aimuradov, imprisoned since 1995. The Government convicted 
Annakurban Amanklichev and Sapardurdy Hajiyev of weapons possession, 
although some NGOs maintained that their imprisonment was politically 
motivated (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.). NGOs made similar assertions 
when long-time ecologist and environmental activist Andrey Zatoka was 
detained at Dashoguz airport on charges of disorderly conduct on 
December 17; he remained under arrest at the end of the reporting 
period, pending possible additional charges of weapons and poisonous 
material possession following a search of his apartment.
    Former mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah, sentenced to 22 years' 
imprisonment on charges of treason in 2004 for involvement in the 2002 
attack, remained imprisoned.
    The exact location of over 50 prisoners being held in connection 
with the 2002 attack remained unknown. There were reports they were 
held at Owadan Depe Prison outside of Ashgabat and subjected to abuse. 
These prisoners were held on charges of planning an assassination of 
President Niyazov. There were reports that these prisoners were treated 
more harshly than others.
    Opposition groups and international organizations claimed the 
Government held many political detainees, although the precise number 
was unknown. Detainees may include several hundred relatives and 
associates of those implicated in the November 2002 attack being held 
without charge for their perceived political opinions and possible 
involvement in the attack.
    Government officials refused to respond to inquiries from family 
members and diplomats about political prisoners' location or condition. 
Government officials also refused to permit family members, foreign 
diplomats, or international observers, including the ICRC, access to 
detainees or prisoners associated with the November 2002 attack (see 
section 1.c.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The civil judiciary system 
was not independent or impartial; the President appointed all judges. 
There were instances of police investigations that went to court in 
which plaintiffs could sue defendants. In theory, the civil court 
system functions, but there were reports of bribes to ensure a positive 
outcome. In cases when the state had interests vice an individual 
citizen, domestic court orders were enforced. The most commonly 
enforced court orders were eviction notices.

    Property Restitution.--The Government failed to enforce the law 
consistently with respect to restitution or compensation for 
confiscation of private property (see section 1.f.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions; 
however, authorities frequently did not respect these prohibitions in 
practice. Authorities routinely, and in some cases forcibly, searched 
the homes of suspected regime opponents, minority religious groups, and 
relatives of those suspected in the 2002 attack.
    The law does not regulate surveillance by the state security 
apparatus, which regularly monitored the activities of officials, 
citizens, opponents and critics of the Government, and foreigners. 
Security officials used physical surveillance, telephone tapping, 
electronic eavesdropping, and informers. There was one government-
controlled Internet service provider. The Government monitored 
citizens' e-mail and Internet usage and cut service for accounts used 
to visit sensitive websites. The Government reportedly intercepted 
surface mail before delivery, and letter packets and parcels taken to 
the post office had to remain unsealed for inspection. State-run 
Turkmenpochta remained the only courier service after the Government 
closed all international courier services in previous years.
    The Government continued to engage in forcible resettlement, a 
practice observers stated was used to displace internal enemies and 
political opponents. On April 26, Hajiniyaz Soyunova and Gozel 
Soyunova, wife and daughter respectively of Nazar Soyunov, an 
opposition member in exile, were forcibly relocated from their Ashgabat 
apartment to Balkanabat; they received no compensation for their 
Ashgabat apartment. Humanitarian conditions of most displaced persons 
were unknown, and international observers were unable to independently 
verify all reports of internal migration. Unlike in previous years, 
there were no new cases of forcible resettlement of ethnic minorities. 
During the year the Government continued to demolish large numbers of 
private homes, including those to which residents had valid legal 
title, as part of an urban renewal program to make way for construction 
in and around Ashgabat and elsewhere. In some of the worst cases, the 
Government required evicted families to pay for removal of the rubble 
of their destroyed homes, gave persons as little as 48 hours to collect 
their belongings and vacate, and did not provide homeowners with 
alternative accommodations or compensation. Others were given two 
weeks' notice to vacate and offered apartments or plots of land in 
compensation, on undeveloped or non-irrigated plots that resulted in 
the loss of livelihood for some. One large demolition project in 
southern Ashgabat involved 500 families. Another project involved up to 
2,000 families, most of whom did not receive compensation unless their 
housing documentation was in order (see section 2.d.).
    Non citizens may marry a citizen only after one year's residency in 
the country. There were reports of a small number of such marriages.
    Authorities punished individuals for the alleged violations of 
their family members, including with house arrest and detention (see 
section 1.d.).
    The Government targeted family members of suspected or convicted 
criminals for abuse. Some, like Hajiniyaz and Gozel Soyunov, were 
forcibly resettled. Others were forced to leave their jobs; still 
others were banned from traveling outside the country.
    Harassment of the relatives of Saparmurat Yklymov, convicted as one 
of the primary plotters of the 2002 attack, continued (see section 
1.d.).
    The parents of Arslan Kakaev, the principle suspect in a wire 
transfer theft of $40 million from the Central Bank in 2001, are in 
jail, allegedly on fabricated charges. Turkmenistan authorities 
reported that Kakaev fled the country; Russian newspapers have reported 
that he was found dead in St. Petersburg.
    Maral and Sona Myradova, the two daughters of deceased journalist 
Ogulsapar Myradova, faced harassment and loss of their jobs following 
their mother's arrest. Since their mother's death, the authorities have 
reinstated them in their places of employment.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide 
for freedom of speech and of the press, but the Government did not 
respect these rights in practice. Persons expressing dissenting views 
were arrested on false charges of committing common crimes and in some 
cases subject to abuse, harassment, and deprivation, including loss of 
opportunities for advancement and employment. On January 4, Kakabay 
Tejenov, a 70-year-old pensioner, was forcibly hospitalized in 
Turkmenabat after he tried to distribute to foreign embassies a 
statement on human right violations in the country. On October 24, he 
was released and was hospitalized because of a preexisting medical 
condition (see section 1.c.).
    Almost all print media were government financed. Except for two 
private, although government sanctioned, Turkmen/Turkish and Turkmen 
language periodicals, foreign newspapers were banned. The editorial 
staffs of the periodicals self-censored the content to not offend the 
Government. The Government completely controlled radio and local 
television, but use of satellite dishes enabling access to foreign 
television programming was widespread throughout the country. There was 
no access to cable television. The Government required all foreign 
correspondents to apply for accreditation; however, there were no 
reported difficulties with foreign media outlet personnel changes 
during the year. There was only one accredited foreign correspondent in 
Ashgabat, who worked for the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. In 2005, 
an ITAR TASS correspondent was deprived of accreditation, and the RIA 
Novosti correspondent was arrested, accused of espionage, and given a 
15-year prison sentence before ultimately being deported to Russia.
    During the year government agents reportedly subjected journalists 
to arrest, harassment, intimidation, and violence. In March according 
to the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, ITAR TASS stringer Anna 
Kurbanova was deprived of her accreditation for reporting on the 
January pension reforms.
    The Government harassed RFE/RL reporters and associates. RFE/RL 
stringer Halmyrat Gylychdurdyev faced continued surveillance; on 
February 18, his cell phone account was cut off during a conference 
call to Prague to discuss pension cuts. The mobile service provider 
told Gylychdurdyev that ``state security'' was responsible for the cut 
off. Gylychdurdyev obtained a new cell phone account, which was also 
cut off in early March. Gylychdurdyev's landline had been disconnected 
since he reported on domestic flour shortages in October 2005. RFE/RL 
stringer Shamyrat Akoyliyev was warned by national security officers in 
February of the unacceptability of his affiliation with RFE/RL. 
Authorities later cut off his telephone line. In June Akoyliyev was 
taken off a train traveling from Balkanabat to Ashgabat by Ministry of 
National Security officers. On March 7, RFE/RL stringers Meretmuhammet 
Hommadov and Jumadurdy Owezov were arrested and sentenced to 15 days' 
administrative detention on for acts of public contempt during a 
meeting including district-level elders. However, two police officers 
and guards at the detention facility told Hommadov's wife that he had 
been arrested for ``dealing with foreigners and betraying his 
country.''
    The Government tried to control its citizens' access to 
international organizations and missions and to harass citizens 
cooperating with foreigners. Several foreign workers were asked to 
leave or denied return entry for affiliating with religious minority 
groups. Individuals were harassed and threatened in some regions for 
frequenting foreign-funded information centers. On June 19, the Council 
of Ministers accused diplomats and the mission of the OSCE of fomenting 
revolution in the country. As evidence of these charges, the state-run 
media broadcast pictures of confiscated camera equipment passed to a 
citizen by a foreign diplomat in order to cover local events. The 
diplomatic mission, while acknowledging it had transferred the 
equipment as journalistic technical assistance, denied that it had any 
other purpose, and the OSCE center denied authorities' accusations. On 
August 25, the Government arrested three citizens in connection with 
this affair, journalists Ogulspapar Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev 
and Sapardurdy Hajiyev, and sentenced them to six to seven years 
imprisonment for weapons possession in a closed trial. An investigation 
against Amanklichev and Hajiyev into additional charges of espionage 
and treason was pending at year's end. On September 13, Myradova died 
in police custody, under mysterious circumstances. RFE/RL, the 
Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation, and several other human rights 
organizations claimed they were charged with criminal activities in 
order to end their journalism (see sections 1.a and 1.c.).
    There were no developments and none were expected in the following 
RFE/RL cases: the 2004 MNB abduction and beating of an associate 
correspondent, the 2004 arrest of associate Ashyrguly Bayryev for 
smuggling novels into the country, and the 2004 MNB beating of a 
Moscow-based correspondent.
    The Government initially denied 78-year-old writer Rahim Esenov 
permission to travel to the United States in order to receive an award. 
After accusing the OSCE of intervening in internal affairs, the 
Government allowed Esenov to depart to accept his award. Foreign 
diplomatic personnel saw Esenov off at the airport, and he returned to 
Turkmenistan December 27. Esenov had been arrested in 2004 on charges 
of instigating social, ethnic, and religious hatred for writing a 
biographical book about a medieval Turkmen figure, which President 
Niyazov deemed inaccurate because Esenov depicted the protagonist as a 
Shi'a rather than a Sunni Muslim. All copies of the book were 
confiscated.
    The Government censored newspapers; prepublication approval from 
the office of the President's press secretary was required. The 
Government continued to dictate media focus on President Niyazov's 
achievements to amplify his cult of personality. The President 
personally approved the first-page content every day of the major 
dailies, which always included a prominent picture of him. The former 
editor-in-chief of the newspaper Esger was tried and given a 17-year 
sentence for unspecified crimes.
    In May 2005 the Government banned local journalists from all 
contact with foreigners unless specifically permitted. Journalists who 
did not comply were threatened with losing their jobs.
    To regulate domestic printing and copying activities, the 
Government required all publishing houses and printing and photocopying 
establishments to obtain registration licenses for their equipment. The 
Government required the registration of all photocopiers and mandated 
that a single individual be responsible for all photocopying activity. 
All publishing companies were government owned, and works on topics 
that were out of favor with the Government, including fiction, were not 
published. Although the Government controlled Union of Writers in the 
past expelled members who criticized government policy, and libraries 
removed their works, no such cases were reported during the year.
    The Government continued to keep Russian government-supported, 
Russian language Radio Mayak transmissions off the air during the year.
    The Government prohibited reporting opposing political views or any 
criticism of the President. Criticism of officials was only permitted 
if directed at those who had fallen out of Presidential favor; public 
criticism of officials was done almost exclusively by the President 
himself. Domestic journalists and foreign news correspondents engaged 
in self censorship due to fear of government reprisal.
    During the year, the President strongly criticized the poor cotton 
and wheat harvests, allowing media to join him in criticizing the 
``irresponsible officials'' and ``poor management'' that led to the 
poor harvest.

    Internet Freedom.--Internet access remained available on a limited 
basis, and government-owned Turkmen Telecom was the sole provider to 
the general population. Generally only accredited journalists, 
embassies, and a few others had satellite Internet access authority. 
The Government has not issued any new accounts in Ashgabat since 
September 2002, although government officials reported new accounts 
were available in the regions. Access was prohibitively expensive for 
most citizens, and service was poor. Turkmen Telecom blocked access to 
RFE/RL's Turkmen Service Web site.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--During the year the 
Government continued to increase already significant restrictions on 
academic freedom. It did not tolerate criticism of government policy or 
the President in academic circles, and research into areas it 
considered politically sensitive, such as comparative law, history, 
ethnic relations, or theology, was curtailed. No master's degrees or 
doctorates have been granted since 1998, and the degrees were no longer 
obtainable in the country. Government permission is required to study 
abroad and receive recognition of foreign degrees. Officials from the 
Ministry of Education and provincial authorities impeded testing for 
foreign exchange programs and sought to prevent students who were not 
ethnically Turkmen from participating. UNICEF reported university 
enrollment decreased from 40,000 in the 1990s to 3,000 in 2004.
    Teachers reported having to spend more class time on President 
Niyazov's works rather than traditional academic subjects. Niyazov's 
Ruhnama, Ruhnama II, poetry volumes, The Spring of My Inspiration, and 
My Beloved, were incorporated into the school curriculum.
    Security officials instructed intellectuals and artists to praise 
the President in their work and warned them not to participate in 
receptions hosted by foreign diplomatic missions. Ministry of Culture 
officials temporarily were banned from attending foreign embassy 
functions after foreign embassy officials failed to attend official 
Ruhnama anniversary commemorative events. Plays required Ministry of 
Culture approval before opening to the public, to ensure against 
antigovernment or anti Presidential content. Although classical music 
was still taught and performed throughout the country, there was little 
or no government support for non Turkmen music. Pirated copies of 
international films were available for sale or rent for home viewing, 
and all public exhibitions-music, art and cultural-are censored then 
monitored by the Ministry of Culture.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
but the Government restricted this right in practice. Authorities did 
not grant the required permits for any public meetings and 
demonstrations during the year. Unregistered organizations, 
particularly those perceived to have political agendas, were not 
allowed to hold demonstrations.
    Despite these restrictions, there were reports during the year of 
protests against cotton policies and pension reform without incident. 
Protests in April against shortages in basic commodities and lack of 
occupational safety at a textile factory allegedly resulted in lay-offs 
in the Kaka Municipality (see section 6).
    In 2004 retired citizen Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev was forcibly 
detained in a psychiatric hospital after requesting permission from 
authorities to conduct a peaceful demonstration against President 
Niyazov's policies (see section 1.c.). On April 10, Durdykuliev was 
released on April 10 after significant international pressure but 
remained under intermittent house arrest at year's end.
    In October in Turkmenabat, local authorities prevented a group of 
local students from celebrating the holiday of Halloween, first by 
shutting down the restaurant where organizers had hoped to have the 
event, and then by entering the venue, where the event was rescheduled, 
and demanding the event be cancelled. Authorities claimed the event was 
unauthorized because ticket sales, designed to benefit a senior 
citizens home, violated tax laws.

    Freedom of Association.--Although the constitution and law provide 
for freedom of association, the Government restricted this right in 
practice. The law requires all NGOs to register with the Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ), and all foreign assistance to be registered with the 
Ministry of Economics and Finance (formerly with the State Agency for 
Investment), the MOJ, and coordinated through the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs. Criminal penalties for unregistered NGO activity were 
abolished in 2004, although it is still punishable by fines, short-term 
detention, and confiscation of property. The Government continued to 
routinely deny registration to NGOs and other private organizations 
using subjective criteria.
    Of 89 registered NGOs, international organizations considered seven 
to be independent. The last NGO registration occurred in January 2005. 
No new groups were registered during the year, and the Government 
continued to present numerous obstacles to those attempting to 
register. While some groups reported good cooperation with the MOJ in 
the registration process, other NGOs reported difficulties, such as 
frequently returned applications on technical grounds. Some NGOs found 
alternative ways to carry out activities, such as registering as 
businesses or subsidiaries of other registered groups. Other groups 
considered themselves temporarily closed.
    No political groups critical of government policy met the 
requirements for registration. The only registered political party was 
the Democratic Party, the former Communist Party of the country. The 
Government did not prohibit membership in political organizations; 
however, in practice those who claimed membership in political 
organizations other than the Democratic Party were harassed (see 
section 3).
    In December 2005 a member of the Ilkinciler Farmer's Cooperative 
was convicted of embezzlement and imprisoned, but was amnestied on 
October 19. In the July gengesh (village council) elections, the 
cooperative unsuccessfully attempted to run an independent candidate 
for local office and was critical of the Government's agricultural 
policy. The collective farmers believed the conviction was politically 
motivated. In October two members of Ilkinciler, including the 
association's head, who were attempting to fly to Kazakhstan for 
foreign-funded training, were stopped at the airport and not allowed to 
leave the country. The farmers' association head submitted a letter 
requesting an explanation to the MNB but did not receive an answer.
    On December 17, ecologist and environmental activist Andrey Zatoka 
was detained on charges of public disorderliness at the Dashoguz 
airport. NGOs have maintained that Zatoka's arrest was politically 
motivated (see section 1.e.).
    Authorities harassed an unregistered initiative group in Balkan 
province for implementing a registered grant involving dissemination of 
pamphlets approved by the Ministry of Health and the World Health 
Organization (WHO) explaining how to prevent avian influenza. Five 
members of the initiative group, who were also state healthcare 
workers, lost their jobs when the group was falsely accused of 
conducting illegal data gathering.
    Numerous recipients of foreign grants throughout the country were 
harassed following monitoring visits by employees of foreign embassies. 
In one case, in Mary, the director of a kindergarten was harassed and 
ultimately transferred to another position in a smaller kindergarten 
following a monitoring visit. In Dashoguz, a community leader was 
unofficially told by MNB and provincial education department officials 
that she should not seek future grants from foreign sources. Also in 
Dashoguz, officials from the provincial health department told 
implementers of registered health project grants that they should not 
seek foreign grants in the future and should avoid contacts with 
foreign organizations. In Turkmenabat an activist and member of the NGO 
Merjen was fired from her job in a hospital for her activities, 
including work with OSCE.
    In other cases, the MOJ blocked or failed to act on requests by a 
civic group in Lebap and an environmental association to register grant 
projects.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of religion, although the Government restricted this right in 
practice. There is no state religion, but the majority of the 
population is Sunni Muslim. The Government has incorporated some 
aspects of Islamic tradition into its efforts to define a national 
identity, but in practice the Government closely controlled and 
monitored all religious activities and placed some restrictions on 
Muslims. The Government required all religious groups and individual 
mosques and churches to register with the MOJ and has increased 
government monitoring of financial and material assistance to religious 
groups from foreign sources. Groups are required to file reports of 
proceedings at all meetings. Some groups reported confusion over 
registration requirements because of conflicting statements by 
government officials from different ministries. At an October 2005 
government meeting with representatives of religious minority groups, 
the Government explained that individual branches of religious groups 
could be temporarily registered by requesting representative powers of 
attorney from the registered branch of their particular group; in most 
cases this resolved branches' registration problems.
    Until 2004 only Sunni Islam or Russian Orthodox congregations were 
able to register. Since the 2004 decree reducing the minimum number of 
members to five, congregations from nine other groups have been able to 
register. No new religious groups were registered during the year. One 
group that attempted to register had its registration papers returned 
with suggested changes it believed were unacceptable; at year's end the 
group was seeking a compromise with authorities. Although the Roman 
Catholic Church remained unregistered due to difficulties in 
reconciling Church practices with the country's laws, members were not 
blocked from attending services. Other non-registered religious 
congregations such as Jehovah's Witnesses, a separate group of 
Baptists, and Evangelical Christian groups were present in the country, 
although the Government restricted their activities. Non-registered 
groups were officially prohibited from conducting religious activities.
    The Government's Council on Religious Affairs (CRA) exercised 
direct control over the hiring, promotion, firing, and, in some cases, 
compensation of both Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox clergy.
    Some members of minority religions claimed that law enforcement 
officers abused their members. During the year there were reports that 
government agents detained, interrogated, and pressed religious 
minority group members to abandon their beliefs. Some were assessed 
fines.
    In July, August, and September several minority religious 
organizations, registered and unregistered, complained that local 
police increased harassment, particularly in areas outside of Ashgabat. 
Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists experienced 
disrupted meetings, detentions (including of children), and 
administrative fines. Between July and August security forces broke up 
at least three Baptist meetings in Turkmenabat, Mary, and Dashoguz; 
members described harassment, detention, questioning, and at least one 
beating. Jehovah's Witnesses reported eight incidents of harassment or 
short-term detention for the same time period. Jehovah's Witnesses 
reported decreased, but continued, harassment.
    In 2005 authorities did not allow Pentecostal Church pastor Victor 
Mokrousov to cross the border into Uzbekistan at the Farap checkpoint 
and three members of two other religious minority groups were prevented 
from leaving the country. There were no new reports of obstructed 
travel based on religious minority group affiliation.
    In December 2005 an ethnic Turkmen Baptist leader in Galkynysh 
district was verbally humiliated in public by the local governor, who 
accused him of betraying Islam and his country. In March 2005 a 
policeman arrested Jehovah's Witness member Vladimir Muratov in 
Ashgabat and used his working folder to hit Muratov on his head. 
Muratov was released after police confiscated his religious literature, 
including a Bible.
    Jehovah's Witnesses were detained on at least nine occasions in 
late 2005, including one incident where two women were detained for 
four days, during which time they were interrogated, threatened with 
rape, and beaten. During the year there were reported occasions when 
one or more Jehovah's Witnesses were detained, usually for only a few 
hours. In late October two Jehovah's Witnesses seeking to proselytize 
in public were detained for several days likely because government 
offices had closed down for the 15th anniversary celebration of the 
country's independence.
    Krishna Consciousness Society member Cheper Annaniyazova, who was 
detained in a psychiatric hospital in 2005 for illegally leaving the 
country in 2000, was given a seven-year sentence in November 2005 for 
violating border entry laws (see section 1.c.). Annaniyazova was 
released during the October 19 amnesty. During the year one imam 
reportedly was harassed but not detained after meeting with foreign 
diplomats.
    The Government controlled the establishment of Muslim places of 
worship and limited access to Islamic education. In 2004 President 
Niyazov announced no more mosques would be built in the country. 
Registered minority religious groups reported difficulties in finding 
appropriate places of worship.
    In May authorities broke up a meeting of an unregistered Christian 
group at a private residence in Ashgabat. Officials interrogated the 
members for several hours, wrote a report, and then requested the 
members to re-enact the meeting's activities while police videotaped 
them. In the days following the group's release, police continued to 
call in local church members and sought to intimidate them into 
renouncing Christianity for Islam.
    Local police officers subjected ethnic Turkmen who converted to 
non-Russian Orthodox Christianity to official harassment and 
mistreatment, such as verbal abuse for denying their heritage by 
converting. According to the Forum 18 news organization, in January, a 
commission of government officials and a local imam pressured an ethnic 
Turkmen convert to Christianity to renounce his faith.
    Foreign missionary activity is prohibited, although both Christian 
and Muslim missionaries were present in the country.
    There were no developments concerning the 2005 Jehovah's Witnesses 
Nazikgul Orazova case for proselytizing and possessing religious 
literature.
    There was no official religious instruction in public schools; 
however, students were required to study the Ruhnama at all public 
schools and institutes of higher learning. The President used these 
teachings in part to supersede other established religious codes, as 
well as historical and cultural texts, and thereby influence citizens' 
religious and cultural behavior. Extracurricular religious education 
was allowed only with CRA and Presidential permission. The Government 
announced in the summer that it would construct a Ruhnama university 
with six faculties that would focus on ``studying the deep roots of the 
nation's great spirit.'' In June 2005 the Turkmen State University 
Theological Faculty was dissolved and absorbed into the history 
faculty; only one institution of Islamic education remained open, and 
the Government controlled the curriculum.
    Government-supported mosques were required to display copies of the 
Ruhnama. Religious literature, with the exception of the Ruhnama, which 
officially is considered sacred, was not published in the country. 
Government representatives informed religious groups they could only 
import as much religious literature as corresponded to registered 
congregants, but even registered groups had difficulty importing 
religious literature. Ethnic Turkmen members of unregistered religious 
groups accused of disseminating religious material received harsher 
treatment than members of other ethnic groups, particularly if they 
received financial support from foreign sources.
    During the year the Government controlled the number of persons 
allowed to participate in the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (the 
hajj), specifying that only 188 pilgrims would be allowed to journey to 
Mecca, out of the country's quota of 4,600 persons. However, an unknown 
additional number of pilgrims participated by arranging travel through 
overseas travel agencies.
    The Seventh-day Adventists reported no further progress in 
receiving compensation for their church, which was demolished in 1999 
due to city reconstruction plans.
    Two Jehovah's Witness conscientious objectors were released from 
detention in December 2005 and in January. In contrast to previous 
years, they were not tried, although they were subjected to physical 
and psychological harassment and were forced to sign a confession. One 
Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector was detained and kept in the 
psychiatric ward of a military hospital in June, but he was later 
released with no further attempts to enlist him.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were 2,000 self-
identified Jews and no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
    The Government did not seek to promote tolerance education, other 
than to promote President Niyazov's doctrine of a united people.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution and law do not provide 
for full freedom of movement.
    Internal passports and residency permits were required. The 
Government controlled travel to border cities and regions, and large 
parts of the country were considered restricted zones.
    The Government denied that it maintained a list of persons not 
allowed to travel within or depart the country. However, a restrictive 
December 2005 migration law forbids travel by any citizen who: has 
access to state secrets, has falsified personal information, has 
committed a serious crime, is under surveillance, might become a 
trafficking victim, has previously violated the law of the destination 
country, or whose travel contradicts the interests of national 
security. Citizens are not informed of their travel restriction prior 
to arrival at the airport, although citizens have the right to inquire 
about their travel status at the State Agency for the Registration of 
Foreign Citizens (Immigration) where a comprehensive list is 
maintained. Citizens have not encountered problems when asking about 
their status. Individuals may appeal the temporary travel ban in most 
cases; however, the process remained unclear and was usually 
unsuccessful. In practice regime opponents, relatives of those 
implicated in the 2002 attack, and those considered to possess ``state 
secrets,'' as well as their relatives, were refused permission to board 
international flights at the airport.
    After foreign diplomatic efforts at the highest levels, four 
individuals were permitted to leave Turkmenistan for homes in other 
countries. One person was a dual citizen of another country and the 
other family was being reunified with a spouse/father who was granted 
asylum abroad. During the year the niece of an accused participant in 
the 2002 attack, living in self-imposed exile and a participant in 
external opposition efforts, was denied permission to return to her 
university studies abroad. The Government told the daughters of 
deceased journalist Ogulsapar Myradova they will not be permitted to 
travel abroad (see section 1.f.).
    The Government also refused to allow some study abroad and exchange 
program participants to attend programs.
    Citizens living in Dashoguz and Lebap provinces may only spend 
three days a month visiting relatives in the Bukhara and Khorezm 
provinces of neighboring Uzbekistan, under a 2004 summit agreement 
between President Niyazov and President of Uzbekistan Karimov. This in 
some cases impeded citizens' ability to visit relatives.
    The law permits forced internal and external exile, and at year's 
end some individuals remained in forced exile, which the Government 
used as punishment during the year. The Government confiscated the 
passports of political opponents to enforce internal exile during the 
year. Numerous former ministers and government officials dismissed from 
their positions and sent into internal exile remained under house 
arrest. The President allowed the officials, who were sometimes 
accompanied by their families, to work off their sentences in internal 
exile. Almost all prominent political opponents of the Government chose 
to move to other countries for reasons of personal safety; none 
returned during the year.
    Alexander Fataliyev remained in external exile, and Sazak Begmedov 
and Maral Yklymova remained in internal exile or house arrest during 
the year. Yklymova, the daughter of one of the accused organizers of 
the November 2002 attacks, remained under house arrest in Mary where 
she was regularly watched by security officials and periodically had 
her passport confiscated and telephone lines cut off. No official 
charges were ever filed against her.
    There continued to be reports that authorities harassed ethnic 
Russians and confiscated their property to hasten their migration. In 
contrast to previous years, the Government did not overtly discourage 
emigration of ethnic Turkmen living in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and other 
countries, and emigration of non-Turkmen from the former Soviet Union.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government granted refugee or asylum status to some 
ethnic Turkmen from Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and to other groups of 
ethnic Uzbeks and Russians. The Government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 
1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol and granted citizenship or legal 
residency to over 16,000 individuals during the year. Most of those 
granted citizenship were ethnic Turkmen who had fled conflict in 
Tajikistan in the early 1990s, ethnic Uzbeks, or Russians. The 
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
refugees and asylum seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens could not freely choose and change the laws and officials 
that governed them. The constitution declares the country to be a 
secular democracy in the form of a Presidential republic. It calls for 
the separation of powers among the various branches of government, but 
vests a disproportionate share of power in the presidency. In practice 
the President's power over the state was absolute; all important and 
most minor decisions were made at the Presidential level. Citizens 
swore a national oath of personal allegiance to President Niyazov, 
rather than just to the country or to the presidency as an institution.
    A constitutional amendment named President Niyazov chairman-for-
life of the people's council, giving him authority to approve any 
potential successor. A 1994 national referendum, which was neither free 
nor fair, extended the President's term, eliminating the 1997 scheduled 
Presidential election. A 1999 law allowed an exception to 
constitutionally mandated term limits (normally two five-year terms) 
for Niyazov, effectively permitting him a lifetime term in office. 
However, following President Niyazov's death on December 21, the 
national people's council decided December 26 to select the new 
President through national elections, to be held February 11, 2007. 
Under the constitution, Parliament Chairman Ovezgeldy Atayev should 
have become the interim President, but Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, the 
deputy prime minister, was named instead, allegedly because of an 
ongoing criminal investigation against Atayev. On December 26, the Halk 
Maslahty selected six Presidential candidates, changing the 
constitution to allow the candidacy of Interim President 
Berdimuhammedov. Residency requirements precluded the candidacy of some 
exiles who expressed a desire to run for President. Nurberdy 
Nurmamedov, a dissident figure who lives in Ashgabat and whom some of 
these exiles hoped would be a candidate, was detained on December 23 
and released on December 30.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2004 parliamentary 
elections all candidates were pre-approved members of the Democratic 
Party. Citizens reportedly had very little knowledge about the 
elections, including both the date and candidates' biographies. Foreign 
observers were not invited to monitor the elections.
    In 2004 President Niyazov committed to hold a series of elections 
with open nominations at all levels of government, culminating in 
Presidential elections in 2009. The first of these elections, at the 
gengesh level, took place in July; citizens elected 5,320 village 
council members, from multiple candidates, at least some of whom were 
not affiliated with the party or governmental organizations. It was not 
clear whether any of the non-party/governmental candidates won. Village 
councils have little actual decision-making responsibility. While these 
elections contained genuinely democratic elements, such as non official 
party candidates, the election process still did not conform to 
internationally recognized standards.
    Elections for etrap (district) level people's councils took place 
in December. As in the gengesh elections, voters were able to choose 
among multiple candidates, some of whom were not affiliated with the 
party or government. Voters selected at least one of these candidates. 
However, voter turnout was lower than the 96.95 percent rate reported 
by the Government, and there were some reports of election officials 
taking ballot boxes around to voters' homes in order to encourage a 
higher participation rate.
    Although the Government did not prohibit membership in political 
organizations, political parties other than the President's Democratic 
Party were banned. Authorities fired or threatened to fire supporters 
of external opposition movements, removed them from professional 
societies, and threatened them with the loss of their homes. In 
addition some citizens who met with foreigners were subject to official 
intimidation.
    There were eight women in the 50-member parliament, including the 
new Mejlis Chairman, elected in late December. Women were also 
represented in the 2,500-delegate people's council. Women served in a 
few prominent government positions: minister of culture, minister of 
education, minister of welfare and social care, and ambassador to the 
UN. In April the female prosecutor general was removed from office and 
prosecuted for illegal activities.
    There was one member of a minority group in the 50-seat parliament. 
This member passed away on November 23, and it is unclear how his seat 
will be filled. Ethnic minorities were also represented in the 2,500-
delegate people's council. Preference for appointed government 
positions was given to ethnically pure Turkmen, but ethnic minorities 
occupied several high governmental positions. The largest tribe, the 
President's Teke tribe, held the most prominent roles in cultural and 
political life.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was widespread 
corruption in all social and economic sectors. Factors included the 
existence of patronage networks, a lack of transparency and 
accountability mechanisms, and fear of government reprisal.
    While the President fired numerous officials of all ranks on 
justifiable charges of bribery, nepotism, abuse of office, and 
embezzlement, observers maintained that authorities used anticorruption 
campaigns to remove potential rivals.
    During the year, 16 government ministers and officials were exiled 
or sentenced to jail terms after dismissal. Thirty-five more officials 
have been fired from their positions but remained free or their status 
was unknown.
    For example, on March 3, the former director of the state-run 
Turkmenbashy Refinery, Amangeldi Pudakov, was fired and subsequently 
sentenced for nepotism and corruption; on the same day, the former 
deputy head of the Turkmengas State Concern Sapar Yoldashev was also 
fired and jailed for corruption. Observers believed that President 
Niyazov removed these two individuals in order to increase his direct 
control over gas and oil revenues.
    In April long-time Prosecutor General Gurbanbibi Atajanova, who in 
recent years oversaw the sentencing of individuals allegedly involved 
in the 2002 assassination attempt as well as governmental purges, was 
herself convicted of corruption and embezzlement and sentenced to 20 
years' imprisonment. Observers suspected that Atajanova died while in 
police custody (see section 1.c.). Most of the personnel in the 
prosecutor general's office were also purged.
    There is no law that allows access to government information, and 
in practice the Government did not provide access. Requests for 
specific information were denied on the basis of information being a 
state secret. Statistical data was considered a state secret. There was 
no public disclosure of demographical data, and published economic and 
financial data was manipulated to justify state policies and 
expenditures.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no domestic human rights groups. The Government warned 
its critics against speaking with visiting journalists or other 
foreigners wishing to discuss human rights problems. During the year 
the Government maintained pressure on nonpolitical social and cultural 
organizations. This included detention and routine summoning for 
questioning the security services.
    There were also no international human rights NGOs with an ongoing 
permanent presence in the country; however, the Government permitted 
international organizations, including the OSCE and the UNHCR, to have 
resident missions. The ICRC and other international human rights groups 
monitored the situation from abroad. Government restrictions on freedom 
of speech, press, and association severely restricted international 
organizations' ability to investigate and criticize the Government's 
human rights policies. Officials were somewhat responsive to questions 
regarding alleged human rights abuses.
    The Government did not respond to a critical UNICEF report on the 
rights of children released June 2. The Government sought to censor an 
OSCE newsletter reporting the full text of a speech by the visiting 
OSCE chairman-in-office. Rather than bow to government demands, the 
OSCE Center chose to seek publication of the newsletter outside of the 
country.
    The National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IDHR), 
nominally headed by President Niyazov, appeared to have little real 
authority. In February 2005 the Committee on the Protection of Human 
Rights and Liberties was established in parliament to oversee human 
rights-related legislation. The IDHR was mandated to support 
democratization and monitor the protection of human rights, and also 
maintained a human rights library. In principle the institute reviewed 
citizens' complaints and returned its findings to the individual and 
the organizations involved; however, the institute was not an 
independent body, and its ability to obtain redress was limited.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law provides for equal rights and freedoms for all, 
independent of nationality, origin, language, and gender, violence 
against women, and discrimination against ethnic minorities continued 
to be problems.

    Women.--The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal 
abuse, but it is not effectively enforced. Anecdotal reports indicated 
that domestic violence against women was common; most victims of 
domestic violence kept silent, either because they were unaware of 
their rights or afraid of increased violence from husbands and 
relatives. There were a few court cases and occasional references to 
domestic violence in the media. One official women's group in Ashgabat, 
an independent NGO, and several informal groups in other regions 
assisted victims of domestic violence.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, with penalties of between 
three and 25 years based on the level of violence of the incident and 
whether the attacker is a repeat offender. The Government generally 
enforced the law effectively against citizens; however, it used rape as 
a threat against female family members of persons held for religious 
offenses (see section 2.c.) as well as against detainees (see section 
1.c.).
    Prostitution is illegal, but remained a problem throughout the 
country. Authorities actively monitored prostitution but did not 
attempt to counter it. There is no law specifically prohibiting sexual 
harassment, and there were anecdotal reports that sexual harassment 
existed in the workforce.
    Women had equal rights under family law, property law, and in the 
judicial system. Women were underrepresented in the upper levels of 
government-owned economic enterprises and were concentrated in health 
care, education, and service professions. Women were restricted from 
working in some dangerous and environmentally unsafe jobs. The Mejlis 
Committee on Human Rights and Liberties is responsible for drafting 
human rights and gender legislation. This body was responsible for 
integrating a new gender program into the country's education 
curriculum and for publishing regular bulletins on national and 
international gender laws.
    The Government did not acknowledge or address discrimination 
against women.

    Children.--The Government did not take effective steps or have 
adequate resources to fully address the needs of children, in 
particular in regard to education, according to a UNICEF report on the 
rights of children.
    The Government provided nine years of basic education for girls and 
boys. Primary and secondary education was free and compulsory. The 
Government stated that approximately 95 percent of children between the 
ages of seven and 16 attended school on a regular basis; however, a 
2003 UN Development Program report listed school attendance at 81 
percent. Most children completed school and some went on to university 
and vocational schools.
    A 2000 Presidential decree continued to reduce the number of 
teachers; class sizes therefore continued to increase rapidly, 
facilities deteriorated, and funds for textbooks and supplies 
decreased. The amount of classroom time dedicated to learning the 
Ruhnama and Ruhnama II and other books by Niyazov dramatically limited 
the school time available for basic core academic subjects. During the 
year the Government continued to limit courses taught in non-Turkmen 
languages; the secondary school system further degenerated and 
educational opportunities were limited. There were no Turkmen-language 
curricula or textbooks in many subject areas and at most grade levels.
    By law the Government provides free health care for children until 
the age of 18. Hospital care is also free; however, parents regularly 
paid bribes for service, medicines and adequate medical equipment, 
including syringes.
    There were isolated reports of child abuse.
    According to UNICEF, nine percent of marriages involved children.
    Minimal child labor was seen in the cotton fields during the 
harvest; however, this was not encouraged by the Government and was 
contrary to a Presidential decree (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons; however, articles in the criminal code deal 
with sexual exploitation and prostitution, slavery, and encouraging 
illegal border crossing, which prohibit trafficking de facto. Women 
were trafficked to, from, and within the country; however, trafficking 
was not a significant problem.
    The Government has used the new migration law to forbid suspected 
female trafficking victims from boarding planes to Turkey and the 
United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two countries considered to be the most 
important trafficking destination countries. Iran was also assumed to 
be a trafficking destination. NGOs noted that young women from minority 
ethnic groups were most vulnerable to being trafficked.
    In contrast to the previous year, there were no reports of 
trafficked persons during the year. Traffickers are subject to between 
two and eight years' imprisonment and the confiscation of property, 
depending on which law they are convicted under. The State Service for 
the Registration of Foreigners (SSRF) is responsible for combating 
trafficking.
    In 2005 there were eight known cases of trafficking in persons and 
one successful prosecution on charges of sexual exploitation, slavery, 
and encouraging deceitful border crossing. The trafficker received a 
prison sentence of seven years.
    The MOJ worked with foreign embassies and international 
organizations to promote public awareness of trafficking. However, the 
Government did not publicly acknowledge trafficking as a problem and 
did not monitor the trafficking situation within its borders nor did it 
have a strategy to do so.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, although various regulations 
contradict the law, in effect nullifying it. Persons with disabilities 
encountered discrimination in employment, education, access to health 
care, and provision of other state services. Many persons with physical 
disabilities were systematically categorized as persons with mental 
disabilities and housed at facilities for the mentally ill. The 
Government provided subsidies and pensions for persons with 
disabilities, although they were inadequate to maintain a decent 
standard of living. Because they received these subsidies, persons with 
disabilities were considered ``employed,'' and therefore were 
ineligible to compete for government jobs, the country's largest 
employer. Some groups of students with disabilities were unable to 
obtain education because there were no teachers. Students with 
disabilities did not fit the unofficial university student profile and 
were not admitted to universities. Children with disabilities, 
including those with mental disabilities, were placed in boarding 
schools through which they were to be provided with educational and 
future employment opportunities if their condition allowed them to 
work; in practice neither was provided. There were special schools for 
the hearing and sight impaired in the larger cities.
    Although the law requires that new construction projects include 
facilities to allow access by persons with disabilities, compliance was 
inconsistent and older buildings were not accessible. The Ministry of 
Social Welfare was responsible for protecting the rights of persons 
with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides for equal 
rights and freedoms for all citizens, although the President previously 
made statements promoting the importance of ethnic purity. 
Approximately 77 percent of the population was Turkmen, 9 percent 
Uzbek, and 7 percent Russian. There were smaller numbers of Kazakhs, 
Armenians, Azeris, and many other ethnic groups. Turkmen themselves are 
divided into five main tribes and several additional subtribes. Several 
minority groups tried to register as NGOs in order to have legal status 
to conduct cultural events. No minority groups succeeded in registering 
during the year.
    There were no reports of forced resettlement of ethnic minorities.
    The law designates Turkmen as the official language, although it 
also provides for the rights of speakers of minority languages. While 
Russian remained prevalent in commerce and everyday life in the 
capital, the Government continued its campaign to conduct official 
business solely in Turkmen. The Government required employees of 
ministries to pass tests demonstrating knowledge of the Ruhnama, state 
symbols, and professional subjects in Turkmen; employees who failed the 
exam were dismissed. Turkmen was a mandatory subject in school, 
although it was not necessarily the language of instruction. Teachers 
and staff at Turkish schools were systematically replaced with ethnic 
Turkmen teachers and administrators. Only in schools did the Government 
dedicate resources toward providing Turkmen language instruction for 
non-Turkmen speakers.
    Non-Turkmen speakers complained that some avenues for promotion and 
job advancement were closed to them and only a handful of non-Turkmen 
occupied high-level jobs in the ministries. In some cases applicants 
for government jobs had to provide family information on their 
ethnicity going back three generations. Non Turkmen were often the 
first targeted for dismissal when government layoffs occurred.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was a strong 
societal dislike of homosexuality. Homosexuality between men is illegal 
and punishable by up to two years in prison; it was believed that 
homosexuality between women would also be considered illegal, although 
it is not specifically written in law.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to 
form or join unions; however, in practice the Government does not 
permit independent unions. Under the umbrella organization Center for 
Professional Unions, led by a Presidential appointee, there were 
numerous professional unions in most fields, including medicine, 
construction, banking, accounting, economists, entrepreneurs, and 
leaseholders. Unlike in previous years, unions did not circumvent 
government restrictions on independent unions by registering as public 
associations. The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by 
employers against union members and organizers and there were no 
mechanisms for resolving complaints of discrimination; however, there 
were no reports of discrimination.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--All unions are 
government appendages and have no independent voice in their 
activities. The law does not protect the right of collective 
bargaining. There is no law regulating strikes or retaliation against 
strikers, and strikes were extremely rare.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports it occurred 
(see sections 1.c. and 6).
    The Government also prohibits forced and compulsory labor by 
children. A February 2005 bans child labor and states no children would 
participate in the cotton harvest. There continued to be a decrease in 
the number of children working in the cotton fields.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in 
the workplace, but they were not implemented effectively. The minimum 
age for employment of children is 16 years; in a few heavy industries, 
it is 18 years. The law prohibits children between the ages of 16 and 
18 years from working more than six hours per day. A 15 year-old child 
may work four to six hours per day with parental and trade union 
permission, although such permission was rarely granted. Child labor 
laws were not effectively enforced in practice, although implementation 
appeared to have improved during the year. The MOJ and the Prosecutor 
General's Office are responsible for enforcing child labor laws.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum monthly wage in the 
state sector of approximately $40 to $60 (1 to 1.5 million TMM) per 
month did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family.
    The standard legal workweek is 40 hours with two days off. Most 
public-sector employees also worked at least one-half of a work day on 
Saturdays. The law states overtime or holiday pay should be double the 
regular payment; maximum overtime in a year is 120 hours and cannot 
exceed four hours in two consecutive days. This law, however, was not 
enforced.
    The Government did not set comprehensive standards for occupational 
health and safety. Industrial workers in older factories often labored 
in unsafe environments and were not provided proper protective 
equipment. Some agricultural workers were subjected to environmental 
health hazards. Workers did not always have the right to remove 
themselves from work situations that endangered their health or safety 
without jeopardy to their continued employment. In April workers at a 
knitting factory in Kaka reportedly held a sit-down strike when factory 
management failed to provide facemasks. After management threatened 
them with losing their jobs, they went back to work (see section 2.b.).

                               __________

                               UZBEKISTAN

    Uzbekistan is an authoritarian state with a population of 
approximately 27.3 million. The constitution provides for a 
Presidential system with separation of powers between the executive, 
legislative, and judicial branches; however, in practice President 
Islam Karimov and the centralized executive branch dominated political 
life and exercised nearly complete control over the other branches. The 
two chamber Oliy Majlis (parliament) consisted almost entirely of 
officials appointed by the President and members of parties that 
supported him. The most recent general elections in 2004, for seats in 
the lower chamber of the parliament, fell significantly short of 
international standards. The civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control over the security forces.
    The Government's human rights record, already poor, continued to 
worsen during the year. Citizens did not have the right in practice to 
change their government through peaceful and democratic means. Security 
forces routinely tortured, beat, and otherwise mistreated detainees 
under interrogation to obtain confessions or incriminating information. 
In several cases, authorities subjected human rights activists and 
other critics of the regime to forced psychiatric treatment. Human 
rights activists and journalists who criticized the Government were 
subject to harassment, arbitrary arrest, politically motivated 
prosecution, and physical attack. The Government generally did not take 
steps to investigate or punish the most egregious cases of abuse, 
although many officials were prosecuted for corruption. Prison 
conditions remained very poor and outside monitors did not have full 
access to places of detention. In many cases those arrested were held 
incommunicado for extended periods without access to family or 
attorneys. Criminal defendants were often deprived of legal counsel. 
Guilty verdicts were almost universal, and generally based upon 
defendants' confessions and witnesses' testimony obtained through 
coercion. The Government tightly controlled the mass media and treated 
criticism of the regime as a crime. The Government did not observe 
citizens' right to free assembly or association; police regularly 
detained citizens to prevent public demonstrations and authorities 
sought to control all nongovernmental organization (NGO) activity, 
forcing many local and international NGOs to close. The Government 
restricted religious activity, treating virtually all religious 
observance outside state sanctioned structures as a crime. Courts 
convicted many independent Muslims of extremist activity, and several 
Protestant groups were subjected to harassment. In several cases the 
Government pressured other countries to forcibly return Uzbek refugees 
who were under the protection of the Office of the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR). There was a widespread public perception of 
corruption throughout society. While the Government took steps to 
combat trafficking in persons, this remained a serious problem. The use 
of compulsory labor, particularly in cotton harvesting, continued.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
confirmed reports of political killings by the Government or its 
agents.
    The Government continued to refuse to authorize an independent 
international investigation of the alleged killing of numerous unarmed 
civilians during the violent disturbances of May 2005 in Andijon, in 
which peaceful demonstrations in support of 23 alleged Akromiya members 
on trial led to civil unrest. On the evening of May 12, 2005, an 
unknown number of individuals attacked a police garrison, seized 
weapons, and broke into a nearby prison and released several hundred 
inmates. Several witnesses claimed that on May 13, 2005, military 
vehicles drove into Bobur Square, where several thousand civilians had 
gathered, and fired repeatedly into the crowd without warning. The 
Government claimed, based on its own investigation, that armed men in 
the crowd initiated the violence by firing on government forces. The 
estimated number of dead as a result varied between the Government's 
total of 187 and eyewitnesses' report of several hundred. While an 
international investigation did not take place, government officials 
discussed their own investigation techniques and results with diplomats 
and other international representatives.
    There were no further developments in the September 2005 death of 
Islamic cleric Shavkat Madumarov, who died in custody three days after 
he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for membership in a 
banned Islamic group. During the year a local human rights organization 
reported for the first time on the October 2005 death of Azadbek 
Satimov, who died in police custody in the Shahrikhon District of 
Andijon Province. The report stated that numerous bruises and puncture 
wounds on Satimov's body indicated that his death may have resulted 
from torture. Police alleged that Satimov killed himself by beating his 
head against the concrete walls of his cell.
    In January 2005 the Government authorized an international 
investigation of the death in prison that month of Samandar Umarov, who 
had been serving a 17 year sentence for membership in the prohibited 
Hizb ut Tahrir (HT) extremist political movement. While Umarov's family 
believed that torture was the primary cause of death, the independent 
forensic review, conducted by a foreign pathologist and a foreign 
criminal investigations expert under the auspices of Freedom House, 
confirmed the conclusions of the original autopsy, which were that 
Umarov died of a stroke.
    The Government previously allowed international experts to 
investigate the 2004 death in custody of Andrei Shelkavenko. In that 
case experts concluded that death did not result from police 
mistreatment.
    The absence of independent medical examiners and frequent official 
pressure on families to bury bodies quickly in accordance with Islamic 
traditions made it difficult to confirm reports of deaths in custody as 
a result of torture or mistreatment.
    Local and international observers reported that persons sentenced 
to death were often not given an adequate opportunity to mount a 
defense or to appeal their sentence. The Government provided no 
notification of execution to the families of condemned persons and 
treated the execution dates and places of burial of executed persons as 
state secrets, a practice the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture 
condemned as ``cruel and inhuman.'' The Government considered the 
number of prisoners executed each year to be a state secret, and the 
number was impossible to estimate. In previous years Amnesty 
International (AI) estimated that scores were executed annually, and 
the local NGO Mothers against the Death Penalty and Torture had put the 
number at well over a hundred. According to the UN Rapporteur, at least 
nine inmates whose death sentences were allegedly based on forced 
confessions were executed between 2002 and September 2004, despite UN 
Commission on Human Rights' (UNCHR) requests for their cases to be 
reviewed.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports during the year of 
politically motivated disappearances. There were numerous unconfirmed 
reports of earlier disappearances in 2005 of persons who were present 
at the violent disturbances in May 2005 in Andijon. (See section 1.a.). 
The welfare and whereabouts of several of the refugees who were 
forcibly returned to the country during the year remained unknown.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, in the 2004 
disappearance of Farukh Haydarov, Okiljon Yunusov, and Husnuddin 
Nazarov.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
police and officers of the National Security Service (NSS) routinely 
tortured, beat, and otherwise mistreated detainees to obtain 
confessions or incriminating information. Police, prison officials, and 
the NSS allegedly used suffocation, electric shock, deprivation of food 
and water, and sexual abuse, with beating the most commonly reported 
method of abuse. Torture and abuse were common in prisons, pretrial 
facilities, and local police and security service precincts. Several 
cases of medical abuse were reported, including forced psychiatric 
treatment on political grounds. Defendants in trials often claimed that 
their confessions, on which the prosecution based its cases, were 
extracted by torture (see section 1.e.). A 2003 UN Special Rapporteur 
on Torture report concluded torture and abuse were systematic 
throughout the investigative process. During the year the Government 
took no obvious steps to address the UN's conclusions. In 2005 
government officials confirmed that prison regulations permitted 
beatings under the supervision of medical doctors, and prison 
authorities documented all such incidents in detail for prison records. 
Judges rarely pursued allegations of torture.
    Authorities treated individuals suspected of extreme Islamist 
political sympathies, particularly alleged members of HT, more harshly 
than ordinary criminals. There were credible reports that investigators 
subjected pretrial detainees suspected to be HT members to particularly 
severe interrogation. After trial authorities reportedly used 
disciplinary and punitive measures, including torture, more often with 
prisoners convicted of extremism than with ordinary inmates. Local 
human rights workers reported that common criminals were often paid or 
otherwise induced by authorities to beat suspected extremists and 
others who opposed the Government. As in previous years, there were 
credible reports that prison officials abused HT members to obtain 
letters of repentance, which are required for a prisoner to be eligible 
for amnesty. According to prisoners' relatives, amnestied prisoners, 
and human rights activists, inmates who refused to write letters 
disavowing their connection to HT were often beaten or sent into 
solitary confinement.
    In January and February, authorities reportedly beat and otherwise 
mistreated suspected religious extremist Nozim Rakhmonov during 
pretrial interrogation while he was in the custody of the NSS (see 
sections 1.d. and 2.c.).
    Between January 15 and March 15, following two months of 
incommunicado detention pending his trial on espionage charges, former 
Ministry of Defense official Erkin Musaev reportedly suffered torture 
during interrogation, including severe beatings to his head, chest, and 
feet (see section 1.e.).
    In March eight defendants from the town of Yangiyul on trial for 
religious extremism in the Tashkent Province Criminal Court testified 
that investigators beat and kicked them during interrogation to coerce 
them into signing confessions (see section 2.c.). The judge in the case 
dismissed their allegations of torture, saying the defendants filed the 
complaints to evade responsibility for their crimes.
    There were reports that interrogators subjected Azam and Alisher 
Karamatov of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) to torture 
and abuse during pretrial detention before their June 15 conviction 
(see section 4), including dropping them onto concrete floors, forcing 
needles under their fingernails, suffocating them with gas masks, and 
burning their skin with lighted cigarettes.
    On August 3 and August 11, courts in the Tashkent Province 
convicted 29 men of HT membership in two separate trials. Several 
defendants in one trial testified that they confessed their guilt only 
after interrogators had severely beaten them and threatened them with 
further torture (see section 1.e.).
    There were no developments in the February 2005 case of two Sufi 
Muslims who claimed that authorities tortured them while in detention 
(see section 2.c.). In the February 2005 trial in Tashkent of six 
defendants charged with terrorism, one defendant testified that he had 
been beaten repeatedly while in custody (see section 1.e.). There were 
no developments in the June 2005 case in which Ministry of Internal 
Affairs (MVD) officers allegedly subjected Yakubjon Aliev to repeated, 
severe beatings during interrogation in connection with alleged 
religious extremism and anticonstitutional activity. There were also no 
further developments in the case of the September 2005 death in custody 
of Shavkat Madumarov, whose family alleged authorities tortured during 
interrogation and in prison.
    During the year outside monitors were unable to gain access to 
visit the Tashkent MVD, where in 2004 eyewitnesses, family members, 
defense attorneys, and representatives of human rights groups claimed 
authorities frequently and systematically applied torture following the 
March and April 2004 terrorist attacks.
    In 2005 inmates and a guard at one prison corroborated reports that 
prison guards systematically beat suspected HT members following the 
March and April 2004 terrorist attacks.
    As in previous years, there were reports that police beat Jehovah's 
Witnesses. On April 12, local police in six cities carried out a 
coordinated raid on Jehovah's Witnesses congregations during worship 
services; several instances were reported in which police beat church 
members, in one case resulting in critical injury (see section 2.c.).
    There were several confirmed instances of politically motivated 
medical abuse. As in past years, law enforcement authorities had local 
political and human rights activists committed to psychiatric 
institutions to stop their activities. Victims could request through 
legal counsel that their cases be reviewed by an expert medical board; 
however, in practice such bodies generally supported the decisions of 
law enforcement authorities. On March 17, police reportedly arrested 
human rights activist Shokhida Yuldosheva in Tashkent and transported 
her to a psychiatric institution in Karshi, where she was subjected to 
three weeks of forced treatment. On May 25, Karshi police reportedly 
arrested Yuldosheva again and committed her to a second round of 
psychiatric treatment. Yuldosheva was involved in monitoring trials of 
regime opponents, and human rights activists believed her detention was 
politically motivated. Shahnoza Sodikbekova, the daughter of Tashkent 
human rights activist Shoira Sodikbekova, was reportedly confined on 
several occasions to psychiatric institutions in previous years. On May 
16, a medical commission issued a finding, which human rights activists 
called politically motivated, recommending further psychiatric 
treatment for her. On July 7, Tashkent prison authorities committed 
human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva to a prison psychiatric ward, 
where doctors reportedly administered oral medications. Four months 
earlier, Tojiboyeva had been convicted and sentenced to eight years' 
imprisonment on various criminal charges related to her human rights 
work. On September 12, authorities arrested journalist Jamshid Karimov, 
a nephew of President Islam Karimov, and forcibly committed him to a 
psychiatric institution near Samarkand. Authorities did not allow 
Karimov contact with his family for the first several weeks of his 
detention (see sections 1.d. and 2.a.).
    There were several instances in which unidentified assailants 
attacked human rights activists, journalists, and persons planning or 
participating in public demonstrations (see sections 2.a., 2.b., and 
4). On several occasions police forcibly dispersed public 
demonstrations, beating protesters and causing varying degrees of 
injuries. On May 12 and 13 in Tashkent, unidentified men forcibly 
dispersed informal memorial services for victims of the 2005 Andijon 
violence. On August 18, a group of approximately 20 local women 
attacked Jizzakh human rights activist Bakhtiyor Hamroyev in his home, 
causing moderate injuries.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor and life threatening, and there continued to be reports of severe 
abuses in prisons. According to reports by human rights activists and 
relatives of prisoners, prison overcrowding remained a problem. 
Tuberculosis and hepatitis were endemic in the prisons, making even 
short periods of incarceration potentially life threatening. Prisoners 
often relied on visits of relatives for food and medicine, which were 
reportedly in short supply in several prisons. Human rights activists 
reported that political prisoners and those convicted of membership in 
banned religious extremist organizations were held in specially 
demarcated sections of prisons and subjected to harsher conditions and 
treatment than other prisoners.
    As in past years, there were specific reports that inmates died of 
communicable diseases.
    According to human rights activists, on May 1, Kakhramon Teshaboyev 
died in a Tashkent prison medical facility, four years after he was 
convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of 
anticonstitutional activity and membership in a criminal organization. 
The reported cause of death was tuberculosis, and Teshaboyev had spent 
the six months before his death in the prison infirmary. Authorities 
reportedly delivered Teshaboyev's body to his family and pressured them 
to bury it as soon as possible.
    There were reports of inmates working in harsh circumstances and in 
some cases being beaten in detention facilities.
    During the year the MVD's Directorate of Prisons (GUIN) continued 
to operate a prison training center in Tashkent. The center, which was 
intended to eventually train all of the country's prison guards, 
utilized a curriculum that included human rights training and basic 
courses in psychology and prison management.
    The Government did not grant full access to outside monitors to 
prisons and detention centers. As in the previous year, independent 
human rights organizations did not visit detention facilities to 
monitor conditions. Throughout the year the International Committee of 
the Red Cross (ICRC) pursued negotiations with the Government to secure 
access to all detained persons consistent with ICRC's usual practices.
    Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other NGOs reported that government 
agents arrested and physically abused several Andijon residents who 
returned from Kyrgyzstan after having fled there in the wake of the May 
2005 events in Andijon (see section 2.d.).
    There were no further developments, and none were expected, in 2004 
criminal proceedings against four police officers in Andijon accused of 
torturing suspects in a murder investigation.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, these remained 
problems.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MVD controls the 
police, which are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of 
order. The NSS, headed by a chairman who is answerable directly to the 
President, deals with a broad range of national security questions, 
including corruption, organized crime, and narcotics. Corruption among 
law enforcement personnel remained a problem. Police routinely and 
arbitrarily detained citizens to extort bribes. Impunity remained a 
problem, and officials responsible for abuses were rarely punished. The 
MVD's main investigations directorate has procedures to investigate 
abuse internally and discipline officers accused of rights violations 
and has done so in several isolated cases. However, there is no 
independent body charged with investigating such allegations on a 
systematic basis. The MVD main investigations directorate incorporated 
human rights training into officers' career development.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law does not require warrants and grants 
wide discretion as to the proper basis for an arrest, but requires the 
arresting authority to forward a report justifying the arrest to a 
prosecutor within 24 hours of a person being taken into custody. The 
law also mandates that all detainees, whether they are considered 
suspects or accused, be questioned within 24 hours; however, suspects 
have the right to remain silent. There is no judicial determination of 
detention. Detention without formal charges is limited to 72 hours, 
although a prosecutor may extend it for an additional 7 days, at which 
time the person must either be charged or released. In practice 
authorities continued detaining suspects after the allowable period 
through various means, including filing false charges or detaining 
suspects as witnesses in other cases. Once charges are filed, a suspect 
may be held in pretrial detention at the prosecutor's discretion during 
an investigation. A prosecutor may release a prisoner on bond pending 
trial, although in practice authorities frequently ignored these legal 
protections. Those arrested and charged with a crime may be released 
until trial on the condition that they provide assurance that they will 
appear at trial. In such cases the accused is not required to post 
bail, but must register each day at a local police station.
    A Supreme Court decree provides for a defendant's right to counsel 
from the moment of detention. In practice access to counsel often was 
denied or delayed. In several cases investigators pressured defendants 
to sign statements refusing the services of private attorneys whom 
family members had hired to defend them. In their place authorities 
appointed state attorneys, who did not provide effective defense.
    In several cases during the year, persons were arrested and held 
incommunicado, without providing suspects with access to an attorney or 
communication with their families. In January and February, authorities 
continued to detain several Muslim men, including Sharafutdin Latipov, 
Nozim Rakhmonov, and Imam Ruhitdin Fakhrutdinov, who had been arrested 
in Kazakhstan in November 2005 and delivered to Uzbek custody (see 
sections 2.c. and 2.d.). Some members of the group had been registered 
as asylum seekers with UNHCR. They were not given access to attorneys 
or family members until March.
    After his January 15 arrest on espionage charges, former Ministry 
of Defense official Erkin Musaev was held in incommunicado detention 
for two months (see section 1.e.).
    During the year police frequently and arbitrarily arrested or 
detained individuals for expressing views critical of the Government. 
These included human rights activist Yodgor Turlibekov (see sections 
1.e. and section 4), Utkir Pardayev (see section 4), Alisher Karamatov 
and Azam Farmonov (see sections 1.c. and section 4), and journalists 
Ulugbek Haydarov and Jamshid Karimov (see sections 1.c. and 2.a.). In 
2005 those arrested on similar grounds included human rights activist 
Mutabar Tojiboyeva (see sections 1.c., 1.e., and 4) and political 
opposition figures Nodira Khidoyatova and Sanjar Umarov (see section 
1.e.). In many such cases, authorities resorted to false charges of 
economic crimes such as extortion or tax evasion.
    There were reports that police arrested persons on false charges as 
an intimidation tactic to prevent them or their family members from 
exposing corruption or interfering in local criminal activities.
    Following the May 2005 events in Andijon, police detained hundreds 
of citizens on suspicion of involvement in the events. The national 
human rights NGO Ezgulik compiled a list of arrestees totaling 363 
persons, in addition to those already convicted by the end of 2005. 
Dozens of human rights activists, journalists, and other Andijon 
residents who had spoken to the press or reported on the events were 
among those detained or arrested. On January 7, the Tashkent Province 
Criminal Court convicted one such arrestee, human rights activist 
Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov, of extremist activity and other offenses and 
sentenced him to seven years in prison.
    On January 12, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court convicted 
Ferghana Valley-based human rights and political activists Dilmurod 
Muhiddinov, Musajon Bobojonov, Nurmuhammad Azizov, Akbar Oripov, and 
Hamdam Sulaymonov on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the 
constitutional order, slander against the President, and preparing and 
distributing materials constituting a threat to public security. All 
five defendants had had copies of an opposition Birlik party statement 
that condemned the Government's role in the Andijon events. The court 
sentenced Muhiddinov to five years' imprisonment but released 
Bobojonov, Azizov, Oripov, and Sulaymonov with suspended sentences.
    On February 26, former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 
journalist Nosir Zokir, who was arrested and convicted in August 2005 
on charges of insulting an NSS officer, completed his six-month prison 
sentence and was released. Zokir had reported critically on the 
Government's role in the Andijon events (see section 2.a.).
    On March 6, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court sentenced human 
rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva to nine years' imprisonment on 
charges including extortion, fraud, tax evasion, forgery, and 
disseminating materials constituting a threat to public order. 
Tojiboyeva was arrested in October 2005, and human rights groups 
asserted the accusations were politically motivated (see section 1.e.).
    On April 3, journalist Sobirjon Yakubov was released from prison 
after a year in detention during which he was never formally charged 
with a crime. Authorities had arrested Yakubov in April 2005 and 
accused him of links with banned Islamic groups and of 
anticonstitutional activity (see section 2.a.).
    Authorities continued to arbitrarily arrest persons on charges of 
extremist sentiments or activities, or association with banned 
religious groups. Local human rights activists reported that police and 
security service officers, acting under pressure to break up HT cells, 
frequently detained family members and close associates of suspected 
members, even if there was no direct evidence of their involvement (see 
section 1.f.). Authorities made little distinction between actual 
members and those with marginal affiliation with the group, such as 
persons who had attended Koranic study sessions with the group.
    As in previous years, there were reports that authorities arrested 
and prosecuted persons based on the possession of HT literature (see 
section 2.a.). Coerced confessions and testimony were commonplace. Even 
persons generally known to belong to HT stated that the cases against 
them were built not on actual evidence, which would have been 
abundantly available, but on planted material or false testimony.
    Police harassed and sometimes arbitrarily detained members of the 
opposition Birlik, Free Farmers, and Erk parties (see section 3).
    During the year pretrial detention typically ranged from one to 
three months. The number of such prisoners in pretrial detention was 
unknown.
    In general prosecutors exercised near total discretion over most 
aspects of criminal procedure, including pretrial detention. Detainees 
had no access to a court to challenge the length or validity of 
pretrial detention. Even when no charges were filed, police and 
prosecutors sought to evade restrictions on the duration a person could 
be held without charges by holding persons as witnesses rather than as 
suspects.
    Local police regularly employed house arrest without due process. 
In most cases police surrounded the homes of human rights activists and 
government critics to prevent them from participating in public 
demonstrations or other activities. Bakhtiyor Hamroyev of the HRSU and 
other human rights activists in Jizzakh Province reported that local 
police surrounded their homes on a regular basis to prevent their 
departure. Tashkent based human rights activist Surat Ikramov reported 
similar surveillance of his home to prevent him from monitoring trials 
of religious extremists in Tashkent. In several instances police 
detained Elena Urlayeva at her home to prevent her participation in 
protest actions.

    Amnesty.--On March 2, the Government completed the three month 
amnesty declared in December 2005. Unlike in previous years, prisoners 
convicted of membership in banned organizations, including groups the 
Government defined as extremist, were not eligible for amnesty. Media 
reported that approximately 28,000 persons were pardoned under the 
amnesty. As in previous amnesties, prisoners were reportedly forced to 
sign letters of repentance as a condition of release. There were 
allegations that authorities physically mistreated some prisoners who 
refused to sign such letters (see section 1.c.) and accounts of many 
inmates not being released despite having signed such letters. Despite 
established conditions allowing release, local prison authorities had 
considerable discretion in determining who was reviewed for amnesty, 
and, as in previous years, there were reports of corruption. There were 
several reports of prisoners being charged with violating prison rules 
in order to lengthen their sentences; prisoners who habitually violated 
prison rules were specifically excluded from the December 2005 amnesty. 
In the past amnestied prisoners stated that government approved imams 
were sent to some prisons to make the final determination whether a 
prisoner had truly repented. This decision was reportedly frequently 
made in consultation with local mahalla (neighborhood) committees.
    On November 30, on the occasion of the Constitution Day holiday, 
the senate announced the annual amnesty to be implemented over a three 
month period. The Government announced that the amnesty would apply to 
convicts sentenced for up to 10 years' imprisonment for membership in 
banned organizations and for crimes against peace and security. 
Authorities released an undetermined number of prisoners under the new 
amnesty before year's end. Those released included human rights 
activist Yodgor Turlibekov who, at age 69, fell under the amnesty's 
provision for release of senior citizens.
    The amnesty resolution, as in previous years, specifically excluded 
those who ``systematically violate prison rules.'' Human rights 
activists reported that prison authorities cited selected prisoners for 
repeated violations of internal discipline specifically to render them 
ineligible for amnesty. Cases in which this tactic was suspected 
included those of human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva, political 
opposition figure Sanjar Umarov, and Ikhtiyor Hamroyev, the imprisoned 
son of human rights activist Bakhtiyor Hamroyev.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the judicial branch took its direction 
from the executive branch, particularly the general prosecutor's 
office, and exercised little independence in practice.
    Under the law the President appoints all judges for five year terms 
and has the power of removal. Removal of supreme court judges must be 
confirmed by parliament, which is obedient to the President's wishes.
    There are supreme criminal courts with jurisdiction over the 
Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic. Decisions of district and 
provincial courts may be appealed to the next level within 10 days of a 
ruling. In addition a constitutional court reviews laws, decrees, and 
judicial decisions to ensure compliance with the constitution. Military 
courts handle all civil and criminal matters that occur within the 
military. The Supreme Court is a court of general jurisdiction which 
handles selected cases of national significance.

    Trial Procedures.--Most trials are officially open to the public, 
although access was often restricted in practice. Trials may be closed 
in exceptional cases, such as those involving state secrets, or to 
protect victims and witnesses. Courts often demanded that observers 
obtain written permission from the court chairman or from the supreme 
court. Permission was difficult and time consuming to obtain, with the 
result that international observers in many cases missed important 
portions of trial proceedings. Local and international observers, 
including foreign diplomats, were often barred entry into trials.
    The Government generally announced trials, including those of 
alleged religious extremists, only at the court in which the trial was 
to take place and only a day or two before the trial began. During the 
year various local courts held several trials of defendants involved in 
the May 2005 Andijon events. The Government did not publicly announce 
the trials or the number or names of defendants, and courts declared 
most or all of the trials officially closed to outside observers on 
national security grounds.
    Either workers collectives committees or neighborhood committees 
select three judge panels of one professional judge and two lay 
assessors that generally preside over trials. The lay judges rarely 
speak, and the professional judge usually defers to the recommendations 
of the prosecutor on legal and other matters. There are no jury trials.
    Defendants have the right to attend court proceedings, confront 
witnesses, and present evidence. These rights were generally observed, 
including in high profile human rights and political cases. In all 
criminal cases which prosecutors brought to court, however, the verdict 
was guilty. Defendants have the right to hire an attorney, and the 
Government provides legal counsel without charge when necessary. 
However, state appointed attorneys routinely acted in the interest of 
the Government rather than of their clients. Authorities often violated 
the right to an attorney during pretrial detention, and judges in 
several cases denied defendants the right to an attorney of choice. 
There were several reports that investigators pressured defendants to 
refuse legal counsel. Defense counsel was often incompetent and, in 
most cases, the role of defense counsel was limited to submitting 
confessions and pleas for mercy. Several private law firms provided pro 
bono defense counsel, some financed through international 
contributions, although resources were limited.
    Government prosecutors order arrests, direct investigations, 
prepare criminal cases, and recommend sentences. Defendants do not 
enjoy a presumption of innocence. If a judge's sentence does not 
correspond with the prosecutor's recommendation, the prosecutor has a 
right to appeal the sentence to a higher court. Verdicts are often 
based solely on confessions and witness testimony that were often 
reportedly extracted through torture or other means of coercion, rather 
than evidence. On the rare occasions when a guilty verdict is not 
pronounced, the judge seldom acquits the defendant; rather, the case is 
sent back for further investigation. Legal protections against double 
jeopardy do not apply in practice.
    The law provides a right of appeal to defendants. Appeals did not 
result in convictions being reversed, but in several cases resulted in 
a reduced sentence.
    Defense attorneys had limited access in some cases to government 
held evidence relevant to their clients' cases. However, in most cases 
a prosecution was based solely upon defendants' confessions or 
incriminating testimony from state witnesses. Defendants often claimed 
that the confessions on which the prosecution based its cases were 
extracted by torture (see section 1.c.). In 2005 the BBC quoted a 
former interior ministry official who claimed that investigators often 
used beatings, psychotropic drugs, or threats against family members to 
obtain confessions from defendants. However, the Interior Ministry 
strongly denied the allegation. In many cases, particularly those 
involving suspected HT members, when the prosecution failed to produce 
confessions, it relied solely on witness testimony, which was 
reportedly often also coerced. Lawyers may, and occasionally did, call 
on judges to reject confessions and to investigate claims of torture. 
Judges routinely ignored such claims or dismissed them as groundless.
    On January 7, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court convicted human 
rights activist Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov of extremist activity and other 
offenses in connection with the May 2005 events in Andijon and 
sentenced him to seven years in prison. Authorities held Zaynabitdinov 
in pretrial detention for seven months after his June 2005 arrest until 
his trial and reportedly denied him access to his attorney of choice. 
The court barred all outside observers from the trial. The Government 
denied or failed to respond to several requests from foreign diplomatic 
missions for access to Zaynabitdinov.
    On March 6, Mutabar Tojiboyeva, head of the Ardent Hearts Club, a 
human rights organization, was convicted of slander and extortion and 
forced to undergo 10 days of psychiatric treatment in July.
    On August 3 and August 11, courts in the Tashkent Province 
convicted a total of 29 men of HT membership in two separate trials and 
sentenced them to between one and 13 years in prison (see section 
2.c.). Several defendants in one of the trials testified that their 
confessions had been coerced through severe beatings (see section 
1.c.). According to independent trial monitors, most evidence in the 
trial consisted of defendants' confessions and incriminating testimony 
from ``witnesses'' who were likely also coerced. Most defendants in the 
cases had been previously convicted of the same crimes and had served 
time in prison. At least five of the defendants were suffering from 
tuberculosis at the time of the trial and were coughing blood during 
court proceedings. In the latter of the two trials, the court limited 
access to only immediate family members and excluded all journalists 
and other observers.
    On September 6, Ruhitdin Fakhrutdinov, a former imam of a Tashkent 
mosque, was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was accused of being an 
extremist and charged with crimes in connection with a 1999 car bombing 
in Tashkent. He had been kidnapped from a Kazakh border town and 
delivered to Uzbek authorities. Court guards barred trial monitors from 
the proceedings.
    Investigators reportedly pressured poet-songwriter Dadakhon 
Khasanov to dismiss his attorney, and the court admitted no observers 
or other defense attorney into the courtroom during the September 
proceedings against him. The court gave Khasanov a suspended three year 
sentence (see section 2.a.).
    In October the Jizzakh City Criminal Court barred outside observers 
from the two-day proceedings against journalist Ulugbek Haydarov (see 
sections 2.a. and 4). On November 7, an appeals court commuted his 
sentence and released him from custody in response to an appeal by a 
foreign government.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--It was impossible to estimate 
the exact number of political prisoners or detainees. In 2004 there 
were an estimated 5,000 to 5,500 political prisoners, including alleged 
HT members, as well as those who were committed to psychiatric 
institutions as a form of confinement (see section 1.c.). It was 
believed that the number of political prisoners continued to rise 
during the year as the number of new prisoners sentenced likely 
exceeded the number of prisoners who were amnestied or completed their 
sentences. Media reported that approximately 28,000 persons were 
pardoned under an annual amnesty from December 2005 to March 2, but the 
Government provided no information on the number of political prisoners 
amnestied (see section 1.d.). Most persons convicted of political 
crimes were charged with the crime for which they were arrested, for 
example anticonstitutional activity, involvement in illegal 
organizations such as prohibited religious or political groups, or 
preparation or distribution of material that threatened public 
security. However, several human rights activists and journalists were 
convicted on politically motivated charges of other crimes, including 
extortion and hooliganism. Several human rights activists, journalists, 
and Andijon residents who had spoken about the May 2005 events were 
convicted and imprisoned on charges related to the events. The 
Government did not allow any independent monitoring groups to visit 
political prisoners or detainees during the year (see section 1.c.).
    On January 7, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court convicted human 
rights activist Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov of extremist activity in 
connection with the 2005 Andijon events and sentenced him to seven 
years' imprisonment. On January 12, the same court convicted Ferghana 
Valley-based human rights and political activists Dilmurod Muhitdinov, 
Musajon Bobojonov, Nurmuhammad Azizov, Akbarali Oripov, and Hamdam 
Sulaymonov on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the constitutional 
order, slander against the President, and preparing and distributing 
materials constituting a threat to public security. The court sentenced 
Muhitdinov, also of the NGO Ezgulik, to five years' imprisonment but 
released Bobojonov, Azizov, Oripov, and Sulaymonov from custody with 
suspended sentences. Human rights activists and outside observers 
generally considered these cases and that of Zaynabitdinov to be 
politically motivated.
    On January 15, authorities arrested former ministry of defense 
official Erkin Musaev and held him in incommunicado detention for two 
months. On June 13, a closed military court convicted Musaev of 
espionage and sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonment, based on the 
allegation that he had passed state secrets to foreign diplomatic 
missions. Subsequently, on July 14, the Tashkent City Criminal Court 
convicted Musaev of fraud in connection with his work as a project 
manager for the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Tashkent. The second 
conviction rendered Musaev ineligible for inclusion in the annual 
amnesty and added one more year to his prison sentence. Relatives and 
outside observers maintained that the charges against Musaev were false 
and politically motivated. Musaev reported suffering torture in 
detention during his interrogation, including severe beatings to his 
head, chest, and feet (see section 1.c.).
    On February 26, former RFE/RL journalist Nosir Zokir, who was 
arrested and convicted in August 2005 on charges of insulting an NSS 
officer, completed his six-month prison sentence and was released. 
Zokir had reported critically on the Government's role in the Andijon 
events.
    On March 1, the Tashkent City Criminal Court convicted Nodira 
Khidoyatova, cofounder of the political opposition Sunshine Coalition, 
on charges of tax evasion and illegal commodities trading and sentenced 
her to 10 years' imprisonment. Khidoyatova was originally arrested in 
December 2005. International observers, human rights activists, and 
Khidoyatova's family members maintained that the charges were 
politically motivated. On May 23, a Tashkent appeals court commuted 
Khidoyatova's sentence and released her. The appeals judge acknowledged 
in court that Khidoyatova's payment of substantial ``compensation'' to 
the state played a role in her release.
    On March 6, the Tashkent City Criminal Court convicted Sunshine 
Coalition cofounder Sanjar Umarov on economic charges similar to those 
leveled against Nodira Khidoyatova, and sentenced him to 14+ years' 
imprisonment. Umarov had been arrested in October 2005. The court 
automatically reduced the sentence to 10 years and 10 months under the 
December 2005 amnesty resolution. Umarov was also ordered to pay a 
total of $8.3 million (10.4 billion soum; this fine was levied against 
Umarov in a combination of dollars and soum) in damages to the state. 
On April 13, an appeals court reduced Umarov's sentence further to 7 
years and 8 months on humanitarian grounds. Umarov's family, attorney, 
and human rights NGO observers criticized the trial as politically 
motivated.
    On March 6, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court sentenced human 
rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva to nine years' imprisonment on 
charges including extortion, fraud, tax evasion, forgery, and 
disseminating materials constituting a threat to public order. 
Tojiboyeva was arrested in October 2005, and human rights groups 
asserted the accusations were politically motivated (see section 1.c.).
    In April the Jizzakh Criminal Court convicted Dildora Mukhtarova on 
the charge of being accessory to a murder and sentenced her to 17 
years' imprisonment. Mukhtarova was arrested in December 2005 on 
charges that human rights activists believed were politically 
motivated.
    On June 16, police arrested human rights activist Yodgor 
Turlibekov, a resident of Karshi, after he distributed leaflets 
critical of government policies. Police held him in incommunicado 
detention for several weeks before giving him access to an attorney. 
Turlibekov was charged with ``encroachment upon the President of 
Uzbekistan,'' a charge human rights activists claimed was politically 
motivated (see sections 1.e.). On October 9, the Karshi Criminal Court 
sentenced Turlibekov to 3 years' imprisonment after a trial in which 
the court reportedly did not allow Turlibekov his choice of legal 
counsel. On December 24, authorities released Turlibekov from prison 
under an annual amnesty resolution (see sections 1.d.).
    There were several reports that prison officials accused certain 
political prisoners of repeatedly violating prison discipline, thereby 
extending inmates' sentences or making them ineligible for amnesty. In 
particular such tactics were reported in the cases of human rights 
activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva, political opposition figure Sanjar Umarov, 
and Ikhtiyor Hamroyev, the son of human rights activist Bakhtiyor 
Hamroyev. Allegations of prison disciplinary violations were not 
subject to review by an independent judiciary, nor were they upheld by 
hearings that were open to outside observers.
    Civil courts operate on the city or district level, as well as the 
interdistrict and provincial levels. Criminal courts operate on the 
city or district level. There are also supreme civil courts with 
jurisdiction over the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic.
    Economic courts with jurisdiction over the individual provinces, 
the City of Tashkent, and the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic handle 
commercial disputes between legal entities. Decisions of these courts 
may be appealed to the Supreme Economic Court.

    Civil an Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the 
constitution provides for it, the judiciary is not independent or 
impartial in civil matters. Citizens may file suit in civil courts, if 
appropriate, on cases of alleged human rights violations. There were 
reported cases in which courts decided in favor of plaintiffs in such 
cases. However, there were also many reports that decisions in civil 
court cases were influenced by bribes to judges.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such action; 
however, in practice authorities did not respect these prohibitions. 
The law requires a search warrant for electronic surveillance by the 
prosecutor, but there is no provision for a judicial review of such 
warrants. Citizens generally assumed that security agencies routinely 
monitored telephone calls and employed surveillance and wiretaps of 
persons involved in opposition political activities.
    There were numerous reports during the year of police and other 
security forces entering homes of human rights activists and religious 
figures without authorization of an independent judiciary. Members of 
Protestant churches who held worship services in private homes reported 
that, on several occasions, armed security officers raided worship 
services and detained church members on suspicion of illegal religious 
activity (see section 2.c.). On May 25, in the process of arresting 
human rights activist Shokhida Yuldosheva in Tashkent, police 
reportedly entered the home of fellow activist Elena Urlayeva without 
judicial authorization (see section 1.c.). On August 18, a group of 20 
local women forcibly entered the Jizzakh home of human rights activist 
Bakhtiyor Hamroyev and severely beat him (see section 4). Police 
reportedly appeared on the scene, but failed to render assistance; 
human rights activists claimed that the attack was carried out in 
collaboration with police.
    The Government continued to use an estimated 12,000 local 
neighborhood committees as a source of information on potential 
extremists. Committees served varied legitimate social functions, but 
also functioned as a link between local society, and government and law 
enforcement. Neighborhood committees' influence varied widely, with 
committees in rural areas tending to be much more influential than 
those in cities. Each neighborhood committee assigned a posbon 
(neighborhood guardian) whose job it was to ensure public order and 
maintain a proper moral climate in the neighborhood. In practice this 
meant preventing young persons in the neighborhood from joining 
extremist Islamic groups. According to a 2003 HRW report, the 
committees kept extensive files on families and collected information 
on individual religious practices. During the year there were several 
reports that neighborhood committees acted on orders of the NSS to 
monitor individual religious practices and specifically discouraged 
residents from associating with Protestant Christian churches (see 
section 2.c.). Neighborhood committees also frequently identified for 
police those residents who appeared suspicious and, working with local 
MVD and NSS representatives, reportedly paid particular attention to 
recently amnestied prisoners and the families of individuals jailed for 
alleged extremism.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of local 
authorities or neighborhood committees evicting local residents from 
their homes citing suspected illegal activity; however, there were 
several reports from members of Protestant churches that neighborhood 
committees threatened eviction based upon their Christian affiliation 
(see section 2.c.)
    Authorities frequently detained and mistreated family members of 
persons wanted or jailed for Islamic extremist activities, even if 
there was limited evidence of their involvement (see section 1.d.). 
There were numerous credible reports that police, employers, and 
neighborhood committees also harassed and arrested family members of 
human rights activists (see sections 1.d. and 2.b.). There were 
numerous reports that officials harassed relatives of residents who 
fled to Kyrgyzstan after the Andijon unrest in May 2005 to coerce them 
to persuade their family members to return to the country.
    Although there were no new cases this year, in 2005 independent 
press reports, a national human rights NGO, and at least one healthcare 
worker reported that hospitals, primarily in the Ferghana Valley, 
performed involuntary hysterectomies on women shortly after they had 
given birth. While authorities claimed that hysterectomies were only 
performed in cases of medical need, NGO and other sources reported 
several cases of medically unnecessary procedures. In other cases it 
was reported that doctors implanted contraceptive devices in women who 
had recently given birth, without their prior knowledge or consent.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and law provide 
for freedom of speech and the press; however, the Government generally 
did not respect these rights in practice.
    The law limits criticism of the President, and public insult to the 
President is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Citizens 
did not criticize the President or the Government on television or in 
the press, although they continued to do so occasionally in private. 
The law also specifically prohibits articles that incite religious 
confrontation and ethnic discord or advocate subverting or overthrowing 
the constitutional order (see section 2.b.). On September 8, a Tashkent 
court convicted poet songwriter Dadakhon Khasanov of creating and 
distributing materials constituting a threat to public order based on a 
song Khasanov wrote criticizing government actions during the May 2005 
Andijon events. The court gave Khasanov a suspended three year 
sentence.
    The Government continued to characterize the distribution of 
pamphlets by HT members as incitement for political and terrorist 
purposes; HT is a banned organization. During the year police 
reportedly arrested several people for possessing HT literature.
    The Government tightly controlled information. The Uzbekistan News 
Agency cooperated closely with Presidential staff to prepare and 
distribute all officially sanctioned news and information. The 
Government's press and information agency is responsible for monitoring 
all media. The Cabinet of Ministers owned and controlled three of the 
country's most influential national daily newspapers, Pravda Vostoka 
(Russian language), Halq So'zi (Uzbek language), and Narodnoe Slovo 
(Russian language). The Government, government controlled political 
parties or social movements, and the Tashkent municipal government 
owned or controlled several other daily and weekly publications. The 
Government also increasingly published news stories on official 
Internet sites including UzA.uz, operated by the National News Agency 
of Uzbekistan, and Jahon.mfa.uz, operated by the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs. A few Web sites, most notably Press-uz.info, Gazeta.uz, and C-
Asia.org, purport to be independent, yet invariably their reporting 
reflects the Government's point of view.
    There were a few private printing houses, located mostly in 
provincial cities and printing local newspapers with limited 
circulation. Government owned printing houses generally printed all 
newspapers. Private citizens and journalist collectives may not 
establish newspapers unless they meet the media law's standards for 
establishing a ``mass media agency,'' including naming a board of 
directors acceptable to the Government. The Government allowed a small 
number of private newspapers containing advertising, horoscopes, and 
similar features, but no substantive news or editorial content. Three 
private national Russian language newspapers Novosti Uzbekistana, Noviy 
Vek, and Biznes Vestnik Vostoka carried news and editorials favorable 
to the Government, as did two Uzbek language newspapers, Hurriyat 
(owned by the Journalists' Association) and Mohiyat (owned by Turkiston 
Press, a nongovernmental information agency which was loyal to the 
state). The Government did not allow the general distribution of 
foreign newspapers and publications. However, two or three Russian 
newspapers and a variety of Russian tabloids and lifestyle publications 
were available, and a very modest selection of foreign periodicals was 
available in major hotels and at other locations in Tashkent.
    In June authorities temporarily suspended printing of the Russian 
newspaper Trud after it published an article about the financial 
activities of the children of senior government officials, including 
President Karimov's daughter. The printing house that printed the paper 
attributed the interruption to technical difficulties.
    The four state run channels, all fully supporting the Government, 
dominated television broadcasting nationwide. There were 24 privately 
owned regional television stations and 14 privately owned radio 
stations. The Government tightly controlled both broadcast and print 
media. Journalists and senior editorial staff in state media 
organizations reported there were officials at the national television 
stations and newspapers whose responsibilities included actual black 
pen censorship. Nevertheless, there were also reports that regional 
television media outlets were able to broadcast some moderately 
critical stories on local issues.
    In November 2005 the President signed a decree providing for 
further consolidation of the management of broadcast mass media under 
government control, with the stated goal of promoting patriotism. The 
Government implemented the decree during the year. As one result of the 
consolidation, the Government transferred control over several state-
owned radio stations to the directors of the powerful state television 
stations, who exercised control over the radio stations through the 
National Television and Radio Company.
    The Government continued to refuse to allow RFE/RL, the Voice of 
America (VOA), and BBC World Service to broadcast from within the 
country.
    The May 2005 events in Andijon sparked a wave of government 
harassment against journalists, which continued during the year. Both 
print and broadcast journalists were subject to arrest, harassment, 
intimidation, and violence by police and security services, as well as 
bureaucratic restrictions on their activity.
    In late March authorities refused an exit visa to journalist 
Alisher Taksanov, who was seeking to travel to attend a conference 
abroad (see section 2.d.). Taksanov, an antilandmine activist, had 
written articles critical of the Government, particularly on the 
subject of landmines.
    On April 3, journalist Sobirjon Yakubov, who formerly worked for 
the newspaper Hurriyat, was released from prison and reinstated at 
Hurriyat after one year in detention during which he was never formally 
charged with a crime. In April 2005 authorities arrested Yakubov and 
accused him of links with banned Islamic groups and attempting to 
undermine the constitutional order. Yakubov had written articles 
advocating democratic reforms.
    On July 12, police reportedly entered the Namangan home of former 
RFE/RL journalist Nosir Zokir and seized many of his possessions. 
Zokir, who was arrested and convicted in August 2005 on charges of 
insulting an NSS officer, completed his six month prison sentence and 
was released in February (see section 1.d.). Prior to his conviction, 
Zokir had conducted an interview with a poet who was critical of the 
Government. The officers conducting the July raid reportedly claimed 
they were seizing the property in lieu of a fine against Zokir's son, 
who had been accused of illegally crossing the border into Kyrgyzstan.
    On September 12, authorities arrested journalist Jamshid Karimov, 
President Karimov's nephew, in Jizzakh and committed him to a 
psychiatric institution near Samarkand. No criminal charges were 
announced against Karimov. Human rights activists claimed the arrest 
was politically motivated (see sections 1.c. and 1.e.). On September 13 
an unknown assailant stabbed and seriously injured Saidburkhon Kadyrov, 
editor in chief of the newspaper Bukhara Yoshlari (Bukhara Youth) and a 
member of the unregistered opposition political party Birlik. On 
October 5, after a two day trial, the Jizzakh City Criminal Court 
convicted journalist Ulugbek Haydarov of extortion and sentenced him to 
six years' imprisonment (see section 1.d.). Haydarov had reported 
extensively on official corruption in Jizzakh Province. Human rights 
activists claimed the charges were politically motivated and based upon 
police entrapment. On November 7, an appeals court commuted his 
sentence and released him (see section 1.d.).
    There were several reports that journalists were fired from state 
run media outlets in retaliation for their contacts with foreign 
diplomats. State controlled media organizations fired some journalists 
for attending discussions or participating in other programs sponsored 
by foreign embassies. Others were placed on leave without pay or had 
their air time reduced.
    There were also reports that authorities revoked journalists' 
accreditations in retaliation for their reporting. On March 15, 
authorities revoked the accreditation of Deutsche Welle journalist Obid 
Shabanov because of his critical reporting on the issue of labor 
migrants.
    A government agency, the Interagency Coordination Committee (MKK), 
issues the required broadcast and mass media licenses to approved media 
outlets and could revoke licenses and close media outlets without a 
court judgment. The Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility issues 
frequency licenses. During the year MKK threatened to shut down some 
privately owned regional television stations on technical grounds to 
enforce control by the National Association of Electronic Mass Media 
(NAESMI), which lacks direct licensing authority.
    The NAESMI reportedly used its directors' close relations with the 
Government to coerce local television stations to join the association 
and restrict the content of their programming. Stations that resisted 
joining NAESMI were subjected to tax inspections and, in some cases, 
lost their broadcast licenses. In many cases NAESMI required affiliated 
local stations to broadcast prescribed programming instead of locally 
produced content, thus limiting the freedom of broadcasters.
    Government security services and other offices regularly gave 
publishers articles and letters to publish under fictitious bylines, as 
well as explicit instructions about the types of stories permitted for 
publication. Often there was little distinction between the editorial 
content of a government or privately owned newspaper. There was very 
little, if any, independent investigative reporting. During the year 
self censorship remained standard practice. The number of critical 
newspaper articles remained very low and their scope extremely narrow. 
During the year the legal affairs newspaper Advokat Press remained 
closed pending receipt of a new license. In December 2005 the 
Uzbekistan Press and Information Agency had ordered the newspaper to 
close after it published a series of articles criticizing government 
officials for violations of the law.
    The law holds journalists, as well as editors and publishers, 
responsible for the accuracy of news stories that appear in their 
publications, exposing them to risk of criminal prosecution for their 
reporting. The law establishes the right of government accepted 
newspaper boards of directors to influence the editorial content of 
media reports. These legal provisions establish mechanisms by which the 
Government can indirectly influence media content and further encourage 
members of the media to practice self censorship. Television and radio 
stations practiced self censorship and, therefore, carried critical 
reporting only occasionally.
    In December 2005 amendments to the criminal and administrative 
liability codes significantly increased fines for libel and defamation. 
In general the Government used charges of libel, slander, and 
defamation to punish journalists, human rights activists, and others 
who criticized the President or government. On March 7, the Cabinet of 
Ministers issued a resolution that prohibits journalists from working 
without accreditation, as well as working for unaccredited media 
outlets.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government allowed limited access to the 
Internet, although Internet service providers, at the Government's 
request, routinely blocked access to Web sites the Government 
considered objectionable, including several news Web sites and sites 
operated by opposition political parties.
    On October 19, the Cabinet of Ministers passed a decree requiring 
that all Web sites seeking a ``.uz'' domain name register with the 
state Agency for Press and Information. The decree generally affected 
only government-owned or controlled Web sites. Opposition Web sites and 
those operated by international NGOs or media outlets tended to have 
domain names registered outside the country.
    On May 12, the Government denied an exit visa to Alo Khojayev, 
editor in chief of the news Web site Tribune.uz, effectively barring 
him from traveling outside the country (see section 2.d.). In a refusal 
letter, visa authorities stated only that his travel abroad was ``not 
appropriate.'' Khojayev had drawn official disapproval for his critical 
attitude and critical articles toward the Government.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government limited 
academic freedom. Authorities often required department head approval 
for university lectures or lecture notes. Although authorities 
implemented the requirement inconsistently, university professors 
generally practiced self censorship. Numerous university students 
reported that universities taught mandatory courses on ``Karimov 
studies'' devoted to books and speeches by the President, and that 
missing any of these seminars constituted grounds for expulsion. An 
August 2005 decree of the Ministry of Higher Education effectively 
prohibited any cooperation between higher educational institutions and 
foreign organizations without explicit prior approval by the 
Government. During the year the Government broke up a conference of 
teachers and pressured teachers and students not to participate in 
conferences sponsored by diplomatic missions or academic exchange 
programs. There were many reported threats by school officials to expel 
students who participated in international exchange programs. One 
student expelled from university claimed that the expulsion was in 
retaliation for his participation in an international exchange program. 
Others who participated in university-level exchange programs reported 
losing their jobs at Uzbek universities upon their return to their 
country. There were several reports that government officials pressured 
local nationals to prevent them from participating in cultural events 
sponsored by foreign diplomatic missions.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
but in practice the Government often restricted this right and 
authorities also have the right to suspend or prohibit rallies, 
meetings, and demonstrations on security grounds. The Government did 
not routinely grant the required permits for demonstrations. Under 
December 2005 amendments to the criminal and administrative liability 
codes, citizens are liable to large fines for facilitating unsanctioned 
rallies, meetings, or demonstrations by providing space or other 
facilities or materials. The amendments also significantly increased 
fines for violations of procedures concerning the organizing of 
meetings, rallies, and demonstrations.
    In several cases authorities used a variety of tactics to prevent 
or stop peaceful protests. On May 12, unidentified men approached a 
group of approximately 10 human rights activists who were holding 
protest placards at a memorial in Tashkent on the anniversary of the 
May 2005 violence in Andijon, seized the placards, and ran away. On May 
13, when the group gathered again at the same memorial to carry out a 
similar demonstration, unidentified men again seized their placards. 
The activists then moved to a foreign embassy, where a local deputy 
chief of police personally attempted to disrupt the demonstration. 
Unidentified men later apprehended the demonstrators as they rode in a 
taxi and detained them on a roadside. Also on May 13, students at two 
Tashkent universities reported that university officials ordered them 
to appear at the schools to fill out questionnaires or face expulsion. 
The students believed the action was intended to prevent possible 
protests on the Andijon anniversary.
    In several other cases, however, human rights activists reported 
that local residents, including in Andijon, protested economic 
conditions, apparently without prior permission of the authorities, but 
did not face police pressure.
    In May 2005 the Government used deadly force to suppress a large 
demonstration in the city of Andijon. Demonstrations were sparked by 
the trial of 23 businessmen accused of Islamic extremism. Armed 
individuals stormed the city prison and freed inmates, occupied 
government buildings, and took hostages. Several thousand Andijon 
citizens assembled in a city square the following day to peacefully 
protest frustration with government abuse of power and social 
grievances. Eyewitnesses reported that government forces approached the 
square and fired into the crowd without warning. The Government claimed 
that armed rebels fired first on security forces, that security forces 
fired only on armed rebels, and that 187 persons were killed, while 
eyewitnesses and human rights groups estimated several hundred were 
killed. The Government continued to refuse international calls for an 
independent investigation of the events; however, officials discussed 
their investigation techniques and results with diplomats and other 
international representatives.

    Freedom of Association.--While the law provides for freedom of 
association, the Government continued to restrict this right in 
practice. The Government sought to control completely all NGO activity. 
The law broadly limits the types of groups that may form and requires 
that all organizations be formally registered with the Government. The 
law allows for a six month grace period for new organizations to 
operate while awaiting registration, during which time they are 
officially classified as ``initiative groups.'' Registration of NGOs 
and other public associations was difficult and time consuming, with 
many opportunities for government obstruction. Nonpolitical 
associations and social organizations usually were allowed to register, 
although complicated rules and a cumbersome government bureaucracy made 
the process difficult. Most local NGOs also were compelled to register 
with a government controlled NGO association, whose purpose was to 
control all funding and NGO activities.
    December 2005 amendments to the administrative liability code 
impose large fines for violations of procedures governing NGO activity, 
as well as for ``involving others'' in illegal NGOs. The law does not 
specify whether ``illegal NGOs'' are those that were forcibly suspended 
or closed, or those that were simply unregistered. The amendments also 
increased penalties against international NGOs for engaging in 
political activities, activities inconsistent with their charters, or 
activities not approved in advance by the Government. The February 2004 
banking decree, although ostensibly designed to combat money 
laundering, was selectively enforced to prevent both registered and 
unregistered NGOs involved in human rights or political work from 
receiving outside funding.
    The law allows independent political parties, but also gives the 
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) broad powers to interfere with parties and to 
withhold financial and legal support to those opposed to the 
Government. Registered parties received funding from the Government. 
All five registered political parties were controlled by the 
Government; no opposition parties were registered at year's end (see 
section 3).
    The law criminalizes membership in organizations the Government 
deems extremist. Under the law the extremist Islamist political 
organization HT was banned. HT promoted hate and praised acts of 
terrorism, although it maintained that it was committed to nonviolence. 
The party's virulently anti Semitic and anti Western literature called 
for the overthrow of secular governments, including those in Central 
Asia, to be replaced with a worldwide Islamic government called the 
caliphate.
    The Government has pressured and prosecuted members of the Islamic 
group Akromiya (Akromiylar) since 1997. Religious experts claimed that 
Akromiya is an informal association that promotes business along 
Islamic religious principles, while the Government claimed that the 
group is a branch of HT and that it attempted, together with the 
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, to overthrow the Government through 
armed rebellion in May 2005 in Andijon (see section 2.c.).
    In June the MOJ ordered two prominent human rights NGOs to close 
(see section 4). In 2005 nearly 200 NGOs were closed due to pressure by 
the Government.
    During the year the Women's Committee, a government controlled 
organization, monitored and often hampered the activities of women's 
NGOs, particularly those promoting women's political participation.
    During the year the Government also forced many international NGOs 
to close, citing alleged violations of the law. The closures were part 
of government efforts to minimize the presence of Western 
organizations, based on the stated belief that their programs aimed to 
forcibly introduce democracy and subvert the existing regime. The 
Government required all international NGOs to register with the MOJ. 
During the year the ministry continued conducting a series of 
exhaustive audits of international NGOs, which also suffered visa, 
accreditation, and automobile registration problems. During the audits, 
MOJ officials repeatedly referred to an unpublished 2003 decree that 
outlined new registration requirements for international NGOs. The 
Government used the decree as a basis for requiring prior government 
approval for a broad range of program activities and detailed reports 
on activities, program participants, and finances. NGOs' activities 
were also restricted by a 2004 banking decree that requires a 
government commission to review all foreign funding before disbursement 
to local NGOs. Although the measure was ostensibly to fight money 
laundering, the commission used political criteria to determine which 
programs received funds.
    On January 11, the Tashkent City Civil Court ordered the human 
rights NGO Freedom House to suspend its operations for six months based 
on the charge that the organization had provided Internet access 
without a license. On February 7, an appeals court rejected the 
organization's appeal of the suspension order. Following an 
unsuccessful appeal of the suspension and a criminal investigation of 
the organization's staff, the civil court ordered Freedom House to 
close on March 6. In 2005 the Government had subjected Freedom House 
and its employees to frequent harassment in 2005. Official television 
stations publicly accused Freedom House of supporting suspected 
terrorists in documentaries on the May 2005 violence in Andijon.
    On March 6, the Tashkent office of the Eurasia Foundation 
voluntarily suspended its activities after the MOJ filed a request for 
its suspension with the Tashkent Civil Court. The request alleged that 
the foundation had made grants to local NGOs and conducted seminars 
without prior government permission, among other technical violations.
    On April 19, the country director of the International Research and 
Exchanges Board (IREX) departed the country, and the representative 
office subsequently liquidated its operations, following its 
unsuccessful appeal of a December 2005 court order to close and a 
criminal investigation of several of its local staff members. The 
Government based IREX's expulsion primarily on the charge that the 
organization had provided Internet access without a license.
    On April 27, the Tashkent Civil Court ordered the Tashkent office 
of the American Bar Association's Central European and Eurasian Law 
Initiative (ABA/CEELI) to close. According to the Government controlled 
press, the decision was based on activities that ran counter to ABA/
CEELI's charter, including supporting and providing legal assistance to 
local NGOs. On May 23, the court denied ABA/CEELI's appeal of the 
ruling.
    On May 4, the court ordered the closure of the NGO Counterpart 
International, ruling that the organization had violated its charter.
    On June 1, the court ordered the closure of the American Councils 
for International Education (ACTR/ACCELS), a student exchange 
organization. Government controlled press agencies attributed the 
closure to the allegation that ACCELS had sent over 100 high school 
students abroad without informing authorities. The city prosecutor 
subsequently initiated a criminal investigation of its staff, but 
closed it without any findings because the organization's former office 
director died.
    On June 15, the court ordered the closure of the Tashkent office of 
Central Asian Free Exchange (CAFE), a faith based NGO engaged in small 
scale development and community education projects. Authorities accused 
the organization's employees of proselytizing illegally, providing 
Internet service without a license, and violating other regulations.
    In late June the court ordered the NGO Global Involvement Through 
Education to close, accusing it of activities that violated the 
organization's charter.
    Local experts estimated that by year's end government pressure had 
forced between two-thirds and three-fourths of local NGOs to cease 
operations.
    On July 12, the Tashkent Civil Court ordered the closure of the NGO 
Urban Institute, which had worked to help develop resident managed 
condominium associations. The court accused the organization of 
``discussing the socioeconomic, social, and political situation in the 
country'' without government authorization during its training 
seminars.
    On July 21, the court ordered the closure of Winrock International, 
an NGO that had assisted farmers with irrigation issues. The court 
based the liquidation order on printed and recorded materials on 
women's legal rights, which, according to the court, contained 
``unapproved religious content.'' The materials in question had been 
released under a 2003 program, since discontinued. On August 18, the 
court upheld the closure order on appeal. The criminal investigation 
was ongoing at year's end.
    On August 23, the Tashkent Civil Court ordered the closure of the 
NGO Crosslink Development International, ruling the organization did 
not report on its programs, carried out unlicensed educational 
activities, and granted loans without banking institution involvement, 
according to a quoted court official. Press articles quoted government 
officials accusing Crosslink employees of illegally providing financial 
support to the Pentecostal Church (see section 2.c.).
    In late August the MOJ refused to accredit 24 expatriate staff 
working for the NGO Partnerships in Academics and Development (PAD) and 
informed PAD that its microfinance program was illegal, as the 
Government decree under which it had been working had expired. The 
Government subsequently ordered PAD's closure, accusing it of illegal 
missionary activity.
    On October 2, the state tax authority sued Mercy Corps, alleging it 
had concealed over $497,000 (621 million soum) in income to avoid 
taxes. The Tashkent Economic Court in the first instance and a later 
appeals court both rejected the tax authority's claim. However, the 
Government controlled press accused Mercy Corps of espionage and 
subversive activity in connection with a civil society development 
program coordinated by the NGO in the Ferghana Valley. In December the 
Government froze the organization's local bank account and declared it 
liable for approximately $566,000 (708 million soum) in taxes.
    On November 6, the MOJ notified the economic policy research 
organization Bearing Point, LLC, that it had requested the 
organization's liquidation. The Government alleged that Bearing Point 
had violated the law by training journalists in economic analysis and 
giving economic advice to the Government, among other offenses. On 
November 8, Bearing Point declared its intention to liquidate 
voluntarily, whereupon the Tashkent Civil Court suspended action 
against the organization.
    On November 8, the Tashkent Civil Court dismissed a suit filed by 
the MOJ requesting the closure of the NGO Joint Development Associates 
(JDA), when the organization declared its intention to voluntarily 
liquidate. The Government had accused the organization of illegal 
missionary activity. In December the Government froze JDA's local bank 
account and declared it liable for over $67,000 ($86 million soum) in 
penalties for alleged violations of the tax code.
    On November 30, the Tashkent Civil Court ordered the NGO 
Cooperative Housing Foundation International to liquidate, based on 
allegations of tax evasion, failing to provide the Government with 
sufficient information about its activities, and maintaining 
unregistered branch offices outside of Tashkent. An appeals court 
subsequently upheld the ruling.
    In December the Government froze the local bank accounts of the 
NGOs Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in 
Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) and the Foundation for 
International Community Assistance (FINCA), in addition to those of JDA 
and Mercy Corps, and declared the organizations liable for large 
penalties for alleged violations of the tax code.
    During the year the Government forced the closure of a Hungarian 
NGO, the Ecumenical Charity Service, as well as the Participation, 
Education, and Knowledge Strengthening (PEAKS) Program, an education 
development program managed by the Academy for Educational Development. 
The Government also ordered the closure of two Korean organizations and 
one Swiss NGO based on charges of illegal missionary activity, and 
authorities detained two employees of the Swiss NGO on allegations of 
illegal activity. The Government also warned a British and Dutch NGO 
about alleged illegal activities and opened an investigation of the 
Calcutta based Missionaries of Charity. The Government followed a 
policy of auditing all international NGOs. Generally following an 
audit, the MOJ sent each audited NGO a letter outlining the violations 
discovered during the process, with a 30-day time limit to resolve the 
violations.
    The Government insisted that NGOs coordinate their training 
sessions or seminars with government authorities. NGO managers believed 
this amounted to a requirement for prior official permission from the 
Government for all NGO program activities. NGOs under the auspices of 
the Government controlled Institute for the Study of Civil Society were 
generally successful in conducting events.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--While the constitution and law provide for 
freedom of religion and separation of church and state, in practice the 
Government restricted religious activity. The Government supported the 
country's Muslim heritage by funding an Islamic university, supporting 
preservation of historic Islamic sites, and providing logistical 
support for citizens' participation in the hajj. The Government sought 
to promote what it considered a moderate version of Islam through the 
control and financing of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan (the Muftiate), 
which in turn controls the Islamic hierarchy, the content of imams' 
sermons, and published Islamic materials. The Committee for Religious 
Affairs (CRA), under the Cabinet of Ministers, oversees registered 
religious activity and must approve all religious literature. A small 
number of unofficial, independent mosques were allowed to operate under 
the watch of official imams.
    The law requires all religious groups and congregations to register 
and provides strict and burdensome registration criteria, including a 
requirement that each group present a list of at least 100 national 
citizen members to the local branches of the MOJ. This and numerous 
other provisions, such as a requirement that a congregation already 
have a valid legal address, enabled the Government to find technical 
grounds for denying a group's registration petition, such as 
grammatical errors in a group's charter. This process suppressed the 
activities of Muslims who sought to worship outside the system of state 
sponsored mosques, as well as members of unregistered Christian 
churches and other groups.
    Any religious service conducted by an unregistered religious 
organization is illegal. Police occasionally broke up meetings of 
unregistered groups, which were generally held in private homes (see 
section 1.f.). Members of some Christian evangelical congregations were 
detained during the year and occasionally beaten by authorities. 
Members of the registered Pentecostal church in Tashkent reported that 
police raided a worship service in April. On November 30 and December 
1, video tape of that raid appeared in a documentary film on government 
television which warned viewers against associating with evangelical 
Christians. On April 12, police raided several Jehovah's Witnesses 
worship services across the country on that church's annual holy day. 
The Greater Grace Church in Samarkand also reported continuing 
harassment from authorities. Religious groups are prohibited from 
forming political parties and social movements.
    During the year the number of registered religious congregations 
increased from 25 to 2,226 registered religious groups, of which 2,046 
were Muslim. Local authorities continued to block the registration or 
reregistration of evangelical Christian congregations in Tashkent, 
Samarkand, Guliston, Chirchiq, Gazalkent, Andijon, and Nukus. The 
International Church of Tashkent, a Protestant nondenominational church 
ministering exclusively to the international community, has been unable 
to obtain registration for several years, due in part to its inability 
to meet the legally required minimum of citizen 100. Jehovah's 
Witnesses in Tashkent were unable to obtain registration. On August 25, 
the Government canceled the registration of the Jehovah's Witnesses 
congregation in Ferghana Province, accusing members of ``aggressive 
missionary work.'' Out of the 11 Jehovah's Witnesses' churches in the 
country, only the one in Chirchiq was registered at year's end. Police 
routinely questioned, searched, and arbitrarily fined individual 
members of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the country. On April 12, as 
in previous years, police and security personnel disrupted Jehovah's 
Witnesses meetings in Tashkent and several other cities and arrested 
approximately 100 church members. Most were released soon afterwards, 
but some were subjected to longer administrative detention, some were 
reportedly beaten by police, and several were required to pay small 
fines.
    Most Muslims arrested for religious reasons were tried for 
anticonstitutional activity and participating in ``religious extremist, 
separatist, fundamentalist, or other banned organizations,'' a charge 
that encompasses both political and religious extremism. The 
overwhelming majority of those arrested on this charge were accused of 
HT membership. The Government also arrested members of other groups 
that it broadly labeled Wahhabi. Individuals arrested on suspicion of 
extremism often faced severe mistreatment including torture, beatings, 
and particularly harsh prison conditions, and were typically sentenced 
to between 7 and 12 years in jail (see sections 1.c. and 1.d.). Prison 
authorities reportedly did not allow many prisoners suspected of 
Islamic extremism to practice their religion freely and, in some 
circumstances, did not allow them to own a Koran. Authorities 
reportedly punished inmates who attempted to fulfill their religious 
obligations against prison rules, or who protested the rules 
themselves, with solitary confinement and beatings.
    In past years the Government's campaign against extremists resulted 
in official suspicion of more religiously observant (yet nonextremist) 
persons, including frequent mosque attendees, bearded men, and veiled 
women. In practice this approach often resulted in the Government 
singling out observant Muslims for surveillance or harassment based on 
outward expressions of their religious belief. During the year there 
were no reports of arrests or harassment of Muslim believers on this 
basis. While a large and increasing number of young men attended Friday 
prayers in general, hardly any were bearded. The law prohibits the 
wearing of ``cult robes'' (religious clothing) in public except by 
those serving in religious organizations; however, this provision did 
not appear to be enforced. On August 9, the government-controlled 
newspaper Turkiston published an editorial warning against wearing 
white skullcaps, which the author associated with Islamic extremism. In 
November, according to the Forum 18 News Service, Andijon Province 
authorities ordered that mosques cease the traditional call to prayer, 
that teenage boys be barred from mosque attendance, and that Muslim 
clerics be prohibited from participating in wedding services.
    The Government did not consider repression of groups such as HT to 
be a matter of religious freedom but directed against those who 
allegedly advocated overthrowing the Government. Unlike in prior years, 
there were no reported arrests or prosecutions of members of Tabligh 
Jamoat, an Islamic group with origins in South Asia.
    There were no developments regarding the February 2005 case of two 
Sufi Muslims who claimed authorities tortured them while in detention 
(see section 2.c.).
    On April 19, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court convicted eight 
men from the town of Yangiyul of unregistered religious activity and 
sentenced seven of them to three years of compulsory labor and one man 
to two years in prison. Prosecutors initially charged the men with 
membership in a banned extremist organization, which would have carried 
a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment; however, for unspecified 
reasons, prosecutors reduced the charges during the trial. Observers 
reported that the evidence presented in court rested entirely upon 
testimony of a convicted thief, and that other court testimony did not 
implicate the defendants in any illegal activity (see section 1.c.).
    During the year several persons were prosecuted and convicted of 
religious extremism and membership in an unregistered religious group 
for their affiliation with Akromiya. Religious experts claimed that 
Akromiya is a religious association that promotes business, not 
extremism.
    Many trials were related to the May 2005 Andijon events (see 
section 1.a.). In public statements the Government referred to all on 
trial, in prison, and those killed on May 13, 2005, as religious 
extremists. During the year approximately 70 persons were convicted of 
various charges, including Islamic extremism, murder, terrorism, and 
anticonstitutional activity in connection with the Andijon events, in 
addition to 187 convicted in 2005. During the year many of those 
convicted in 2005 appealed their convictions, resulting in reductions 
of sentences in several cases. All Andijon related trials during the 
year were closed to outside observers, and details of the cases, 
including names of defendants and lengths of sentences, were not 
available.
    During the year the Government tried and convicted eight Muslims 
who were deported from Kazakhstan in November 2005 (see section 1.d.). 
Authorities committed one of the nine total returnees, Shoirmat 
Shorakhmetov, to an institution for the criminally insane and did not 
place him on trial. Most were followers of Imam Abidkhan Nazarov, an 
influential Tashkent cleric who was dismissed from his position in 
1995, fled to Kazakhstan, and was resettled to a third country as a 
refugee in March. Nazarov's followers were principal targets of the 
Government's efforts against extremism. On April 12, the Tashkent City 
Criminal Court convicted two of the returnees, Sharafutdin Latipov and 
Nozim Rakhmonov, of membership in a religious extremist organization 
and sentenced them to six years' imprisonment. On September 15, the 
Tashkent Province Criminal Court convicted the most prominent 
defendant, Imam Ruhitdin Fakhrutdinov, on charges of religious 
extremism and terrorism in connection with the 2004 terrorist bombings 
in Tashkent and Bukhara, and sentenced him to 17 years' imprisonment. 
Other defendants in the group of returnees received sentences averaging 
approximately six years' imprisonment. While the trials were not 
officially closed to outside observers, court guards barred trial 
monitors from the proceedings.
    On August 3 and August 11, courts in the Tashkent Province 
convicted a total of 29 men of HT membership in two separate trials and 
sentenced them to prison terms between one and 13 years. Several 
defendants in one of the trials testified that their confessions had 
been coerced through severe beatings (see section 1.c.).
    Christians who tried to convert Muslims or who had among their 
congregations members of traditionally Muslim ethnic groups often faced 
official harassment, legal action, or, in some cases, mistreatment. The 
law prohibits proselytizing and severely restricts activities such as 
the import and dissemination of religious literature. Uzbek society is 
generally tolerant of religious diversity but not of proselytizing. 
Government officials have specifically cited the Jehovah's Witnesses 
and Pentecostals as extremists and ``militant missionaries'' and have 
targeted them for harassment. The Government accused employees of four 
Western based NGOs--CAFE, Crosslink Development International, Global 
Involvement Through Education, and Partnership in Academics and 
Development--of illegal religious activity, including proselytizing, in 
its decision to close them (see section 2.b.). While these 
organizations are faith-based, all denied conducting any religious 
activity in the course of their work.
    On April 12, approximately 100 members of Jehovah's Witnesses were 
detained in several coordinated raids in Tashkent, Karshi, and five 
other cities during worship services on their annual holy day. Similar 
raids took place during the same services in March 2005. Jehovah's 
Witnesses reported several instances of police brutality in the course 
of the raids. According to reports from Jehovah's Witnesses, most of 
those detained were released within a day, several with administrative 
fines. On April 26, authorities detained and deported a Russian citizen 
attorney upon his arrival at the Tashkent airport as he was traveling 
to Karshi to defend members of the group who were on trial.
    In two reported instances authorities deported to Russia members of 
the Vifaniya (Bethany) Baptist Church without stating a cause. Both 
deportees had been residents of Tashkent for several years; one was a 
Russian citizen and the other was stateless (see section 2.d.).
    State media propagated a policy of opposition to evangelical 
Christianity and missionary activity. On November 30 and December 1, 
government television broadcast a two-part documentary entitled 
Hypocrisy which profiled evangelical Christian groups, including the 
Pentecostal Church and Jehovah's Witnesses. The program labeled such 
groups as ``dangerous'' and alleged that foreign NGOs carried out 
illegal missionary activity in the country in the guise of charity with 
the aim of turning converts into ``spiritually poor zombies'' and 
fomenting religious conflict.
    The law limits religious instruction to officially sanctioned 
religious schools and state approved instructors and permits no private 
instruction or the teaching of religion to minors without parental 
consent. There were no reports of active efforts to prevent parents 
teaching religion to their children. On June 26, according to the 
newspaper Novyy Vek, authorities closed a religious school for children 
in Tashkent Province and charged two teachers with involvement in a 
religious extremist organization.
    A state religious censor approved all religious literature. The 
Government controlled the publication, import, and distribution of 
religious literature, discouraging and occasionally blocking the 
production or import of Christian literature in the Uzbek language, 
although Bibles in other languages were available. The Government 
required a statement in every domestic publication indicating the 
source of its publication authority, for example the phrase 
``permission for this book was granted by the CRA,'' or ``this book is 
recommended by the CRA.'' Possession of literature deemed extremist 
could lead to arrest and prosecution. Religious literature imported 
illegally was subject to confiscation and destruction.
    On June 22, President Karimov signed into law a series of 
amendments concerning religious literature. An amendment to the 
administrative code punishes ``illegal production, storage, import or 
distribution of materials of religious content'' with a fine of 20 to 
100 times the minimum monthly wage for individuals, or 50 to 100 times 
the minimum monthly wage for officials of organizations, together with 
confiscation of the materials and the means of publication and 
distribution. A new article of the criminal code addresses the same 
offense, punishing those already convicted under the corresponding 
article of the administrative code with a fine of 100 to 200 times the 
minimum monthly wage or ``corrective labor'' of up to three years. 
Other changes introduced simultaneously to the criminal and 
administrative codes punish the production and distribution of 
``literature promoting racial and religious hatred.''
    The Government had not implemented any of the recommendations of a 
2003 Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expert 
panel that concluded the Religion Law and associated statutes were in 
violation of international norms. The OSCE specifically cited bans on 
proselytizing, private religious instruction, and the criminal status 
of activities by unregistered religious organizations.
    The Government provided logistical support for 5,000 selected 
Muslim citizens to participate in the hajj. The Government required all 
pilgrims to travel as part of an officially organized group at a set 
price of approximately $2,400 (3 million soum). According to the Forum 
18 News Service, the number of pilgrims allowed was only a fraction of 
the possible number allowable under Saudi Arabia's quota system, and 
less than the number of citizens who wished to participate. According 
to reports applications for hajj participation were subject to approval 
by neighborhood committees and other government bodies. However, there 
were no published criteria for participation.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were persistent reports 
of discrimination against and harassment of ethnic Uzbek Muslims who 
converted to Christianity. Bakhtitor Tuychiyev, the ethnic Uzbek pastor 
of the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Andijon, reported frequent 
harassment by authorities, including threats of eviction from his home.
    There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts or pattern of 
discrimination against Jews. There were eight registered Jewish 
congregations and the World Jewish Congress estimated the Jewish 
population at approximately 20,000, concentrated mostly in Tashkent, 
Samarkand, and Bukhara. Their numbers were declining due to emigration, 
largely for economic reasons. Unlike previous years there were no 
reports of HT members distributing anti Semitic fliers. Although the 
religious press carried initial stories speculating on anti Semitic 
motives for the February 25 death from head injuries of a Tashkent 
Jewish community leader, Avraam Yagudayev, and the June 8 murders of a 
secretary to prominent a Tashkent based Rabbi, Karina Loifer, and her 
mother, preliminary investigations did not indicate that anti Semitism 
motivated these deaths.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution and law provide for 
free movement within the country and across its borders, although the 
Government severely limited this right in practice. Permission from 
local authorities is required to move to a new city. The Government 
rarely granted permission to move to Tashkent, and local observers 
reported that persons had to pay bribes of up to $80 (100,000 soum) to 
obtain registration documents required to move.
    The Government required citizens to obtain exit visas for foreign 
travel or emigration, and while it generally granted these routinely, 
local officials often demanded a small bribe. In 2005 the Government 
introduced a registration system requiring citizens to obtain a special 
stamp from local authorities in their place of residence to leave the 
country. Citizens continued generally to be able to travel to 
neighboring states, and the new stamp requirement was not uniformly 
enforced. Land travel to Afghanistan, however, remained difficult, as 
the Government maintained travel restrictions on large parts of 
Surkhandarya Province bordering Afghanistan, including the border city 
of Termez. Citizens needed permission from the NSS to cross the border, 
while Afghans did not need permission, aside from a visa, to enter the 
country to trade.
    In several instances during the year, the Government denied exit 
visas to journalists and human rights activists. In late March 
authorities denied an exit visa to journalist Alisher Taksanov, and on 
May 12, the Government denied an exit visa to Alo Khojayev, editor in 
chief of the news Web site Tribune.uz (see section 2.a.). Authorities 
justified the actions by saying only that the journalists' travel 
abroad was inappropriate. In August independent journalist Jamshid 
Karimov applied for an exit visa; authorities seized his passport, and 
on September 12, they arrested him and committed him to a psychiatric 
institution (see sections 1.c. and 2.a.).
    Foreigners with valid visas generally could move within the country 
without restriction; however, visitors required special permission to 
travel to Surkhandarya Province bordering Afghanistan.
    Authorities in some cases delayed or prevented entry of foreign 
diplomats, as well as other foreign nationals, on political grounds. 
Those affected included a Russian citizen attorney who was deported 
upon arrival at the Tashkent airport in April as he traveled to defend 
Jehovah's Witnesses in court cases (see section 2.c.).
    The law does not explicitly prohibit forced exile, but the 
Government did not generally employ it. However, in August authorities 
deported to Russia two members of the Vifaniya (Bethany) Baptist Church 
without stating a cause. Both deportees had been residents of Tashkent 
for several years; one was a Russian citizen and the other was 
stateless (see section 2.c.). At year's end several opposition 
political figures and human rights activists remained in voluntary 
exile.
    Emigration and repatriation were restricted in that the law does 
not provide for dual citizenship. In practice returning citizens had to 
prove to authorities that they did not acquire foreign citizenship 
while abroad, or face prosecution. In practice citizens often possessed 
dual citizenship and traveled without issue. In some cases individuals 
who had previously emigrated and/or acquired foreign citizenship while 
abroad and who were traveling in former Soviet countries that enforced 
the Uzbek exit permission regime had difficulty departing.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government did not force persons given refugee status 
by the UNHCR to leave the country, according to a 1999 agreement. 
Unlike in previous years, in practice the Government did not cooperate 
with the UNHCR in allowing it to provide assistance to refugees and 
asylum seekers.
    On March 17, the Government ordered UNHCR to close its Tashkent 
office within one month, stating the agency had fulfilled its mission. 
Earlier the Government had criticized the agency for its assistance to 
Uzbek refugees who had fled into Kyrgyzstan following the May 2005 
Andijon unrest. Upon UNHCR's closure in April, the UNDP assumed some of 
UNHCR's humanitarian functions and continued to assist with monitoring 
and resettlement of the approximately 1,800 refugees who remained in 
the country at year's end.
    The Government considered the Afghan and Tajik refugee populations 
economic migrants and subjected them to harassment and bribe demands 
when they sought to regularize their status as legal residents. Such 
persons could be deported if their residency documents were not in 
order. Most Tajik refugees were ethnic Uzbeks; unlike their Afghan 
counterparts, Tajik refugees were able to integrate into and were 
supported by the local population. Although most Tajik refugees did not 
face societal discrimination, many of them faced the possibility of 
becoming officially stateless, as many carried only old Soviet 
passports rather than Tajikistan passports. Although the Government 
generally tolerated the presence of Afghan refugees, they faced 
protection problems. There were isolated reports of harassment and 
detention of UNHCR-mandated Afghan refugees by local police; however, 
the extent of the problem was not known. The UNHCR reported that Afghan 
refugees had no access to the legal labor force and, therefore, had 
limited means to earn a livelihood.
    The Government pressured several other countries to forcibly return 
citizens who were under UNHCR protection in those countries. On 
February 14, Ukrainian authorities returned to government custody 10 
asylum seekers whom it accused of involvement in the Andijon events. In 
July, 12 refugees, who had fled the country after the Andijon events, 
returned to their homes from a third country, where they had been 
resettled. There were reports that government authorities had pressured 
relatives of these refugees to urge them to return home. On August 9, 
Kyrgyz authorities returned to government custody four UNHCR mandate 
refugees--Jahongir Maksudov, Rasul Pirmatov, Odiljon Rahimov, and Yakub 
Tashbaev--who had fled after the Andijon events, as well as one asylum 
seeker, Fayezjon Tajihalilov. On October 24, Russian authorities 
returned asylum-seeker Rustam Muminov to government custody after he 
had applied to the UNHCR for refugee status. Government authorities 
accused Muminov of involvement in the Andijon events. Previously, in 
November 2005, Kazakh authorities returned nine asylum seekers to the 
country, some of whom had registered with the UNHCR (see sections 1.c., 
1.d., and 2.c.). The group included former Tashkent Imam Ruhitdin 
Fakhrutdinov. With only two reported exceptions, the returnees were 
held in incommunicado detention, and the Government did not allow 
relatives or other outsiders to monitor their condition.
    In 2005 HRW, AI, and other sources reported that authorities 
pressured relatives of citizens who had fled the country following the 
events in Andijon and coerced them to travel to refugee camps in 
Kyrgyzstan to ask them to return. Uzbek security forces were also seen 
outside camps in Krygystan, and, in some cases, plainclothes officers 
infiltrated the refugee population and reportedly attempted to remove 
persons from a refugee camp by force.
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; in practice this was not possible through peaceful 
and democratic means. The Government severely restricted freedom of 
expression and repressed the political opposition (see sections 1.c., 
1.d., and 2.a.). The Government was highly centralized and was ruled by 
President Karimov and the executive branch through sweeping decree 
powers, primary authority for drafting legislation, and control of 
government appointments, most of the economy, and the security forces.

    Elections and Political Participation.--President Karimov was 
reelected in 2000 to a second term. The OSCE declined to monitor the 
election, determining preconditions did not exist for it to be free and 
fair. A 2002 referendum, which multilateral organizations and foreign 
embassies also refused to observe, extended Presidential terms from 
five to seven years. In 2004 parliamentary elections were held for 
representatives to the lower chamber; an OSCE limited observer mission 
concluded the election fell significantly short of international 
standards for democratic elections. In January 2005 a new upper 
chamber, or senate, of the parliament was formed; 84 of the 100 members 
of the chamber were selected by regional legislatures, and President 
Karimov personally appointed the remaining 16. Five registered 
progovernment political parties held the majority of seats in the 
directly elected lower house of parliament; the remainder consisted of 
nominally independent politicians tied to these progovernment parties. 
These parties, created with government assistance and loyal to 
President Karimov, were the only ones permitted to participate in the 
2004 parliamentary elections. Many government officials were members of 
the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the country's largest 
party. The party did not appear to play a significant role in 
government decision making, which President Karimov and other 
government leaders dominated.
    The law makes it extremely difficult for opposition parties to 
organize, nominate candidates, and campaign. Twenty thousand signatures 
are required on any application to register a new party. The procedures 
to register a candidate are burdensome, and the Central Election 
Commission (CEC) may deny registration. A Presidential candidate must 
present a list of 700,000 signatures in order to register and is 
prohibited from campaigning without registration. The CEC may deny 
registration of Presidential candidates if they would ``harm the health 
and morality of the people.'' Parties and candidates that are denied 
registration have no right of appeal. The law allows the MOJ to suspend 
parties for up to six months without a court order. The Government also 
exercised control over established parties by controlling their 
financing. In March 2005 the Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree 
giving the MOJ control over state funds to parties. Under the decree 
the MOJ may adjust funding on a monthly basis according to the size of 
a party's parliamentary caucus and the ministry's judgment as to 
whether the party is acting in accordance with its charter, among other 
factors.
    In addition to registered political parties, only citizen 
initiative groups with 300 or more members may nominate parliamentary 
or Presidential candidates. Initiative groups may nominate 
parliamentary candidates by submitting signatures of at least 8 percent 
of the voters in an election district. For Presidential candidates a 
list of 150,000 signatures is required. Except for registered political 
parties or initiative groups, organizations were prohibited from 
campaigning, and candidates were allowed to meet with voters only in 
forums organized by precinct election commissions. Only the CEC may 
prepare and release Presidential campaign posters.
    The law prohibits judges, public prosecutors, NSS officials, 
servicemen, foreign citizens, and stateless persons from joining 
political parties. The law prohibits parties based on religion or 
ethnicity; those that oppose the sovereignty, integrity, and security 
of the country and the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens; 
or those that promote war, or social, national, or religious hostility, 
or those that seek to overthrow the Government.
    The Government frequently harassed members of unregistered 
political organizations (see section 2.b.). In November the Birlik 
opposition political party applied with the MOJ for registration for 
the sixth time. Authorities most recently denied registration to the 
party in April 2005. Birlik members were among those arrested and 
detained in connection with the 2005 Andijon events. The leaders of 
three of the four unregistered opposition political parties Mohammed 
Solikh of Erk (convicted on terrorism charges in absentia in 1999), 
Abdurakhim Polat of Birlik, and Babur Malikov of the Free Farmers Party 
remained in voluntary exile.
    There were 21 women in the 120 member lower chamber of the 
parliament, and 15 in the 100 member senate. There was one woman in the 
28 member cabinet.
    There were 9 members of ethnic minorities in the lower house of 
parliament and 15 minorities in the senate; the number of members of 
ethnic minorities in the cabinet was unknown.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of corruption throughout society, including in the 
executive branch. It was generally accepted that applicants could buy 
admission to prestigious educational institutions with bribes. 
Likewise, bribery was widespread in the traffic enforcement system, and 
there were several reports that bribes to judges influenced the 
outcomes of civil suits. However, it was also reported that local 
administrative or police officials were removed from office in isolated 
cases in response to charges of corruption.
    The law states that all government agencies must provide citizens 
with the opportunity to examine documents, decisions, and other 
materials affecting their freedoms. In practice the Government seldom 
respected these rights. The public generally did not have access to 
government information, and information normally considered in the 
public domain was seldom reported. In 2004 the NGO Article 19 Global 
Campaign for Free Expression released an analysis of the country's 
secrecy and freedom of information laws, which concluded that the types 
of information that can be considered classified, and thus protected by 
the state, were so broad as to include virtually all information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic human rights groups operated in the country, 
although they were hampered by a fear of official retaliation. The 
Government frequently harassed, arrested, and prosecuted human rights 
activists.
    Two domestic NGOs Ezgulik and the Independent Human Rights 
Organization of Uzbekistan were registered with the Government; 
however, others were unable to register but continued to function at 
both the national and local levels. The Government continued to deny 
registration to organizations such as the Human Rights Society of 
Uzbekistan (HRSU), Mazlum (``Oppressed''), and Mothers against the 
Death Penalty and Torture. Registration of human rights organizations 
was denied for a variety of reasons, including for grammatical errors 
in applications. Although these organizations did not exist as legal 
entities, they continued to function, albeit with difficulty. 
Unregistered groups had difficulty renting offices or conducting 
financial transactions and could not open bank accounts, making it 
virtually impossible to receive funds legally. Operating an 
unregistered group was technically subject to government prosecution.
    In June the MOJ ordered two prominent Bukhara-based human rights 
NGOs, Humanitarian Legal Center of Bukhara and Bukhara Medical 
Association, to close. Both organizations had received foreign 
assistance. Following the May 2005 events in Andijon, hundreds of NGOs, 
including many human rights groups, were forced to close (see section 
2.b.).
    Government officials occasionally met with domestic human rights 
defenders, and individual rights defenders noted that they were able to 
successfully resolve some cases of abuse through direct engagement with 
authorities. A foreign NGO continued a 2004 initiative to provide a 
forum for domestic human rights defenders to meet with members of the 
police, prison directorate, and security services. The Government 
cooperated on a limited basis with the NGO.
    Police and security forces continued to increase harassment of 
domestic human rights activists and NGOs during the year. Security 
forces regularly threatened and intimidated human rights activists to 
prevent their activities. Unknown assailants frequently attacked human 
rights activists (see section 1.c.). Authorities regularly detained or 
arrested human rights activists and subjected them to house arrest, as 
in the case of Elena Urlayeva (see section 1.d.). In some cases 
authorities committed activists to involuntary psychiatric treatment 
(see section 1.c.), or filed false criminal charges against them (see 
section 1.d.). Additionally, government officials publicly accused 
specific activists of conspiring with international journalists to 
discredit the Government.
    On January 12, the Tashkent Province Criminal Court convicted 
Dilmurod Muhitdinov of the NGO Ezgulik of anticonstitutional activity 
in connection with the 2005 Andijon events and sentenced him to five 
years' imprisonment (see section 1.e.). On January 7, the same court 
convicted Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov of the Andijon based human rights NGO 
Apellyatsiya of extremist activity in connection with the Andijon 
events and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment (see sections 
1.d. and 1.e.).
    In March police reportedly arrested human rights activist Shokhida 
Yuldosheva and subjected her to forced psychiatric treatment on two 
occasions (see section 1.c.). On March 6, the Tashkent Province 
Criminal Court sentenced Mutabar Tojiboyeva of the human rights NGO 
Ardent Hearts Club to nine years' imprisonment. Tojiboyeva was also 
later subjected to forced psychiatric treatment (see sections 1.c., 
1.d, and 1.e.).
    On April 20, authorities arrested Azam Farmonov and Alisher 
Karamatov of the HRSU and charged them with extortion. On June 15, a 
criminal court in Guliston convicted them and sentenced them to nine 
year's imprisonment.
    On June 16, Yodgor Turlibekov, a human rights activist, was 
arrested and charged with ``encroachment upon the President'' (see 
sections 1.d. and 1.e.). Activists claimed the charge was politically 
motivated. On June 30, a Jizzakh court convicted activist Utkir 
Pardayev of the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan on 
charges of hooliganism and sentenced him to four years imprisonment in 
a labor camp.
    On July 19, a Jizzakh court convicted HRSU activist Mamarajab 
Nazarov of extortion and sentenced him to three and one half years' 
imprisonment. On several occasions government agents employed similar 
tactics against domestic journalists who reported on human rights 
issues (see section 2.a.).
    On August 18, a group of 20 local women forcibly entered the 
Jizzakh home of human rights activist Bakhtiyor Hamroyev and severely 
beat him in the presence of a foreign diplomat. Hamroyev called police, 
who reportedly appeared on the scene and observed, but failed to render 
assistance. Human rights activists claimed that the attack was carried 
out in collaboration with police. During the attack, the assailants 
accused Hamroyev of being a traitor to his country.
    The Government also severely restricted activities of international 
human rights NGOs and subjected their employees to frequent harassment 
and intimidation. During the year the Government forced the closure of 
most international NGOs dealing with human rights issues, including 
Freedom House and ABA/CEELI (see section 2.b.). In particular official 
media accused Freedom House of supporting terrorist organizations that 
plotted to overthrow the Government during the May 2005 Andijon events. 
Government officials and the Government controlled press frequently 
accused international NGOs of participating in an international 
``information war'' against the country. During the year government 
prosecutors launched criminal investigations of international NGOs and 
their local partners, such as public defender centers and private law 
firms that defended human rights and political opposition activists, 
which the Government had charged with antistate activity.
    On April 26, authorities detained and deported a Russian citizen 
attorney upon his arrival at the Tashkent airport on his way to Karshi 
to defend members of Jehovah's Witnesses who were on trial (see section 
2.c.). Following a July 7 government audit of the NGO HRW, the MOJ 
criticized the organization for publishing ``biased and tendentious'' 
information about the human rights situation in the country. On 
December 21, customs authorities detained a local employee of HRW for 
several hours at the Tashkent airport, confiscated a computer, and 
accused her of transporting documents constituting a threat to state 
security. The investigation was pending at year's end.
    The Government continued to restrict the activities of 
international bodies and foreign diplomatic missions and severely 
criticized their human rights monitoring activities and policies. On 
March 17, the Government ordered the closure of UNHCR's Tashkent 
office, having harshly criticized the institution for its assistance to 
refugees following the 2005 Andijon violence (see section 2.d.). The 
Government criticized the OSCE's focus on human rights as unwarranted 
interference in the country's internal affairs. On July 1, following 
lengthy negotiation with the Government, the OSCE was forced to 
reorganize its mission in Tashkent, with a substantially reduced 
emphasis on human rights programming. On several occasions police and 
other government agents harassed and threatened human rights activists 
who met with foreign diplomats and ordered them to cease contact with 
foreigners. The Government denied accreditation to some foreign 
diplomats, thus forcing them to leave the country, and criticized 
others for meeting with members of unregistered organizations.
    The Government continued to defy international demands for an 
independent international investigation into the May 2005 Andijon 
unrest. Following the May violence in Andijon, foreign governments, the 
UN, the OSCE, the European Union (EU), and other international 
organizations called on the Government to allow an independent 
international investigation. The Government repeatedly refused to do so 
and instead formed a ``diplomatic monitoring group'' consisting of 
selected foreign diplomatic representatives who were invited to 
periodic meetings to hear the conclusions of the prosecutor general's 
investigation. According to participants in the group, the process was 
not transparent. In July 2005 the UNHCR released a report on the 
Andijon violence, based on a mission to refugee camps in neighboring 
Kyrgyzstan, which concluded, ``Consistent, credible eyewitness 
testimony strongly suggests that grave human rights violations . . . 
were committed by Uzbek military and security forces . . . It is not 
excluded . . . that the incidents amounted to a mass killing.'' During 
the week of December 11 to 15, EU representatives visited the country 
to discuss the Andijon events, and human rights issues more broadly, 
with a view towards renewing a regular dialogue on these issues. At 
year's end neither party had published results of the talks.
    The human rights ombudsman's office, affiliated with the 
parliament, had the stated goals of promoting observance and public 
awareness of fundamental human rights, assisting in shaping legislation 
to bring it into accordance with international human rights norms, and 
resolving cases of alleged abuse. The ombudsman may mediate disputes 
between citizens and the Government, and it may make recommendations to 
modify or uphold decisions of government agencies, but its 
recommendations are not binding. The ombudsman has offices in all 
provinces of the country, as well as in the Karakalpakstan Autonomous 
Republic and Tashkent. During the year the office handled hundreds of 
cases, a large majority of which dealt with abuse of power and various 
labor and social welfare issues. The ombudsman published reports 
identifying the most serious violations of human rights by government 
officials; the majority of these involved procedural violations and 
claims of abuse of power by police and local officials. Throughout the 
year the ombudsman's office hosted meetings and conferences with law 
enforcement, judicial representatives, and limited international NGO 
participation, to discuss its mediation work and means of facilitating 
protection of human rights. During the year the ombudsman's office 
reported that it placed representatives in selected prisons to monitor 
treatment of inmates and also began establishing a network of college 
and university ombudsmen to assist in resolving student-faculty 
disputes.
    The National Human Rights Center is a government agency responsible 
for educating the population and officials on the principles of human 
rights and democracy and for ensuring the Government complies with its 
international obligations to provide human rights information. In the 
view of many observers, the center was neither independent nor 
effective.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status; the constitution prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability, and language, 
but does not specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of 
disability. Societal discrimination against women and persons with 
disabilities, and child abuse persisted.

    Women.--The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, 
which remained a common problem. While the law punishes physical 
assault, police often discouraged women from making complaints against 
abusive husbands, and abusers were rarely taken from home or jailed. 
Wife beating was considered a personal family affair rather than a 
criminal act; such cases were usually handled by family members or 
elders within the neighborhood committee and rarely came to court. 
Local authorities emphasized reconciling husband and wife, rather than 
addressing the abuse. A 2002 HRW report on neighborhood committees 
concluded that although the committees played no formal role in divorce 
proceedings, in practice women frequently were unable to obtain a 
divorce without the committee's approval, which was seldom granted even 
in cases of obvious abuse. NGOs working on domestic violence problems 
reported that local government officials cooperated on education 
programs, with a number of initiatives taken to increase cooperation 
with neighborhood committees. Some police and religious leaders 
participated in NGO training.
    The law prohibits rape. Marital rape is implicitly prohibited under 
the law, although there were no cases known to have been tried in 
court. Cultural norms discouraged women and their families from 
speaking openly about rape, and instances were almost never reported in 
the press.
    As in past years, there were many reported cases in which women 
attempted or committed suicide as a result of domestic violence. Local 
media reported 54 instances of suicide by women in Andijon Province 
during the year. Most cases went unreported, and there were no reliable 
statistics on the problem's extent. Observers cited conflict with a 
husband or mother in law, who by tradition exercised complete control 
over a young bride, as the usual reason for suicide. NGOs serving 
survivors of suicide attempts reported varying degrees of cooperation 
from individual officials, neighborhood committees, and local 
governments.
    In 2005 there were reports in independent press and from human 
rights activists and healthcare workers that hospitals, primarily in 
the Ferghana Valley, performed involuntary hysterectomies on women 
shortly after they had given birth. While authorities claimed that 
hysterectomies were only performed in cases of medical need, NGO and 
other sources reported several cases of medically unnecessary 
procedures. In other cases it was reported that doctors implanted 
contraceptive devices in women who had recently given birth, without 
their prior knowledge or consent. There were no new cases of such 
practices reported during the year (see section 1.f.).
    The law prohibits prostitution; however, it was an increasing 
problem, particularly among ethnic minorities. Police enforced the laws 
against prostitution unevenly; some police officers harassed and 
threatened prostitutes with prosecution to extort money.
    Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation remained a problem 
(see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law does not prohibit sexual harassment. Social norms and the 
lack of legal recourse made it difficult to assess the scope of the 
problem.
    The law prohibits discrimination against women; however, 
traditional, cultural, and religious practices limited their role in 
society. Women were severely underrepresented in high level positions 
and in the industrial sector. A deputy prime minister at the cabinet 
level was charged with furthering the role of women in society and 
headed the National Women's Committee. In practice the committee was 
widely viewed as ineffective, and at times even obstructed the work of 
NGOs promoting women's rights.

    Children.--The Government was generally committed to children's 
rights and welfare, although it did not adequately fund public 
education and health care.
    The law provides for children's rights and for free compulsory 
education for 12 years through basic and secondary school. In practice 
shortages and budget difficulties meant that many education expenses 
had to be paid by families. Teachers earned extremely low salaries and 
routinely demanded regular payments from students and their parents. 
According to government statistics, 98 percent of children completed 
nine years of education through basic school. However, anecdotal 
evidence indicated that children increasingly dropped out of middle and 
high schools as economic circumstances continued to deteriorate. 
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), net secondary school 
attendance reflecting children who continue after enrollment was 70 
percent for boys and 73 percent for girls.
    The Government subsidized health care, including for children, and 
boys and girls enjoyed equal access. As with education, low wages for 
doctors and poor funding of the health sector led to a widespread 
system of informal payments for services; in some cases this was a 
barrier to access for the poor. Those without an officially registered 
address, such as street children and children of migrant workers, did 
not have access to government health facilities.
    Child abuse was a problem that was generally considered an internal 
family matter, although elders on neighborhood committees frequently 
took an interest at the local level in line with the committees' 
responsibilities to maintain harmony and order within the local 
community. There were no government led campaigns against child abuse, 
although efforts against trafficking involved the protection of 
underage victims.
    Child marriage was not prevalent, although in some rural areas 
girls as young as 15 sometimes married in religious ceremonies not 
officially recognized by the state. According to UNICEF, 13 percent of 
young women were involved in child marriages.
    There were reports that girls were trafficked from the country for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation and that girls were engaged in 
forced prostitution (see section 5, trafficking).
    During the cotton harvest, many school children, particularly in 
rural areas, were forced to work in the cotton fields (see section 
6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons; 
however, the constitution does not specifically prohibit it. 
Trafficking was a significant problem. A few NGOs reported that some 
local officials accepted bribes from traffickers; at year's end there 
were no reported investigations or prosecutions of corrupt officials.
    The country was primarily a source and, to a lesser extent, a 
transit country for the trafficking of women and girls for the purpose 
of sexual exploitation and men for labor exploitation. There were no 
reliable statistics on the extent of the problem, although NGOs and the 
Government reported labor trafficking was much more prevalent than 
trafficking for sexual exploitation, and was likely rising due to poor 
economic conditions. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
estimated in late 2005 that over 500,000 citizens annually fell victim 
to trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. There were credible 
reports that women traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, 
Bahrain, India, Israel, Georgia, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, 
Thailand, Turkey, Japan, and Western Europe for the purpose of 
prostitution; some of them reportedly were trafficking victims. Labor 
trafficking victims were typically trafficked to Kazakhstan and Russia 
to work in the construction, agricultural, and service sectors. Some 
transit of trafficked persons may also have taken place from 
neighboring countries and to or from countries for which the country 
was a transportation hub Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South 
Korea, and the UAE. Women between the ages of 17 and 30 were highly 
vulnerable to sexual exploitation, and men of all ages were targets for 
labor trafficking.
    Traffickers operating within nightclubs, restaurants, or 
prostitution rings solicited women, many of whom had engaged in 
prostitution. In large cities such as Tashkent and Samarkand, 
traffickers used newspaper advertisements for marriage and fraudulent 
work opportunities abroad to lure victims. Travel agencies promising 
tour packages and work in Turkey, Thailand, and the UAE were also used 
to recruit victims. In most cases traffickers confiscated travel 
documents once the women reached the destination country. Victims of 
labor trafficking were typically recruited in local regions and driven 
to Kazakhstan or Russia where they were often sold to ``employers.'' 
Traffickers held victims in a form of debt bondage, particularly in the 
case of those trafficked for sexual exploitation.
    Recruiters tended to live in the same neighborhood as the potential 
victim and often may have known the victim. These recruiters introduced 
future victims to the traffickers, who provided transportation, airline 
tickets, visas, and instructions about meeting a contact in the 
destination country.
    The law prohibits all forms of trafficking and provides for prison 
sentences of five to eight years for international trafficking. The 
majority of convicted traffickers who received prison sentences served 
no time in prison. Recruitment for trafficking is punishable by six 
months' to three years' imprisonment and fines of up to approximately 
$720 (900,000 soum). The recruitment charge may be brought against 
international or domestic traffickers. All law enforcement agencies are 
charged with upholding the antitrafficking provisions of the criminal 
code. During the year law enforcement authorities continued to focus on 
trafficking offenses, and the number of public service announcements 
and similar programs on state television regarding human trafficking 
rose. Enforcement was generally effective, but convicted traffickers 
were often amnestied and served little or no jail time. The Government 
annually amnestied first offenders and those with sentences of less 
than 10 years; almost every convicted trafficker fell into one of these 
categories.
    Government offices with responsibility for fighting trafficking 
included the MVD's Office for Combating Trafficking, its Crime 
Prevention Department, and Department of Entry-Exit and Citizenship; 
the NSS's office for Fighting Organized Crime, Terrorism, and Drugs; 
the Office of the Prosecutor General; the Ministry of Labor; the 
Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the State 
Women's Committee. The Government cooperated on a limited basis with 
the IOM on trafficking issues.
    Some local officials working at the MVD, customs, and border guards 
reportedly accepted bribes in return for ignoring instructions to deny 
exit to young women suspected to be traveling to work as prostitutes. 
Local sources claimed that officials were involved in document fraud 
and accepted bribes from persons attempting to travel illegally or from 
the traffickers themselves.
    The Government in some cases prosecuted victims of trafficking for 
illegal migration in the course of being trafficked. Repatriated 
victims often faced societal and familial problems upon return.
    At year's end internationally supported NGOs operated two shelters 
to help victims reintegrate, one of which was opened during the year. 
During the year NGOs provided repatriation assistance to 368 
trafficking victims. The IOM reported that police, consular officials, 
and border guards referred women returning from abroad who appeared to 
be trafficking victims to the organization for services. The Government 
also routinely allowed the IOM to assist groups of returning women at 
the airport, help them through entry processing, and participate in the 
preliminary statements the victims gave to the MVD.
    During the first half of the year, the OSCE continued cooperation 
on antitrafficking programs with local NGOs and schools. In March a 
local NGO in Termez, with the participation of law enforcement and 
local government officials, conducted seminars for secondary schools, 
placed antitrafficking notices in local newspapers, and developed 
informational brochures and educational manuals for teachers and 
students with OSCE support. Law enforcement and local government 
officials gave presentations on combating trafficking in persons and 
provided information on cases under prosecution. On May 23, the OSCE 
cooperated with a local NGO in Navoi and local authorities, to organize 
an antitrafficking youth forum for 150 volunteers, who in turn 
disseminated information in local schools about the nature and dangers 
of trafficking in persons. OSCE also translated a victim referral 
handbook into Uzbek and distributed it to NGOs, law enforcement bodies, 
government agencies, and other interested stakeholders. Law enforcement 
officials and local government officials actively participated in the 
forum and provided some funding.
    During the year the Government increased its focus on trafficking 
prevention. A specialized antitrafficking unit in the MVD established 
in 2004 continued to cooperate with NGOs on antitrafficking training 
for law enforcement and consular officials, as well as organizing 
public awareness campaigns.
    Government controlled newspapers carried targeted articles on 
trafficked women and prostitution. In several cases during the year 
victims cited these awareness campaigns as their first contact with IOM 
and other antitrafficking NGOs. Government radio continued a weekly 
call in program for women who were involved in the sex trade, and 
government television broadcast numerous documentary features on 
trafficking. Government owned television stations worked with local 
NGOs to broadcast antitrafficking messages and to publicize the 
regional NGO hot lines that counseled actual and potential victims. The 
Government worked with NGOs to place posters on trafficking hazards on 
public buses, in passport offices, and in consular offices abroad. As a 
result the IOM reported an increase in the number of calls to its 10 
antitrafficking hot lines that were specifically directed at victim 
assistance. The hot lines received more than 16,000 calls during the 
year.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in the workplace and 
in education, the constitution does not specifically prohibit it, and 
there is no law specifically prohibiting such discrimination in housing 
or in access to state services. There was some societal discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, and children with disabilities were 
generally placed in separate schools. The Government cared for persons 
with mental disabilities in special homes. The law does not mandate 
access to public places for persons with disabilities; however, there 
was some wheelchair access throughout the country. The law does not 
provide effective safeguards against arbitrary involuntary 
institutionalization. A special department and commission under the 
Ministry of Health was responsible for facilitating access for persons 
with disabilities to health care and a special department under the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection was responsible for 
facilitating employment of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The population was mainly 
Uzbek, with significant numbers of Russians, Tajiks, Tatars, and 
Kazakhs as well as ethnic Koreans.
    The law prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of 
ethnicity or national origin; while the constitution does not 
specifically prohibit such discrimination, it does provide for the 
right of all citizens to work and to choose their occupation. However, 
Russians and other minorities frequently complained about limited job 
opportunities. Senior positions in the Government bureaucracy and 
business generally were reserved for ethnic Uzbeks, although there were 
numerous exceptions.
    The law does not require Uzbek language ability to obtain 
citizenship; however, language remained a sensitive issue. Uzbek is the 
state language, and the constitution requires that the President speak 
it. The law also provides that Russian is ``the language of interethnic 
communication.'' Russian was spoken widely in the main cities, and 
Tajik was spoken widely in Samarkand and Bukhara.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was social stigma 
against HIV/AIDS patients. People living with HIV reported social 
isolation by neighbors, public agency workers, health personnel, law 
enforcement officers, landlords, and employers after their HIV status 
became known. Recruits in the armed services found to be HIV positive 
were summarily expelled. A brochure produced by the MVD's Department of 
Corrections for its staff who deal directly with detainees focused 
primarily on the risk to staff of becoming infected during casual 
contact. A proposal from the National Institute of Virology recommended 
channeling HIV positive patients into clinics and laboratories closed 
off to the rest of the public. The Government's restrictions on local 
NGOs left only a handful of functioning NGOs that assisted and 
protected the rights of persons with HIV/AIDS.
    In October 2005 the Government, in cooperation with UN agencies and 
NGOs, launched a national HIV/AIDS prevention program aimed at 
increasing awareness of the disease and curbing its spread. President 
Karimov's daughter, Lola Karimova, was a prominent spokesperson for the 
campaign.
    Nearly all of the risk behaviors associated with being HIV 
positive, including prostitution, injecting drug use, and homosexual 
activity are crimes. Homosexual activity is punishable by up to three 
years' imprisonment. Some homosexuals reportedly left the country due 
to the restrictive environment.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to 
form and join unions of their choice, although workers were unable to 
exercise this right in practice. The law declares unions independent of 
governmental administrative and economic bodies, except where provided 
for by other laws. In practice unions remained centralized and 
dependent on the Government. There were no independent unions. The law 
prohibits discrimination against union members and officers; however, 
this prohibition was irrelevant due to unions' close relationship with 
the Government.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions and 
their leaders were not free to conduct activities without interference 
from the Government. The law provides the right to organize and to 
bargain collectively; in practice the Government did not respect these 
rights. Unions were government organized institutions that had little 
power, although they did have some influence on health and work safety 
issues.
    The law states that unions may conclude agreements with 
enterprises, but because unions were heavily influenced by the state, 
collective bargaining in any meaningful sense did not occur. The 
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Ministry of Finance, in 
consultation with the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions (CFTU), 
set wages for government employees. In the small private sector, 
management established wages or negotiated them individually with 
persons who contracted for employment.
    The law neither provides for nor prohibits the right to strike. 
There were no reports of significant labor actions during the year.
    There were no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except 
as legal punishment or as specified by law; however, there were reports 
that such practices occurred, particularly during the cotton harvest 
(see sections 5 and 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Government did not effectively implement laws and policies to protect 
children from exploitation in the workplace. The national labor code 
establishes the minimum working age at 16 and provides that work must 
not interfere with the studies of those under 18. The law provides an 
exception to the minimum working age for children between the ages of 
14 and 16, who may work a maximum of 20 hours per week when school is 
not in session and 10 hours per week when school is in session. 
Children between the ages of 16 and 18 may work 30 hours per week while 
school is not in session and 15 hours per week while school is in 
session. A 2001 government decree prohibits those under age 18 from 
engaging in manual cotton harvesting and other jobs with unhealthy 
working conditions; however, in rural areas children often helped to 
harvest cotton and other crops.
    The large scale compulsory mobilization of youth and students to 
help in the fall cotton harvest continued in most rural areas. Such 
labor was poorly paid. There were occasional reports from human rights 
activists that local officials in some areas pressured teachers into 
releasing students from class to help in the harvest and in many areas, 
schools closed for the harvest. According to UNICEF, 15 percent of 
children were involved in child labor. Much child labor was 
concentrated in family organized cotton harvesting.
    There were reports that girls were trafficked from the country for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation and that girls were engaged in 
forced prostitution (see section 5).
    Enforcement of child labor laws is under the jurisdiction of the 
prosecutor general and the MVD and its general criminal investigators. 
The law provides both criminal and administrative sanctions against 
violators, but authorities did not punish violations related to the 
cotton harvest, and there were no reports of inspections resulting in 
prosecutions or administrative sanctions. Enforcement was lacking due 
to long-standing societal acceptance of child labor as a cheap method 
of cotton harvesting.
    In July government television stations ran an International Labor 
Organization public service announcement on child labor with the 
approval of the Cabinet of Ministers and other governmental bodies.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor and Social 
Protection, in consultation with the CFTU, sets and enforces the 
minimum wage. At year's end the minimum wage was approximately $10 
(12,420 soum) per month, which did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family.
    The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours and requires a 
24 hour rest period. Overtime pay exists in theory, but it was not 
usually paid in practice. Payment arrears of four to six months were 
common for workers in state owned industries, including government 
office workers and officials.
    The Labor Ministry established and enforced occupational health and 
safety standards in consultation with unions, but reports suggest that 
enforcement was not particularly effective. The press occasionally 
published complaints over the failure of unions and the Government to 
promote worker safety. While regulations provide for safeguards, 
workers in hazardous jobs often lacked protective clothing and 
equipment. Workers legally may remove themselves from hazardous work 
without jeopardizing their employment, although few workers, if any, 
attempted to exercise this right, as it was not effectively enforced.

                               __________


 
                           WESTERN HEMISPHERE

                              ----------                              


                          ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

    Antigua and Barbuda is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a 
population of approximately 76,000. In the 2004 parliamentary 
elections, which observers described as generally free and fair, the 
United Progressive Party (UPP) defeated the ruling Antigua Labour Party 
(ALP), and Baldwin Spencer became prime minister. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were problems in a few areas, including excessive use 
of force by police, poor prison conditions, sexual abuse of children, 
and societal discrimination and violence against women.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that 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 specifically prohibits such practices, 
and the authorities generally respected these prohibitions in practice. 
Nonetheless, there were occasional reports of police brutality, 
corruption, excessive force, discrimination against homosexuals, and 
allegations of abuse by prison guards.
    On January 19, police shot Kelly Jackson in the leg while searching 
him and taking him into custody. On June 9, police shot a 13-year-old 
suspect running away from detention. On July 22, a man charged that 
police robbed and assaulted him. Also in July there were allegations 
that a man who died in the hospital from internal injuries had been 
beaten while in police custody. At year's end investigations into these 
incidents were still pending.
    On October 24, two police officers responded to a domestic 
disturbance between a husband and wife. While there, the police shot 
the husband during an altercation. An investigation was pending at 
year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor. Her Majesty's Prison, the country's only prison, held 193 inmates 
(188 men and five women). The prison did not have toilet facilities, 
and slop pails were used in all 122 cells.
    Prison overcrowding was attributed in part to a law that limited 
the ability of magistrates to grant bail to those accused of certain 
offenses. This resulted in an increase in the number of people held on 
remand while awaiting trial, which totaled 52 at year's end. Due to 
space limitations, authorities sometimes held persons on remand 
together with convicted prisoners.
    Female prisoners were held in a separate section and were not 
subject to the same problems encountered in the men's prison.
    Juveniles were held with adult inmates.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred.

    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.--Security forces consist 
of a police force and the small Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force. The 
police force comprises 712 officers, 138 of whom are part of the 
country's fire brigade.
    Corruption and impunity were not problems. There was no standing 
internal investigation body within the police. The police fall under 
the Prime Minister's area of responsibility, and he can call for an 
independent investigation into an incident as needed.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law permits police to arrest without a 
warrant persons suspected of committing a crime. Criminal defendants 
have the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of 
their detention. The police must bring detainees before a court within 
48 hours of arrest or detention. Criminal detainees were allowed prompt 
access to counsel and family members. The bail system was recently 
modified to require those accused of more serious crimes to appeal to 
the High Court for bail, taking this responsibility away from the lower 
court magistrates.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.
    The judicial system is part of the Eastern Caribbean legal system 
and reflects historical ties to the United Kingdom. The first level is 
the magistrate's court, followed by the Court of Appeals and the High 
Court. The constitution designates the Privy Council in the United 
Kingdom as the final court of appeal, which is always employed in the 
case of death sentences.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that criminal 
defendants should receive a fair, open, and public trial. Trials are by 
jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, have timely access 
to counsel, may confront or question witnesses, and have the right to 
appeal. In capital cases only, the Government provides legal assistance 
at public expense to persons without the means to retain a private 
attorney. Courts often reached verdicts quickly, with some cases coming 
to conclusion in a matter of days.
    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.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--A court of summary 
jurisdiction, which sits without a jury, deals with civil cases 
involving sums of up to $550 (EC$1,500); three magistrate's courts deal 
with summary offenses and civil cases of not more than $185 (EC$500) in 
value. Persons who allege that their constitutional rights are being or 
have been violated may apply for redress to the High Court.

    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.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.
    Privately owned print media, including daily and weekly newspapers, 
were active and offered a range of opinion.
    There was continued tension between the Government and ZDK Radio, 
which is owned by the family of Lester Bird, the former prime minister 
and leader of the opposition ALP. In April 2005 authorities arrested 
government critic and ZDK radio announcer James ``Tanny'' Rose for 
misbehavior in public office, in connection with Rose's position as 
chief information officer of the state-owned ABS Radio and Television 
Authority in 1994. The prosecutor brought criminal charges against 
Rose, but he had not been tried as of year's end, and he continued to 
broadcast a daily program on ZDK Radio.
    Authorities filed defamation charges against Observer Radio in 
November 2005, claiming it misreported actions by police during the 
investigation of a building that had been ordered sealed. The news 
story was widely reported, but the Government filed charges only 
against that radio station.
    In 2004 the former government cited violations of the 
Telecommunications Act to revoke the license held by the owners of 
Observer Radio to operate satellite transmission equipment, and 17 
police officers seized the equipment from the owner's home. Authorities 
later withdrew the charges against Observer Radio and tried to 
institute them against Winston Derricks, the owner, but by that time 
the statute of limitations had expired. At year's end the matter was 
still before the courts, and the equipment had not been returned.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that government monitored e-mail or Internet 
chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic Freedom.--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 freedom of assembly, and the 
Government generally respected this right in practice. The police 
generally issued the required permits for public meetings but sometimes 
denied them to avert violent confrontations.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    Rastafarians complained that the use of marijuana, an aspect of 
their religious ritual, was prohibited. In 2004 Rastafarian 
representatives met with the Prime Minister and submitted a petition to 
decriminalize the use of marijuana, but the Government took no action 
to change the law.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained of 
widespread discrimination, especially in hiring and in schools. There 
were no other reports of societal abuses or discrimination, including 
anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community was very small.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it 
in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for granting asylum or 
refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to 
the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the Government has 
not established a system for providing protection to refugees. In 
practice the Government provided protection against refoulement, the 
return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. The 
Government did not grant refugee status or asylum. The Government 
cooperated with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and 
other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum 
seekers.
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 held on the basis of 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2004 elections, the 
opposition UPP won 12 of 17 seats in the House of Representatives and 
55 percent of the popular vote. Members of a Commonwealth observer 
group reported that the elections were free and fair. UPP leader 
Baldwin Spencer was sworn in as prime minister in March 2004, replacing 
Lester Bird, whose ALP had held power continuously since 1976.
    There was one woman in the 17-seat House of Representatives and two 
women appointed to the 17-seat Senate. In addition the speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, both 
appointed positions, were women. There were no women in the cabinet.
    There were no members of minorities in parliament or in the 
cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were isolated 
reports of government corruption during the year. The Spencer 
administration created the Special Task Force on Crime and Corruption 
following the 2004 election, and it continued investigations of former 
ALP officials. Attorney General Justin Simon headed an investigation 
regarding the diversion of $15 million (EC$41 million) in tax revenue 
that was used to purchase equipment in Japan; some of the money had not 
been accounted for.
    In January various media reported that three police officers 
attached to the English Harbour police station habitually extracted 
bribes from tourists caught with controlled substances. Authorities 
transferred the officers to different districts pending investigation. 
An independent investigation was inconclusive, no charges were filed, 
and the case was closed.
    The director of public prosecution dismissed the three counts of 
conspiracy charges brought in March 2005 against an advisor to a UPP 
minister for alleged improper approaches to the Government tender 
board.
    Attorney General Simon filed a lawsuit against former prime 
minister Lester Bird and two of his cabinet ministers. The charges 
pertained to alleged corruption in repayment of a loan used to purchase 
a desalination plant in 1984. The lawsuit was the third that the 
Government filed against Bird in attempts to reclaim public funds 
allegedly lost to corruption during Bird's 1994-2004 government.
    The Freedom of Information Act gives citizens the statutory right 
to access official documents from public authorities and agencies, and 
it created a commissioner to oversee the process. In practice, however, 
citizens found it difficult to obtain documents, possibly due to 
funding constraints rather than government obstruction.
Section 4. 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.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, 
creed, language, or social status, and the Government generally 
respected these prohibitions in practice.

    Women.--Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a 
problem. The Domestic Violence Act prohibits and provides penalties for 
domestic violence, rape, and other sexual offenses, with maximum 
sentences (rarely imposed) ranging from 10 years' to life imprisonment. 
Many women were reluctant to testify against their abusers. 
Organizations such as the Government's Directorate of Gender Affairs 
sought to increase women's awareness of their rights under the law in 
cases of domestic violence. The Directorate of Gender Affairs operated 
a domestic violence program that included training for police officers, 
magistrates, and judges. The directorate also ran a domestic abuse hot 
line and worked with a nongovernmental organization to provide safe 
havens for abused women and children.
    Violence against women came into sharp focus in October 2005, when 
Senate President Hazelyn Francis was assaulted and raped in her home. 
In January authorities charged an 18-year-old youth with the attack and 
remanded him to custody awaiting trial, which had not been held by 
year's end.
    The Directorate of Gender Affairs holds an annual walk and 
candlelight vigil for the eradication of violence against women and 
girls.
    Prostitution is prohibited, but it remained a problem. In April 
immigration officials uncovered a prostitution ring disguised as a 
dating service involving several women from the Dominican Republic. The 
women were legal immigrants, and no investigation into possible 
trafficking was reported. There were also a number of brothels that 
catered primarily to the local population (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment is illegal, but it was rarely prosecuted.
    According to the Labor Department, there was a high incidence of 
sexual harassment reported by employees in both the private and public 
sectors. No information was available whether any cases had been 
brought to the labor courts.
    While the role of women in society is not restricted legally, 
economic conditions in rural areas tended to limit women to home and 
family, although some women worked as domestics, in agriculture, or in 
the large tourism sector. Women were well represented in the public 
sector, accounting for 54 percent of the public service and more than 
half of the permanent secretaries--the most senior level in each 
government department. In addition 41 percent of bar association 
members were women. There was no legislation requiring equal pay for 
equal work. Women faced no restrictions involving ownership of 
property. The Directorate of Gender Affairs was responsible for 
promoting and ensuring the legal rights of women.
    The Professional Organization for Women of Antigua was a networking 
and resource group for professional women that held seminars for women 
entering the workforce.

    Children.--While the Government repeatedly expressed its commitment 
to children's rights, its efforts to protect those rights in practice 
were limited. The Government provided free, compulsory, and universal 
education for children through the age of 16. Schools faced many 
shortages, however, and parents typically provided desks and chairs. 
Although shared textbooks were provided, parents often purchased books; 
parents also provided uniforms. More than 95 percent of school-age 
children attended school, and most children achieved a secondary 
education.
    Boys and girls had equal access to health care and other public 
services.
    Child abuse remained a problem. The press reported regularly on the 
rape and sexual abuse of children. Adult men having regular sexual 
relations with young girls was also a problem. According to one 
regional human rights group, the girls were often the daughters of 
single mothers with whom the perpetrators also had regular sexual 
relations.

    Trafficking in Persons.--There are no laws that specifically 
address trafficking in persons. Although there were no reports that 
persons were trafficked from or within the country, there were a number 
of brothels staffed mostly by women from the Dominican Republic. Others 
came from Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, and Jamaica, and they traveled to 
Antigua as ``entertainers'' or ``dancers.'' In October authorities took 
close to 40 women into custody and found that most held fraudulent 
immigration documents or no passports at all. It is possible that in 
some cases brothel owners retained these documents to exert influence 
over the victims.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There was no reported discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
health care, or in the provision of other state services. Although the 
constitution contains antidiscrimination provisions, no specific laws 
prohibit discrimination against, or mandate accessibility for, persons 
with disabilities.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to associate 
freely and to form labor unions. Approximately 60 percent of workers 
belonged to a union. In 2005 the owner of Caribbean Star Airlines, 
based in the country, fired nine pilots and five stewardesses who had 
organized a union. At year's end the matter was still before the 
Industrial Relations Court.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Labor 
organizations were free to organize and bargain collectively. The Labor 
Code applied equally to workers in the country's free trade zones.
    The Labor Code provides for the right to strike, but the Industrial 
Relations Court may limit this right in a given dispute. Workers who 
provide essential services (including bus, telephone, port, petroleum, 
health, and safety workers) must give 21 days' notice of intent to 
strike. Once either party to a dispute requests that the court mediate, 
strikes are prohibited under penalty of imprisonment. Because of the 
delays associated with this process, unions often resolved labor 
disputes before a strike was called. In addition an injunction may be 
issued against a legal strike when the national interest is threatened 
or affected.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law stipulates a minimum working age of 16 years, which corresponds 
with the provisions of the Education Act. In addition persons under 18 
years of age must have a medical clearance to work and may not work 
later than 10 p.m. The Ministry of Labor, which is required by law to 
conduct periodic inspections of workplaces, effectively enforced this 
law. The labor commissioner's office also had an inspectorate that 
investigated exploitive child labor matters.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Labor Code provides that the 
minister of labor may issue orders, which have the force of law, to 
establish a minimum wage. The minimum wage was $2.22 (EC$6.00) an hour 
for all categories of labor, which provided a barely adequate standard 
of living for a worker and family. In practice the great majority of 
workers earned substantially more than the minimum wage.
    The law provides that workers are not required to work more than a 
48-hour, six-day workweek, but in practice the standard workweek was 40 
hours in five days. Laws provide for overtime work in excess of the 
standard workweek; excessive overtime is not specifically prohibited.
    Although the Government had not developed occupational health and 
safety laws or regulations, apart from those regarding child labor, a 
section of the Labor Code includes some provisions regarding 
occupational safety and health. While not specifically provided for by 
law, workers could leave a dangerous workplace situation without 
jeopardy to continued employment.

                               __________

                               ARGENTINA

    Argentina is a federal constitutional republic with a population of 
approximately 39.5 million. In 2003 voters elected President Nestor 
Kirchner in free and fair multiparty elections; on October 23, 2005, 
national legislative elections were held. The civilian authorities 
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, the following human rights problems were reported: instances 
of killings and brutality by police and prison officials, which the 
Government investigated but often did not punish; overcrowded, 
substandard, and life-threatening prison and jail conditions; 
occasional arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged pretrial 
detention; weakening of the independence of the legislative and 
judicial branches; government pressures on the media; domestic violence 
and sexual harassment against women; trafficking in persons for sexual 
exploitation and labor, primarily within the country; and child labor.
    During the year, the Government resumed trials that were suspended 
in 1989-90 when the Government pardoned perpetrators of human rights 
abuses committed during the Dirty War era. In addition, judges 
convicted several perpetrators of Dirty War-era human rights abuses for 
the first time since the Supreme Court's 2005 annulment of amnesty laws 
that had been promulgated in the 1980s.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While the Government 
or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, police 
and prison officers committed killings involving unwarranted or 
excessive force. The authorities investigated, and, in some cases, 
detained, prosecuted, and convicted the officers involved.
    Provisional figures for the first half of the year provided by the 
Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) indicated that security 
forces were involved in 45 deaths in the City of Buenos Aires and its 
outskirts, including individuals killed in confrontations during the 
presumed commission of a crime. The human rights nongovernmental 
organization (NGO)Coordinator Against Police and Institutional 
Repression reported 69 killings nationwide from January through late 
July. There was no distinction in these figures between deaths 
attributed to justified use of force and those attributed to arbitrary 
or unlawful deprivation of life.
    On July 10, authorities detained three police officers and an agent 
in Jujuy province in connection with the investigation of the death of 
Saul Mendoza, a 17 year old who was found hanged with his coat in a 
police station's restroom on June 30. Some sources reported the 
teenager was tortured before he died.
    On July 31, the Buenos Aires Province security minister fired two 
police officials for the presumed beating and shooting death of Miguel 
Eduardo Cardozo, a 15 year-old who accidentally set off one of the 
policemen's car alarm. The police officers were detained in connection 
with the investigation of the crime. At year's end, the police officers 
remained under investigation and had not been formally charged.
    In April a judge sentenced Buenos Aires provincial police corporal 
Adrian Bustos to life in prison for the 2005 killing of the 14 year old 
pregnant teenager Camila Arjona in Villa Lugano, Buenos Aires Province. 
In the same case, Oral Tribunal No. 10 also found Corporal Miguel Angel 
Almiron and Agent Mariano Cisneros guilty of abusive deprivation of 
freedom and causing injuries. The judge sentenced them to three year 
prison terms.
    There was no new information on the status of the investigation of 
the nine policemen connected to the 2004 deaths of three juvenile 
detainees in a fire in a Buenos Aires police station.
    In the case of the 2003 killings of Patricia Villalba and Leyla 
Bashier Nazar in the province of Santiago del Estero, 16 indictees, 
including seven individuals in pretrial detention, were awaiting oral 
trial at year's end. The trials were scheduled for early 2007. The 
former intelligence chief in Santiago del Estero Musa Azar, his son, 
three former police officers, and two other individuals were charged 
with killing Bashier Nazar, and nine other police officers and another 
suspect were charged with killing Villalba.
    In July a court sentenced a police officer to life imprisonment and 
acquitted four other officers for the torture and killing of Andrea 
Viera in a police station in Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires Province, 
in 2002.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    On December 27, federal lower court judge Norberto Oyharbide 
decided that kidnappings, disappearances, and killings committed 
between 1973 and 1975 by the defunct extremist armed group Argentine 
Anti-Communism Alliance(Triple A), were crimes against humanity and, as 
such, the statute of limitations is not applicable. The Triple A was an 
extreme right-wing organization, founded and led by then minister of 
social welfare Jose Lopez Rega. The National Commission on the 
Disappeared documented 428 political killings attributed to the Triple 
A, but other estimates put the total number killed at 600 to 2,000. The 
court asserted that state terrorism began long before the 1974 military 
coup d'etat.
    Judicial proceedings related to killings, disappearances, and 
torture committed by the 1976 83 military regimes continued (see 
section 1.e.). A July report by the National Secretariat of Human 
Rights submitted to the UN stated that there were 958 unresolved cases 
and 211 former ``repressors'' who remained in pretrial detention.
    In August former police officer Julio Simon, also known as ``el 
Turco Julian,'' was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the kidnapping, 
torture, and forced disappearance of Jose Poblete and Gertrudis Hlaczik 
and for the illegal appropriation of the couple's eight month-old baby. 
This was the first judgment against a Dirty War security official since 
the Supreme Court found the 1986 and 1987 amnesty laws 
unconstitutional.
    On September 19, a court convicted former commissioner general of 
the Buenos Aires Province police Miguel Etchecolatz and sentenced him 
to life for the extrajudicial killing, torture, and kidnapping of six 
individuals during the military dictatorship. The judges based their 
decision on the argument that Etchecolatz's acts were ``crimes against 
humanity, committed in the framework of genocide,'' a concept not 
incorporated into the criminal code but conforming to international 
conventions ratified by the country. Jorge Julio Lopez, a 77-year-old 
torture victim and a key witness in the case against Etchecolatz, was 
last seen the day before Etchecolatz's sentencing. The Government 
offered a $130,000 (400,000 peso) reward for any information that would 
help locate Lopez and conducted extensive searches, but he remained 
missing at year's end. Despite speculation, no credible evidence 
emerged of state involvement in the missing-person case. Some family 
members of disappeared persons from the Dirty War era, as well as a 
number of judges and prosecutors involved in cases connected to crimes 
during the military dictatorship, reported receiving anonymous threats.
    On December 27, Luis Gerez, a witness who made depositions against 
Luis Patti for human rights abuses committed under the 1976-83 military 
regime, was reported missing. Gerez had testified against Patti, the 
former police chief during the military dictatorship, during an April 
20 appearance before the Lower House. His reported torture by electric 
shock served as important evidence that ultimately prevented Patti from 
assuming his seat as a national congressman after being elected to the 
position in October 2005. President Kirchner ordered federal and Buenos 
Aires law enforcement agencies to conduct intensive searches, and Gerez 
was located two days after he went missing. Prosecutors later confirmed 
that Gerez displayed physical indications of torture and was suffering 
from psychological trauma. Some opposition leaders, including former 
President Carlos Menem, suggested the kidnapping was staged by agents 
of the Kirchner administration, which in turn blamed unknown covert 
paramilitary groups for the crime. The case remained pending at year's 
end.
    In early September, lower court federal judge Norberto Oyarbide 
ruled a number of the pardons granted in 1989-90 to be unconstitutional 
and reinforced the nonapplicability of the statute of limitations for 
crimes against humanity. The decision allowed resumption of trials 
against former de facto President Jorge Rafael Videla and two of his 
cabinet members, Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz and Albano Harguideguy, 
who were charged with the kidnapping of businessmen Federico and Miguel 
Gutheim in 1976. In September the Criminal Court of Appeals upheld a 
lower court ruling rendering unconstitutional the pardons granted 
during the 1990s. The issue then went to the Supreme Court, which had 
not rendered a decision by year's end.
    The National Human Rights Secretariat, which maintained the files 
of the National Commission on Disappeared Persons, received 9,005 
claims for financial compensation from families of those who died or 
disappeared during the military dictatorship.
    Judicial authorities continued to investigate cases of kidnapping 
and illegal adoption by members of the former military regime of 
children born to detained dissidents. At year's end, 85 children born 
to detained and disappeared dissidents and illegally adopted had been 
identified and made aware of their true backgrounds.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices and provides 
penalties for torture similar to those for homicide, some police and 
prison guards continued to employ torture and brutality. CELS reported 
police brutality and occasional torture of suspects. While the 
Government investigated reports of police brutality in prisons, there 
were few convictions in comparison to the number of complaints.
    The National Human Rights Secretariat stated in late June that the 
kidnapping, torture, and death of 15-year-old teenager Lucas Ivarrola, 
which occurred on June 26, had been modeled after methods used in the 
Dirty War era. Two lower-ranking Navy officials and a civilian (who 
accused Ivarrola of having stolen a television set) kidnapped him, beat 
him, and shot him three times in the head. Forensics also showed that 
Ivarrola's body had been burned while he was still alive. One of the 
perpetrators confessed to the crime, and the three suspects accused of 
aggravated homicide remained in pretrial detention at year's end.
    In February an expert witness's opinion confirmed the complaints 
made by the provincial Committee Against Torture (part of the Buenos 
Aires Provincial Memory Commission) in the October 2005 case of 
electric shock torture of prisoner Julio Ortiz in La Plata 
Penitentiary. The director of forensic medicine in La Plata was under 
investigation for his alleged obstruction in the investigation of the 
case.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions often 
were poor and life threatening. Inmates in many facilities suffered 
extreme overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate medical and 
psychological treatment, inadequate sanitation, limited family visits, 
and frequent inhuman and degrading treatment, according to various 
reports by human rights organizations and research centers. Provisional 
statistics provided by CELS on violent deaths through September in 
Buenos Aires provincial prisons showed a decrease in the number of 
violent deaths compared to 2005: 34 through September, compared with 
104 in 2005.
    Fifteen prison guards and officials remained in preventive 
detention pending completion of the investigation into the October 2005 
fire at the Buenos Aires Magdalena provincial prison, in which 33 
prisoners died from smoke inhalation in a fire set in a prison 
dormitory during a disturbance. Authorities charged prison officials 
with negligence in the inmates' deaths and dismissed them from the 
provincial prison service. A total of 41 prison officers were either 
dismissed or faced disciplinary actions in connection with the inmates' 
deaths. The investigation continued at year's end.
    While women are held separately from men, human right groups 
reported that some women were held in police stations and that 150 
children under the age of four lived in federal and Buenos Aires 
provincial prisons. Only four out of ten mothers of children living in 
federal prisons had been convicted, whereas the rest were pretrial 
detainees.
    Overcrowding in juvenile facilities often resulted in minors being 
held in police station facilities, although separate from adult 
detainees. The National Secretariat of Human Rights reported that 85 
percent of 19,579 children lodged in juvenile institutions nationwide 
were there for ``social reasons,'' i.e., they had not committed any 
crimes but had been abandoned, had no families or had families unable 
to take care of them, or were considered ``at risk'' for other reasons. 
In April the Government issued partial implementing regulations for the 
Law of Integral Protection of Children and Teenagers, aimed at 
strengthening family ties and providing support to families in order to 
avoid children being sent to juvenile institutions due only to their 
social circumstances.
    Pretrial prisoners often were held with convicted prisoners. 
Official estimates reported by the Secretariat for Criminal Policy and 
Penitentiary Issues indicated that 60 percent of those held in prisons 
and police jails were pretrial detainees. In Buenos Aires Province, 
provisional statistics from CELS indicated that close to 80 percent of 
detainees were in pretrial detention, with an average wait of 36 months 
before trial. Of that 80 percent, 30 percent were eventually acquitted 
or had their cases dismissed. From late September to early October, 
there was a widespread, two week long protest by prisoners in Buenos 
Aires provincial penitentiaries demanding, among other things, an 
accelerated trial process and a revision of pretrial detention 
statutes.
    A 2005 report on the penitentiary system by the research center 
Unidos por la Justicia estimated prison overcrowding at 20,000 
prisoners nationwide. Overcrowding in federal prisons was approximately 
9 percent. The situation was generally worse in provincial prisons, 
with some penitentiaries holding almost double their capacity, as was 
the case in Corrientes and Tucuman provinces.
    Following several rulings by the Inter American Court of Human 
Rights that ordered the Government to take effective measures to 
protect life and integrity of prisoners in Mendoza Provincial 
Penitentiary, the Supreme Court instructed the national and Mendoza 
provincial governments to report the concrete measures they took to 
improve conditions. By year's end, there were no indications that the 
national and provincial governments had complied with the Supreme 
Court's order, despite a second request for information that received a 
unanimous vote in the lower house of Congress on November 15.
    Government officials noted that the findings of both the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter American 
Court of Human Rights were limited to the Mendoza penitentiary.
    Elsewhere in the prison system, authorities noted progress in areas 
such as budget and human resources, ongoing programs for increasing 
prison capacity, construction of new prisons, and strengthening of the 
parolee related work of the ``Patronato de Liberados,'' the provincial 
agencies responsible for assisting and monitoring parolees and ex 
convicts. The Government reported that the number of detainees in 
police stations in Buenos Aires Province decreased significantly, from 
7,506 in 2002 to 4,400 at year's end.
    The Government permitted prison visits by local and international 
human rights observers, and such visits took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions; however, police occasionally arrested and detained 
citizens arbitrarily. In the past, human rights groups reported 
difficulties in documenting such incidents because victims were 
reluctant to file complaints for fear of police retaliation or because 
of skepticism that police would act.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Federal Police 
under the Interior Ministry have jurisdiction for maintaining law and 
order in the federal capital and for federal crimes in the provinces. 
Additionally, each province has its own police force that responds to a 
provincial security ministry or secretariat. Individual forces varied 
considerably in their effectiveness and respect for human rights. 
Corruption was endemic in some forces, and impunity for police abuses 
was common.
    The most common abuses included extortion of and protection for 
those involved in illegal gambling, prostitution, and auto theft rings, 
as well as detention and extortion of citizens under the threat of 
planting evidence to charge them for crimes. Some police also were 
involved in drug trafficking.
    Efforts continued in the province of Buenos Aires to remove and 
prosecute police for corruption and other offenses. In late March the 
Buenos Aires Province governor and his security minister fired 119 
police officers, citing force restructuring as the reason. Authorities 
fired, dismissed, or suspended more than 2,600 Buenos Aires provincial 
police since 2004 for alleged abuse, corruption, extortion, and 
unjustified homicide. In late September, following the disappearance of 
a witness who had testified in the case against former Buenos Aires 
Province Police Commissioner General Miguel Etchecolatz (see section 
1.b.), the governor suspended, and in other cases dismissed, 36 
provincial police agents who had worked in detention centers during the 
Dirty War.
    The provincial security minister reported some recent improvements 
in the provincial police force: trainees received university training, 
were required to take human right courses, and were trained at a campus 
run by the national Border Patrol.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police may detain suspects for up to 10 
hours without an arrest warrant if the authorities have a well founded 
belief that the suspects have committed, or are about to commit, a 
crime or if they are unable to determine the suspected person's 
identity. Human rights groups argued that there was little compliance 
with this provision of law, with the police often detaining suspects 
longer than 10 hours.
    The law provides a person in detention with the right to a prompt 
determination of the legality of the detention, which entails 
appearance before a criminal lower court judge who determines whether 
to proceed with an investigation. There were frequent delays in this 
process and in informing detainees of the charges against them, 
partially due to the fact that the majority of defendants relied on the 
overburdened public defender system.
    The law provides for the right to bail. Although the bail system 
was used, civil rights groups claimed that judges were more likely to 
order the holding of indicted suspects in preventive or pretrial 
detention than to allow suspects to remain free pending their trial.
    Detainees were allowed prompt access to counsel, and public 
defenders were provided for detainees unable to afford counsel, 
although such access was sometimes delayed due to an overburdened 
system. Lack of resources for the Public Defender's Office resulted in 
an excessive caseload for public defense attorneys. Detainees also were 
allowed access to family members, although not always promptly.
    The law provides for investigative detention for up to two years of 
indicted persons awaiting or undergoing trial; the period could be 
extended to three years in limited situations. The slow pace of the 
justice system often resulted in lengthy detentions beyond the period 
stipulated by law (see section 1.e.). A convicted prisoner usually 
received credit for time already served.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, some judges and judicial personnel were 
inefficient and at times subject to political manipulation. Following 
the unexplained absence of a key witness who testified against Miguel 
Etchecolatz (see section 1.b.), some judicial officials and witnesses 
complained that anonymous groups had threatened them. The system was 
hampered by inordinate delays, procedural logjams, changes of judges, 
inadequate administrative support, and incompetence. Judges have broad 
discretion as to whether and how to pursue investigations, contributing 
to a public perception that many decisions were arbitrary. Allegations 
of corruption in provincial courts were more frequent than at the 
federal level, reflecting strong connections between some governors and 
judicial powers in their provinces.
    The judicial system is divided into federal and provincial courts, 
both headed by a supreme court with chambers of appeal and sections 
courts below it. The federal courts are divided between the criminal 
courts and economic courts.
    On November 29 the legislature passed a law to reduce the number of 
the Supreme Court ministers (justices) from nine to five. The seven 
justices on the bench were to remain in place until two seats are 
vacated via retirement, death, or impeachment. The two Supreme Court 
vacancies created by an impeachment and a resignation in 2005 were not 
filled.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants have the right 
to legal counsel and to call defense witnesses. During the 
investigative stage, defendants can submit questions in writing to the 
investigating judge. A panel of judges decides guilt or innocence. 
Federal and provincial courts continued the transition to trials with 
oral arguments in criminal cases, replacing the old system of written 
submissions. Although the 1994 constitution provides for trial by jury, 
implementing legislation was not passed. Lengthy delays in trials were 
a problem. There is a provision for counsel for indigents; however, in 
practice counsel may not always be provided due to a lack of resources. 
Defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to appeal, as do 
prosecutors. Minors under the age of 16 cannot be criminally 
prosecuted.
    There is a military court system, which has jurisdiction over 
military personnel, and in some cases can impose more severe punishment 
for crimes and disciplinary violations than that contemplated by the 
ordinary criminal code of justice.
    On February 22, Congress passed a law reducing the number of 
members of the Council of Magistrates, the body charged with the 
selection, investigation, and sanctioning of judges and management of 
the judiciary, from 20 to 13. Most opposition parties, civil rights 
NGOs, and lawyers' associations observed that the amendment favored 
political representatives over the representatives of judges, lawyers, 
and academics and undermined the independence of the judiciary.

    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 anyone may bring lawsuits 
seeking damages or the protection of rights provided by the 
constitution. Government agencies, professional bar associations, 
universities, and NGOs provide free legal counseling and may represent 
indigent people before civil courts as well as assist them in 
alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

    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.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally 
respected these rights. However, independent media, NGOs, and 
international organizations complained about the lack of transparency 
and oversight in the distribution of federal and provincial government 
spending on advertising in the media. They also criticized the 
Government's generally aggressive and confrontational attitude toward 
critical media outlets and journalists, which led to such acts as 
publicly singling out by name individual reporters for reproach.
    The independent media were numerous and active and, despite the 
Government's confrontational attitude, expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. All print media were owned privately, as 
were a significant number of radio and television stations. The federal 
government owned the Telam wire service, a radio network, and a 
television station. A few provincial governments also owned broadcast 
media. In February the Government signed an agreement with Telesur, a 
Venezuelan government initiative for a Latin American multinational 
television service. The Government contributed 20 percent of the 
capital stock and was initially transmitting Telesur's news programs 
through the state owned Channel Seven.
    Some national and international civil rights organizations, as well 
as several media and press associations, claimed that national and 
provincial government agencies interfered with media freedom and 
editorial independence by directing government advertising for partisan 
political and personal purposes. National government spending on 
advertising increased significantly over the past few years, from 
approximately $5 million (15.4 million pesos) in 2002 to approximately 
$47 million (127.5 million pesos) during the year. This increased 
spending allowed the survival of a number of media outlets, according 
to many observers; however, NGOs, press associations, and civil rights 
advocates contended there was little oversight, few regulations, and 
that political motives often governed how these funds were allocated to 
independent media outlets. At the national level, the majority of 
government agencies were legally obligated to advertise their 
activities. The responsibility for deciding how to allocate funds for 
such advertising fell to the secretary for media, who answered directly 
to the chief of cabinet. Public contracting was done through the 
Government press agency Telam, which, according to critics, followed no 
established procedure in allocating these funds.
    In mid September the national prosecutor general rendered an 
opinion in a case brought by the leading daily newspaper in Rio Negro, 
which also serves Neuquen Province, against the Neuquen provincial 
government. The newspaper contended that the Government of Neuquen had 
withdrawn its advertising in retaliation for a series of articles in 
2001 regarding Neuquen provincial corruption. Because the Government of 
Neuquen historically had advertised heavily in the paper, critics 
argued that removal of this source of revenue constituted de facto 
censorship. The prosecutor general overruled the paper's petition for 
the restoration of provincial government advertising, based on the lack 
of actual regulation governing the issue. In May Grupo Editorial 
Perfil, the country's second largest media company, sued the national 
government for its alleged discriminatory policy in withholding 
official advertising from some of its magazines and its Sunday 
newspaper. The case remained pending at year's end.
    Some radio and television programs critical of the Government went 
off the air, which some observers suggested resulted from government 
pressure. Two prominent journalists who had regularly published 
criticisms of the Government reported receiving death threats. On 
several occasions, senior government officials singled out one of the 
journalists by name for public criticism for having written pieces 
critical of the administration.
    In 2005, by virtue of a Presidential decree, the Government 
extended radio and television broadcast licenses for 10 more years. 
Numerous FM radio stations also continued to broadcast with temporary 
licenses. In November a public tender, which promised to conclude the 
licensing process for most of the country's radio and television 
broadcasting entities, was opened by the Federal Broadcasting 
Committee, the executive branch agency in charge of regulating 
broadcast media.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet. The Association for Argentine Reporter Entities 
(ADEPA), complained about violation of e mail privacy in a case where 
transcripts of e-mail exchanges between a reporter and a federal judge 
investigating an international drug trafficking network appeared in one 
of the law firms representing the defendants. ADEPA argued that the 
intelligence service must have been monitoring the reporter's e mails 
and had given the e-mails to the defendant's law firm, since the 
communications were private and had not been made public or shared by 
either the reporter or the federal judge.

    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.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. The law states that the federal government ``sustains the 
apostolic Roman Catholic faith,'' and the Government provided the 
Catholic Church with a variety of subsidies not available to other 
religious groups. Other religious faiths were practiced freely.
    In order to hold public worship services, obtain visas for foreign 
missionaries, and obtain tax exempt status, religious organizations 
must register with the Secretariat of Worship in the Ministry of 
Foreign Relations, International Trade, and Worship and report 
periodically to maintain their status.
    In apparent contradiction of nondiscrimination laws, a judge ruled 
that a landlord could refuse to rent an apartment to a Jewish couple 
because of the landlord's fear of a possible (terrorist) attack. The 
National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism 
(INADI) declared that the judge's decision violated antidiscrimination 
laws. The Delegation of Israeli Argentine Associations (DAIA) appealed 
the judge's decision. On October 24, the Civil Court of Appeals 
overturned the lower judge's decision and ordered the landlord to pay 
compensation for moral damage to the Jewish couple. This was the first 
time the courts had ordered defendants to pay compensation as a 
consequence of discriminatory behavior.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Acts of discrimination and 
vandalism against religious minorities, particularly the Jewish 
community, continued.
    The Jewish community was estimated to number between 280,000 and 
300,000. There were a number of reports of anti Semitic acts, including 
threats against Jewish organizations and individuals. In August 
activists of the left-wing group Quebracho, armed with staffs and with 
faces covered, prevented Jewish community groups from demonstrating in 
front of the Iranian Embassy. The DAIA filed a suit against Quebracho, 
but there was no progress in the judicial case at year's end.
    On August 13, more than 15 examples of anti Semitic graffiti that 
were linked to left-wing groups against Israel appeared on walls and in 
restrooms at the University of Buenos Aires College of Philosophy and 
Letters; these were followed in late September by anti-Semitic graffiti 
displaying a nationalist right-wing ideology that appeared in men's 
restrooms in the University of Buenos Aires College of Social Sciences. 
On September 21, 20 examples of anti-Semitic graffiti were painted on 
the walls of buildings in the Palermo district, near Jewish 
institutions. The vandalism, which occurred just prior to the Jewish 
High Holy Days, included swastikas and the slogans, ``long live 
Hitler,'' ``long live the Fuhrer,'' and ``Jewish murderers.''
    On October 25, the Special Prosecuting Unit investigating the 1994 
terrorist bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) 
presented its findings and recommendations to the investigating judge. 
The Special Prosecuting Unit found that the AMIA bombing, which killed 
85 persons and injured more than 300, was planned and financed by the 
Government of Iran and carried out with the operational assistance of 
Hizballah and local Iranian diplomats. Prosecutors urged the judge to 
seek national and international arrest warrants for former Iranian 
President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven other persons involved 
in the attack on the Jewish community center. On November 9, the judge 
issued arrest warrants for all eight individuals listed in the 
prosecutors' indictments.
    Jewish community representatives expressed concern over perceived 
anti Semitic comments made by a government official following the AMIA 
Prosecuting Unit's recommendation to issue arrest warrants. The 
Government did not make an immediate response to the official's remarks 
that it was ``disgusting'' that Israel claimed to fight against 
terrorism while the country itself practiced terrorism, but it ousted 
him from his position on November 14 after he paid a visit on the 
Iranian Charge d'Affaires to support Iran and condemn the decision by 
the judiciary to issue arrest warrants.
    The DAIA noted its concern over increased receipt by individuals of 
threatening and anti-Semitic e-mails, which they attributed to 
individuals rather than any organized group.
    The Government continued to support a public dialogue to highlight 
past discrimination and to encourage improved religious tolerance. In 
July the secretary of worship presided over the signing of a document 
by representatives of the Archbishopric of Buenos Aires, the Islamic 
Center of the Argentine Republic, and the AMIA calling for peace in the 
Middle East. On August 18, the National Ministry of Education sponsored 
a gathering of 400 students from public, secular, and private religious 
schools of various faiths, where they sang songs calling for respect 
and tolerance and prayed in various languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, 
and Armenian.
    DAIA's representatives emphasized the good work of the Government 
of the City of Buenos Aires in removing offensive graffiti from walls 
shortly after DAIA provided a list with the locations of the offensive 
graffiti.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not exile 
anyone.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Law for Recognition and Protection of 
Refugees, passed on November 8, makes it easier for authorities to 
grant asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN 
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
and for providing protection to refugees. This law creates a new 
National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), which replaces the previous 
interministerial committee charged with evaluating refugee and asylum 
claims. In addition to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of Immigration, CONARE also 
includes the Ministry of Social Development and INADI. The new law also 
allows CONARE to begin including refugees in its national, provincial, 
and municipal assistance programs. In practice the Government provided 
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country 
where they feared persecution. The Government granted refugee status 
and temporary protection for humanitarian reasons, consistent with the 
norms established by international law. The Government only granted 
asylum status to Brazilian, Uruguayan, and Paraguayan citizens on a 
very limited basis, as stipulated in the 19th-century Montevideo 
Treaty.
    The Government continued the implementation of the agreement with 
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for a 
program to resettle at risk Colombian families. The majority of a group 
of 24 Colombians residing in Ecuador arrived in the country in mid-
December; the Government expected the remainder of the group to arrive 
in January. Unlike in previous years, resettlement was to mostly occur 
in provincial cities like Mendoza and Rosario in order to facilitate 
the families' integration, with only one family staying in Buenos 
Aires.
    The Government maintained an interministerial committee to evaluate 
refugee and asylum claims, which was scheduled to be replaced by 
CONARE. The Government accepted refugees for resettlement and granted 
refugee status to 68 persons as of November 21. Applications came from 
foreigners of over 30 nationalities, the majority of whom were African, 
Peruvian, and Colombian citizens. Authorities attributed the 
significant decrease in the number of requests for refugee status(163 
applications compared to 385 during 2005) to the implementation of the 
2005 06 National Program for Migrant Regularization aimed at citizens 
of the Southern Common Market associate states; Peruvian and Paraguayan 
citizens, who had comprised the majority of persons previously applying 
for refugee status, were now able to receive temporary residence in the 
country by virtue of their nationality.
    The law also allows the Government to provide temporary protection 
for humanitarian reasons, including family reunification, to 
individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention 
and the 1967 Protocol, and the Government provided such protection 
during the year.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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.--In 2003 Nestor Kirchner won 
a plurality of votes in Presidential elections generally regarded as 
free and fair. In October 2005 national and provincial legislative 
elections were held. At the national level, one half of the seats in 
the Chamber of Deputies and one third of those in the Senate were 
contested. Observers considered the elections to be free and fair, and 
there were no claims of fraud by any of the major parties.
    On October 29, voters in Misiones Province defeated a referendum to 
amend the provincial constitution to remove limits on reelection of the 
governor. Thereafter, other governors who were seeking reelection 
renounced their candidacies, and other provinces amended their 
constitutions to institute term limits.
    Decrees provide that one third of the members of both houses of 
congress must be women, a goal achieved through balanced election 
slates. There were 29 women in the 72 seat Senate and 86 women in the 
257 seat Chamber of Deputies. There were two female Supreme Court 
justices and three women in the cabinet.
    There were no known indigenous, ethnic, or racial minorities in the 
national legislature, in the cabinet, or on the Supreme Court.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Transparency 
International's 2006 annual index reported perceptions of a ``rampant 
corruption problem'' in the country. Historically weak institutions and 
an often ineffective and politicized judicial system made rooting out 
corruption in any systemic fashion difficult; however, the Government 
continued to pursue anticorruption measures. In late August a federal 
judge indicted nine persons, including six former national senators, a 
former labor minister, a former head of State Intelligence, and a 
former Senate staffer, in a bribery case relating to votes for amending 
the labor laws in 2000. The oral trial was tentatively scheduled for 
2008.
    In late August the Bahia Blanca Deliberative Council removed Mayor 
Rodolfo Lopes from office for irregularities and malfeasance in the use 
of public monies, irregular hiring practices of personnel, and other 
charges. Lopes was under judicial investigation at year's end.
    The law provides for public access to government information. At 
the national level, an executive decree requires executive agencies to 
answer requests for public information within 10 working days. A study 
by NGO Poder Ciudadano, covering the first six months of the year, on 
executive branch compliance with a 2003 decree regulating public access 
to information regarding meetings by executive branch officials, 
concluded that there were improvements in the quantity and quality of 
the information posted on official Web sites. The study noted, however, 
reluctance on the part of some agencies to comply with the decree as 
well as the absence of similar regulations governing the legislative 
and judicial branches.
Section 4. 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 
usually were cooperative and generally responsive to their views.
Section 5. 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 
provisions in practice.

    Women.--The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal 
abuse, and provides for removal of the abusive spouse from the home, 
but it does not provide penalties unless the violence involves crimes 
against ``sexual integrity.'' In this case penalties can be as much as 
20 years' imprisonment.
    Domestic violence against women was a serious problem. In Buenos 
Aires Province, the special Women's Police Stations and Family's police 
stations received a daily average of 53 complaints of violence.
    Any person suffering physical or psychological domestic violence 
may file a formal complaint with a judge or police station. The law 
gives family court judges the right to prevent the perpetrator of a 
violent act from entering the victim's home or workplace. Charges also 
may be brought in criminal court, which may apply corresponding 
penalties. However, lack of vigilance on the part of the police and the 
judicial system often led to a lack of protection for victims.
    In March the Interior Ministry launched a federal program that 
included creating a mobile unit for providing assistance to victims of 
sexual and domestic violence. Although the program was planned to have 
a national reach, its initial implementation started in late October in 
the City of Buenos Aires. There were two mobile units working 24 hours 
a day. Each unit was composed of a psychologist and a social worker, 
and two police officials also took part when they received complaints 
of domestic violence.
    In March the provincial Cordoba legislature passed its first 
domestic violence law, leading to a significant increase in the number 
of complaints filed. The legislation is quite inclusive. The term 
``family'' includes fiancees and former or current common-law husbands 
or wives. The law also defines domestic violence as physical, 
psychological, and economic violence.
    In early December the Buenos Aires Supreme Court ordered the 
criminal, family and minors' courts, as well as provincial courts in 
civil and family matters, to have duty officers to receive complaints 
of domestic violence and assist victims after normal court hours. 
Victims could call a cell phone number to get assistance.
    Public and private institutions offered prevention programs and 
provided support and treatment for abused women, but there was little 
transitional housing. The Buenos Aires municipal government operated a 
small shelter for battered women and a 24 hour hotline offering support 
and guidance to victims of violence; however, few other shelters 
existed.
    NGOs stressed that women often did not have a full understanding of 
their rights or of what actions could be considered punishable 
offenses. In addition there was a great disparity between urban centers 
and rural areas with respect to women's awareness of, and access to, 
equal rights. Indigenous women particularly were vulnerable, due to 
higher rates of illiteracy and insufficient bilingual educational 
resources.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, but the need for 
proof, either in the form of clear physical injury or the testimony of 
a witness, often presented problems. The penalties for rape ranged up 
to 20 years' imprisonment. According to the National Office for 
Criminal Policy, law enforcement agencies received 3,154 complaints of 
rape during 2005. Women's rights advocates claimed that police, 
hospital, and court attitudes toward sexual violence victims often 
revictimized the individual.
    Promotion, facilitation, or exploitation of people into 
prostitution is illegal, but it occurred. NGOs considered sex tourism a 
problem but had no estimates of its extent. Trafficking of women to and 
within the country for prostitution was a problem (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment in the public sector is prohibited under laws 
that impose disciplinary or corrective measures. In some jurisdictions 
(for instance, in the city of Buenos Aires) sexual harassment may lead 
to the abuser's dismissal, whereas in others (such as Santa Fe 
Province) the maximum penalty is five days in prison. No federal law 
expressly prohibits sexual harassment in the private sector. Lugar de 
Mujer, a women's rights NGO, reported that it received approximately 70 
complaints of sexual harassment per month. A survey carried out by the 
Government Administration Workers Union estimated that 47.4 percent of 
women interviewed had been sexually harassed.
    Although women enjoyed equality under the law, including property 
rights, they encountered economic discrimination and held a 
disproportionately higher number of lower-paying jobs. Men earned, on 
average, 38 percent more than women for equivalent work, an imbalance 
explicitly prohibited by law. Approximately 70 percent of women 
employed outside the home worked in nonskilled jobs, although more 
women than men held university degrees. The law provides for prison 
terms of up to three years for discrimination based on gender.
    The National Council of Women carried out programs to promote equal 
social, political, and economic opportunities for women. The council 
worked with the special representative for international women's 
issues, the Ministry of Labor, and union and business organizations to 
form the Tripartite Committee on Equal Opportunity for Men and Women in 
the Workplace, which sought to foster equal treatment and opportunities 
for men and women in the job market.

    Children.--Although the Government voiced strong commitment to 
children's rights and welfare, many programs remained underfunded.
    On December 14, Congress passed a new Education Law, which extends 
free and compulsory education from 10 to 13 years, beginning at age 
five. The law stipulates an increase in government funding for 
education beginning in 2010 and requires that schools establish 
breastfeeding rooms to help students with infants stay in school. 
Although a 2001 government survey reported school attendance rates 
between 92 percent (at age five) to 97 percent (ages 13 to 14), a World 
Bank appraisal stated that of 100 students entering primary school, 84 
would enter the seventh grade, and 40 would enter the last year of 
secondary school. Attendance rates were lowest among children from low 
income households. Access to schooling was limited in some rural areas 
of the country. School enrollment rates for girls were slightly higher 
than for boys.
    There were numerous federal and provincial health care programs 
available equally for boys and girls. While such programs were 
available in all provinces, they tended to be limited to larger urban 
areas, which made access difficult for children in isolated rural 
communities.
    While child abuse continued to occur and was not uncommon, the 
Government took measures to combat it. The National Council for 
Children, Adolescents, and the Family instituted a national hot line 
which children could use to call for advice, make complaints, and 
report instances of abuse or other rights violations. In conjunction 
with other agencies and organizations, the council also conducted 
educational and awareness raising efforts. Prosecutors and police 
pursued cases of Internet child pornography. Children also were 
involved in sexual exploitation, sex tourism, and drug trafficking.
    Trafficking of children was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor was also a problem (see section 6.d.).
    The lodging of children in juvenile institutions due to social 
circumstances was a problem (see section 1.c.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The country lacks specific antitrafficking 
statutes. Traffickers are prosecuted under the criminal code and the 
2005 Immigration Law for charges of prostitution through fraud, 
intimidation, or coercion, or, in the case of minors, alien smuggling, 
indentured servitude, and similar abuses. The law also criminalizes 
offenses often associated with trafficking, such as kidnapping, forced 
labor, the use of false documents, and prostitution. Penalties for 
trafficking ranged from one to 20 years in prison, depending on the 
nature of the violation and the age of the victim. In the absence of 
antitrafficking laws, officials were unable to provide accurate 
information regarding investigations and prosecutions against 
traffickers.
    Trafficking in persons primarily involved citizens trafficked 
within the country for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. 
They were trafficked mostly from the northern provinces to the central 
provinces and Buenos Aires, and from Buenos Aires to several southern 
provinces. To a lesser degree, the country was a destination for 
victims, principally women and minors from Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, 
the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Chile.
    While there were no official reports on the activities of 
traffickers, the media reported that traffickers often presented 
themselves as employment agencies or even as individual recruiters. 
Traffickers confiscated travel documents to prevent victims from 
appealing to authorities for protection. Victims, particularly women 
and girls in prostitution, were at times denied contact with the 
outside world. Victims often were threatened or beaten.
    Trafficking detection and antitrafficking prosecution efforts 
continued, but with limited success. The Federal Office of Victim 
Assistance (OFAVI), a unit under the Federal Prosecutor's Office, is 
the lead agency for coordinating antitrafficking efforts. OFAVI 
coordinates activities with law enforcement agencies, including the 
Federal Police and the National Border Patrol Office, with the 
Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, the Immigration 
Service, and the Secretariat of Children, Teenagers, and Family. 
Although law enforcement officers lacked a clear mandate from political 
leaders and sufficient resources to pursue aggressively domestic and 
international traffickers, investigations and arrests increased. OFAVI 
also reported an increase in the number of complaints of human 
trafficking during the year, which it attributed to increased public 
awareness of the problem and improved training of judges and 
prosecutors. The Government cooperated on international investigations 
and worked with Paraguayan and Bolivian authorities on several cases of 
trafficked persons.
    There were no allegations of federal government official 
involvement in trafficking, and local police and officials suspected of 
involvement were investigated and prosecuted. In September former 
federal police commissioner Jorge Luis Gonzalez was found guilty of 
subjecting individuals to indentured servitude and for the promotion of 
prostitution of a teenager in Inriville, Cordoba Province, and was 
sentenced to 14 years in prison. Three women, who had originally been 
trafficking victims themselves and who had worked in the brothel, 
received three year prison terms.
    Trafficking victims normally were not detained, jailed, or 
deported, although those arrested for prostitution related crimes are 
sometimes jailed (for example, if trafficking victims later become 
abusers), or deported (particularly when cases were handled by 
prosecutors or judges with little experience or training in trafficking 
issues).
    Although the country lacked a comprehensive nationwide policy of 
victim assistance, the city of Buenos Aires in particular assisted 
dozens of victims, and most provinces had facilities for victims' 
assistance, including psychologists to aid victims and witnesses. Some 
victims qualified for federal government assistance, but most 
provincial officials were not trained to identify or help victims of 
trafficking specifically. The International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) assisted with repatriation of foreign victims of trafficking.
    The Government did not have a comprehensive policy to prevent 
trafficking, but among other efforts it implemented an ``interagency 
table'' to try to coordinate actions among offices involved in this 
problem. The table was part of a program, Victims Against Abusers, led 
by the Ministry of the Interior. The Office for Criminal Intelligence, 
the Border Patrol, the Secretariat of Human Rights, the National 
Registry for Missing Children, IOM, and the National Council for 
Children, Adolescents, and Families regularly sit in the meetings. The 
Government made efforts to improve its effectiveness in combating 
trafficking, notably in the city of Buenos Aires, where it established 
a network to conduct information campaigns, outreach, and child victim 
identification. In addition, the Government participated in an 
International Labor Organization (ILO) project to prevent and eliminate 
commercial sexual exploitation of children in the border region with 
Brazil and Paraguay.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and laws prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other 
state services, but the Government did not effectively enforce these 
laws. A specific law also mandates access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities; however, the Government did not effectively enforce it.
    Laws mandating greater accessibility to buses and trains for 
persons with disabilities also were not enforced fully. Through August 
the National Institute Against Discrimination received a significant 
number of complaints about discrimination based on disability, mainly 
for noncompliance with statutes requiring accessibility to means of 
communication.
    On October 17, the city legislature in Buenos Aires amended a 2005 
law to exempt disabled people from paying tolls on city freeways.
    On September 13, a national newspaper reported complaints of 
negligence, maltreatment, and other irregularities at the Association 
of Help to Disabled Children (APAND), an NGO lodging minors with mental 
and physical disabilities in Baradero, Buenos Aires Province. Although 
civil courts in Buenos Aires City and in San Nicolas, Buenos Aires 
Province, were investigating the complaints, reports stated that the 
Ministry of Social Development continued sending disabled children to 
APAND.
    The National Advisory Committee for the Integration of People with 
Disabilities, under the National Council for Coordination of Social 
Policies, has formal responsibility for actions to accommodate persons 
with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--The constitution recognizes the ethnic and 
cultural identities of indigenous people and states that congress shall 
protect their right to bilingual education, recognize their communities 
and the communal ownership of their ancestral lands, and allow for 
their participation in the management of their natural resources. In 
practice, indigenous people did not fully participate in the management 
of their lands or natural resources, in part because laws do not 
specifically contemplate communal ownership. The National Institute of 
Indigenous Affairs is the Government agency responsible for 
implementing these provisions.
    Poverty rates were higher than average in areas with large 
indigenous populations. Indigenous people had higher rates of 
illiteracy, chronic disease, and unemployment. The lack of trained 
teachers hampered government efforts to offer bilingual education 
opportunities to indigenous people. Examples drawn from the 2004 05 
survey of indigenous people revealed that 33.4 percent of the Mbya 
Guarani in Misiones, and almost 20 percent of the Wichi in Chaco, 
Formosa, and Salta over the age of 15, never attended school or 
received any formal education.
    Individuals of indigenous descent from the northern part of the 
country, as well as from Bolivia, Peru, and other Latin American 
countries, reportedly were subjected frequently to verbal insults 
because of their dark skin.
    Some communities were involved in land disputes with provincial 
governments and private companies, particularly over questions of 
natural resource extraction, pollution, and road construction. On March 
1, the Nam Qom Toba community in Formosa Province filed a complaint 
before the IACHR charging multiple violations of human rights by the 
provincial police and the provincial and national authorities in 2002. 
The suit contended that 80 community members were tortured and were 
detained arbitrarily, some for almost two years. New witnesses made 
depositions, and their statements were sent to the IACHR for 
consideration. In August authorities in the Chaco provincial government 
and the President of the Institute for Chaco Indigenous People signed 
an agreement for the regularization of land ownership. The agreement 
followed a 31 day hunger strike of 12 indigenous members of the Toba, 
Mataco, and Mocobi communities. The case of the indigenous communities 
association Lhaka Honhat, which had filed a petition before the IACHR 
to consider the case, was preliminarily allowed on October 21. The 
parties were given two months' time to provide the IACHR with 
additional information before it started evaluating the facts. The 
IACHR also offered to try to help the parties reach an amicable 
solution.
    On November 1, Congress passed a law to suspend for four years the 
dispossession of lands occupied by indigenous communities. The law also 
provided for approximately $10 million (30 million pesos) to carry out 
census and real state studies of lands in dispute in order to identify 
ways to solve recent conflicts with indigenous communities.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides all workers, with 
the exception of military personnel, the right to form and join ``free 
and democratic labor unions, recognized by simple inscription in a 
special register,'' and workers exercised this right. An estimated 35 
percent of the work force was organized.
    Labor groups not affiliated with the General Confederation of Labor 
contended that the Professional Associations Law provision for legal 
recognition of only one union per sector conflicts with ILO Convention 
87. One of those unions, the Argentine Workers Central, presented this 
claim to the IACHR in March 2004, and its petition was pending at 
year's end.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and requires employers 
to reinstate workers illegally dismissed for union related activities.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides unions with the right to negotiate collective bargaining 
agreements and to have recourse to conciliation and arbitration. The 
Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security ratifies collective 
bargaining agreements, which covered roughly 75 percent of the formally 
employed work force. According to the ILO, the ratification process 
impeded free collective bargaining because the ministry considered not 
only whether a collective labor agreement contained clauses violating 
public order standards but also whether the agreement complied with 
productivity, investment, technology, and vocational training criteria. 
However, there were no known cases during the year of government 
refusal to approve any collective agreements under these criteria.
    Unions have the right to strike, although those representing civil 
servants and workers in essential services are subject to the condition 
that ``minimum services'' (undefined) are rendered. Workers exercised 
this right by conducting legal strikes, but there was little tolerance 
of strike action. A mass dismissal of employees from Aerolineas 
Argentinas and suspension of school head teachers both occurred in 
response to strikes.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the three functioning export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5). An investigation 
into an apparent case of forced labor involving potentially hundreds of 
Bolivian citizens working in clothing sweatshops in Flores Sur, a 
neighborhood in the city of Buenos Aires, was underway at year's end. A 
federal judge declined to review the case, citing lack of jurisdiction, 
and referred the case to the National Court of First Instance. Some of 
the workers involved appealed the federal judge's decision, and the 
case remained pending at year's end.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. In 2004 the 
National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor (CONAETI) 
estimated that up to 1.5 million children, or 22 percent of the 
children under the age of 15, worked in some capacity, an estimate 
still considered valid. Most illegal child labor took place in the 
informal sector, where inspectors had limited ability to enforce the 
law. Child labor in urban zones included such work as small scale 
garment production, trash recycling, street sales, domestic service, 
and food preparation. In June CONAETI approved a new list of hazardous 
jobs for children and will introduce a bill in Congress to raise the 
age at which minors can perform them; at year's end, the list was 
awaiting the approval of the Ministry of Labor (MOL). Children also 
were involved in prostitution, sex tourism, and drug trafficking (see 
section 5).
    The law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years; in rare 
cases the Ministry of Education may authorize a younger child to work 
as part of a family unit. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 may 
work in a limited number of job categories and for limited hours if 
they have completed compulsory schooling, which normally ends at age 
15. Legal penalties for employing underage workers ranged from $350 to 
$1,750 (1,000 to 5,000 pesos) for each child employed. Provincial 
governments and the city government of Buenos Aires are responsible for 
labor law enforcement.
    CONAETI worked with the ILO's program for the elimination of child 
labor during 2005 to complete a national child labor regional survey, 
which was released during the year. CONAETI also prepared a national 
plan to combat child labor, which was formally announced in June and 
began to be implemented during the year. The Government also worked 
with provincial authorities in the tri border area with Brazil and 
Paraguay to address child sexual exploitation. CONAETI and the NGO 
Conciencia also provided technical assistance to teachers and tobacco 
companies involved in the Porvernir 1 program, designed to provide 
school meals and recreational activities to children of tobacco workers 
during the summer holidays. In 2004 congress acknowledged that the 
country lacked sufficient inspectors and programs to detect child labor 
or to rescue exploited children and that there were inadequate 
sanctions against employers for exploiting children. CONAETI carried 
out an information campaign in late October that included public 
service announcements, conferences, and roundtables to raise awareness 
about the problems, as well as inspections that confirmed that child 
labor remains a problem in the country.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly national minimum 
wage was approximately $266 (800 pesos), 10 percent less than the 
estimated amount of $293 (879 pesos) needed by a family of four to 
maintain a ``decent'' standard of living. Most workers in the formal 
sector earned significantly more than the minimum wage. The MOL is 
responsible for enforcing legislation related to working conditions. A 
MOL report based on inspections conducted during the year reported that 
the rate of nonregistered work was 23.29 percent, and that 36.7 percent 
of the companies had at least one nonregistered worker. A September 
report by the National Institute of Statistics and Census, the 
Government agency that provides official statistics, pointed out that 
the informal sector employed 44 percent of the workforce, or 
approximately 4.77 million persons.
    Federal labor law sets standards in the areas of health, safety, 
and hours. The maximum workday is eight hours, and the maximum workweek 
is 48 hours. Overtime pay is required for hours worked in excess of 
these limits. The law sets minimums for periods of rest, requiring a 
minimum of 12 hours of rest to start a new workday. Sundays are 
holidays, and those required to work on Sundays are paid double. 
However, laws governing acceptable conditions of work were not enforced 
universally, particularly for workers in the informal sector.
    The law requires employers to insure their employees against 
accidents at the workplace and when traveling to and from work. Workers 
have the right to remove themselves from dangerous or unhealthy work 
situations without jeopardy to continued employment. However, workers 
who leave the workplace before it has been proven unsafe risk being 
fired; in such cases, the worker has the right to judicial appeal, but 
the process can be very lengthy.

                               __________

                                BAHAMAS

    The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a constitutional, parliamentary 
democracy with a population of approximately 320,000, not including an 
estimated 30,000 undocumented Haitians. Prime Minister Perry Christie's 
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) regained control of the Government 
after 2002 elections that observers found to be generally free and 
fair. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control 
over security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, but there were problems in some areas. The most significant 
human rights problems were arbitrary arrest and detention, complaints 
of abuse by prison and detention center guards, lengthy pretrial 
detention and delays in trials, violence against women and children, 
and continued discrimination against persons of Haitian descent.
                        respect for human rights
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, 
there were killings by prison guards.
    On January 17, prison guard Sandy Mackey allegedly killed inmate 
Neil Brown in retribution for the death of a fellow officer during a 
prison escape. The coroner's court recommended murder charges against 
the guard, but criminal charges had not been filed by year's end.
    In March 2005 a coroner's court found that police committed 
unlawful manslaughter in two killings in 2003 and 2002, and authorities 
brought charges against two police officers. At year's end their trials 
were still pending.

    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, but human 
rights monitors and members of the public expressed concern over 
continued instances of police abuse of criminal suspects. Police 
officials, while denying systematic or chronic abuses, acknowledged 
that police on occasion abused their authority (see section 1.d.).
    On October 6, a judge ordered that a convicted criminal be 
subjected to whipping with a cat-o'-nine-tails, punishment that was 
supported by the Government and previously upheld by the Privy Council. 
Human rights observers alleged that flogging was inhuman and degrading 
punishment.
    There were no further developments in the 2004 case of a 19-year-
old detainee from Grand Bahama Island who claimed police stripped him, 
handcuffed him to a tree, and beat him with a metal pipe to extract a 
confession before charging him with attempted armed robbery.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions at Fox Hill 
Prison, the country's only prison, improved slightly but remained harsh 
for the vast majority of prisoners. Overcrowding was a major problem. 
The men's maximum-security block, originally built in 1953 to hold 450 
inmates, held more than 725 of the approximately 1,500 total inmate 
population. The remaining prisoners were held on remand, and in medium- 
and minimum-security units that were at intended capacity. The prison 
remand area, built to hold 300 prisoners awaiting trial, was 
insufficient to hold the 650 prisoners awaiting trial, leaving many 
pretrial detainees confined in cells with convicted prisoners in the 
maximum-security unit. Male prisoners placed in the maximum-security 
unit were crowded into poorly ventilated cells that generally lacked 
regular running water, toilets, and laundry facilities. Most prisoners 
lacked beds, slept on concrete floors, and were locked in small cells 
23 hours per day, often with human waste. Maximum-security inmates were 
allowed outside for exercise four days a week for one hour per day. 
Inmates complained of inadequate medical care and treatment.
    Fox Hill Prison hired a nutritionist to plan prisoner meals, 
increased the variety of educational courses available to prisoners, 
installed recreational equipment for prisoners, and refurbished two 
dormitories, including a dormitory formerly known for inhumane 
conditions. The Government also increased training on use-of-force 
guidelines adopted in 2005, working with foreign experts on humane 
prisoner control techniques.
    Local attorneys and human rights observers asserted that the 
prison's internal affairs unit, established in 2005, lacked the 
independent authority needed to impartially investigate allegations of 
abuse and misconduct. During the year the unit recommended that one 
officer be prosecuted following abuse of an inmate. Prosecution was 
pending at year's end.
    There were allegations of abuse by prison guards. Guards killed one 
inmate and beat several others following a January 17 escape attempt 
that resulted in the death of a prison guard (see section 1.a.). Citing 
an unpublished internal investigation, prison officials maintained 
that, prisoner claims and photographic evidence notwithstanding, there 
were no unlawful beatings of the escaped inmates.
    Organizations providing aid, counseling services, and religious 
instruction had regular access to inmates. The Government continued 
funding improvements in prison facilities and prisoner rehabilitation 
programs. Prison officials continued to improve technical and 
vocational programs, opening the programs to women and increasing 
course offerings from 18 to 25. Approximately 500 of the 900 eligible 
prisoners participated in training and work release programs.
    Although conditions for women prisoners were less severe, they did 
not have access to work release programs available to male prisoners.
    The maximum-security building has a separate section for juvenile 
offenders between the ages of 16 and 18. There was occasional mixing of 
juveniles with adult inmates depending upon the severity of their 
crimes. Offenders younger than 16, along with children made wards of 
the court by their parents because of ``uncontrollable behavior,'' were 
held at the Simpson Penn Center for Boys and the Williamae Pratt Center 
for Girls.
    The Carmichael Road Immigrant Detention Center held up to 500 
detainees (with tent space for an additional 500), and women and men 
were housed separately. Haitians and Cubans were the most commonly 
interdicted migrants. The highest occupancy during the year was 
approximately 850. Detainees complained that non-English speaking 
migrants were sometimes unable to communicate with guards regarding 
basic needs and detention center rules. Detainees also continued to 
complain of abuse by guards. Human rights groups expressed concern that 
complaint investigations were handled internally without independent 
review and oversight.
    Children under the age of 14 were held in the women's dormitory. 
Many children arriving with both parents were not allowed contact with 
the father. Despite the possibility of being held for months, these 
children did not have access to education.
    There were no developments regarding any investigation of the 2004 
allegations that guards unlawfully beat and shot a detainee with rubber 
bullets.
    On February 7, Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) guards allegedly 
beat Mario Vallejo, a reporter covering the condition of migrants at 
the detention center. The Government claimed it completed an 
investigation, but it was not forthcoming with details.
    On May 2, a detention center guard allegedly hit and beat Haitian 
national Jason Lionels with a gun, breaking the guard's weapon. 
Following the incident, there were protests by Haitian detainees. 
According to immigration officials, an investigation had not been 
completed by year's end.
    Neither domestic nor international human rights groups visited the 
detention center or prison during the year. In response to a request 
for review of conditions following the January 17 jailbreak, death of 
an inmate, and alleged beatings, authorities denied a local human 
rights group access to the prison.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, police occasionally arrested 
and detained persons arbitrarily.
    On April 7, police and immigration officials conducted raids of 
several suspected Haitian communities on Exuma, Eleuthera, and Ragged 
Islands. Officials arrested and detained hundreds of persons on the 
basis of suspected Haitian nationality. Approximately 231 persons 
legally residing in the country were forcibly relocated and detained in 
Nassau, many of whom were not permitted to provide documentation of 
legal residency prior to arrest and relocation. Detainees claimed that 
the raids were conducted illegally without warrants in the middle of 
the night. The Government said that the arrest and detention of legal 
residents was lawful and necessary to confirm that documents were not 
fraudulent. The Government did not make provisions to return the 
detainees to their home islands.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Bahamas 
Police Force (RBPF) maintains internal security, and the small RBDF is 
responsible for external security, security at the Carmichael Road 
Detention Center, and some minor domestic security functions such as 
guarding foreign embassies and ambassadors. The Ministry of National 
Security oversees the RBPF and the RBDF.
    On December 6, the new RBDF commander acknowledged potential 
corruption in the defense force by calling 25 percent of the force 
``bad apples'' that he would ``seek to remove'' from the force.
    The Police Complaints and Corruption Branch, which reports directly 
to the deputy commissioner without any independent oversight, was 
responsible for investigating allegations of police brutality. This 
unit determines if enough evidence of abuse or misconduct exists in a 
particular case to warrant disciplinary action within the police system 
or, in some cases, criminal prosecution by the Attorney General. Local 
attorneys and human rights observers expressed concern that the 
complaints and corruption branch lacked the independent authority 
needed to impartially investigate allegations of abuse and misconduct, 
and that perceived lack of impartiality discouraged full reporting of 
complaints.
    Police officials insisted that their investigations were fair and 
thorough. A police officer involved in shooting or killing a suspect is 
automatically placed under investigation. There were 283 complaints 
against police during the year, compared with 253 in 2005. Of these 283 
cases, authorities resolved 99, 59 remained before a tribunal, and had 
125 still under investigation at year's end. Of the 99 completed 
matters, 16 were resolved informally and the remainder were dismissed 
or withdrawn as unsubstantiated.
    Following investigations into complaints against police during the 
year, including unethical conduct, assault, wrongful arrest, and 
excessive use of force, authorities dismissed three officers and 
brought criminal charges against 15 officers, all of which were pending 
at year's end.
    During the year police underwent training in human rights issues, 
including in-house training for officers on use of force, human rights, 
internal investigations of complaints against police, and corruption. 
Police officials believed that additional training was necessary to 
address continuing problems.

    Arrest and Detention.--In general the authorities conducted arrests 
openly and, when required, obtained judicially issued warrants. Serious 
cases, including those of suspected narcotics or firearms offenses, do 
not require warrants where probable cause exists. The law provides that 
a suspect must be charged within 48 hours of arrest. Arrested persons 
appear before a magistrate within 48 hours (or by the next business day 
for cases arising on weekends and holidays) to hear the charges against 
them. Police can apply for a 48-hour extension upon simple application 
to the court and for longer extensions with sufficient showing of need. 
Some persons on remand claimed they were not brought before a 
magistrate within the 48-hour time frame. The Government generally 
respected the right to a judicial determination of the legality of 
arrests.
    Although there is a functioning bail system, the law prohibits bail 
for repeat offenders and those accused of certain violent crimes. 
Judges sometimes authorized cash bail for foreigners arrested on minor 
charges; however, in practice foreign suspects generally preferred to 
plead guilty and pay a fine rather than pursue their right to defend 
themselves, given possible delays in court cases and harsh conditions 
in the prison. Many foreign suspects paid bail and fled the country to 
avoid prosecution and extended detention.
    Attorneys and other prisoner advocates continued to complain of 
excessive pretrial detention (see section 1.e.). The constitution 
provides that suspects can be held for a ``reasonable period of time'' 
before trial. Suspects commonly were held two to four years before they 
received a trial. Government officials stated that 650 of the 1,500 
prisoners at Fox Hill prison were awaiting trial. Prison officials 
estimated that approximately 100 prisoners had been held on remand 
without trial for over two years. Some prisoners claimed that the 
prospect of lengthy remand provided strong disincentive to demand a 
trial because a guilty plea could mean less time in prison.
    On March 9, the Court of Appeal awarded damages to Atain Takitota, 
a Japanese man who had been held at Fox Hill Prison without trial since 
1992, as a result of illegal detention without provision of due 
process. Local human rights observers claimed that a lack of 
transparency in the prison system and a lack of legal representation of 
Takitota allowed him to become ``lost'' within the prison system.
    While the numbers of prisoners on remand and length of time 
remanded did not change, the Government made efforts to improve the 
problem. It instituted a ``Swift Justice Initiative'' with the goal of 
bringing all matters to trial within two years. It passed legislation 
to ease burdens on witnesses in an attempt to lessen trial delays and 
instituted a new process to speed prosecution of serious cases. 
However, members of the judiciary criticized the initiative for failure 
to adequately protect defendants' rights (see section 1.e.).
    The authorities detained illegal immigrants, primarily Haitians and 
Cubans, at the Carmichael Road Immigrant Detention Center until 
arrangements could be made for them to leave the country, or they 
obtained legal status. Haitians usually were repatriated within 48 
hours, due to increased cooperation between Bahamian and Haitian 
authorities and improved efficiency in processing. Average length of 
detention varied significantly by nationality and availability of funds 
to pay for repatriation. Illegal immigrants convicted of crimes other 
than immigration violations were held at Fox Hill prison, where they 
often remained for weeks or months after serving their sentences, 
pending deportation.
    Authorities held seven Cuban nationals at Carmichael Road Detention 
Center for more than two years, including five whom, according to the 
Department of Immigration, the office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) determined to have a legitimate fear of persecution if 
sent back to Cuba. International observers claimed that the length of 
detention for these and other Cuban detainees was excessive.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    However, on November 7 the Court of Appeal issued two rulings 
finding undue government influence on the judiciary. In one ruling, the 
judge asserted that the Swift Justice Initiative, by assessing judges 
on conviction rates and speed while creating procedural mechanisms to 
speed trials, reduced judicial independence. The second ruling found 
that the mechanism for government control of judicial salaries also 
interfered with judicial independence, removing the court's ability to 
fairly adjudicate matters. Following the ruling, other judicial and 
legal officials, including the President of the Court of Appeal and the 
Bar Association President, echoed judicial independence concerns. The 
Government denied the allegations, reasserted its belief in judicial 
independence, and appealed the determination that the Court of Appeal 
could not act independently. The appeal was pending at year's end.
    Magistrate's courts are the lowest level courts and only handle 
crimes with a maximum sentence of five years. Trial by jury is 
available only in the Supreme Court, which handles most major cases. 
Magistrate's court decisions may be appealed to the Court of Appeal; 
the Privy Council in the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal. 
The governor general appoints judges on the advice, in most cases, of 
the independent Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

    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 until proven guilty and are 
permitted to question witnesses at trial and view government evidence. 
Defendants have a right to appeal. There is a functioning system of 
bail, but individuals who could not post bail were held on remand for 
indefinite time periods.
    The judicial system had a large backlog of cases, and delays 
reportedly lasted as long as four years. Local legal professionals 
attributed most delays to slow police investigation and prosecution 
rather than a lack of judicial capacity, suggesting that prosecutors 
had little incentive to quickly bring a matter to trial while the 
accused were detained for long prison terms while awaiting trial. There 
were isolated complaints of deviations from normal, fair court 
proceedings--particularly in civil matters--but there were no 
indications that this was a widespread problem.
    Defendants may hire an attorney of their choice, but the Government 
only provided legal representation to destitute suspects charged with 
capital crimes. In a 2003 report, Amnesty International (AI) estimated 
that 41 percent of inmates did not have legal representation at their 
trial, and there were no indications of improvement in recent years. 
Local legal professionals and human rights observers believed that this 
lack of representation risked hasty convictions on the basis of 
unchallenged evidence, particularly in the case of poor or illiterate 
defendants. Local legal professionals and human rights observers also 
reported that this lack of representation contributed to excessive 
pretrial detention, as the accused may lack the means to press his or 
her case towards trial.

    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 there is access to a 
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human 
rights violation.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
    While the law usually requires a court order for entry into or 
search of a private residence, a police inspector or more senior police 
official may authorize a search without a court order where probable 
cause to suspect a weapons violation or drug possession exists.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. 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.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without significant restriction. However, members of independent 
media complained that the Government restricted access to some 
information, providing preferential access to government media sources 
and denying access to certain government information. Some members of 
the independent media claimed to be subject to pressure from the 
Government regarding content and tone of reporting.
    On February 7, guards allegedly beat a reporter covering the 
condition of migrants at the detention center (see section 1.c.).
    On April 25, in response to a critical article in the Tribune, the 
largest circulation daily newspaper, the leader of the governing party 
issued a ``last warning'' to the newspaper that its method of coverage 
of politics must cease. Government officials again complained of press 
coverage of politics in May and June. In June the Tribune reported that 
the Government had failed to issue a work permit to John Marquis, 
author of the critical article. Some observers expressed concern that 
the failure to issue was an attempt to limit press freedoms. The 
Government denied the allegations and subsequently issued the work 
permit after claiming it had completed legally required processes.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However, there is 
a Plays and Films Control Board, which rates and censors entertainment. 
On March 31, the Control Board banned an Academy Award-winning movie on 
the grounds that it lacked public value.

    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.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. The constitution explicitly calls for respect for Christian 
values.
    The practice of Obeah, a version of voodoo, is illegal, and those 
caught practicing it were liable to three months' imprisonment. In 
August 2005 police raided a Rastafarian religious service and briefly 
detained worshipers.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal violence or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There 
was a local Jewish community of approximately 200 persons.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is a signatory to 
both the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 
1967 Protocol, the Government has not established a consistent system 
for providing protection to all refugees and asylum seekers. In 
practice the Government provided some protection against refoulement, 
the return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. 
Applications for political asylum were adjudicated on a case-by-case 
basis at the cabinet level. The authorities did not grant asylum during 
the year.
    The Government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. 
Although the Government asserted that all migrants who claimed asylum 
were interviewed by trained immigration officials, AI disputed this 
claim. The UNHCR reviewed the interview records of cases provided to it 
and offered recommendations on certain cases.
    The Government stated that it would not grant refugee protection to 
five persons whom UNHCR deemed to have a legitimate fear of 
persecution. The five persons remained in detention at year's end as 
the Government sought a country willing to accept them.
    Local and international human rights observers criticized the 
Government for failing to screen potential asylum applicants 
adequately. These organizations claimed that some Haitians with a 
legitimate fear of persecution were repatriated without having the 
opportunity to make a claim for asylum. There were insufficient Creole-
speaking immigration officers, and Haitian migrants often were unaware 
of their right to claim asylum, resulting in limited requests for 
asylum screening. In addition those requesting asylum screening often 
lacked access to legal counsel. Human rights observers claimed that the 
Government detained Cuban migrants for exceedingly long periods. The 
Government denied it inadequately screened potential asylum applicants.
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.--The two principal political 
parties are the ruling PLP and the opposition Free National Movement 
(FNM). In 2002 national elections generally considered free and fair, 
the PLP won 29 of 40 seats in the House of Assembly and formed the new 
government under Perry Christie. The FNM won seven seats, and 
independents won four.
    The 40-seat House of Assembly had eight elected female members; 
there were seven appointed female senators, including the President of 
the Senate. A woman served as deputy prime minister and minister of 
national security. Women also headed several other ministries. 
Information on racial background was not collected, but it was 
estimated that there were four members of minorities in parliament and 
none in the cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were allegations of 
government corruption during the year. The new RBDF commander 
acknowledged problems in the defense force (see section 1.d.). Citizens 
reported 15 matters to the complaints and corruption branch of the RBPF 
during the year, an increase from eight in 2005. The branch resolved 
five corruption matters and had 10 under investigation at year's end.
    On October 24, a local religious official expressed concern 
regarding the influence of money on local politics and called for 
campaign finance restrictions. The official also criticized ethical 
standards in government.
    Prison officials reported isolated incidents of corruption among 
prison guards, including corruption that played a role in a January 
prison break (see section 1.c.).
    A May auditor's report of 2003 government spending showed 
irregularities, including missing funds, that did not allow the auditor 
to certify government accounts. Outside observers alleged the 
irregularities showed corruption. In addition, observers complained 
that the Government failed to appropriately account for public spending 
or to share records on a timely basis with the Public Accounts 
Committee.
    The Government was also accused of corruption and lack of 
transparency regarding contracts to construct low-income housing from 
2002-05. Following allegations of irregularities in provision of 
contracts, the Government did not provide records in response to media 
requests. On November 1, media obtained the records from other sources 
and reported unaccounted funds resulting from the housing contracts. 
The Government denied wrongdoing.
    There were no laws providing for public access to government 
information. Members of the local press complained that the Government 
failed to provide regular, open access to information, including 
information regarding alleged human rights violations. Specifically, 
press and local human rights groups complained that the Government was 
not forthcoming about alleged human rights abuses by prison and 
detention center guards, citing a lack of transparency in 
investigations and publication of investigative reports.
Section 4. 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 
usually were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
place of origin, political opinion, creed, or gender, and the 
Government generally enforced these provisions. However, the 
constitution and the law contained certain provisions that discriminate 
against women.

    Women.--Violence against women continued to be a serious, 
widespread problem. The law prohibits domestic violence, and the 
Government generally enforced the law. However, domestic violence laws 
do not provide penalties separate from other crimes of assault and 
battery, and the law does not criminalize sexual violence within a 
marriage. The RBPF reported that a majority of the 60 recorded killings 
were the result of domestic violence. Police received an estimated 
1,000 domestic violence complaints during the year. Women's rights 
groups cited a general reluctance on the part of law enforcement 
authorities to intervene in domestic disputes. The police recognized 
domestic violence as a high priority, provided specialized training for 
all incoming officers, and offered continuing training in domestic 
violence. The Government specifically made efforts to increase 
awareness of domestic violence in the Family Islands. The courts 
imposed various legal constraints to protect women from abusive spouses 
or companions. Women's rights proponents advocated the need to improve 
the effectiveness of enforcement of court orders and to increase legal 
aid for women. Women's rights advocates also called for improvements to 
the domestic violence law, including criminalization of spousal sexual 
abuse.
    The Government operated a toll-free hot line in New Providence and 
Grand Bahama, with trained volunteers to respond to emergency calls 24 
hours a day. Government and private women's organizations conducted 
public awareness campaigns highlighting the problems of abuse and 
domestic violence. The Ministry of Social Services, in partnership with 
a private organization, operated a safe house to assist battered women.
    Rape is illegal, but the law does not address spousal rape. The 
maximum penalty for a first-time offender is seven years' imprisonment, 
and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the penalty is 14 
years' imprisonment. On occasion rapists were given life sentences. 
Some rape accusations brought by foreign victims did not result in 
formal charges. According to the RBPF, there were 72 rapes reported, an 
decrease from 82 in 2005. More than half of the victims knew their 
attacker. Prosecutions and convictions on rape charges were common, and 
the maximum penalty frequently was applied.
    Prostitution is illegal and was not a widespread problem. There are 
no laws specifically addressing sex tourism. Police officials 
acknowledged that sex entertainment was a developing industry but did 
not consider sex tourism a problem.
    The law prohibits criminal ``quid pro quo'' sexual harassment and 
authorizes penalties of up to $5,000 (B$5,000) and a maximum of two 
years' imprisonment. Civil rights advocates complained that criminal 
prohibitions were not effectively enforced, and that civil remedies, 
including a prohibition on ``hostile environment'' sexual harassment, 
were needed.
    The law does not provide women with the same right as men to 
transmit citizenship to their foreign-born spouses. The law also makes 
it easier for men with foreign spouses to confer citizenship on their 
children than for women with foreign spouses. The law does not include 
gender as a basis for protection from discrimination. Women continued 
to advocate an amendment to the constitution and revision of related 
laws to redress this situation. Women were generally free of economic 
discrimination, and the law provides for equal pay for equal work.

    Children.--The Government claimed child welfare and education were 
priorities but did not allocate sufficient funding to maintain and 
improve standards.
    Some public schools lacked basic educational materials and were 
overcrowded. Public education is compulsory and free for children 
through the age of 16, and 90.5 percent of school-age children attended 
school. Cultural biases often forced unwed, pregnant teenagers to leave 
public schools.
    Both the Government and civic organizations conducted public 
education programs aimed at child abuse and appropriate parenting 
behavior; however, child abuse and neglect remained serious problems. 
The RBPF operated a hot line regarding missing or exploited children.
    During the year the Ministry of Social Services reported 618 cases 
of child abuse, including 19 reports of incest, 164 reports of physical 
abuse, 119 reports of sexual abuse, 293 reports of neglect, 15 reports 
of verbal abuse, and eight reports of abandonment. The ministry 
believed that only a minority of cases were reported.
    The law requires that all persons having contact with a child they 
believe to have been physically or sexually abused report their 
suspicions to the police. The Ministry of Social Services tracks 
reports of child abuse, but statistics were not available by year's 
end. The police routinely referred cases of sexual and physical abuse 
to the ministry, which investigates them and can bring criminal charges 
against perpetrators. The ministry may remove children from abusive 
situations if the court deems it necessary. The ministry provided 
services to approximately 150 abused and neglected children through a 
public-private center for children, through the public hospital family 
violence program, and through a nonprofit crisis center.
    The Ministry of Social Services is responsible for abandoned 
children up to 18 years of age but had very limited resources at its 
disposal. The Government found foster homes for some children, and the 
Government hospital housed eight abandoned children (all of whom had 
physical disabilities) during the year when foster homes could not be 
found. During the year the Government also opened a home to house 
orphaned children infected with HIV/AIDS.

    Trafficking in Persons.--There are no laws that specifically 
address trafficking in persons, but the law prohibits prostitution and 
the procurement of persons for purposes of prostitution either in or 
outside the country by force, threats, intimidation, or the 
administering of drugs. The maximum penalty for prostitution is five 
years' imprisonment; procurement for the purpose of prostitution 
carries a penalty of eight years' imprisonment. Local observers 
complained that the law does not protect trafficking victims, who might 
be fearful of pressing complaints due to local emphasis on immigration 
enforcement.
    There were reports that persons were trafficked within, to, or from 
the country, but the full nature and extent of the problem was 
undetermined. A 2002 report by the International Labor Organization 
estimated that 35 children were involved in commercial sexual 
activities (see section 6.d.), and the Government acknowledged the 
estimate as generally reflective of current levels of exploitation.
    The lack of a legal prohibition rendered it difficult to assess 
accurately the extent of trafficking within the vulnerable illegal 
migrant communities, especially Haitian communities. In 2005 the 
International Organization of Migration issued a report on human 
trafficking suggesting a link between irregular migration and forced 
labor for domestic servitude, agriculture, and construction.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no specific law protecting 
persons with physical or mental disabilities from discrimination in 
employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of 
other state services. Although the law mandates access for persons with 
physical disabilities in new public buildings, the authorities rarely 
enforced this requirement, and very few buildings and public facilities 
were accessible to persons with disabilities. Advocates for persons 
with disabilities complained of widespread job discrimination and 
general apathy on the part of private employers and political leaders 
toward the need for training and equal opportunity.
    The Disability Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Social Development 
and National Insurance worked with the Bahamas Council for Disability, 
an umbrella organization of nongovernmental organizations that offered 
services for persons with disabilities, to provide a coordinated public 
and private sector approach to the needs of persons with disabilities. 
A mix of government and private residential and nonresidential 
institutions provided limited education, training, counseling, and job 
placement services for adults and children with both physical and 
mental disabilities.
    Former residents of the Cheshire Home, who alleged government 
disability discrimination in their June 2005 eviction from the home, 
were relocated to new housing at government expense. However, the 
residents claimed that the new housing did not meet disability access 
requirements.
    In September employees at Sandilands Rehabilitation Center 
protested inhumane conditions at the Government center, which provides 
assistance to the mentally disabled. The employees claimed the center 
lacked sanitary conditions and regular power, creating respiratory 
problems for residents. The Government stated that it was addressing 
the concerns through improved maintenance of the facility.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to unofficial 
estimates, between 10 and 25 percent of the population are Haitians or 
persons of Haitian descent, making them the largest and most visible 
ethnic minority. Many persons of Haitian origin lived in shantytowns 
with limited sewage, garbage, law enforcement, or other infrastructure. 
Haitian children generally were granted access to education and social 
services, but some Haitians complained of discriminatory treatment in 
education.
    Children born to non-Bahamian parents or to a Bahamian mother and a 
non-Bahamian father do not automatically acquire citizenship. Locally 
born persons of foreign heritage must apply for citizenship during the 
year after their 18th birthday, sometimes waiting many years for a 
government response. Some persons claimed that the short window for 
application, difficult documentary requirements, and the long waiting 
times created generations of persons without citizenship in any nation.
    Anti-Haitian prejudice and resentment regarding continued Haitian 
immigration was common. Observers reported that efforts by the 
authorities to stem the influx of illegal Haitian immigrants, and 
efforts by politicians to appear tough on immigration, fueled anti-
Haitian attitudes. Interethnic tensions and inequities persisted. Human 
rights observers criticized the April raids by police and immigration 
officials who arrested and detained hundreds of persons on the basis of 
suspected Haitian nationality (see section 1.d.).
    Members of the Haitian community complained of discrimination in 
the job market, specifically that identity and work permit documents 
were controlled by employers seeking leverage by threat of deportation. 
Those persons also complained of tactics used by immigration officials 
in raids of Haitian or suspected Haitian communities. Individuals born 
in the country to Haitian parents were required to pay the tuition rate 
for foreign students while waiting for their request for citizenship to 
be processed.
    In January 2005 a dispute over police handling of a traffic 
accident led to complaints of police bias against Haitians, including 
two days of violence in a Nassau Haitian neighborhood. Following the 
incident several persons with Haitian surnames were prosecuted, and two 
officers were investigated for alleged improper use of force. 
Investigation of one officer determined that he acted in self defense, 
while investigation of the second officer continued.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against homosexuals occurred, with some persons reporting job and 
housing discrimination based upon sexuality. Although homosexual 
relations between consenting adults are legal, there was no legislation 
to address the human rights concerns of homosexuals, lesbians, 
bisexuals, or transgendered persons. In March the Constitutional Review 
Commission found that sexual orientation did not deserve protection 
against discrimination. The Government banned a film containing 
homosexual content, sponsored an antihomosexual rally, and included 
antihomosexual content in public schools.
    On February 22, a private security guard allegedly beat Loxsley 
Bastian as a result of his sexual orientation. Bastian alleged that in 
response to the incident, police hit him, used slurs against him, and 
failed to take appropriate action against the security guard. Police 
denied wrongdoing, claiming Bastian was abusive and disruptive.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions without previous authorization or excessive requirements, 
and those laws were applied in practice. However, there were instances 
in past years of the Government frustrating unions, most commonly by 
not honoring industrial agreements. Trade unions believed that some 
employers deliberately dragged out negotiations for over a year, after 
which the employer may call for the union's recognition to be revoked. 
Members of the police force, defense force, fire brigade, and prison 
guards may not organize or join unions. Almost one-quarter of the work 
force (and 80 percent of the workers in the important hotel industry) 
belonged to unions.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers can be 
compelled to reinstate workers illegally fired for union activity. This 
law was generally enforced. Under the law labor disputes first are 
filed with the labor ministry and then, if not resolved, are 
transferred to an industrial tribunal. The tribunal's decision is final 
and only can be appealed in court on a strict question of law. Some 
employers complained that the industrial tribunal was biased unfairly 
in favor of employees.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers freely 
exercised their right to organize and participate in collective 
bargaining, which the law protects. Unions and employers negotiated 
wage rates without government interference.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and while workers 
exercised this right in practice, the Government has the right to 
intervene in the national interest to assure delivery of essential 
services. The Industrial Relations Act requires that before a strike 
begins, a simple majority of a union's membership must vote in favor of 
a motion to strike. The Ministry of Labor and Immigration must approve 
a strike ballot.
    Freeport is a specially designated free trade zone. Labor law and 
practice in this zone do not differ from those in the rest of the 
country.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 6.d.).

    d. Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment.--Although 
the law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 for 
industrial work or work during school hours, some children worked part-
time in light industry and service jobs. Children under the age of 16 
may not work at night. There was no legal minimum age for employment in 
other sectors. The Ministry of Labor and Immigration is responsible for 
enforcing these laws and does so adequately.
    Although no current data existed, observers generally acknowledged 
that a small number of children were involved in the worst forms of 
child labor, including slavery/bondage, sexual exploitation of children 
through incestuous relationships, illicit or unlawful activities, 
hazardous activities, and commercial sexual activities (see section 5).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for government 
employees, set in 2000, was $4.45 (B$4.45) per hour. A minimum wage for 
the private sector was established in 2002 at $4.00 (B$4.00) per hour. 
The labor ministry was responsible for enforcing the minimum wage but 
was unable to do so effectively. Undocumented migrant workers often 
earned less than the minimum wage. The minimum wage did not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family.
    The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, a 24-hour rest period, and 
time-and-a-half payment for hours worked beyond the standard workweek. 
These standards were effectively enforced.
    The Ministry of Labor and Immigration is responsible for enforcing 
labor laws and had a team of inspectors that conducted on-site visits 
to enforce occupational health and safety standards and investigate 
employee concerns and complaints; however, inspections occurred 
infrequently. The ministry normally announced inspection visits in 
advance, and employers generally cooperated with inspectors to 
implement safety standards. It was uncertain whether these inspections 
effectively enforced health and safety standards. The law does not 
provide a right for workers to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without jeopardy to continued employment.

                               __________

                                BARBADOS

    Barbados is a parliamentary democracy with a population of 
approximately 278,000. In the 2003 parliamentary elections, which were 
considered generally free and fair, citizens returned the Barbados 
Labour Party (BLP) to a third successive term in office over the 
opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP). The civilian authorities 
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
    Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, problems included excessive use of force by police, poor 
prison conditions, and societal violence against women and children.
                        respect for human rights
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, 
police shot and killed three suspects in separate altercations during 
the year. Authorities had not made any determination regarding possible 
culpability in these killings by year's end.
    In June police shot and killed an unidentified man who reportedly 
had stabbed a police officer. In August a media report stated that 
police returned fire after being shot at while intercepting a 
suspicious-looking vehicle, killing one unidentified man and injuring 
two others. In October the media reported that police shot and killed 
Kevin Ellis, 32, after a confrontation with officers. Authorities 
planned to conduct inquests into the killings but had not commenced at 
year's end.
    In July the authorities completed the inquest into the fatal police 
shooting of convicted murderer and frequent escapee Winston Hall in 
2004, and the coroner ruled the killing lawful.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the constitution specifically prohibits torture and 
inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment, there were reports 
that police sometimes used excessive force. The majority of complaints 
against the police alleged unprofessional conduct and beating or 
assault. Police were occasionally accused of beating suspects to obtain 
confessions, and suspects often recanted their confessions during their 
trial. There were many cases where the only evidence against the 
accused was a confession.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
very poor. Prisoners continued to be held in the temporary prison 
facility constructed at Harrison Point after the March 2005 riots 
destroyed Glendairy Prison. A new permanent prison, designed to meet 
modern international standards, was under construction with completion 
slated for August 2007.
    In March media reports attributed the motive behind the Glendairy 
Prison fire to widespread incidents of rape within the prison and 
alleged that rape was also prevalent in the temporary facility in 
Harrison Point. After his release and deportation, a British citizen 
incarcerated at Glendairy at the time of the riot wrote several 
articles highlighting prison conditions at both facilities. In addition 
to describing the circumstances that led to the Glendairy Prison fire, 
he also reported on conditions at the temporary facility in Harrison 
Point. His account alleged unchecked gang violence, indifference of 
guards to medical needs, cramped quarters, and unsanitary conditions.
    In April authorities charged Gerald Orland Clarke with killing 
fellow inmate Junior ``Nook Nook'' Boyce during the 2005 riot. The 
commission investigating the Glendairy Prison fire charged 26 other men 
with arson in June.
    Conditions and services at the temporary prison remained 
inadequate. Press reports included complaints by prisoners and their 
families about poor conditions, including unsanitary cells, inedible 
food, and unclean drinking water. Family members complained that they 
were denied the opportunity to visit or communicate with their 
relatives in prison. Attorneys also complained that they were denied 
access to their clients held at Harrison Point. The superintendent of 
prisons responded that the emergency situation necessitated temporary 
restrictions on visits but that attorneys were allowed to visit 
prisoners.
    While the Government normally permitted prison visits by 
independent human rights monitors, no such visits were known to have 
taken place during the year at the Harrison Point facility.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the Government generally 
observed these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Barbados 
Police Force (RBPF) numbered 1,394--including 110 special constables--
and is responsible for internal law enforcement. While still a male-
dominated profession, the number of female recruits to the RBPF was on 
the rise. The small Barbados Defence Force (BDF) protects national 
security and may be called upon to maintain public order in times of 
crisis, emergency, or other specific need. The RBPF reports to the 
minister of home affairs, and the BDF reports to the minister of 
defense and security. Although the police largely were unarmed, special 
RBPF foot patrols in high crime areas carried firearms in response to 
public concern. An armed special rapid response unit continued to 
operate. The law provides that the police can request the BDF to assist 
them as needed with special joint patrols.
    The Office of Professional Responsibility, headed by a 
superintendent, handled complaints of inappropriate police conduct. In 
2004 an independent Police Complaints Authority (PCA) was established 
to review complaints against the police. In 2005 the PCA's chairman 
resigned and was not replaced; reportedly no complaints were ever 
submitted to the PCA.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police are authorized to arrest persons 
suspected of criminal activity; a warrant is typically required. The 
constitution permits detainees to be held without charge for up to five 
days; however, once charged, detainees must be brought before a court 
without unnecessary delay. There is a functioning bail system. Criminal 
detainees were given prompt access to counsel and were advised of that 
right immediately after arrest. Access to family members generally was 
permitted; however, some families complained that they did not receive 
regular access at the temporary facility in Harrison Point. Authorities 
confirmed this, asserting that the location and security provisions at 
the temporary facility limited accessibility.
    Police procedures provide that, except when expressly permitted by 
a senior divisional officer to do otherwise, the police may question 
suspects, and other persons they hold, only at a police station. An 
officer must visit detainees at least once every three hours to inquire 
about the detainees' condition. After 24 hours the detaining authority 
must submit a written report to the deputy commissioner. The 
authorities must approve and record all movements of detainees between 
stations.
    There were 269 prisoners in pretrial detention at year's end.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The judiciary includes the courts of first instance, or 
magistrate's courts, and the Supreme Court of Judicature, which 
consists of the High Court and the Court of Appeals. The new Caribbean 
Court of Justice is the final court of appeal.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that persons charged 
with criminal offenses be given a fair public hearing without 
unnecessary delay by an independent and impartial court. Although the 
Government generally respected this right in practice, some accused 
persons spent years in prison awaiting trial. At least one person, 
Clyde Anderson Grazettes, has been held on remand in pretrial detention 
over four years. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult 
with an attorney in a timely manner. The Government provided free legal 
aid to the indigent in family matters, child support, serious criminal 
cases such as rape or murder, and all cases involving minors. 
Defendants are allowed to confront and question witnesses and present 
evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have 
access to government-held evidence relevant to their case. Defendants 
are presumed innocent until proven guilty and 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.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Magistrate's courts have 
both civil and criminal jurisdiction, but the civil judicial system 
experienced heavy backlogs. Citizens can seek redress for human rights 
or other abuses through the civil system.

    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.--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.
    The Government restricted the receipt and importation of foreign 
publications deemed to be pornographic.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. 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 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In August the Barbados 
Advocate newspaper published an op-ed by David ``Joey'' Harper, 
chairman of the Child Care Board and chief executive officer for the 
BLP, which was offensive to the small local Jewish community, members 
of which quickly registered objections to the article. The newspaper 
printed an apology a day later, taking responsibility for inadvertently 
allowing the piece to run, while dissociating itself from the views 
expressed by the author.
    For more detailed information, see the 2006 International Religious 
Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws do not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government did not grant refugee status or asylum 
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, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2003 elections, the 
BLP, led by Prime Minister Owen Arthur, won its third parliamentary 
election, returning to office with a 23 to 7 seat majority over the 
DLP.
    There were no restrictions on the political opposition. Individuals 
and parties were free to declare their candidacy and stand for 
election. In January the leader of the opposition DLP, Clyde Mascoll, 
changed parties, joining the ruling BLP.
    Approximately one-third of cabinet members were women, including 
the deputy prime minister, who served concurrently as the minister of 
economic affairs and development. There were four women and no 
minorities in the 30-seat House of Assembly. There were seven women and 
three minorities in the 21-member Senate.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were no reports of 
government corruption during the year, and the public perception of 
corruption in government was reportedly low.
    There was no law providing citizens access to information held by 
the Government. While access to information was provided on government 
Web sites, responses to requests for specific government information by 
citizens and other interested parties often were slow.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic 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.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal treatment regardless of race, 
origin, political opinion, color, creed, or sex, and the Government 
effectively enforced these provisions.

    Women.--Violence and abuse against women continued to be 
significant social problems. The law prohibits domestic violence, 
provides protection to all members of the family, including men and 
children, and applies equally to marriages and to common-law 
relationships. Penalties depend on the severity of the charges and 
range from a fine for first-time offenders (unless the injury is 
serious) up to the death penalty for a killing. Victims may request 
restraining orders, which the courts often issued. The courts can 
sentence an offender to jail for breaching such an order. The police 
have a victim support unit, made up of civilian volunteers, which 
offered assistance primarily to female victims of violent crimes.
    Spousal abuse remained a problem during the year, despite legal 
protections against spousal rape for women holding a court-issued 
divorce decree, separation order, or nonmolestation order. The law 
prohibits rape, and the maximum penalty for it is life imprisonment.
    There were public and private counseling services for victims of 
domestic violence, rape, and child abuse. The Business and Professional 
Women's Club operated a crisis center staffed by trained counselors and 
provided legal and medical referral services. The Government funded a 
shelter for battered women, operated by nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs), which accommodated up to 20 women and children. The shelter 
offered the services of trained psychological counselors to victims of 
domestic violence.
    The Bureau of Gender Affairs cited a lack of specific information 
and an appropriate mechanism for collecting and evaluating data on 
incidents of domestic violence as the major impediments to tackling 
gender-based violence.
    Prostitution is illegal, but it remained a problem, fueled by 
poverty and tourism. The media reported on prostitution, usually in the 
context of its role in the upcoming Cricket World Cup in 2007 and 
concern over HIV/AIDS. There is no statute specifically prohibiting 
sexual tourism, and no statistics on it, but anecdotal evidence 
suggested that it occurred.
    The law does not deal with sexual harassment, and sexual harassment 
in the workplace was a problem, but no statistics were available. An 
advocacy group called the Coalition on Sexual Harassment worked with 
the Department of Labor, among others, to develop legislation on this 
issue. Media reports often indicated that women were afraid to report 
sexual harassment because they feared retribution in the workplace.
    The Office of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Social 
Transformation worked to ensure the rights of women. Women have equal 
property rights, including in a divorce settlement. Women actively 
participated in all aspects of national life and were well represented 
at all levels of the public and private sectors. A Poverty Eradication 
Fund focused on encouraging entrepreneurial activities to increase 
employment for women and youth. The Government reported that the number 
of female applicants for the police force, as well as for other jobs 
traditionally held by men, continued to increase. According to the 
Barbados Economic Society, unemployment among women fell over the past 
two decades and was on course to dip below the rate for men for the 
first time, in contrast with the figures for 1987, when the female 
unemployment rate was 10 percentage points higher than that for men.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's human rights 
and welfare, although violence and abuse against children remained 
serious problems.
    Education was free, compulsory, and universal until the age of 16. 
The Government estimated that 98 percent of children between the ages 
of five and 16 attended school. The highest educational level achieved 
by most children was secondary school.
    The National Health Insurance Scheme provided children with free 
medical and dental services for most medical conditions.
    The Child Care Board has a mandate for the care and protection of 
children, which involved investigating day care centers and cases of 
child abuse or child labor, and providing counseling services, 
residential placement, and foster care. The Welfare Department offered 
counseling on a broad range of family-related issues, and the Child 
Care Board conducted counseling for child abuse victims.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and laws do not 
specifically prohibit trafficking in persons. Although laws against 
slavery, forced labor or other crimes could be applied, no trafficking 
cases were prosecuted. There were reports that persons were trafficked 
to the country.
    A 2005 assessment by the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) stated that persons were trafficked both to work as prostitutes 
and as domestic workers. Persons also reportedly were trafficked to 
work in the construction and garment industries, where they were 
subject to low wages and false contracts. The IOM noted that in cases 
where trafficking may have occurred, the Government typically deported 
the persons suspected of being trafficked and failed to investigate or 
prosecute the alleged traffickers. The Government has no dedicated 
facilities to assist victims and does not provide funding to 
antitrafficking NGOs.
    In May authorities filed criminal charges against an India-based 
construction company alleged to have trafficked 14 laborers who 
protested at a construction project in November 2005. The Government 
immediately deported the workers and subsequently charged the foreign 
company with violating the Immigration Act.
    On December 8, authorities charged racecar driver Geoffrey Ullyett 
with living off the proceeds of prostitution between October 23 and 
December 4. The alleged prostitutes were two Ukrainians who said that 
Ullyett abused them and withheld their passports. At year's end the 
case was still pending, but prosecutors were hampered because key 
witnesses were no longer in the country.
    Although prostitution is illegal, a number of brothels with women 
from Guyana, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands 
operated in the country. The police and immigration officers 
periodically raided brothels and deported women found working 
illegally. There were anecdotal reports of government officials 
involved in labor and sex trafficking.
    Through August the Immigration Department deported 68 persons for 
various immigration violations, eight of whom were deported for 
prostitution. Trafficking victims were often treated as criminals and 
deported.
    In May the Government's Bureau of Gender Affairs, in conjunction 
with the IOM, sponsored a two-day capacity-building workshop on 
trafficking in persons to heighten awareness about potential human 
trafficking. Although there were no reliable statistics on trafficking, 
several media articles addressed the issue and highlighted possible 
instances of trafficking as well as the various means through which 
persons were trafficked.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws that specifically 
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in 
employment, education, or the provision of other state services, other 
than constitutional provisions asserting equality for all. In practice 
persons with disabilities faced some discrimination. The Ministry of 
Social Transformation operated a Disabilities Unit to address the 
concerns of persons with disabilities, but parents complained of added 
fees and transport difficulties for children with disabilities at 
public schools.
    In April the Prime Minister officially opened Harambee House, a 
resource and community center specifically for persons with 
disabilities. Although in April 2005 the cabinet established a National 
Advisory Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, whose 
mandate was to coordinate government efforts to fully integrate persons 
with disabilities into society, the committee apparently never met.
    While there is no legislation mandating provision of accessibility 
to public thoroughfares or public or private buildings, the Town and 
Country Planning Department set provisions for all public buildings to 
include accessibility to persons with disabilities. As a result, the 
majority of new buildings had ramps, reserved parking, and special 
sanitary facilities for such persons.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws that 
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual 
orientation in employment, housing, education, or health care. Although 
no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that 
societal discrimination against homosexuals occurred.
    The Government initiated programs designed to discourage 
discrimination against HIV/AIDS-infected persons and others living with 
them. The International Labor Organization operated a three-year 
program to reduce risk behavior among targeted workers and to reduce 
employment-related discrimination among persons with HIV/AIDS. Seven 
enterprises adopted workplace policies, and stakeholders met to discuss 
developing a national strategic plan on HIV/AIDS.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Workers freely exercised their right 
to form and belong to trade unions. Approximately 25-30 percent of the 
120,000-person workforce was unionized; unionized workers were 
concentrated in key sectors such as transportation, government, and 
agriculture. There were two major unions, one in the public sector and 
the other focused on the private sector; with no competition between 
them, the unions wielded significant influence.
    Although employers were under no legal obligation to recognize 
unions under the law, most did so when a significant percentage of 
their employees expressed a desire to be represented by a registered 
union. While there is no specific law that prohibits discrimination 
against union activity, the courts provide a method of redress for 
employees who allege wrongful dismissal. The courts commonly awarded 
monetary compensation but rarely ordered reemployment.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers 
exercised the legal right to organize and bargain collectively. Since 
1993 a series of negotiated protocols contained provisions for 
increases in basic wages and increases based on productivity. 
Government, private sector, and labor representatives signed a fifth 
such protocol in May 2005.
    There are no export processing zones.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. All private and public sector employees are 
permitted to strike, but essential workers may strike only under 
certain circumstances and after following prescribed procedures.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law provides for a minimum working age of 16, and this provision 
generally was observed in practice. Compulsory primary and secondary 
education policies reinforced minimum age requirements (see section 5). 
The Labor Department had a small cadre of labor inspectors who 
conducted spot investigations of enterprises and checked records to 
verify compliance with the law. These inspectors may take legal action 
against an employer who is found to have underage workers.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for and the 
authorities established minimum wage rates for specified categories of 
workers. The categories of workers with a formally regulated minimum 
wage are household domestics and shop assistants. The minimum wage for 
these employees was $2.50 (BDS$5) per hour, which provided a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family; most employees earned more 
than the minimum wage. The Labor Department within the Ministry of 
Labor and Social Security was charged with enforcing the minimum wage. 
There were occasional press reports alleging that migrant workers 
received less than the minimum wage.
    The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in five days, and the law 
requires overtime payment for hours worked in excess. The law 
prescribes that all overtime must be voluntary.
    During the year the Labor Department consulted extensively with 
unions and employers' organizations regarding core regulations to 
implement the 2005 Occupational Safety and Health at Work Act. The 
draft regulations cover general duties, drinking water, visual display 
units and workstations, washing facilities, sanitary conditions, 
personal protective equipment, and noise. The Labor Department enforced 
other health and safety standards and followed up to ensure that 
management corrected problems cited. The law requires that in certain 
sectors firms employing more than 50 workers create a safety committee 
that could challenge the decisions of management concerning the 
occupational safety and health environment. Trade union monitors 
identified safety problems for government factory inspectors to ensure 
the enforcement of safety and health regulations and effective 
correction by management. The Labor Department's Inspections Unit 
conducted several routine annual inspections of government-operated 
corporations and manufacturing plants. Workers had the right to remove 
themselves from dangerous or hazardous job situations without 
jeopardizing their continued employment.

                               __________

                                 BELIZE

    Belize is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with an 
estimated population of 291,700. Prime Minister Said Musa's People's 
United Party (PUP) held 22 of the 29 seats in the House of 
Representatives following generally free and fair multiparty elections 
in 2003. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective 
control of the security forces, there were some instances in which 
elements of the security forces acted independently of government 
authority.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens. Human rights problems included brutality and the use of 
excessive force by security forces but in most cases the Government 
took steps to prosecute or punish the abusers. Lengthy pretrial 
detention remained a problem, as did domestic violence and 
discrimination against women, as well as sexual abuse of children. 
Trafficking in persons for sexual and labor exploitation and child 
labor were problems.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The Government and 
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, and there 
were no instances of government security force members being accused or 
convicted of unlawful or unwarranted killings during the year. However, 
some cases of such killings from previous years remained unresolved and 
others were resolved years later.
    After reviewing the August 2005 case in which police constable 
Randy Sanchez shot and killed Andrew Wallace, the Office of the 
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) determined that the killing was 
justified since Sanchez was acting in self defense. Sanchez 
subsequently returned from administrative leave and resumed his police 
duties.
    In 2004 authorities charged police constable Burton Caliz for the 
killing of Leroy Pilgrim in San Pedro that year. On November 14, the 
charges were reduced to manslaughter, and the trial was postponed until 
January 2007.
    The DPP appealed the July 2005 sentence of police corporal Sherwood 
Wade, convicted of manslaughter by negligence for killing Darnell 
McDonald while off duty in 2003, on the grounds that it was unduly 
lenient. In June the Court of Appeal overturned the original sentence 
and fined Wade $7,500 ($15,000 BLZ), or nine months in prison if he 
defaults.
    In March the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of Belize 
Defense Force (BDF) private Giovanni Gutierrez and police constable 
Dennis Palacio for the 2002 killing of Aaron Mariano, and ordered a 
retrial. Subsequently, the deceased's father accepted compensation of 
$2,500 ($5,000 BLZ), and the case was closed.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the constitution prohibits torture or other inhuman 
punishment, there were numerous reports that police and prison staff 
used excessive force. The Office of the Ombudsman received complaints 
of alleged misconduct and abuse by police and Department of Corrections 
personnel. Several cases of alleged abuse featured in the press were 
never reported to the ombudsman or to the Police Department's Office of 
Internal Affairs (OIA) for investigation. In a number of cases, the 
Government ignored reports of abuses, withheld action until the case 
had faded from the public's attention, and then failed to take punitive 
action or transferred accused officers to other districts. During the 
year the OIA recorded 74 allegations of police violence. In response 
authorities disciplined 44 police officers, dismissed two, and arrested 
five who faced criminal charges. The remaining 23 cases were still 
under investigation. The ombudsman's office received 101 general 
complaints of police abuse and resolved 96 cases. The ombudsman 
determined that police use of force was appropriate in the majority of 
cases investigated, even if the level of force used was sometimes 
excessive.
    On August 23, police beat 61-year-old Elario Elijio when he tried 
to intervene while police were arresting his son.
    On September 19, police allegedly beat Justin Stuart until his ears 
bled, and tortured him by putting a plastic bag over his head and 
tightening it around his neck. Stuart also claimed that police kicked 
him repeatedly in the stomach and one officer tried to kick him in the 
groin. At year's end OIA was investigating the incident.
    On November 5, police allegedly used batons to beat brothers 
Goldburn Miller, Elbert Anderson, and Ashton Myers in their home. 
Miller suffered a broken arm, while Elbert Anderson was transported to 
the local hospital after having a seizure. Authorities detained the 
three men and charged them with obstruction. The OIA investigated the 
alleged beatings. Constable Dennison Longsworth, charged with using 
unwarranted personal violence, will face a police disciplinary 
tribunal.
    The OIA investigated the claim by John and Frans Faux that Dangriga 
police tortured them in July 2005 by means of electric shock and 
beating. The case file was forwarded to the Solicitor General who 
represented the police officers in a suit brought by the victims 
against the Government. At year's end the Solicitor General's office 
was negotiating a settlement with the victims.
    On July 17, authorities dismissed charges against police constable 
Julio Shal in connection with the 2004 shooting injury of Pedro Guzman 
after Guzman refused to testify.
    Former police constable Cyril Wade was convicted and sentenced to 
five years' imprisonment in connection with the beating of Emile 
Pinelo. After Wade appealed, the Court of Appeal reaffirmed his 
conviction in October.
    After a court acquitted police superintendent Ewart Itza of all 
charges stemming from a 2003 brutality investigation, the DPP filed an 
appeal, and a retrial was ordered. Itza, who retired from the police 
force in 2004, was charged with false imprisonment, and his trial was 
tentatively scheduled for January 2007.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor and did not meet international standards. The country's only 
prison, Hattieville Central Prison, which was designed for 1,200 
inmates, held 1,411 inmates, including 33 women and 79 adolescents. 
Whereas the prison budget provided six dollars ($12 BLZ) per prisoner 
per day to cover all operating costs, a local nonprofit organization, 
the Kolbe Foundation, which administered Hattieville Central Prison 
under a Ministry of Home Affairs contract, reported that actual costs 
were $7.50 ($15 BLZ) per inmate per day. Prison officials reported 
overcrowding, with over 330 inmates in the two buildings that served as 
the remand section of the prison. Adult remanded prisoners were held 
separately from convicted inmates.
    During the year there were reports that prison authorities 
brutalized troublesome prisoners, including placing inmates in a small, 
unlit, and unventilated punishment cell called ``supermax.'' Inmates 
claimed that prison officials sometimes withheld food and water as 
further punishment, conducted strip searches and beatings, and extorted 
money for transfers to better conditions.
    The Kolbe Foundation investigated reports of abuse or excessive 
force by prison officials. In February Lisa Lauriano and Bernadine Reid 
reported that nine prison officials tortured them using stun guns. The 
Kolbe Foundation's Board of Directors, prison management, and the 
ombudsman launched separate investigations. The board and prison 
management determined that the two inmates had a history of unruly 
behavior and assault and often had to be physically restrained to 
prevent them from harming others. The ombudsman's investigation 
determined that the punishment was excessive and the officers involved 
should be punished; however, no further action was taken.
    Matters of inmate-on-inmate abuse were directly turned over to 
police. Prisoners convicted or accused of certain serious crimes such 
as child molestation were often held in the remand section of the 
Hattieville prison for their protection.
    During the year the Kolbe Foundation established a three-month drug 
rehabilitation program. Inmates who participated in the program were 
housed separately from the general prison population in Hattieville's 
newly constructed Drug Rehabilitation Center. The first ``class'' of 51 
inmates graduated on July 1, and a new class of 100 started the program 
on July 17.
    The Government's Women's Department provided counseling and 
educational services for female inmates. The prison included a separate 
facility for women, located 200 yards outside the main compound. 
Conditions in the women's facility were significantly better than those 
in the men's compound. The Government does not incarcerate female 
juveniles charged or convicted of crimes, but places them in the care 
of the Government social services authorities. During the year there 
were no female juveniles in the custody of the social services 
authorities. Juvenile male prisoners, on remand and convicted, lived in 
a separate facility outside the main perimeter fence. The youth 
facility employed seven staff, including two teachers and one 
counselor.
    The Government permitted visits by independent human rights 
observers, although none took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution and 
law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were 
occasional accusations of arbitrary arrest and detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--National and local 
police under the Office of the Commissioner of Police maintain internal 
security. The Ministry of Home Affairs supervises the Department of 
Police and the Department of Immigration and Customs, which also has 
national security responsibilities. The BDF, under the Ministry of 
Defense, handles external security and also has some domestic security 
responsibilities and supplied approximately 80 soldiers daily to the 
Office of the Commissioner of Police. The 1,014-member national police 
force has a hierarchical structure and generally responded to 
complaints. A lack of government resources, including low pay for 
officers as well as corruption, remained problems. During the year 
there were no reported cases of impunity for security authorities.
    The Police Department's OIA, the DPP, and the Office of the 
Ombudsman investigated allegations of police abuses. The OIA handled a 
total of 235 complaints, including 62 for alleged brutality by the 
police resulting in the arrests, dismissals, or disciplining of 51 
officers. Similarly, the OIA received 29 complaints of police 
corruption. Authorities disciplined and dismissed 19 police officers 
and arrested five who faced criminal charges. The five remaining 
complaints were withdrawn by the complainants. Although the total 
number of complaints increased by 78 percent between 2005 and 2006, 
complaints of police abuse decreased by 84 percent.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police were required to obtain search or 
arrest warrants issued by a magistrate, except in cases of hot pursuit, 
when there was probable cause, or when the presence of a firearm was 
suspected. Customs officers could search a premise with a writ of 
assistance issued by the Office of the Comptroller of Customs. The law 
requires police to inform a detainee (in writing) of the cause of 
detention within 48 hours of arrest and to bring the person before a 
magistrate to be charged within a reasonable time (normally 24 hours). 
In practice arresting police informed detainees immediately of the 
charges against them.
    Police were required to follow the ``Judges' Rules,'' a code of 
conduct governing police interaction with arrested persons. Although 
cases were sometimes dismissed when the Judges' Rules were violated, 
more commonly a confession obtained through violation of these rules 
was deemed invalid. Detainees usually were granted timely access to 
family members and lawyers, although there were occasional complaints 
that inmates were denied access or a phone call after arrest. Bail was 
available for all cases except killing and generally was granted. In 
cases involving narcotics, the law does not permit police to grant 
bail, but a magistrate's court may do so after a full hearing.
    Detainees sometimes could not afford bail; backlogs in the docket 
often caused considerable delays and postponement of hearings, 
resulting in an overcrowded prison and at times prolonged pretrial 
detention. By year's end approximately 24 percent of the prison 
population was in pretrial detention (see sections 1.c. and 1.e.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice. The constitution is the supreme law of the land 
and persons have the right to bring legal actions for alleged 
violations of rights protected under the constitution, regardless of 
whether there is also implementing legislation.
    Judges hold appointments until a mandatory retirement age of 65; 
however, the constitution allows extending a judge's tenure to age 75. 
There were five Supreme Court justices and 18 magistrates. Only eight 
magistrates had a legal training. Most judges were members of the civil 
service and routinely were transferred between judicial and 
administrative postings. The Government appoints the DPP for life.
    The judiciary consists of the alcalde courts, which have 
jurisdiction over small civil claims and minor criminal infractions, 
the magistrate's courts, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and a 
family court that handles cases of child abuse, domestic violence, and 
child support. The family court is at the same level as the 
magistrate's courts. Family court trials generally were private. The 
defendants in family court may appeal to the Supreme Court. Those 
convicted by either a magistrate's court or the Supreme Court may 
appeal to the Court of Appeals. In exceptional cases, including those 
resulting in a capital sentence, the convicted party may make a final 
appeal to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. Trial by jury is 
mandatory in capital cases.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The law 
extends the following rights to persons accused of civil or criminal 
offenses: presumption of innocence, protection against self-
incrimination, defense by counsel only in capital cases, a public 
trial, and appeal. Defendants have the right to be present at their 
trial unless the court determines that the opposing party has a 
substantiated fear for safety, and in those cases, the court can grant 
interim provisions that both parties be addressed individually during a 
five-day period.
    The Government provided legal counsel for indigent defendants only 
in capital murder cases. Most defendants could not afford an attorney, 
and there was a higher rate of conviction of defendants without legal 
representation. From January through June, the sole staff attorney of 
the Legal Aid Center handled approximately 200 cases (including 
criminal, civil, administrative, and family court cases), but many 
defendants remained unrepresented. A severe lack of trained personnel 
constrained the judicial system, and very junior counsels or police 
officers often acted as prosecutors in the magistrate's courts.
    Lengthy trial backlogs continued in the judicial system and 
increased during the year. The Government cited staffing constraints as 
the main reason for the growing backlog. During the year the Government 
took a number of remedial steps, including increasing the number of 
Supreme Court justices, recruiting five additional crown counsels, and 
simplifying the civil procedures rules. Routine cases without a defense 
attorney were decided within one month, but cases involving a serious 
crime or in which a defense attorney was present took more than one 
year. As in the previous year, the DPP dismissed a large number of 
cases, citing uncooperative witnesses and a lack of evidence.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Most civil suits are heard 
in the Supreme Court, however, the Magistrate's Court has jurisdiction 
over civil cases involving sums of less than $2,500 ($5,000 BLZ). In 
addition to civil cases, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over cases 
involving human rights issues. The backlog of civil cases in the 
Supreme Court remained a problem. To address the backlog, the Attorney 
General's Office in early December appointed two temporary judges from 
other courts.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and 
government authorities generally respected these prohibitions in 
practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. The constitution, however, permits authorities to 
forbid any citizen to question the validity of financial disclosure 
statements submitted by public officials. Anyone who questions these 
statements orally or in writing outside a rigidly prescribed procedure 
is subject to a fine of up to $2,500 ($5,000 BLZ), imprisonment of up 
to three years, or both. There were no reports that this prohibition 
was used during the year.
    The independent media presented a range of viewpoints without 
restriction, and the international media operated freely. All 
newspapers were subject to libel laws that were enforced during the 
year.
    The Belize Broadcasting Authority regulated broadcasting and had 
the right to preview certain broadcasts, such as those with political 
content, and to delete any defamatory or libelous material from 
political broadcasts. This right was not exercised during the year.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. 
Lack of infrastructure, as well as high cost, limited public access to 
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 law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There 
were fewer than 10 persons in the Jewish community.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The constitution prohibits forced internal or external exile of 
citizens, and there were no reports that the Government used it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
relating to the Status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. Since 1999 the Government had not accepted asylum 
applications, and there was no legislation that formalized the asylum 
process. The Government had no procedure in place to accept or resettle 
refugees.
    In February a Somali asylum seeker arrived in the country and, in 
an effort to reach the UNHCR office in Mexico City, attempted to cross 
the northern border with Mexico where he was detained by immigration 
authorities. Help for Progress, UNHCR's NGO implementing partner in the 
country, had access to the asylum seeker while he was in detention. On 
May 19, UNHCR learned that the asylum seeker had been released from 
prison and was escorted to the western border of the country. His 
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
    UNHCR was seeking clarification from the Government as to whether 
there were any persons in need of international protection among the 
small number of undocumented foreigners (including some Cubans) in 
detention in the country.
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 held by secret ballot and on 
the basis of universal suffrage for all citizens age 18 and older.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2003 the PUP won 
reelection in generally free and fair elections.
    There were two women in the 29-seat House of Representatives, one 
of whom was appointed to serve as Speaker of the House, and two women 
in the 12-member appointed Senate. In October the opposition UDP 
replaced three of its senators, bringing the total number of women in 
the Senate to three. There was one woman in the cabinet, and six women 
were chief executive officers of ministries. Among the country's ethnic 
groups, Mestizo, Creole, Maya, Garifuna, and other minority and 
immigrant groups were represented in the National Assembly and at the 
highest levels of government.

    Governmental Corruption and Transparency.--Public surveys and the 
NGO Transparency International indicated that perceptions of serious 
corruption increased compared with 2005. Evidence of government 
corruption was revealed during the year. The Prime Minister appointed 
commissions to investigate the Social Security Board (SSB) and 
Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which was accused of allegedly 
authorizing the use of millions of dollars in public, domestic, and 
international loan funds to inappropriately assist the business 
interests of certain citizens. In July the Senate committee tasked with 
investigating the SSB issued a highly critical 124-page report which 
resulted in the resignation of the SSB chairman, Yasin Shoman and the 
firing of the SSB chief executive officer, Narda Garcia. The committee 
also pledged to forward a copy of its report to the DPP for a 
determination of criminal charges, but no charges had been filed by 
year's end. In August the commission of inquiry investigating the DFC 
began its public hearings. The hearings were postponed due to the 
illness, and subsequent death, of the commission's chairman and had not 
resumed at year's end.
    The law provides for public access to documents of a ministry or 
prescribed authority upon written request, although it protects a 
number of categories, such as documents from the courts or those 
related to national security, defense, or foreign relations. The 
Government must supply to the ombudsman a written reason for any denial 
of access, the name of the person making the decision, and information 
on the right to appeal. The ombudsman's office reported that it had not 
received any such appeals during the year.
Section 4. Government Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    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.
    The ombudsman, although appointed by the Government, acts as an 
independent check on governmental abuses. In his seventh annual report, 
the ombudsman reported receiving 345 formal complaints (mostly against 
government agencies), including 101 against the Police Department, 10 
against the Lands Department, 18 against Magistrates Court, 15 against 
the family court, 20 against the Department of Corrections, and two 
against the Belize City Council. The ombudsman investigated 90 percent 
of these cases, despite being allocated limited resources to conduct 
investigations. According to the ombudsman, most cases were 
investigated and closed without involving any other authorities.
Section 5. 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 prohibitions.

    Women.--The law prohibits domestic violence and contains penalties, 
including imprisonment for violations, depending on the crime. The law 
empowers the family court to issue protection orders against accused 
offenders. Domestic violence against women remained a significant 
problem. Between January and September, the Ministry of Health recorded 
710 cases of domestic violence of which 624 were cases of violence 
against women. Approximately 45 percent of the cases (324) arose in the 
Belize District, which includes Belize City. Only 112 of the 710 cases 
were reported to the police. There was one shelter for battered women; 
it contained nine beds and offered short-term housing.
    The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape. The Criminal Code 
states that persons convicted of rape or marital rape shall be 
sentenced to a prison term of not less than eight years, but which may 
extend to imprisonment for life. In practice, however, sentences were 
often much lighter. In a number of instances, the DPP dropped the 
charges if the accusing party did not testify at trial. Arrests and 
convictions for rape received widespread press coverage. Police and 
courts enforced statutory rape laws; however, in relation to the number 
of accusations, convictions were infrequent. During the year the 
Supreme Court tried 45 rape cases resulting in four convictions with 
sentences varying between nine and 18 years' imprisonment. The 
defendant appealed one case and was subsequently acquitted. Another 
four cases resulted in acquittals, while 12 cases were pending trial at 
years' end. The DPP withdrew 25 cases.
    The law does not explicitly address adult prostitution; therefore, 
the Government did not use law enforcement resources to combat 
prostitution. Loitering for the purposes of prostitution, operating a 
brothel, and sexual solicitation are illegal.
    Under the Sexual Harassment Act, the magistrate's courts deal with 
sexual harassment complaints. There are no criminal penalties for 
sexual harassment, and no sexual harassment cases were brought during 
the year.
    Despite legal provisions for gender equality, the media continued 
to report that women faced social and economic discrimination. There 
were no legal impediments to women owning or managing land or other 
real property. Women were active in all spheres of national life but 
held relatively few top managerial positions. Although the law mandates 
equal pay for equal work, women tended to earn less than men. The 
median monthly income for a working woman was $381 ($763 BLZ), compared 
with $418 ($836 BLZ) for a man.
    The Women's Department under the Ministry of Human Development, 
Women and Children, and Civil Society is responsible for developing 
programs to improve the status of women. A number of officially 
registered women's groups also worked closely with various government 
ministries to promote social awareness programs.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare.
    Education is compulsory for children between the ages of five and 
15. After finishing primary education, children may enter a secondary 
school, a government-run apprenticeship program, or a vocational 
institution. These programs, however, had spaces for only half of the 
children completing primary school. Education was nominally free, but 
school, book, and uniform fees placed education out of reach for many 
poor children. According to a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey, the 
primary school attendance rate was 90 percent while the secondary 
school attendance rate was 38 percent. The majority of students reached 
fifth grade. Schools expelled pregnant students, who then had to wait a 
year before applying for readmission.
    Several government-run clinics provided health care to children, 
with boys and girls having equal access to such care.
    Child abuse was not considered to be widespread or a societal 
problem. However, the Toledo area reportedly had high incidence of 
child labor and sexual abuse of children (see section 6.d.). The Family 
Violence Unit recorded 80 cases of domestic violence against children 
and 19 cases of sexual abuse against minors. The law allows authorities 
to remove a child from an abusive home environment and requires parents 
to maintain and support children until the age of 18. Many parents sold 
their daughters as child brides to men, often a friend of the family 
(see section 5, Trafficking).
    On April 24, authorities arrested the parents of an 11-year-old 
female rape victim and a 13-year-old female rape victim for allegedly 
kidnapping the suspected rapists. The father of one of the rape victims 
spent two days in police custody and 20 days in jail. On August 4, 
authorities charged the two victims with kidnapping, denied them bail, 
and remanded them for eight days to a youth hostel. Charges against the 
female victims were eventually withdrawn, as were kidnapping charges 
against their fathers after one of the complainants and her family left 
the country. No charges were filed against the alleged rapists.
    Child labor was a problem (see section 6.d.).
    The Family Services Division in the Ministry of Human Development, 
Women and Children, and Civil Society was the Government office devoted 
to children's issues. The division coordinated programs for children 
who were victims of domestic violence, advocated remedies in specific 
cases before the family court, conducted public education campaigns, 
investigated cases of trafficking in children (see section 5, 
Trafficking), and worked with local and international NGOs and UNICEF 
to promote children's welfare.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons, 
which is punishable by fines of up to $5,000 ($10,000 BLZ) and 
imprisonment of up to five years. There were reports that persons were 
trafficked within and to the country, mainly from neighboring 
countries.
    There were no reliable estimates of the extent of trafficking. 
There were reports that women were trafficked to the country from 
neighboring countries primarily for prostitution and nude dancing. NGOs 
that worked with commercial sex workers reported that most prostitutes 
were in the country (and in their current occupation) by choice, 
usually at the suggestion of a friend or family member who was also 
engaged in commercial sex work. Victims generally lived in squalid 
conditions in the bars where they worked. Some bar owners reportedly 
confiscated victims' passports.
    There were reports of persons trafficked for labor purposes, 
including instances of Chinese immigrants being forced to work in local 
Chinese-owned sweatshops and of children working in activities such as 
shining shoes or selling newspapers at kiosks (see section 6.d.). 
Members of the East Indian community also trafficked persons from India 
as bonded laborers, holding their passports and paying less than 
minimum wage.
    During the year the Government improved its efforts to identify 
trafficking victims by increasing the number of investigations and 
raids on suspected brothels. In August the Government reported that it 
conducted six unannounced raids over a 60-day period, which resulted in 
the identification of seven trafficking victims. The Government 
reported no arrests as a result of these raids.
    In June police arrested Jitendra Chawla (also known as Jack 
Charles), an Indian businessman, and charged him with withholding his 
employees' travel documents; the case was pending at year's end.
    In July authorities arrested Amparo Zetina and charged her with 
trafficking in persons. Amabilia Esquivel, a 19-year-old Guatemalan 
woman, reported that she had been hired to work in Zetina's restaurant, 
but after arriving in the country she was repeatedly asked to sexually 
satisfy male patrons. When she declined, Zetina withheld her pay. 
Esquivel claimed that when she went to a friend for help, she was 
ambushed and beaten by people believed to be acting on Zetina's behalf. 
The case was adjourned until January 2007.
    The Government's National Committee for Families and Children 
reported instances of minors engaged in prostitution with older male 
clientele, in some cases of their own volition, in others arranged by 
their family. Although the girls were typically of high-school age, 
some were as young as 12 and many came from economically disadvantaged 
families in which their mothers also were victims of the same abuse. 
The girls often provided sexual favors to older men in exchange for 
clothing, jewelry, or school fees and books. In many cases, the 
Government was not able to prosecute individuals for unlawful carnal 
knowledge because the victims or their families were reluctant to press 
charges.
    The February 2005 case of a Salvadoran national and mother of a 12-
year-old girl, charged with abetting carnal knowledge, as well as the 
cases of three other persons held on related charges were pending at 
year's end.
    The December 2005 police case of Petronila Urratio, charged with 
forcing her 12-year-old daughter to have sexual intercourse with 
clients, was set for preliminary inquiry before the San Ignacio 
Magistrate's Court on January 25, 2007.
    In the December 2005 case in which a Salvadoran national, Santos 
Martinez, took a 12-year-old girl to El Salvador for the purpose of 
sexual exploitation, Salvadoran authorities detained Martinez, but it 
was unknown whether Belizean authorities applied for his extradition.
    The law also provides for limited victims' assistance, although in 
practice there were insufficient government resources to provide 
meaningful aid to victims. Noncitizen victims willing to assist in 
prosecuting traffickers are legally eligible for residency status.
    The Trafficking in Persons Committee, under the Ministry of Home 
Affairs, is the official government agency responsible for combating 
trafficking.
    The Government's newly revitalized Antitrafficking Committee, made 
up of NGOs, Ministry of Human Development, social workers, and police, 
provided training programs for police, immigration officials, and 
social workers.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law does not expressly 
prohibit discrimination against persons with physical and mental 
disabilities, the constitution provides for the protection of all 
citizens from any type of discrimination. The law does not provide for 
accessibility for persons with disabilities. There are two schools--the 
Cayo Deaf Institute in Central Farm and the Stella Maris School for 
disabled children in Belize City--and four special education centers 
(located in Corozal, Punta Gorda, Orange Walk, and Dangriga) for 
children with disabilities. During the year there were no reports of 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, and other state services. The 
government-operated Committee for those with Disabilities is tasked 
with enforcing protection and public education.
    Private companies and NGOs, such as the Belize Association of and 
for Persons with Disabilities and the Belize Center for the Visually 
Impaired, provided services to persons with disabilities. The Ministry 
of Education maintained an educational unit offering limited special 
education programs with strict entry requirements, within the regular 
school system.

    Indigenous People.--The country is a pluralistic society comprising 
several ethnic minorities and indigenous Mayan groups. Among the 
country's indigenous population, the Mopan and Ke'kchi historically 
were characterized under the general term Maya, although self- 
proclaimed leaders more recently asserted that they should be 
identified as the Masenal (``common people''). The Maya Leaders' 
Alliance (MLA), which comprised the Toledo Maya Cultural Council, the 
Q'eqch'' Council of Belize, the Toledo Alcaldes Association, and the 
Toledo Maya Women's Council, monitors development in the Toledo 
District with the goal of protecting Mayan land and culture. While 
there were legal disputes concerning land development, there were no 
reports of governmental violations of civil or political rights.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Ethnic tension, 
particularly resentment of recently arrived Central American and Asian 
immigrants, continued to be a problem.
    There was some societal discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS, and the Government worked to combat it through the public 
education efforts of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) under the 
Ministry of Human Development and through the Pan-American Social 
Marketing Organization, which received foreign government assistance. 
In December 2005 the country adopted a national HIV/AIDS policy that 
promotes voluntary counseling and testing. Shortly thereafter, the BDF 
announced its intent to implement a policy requiring HIV testing for 
all new recruits. After the NAC expressed concern that BDF's policy was 
inconsistent with national policy, the NAC undertook a dialogue with 
BDF to synchronize BDF's HIV testing requirements with the national 
policy. No agreement had been reached by the end of the year.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--By law and in practice, workers 
generally were free to establish and join trade unions. Nine 
independent unions, whose members constituted approximately 7 percent 
of the labor force, represented a cross-section of workers, including 
most civil service employees. The Ministry of Labor recognizes a union 
after it has registered with the registrar's office. The National Trade 
Union Congress of Belize only recognized unions that held free annual 
elections of officers. Both law and precedent effectively protect 
unions against dissolution or suspension by administrative authority.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination but does not require 
reinstatement of employees fired for union organizing activities. 
However, an aggrieved employee can seek such redress from the courts. 
In practice, effective redress for workers dismissed for union 
organizing was extremely difficult to obtain. Although workers are able 
to file complaints with the Labor Department, it was difficult for 
workers filing complaints to prove that a termination was due to union 
activity.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for collective bargaining, and unions practiced it freely. 
Although employers and unions can set wages in free negotiations, more 
commonly employers simply established them. The labor commissioner or 
his representative has the authority to act as a mediator in deadlocked 
collective bargaining negotiations between labor and management, 
offering nonbinding counsel to both sides. If either union or 
management chooses not to accept the commissioner's decision, both may 
request a legal hearing.
    Unions may organize freely, but the law does not require employers 
to recognize a union as a bargaining agent if no union within that 
sector covers more than 50 percent of the workers.
    The law permits unions to strike and does not require notice before 
a strike. However, this right is not extended to public sector workers 
in areas designated as ``essential services,'' which is broadly defined 
and includes postal, sanitary, health, and other services, as well as 
services in which petroleum products are sold. The law also empowers 
the Government to refer a dispute to compulsory arbitration in order to 
prohibit or terminate a strike.
    In July 80 percent of the DFC workforce went on a one-day strike to 
protest the Government's decision to recommend that the DFC Board of 
Directors forgive $3.2 million ($6.4 million BLZ) in outstanding 
student loans. Their main concerns were that the Government failed to 
consult the union before making the recommendation, that the loan 
forgiveness packages were not properly executed, and that the program 
included persons capable of paying off their loans. In the end, the 
Government made no attempt to address the employees' concerns.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from the regular labor laws 
in the country's four general and 26 special export processing zones 
(EPZs). There were no unions in the EPZs.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor was a particular problem in family-related commercial 
activities. The law prohibits the employment of children under age 12 
and the employment of children between the ages of 12 and 14 before the 
end of school hours on official school days. While the law does not 
expressly provide for a maximum number of weekly hours of work that can 
be performed by persons under 18 years of age, it generally limits work 
hours for all persons to 45 hours per week. The law expressly prohibits 
children from working overtime. By law, children are permitted to work 
on family farms and in family-run businesses. The minimum age for 
employment involving hazardous machinery is 17 years. There were 
ambiguities in the legal definition of child labor in relation to light 
work, hazardous work, and artistic performance. Inspectors from the 
Departments of Labor and Education are responsible for enforcing these 
regulations, but there were no updated reports on whether child labor 
laws were well enforced during the year.
    In 2003 the Central Statistical Office issued the findings of an 
ILO study that estimated that 6 percent of children between the ages of 
five and 17 were working, with 69 percent engaged in hazardous work. 
The study did not include the sizeable population of undocumented 
minors, many of whom were not in school. The Department of Labor 
coordinated with police and social services authorities to provide 
health and other services to undocumented foreign children who worked.
    Children in rural areas worked on family plots and businesses after 
school, on weekends, and during vacations, and were involved in the 
citrus, banana, and sugar industries as field workers. Children in 
urban areas shined shoes, sold food, crafts, and other small items, and 
worked in markets. Adolescent girls, some of whom were trafficked 
within the country and to and from neighboring countries, worked as 
domestic servants, while some worked in commercial sexual activities 
(see section 5). There were no government-sponsored child labor 
prevention programs.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage varies 
according to the type of work in which the employee is engaged. For 
those in agriculture, agro-industry, or the economic processing zones 
and for ``bona fide students,'' hourly minimum wage is one dollar 
($2.00 BLZ); for manual and domestic workers, it is $1.12 ($2.25 BLZ). 
The minimum wage law did not cover workers paid on a piecework basis. 
The Ministry of Labor was charged with enforcing the minimum wage, 
which generally was respected in practice. The national minimum wage 
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
    The law sets the workweek at no more than six days or 45 hours and 
requires premium payment for overtime work. The exploitation of 
undocumented Central American workers, particularly young service 
workers and agricultural workers, continued to be a problem.
    Several different health and safety regulations covered numerous 
industries, and the Ministry of Labor set and enforced these 
regulations to varying degrees. The Government committed its limited 
inspection and investigative resources principally to urban and more 
accessible rural areas where labor, health, and safety complaints were 
registered. Workers had the legal right to leave a dangerous workplace 
situation without jeopardy to continued employment, and did so in 
practice.

                               __________

                                BOLIVIA

    Bolivia is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a population 
of 8.5 million. In December 2005 in a generally free and fair process, 
citizens elected Evo Morales Ayma, an indigenous politician and coca 
union leader, as President. Morales took office January 22, and under 
his administration the civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces.
    On July 2, citizens elected a Constituent Assembly (CA) to re-write 
the country's constitution, and Morales' Movement Toward Socialism 
(MAS) party won 137 of the 255 available CA seats. The election did not 
give the MAS the two-thirds majority needed to approve constitutional 
changes, which became a growing source of tension between the MAS and 
opposition parties. Nonetheless, the MAS used a simple majority vote to 
give the CA plenipotentiary powers to ``re-found'' the state (as 
opposed to simply revising the constitution), an action taken over the 
objections of the opposition. At year's end the MAS and the opposition 
remained deadlocked over the CA's voting rules.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were problems in some areas. The most significant human 
rights problems were abuses by security forces, including several 
deaths; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; 
threats to civil liberties, including the right to a fair and public 
trial, press and religious freedoms; corruption and a lack of 
transparency in government; discrimination based on gender and 
ethnicity; trafficking in persons; child labor; and brutal working 
conditions in the mining sector.
                        respect for human rights
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 during the 
year. Nevertheless, three persons were killed, dozens were injured, and 
several others were held hostage during violent demonstrations in Oruro 
and Cochabamba (see section 2.b.). Additionally, security forces killed 
at least four persons in unrelated events during the year.
    On June 9, off-duty police officer Santiago Orocando Arevillca was 
shot and killed during a conflict with security forces (see section 
2.b.).
    On July 5, naval officer Wilder Rene Blanco Mendoza was found dead 
in El Alto; his body showed signs of torture. Officer Blanco had 
disappeared on June 16. The prime suspects, the last two individuals to 
have seen him, were also military officers. The case remained under 
investigation at year's end.
    On September 29, 50 to 60 security force members attempted to enter 
the Carrasco national park to eradicate coca. Reportedly, approximately 
200 armed coca growers (cocaleros) conducted a surprise attack on the 
security force, which resulted in the death of cocaleros Rember Guzman 
Zambrana and Celestino Rinaldi, as well as eight injuries and the 
taking of nine police hostages. The police were set free after security 
forces released four people detained in the attack.
    There were several deaths due to prison violence during the year 
(see section 1.c.).
    During the year vigilante action killed at least four persons (see 
section 1.c.). On June 28, a mob of approximately 400 residents of El 
Alto lynched a presumed thief. On July 24, in Pampa San Miguel, 
Cochabamba, a 22-year-old man was severely beaten and burned by his 
neighbors, who accused him of sexually assaulting a senior citizen. He 
died two days later. On August 6, neighbors beat to death one of two 
suspected intruders in Villa Nueva, Potosi, after residents came to the 
aid of their neighbor, who discovered the suspects in her home. On 
October 28, citizens burned to death Juan Pesoa Chuve of the indigenous 
community of Puesto Nuevo de Lomerio in Santa Cruz Department. 
According to preliminary police findings, an ad hoc people's tribunal 
sentenced him for having committed acts of witchcraft that harmed his 
community. (The penal code has no law against witchcraft.)
    In the January 2005 case in which naval officer Ruben Dario Rojas 
shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in Riberalta, on July 1, authorities 
sentenced Dario to three years in prison.
    There were no developments regarding the June 2005 death of Carlos 
Coro Mayta, who was killed by unknown actors during civil unrest 
outside the city of Sucre. The Government indemnified the family for 
his death, and the investigation continued at year's end.
    The case of the August 2005 death of military conscript Fredy 
Moises Kanqui, shot and killed by army officer Luis Fernando Pereara 
Ramos, was still pending in a military court at year's end, and Pereara 
remained in preventive detention.
    There were no new developments in the August 2005 case of police 
officer Santiago Calderon Romero, killed during a confrontation in 
Santa Cruz, or in the September 2005 case of Gumercindo Mamani, Damaso 
Condori, and Dionicio Flores, killed on the outskirts of El Alto in 
Viacha in a dispute between two communities over land ownership.
    There were no developments in the investigations of the 2004 deaths 
of officer Saul Coronado and two peasants, Hernan Masay and Eddy 
Argmon, during confrontations between security forces and civilians in 
the town of San Pablo.
    There were no new developments in the investigations of the 2004 
confrontations between cocaleros and security forces inside the Isiboro 
Secure nature reserve, which resulted in the deaths of cocaleros Juan 
Colque and Genaro Canaviri.
    There were no developments and none were expected in the 
investigation of the 2004 killing of Medrin Colque Mollo, presumably by 
police, during a confrontation between more than 100 squatters and 
security forces.
    On March 17, judicial authorities freed Spanish citizen Francisco 
Javier Villanueva and Freddy Hurtado, suspects in the 2004 murder of 
prosecutor Monica von Borries in Santa Cruz. Judicial authorities ruled 
that Brazilians Ricardo Borba Mezquita and Sandro Carvalho, who escaped 
from a Santa Cruz prison in 2005, as well as Italian Marco Marino 
Diodato, who remained at large, were responsible for the murder (see 
section 1.c.).
    In the case of the 2004 lynching of Ayo Ayo Mayor Benjamin 
Altamirano, authorities filed formal criminal charges consisting of 
conspiracy, deprivation of freedom, coercion, kidnapping, and murder 
against 25 suspects. Rufino Penafiel and Nicanor Mamani, both sentenced 
in 2005 for their association with the killing, were released from 
prison. Three other persons were tried and sentenced to no more than 
five years in prison. In December 2005 police arrested the principal 
suspect and alleged mastermind of the crime, Cecilio Huanca, in Santa 
Cruz. The oral arguments phase of the trial against 18 suspects began 
on October 31; judgment was pending at year's end.
    With respect to the Government's case against former President 
Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and his cabinet for the approximately 59 
deaths and more than 400 persons injured in the October 2003 civil 
unrest, on April 11, the Government formally charged military officers 
Juan Veliz Herrera, Luis Aranda, Oswaldo Quiroga, Roberto Claros, and 
Gonzalo Rocabado with genocide, murder, conspiracy, and ``violating 
individual guarantees'' and the ``expressed tenor of the 
constitution.'' On December 4, the prosecutor ordered that the former 
President's daughter appear and provide information on her father's 
involvement in the events of October 2003. On December 18, the Attorney 
General formally presented charges against the former President, which 
included genocide, multiple counts of homicide and assault leading to 
injuries, deprivation of civil liberties, torture, slander, acts 
against the freedom of press, destruction of property, and other acts 
contrary to the constitution.
    The Government's delay in completing effective investigations and 
identifying and punishing those responsible for either civilian or 
security force deaths resulted in a perception of impunity. The 
congressional human rights committee, the ombudsman's office, the Vice 
Ministry of Justice and its Directorate of Human Rights, citizens' 
groups, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to press the 
Government to expedite action in a number of cases under investigation 
or within the court system.

    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. There were a number of 
allegations of vigilante violence that resulted in extrajudicial abuses 
against persons (see section 1.a.). Although there were no specific 
reports of beatings and abuse by members of security forces, the human 
rights ombudsman released a report in December 2005 stating that of all 
government institutions, police were the most frequent violators of 
human rights.
    The Chimore Center for Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR), which was 
converted into an Integrated Justice Center, received 12 complaints of 
security force abuse during the year from citizens in the Chapare 
region. Cases were not formally filed with the Public Ministry but 
instead were referred for action to the police Office of Professional 
Responsibility.
    Indigenous communities in areas with little or no government 
presence imposed punishments that reportedly included the death penalty 
for members who violated traditional laws or rules, although the 
constitution prohibits the death penalty. The burning of Juan Pesoa 
Chuve (see section 1.a.) was an example of ``communitarian justice'' 
that contradicted the formal legal system. Vigilante justice was a 
regular occurrence in the mostly indigenous city of El Alto, where 
images of presumed thieves were hung routinely in effigy near stores 
and markets.
    In addition to the lynchings cited in section 1.a., there were 
press reports of 16 attempted lynchings during the year. On March 10, a 
group of neighborhood residents confused Jose Luis Lopez for a thief 
and tied Lopez to a venomous ant tree for three hours until police 
released him. At year's end the police were still investigating this 
case. Also in March union members, including Carlos Delgadillo and 
Constantino Quinteros, tied coca farmer Juan Chavez to a venomous ant 
tree for two hours for failing to attend a March 15 union meeting. The 
police detained five suspects at year's end.
    Law enforcement officials complained of the danger of intervening 
in lynchings because they were frequently outnumbered by neighborhood 
residents with whom they had to negotiate to gain the release of 
suspected criminals into government custody. In neighborhoods known for 
lynching attempts, residents attempted to justify vigilante action by 
asserting a lack of local law enforcement.
    There were no new developments in the December 2005 beating of 
Alvaro Guzman, director of human rights for the Vice Ministry of 
Justice, by La Paz police officers Rene de Rio Rosales, Mario Vaca, and 
Edgar Choque.
    There were no new developments and none were expected in the public 
ministry investigation of accusations that Santa Cruz police tortured 
Spanish citizen Francisco Javier Villanueva in 2004 in connection with 
the car bombing of State Prosecutor Monica Von Borries (see section 
1.a.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh. Prisons were overcrowded and in poor condition. At year's end 
there were 6,915 (5,934 men, 981 women) inmates in facilities designed 
to hold 4,700 prisoners. Overpopulated jails included: San Pedro in La 
Paz by 500 percent, Mocovi by 345 percent, and the women's jail in La 
Paz by 300 percent. Prison escapes were common; on June 30, 10 persons 
escaped from Bahia prison in Puerto Suarez. With the exception of the 
maximum-security prison of Chonchocoro in El Alto, government 
authorities effectively controlled only the outer security perimeter of 
each prison. Inside prison walls, prisoners usually maintained control, 
and criminal gangs operated from their cells without hindrance.
    Violence among prisoners, and in some cases the involvement of 
prison officials in violence against prisoners, were problems. On April 
13, prisoners killed five fellow inmates during an uprising in the 
Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz.
    Corruption was a problem among low-ranking and poorly paid guards 
and prison wardens. The number of persons held in detention centers, 
intended to hold persons prior to the completion of their trials and 
sentencing, significantly decreased due to the Code of Criminal 
Procedure (CCP) but was still a problem due to judiciary strikes and a 
general increase in crime.
    Prisoners were not separated by classification of crime or status. 
A prisoner's wealth often determined cell size, visiting privileges, 
day-pass eligibility, and place or length of confinement. Inmates 
reportedly paid fees to prior cell occupants or to prisoners who 
controlled cellblocks. Although the law permits children up to six 
years old to live with an incarcerated parent, children as old as 12 
lived with their parents in prisons. There were approximately 700 
children living with a parent in prison, as an alternative to being 
left homeless.
    The standard prison diet was insufficient, and prisoners who could 
afford to do so supplemented rations by buying food. On April 8, 
prisoners rioted in San Pedro prison to demand dietary improvements. In 
October prisoners around the country went on a hunger strike; their 
demands centered on modifying counternarcotics legislation, Law 1008, 
which prohibits prisoners from working and restricts other benefits.
    The law provides that prisoners have access to medical assistance, 
but prisons lacked adequate health care, and it was difficult for 
prisoners to get permission for outside medical treatment. Of the 
country's 14 jails, five failed to provide doctors or medical 
assistance. NGOs and prisoners reported tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in 
the jails. The Government was unaware of the number of ill prisoners. 
However, affluent prisoners could obtain transfers to preferred prisons 
or even to outside private institutional care for ``medical'' reasons. 
Inmates who could pay had access to drugs and alcohol.
    There were separate prisons for women, except for Morros Blancos 
prison in Tarija, where men and women shared facilities. Conditions for 
female inmates were similar to those for men; however, overcrowding at 
the San Sebastian women's prison in Cochabamba was worse than in most 
prisons for men.
    The 706 convicted juvenile (16 to 21 years old) prisoners were not 
segregated from adult prisoners in jails, and adult inmates sometimes 
abused them. Rehabilitation programs for juveniles or other prisoners 
were scarce to nonexistent. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted 
prisoners.
    The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) visited in 
November, and its special rapporteur on the rights of persons deprived 
of liberty reviewed three prisons. The IACHR expressed concern 
regarding prisoner health and safety as well as overcrowding. The 
special rapporteur urged the Government to take measures to ensure that 
family cohabitation in prisons conform to international human rights 
standards, particularly in view of the ``precarious state of 
infrastructure, sanitation, and security in those prisons.''
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, judges, and media representatives, and such visits took 
place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention. While the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions, there were high-profile exceptions to this rule.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police 
have primary responsibility for internal security, but military forces 
may be called upon for help in critical situations, which occurred 
during the year. The National Police disciplined its officers when 
appropriate, issuing 533 administrative sanctions during the year. 
Prosecutors generally were reluctant to prosecute security officials 
for alleged offenses committed while on duty, in part because they 
relied on the Judicial Technical Police to investigate their own 
officers.

    Arrest and Detention.--Arrests were carried out openly, but there 
were credible reports of high-profile arbitrary arrests and detentions.
    The CCP requires an arrest warrant, and the police must inform the 
prosecutor of an arrest within eight hours. The law requires that a 
detainee see a judge within 24 hours, during which time the judge must 
determine the appropriateness of continued pretrial detention or 
release on bail and must order the detainee's release if the prosecutor 
fails to show sufficient grounds for arrest. Credible reports indicated 
that in some cases detainees were held for more than 24 hours without 
court approval.
    The law provides that persons older than 60 are subject to 
domiciliary detention. However, on April 3, authorities imprisoned 68-
year-old Jose Maria Bakovic, former President of the National Roads 
Agency, for three weeks on corruption charges. On September 1, the 
prosecution suspended its case against Bakovic in order to obtain 
additional time for case preparation. Although no formal charges were 
filed, Bakovic was prohibited from leaving La Paz (see section 1.e.).
    On July 28, authorities placed former Central Bank General Manager 
Marcela Nogales in preventive detention for her alleged role in the 
improper withdrawal of government funds in 2003. The police failed to 
present an arrest warrant, a requirement under the law. Subsequently, 
Nogales was detained for 66 days before being released. Financial 
audits conducted by a government accounting authority before and after 
her detention found no evidence of criminal activity but did find 
administrative irregularities. At year's end the Government continued 
its investigation but had not filed any charges.
    On September 8, four Chinese citizens were detained for eight days 
without charge. In early November the Constitutional Tribunal upheld 
their right to habeas corpus. The court ordered that the Government 
determine the defendants' immigration status immediately.
    Many prisoners awaited trial; as of October over 70 percent of 
inmates were awaiting sentencing, but the courts provided release on 
bail for some prisoners. Judges have the authority to order preventive 
detention for suspects deemed to be a flight risk. If a suspect is not 
detained, a judge may order significant restrictions on the suspect's 
movements.
    Prisoners were allowed access to lawyers, but approximately 70 
percent could not afford legal counsel, and public defenders were 
overburdened (see section 1.e.).
    The Government trained 317 police officers in safeguarding human 
rights during criminal investigations, while 800 police officers and 
prosecutors were trained in human rights issues in 2005.
    Denial of justice through prolonged detention remained a problem. 
Although the CCP provides that a detainee cannot be held for longer 
than 18 months awaiting trial and sentencing, this was not respected in 
practice (see section 1.e.). If the process is not completed in 18 
months, the detainee may request release by a judge; however, judicial 
corruption, a shortage of public defenders, inadequate case-tracking 
mechanisms, and complex criminal justice procedures kept some persons 
incarcerated for more than 18 months before trial.
    Children from 11 to 16 years of age may be detained indefinitely in 
children's centers for known or suspected offenses, or for their 
protection, on the orders of a social worker. There is no judicial 
review of such orders (see section 5, Children).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but according to court officials the Government 
attempted to undermine judiciary independence. At a December 20 press 
conference, the Supreme Court President stated that the Government had 
systematically trampled and subjugated the courts, violating the 
principle of separation of powers. Corruption and inefficiency in the 
judicial system remained major problems. The Government reduced already 
low judicial salaries in February, a move which led to the resignation 
of many senior judges and weakened the judiciary.
    President Morales and other high-level government officials 
publicly commented on their desire to pursue criminal charges against 
several former government officials.
    The Government attempted to bring criminal charges against five 
former Presidents for reasons that appeared to be politically 
motivated. On March 16, the Attorney General declared his intent to 
bring legal proceedings against former Presidents Carlos Mesa, Jorge 
Quiroga, and Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada for signing contracts to sell 
hydrocarbons to neighboring countries during their respective 
presidencies. (In October 2004, congress approved criminal charges 
against Sanchez de Lozada for genocide, murder, and conspiracy in 
connection with the October 2003 civil unrest.) In August the 
Government announced its intent to reopen a legal case against former 
President Jaime Paz for narcotics trafficking that was closed in 1996. 
On August 3, the Government completed its investigation of former 
President Eduardo Rodriguez' responsibility for the transfer of 
surface-to-air missiles for destruction. At year's end the cases 
against Quiroga, Paz, Mesa, and Rodriguez were pending the required 
congressional approval to proceed.
    On August 25, the Government reopened the prosecution of National 
Unity party leader and Constituent Assembly delegate, Samuel Doria 
Medina, on charges that were dismissed 12 years ago. The Government 
initiated this case after Medina's August 7 public statements in 
defense of former President Eduardo Rodriguez.
    The judicial system has three levels of courts: trial court, 
superior court, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hears appeals 
in general. The Constitutional Tribunal is an independent institution 
and has original and appellate jurisdiction on constitutional matters.
    The CCP provides for a system of transparent oral trials in 
criminal cases, requires that no pretrial detention exceed 18 months, 
provides for a maximum period of detention of 24 months in cases in 
which a sentence is being appealed, and mandates a three-year maximum 
duration for a trial.
    The law provides that the prosecutor is in charge of the 
investigative stage of a case and must give suspects an opportunity to 
confront charges before a trial formally begins. Former President 
Rodriguez claimed he did not have an opportunity to confront the 
charges against him before the Government sought congressional approval 
to levy them. The IACHR, reporting on its November visit, cited 
``alarming statistics relating to access to justice,'' noting that only 
55 percent of municipalities had any judicial authority and only 23 
percent had a prosecutor.
    The prosecutor instructs the police regarding witness statements 
and evidence necessary to prosecute. Counternarcotics prosecutors lead 
the investigation of narcotics cases. The prosecutor pursues 
misdemeanor cases (with possible sentences of less than four years) 
before a judge of instruction and felony cases (with possible sentences 
of more than four years) before sentencing courts, both of which 
feature a five-member panel that includes three citizens and two 
judges. The Forensic Medical Institute opened in 2005, although the 
Attorney General's office did not have the proper chemicals to begin 
conducting investigations.
    Superior court review is restricted to a review of the application 
of the law. Supreme Court review is restricted to cases involving 
exceptional circumstances. During superior court and Supreme Court 
reviews, the courts may confirm, reduce, increase, or annul sentences 
or provide alternatives not contemplated by lower courts.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants have constitutional rights to a 
presumption of innocence, to a speedy trial, to remain silent, to have 
an attorney, to confront witnesses, to present evidence on their own 
behalf, to due process, to an appeal, and to confront legal charges 
with government prosecutors before a formal court process is initiated. 
In practice the rights to an attorney and to a speedy trial were not 
protected systematically, although the CCP facilitated more efficient 
investigations, transparent oral trials, and credible verdicts.
    Budget shortfalls at the National Public Defender Service, 
established to provide indigent defendants with defense attorneys at 
public expense, reduced the staff to 54 public defenders, nine legal 
assistants, and nine district directors. There was a significant 
shortage of public defenders in rural areas; the IACHR reported that 
only 3 percent of municipalities had a public defender.
    The CCP also recognizes the conflict resolution (community justice) 
traditions of indigenous communities, provided that the resolution does 
not conflict with the rights and provisions established under the 
constitution.
    The military justice system generally was susceptible to senior-
level influence and tended to avoid rulings that would embarrass the 
military. When a military member is accused of a crime related to his 
military service, the commander of the affected unit assigns an officer 
to conduct an inquiry and prepare a report. The results are forwarded 
to a judicial advisor, usually at the division level, who then 
recommends a finding of innocence or guilt. For major infractions, the 
case is forwarded to a military court. Authorities recognized conflicts 
over military and civilian jurisdiction in certain cases involving 
human rights. A 2004 constitutional court decision provides that 
military personnel should be tried in civilian courts for human rights 
violations. During the year the armed forces organized twelve human 
rights seminars in different cities and one seminar on the 
implementation of a consensus document for human rights.

    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 for civil matters. The law provides for 
criminal remedies for human rights violations, and at conclusion of a 
criminal trial, the complainant can initiate a civil trial to seek 
damages. Administratively, the ombudsman for human rights can issue 
resolutions on specific human rights cases, which the Government may 
enforce.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and while the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions, there were credible 
allegations of security forces making unauthorized entries into private 
homes in the Chapare and Yungas regions. Residents in the coca growing 
areas generally were reluctant to file and pursue formal complaints 
against security forces. Those who were engaged in alternative 
development activities were also reluctant to pursue formal complaints 
against coca growers because of fear of reprisals by the coca 
syndicates.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press. Although the Government generally respected 
these rights in practice, it publicly criticized the press.
    The number of media outlets, including printed press, television, 
and radio was extensive, and a healthy airing of various viewpoints, 
many expressing opposition to the Government, continued. Journalists 
were poorly trained, and it was common for them to combine news with 
editorial opinion. While the level of antipress rhetoric by the 
Government and expressions of concern about press freedom by the media 
and others remained high, the Government did not take any legal or 
administrative actions against the media sector.
    Government criticism of the press increased in frequency and tone 
after President Morales' January inauguration. Some media owners 
opposed the Government's policies and printed biased news stories 
reflecting their views. The Government singled out specific media 
outlets, particularly those based in the east, and publicly stated its 
opposition to them. On May 8, the President declared the owner of 
Unitel, a large media network based in Santa Cruz, an enemy of the 
Government. Then on June 1, President Morales asked Unitel journalists 
to identify themselves before a large audience of MAS party members 
before he verbally attacked Unitel. On June 5, Presidential security 
guards assaulted nearly a dozen journalists during a ceremony in 
Caracallo, Oruro.
    On September 20, Vice President Garcia Linera asked media 
representatives to leave before he gave a private talk to union members 
from the eastern region. As the journalists attempted to leave, union 
members beat them with plastic rods. On September 29, the Inter-
American Press Association charged that the Government was responsible 
for increased tensions with the press and expressed concern over the 
President's comments that the majority of media outlets were the 
primary enemy.
    On October 1, the weekly Jueguete Rabioso, founded by one of 
President Morales' principal consultants, Walter Chavez, published 
extensive reports questioning the impartiality of media outlets and 
accusing them of being part of a conspiracy against the President.
    On October 12, the Organization of American States special 
rapporteur for freedom of expression released its quarterly report 
citing concerns related to attacks on journalists in the country. On 
the other hand, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its Index of Press 
Freedom, lauded the country for the level of freedom enjoyed by its 
journalists. RSF did say, however, that ``the growing polarization 
between state-run and privately owned media and between supporters and 
opponents of President Morales could complicate the situation.'' The 
RSF report covered the 12-month period before September 1. On December 
14, RSF issued a release stating its ``deep concern'' that the media 
were becoming the leading target for violence between pro- and 
antigovernment supporters. In addition to citing cases of attacks by 
progovernment groups, RSF cited the September 8 incendiary bomb attack 
on the state-run television station in Santa Cruz by several 
unidentified members of Union Juvenil Crucenista as an example of 
attacks by antigovernment groups.
    In late November the newspaper El Nuevo Dia, with the support of 
the national press association and human rights groups, filed a 
complaint against Interior Vice Minister Ruben Gamarra after its 
journalist Jose Antonio Quisbert was arrested while investigating 
allegations of corruption in the immigration service.
    State-owned and private radio and television stations generally 
operated freely. However, there were reports that journalists 
attempting to film or report on events, particularly those involving 
social movements, were threatened or injured by private individuals or 
nongovernmental groups critical of their reporting. On October 13, 
progovernment groups attacked reporters in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. 
On November 13, 10 police officers assaulted EFE reporter Martin Alipaz 
while he was trying to cover a protest in Konani. The police also took 
his camera's memory card.
    The law provides that persons found guilty of insulting, defaming, 
or slandering public officials for carrying out their duties may be 
jailed from one month to two years. Insults directed against the 
President, vice President, or a minister increase the sentence by one-
half. Journalists accused of violating the constitution or citizens' 
rights are referred to the 40-person Press Tribunal, an independent 
body authorized to evaluate journalists' practices. Although cases 
rarely were brought before the tribunal, it heard one case in 2005 
involving a political candidate's defamation claim against a magazine.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Early in the year, 
government discussions about standardizing the curriculum in private 
and religious schools were met with extensive public criticism. The 
Government prohibited the importation of pornographic books, magazines, 
and artwork.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the 
authorities generally respected this right in practice. While the law 
requires a permit for most demonstrations, security forces rarely 
enforced the law, and most protesters demonstrated without obtaining 
permits, frequently blockading major thoroughfares and highways.
    On June 9, off-duty police officer Santiago Orocando Arevillca was 
killed during a confrontation with security forces when the Government 
removed 7,000 squatters from private lands in Oruro. Arevillca, who was 
participating in a protest with a group called the ``Roofless 
Movement,'' was killed when security forces attempted to disperse the 
crowd with tear gas. Twelve to 15 others were injured. Although the 
circumstances of Arevillca's death were unclear, the case remained 
under investigation (see section 1.a.).
    On December 5, MAS followers unsuccessfully attempted to break into 
a La Paz church where activists were conducting a hunger strike in 
support of the opposition's calls for a two-thirds vote for all 
Constituent Assembly decisions. After the Government announced it was 
withdrawing police protection from the church, MAS protesters returned 
on December 6, broke in, and chased out the hunger strikers. Also on 
December 6, MAS supporters in the Yungas who opposed the two-thirds 
requirement kidnapped La Paz prefect Jose Luis Paredes and held him for 
10 hours in an unsuccessful effort to force him to support a simple 
majority vote. Security forces did not intervene.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the authorities generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice. Roman 
Catholicism was predominant, and the constitution recognizes it as the 
official religion. The Roman Catholic Church received support from the 
Government (approximately 300 priests received small stipends) and 
exercised a limited degree of political influence. Government officials 
on occasion criticized the Catholic Church. In response to the church's 
concerns over proposed education reforms, in July Education Minister 
Felix Patzi called the church an ally of the oligarchy that had 
dominated the country for 500 years.
    Non-Catholic religious organizations, including missionary groups, 
must register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship and 
receive authorization for legal religious representation. There were 
622 recognized religious groups on the registry. The ministry is not 
allowed to deny registration based on an organization's articles of 
faith, but the process can be time-consuming and expensive, leading 
some groups to forgo registration and operate informally without 
certain tax and customs benefits. Most registered religious groups were 
identified as Protestant or evangelical.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of 
religious groups during the year. There were no reports of anti-Semitic 
acts. There was a small Jewish community.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice. However, 
protesters blocked major highways at various times at different 
locations throughout the country. Blockades in La Paz, Chuquisaca, and 
Cochabamba by coca growers, the MAS party, miners, and social groups 
caused economic losses.
    Although the Government did not revoke citizenship for political or 
other reasons, an estimated 792,700 citizens lacked basic identity 
documents, which prevented them from obtaining international travel 
documents and other government services.
    The law prohibits the forced exile of citizens, and the Government 
did not employ it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 United Nations 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
and the Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. However, on December 24, the Government detained and 
expressed its intent to deport Cuban dissident Amauri Sanmartino to 
Cuba for his statements and participation in a violent protest against 
the Government. Although Sanmartino was a Bolivian resident and not a 
refugee, previous governments had agreed to protect him and not return 
him to Cuba because of his fear of persecution in that country. By 
year's end the Government agreed to deport Sanmartino to another 
country.
    The Government has a system to determine those in need of refugee 
protection or asylum. The Government cooperated with the office of the 
UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers; however, the Government had 
not yet adjudicated the cases of any of the 22 persons who applied for 
refugee status in 2004, in part because of bureaucratic delays. During 
the year 59 persons applied for refugee status, and the Government 
provided refugee protection in 34 of those cases.
    There were concerns that the refugee system had become politicized. 
In May police arrested Angel Acosta and Blas Franco, two Paraguayan 
fugitives with Interpol arrest warrants for their involvement in the 
kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas, but shortly thereafter released 
them. The two had sought and received protected status, despite the 
Government's knowledge of the Paraguayan arrest warrant. In July after 
much media attention, the Government reversed its position and 
cancelled their protected status.
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 held on the basis of universal 
suffrage. However, approximately 400,000 citizens of voting age lacked 
the identity documents necessary to vote. As of midyear, the Morales 
government was pursuing an identification card effort, with Venezuelan 
assistance, with the stated goal of improving people's access to 
identification documents. Political parties and citizens groups ranging 
from far left to moderate right functioned openly. Elections for 
national offices and municipal governments are scheduled to be held 
every five years.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On July 2, the country held 
national elections, which were generally considered free and fair, for 
the Constituent Assembly. Voter turnout was 83.65 percent.
    In national elections held in December 2005, citizens elected Evo 
Morales Ayma as President in a process generally considered free and 
fair, despite allegations of minor irregularities in the master voting 
list. Voter turnout reached a record-breaking 84.5 percent. A 2004 law 
permitting small citizen and indigenous groups to participate in 
elections as political parties significantly raised voter participation 
in the 2005 elections.
    Although the law requires that every third candidate appearing on a 
political party's slate be female, women held only 24 percent of public 
offices. Female politicians reported that political parties frequently 
adhered to the quota in submitting their candidate lists but 
subsequently pressured female candidates to resign their candidacy 
prior to the election.
    Likewise, every other candidate on municipal election ballots must 
be a woman, a requirement that increased female representation to 
approximately 30 percent of municipal council positions. There were 23 
women among congress' 157 deputies and senators and four women in 
President Morales' 18-member cabinet. An indigenous woman presided over 
the Constituent Assembly. Approximately one-half of the cabinet members 
considered themselves indigenous, and the number of indigenous members 
of the congress was estimated at 17 percent, a figure difficult to 
confirm because designation as indigenous is self-declared.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--According to the NGO 
Transparency International, there was a public perception of rampant 
corruption in the country. The government-prepared National Corruption 
Index reported that 13 of every 100 public service transactions 
involved the payment of a bribe costing the country approximately $115 
million (905 million bolivianos) annually. According to this index, 
corruption disproportionately affected lower-income persons, and the 
national police, customs, and justice system were rated the most 
corrupt.
    In cases involving allegations of corruption against public 
officials, congress must give its approval before prosecutors can 
institute legal proceedings. Authorities alleged that up to 16 former 
and current congressmen used their influence in the sale of 322 visas 
to Chinese nationals. On November 1, authorities placed Oscar de la 
Quintana, the consul in Beijing during the time the visa scandal took 
place, in preventive detention and charged him with five crimes, 
including trafficking in persons, improper hiring practices (for hiring 
three Chinese nationals illegally), and not fulfilling his duties. On 
November 6, they charged 12 ex-congressmen (all from opposition 
parties) with influence peddling, while a MAS congressman who was among 
those requesting the maximum number of suspicious visas was not 
charged.
    On August 28, Jorge Alvarado, director of the state-run oil and 
natural gas company, resigned in the face of corruption allegations 
regarding his approval of a contract with Iberoamerica Trading SRL that 
would have illegally exported petroleum to Brazil. Despite findings of 
administrative irregularities, the charges against Alvarado were 
dropped.
    In September the press reported that Education Minister Felix Patzi 
had authorized the purchase of computers in violation of government 
purchasing rules, but there was no evidence that the case was being 
prosecuted at year's end.
    There was no specific information available on laws providing 
access to government information or whether the Government provided 
such access in practice.
Section 4. 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; however, NGOs 
and the ombudsman complained that government security forces and 
ministries occasionally refused to cooperate with their investigations. 
Security forces continued to provide credible evidence that radical 
groups used some NGOs as a cover for subversive activities.
    The human rights ombudsman is a position with a five-year term 
established in the constitution. Congress chooses the ombudsman, who is 
charged with providing oversight for the defense and promotion of human 
rights, specifically to defend citizens against government abuses. The 
ombudsman operated without party influence and with adequate resources 
from the Government and foreign NGOs. Indigenous persons filed most of 
the complaints received by the ombudsman. The ombudsman issues annual 
reports, and the Government usually accepts his recommendations.
    On December 7, members of the Union Juvenil Crucenista, an 
antigovernment group, attacked the President of the Santa Cruz Human 
Rights Assembly, a local NGO.
    The CCJHR continued to be active in the Chapare region and moved to 
expand its role as an ``Integrated Justice Center'' to include conflict 
resolution. New offices were opened in El Alto and the Yungas. These 
offices reported their findings to the Vice Ministry of Justice in the 
Ministry of the Presidency, disseminated human rights information, 
accepted complaints of abuse, kept records, and referred complaints to 
the public ministry. The CCJHR also housed a medical forensic expert 
and an investigative staff to review complaints. The majority of cases 
received during the year related to interfamilial violence against 
women and children.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
language, or social status, there was significant discrimination 
against women, indigenous people, and the small black minority.

    Women.--Violence against women was a pervasive and underreported 
problem. According to the Center for the Information and Development of 
Women (CIDEM), 70 percent of women suffered some form of abuse. CIDEM 
noted that the statistics ``did not reflect the full magnitude of the 
problem of violence against women'' and that ``a great number of 
women'' did not report the aggression they faced on a daily basis. The 
most exhaustive national survey on domestic violence conducted by the 
National Statistical Institute in 2003 showed 64 percent of women were 
the target of some form of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse from 
their partner.
    Family laws prohibiting mental, physical, and sexual violence 
provide for fines or up to four days in jail, unless the case becomes a 
public crime subject to the Penal Code; however, these laws were 
enforced irregularly. The Government took few meaningful or concrete 
steps to combat domestic violence. As of November 26, the police Family 
Protection Brigade had attended to 8,954 cases, as compared to 
approximately 5,200 in 2005, and 3,640 were cases of repeat offenders. 
However, most cases of domestic violence went unreported.
    Rape also was a serious but underreported problem. The law defines 
two types of criminal cases. In private criminal matters, the victim 
brings the case against the defendant; in public criminal matters, a 
state prosecutor files criminal charges. The CCP makes rape a public 
crime. The law, as modified during the year, criminalizes statutory 
rape, with penalties of 10 to 20 years for the rape of a child under 
the age of 14. In cases involving consensual sex with an adolescent of 
14 to 18 years of age, the penalty is two to six years' imprisonment. 
Forcible rape of an adult is punished by sentences ranging from four to 
10 years' imprisonment. Sexual crimes against minors automatically are 
considered public crimes in which the state presses charges. Spousal 
rape is not a crime.
    Prostitution is legal for adults age 18 and older, and there were 
reports of trafficking in women for the purposes of prostitution and 
forced labor (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The CCP considers sexual harassment a civil crime. There were no 
statistics on the incidence of sexual harassment, but it generally was 
acknowledged to be widespread.
    Legal services offices devoted to family and women's rights 
operated throughout the country. The Maternal and Infant Health 
Insurance Program provided health services to women of reproductive age 
and to children under the age of five.
    Women were entitled to the same legal rights as men; however, many 
women were unaware of their legal rights, although the Government 
sponsored seminars to educate them. The Vice Ministry of Women in the 
Ministry of Sustainable Development protects women's legal rights. 
Women generally did not enjoy a social status equal to that of men. 
Traditional prejudices and social conditions remained obstacles to 
advancement. In rural areas, traditional practices restricting land 
inheritance for women remained a problem. The minimum wage law treats 
men and women equally; however, women generally earned less than men 
for equal work. Women sometimes complained that employers were 
reluctant to hire them because of the additional costs (mainly 
maternal) in a woman's benefits package. Working women face 
discrimination with regard to some benefits: they are not legally 
entitled to seek insurance coverage for their nonworking husbands, 
although a married man may obtain insurance coverage for his nonworking 
spouse. The gender gap in hiring appeared widest in the higher 
education brackets. Most women in urban areas worked in the informal 
economy and the services and trade sectors, including domestic service 
and micro-business, whereas in rural areas the majority of economically 
active women worked in agriculture. Young girls often left school early 
to work at home or in the informal economy.
    Leading women's rights groups included the Campesinas de Bolivia 
Bartolina Sisa, which focused on rural indigenous women, and CIDEM.

    Children.--The Government's commitment to children's rights and 
welfare was insufficient to improve conditions appreciably. There were 
seven Defender of Children and Adolescents offices to protect 
children's rights and interests.
    Public schooling was provided up to age 17 or eighth grade. The law 
requires all children to complete at least five years of primary 
school, and primary education was free and universal. Enforcement of 
the education law was lax, particularly in rural areas, where more than 
half of primary schools offered only three of eight grades. An 
estimated 50 percent of children completed primary school, and an 
estimated 26 percent graduated from high school. In October the 
Government announced that it would provide a $25 (200 bolivianos) 
subsidy to all primary school students to assist with school-related 
expenses. There were no significant gender differences in access to 
basic education, although girls continued to drop out at a higher rate 
than boys, particularly in rural areas.
    Medical care is free up to age five, and there was no apparent 
difference in access based on gender. Pilot centers offered subsidized 
health care to children over the age of five, although clinics often 
were not available in rural areas. Many children, particularly from 
rural areas, lacked birth certificates and the identity documents 
necessary to secure social benefits and protection. The Government, 
with help from foreign governments and NGOs, made some progress 
providing these documents free of charge.
    Corporal punishment and verbal abuse were common in schools. 
Children from 11 to 16 years of age may be detained indefinitely in 
children's centers for suspected offenses or for their own protection 
on the orders of a social worker. In 2005 the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) estimated that approximately 13,000 children lived in 
institutions where their basic rights were not respected. There also 
were many children living on the streets of major cities.
    Child prostitution was a problem, particularly in urban areas and 
in the Chapare region. There were reports of children trafficked for 
forced labor to neighboring countries (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor was a serious problem (see section 6.d.).
    Several NGOs had active programs to combat child prostitution. The 
Government's plan to combat child labor included a public information 
campaign against child prostitution and raids on brothels.

    Trafficking in Persons.--On January 10, President Rodriguez signed 
a new law prohibiting trafficking in persons, which specifically 
criminalizes trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution and 
provides for prison terms of four to 12 years when the victim is less 
than 14 years of age. However, there were credible reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, or within the country. The Government 
investigated 44 cases of trafficking in persons; while there were some 
arrests, there were no convictions.
    The country is a source for men, women, and children trafficked for 
forced labor and sexual exploitation to Argentina, Chile, Brazil, 
Spain, and the United States; however, there were no reliable estimates 
on the extent of trafficking. Faced with extreme poverty, many citizens 
became economic migrants, and some were victimized by traffickers as 
they moved from rural areas to cities and then abroad. Women and 
children, particularly from indigenous ethnic groups in the Altiplano 
region, were at greater risk of being trafficked. Children were 
trafficked within the country to work in prostitution, mines, domestic 
servitude, and agriculture, particularly on sugarcane and Brazil nut 
plantations. Weak controls along its extensive borders made the country 
an easy transit point for illegal migrants, some of whom may have been 
trafficked. Commercial sexual exploitation of children also remained a 
problem.
    While there were reports that some adolescents were sold into 
forced labor, it appeared that most victims initially were willing 
economic migrants who were duped or later coerced into accepting jobs 
that turned out to be forced labor.
    The Ministry of the Presidency, via an inter-institutional 
committee, has responsibility for trafficking matters. The Ministry of 
government, including the National Police and the Immigration Service, 
the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor, and Sustainable Development, 
as well as prefectures and municipalities, have secondary 
responsibility.
    Some government officials reportedly took bribes to facilitate 
smuggling and the illegal movement of people; however, the Government 
did not condone or facilitate trafficking and in 2005 removed at least 
two high-level immigration officials on suspicion of corruption. It was 
not known whether any of those dismissed were accused of involvement in 
trafficking. The Government also took measures, such as instituting a 
system of checks and balances at official border crossings and 
airports, to reduce corruption among judicial officials responsible for 
authorizing unaccompanied travel abroad of those under 18 years of age.
    In June the prefect of La Paz opened a shelter for abused and 
exploited children that also provided services for trafficking victims. 
In November police attended a seminar on trafficking of children and 
adolescents.
    The Defenders of Children offices in municipalities, sometimes in 
cooperation with NGOs, managed scattered assistance programs for 
victims.
    The NGOs Terre des Hommes, International Organization of Migration, 
and Save the Children conducted public awareness campaigns on 
trafficking of children.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and identifies the rights and 
benefits afforded them. A 1997 decree clarifies these rights and 
establishes how public and private institutions should integrate 
persons with disabilities. There was no official discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, or in the provision of other state services. However, societal 
discrimination kept many persons with disabilities at home from an 
early age, limiting their integration into society. The Law on 
Disabilities requires wheelchair access to all public and private 
buildings, duty-free import of orthopedic devices, a 50 percent 
reduction in public transportation fares, and expanded teaching of sign 
language and Braille.
    The electoral law requires accommodation for blind voters; however, 
in general, there were no special services or infrastructure to 
accommodate persons with disabilities. A 2003 Presidential decree 
requiring that 4 percent of the Government's new hires be persons with 
disabilities had not been strictly enforced by year's end.
    During the year the human rights ombudsman developed a plan to 
promote integration of persons with disabilities into society, which 
the Government adopted via supreme decree.
    The National Committee for Incapacitated Persons was responsible 
for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There was societal and systemic 
discrimination against the small black minority, which generally 
remained at the low end of the socioeconomic scale and faced severe 
disadvantages in health, life expectancy, education, income, literacy, 
and employment. The majority of the estimated 35,000 blacks lived in 
the Yungas region of the Department of La Paz.

    Indigenous People.--In the 2001 census, approximately 62 percent of 
the population over 15 years of age identified themselves as 
indigenous, primarily from the Quechua and Aymara groups. The IACHR 
reported that approximately 70 percent of these indigenous persons 
lived in poverty or extreme poverty, with little access to education or 
to minimal services to support human health, such as clean drinking 
water and sanitation systems.
    Indigenous protesters were major protagonists in the events leading 
up to the election of the country's first indigenous President, Evo 
Morales. The Agrarian Reform Law provides for indigenous communities to 
have legal title to their communal lands and for individual farmers to 
have title to the land they work. Indigenous people protested the 
Government's failure to provide them with title to all of their claimed 
territories; they also objected to outside exploitation of their 
resources. Indigenous peasants illegally occupied several private 
properties belonging mostly to former government officials, often with 
the backing of the Landless Movement.
    Indigenous groups used the Popular Participation Law to form 
municipalities that offered them greater opportunities for self-
determination. Several political parties, citizens' groups, and a 
number of NGOs were active in promoting the rights of indigenous 
people, although progress was minimal. The CCP recognized the conflict 
resolution traditions of indigenous communities (see section 1.e.).
    Indigenous people continued to be underrepresented in government 
and politics, and indigenous groups bore a disproportionate share of 
poverty and unemployment. In addition, government educational and 
health services were not available to many indigenous groups living in 
remote areas (see sections 2.d., 3, and 4).
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the law allows workers to form 
and join trade unions, in practice this right was limited due to 
inefficient labor courts and inadequate government regulation. 
Approximately 25 percent of workers in the formal economy, which 
employed approximately 30 percent of all workers, belonged to unions.
    Workers may form a union in any private company of 20 or more 
employees; however, an estimated 70 percent of workers were employed in 
small enterprises with fewer than 20 employees. Public sector workers 
also have the right to form unions. The law requires prior government 
authorization to establish a union and confirm its elected leadership, 
permits only one union per enterprise, and allows the Government to 
dissolve unions by administrative fiat.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and requires 
reinstatement of employees illegally fired for engaging in union 
activity. The National Labor Court handles complaints of antiunion 
discrimination, but it can take a year or more to rule due to a 
significant backlog of cases. The court ruled in favor of discharged 
workers in some cases and successfully required their reinstatement. 
However, union leaders stated that problems often were moot by the time 
the court ruled.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides workers the right to organize and bargain collectively; 
however, collective bargaining, or voluntary direct negotiations 
between employers and workers without the participation of the 
Government, was limited. Most collective bargaining agreements were 
restricted to wages.
    The law provides most workers with the right to strike but first 
requires unions to revert to government mediation; the law requires the 
same of employers before they initiate a lockout.
    Public service employees, including banks and public markets, are 
prohibited from striking; despite this, workers in the public sector 
(including teachers, transportation workers, and health care workers) 
frequently went on strike. Public sector employees had not been 
penalized for strike activities in recent years. However, in August the 
Government docked teachers' salaries after they went on strike 
protesting the Government's proposed education reform law. Solidarity 
strikes are illegal, but the Government neither prosecuted nor imposed 
penalties in such cases.
    There were numerous strikes organized by a variety of different 
sectors during the year. Massive strikes and blockades, which included 
labor movement participation, frequently prevented travel along major 
routes that connected the largest cities.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the seven special duty-free zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, the 
practices of child apprenticeship and agricultural servitude by 
indigenous workers continued, as did some alleged individual cases of 
household workers effectively held captive by their employers (see 
sections 5 and 6.d.).
    The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that more than 
7,000 Guaranis lived in a type of indentured servitude in extremely 
remote parts of Chuquisaca. The families worked land owned by landlords 
in exchange for housing and food but were not paid the minimum wage. As 
a result, they incurred large debts to their landlords and were not 
permitted to leave the property without satisfying their debt. These 
families lived in very poor conditions, without water, electricity, 
medical care, or schools. The human rights ombudsman conducted an 
investigation into this situation and in November 2005 released a 
formal proclamation urging regional and national governments to address 
the problem. During the year the Ministry of Justice began negotiations 
with ranch owners to normalize working conditions and obtain unpaid 
wages. On November 6, eight Guarani families received the first 
settlement of $2,875 (23,000 bolivianos) and divided it among 
themselves.
    In 2005 the ILO reported that between 26,000 and 30,000 persons, 
mostly of indigenous origin, were victims of forced labor, harvesting 
Brazil nuts in Beni Department. The work was seasonal, lasting 
approximately three months per year. During that time landlords sold 
basic foodstuffs to workers at inflated prices; workers subsequently 
incurred large debts and were not permitted to leave the property until 
the debts were satisfied. Similar conditions existed in the sugar 
industry in Santa Cruz Department.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor was a serious problem. The law prohibits all work for 
payment by children under the age of 14; however, in practice, the 
Ministry of Labor generally did not enforce child labor laws, including 
those pertaining to the minimum age and maximum hours for child 
workers, school completion requirements, and health and safety 
conditions for children in the workplace. The law prohibits a range of 
dangerous, immoral, and unhealthy work for minors under the age of 18. 
Labor law permits apprenticeship for 12- to 14-year-olds under various 
formal but poorly enforced restrictions, which have been criticized by 
the ILO and were considered by some to be tantamount to bondage (see 
section 6.c.).
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor 
provisions but did not enforce them throughout the country.
    According to government and UNICEF statistics, approximately 
800,000 children and adolescents between the ages of seven and 19 were 
engaged in some type of work, which represented an estimated 32 percent 
of this age group. Although the law prohibits persons under 18 years of 
age from work in the sugarcane fields, approximately 10,000 rural 
migrant children (7,000 of whom were under the age of 14) worked in 
this activity. Urban children sold goods, shined shoes, and assisted 
transport operators. Rural children often worked with parents from an 
early age, generally in subsistence agriculture. Children generally 
were not employed in factories or formal businesses but, when employed, 
often worked the same hours as adults. Children also worked in mines 
and other dangerous occupations in the informal sector. Narcotics 
traffickers used children to transport drugs. Child prostitution 
remained a problem (see section 5).
    The traditional practice of criadito service persisted in some 
parts of the country. Criaditos are indigenous children of both sexes, 
usually 10- to 12-year-olds, whom their parents indenture to middle- 
and upper-class families to perform household work in exchange for 
education, clothing, room, and board. Such work is illegal, and there 
were no controls over the benefits to, or treatment of, such children.
    The Government devoted minimal resources to investigating child 
labor cases, but NGOs and international organizations such as UNICEF 
supplemented the Government's efforts.
    The Government continued its efforts to eliminate child labor in 
its worst forms, working with NGOs to discourage the use of child labor 
in the mining and sugar sectors by participating in internationally 
funded programs to provide educational alternatives to children who 
otherwise would work in mines or sugarcane fields.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government established the 
minimum wage for the public and private sectors by supreme decree 
following traditional negotiation with the Central Bolivian Workers 
Union. The national minimum wage was $55 (436 bolivianos) per month and 
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. 
Most formal sector workers earned more, although many informal sector 
workers earned less. While the minimum wage fell below prevailing wages 
in most jobs, certain benefit calculations were pegged to it. The 
minimum wage did not cover the large number of workers in the informal 
sector.
    Labor laws establish a maximum workweek of 48 hours, limit women to 
a workday one hour shorter than that of men, prohibit women from 
working at night, mandate rest periods, and require premium pay for 
work above a standard workweek. In practice the Government did not 
effectively enforce these laws.
    The Ministry of Labor's Bureau of Occupational Safety has 
responsibility for protection of workers' health and safety, but 
relevant standards were enforced poorly. There were fewer than 30 
inspectors throughout the entire country. While the Government did not 
maintain official statistics, there were reports that workers died due 
to unsafe conditions, particularly in the mining and construction 
sectors. A national tripartite committee of business, labor, and 
government representatives was responsible for monitoring and improving 
occupational safety and health standards. The Ministry of Labor 
maintained a hot line for worker inquiries, complaints, and reports of 
unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions.
    Working conditions in cooperative-operated mines remained poor. 
Miners continued to work long days in dangerous, unhealthy conditions 
and earned relatively little for their efforts; some earned less than 
$2.75 (21 bolivianos) per 12-hour day. Conditions changed little in the 
past decades, as independent miners' cooperatives lacked the financial 
and technical resources needed to improve mines' infrastructure. Miners 
in such cooperatives worked in dangerous, unhealthy conditions with no 
scheduled rest for long periods. The law provides workers the right to 
remove themselves from dangerous situations without fear of losing 
their jobs.

                               __________

                                 BRAZIL

    Brazil is a constitutional federal republic with a population of 
approximately 188 million. In October voters re-elected President Luiz 
Inacio Lula da Silva (``Lula'') of the Workers' Party (PT) to a second 
four-year term in a free and fair election. While civilian authorities 
generally maintained effective control of the security forces, members 
of the security forces committed numerous, serious human rights abuses, 
primarily at the state level.
    The federal government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens; however, there continued to be numerous serious abuses, and 
the record of several state governments was poor. The following human 
rights problems were reported: beatings, abuse, and torture of 
detainees and inmates by police and prison security forces; inability 
to protect witnesses involved in criminal cases; poor prison 
conditions; prolonged pretrial detention and inordinate delays of 
trials; attacks on the media by local authorities and organized crime; 
violence and discrimination against women; violence against children, 
including sexual abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against 
indigenous people and minorities; significant obstacles to persons with 
disabilities; failure to either apply or enforce labor laws; and child 
labor in the informal sector. In most cases human rights violators 
enjoyed impunity for crimes committed.
                        respect for human rights
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 politically motivated killings, but unlawful 
killings by state police (military and civil) were widespread.
    There continued to be a high rate of police killings. Police 
retaliation for Sao Paulo prison riots exemplified the continued 
pattern of impunity. Government officials (including the President) 
acknowledged the continued severity of the problem of unlawful killings 
by law enforcement officials.
    Reports from the Center for Studies of Security and Censorship 
(CSSC) at Candido Mendes University estimated that approximately 3,000 
persons were killed by police in Rio de Janeiro State during the year.
    The Sao Paulo State Secretariat for Public Security (SPS)reported 
that Sao Paulo police (civil and military) killed 328 civilians in the 
first six months of the year, compared with 178 during the same period 
of 2005; off-duty policemen were responsible for 31 of the killings.
    Incidents of police shootings in Sao Paulo that resulted in deaths 
were concentrated in poor neighborhoods at the periphery of the greater 
metropolitan area. The sharp increase in police attacks occurred 
between May and August in response to gang violence and prison riots 
that overtook the city.
    The prison-based organized crime group, the First Capital Command 
or Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), organized a series of armed 
attacks against law enforcement officials, police stations, buses, and 
bank agencies and organized riots that broke out simultaneously in 71 
state prisons. The police launched offensive sweeps in response to the 
PCC attacks. From May to August the PCC and the state's security forces 
engaged in a series of attacks, arrests and reprisals, including the 
assassination-styled killing of six off-duty prison guards at their 
homes, and the killing of 13 PCC suspects in a pre-emptive police 
operation. Elements of the PCC or prisoners killed 41 police officers 
and eight prison guards. Nine inmates were killed in the prison melees. 
Military and civil police engaged in several armed conflicts with 
alleged PCC gang members and killed more than 100 alleged PCC suspects.
    Human rights organizations claimed that police used excessive force 
and may have executed innocent victims. Several state agencies launched 
investigations into the killings, but the state police ombudsman's 
investigation was inconclusive. Early reports from the medical 
examiner's office indicated that a significant number of those killed 
by police appeared to have been shot while on their knees, suggesting 
street executions.
    In a preliminary report dated September 18, the Independent Special 
Commission for the Public Security Crisis of Sao Paulo State, 
consisting of various government human rights councils, the state 
public prosecutor's office, the police ombudsman, and civil society 
groups, determined that 493 persons were killed by gunfire in Sao Paulo 
State in May, during the 10-day PCC crime wave--nearly twice the 
average rate. The commission also cited a private analysis of 124 
autopsy reports, approximately the same number of suspects reportedly 
killed by police as cited widely in the press at the time-that 
concluded that 60 to 70 percent of the cases presented characteristics 
consistent with execution.
    According to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Justice 
(GJ), the main human rights' problem in Rio de Janeiro State was police 
violence and impunity. In many cases police officers employed 
indiscriminate lethal force during apprehensions. In some cases a 
person's death followed harassment and torture by law enforcement 
officials (see section 1.c.).
    Credible statistics from the Institute of Public Security (ISP) 
concluded that from January to June, police killed 520 persons in Rio 
de Janeiro City and 290 in Sao Paulo.
    Numerous credible reports indicated the continuing involvement of 
state police officials in revenge killings and the intimidation and 
killing of witnesses involved in testifying against police officials 
(see section 1.e.). There were also numerous killings of indigenous 
people, mostly related to land disputes (see section 5) and of rural 
activists and labor union organizers (see section 6.a.). Amnesty 
International (AI) and other credible sources indicated that these 
killings often occurred with the participation, knowledge, or 
acquiescence of state law enforcement officials.
    There were reliable reports of killings of government officials by 
those who had vested interests in the officials' professional 
activities. Six of the 10 suspects in the 2004 killing of four Labor 
Ministry inspectors in Unai, Minas Gerais State, remained in jail 
pending trial. The officials had been investigating slave labor 
practices at local farms. In July one of the two men suspected of 
ordering the killing, Anterio Manica, was arrested. The other suspect, 
Norberto Manica, the elected Mayor of Unai, was placed in protective 
custody in July and released on November 28. Prosecution remained 
pending at the end of the year.
    In Rio de Janeiro, NGOs including AI and GJ called for the Military 
Police's Special Operations Battalion or BOPE to stop using caveiroes 
(special armored vehicles). AI received reports of caveiroes driving 
into communities and firing at random. According to AI, residents 
reported that from May to September 2005, 11 deaths in Rio de Janeiro's 
favelas (shantytowns) were linked to the caveiroes in Manguinhos, 
Jacarezinho, and Acari--five on a single day. However, due to the 
anonymity that the vehicle gives, no police officers were tried for an 
incident involving a caveirao.
    On March 2, authorities in Pernambuco State removed from duty 13 
military police officers on charges that they tortured 14 adolescents, 
two of whom died. According to the survivors, military police stopped 
them, beat them with night sticks, forced them into a police vehicle 
and transported them to the Coelho neighborhood where they were 
tortured under a viaduct and thrown into the river. Twelve swam to the 
river's edge and two drowned: Diogo Rosendo Ferreira and Zinael Jose 
Souza Silva.
    On July 17, men near a caveirao shot and killed Sergio Bezerra do 
Nascimento, as he was walking to work in Favela Acari. The head of the 
homicide division confirmed that two armored vehicles were operating in 
the area at the time of the killing but did not confirm any connection 
to the shooting.
    According to the Communications Section of the Military Police 
Department, only eight officers in the case of 11 military police 
arrested on suspicion of involvement in at least 26 killings over three 
years as part of a death squad in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, 
remained in jail at the end of the year. The investigation was ongoing 
and all involved were still awaiting trial.
    Death squads with links to law enforcement officials carried out 
many killings, in some cases with police participation. The National 
Human Rights Secretariat reported that death squads operated in 13 
states. Credible, locally based human rights groups reported the 
existence of organized death squads linked to police forces that 
targeted suspected criminals and persons considered problematic by land 
owners or ``undesirable'' in almost all states.
    On November 21, the Supreme Court released 17 persons (mostly 
police) accused of being members of a death squad in Curitiba, Parana. 
The group spent almost five years in jail and was released because the 
prosecutors had not formalized the accusations. While the group was 
accused of a number of killings, robberies, arms trafficking, and drug 
trafficking, the court ruled that holding them in prison without 
charges was a human rights violation.
    In August a court convicted and sentenced to 543 years' 
imprisonment a policeman accused for participating in the March 2005 
military police death squad operation in the Baixada Fluminense 
neighborhood near Rio de Janeiro City that killed 29 persons in drive-
by shootings. Ten other police officers were arrested in April 2005, 
but only four remained in jail awaiting trial. In October a military 
policeman cooperating with the investigation was shot to death, a 
killing that police interpreted as an effort to intimidate those 
investigating the case. On November 28, the leader of the military 
police group, Marcos Siqueira da Costa, was stabbed eight times inside 
his cell.
    On their ``Map of Violence 2006'' the Organization for Ibero-
American States (OEI) listed Brazil as number one out of 65 countries 
in killings by firearms, and number three out of 84 countries for 
killings by homicide.
    AI reported that criminal gangs and drug factions controlled some 
favelas, particularly in the city of Rio de Janeiro, through 
intimidation and violence. Lynching was common, especially against 
those accused of rape or other crimes that went unpunished in these 
communities due to the absence of state security agents. There were 
killings by vigilante groups who invaded prisons.
    Organized crime attacks against police and civilian targets in Rio 
de Janeiro City in the four days before New Year's Eve left at least 18 
dead and 32 injured, including police, bystanders, and suspects. In one 
attack, gunmen surrounded and torched an interstate bus with 28 
persons, killing seven. Official reports differed on the cause. The 
newspaper O Globo reported that various criminal factions coordinated 
the attacks in reaction to clandestine militias formed by police agents 
to expel them. O Globo claimed state penitentiary officials had 
evidence the attacks were in preparation for more than two months.
    The State Ombudsman of the Police report indicated that ``unknown 
authorities perpetrated'' 82 execution-style killings in Sao Paulo 
State.
    There were no new developments in the case of former military 
police lieutenant colonel Waldir Coppetti Neves and five other military 
police officers, arrested in April 2005, for creating a paramilitary 
group to target landless rural workers in Parana State. They were 
released a few days later but were no longer working for the police. 
The trial was pending at the end of the year.
    In February the Sao Paulo State Appellate Court absolved retired 
Military Police Colonel Ubiratan Guimaraes in the 1992 Carandiru Prison 
massacre; in 2001 he had been found responsible for 102 inmate deaths 
and was sentenced to 632 years in prison. He was freed pending the 
appeal but was killed in October.
    There were developments in the July 2005 killings of four youths in 
separate municipalities of the greater Rio de Janeiro City of Baixada 
Fluminense. Leonardo Andre de Tulio and Claudio Andre de Tulio were 
found dead in Duque de Caxias, and the burned bodies of two other 
adolescents, Carlos Alberto Ferreira de Paula and Davi dos Santos 
Matias, were later discovered in Xerem. Investigators were 
investigating a possible link between these killings and the killing of 
Matias' sister, allegedly by local drug traffickers, two weeks earlier. 
The chief of police in charge of the investigation stated that two of 
the victims had nothing to do with drug trafficking and indicated that 
evidence showed that a businessman ordered the killings, which military 
policemen carried out. The case remained under investigation.
    There was no additional information on the civil and military 
police internal affairs investigations initiated in 2004 into cases of 
death squad activity in Guarulhos and Ribeirao Preto, both large cities 
in Sao Paulo State.
    According to the local Operational Support and Protection of Human 
Rights Center, only two of 23 officers determined to be involved in 
forming a death squad in Curitiba, Parana State, remained in jail. 
Civil, military, and former policemen were among those accused and 
charged with several crimes, including murder and gang formation. The 
two that remained in prison were Valmor Ferreira Portal and Nizion 
Ribeiro da Fonseca; the trial was pending.
    During the year the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) reported that 
from 31 rural workers were killed. From January to August 743 rural 
workers were imprisoned. The number imprisoned jumped from the previous 
year largely due to the radical Landless Freedom Movement's (MLST) 
invasion of the Chamber of Deputies.
    The Ombudsman's Office of the Ministry of Agrarian Development 
reported 78 rural killings during the year: seven as a direct result of 
land conflict, 25 determined to be unrelated to land conflicts, and 46 
under investigation. In 2005, 66 rural killings were reported, 14 of 
which were directly caused by land conflicts; 34 were determined 
unrelated to land conflicts, and 18 remained under investigation.
    In December 2005 a court convicted and sentenced two people in the 
February 2005 killings of Catholic nun Dorothy Mae Stang in Para State, 
who worked as an advocate for landless persons. On April 24, Amair 
``Tato'' Feijoli da Cunha, the middleman involved in the killing, was 
convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. During the trial, Cunha 
implicated Vitalmiro ``Bida'' Moura and Regivaldo Galvao in ordering 
the crime and providing the weapon. The Para State Justice Tribunal 
announced that Galvao would be tried by a Para State Tribunal jury and 
placed him in custody in April 2005, although he was released on June 
29; a date for his trial had not yet been announced.
    In February 2005 61-year-old environmentalist Dionisio Julio 
Ribeiro Junior was killed at his place of work, the Rio de Janeiro 
State ``Tingua'' biological reserve, near Rio de Janeiro City. Leonardo 
de Carvalho Marques, who confessed to the crime, later claimed that he 
was tortured by police and retracted his confession. In August a court 
acquitted him. The case remained open, and some allegedly corrupt 
employees were also under investigation in the case.
    In September 2005 state courts received testimony in the 2003 
killings of four Landless Movement (MST) members in Foz do Iguacu, 
Parana State. The accused were awaiting trial at year's end.
    There were no developments in the July 2005 killing of Catholic 
priest Paulo Henrique Keler Machado. On June 5, military police entered 
Favela Fazenda das Palmeiras and opened fire on suspected drug dealers. 
Gunshots exchanged between the drug dealers and the military police 
killed 17 children in a school caught in the crossfire.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances at the hands of government officials. However, in Sao 
Paulo the PCC (see section 1.a.) kidnapped a television journalist and 
a cameraman in August. Both were released unharmed within three days, 
but only after a major television outlet that employed the hostages 
aired a video-taped manifesto produced by the PCC. Uniformed and civil 
police involvement in extortion was widespread, throughout the country. 
Reports of police kidnapping for ransom was not a significant problem 
during the year.
    In August 2005 Rio de Janeiro State authorities arrested civil 
policeman Adamo Ricardo Fernandes for kidnapping a doctor from Resende, 
Rio de Janeiro. Investigations into four other alleged kidnappings 
involving Fernandes are ongoing. According to the chief of police of 
Resende. Fernandes was discharged from the civil police and was in jail 
pending trial.
    In December 2005 drug traffickers from the Favela Parada de Lucas, 
dressed in police uniforms, invaded Favela Vigario Geral and kidnapped, 
tortured, and killed eight young persons (15 to 24 years of age). One 
resident reported that police provided support for the drug 
traffickers. According to Rio de Janeiro's Security Secretariat, two 
drug traffickers were accused of committing the crime and were 
arrested. They were later released due to lack of evidence. The 
witnesses and victims did not appear during the first hearing with the 
judge.
    No further information was available regarding the 2004 case in 
which police arrested military policeman Anderson Goncalves Viana and 
his brother-in-law as suspects in the robbery of a building during 
which the occupants were held hostage.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits torture and provides severe 
legal penalties for its use, torture by police and prison guards 
remained a serious and widespread problem. Federal, state, and military 
police often enjoyed impunity in cases of torture, as in other cases of 
abuse (see section 1.e.).
    During 2005 the National Movement for Human Rights (MNDH), together 
with the Chamber of Deputies' Human Rights Commission, reported that 
police and prison guards were responsible for nearly 80 percent of the 
reported cases of torture and that most victims were young, poor, Afro-
Brazilian men from less-developed regions; it reported an average of 
150 cases per month.
    During the first half of the year, the Sao Paulo State Ombudsman's 
Office received 10 complaints of torture at the hands of police. The 
NGO Christian Association for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) received 
80 individual complaints of torture at the hands of police or prison 
officials between January and October. ACAT, and other government 
organizations generally defined torture narrowly according to the 1997 
Law Against Torture. ACAT's directors noted that reported incidents of 
``police aggression'' were far more numerous than those defined as 
torture. For example, ACAT investigated several complaints that police 
inflicted extreme physical harm on individuals in their homes during 
the course of criminal investigations and determined that these cases 
did not meet the legal definition of torture.
    ACAT also investigated several collective cases of torture in the 
Sao Paulo state prison system. In these collective cases, ACAT 
interviewed inmates complaining of similar abusive treatment at the 
hands of prison officials and then reported its findings to state 
authorities when there appeared to be a practice of abuse within that 
facility. In a report on the Nestor Camora Prison in Mirandopolis, ACAT 
interviewed 120 inmates with similar claims. ACAT issued a similar 
report based on 49 interviews at the Osiris Souza e Silva Prison at 
Getulina. ACAT's directors reported that complaints of torture in Sao 
Paulo's prisons spiked during periods of PCC-related conflicts and the 
related prison riots (see sec. 1.a).
    In January 2005 employees of Sao Paulo State's juvenile 
rehabilitations and detention system (FEBEM) reportedly beat and 
tortured inmates at the Vila Maria unit. Sixteen FEBEM employees were 
arrested and provisionally imprisoned, while seven evaded arrest; 55 
were indicted on charges of torture, failure to prevent torture, and 
related charges. Sao Paulo State authorities continued their 
investigation at year's end.
    In March the Parana State Secretary for Public Security opened an 
investigation into allegations that officials in the port city of 
Paranagua rounded up homeless persons from the streets, ostensibly to 
move them to a shelter, but instead tortured them and abandoned them on 
the streets. In October the Municipal Secretary for Public Security in 
Paranagua was arrested along with four municipal police officers for 
suspected torture of homeless persons.
    NGOs confirmed that police committed abuse and extortion directed 
against transvestite prostitutes in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Belo 
Horizonte, and Salvador.
    On June 26, President Lula created the Brazilian National Committee 
for the Prevention and Control of Torture, which is headed by the 
Minister of Human Rights, Paulo Vannuchi, a former political prisoner 
during the military dictatorship. The same day the Government launched 
a campaign against torture. The new committee is connected with the 
Special Secretariat on Human Rights in the Presidency and was to act in 
cooperation with international organizations and provide incentives for 
the implementation of its programs. The Committee was also to include 
academics, NGO representatives, and representatives of the Ministries 
of Justice and Foreign Relations.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
throughout the country often ranged from poor to extremely harsh and 
life threatening. During the year conditions in Sao Paulo's FEBEM 
prison and juvenile detention system reached critical stages, as the 
criminal justice system continued to sentence far more defendants to 
prison or detention each month than were released. Many inmates were 
kept beyond their sentences. At the outset of the year prisons in the 
state of Sao Paulo held nearly 127,000 adult inmates, which was 20 
percent above the design capacity of its prisons.
    Prison riots were frequent and violent and often occurred 
simultaneously, throughout the city. Half of the 141 prisons in Sao 
Paulo State erupted in simultaneous riots during the May PCC-led crime 
wave, and several other prison riots occurred in the state throughout 
the year that left inmates dead and large portions of the facilities 
destroyed. By mid-year Sao Paulo's governor declared 19 prison units 
uninhabitable following the worst of the riots, and in a July press 
interview he noted that approximately 12,000 inmates were living in 
``precarious'' conditions.
    In mid-June there were three simultaneous riots in Espiritu Santo 
State where the state government requested the assistance of federal 
troops. In one of the Espiritu Santo riots two persons were killed, one 
by decapitation, and 265 persons were taken hostage. At the same time 
in a riot in Rondonia state, 173 persons were held hostage.
    Prison officials often resorted to brutal treatment, including 
torture. Harsh or dangerous working conditions, official negligence, 
poor sanitary conditions, abuse and mistreatment by guards, and a lack 
of medical care led to a number of deaths in prisons (see section 
1.a.). Poor working conditions and low pay for prison guards encouraged 
widespread corruption.
    Severe overcrowding in prisons and police detention centers was 
prevalent and was worst in states with the largest prison populations, 
such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. According to the Ministry of 
Justice, there were 371,482 prisoners in a system designed to hold 
215,003, an overcrowding rate of more than 70 percent. Construction of 
new penitentiaries continued but was inadequate to alleviate 
overcrowding.
    Prisoners were subjected to unhealthy medical and sanitary 
conditions. Scabies and tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis were 
widespread in Sao Paulo State prisons. According to local NGOs, 
infectious diseases reached endemic levels. The HIV/AIDS infection rate 
among prisoners was between 20 and 30 percent. The Ministry of Health 
reported frequent incidence of skin infections, respiratory problems, 
HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis among the 
general prison population of Sao Paulo State. The Catholic Church's 
Ministry for the Incarcerated in Sao Paulo reported that in several of 
the city's police jails, most detainees suffered from skin or 
respiratory illnesses, and prison administration officials reported 
that many prisoners who transferred into the Sao Paulo penitentiary 
system became infected in police jails. Denial of first aid and other 
medical care sometimes was used as a form of punishment.
    In Sao Paulo's Araraquara prison, several sections of the facility 
were destroyed during a series of riots in May and June. In July prison 
officials squeezed 1,450 inmates into a 90-foot-square open-air yard 
with surrounding cells designed to hold 150 prisoners. Prison guards 
welded shut the doors to the yard, food was thrown over the wall, and 
medical supplies ran short. The conditions at Araraquara were raised in 
a September 30 resolution of the Inter-American Court on Human Rights 
(IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS). The IACHR 
determined that the conditions at Araraquara posed a risk to the 
health, integrity, and lives of inmates and those conditions could 
provoke violence. In August the SAP began moving inmates to other 
facilities under court order.
    Overcrowding, poor conditions, prisoner riots, drug abuse, and 
accusations of sexual abuse and torture, continued to pervade Sao 
Paulo's FEBEM system. In April a riot at a facility in the Tatuape 
FEBEM complex resulted in injuries to 44 employees and 18 juvenile 
detainees. Sao Paulo's government dismantled the facility transferred 
most of the juveniles to modern facilities reducing the population from 
1,200 to 250. A prosecutor opened investigations into three cases and 
reported that the youths suffered bruising over their entire bodies 
consistent with physical abuse by officials or police. The State 
Assembly's Commission on Human Rights and MNDH lodged with the 
prosecutor additional complaints of abuses that occurred during the 
same riot; investigations were ongoing at the end of the year.
    On September 13, 14 current and former employees of FEBEM were 
sentenced to prison for the torture of 35 juvenile detainees in 2000 at 
the Raposo Tavares and Franco da Rocha facilities in Sao Paulo. The 
prosecutor stated that the defendants promoted the use of violence 
against detainees. The 35 victims were beaten with boards and metal 
bars. Two of the defendants were senior officials in the FEBEM system, 
and each was sentenced to 84 years in prison. Ten additional juvenile 
monitors were sentenced to 74 years and eight months each, and two 
facility directors were given sentences of two years and two months for 
the crime of omission.
    In March FEBEM began to close the complex at Tatuape, the site of 
abuses and conditions so serious that the OAS issued several statements 
and resolutions urging the state government to adopt reforms or risk 
sanctions. The detainee population at Tatuape was reduced from 1,200 to 
500.
    In October a Sao Paulo judge estimated that between 1 and 3 percent 
of juveniles detained in the FEBEM system, or approximately 500 
persons, had some form of mental illness but were not treated 
separately from the main populations. Riots and escapes continued to 
occur at FEBEM facilities, particularly during the first half of the 
year, and usually resulted in the deployment of Prison Authority and 
Military Police tactical shock units to quell the unrest and restore 
order.
    FEBEM officials stated that the state would build 45 new units 
designed to house 40 detainees each in 2007.
    After the IACHR denounced the prison conditions at the Polinter 
jail in November 2005, the jail was deactivated on January 30.
    In June Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report regarding the 
abuses and poor health and sanitary conditions in juvenile detention 
centers in Rio de Janeiro State. HRW found that in most cases the 
abusers were juvenile detention center guards, who were rarely 
punished. No juvenile detention center guard in Rio de Janeiro State 
has ever faced criminal charges for abusive conduct. Although Socio-
Educational Action (DEGASE) Director for Rio de Janeiro State Sergio 
Novo disputed the report's findings since some facilities had been 
repaired since HRW earlier investigations, HRW found that physical and 
mental abuse continued and that living conditions in some of the 
centers had worsened. During the year the Father Severino Institute 
(IPS) for incarcerated youth in the Ilha do Governador neighborhood in 
Rio de Janeiro City holds 368 minors in a facility designed to hold 
160.
    The Center for Specialized Treatment of Juveniles (CAJE) in 
Brasilia, Federal District, held 294 youths in a facility designed to 
hold 196. The staff included 17 guards, two doctors, a nurse, a 
psychiatrist, 13 psychologists, 46 social assistants, and some 
teachers. Of the total number of detainees, 11 females were held in 
separate living quarters. Local critics reported understaffing, 
violence, and unsatisfactory treatment of those with mental 
disabilities at CAJE. In February the IACHR published a report that 
criticized CAJE for its management of the facility, the illegal 
transfer of detainees, and poor hygiene and sanitary conditions. The 
IACHR advised CAJE to hire more security guards, improve health 
conditions, discontinue housing more than 40 detainees per unit, and 
separate detainees based upon the seriousness of their crimes.
    Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states provided separate prison 
facilities for women; elsewhere, women were held with men in some 
facilities. Male officers, who served in women's prisons, often abused 
and extorted the prisoners for sexual favors. The administrative 
director for the Secretariat for Sao Paulo City Administration reported 
that approximately 5 percent of prison guards in women's prisons were 
men. In only two Rio de Janeiro State police districts were women held 
in gender-segregated, short-term jail facilities.
    Sao Paulo State made improvements to its women's prisons during the 
year. Reconstruction of parts of the Women's Prison at Sant'Ana, within 
metropolitan Sao Paulo, included a state-of-the-art kitchen facility 
and new privacy rooms and equipment for visitor searches. Several 
businesses established enterprises within the prison where inmates 
earned money and credit against their sentence for each day worked, and 
the women were able to acquire machinery, piecework, and assembly 
skills. A school within the prison also provided rudimentary education, 
and the prison at Sant'Ana was generally maintained at or below its 
designed population capacity.
    On occasion juveniles were held together with adults. In March 2005 
authorities temporarily transferred 400 FEBEM detainees to the adult 
prison facility at Tupi Paulista in Sao Paulo State.
    While authorities attempted to hold pretrial detainees separately 
from convicted prisoners, overcrowding often required holding convicted 
criminals in pretrial detention facilities.
    On October 18, the IACHR sent a letter to the Government asking it 
to protect ``the life and health of those deprived of liberty'' due to 
the jail conditions in Niteroi. The IACHR criticized the federal as 
well as the state governments for the deplorable conditions and urged 
the Government to reduce the population and provide medical attention, 
water, and light to the inmates. The case was brought against the 
Government by the Association for Prison Reform (ARP), GJ, Torture 
Never Again Group (Grupo Tortura Nunca Mais), Association of Public 
Defenders for Rio de Janeiro State, and Violence Analysis Laboratory of 
the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). The commission 
ordered the Government to take measures to protect life, health, and 
physical integrity in the prison. It also ordered prisoner transfers, 
substantially reducing the overpopulation, providing proportional 
medical care particularly to those with serious health issues, 
exhaustively investigating the claims of human rights abuses including 
identifying those responsible and coordinating compliance of these 
actions with the organizations that reported the situation.
    It is government policy to permit prison visits by independent 
human rights observers, and state prison authorities generally followed 
this policy in practice. Ministry of Justice officials offered full 
cooperation to AI, which reported no significant problems in gaining 
access to state-run prison facilities. GJ reported that the level of 
access to prison facilities varied from state to state. In Sao Paulo 
and Rio de Janeiro states, GJ found it difficult to gain access, 
especially in the Ary Franco and Agua Santa prisons. Sao Paulo State 
also employed committees of community leaders to monitor prison 
conditions. The Catholic Church's ministry for the incarcerated in Sao 
Paulo reported occasional difficulties in entering prisons. Sao Paulo 
State, like Parana and Rio Grande do Sul states, also had a prison 
ombudsman program. According to a former state ombudsman, the prison 
system was understaffed, and the investigators of complaints were often 
the accused perpetrators.
    In October human rights advocates in Sao Paulo State, including 
those who sit on a state governmental council, complained that the 
state government would no longer permit them entrance to FEBEM 
facilities for inspections or to meet with detainees. This followed 
remarks made by the governor in April in which he accused ``external 
groups,'' who ostensibly work to promote human rights, of agitating 
juvenile detainees and inciting them to riot. Further, in May human 
rights groups alleged that the investigation by Sao Paulo State Civil 
Police (the primary investigative police force for the state) of 
Conceicao Paganele, the President of the Association of Mothers of 
FEBEM Detainees (AMAR), amounted to persecution. The groups alleged 
that Paganele was being harassed because of her involvement in the OAS 
investigations. Press reports quoted the civil police as suggesting she 
was suspected of forming a gang, facilitating the escape of detainees, 
and inciting crimes.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, police continued at times to arrest and 
detain persons arbitrarily. The law limits arrests to those caught in 
the act of committing a crime or those arrested by order of a judicial 
authority.
    During the year cases of arbitrary arrest or detention across Sao 
Paulo State focused on the waves of violence orchestrated by the 
prison-based criminal organization PCC (see section 1.a.). During the 
10-day period, May 12-22, which represented the most intense period of 
violence, the state Secretariat of Public Security reported arresting 
125 persons suspected of involvement in the hundreds of firearm and 
homemade bomb attacks across the state, but details were not 
forthcoming about their subsequent incarceration or about what charges 
if any were filed and what prosecutions were pursued.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal police 
force, operating under Ministry of Justice oversight, is small, 
primarily investigative, and plays a minor role in routine law 
enforcement. Most police forces fall under the control of the states, 
where they are divided into two distinct units: the civil police are 
plainclothes officers with an investigative role, while the military 
police are the uniformed officers charged with maintaining order. 
Although the individual state governments control their respective 
military police forces, the constitution provides that they can be 
called into active military service in the event of an emergency, and 
they maintained some military characteristics and privileges, including 
a separate judicial system (see section 1.e.).
    On February 2, the Rio de Janeiro State Ombudsman's Office released 
a report that showed that of 8,330 military and civilian police accused 
of being involved in some type of crime, only 16 were fired. Of the 
8,330 police accused, none were exonerated. The ombudsman's office also 
reported that 15 to 20 percent of all police officers had formal 
complaints filed against them. Among the complaints were excessive 
violence, extortion, abuse of power, and not doing police work.
    On December 15, in Muquico, a favela in Rio de Janeiro's Northern 
Zone, federal police arrested 75 military police suspected of being 
involving in drug trafficking, 40 of which belonged to a single crime 
organization. The federal police indicated that at least 450 military 
police were suspected of being in collusion with traffickers.
    On February 7, the Organized Crime Repression Unit indicted 24 
persons, including 17 law enforcement officers, for their involvement 
in the ``Slot Machine Mafia'' in the West Zone of Sao Paulo city.
    On March 6, the army occupied nine Rio de Janeiro favelas with more 
than 1,500 armed soldiers in search of stolen arms; a 16-year-old boy 
was killed in the crossfire. By March 12, citizens organized protests 
claiming excessive use of force.
    In August the first of 11 military policeman accused of 
participating in the March 2005 massacre of 29 persons was convicted 
and sentenced to 543 years in prison (see section 1.a). The massacre 
was seen as a response to a government initiative ``Dagger in the 
Flesh'' to address police corruption and killings. In October a 
military policeman cooperating with the investigation was shot to 
death; police suspected that other officers killed him in an attempt to 
intimidate public attorneys investigating this case.

    Arrest and Detention.--With the exception of arrests of suspects 
caught in the act, arrests must be made with a warrant. The use of 
force during an arrest is prohibited unless the suspect attempts to 
escape or resists arrest. Suspects must be advised of their rights at 
the time of the arrest or before being taken into custody for 
interrogation.
    Although warrants generally were based on sufficient evidence and 
issued by a judge, the NGOs MNDH and GJ reported that, at times, 
warrants were issued arbitrarily, depending on the judge and the region 
of the country. GJ also reported that, in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo 
states, public and NGOs pressure caused many judges to stop issuing 
``collective'' search and arrest warrants that permitted the police to 
search entire neighborhoods in poor areas.
    The authorities generally respected the constitutional right to a 
prompt judicial determination of the legality of detention. Detainees 
generally were informed promptly of the charges against them. The law 
permits provisional detention for up to five days under specified 
conditions during a police investigation, but a judge may extend this 
period. A judge may also order temporary detention for an additional 
five days for paperwork processing. Preventive detention for an initial 
period of 15 days is permitted if the police have indications that a 
suspect may leave the area. This can be renewed under specific 
circumstances. Occasionally detainees--typically poor and uneducated--
were held longer than the provisional period.
    In criminal cases defendants arrested in the act of committing a 
crime must be charged within 30 days of their arrest. Other defendants 
must be charged within 45 days, although this period could be extended. 
In practice the backlog in the courts almost always resulted in 
extending the period for charging defendants.
    Bail was available for most crimes, and defendants facing charges 
on all but the most serious crimes had the right to a bail hearing.
    In general prison authorities allowed detainees prompt access to a 
lawyer, and if indigent, to one provided by the state. Detainees were 
also allowed prompt access to family members.
    Human rights observers stated that civil and uniformed police 
regularly detained persons illegally to extort money or favors. Between 
January and June the Sao Paulo State Ombudsman's Office received 17 
complaints of extortion, compared with 23 complaints during the same 
period in 2005.
    As of June the Ministry of Justice reported that nationwide 102,958 
of 371,482 detainees in prisons and jails awaited sentencing. An 
additional 60,792 were detained in jails. The law provides for a 
maximum number of days for pretrial detention, but the period was 
usually extended because of individual circumstances.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice; however, the judiciary was underfunded, 
inefficient, and often subject to intimidation and political and 
economic influences, particularly at the state level, a situation that 
occasioned vigilante action (see section 1.a.). A number of senior 
judges remained under investigation nationwide on a variety of charges.
    Although the law requires that trials be held within a set period 
of time from the date of the crime, the nationwide backlog in state and 
federal cases frequently led courts to dismiss old cases unheard.
    The judicial system ranges from courts of first instance and 
appeals to the Federal Supreme Court. States organize their own 
judicial systems within the federal system and must adhere to the basic 
principles of the constitution. There are specialized courts for 
police, military, labor, election, juvenile, and family matters.

    Trial Procedures.--The right to a fair public trial as provided by 
law generally was respected in practice, although in some regions--
particularly in rural areas--the judiciary was less professionally 
capable and more subject to external influences. Similarly, when cases 
involved gunmen hired by landowners to kill land activists or rural 
union activists, local police often were less diligent in 
investigating, prosecutors were reluctant to initiate proceedings, and 
judges found reasons to delay (see section 1.a.).
    After an arrest, the chief judicial officer reviews the case, 
determines whether it should proceed, and, if so, assigns it to a state 
prosecutor who decides whether to issue an indictment. The law 
recognizes the competence of a jury to hear cases involving capital 
crimes. Judges try those accused of lesser crimes.
    Defendants have the right to confront and question witnesses, enjoy 
a presumption of innocence, and have a right to appeal. At the 
appellate level, a large case backlog hindered the courts' ability to 
ensure fair and expeditious trials. Any defendant sentenced to 20 or 
more years in prison has the right to an automatic retrial.
    While the law provides for the right to counsel, the Ministry of 
Justice estimated that 85 percent of prisoners could not afford an 
attorney. In such cases the court had to provide a public defender or 
private attorney at public expense. In February the National Council of 
Justice (CNJ) requested that the President restructure the public 
defender system, which had only 111 positions when its workload 
required 1,200.
    A report by the CNJ in February showed that the average number of 
cases per state judge nationwide was more than 3,000, but in Sao Paulo 
State the number was more than 9,000.
    There continued to be numerous credible reports of state police 
officials' involvement in intimidation and killing of witnesses 
involved in testifying against police officials (see section 1.a.).
    The law mandates that special police courts exercise jurisdiction 
over state uniformed (military) police except those charged with 
``willful crimes against life,'' primarily homicide. In all but the 
most egregious cases, police tribunals decided whether or not the 
killing was willful. As a result the civilian courts received very few 
case referrals involving police killings. The special police courts are 
separate from the courts-martial of the armed forces, except for the 
final appeals court. There were few convictions in these courts. Police 
were reluctant to investigate fellow officers (see section 1.d.).
    Police officers accused of crimes less serious than willful murder 
are prosecuted in special military tribunals. Civilian courts have 
jurisdiction over police murder, but the requirement that the initial 
investigation be carried out by police internal affairs officers 
increased the potential for long-languishing investigations (see 
section 1.e.). The police themselves were often responsible for 
investigating charges of torture carried out by fellow police officers. 
The problem remained most pervasive at the state level. Long delays in 
the special military police courts allowed many cases of torture and 
lesser charges to expire due to statutes of limitations (see section 
1.e.).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners, although the Landless Movement (MST) claimed that 
its members jailed in connection with land disputes were political 
prisoners.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While the justice system 
provides for an independent civil judiciary, courts were overburdened 
with significant backlogs, and sometimes could be subject to 
corruption, political influence, and intimidation. Citizens have access 
to bring lawsuits before the courts for human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but there were reports 
that the police conducted searches without a warrant. NGOS and human 
rights groups, such as AI, reported frequent incidents of violent 
police invasions in favelas and poor neighborhoods. During these 
operations the police stopped and questioned persons and searched cars, 
residences, and business establishments without a warrant. Victims 
reported searches without warrants and abusive and violent searches of 
women. Wiretaps authorized by judicial authority were permitted. The 
inviolability of private correspondence generally was respected.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the authorities generally respected these 
rights in practice.
    Privately owned newspapers, magazines, and a growing number of 
online electronic publications vigorously reported and commented on 
government performance. Both the print and broadcast media routinely 
discussed controversial social and political issues and engaged in 
investigative reporting.
    Criminal as well as other elements, such as political party 
activists, subjected journalists to violence, sometimes specifically 
because of their professional activities.
    On October 31, Veja magazine accused the federal police of 
intimidating three of its journalists during testimony regarding leaks 
of restricted information regarding federal investigations. Federal 
police officials denied any intimidation or coercion against the 
journalists. An editorial in the newspaper Folha, titled ``Truculence 
Is Back,'' criticized the ``campaign to intimidate the free press and 
hamper the right of information".
    On November 8, journalist and newspaper editor Fausto Brites was 
sentenced by the state court in Mato Grosso do Sul to 10 years in 
prison for defamation. The charges were brought against him by 
Governor-elect Andre Puccinelli for accusations of corruption as mayor 
of Campo Grande. Brites appealed to a federal court, and the appeal was 
pending at year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--There were generally 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 electronic 
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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice. The 
Government required nonindigenous persons, including missionaries, to 
seek permission from the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) for entry 
into indigenous lands.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--According to the country's 
Israeli Confederation, there were approximately 160,000 members of the 
Jewish community: 35,000 in Rio de Janeiro City, 29,000 in Sao Paulo 
City, and smaller communities in Porto Alegre, Bahia, Belem, and 
Manaus. During the year there were signs of increasing violence against 
Jews. Leaders in the Jewish community expressed concern over the 
continued appearance of anti-Semitic graffiti, harassment, vandalism, 
and threats via telephone and e-mail.
    In May 2005 four skinheads were arrested and charged with attempted 
murder, gang formation, and racism for attacking three Jewish students 
in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State. During the investigations, 
the police identified a second group, with fascist orientation that 
participated in the attacks. Eventually, an additional 10 persons were 
arrested and charged with three crimes: attempted homicide, gang 
formation, and racism; one person under the age of 17 also was 
arrested. Testimony on their case began in May, but at year's end no 
trial had been scheduled.
    In March an anti-Semitic Web site, which had been closed by the 
Federal Public Ministry in April 2005, reopened. The site recorded more 
than 100,000 hits per month in the country and remained open for the 
duration of the year.
    On August 5, approximately six persons threw stones and two home-
made bombs at the synagogue of the Sociedade Israelita Brasileira Beth 
Jacob in Campinas (60 miles north of Sao Paulo), damaging the main 
entrance. Neighbors responded and extinguished the resulting fire. The 
attackers also painted ``Lebanon, the true Holocaust'' on the sidewalk 
outside. The case remained open at the end of the year with no 
suspects.
    Media reported that a Sao Paulo Jewish community leader received 
death threats in late July; police provided him personal protection. As 
was the case in the August 5 synagogue attack, both incidents appeared 
to be in reaction to the July-August conflict involving Israel and 
Lebanon.
    Thirteen neo-Nazi group members, arrested in October 2005 on 
charges of attempted murder and racism offenses, remained under 
preventive detention in Curitiba.
    The investigation in the 2004 defacing of the Congregation Beth 
Jacob synagogue in Campinas, Sao Paulo State, was closed during the 
year due to insufficient evidence.
    On April 24, Amair ``Tato'' Feijoli da Cunha, the middleman 
involved in the killing of Catholic nun Dorothy Mae Stang, who worked 
as an advocate for landless persons in Para State, was convicted and 
sentenced to 18 years in prison (see section 1.a.).
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice, although there 
were restrictions on entry into protected indigenous areas.
    On September 29, authorities confiscated the passports of two U.S. 
citizens, airplane pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino, following a 
plane crash. This sparked international condemnation by pilot 
associations. Neither pilot had been charged with a crime or permitted 
to leave the country for 71 days. Later a federal appellate court 
overturned a lower court decision and ordered the passports returned. 
The pilots returned to the United States on December 9.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not practiced.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government granted refugee status or asylum and 
resettled 3,271 refugees during the year. However, according to the 
National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), approximately 200,000 
immigrants lived clandestinely in the country, mostly in the Amazon. 
Although these 200,000 were considered illegal immigrants, a 
significant number of them had been displaced by conflicts, such as the 
FARC in Columbia or difficulties in their countries of origin.
    The Government also provided temporary protection to individuals 
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 
Protocol.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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. Military conscripts may not vote.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the October 29 national 
elections, PT candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a second four-
year term with almost 61 percent of the vote in the second-round 
runoff. The elections were considered generally free and fair. Election 
observers from nine countries and two international organizations 
observed first-round voting on October 1. Election observers from six 
countries and one international organization observed second-round 
voting on October 29.
    Women have full political rights. There were 10 women in the 81-
member Senate and 45 women in the 513-seat Chamber of Deputies. There 
were four women in the cabinet and one on the Supreme Court.
    There were 25 Afro-Brazilians among the 594 members of Congress. 
There were three members of minorities in the cabinet and one on the 
Federal Supreme Court.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Ethical behavior of public 
figures continued to be a major issue during the year. The NGO 
Transparency International's index indicated a serious and 
deteriorating perceived corruption problem.
    Corruption scandals involving alleged kickbacks and abuse of power 
at the Ministry of Health, Senate, and Chamber of Deputies affected the 
Government during the year. A congressional inquiry of taking kickbacks 
accused 69 federal deputies and three senators. On September 25, 
federal police indicted a former health minister on corruption charges. 
Senior members of the President's re-election campaign with close ties 
to the President resigned or were fired in mid-September over their 
involvement in an attempt to purchase and disseminate a dossier of 
ostensibly damaging information about a political opponent, and a 
congressional committee and the Superior Electoral Tribunal opened 
investigations that continued until year's end. President Lula spoke 
publicly against corruption in government.
    In February in Para State, former state judge Ana Tereza Sereni 
Murrieta was sentenced to 12 years in prison, pending appeal, for 
diverting judicial account money from 157 accounts in the amount of 
$1.4 million (three million reais).
    The law provides for public access to unclassified government 
information upon application to the Commission for Public Ethics; 
however, the bureaucratic process often slowed release of such 
information.
Section 4. 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. Federal officials 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views. Although federal 
and state officials in many cases sought the aid and cooperation of 
domestic and international NGOs in addressing human rights problems, 
human rights monitors occasionally were threatened and harassed for 
their efforts to identify and take action against human rights abusers, 
particularly by members of the state police forces.
    While most states had police ombudsmen (see section 1.c.), some 
NGOs and human rights observers questioned their independence and 
effectiveness. The ombudsmen's accomplishments varied dramatically, 
depending on such factors as funding and outside political pressure.
    The Chamber of Deputies also has a human rights commission that 
operated without interference and participated in several activities 
nationwide in coordination with domestic and international human rights 
organizations.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits and penalizes discrimination on the 
basis of race, gender, disability, or social status, discrimination 
against women, Afro-Brazilians, homosexuals, and indigenous people 
continued.

    Women.--The law prohibits domestic violence, and the Government 
took steps that specifically addressed violence against women and 
spousal abuse. Domestic violence remained both widespread and 
underreported; on August 7, President Lula signed the ``Law of Domestic 
and Family Violence.'' The law triples previous punishments for those 
convicted of such crimes and also creates special courts in all states 
to preside over these cases. It is also the first official codification 
of domestic violence crimes.
    UN Special Rapporteur Leandro Despouy noted a tendency to blame the 
victims of these offenses. According to government officials and NGO 
workers, the majority of criminal complaints regarding domestic 
violence were suspended inconclusively.
    The Government acted to combat violence against women. Each state 
secretariat for public security operated delegacias da mulher (DEAM). 
These police stations are dedicated exclusively to addressing crimes 
against women. The quality of services varied widely, and availability 
was particularly limited in isolated areas. The stations provided 
psychological counseling, temporary shelter, hospital treatment for 
victims of domestic violence and rape (including treatment for HIV and 
other sexually transmitted diseases). The stations also provided 
assistance to prosecution of criminal cases by investigating and 
forwarding evidence to the courts. According to the Ministry of 
Justice, while many of the DEAMs fell far short of standards and lacked 
strategies to protect victims after the reports were filed, they 
nevertheless served to raise public awareness of crimes against women.
    In July the first DEAM in Rio de Janeiro reported that it 
registered 22 complaints daily. The DEAM noticed an increase in violent 
cases reported from 5,169 in 2001 to 8,049 in 2005. In March the 
Women's Station in the Federal District reported 4,561 violent cases 
reported in 2005, representing a 12.5 percent increase from the year 
before. During the year, the DEAMs registered a total of 16,564 
complaints in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Edna Araujo, Chief and 
Coordinator for Police Affairs, reported that the large increase in 
comparison to 2005 was due to the increase in number of new DEAMs 
opened during the year.
    On January 31, hundreds of women in Recife demonstrated, protesting 
against violence against women. More than 36 women were killed in the 
city during January.
    The city of Rio de Janeiro, through its Favela Bairro program, 
offered temporary housing to women and children who were victims of 
sex-related crimes.
    The federal government continued to operate a toll-free hotline to 
address complaints of violence against women. The law requires health 
facilities to contact the police regarding cases in which a woman was 
harmed physically, sexually, or psychologically.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime punishable by eight to 10 
years' imprisonment; however, men who killed, sexually assaulted, or 
committed other crimes against women were unlikely to be brought to 
trial.
    While adult prostitution is legal, various associated activities, 
such as operating a brothel, are illegal. While no specific laws 
address sex tourism, it is punishable under other criminal offenses, 
such as pedophilia and corruption of minors. The Government released a 
``code of conduct to combat sex tourism and sexual exploitation'' and 
conducted campaigns in the most affected areas. The states of 
Pernambuco, Espirito Santo, Amazonas and Parana and the Federal 
District enacted laws requiring certain businesses to display signs 
listing the penalties for having intercourse with a minor. Rio de 
Janeiro and Bahia states had previously enacted similar legislation. 
Women's groups reported that prostitutes encountered discrimination 
when seeking free medical care. Trafficking of women for the purpose of 
prostitution was a serious problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment is a criminal offense, punishable by up to two 
years in jail. The law encompasses sexual advances in the workplace or 
in educational institutions and between service providers or clients. 
In the workplace it applies only in hierarchical situations, where the 
harasser is of higher rank or position than the victim. Although the 
legislation exists and was enforced, accusations remained rare, and the 
extent of the problem was not documented.
    Women enjoy the same legal rights as men. A cabinet-level office, 
the Secretariat for Women's Affairs, oversees a special secretariat 
that has responsibility to ensure the legal rights of women. Although 
the law prohibits discrimination based on gender in employment and 
wages, there were significant wage disparities between men and women. 
On November 21, the World Economic Forum released a study indicating 
that the country had virtually eradicated gender differences in 
education and health treatment but that women still lagged behind in 
salaries and political influence. According to the Labor and Employment 
Ministry, women were paid 30 percent less than men. In 2005 UN Special 
Rapporteur Despouy noted a strikingly low level of women's 
representation in the judicial system, where women occupied ``only 5 
percent of the top posts in the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's 
Office.''
    The law provides 120 days of paid maternity leave to women and 
seven days to men. The law also prohibits employers from requiring 
applicants or employees to take pregnancy tests or present 
sterilization certificates, but some employers sought sterilization 
certificates from female job applicants or tried to avoid hiring women 
of childbearing age. Violations of the law are punishable by jail terms 
for employers of up to two years, while the company may be fined 10 
times the salary of its highest-paid employee.

    Children.--The Government continued its commitment to children's 
rights and welfare, but millions of children suffered from the poverty 
afflicting their families, worked to survive, and failed to get an 
education. The law provides that children age six and under receive 
free daycare and schooling, which is also free and compulsory between 
the ages of seven and 14. On February 6, President Lula approved 
legislation changing the duration of obligatory primary education from 
eight years to nine years by 2010. Between the ages of 15 and 17 
education is free but not compulsory. Schooling was available in all 
parts of the country, although not every school had space for every 
child who wanted to attend. Girls and boys attended school in 
comparable numbers, although a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) report 
indicated that a higher percentage of boys than of girls were not in 
school.
    While it recorded generally high vaccination and immunization rates 
for one-year-olds, UNICEF noted that the child mortality rate (at 29 
per 1,000 live births) remained ``disproportional to national 
production capacity and available technology.'' According to Human 
Rights Watch, girls often lacked basic medical care and had fewer 
opportunities than boys to receive exercise, recreation, and 
participate in other activities. NGOs believed that the actual 
mortality rate was much higher in poorer areas due to this registration 
problem.
    While the law prohibits subjecting any child or adolescent to any 
form of negligence or abuse, such abuse was a major problem. According 
to the Special Secretariat for Human Rights' Infancy and Adolescence 
Information System, physical and psychological aggression was a major 
problem, with more than 29,000 complaints recorded in this category. 
Allegations of abuse of minors and prosecution of crimes against 
children were not pursued adequately or aggressively. In February 2005 
UN Special Rapporteur Despouy reported ``a strong sense of impunity for 
crimes against children and young persons,'' mainly in the areas of 
death squad killings and sexual exploitation and abuse.
    The legal minimum age for marriage of men and women is 18; those 16 
and 17 can marry with parental consent. Underage marriage was not a 
significant problem.
    Extreme poverty was the primary contributor to child prostitution. 
On March 20, an investigation was released by the University of 
Brasilia, the National Secretariat for Human Rights, and UNICEF found 
commercial sex involving children and adolescents in 927 of 5,561 
municipalities. The majority of these cases occurred in the Northeast 
(31 percent of cases nationwide), but all areas of the country had 
reported incidents.
    In May the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies 
denounced a child prostitution network in Para State with involvement 
of two aldermen of the area, Roberto Alan de Souza Costa and Adson de 
Azevedo Mesquita. Also suspect was the son of the mayor of Portel, 
Roberto Lobato da Cruz. The commission recommended their removal from 
public office. There are accusations by the local chapter of the 
national bar association that the police were complicit. A formal trial 
was pending.
    During the year there were 248 cases of sexual abuse cases 
involving minors in Pernambuco State. According to the National 
Secretariat for Human Rights, other states recorded the following 
number of reports of sexual abuse during the year: Sao Paulo, 487; Rio 
de Janeiro, 348; Rio Grande do Sul, 249; and Minas Gerais, 407.
    On February 21, federal police participated in an international 
operation involving 30 countries aimed at disrupting pedophilia on the 
Internet.
    At year's end Anderson Luis Juliano Borges Costa, who was arrested 
in July 2005 in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro State, on charges of 
sexually abusing more than 20 children, remained in jail pending trial.
    On October 26, Franciso Chagas, thought to be the country's worst 
serial killer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing one of 
42 boys. Police arrested Chagas in 2003 on charges of molesting, 
murdering, and mutilating the boys in the northwestern states of 
Maranhao and Para.
    Trafficking in children for the purpose of prostitution was a 
serious problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor remained a problem (see section 6.d.).
    A July 2005 study by the Institute of Applied Economic Policy 
reported that more than 100,000 children and adolescents were living in 
public shelters. The leading causes for displaced children were 
poverty, abandonment, domestic violence, and drug abuse by parents or 
guardians. The IPEA report also revealed that in more than half of the 
cases, children were living in shelters due to the parent's belief that 
the child would receive better care there than at home.
    The city of Rio de Janeiro operated 38 shelters and group homes for 
street children. The Sao Paulo City government runs several programs 
for street children, including a number of shelters for minors and the 
Sentinel Program, which identifies at-risk youth and provides social 
services, counseling, and shelter. The primary program to assist child 
victims of commercial sexual exploitation is the Sentinel Program, 
which establishes local reference centers to provide victims with 
psychological, social, and legal services, and raises awareness through 
informational campaigns, workshops, and partnerships

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law criminalizes all forms of 
trafficking, persons were trafficked from, within, and, to a lesser 
extent, to the country.
    In June the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that 
Brazilian women were among the primary victims of international 
trafficking entering the sex industry in Europe. Women were trafficked 
from all parts of the country. The Government reported that trafficking 
routes existed in all states and the Federal District. Predominantly 
young women and girls were trafficked overseas for prostitution, 
although in October federal police disrupted an international 
transvestite trafficking ring recruiting out of three states. Young men 
and boys were primarily trafficked internally as slave laborers.
    Although comprehensive government statistics on the problem were 
unavailable, authorities estimated that thousands of women and 
adolescents were trafficked, both domestically and internationally, for 
commercial sexual exploitation. NGOs estimated that 75,000 women and 
girls, many of them trafficked, were engaged in prostitution in 
neighboring South American countries, the United States, and Western 
Europe.
    Internal trafficking of rural workers into forced labor schemes was 
a serious problem, while trafficking from rural to urban areas occurred 
to a lesser extent. According to the International Labor Organization 
(ILO), an estimated 25,000 victims, mostly men, were trafficked within 
the country or forced into agricultural labor. Union leaders claimed 
that nearly all persons working as forced laborers had been trafficked 
by labor recruiters (see section 6.c.). Labor inspectors found a small 
number of persons from other countries trafficked to work in urban 
sweatshops. Labor recruiters generally recruited laborers from small 
municipalities in the North and Northeast and transported the recruits 
long distances to ranches and plantations in remote areas in the 
central part of the country. Most internally trafficked slave laborers 
originated from Maranhao and Piaui states, while Para and Mato Grosso 
states received the highest number of internally trafficked slave 
laborers.
    Internal trafficking supplied forced labor, primarily from urban to 
rural areas, for agricultural work and commercial sexual exploitation. 
This typically occurred when employers recruited laborers from poor, 
rural towns and transported them to remote areas where escape was 
difficult. Workers then were obliged to toil in brutal conditions until 
they were able to repay inflated debts. Sex tourism existed throughout 
the country but was most apparent in coastal resort towns in the 
Northeast, South, and Southeast, and such major tourist destinations as 
Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, Ceara, as well as in the popular fishing 
areas of the Patanal and Amazon.
    According to the Reference Center on Children and Adolescents 
(CECRIA), patterns of sexual exploitation of children corresponded to 
the distinct economic and social profiles of the country's regions. In 
the Amazon region, sexual exploitation of children took place in 
brothels that catered to mining settlements. In large urban centers, 
girls who left home to escape abuse or sexual exploitation often 
prostituted themselves on the streets to survive. In the cities along 
the northeast coast, sexual tourism exploiting children was prevalent 
and involved networks of travel agents, hotel workers, taxi drivers, 
and others who actively recruited children and trafficked them outside 
the country. A study by the University of Brasilia found that 398 of 
the 1,514 tourist destinations frequented by citizens had an active 
sexual commercial market for children and adolescents.
    Child prostitution also developed in the areas served by the 
country's navigable rivers, particularly in ports and at international 
borders. NGOs estimated that approximately 500,000 children were 
involved in prostitution.
    CECRIA found that the typical sex trafficking victims were darker-
skinned women between 15 and 27 years of age, but researchers also 
noted the presence of adolescent boys as victims, some of whom worked 
as transvestites. Persons exploited in trafficking schemes typically 
came from low-income families and usually had not finished high school. 
Traffickers often lured victims with promises of lucrative work as 
dancers or models in Europe; beauty contest winners were cited as 
common targets. Girls were recruited at clubs and modeling agencies or 
through the Internet, want ads, mail-order bride schemes, and maid and 
au pair services. Most women who were trafficked internationally were 
older than 18, but younger victims were also trafficked with falsified 
documents.
    Police officials believed that some women who were recruited by 
trafficking organizations understood that they were to work as 
prostitutes, but they did not know about working conditions and their 
prospective earnings. In other cases women were told that they would 
work as nannies or domestics. Upon arrival, the victims' passports 
often were confiscated, and they were forced to prostitute themselves 
and live in virtual confinement. In addition to threatening physical 
violence, traffickers often used debt and isolation to control the 
victims. Trafficking in persons was linked to international networks of 
crime, including drugs and arms trafficking and money laundering.
    The law establishes a penalty of up to eight years' imprisonment 
for internal or external trafficking in persons for the purposes of 
prostitution; sentences may be increased up to 12 years when violence, 
threats, or deception are involved. The law requires the permission or 
presence of both parents for children to leave the country; it also 
prohibits children from leaving the country with a foreigner unless the 
authorities grant prior approval. Laws on trafficking for sexual 
exploitation were difficult to enforce, particularly in relation to 
domestic trafficking.
    Violators of antitrafficking laws rarely received criminal 
penalties because of the limitations of the statutes. According to the 
National Secretariat of Justice, seven individuals were sentenced for 
trafficking in persons during the year; however, through one single 
process in Rio Grande do Norte a trafficking gang of 14 persons were 
convicted as follows: two persons for international and internal 
trafficking in persons, five for internal trafficking in persons, and 
the other seven for related crimes such as money laundering and 
criminal association.
    Federal police launched six operations to curb international 
trafficking, which resulted in the arrest of 38 individuals for 
international trafficking in persons. In June the Civil Police launched 
``Operation Navalha na Carne'' in the state of Paran , which resulted 
in the arrest of 20 persons for sexual exploitation of children and 
adolescents, 12 of these being officers of the civil police.
    In March federal police worked with Swiss authorities in Operation 
``Taro'' breaking a route that had trafficked approximately 300 women 
from Minas Gerais to work as sex slaves in Switzerland. The federal 
police stated that the women had been given false promises and had been 
forced to prostitute themselves for 16 to 18 hours per day. Many were 
violently abused, and some were sold to other Swiss brothels.
    Police officers reported difficulty in arresting traffickers 
because of the need to apprehend them in the act of traveling with the 
victims. According to police, some women who left the country with 
traffickers did so willingly. Fear of reprisals also kept victims from 
seeking police intervention or from testifying against traffickers. In 
addition, ``trafficking in persons'' is a new legal concept, and courts 
often misclassified such cases. As a result of these factors, numbers 
of convictions were low.
    In October an appeals court reduced the fine imposed in February 
2005 on Federal Senator Joao Ribero for forcing 38 workers to live in 
slave-like conditions; the fine was reduced from $341,000 (730,000 
reais) to $35,500 (76,000 reais).
    While trafficking victims were not treated as criminals, access to 
support services was limited due to a lack of government support. No 
statistics were available concerning the number of victims in shelters. 
Police usually referred victims to centers for treatment and 
counseling.
    Several government programs assisted victims of trafficking, 
although efforts often were inconsistent and underfunded. The 
Government cooperated with a number of shelters or health care 
facilities specifically dedicated to trafficking victims, and workers 
at more than 600 victim assistance centers were trained to assist 
trafficking victims. The Ministry of Social Assistance operated more 
than 400 centers to assist victims of sexual abuse and exploitation and 
domestic violence. NGOs provided victim assistance in job training, 
counseling, and other community reintegration assistance. Locally based 
NGOs assisted trafficking victims with retraining and counseling 
activities.
    The Government maintained a witness protection program overseen by 
the Office of Legal Assistance for Grassroots Organizations, an NGO 
working in coordination with government authorities. Although the 
program operated in all states, lack of resources limited its 
effectiveness.
    The National Human Rights Secretariat conducted antitrafficking 
information campaigns. The National Secretary for Justice continued to 
lead a government public awareness campaign to deter international 
traffickers and sensitize their potential victims to the dangers.
    Labor organizations and NGOs continued to conduct prevention 
campaigns. One organization distributed pamphlets to rural workers in 
areas that historically served as targets for traffickers. The 
pamphlets warned rural workers about the methods of traffickers and 
offered practical advice to avoid this situation. A number of local 
unions instructed laborers to register with them and the police before 
leaving with a labor recruiter.
    There was no new information regarding the case of 12 persons 
charged in 2004 with participating in a sex trafficking ring in 
Fortaleza, Ceara State.
    The 2004 Federal District court case against the former speaker of 
the Federal District's legislative chamber, Benicio Tavares, on charges 
of forced prostitution and sexual exploitation of minors was reviewed 
by the Ethics Commission of the Brazilian House of Representatives on 
March 23. The commission decided not to take action. The trial remained 
pending at the end of the year.
    Government authorities responsible for combating trafficking 
included various agencies of the Ministry of Justice (including the 
federal police), the Special Human Rights Secretariat, the Ministry of 
Labor and Employment, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of 
Social Assistance. The federal highway police were responsible for 
checking documents and monitoring movement along highways and roads; 
occasionally they were involved in apprehending suspected traffickers. 
Federal and state police monitored the Internet to detect on-line 
recruitment by sex traffickers. Operating under the National Justice 
Secretariat trafficking offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceara, 
and Goias states monitored domestic and international trafficking.
    During the year the Ministry for Agrarian Development reported that 
from 1995-2006 the Government had rescued almost 21,000 slave laborers. 
More than 15,000 were rescued between 2003 and the end of the year. The 
report also indicated that through 2005, these workers received $10.2 
million (21.9 million reais ) in indemnities from their former captors, 
$8.6 million (18.5 million reais) of which was paid from 2003-05. 
During the year, however, only 3,252 were rescued and $2.8 million (six 
million reais) was paid as indemnities, according to the Ministry of 
Labor and Employment (MTE).
    On February 7, the Regional Tribunal of Labor of Maranhao charged 
Federal Deputy Inocencio Oliveira with a second count of keeping slave 
laborers. He was sentenced to pay $61 (130 reais) per day per exploited 
worker from when the workers were found in 2002.
    On August 2, the Labor Ministry released its ``dirty list'' 
containing 178 names of persons that exploited labor, including Federal 
Senator Joao Ribeiro, convicted of maintaining forced labor, and 
landowner Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, accused of ordering the killing of 
American nun Dorothy Stang (see section 1.a.).

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, and access to health care, and the federal government 
effectively enforced these provisions. However, state governments 
failed to meet legally mandated targets for educational opportunities 
and work placement. While the law has provisions to ensure access to 
buildings for persons with disabilities, states do not have programs to 
enforce these provisions effectively. During the year, however, the 
pharmaceutical industry in Sao Paulo State identified positions that 
could be filled by persons with disabilities and partnered with 
individuals who could be trained to fill these positions by 2008.
    The National Council for the Rights of Handicapped Persons and the 
National Council for the Rights of the Elderly, both within the Special 
Secretariat for Human Rights, had primary responsibility for promoting 
the rights of persons with disabilities.
    While the Sao Paulo State labor code requires that meeting places 
for more than 100 persons or other facilities for 600 persons or more 
provide modified entrances and other accommodations for persons with 
disabilities, such persons had difficulty in securing necessary 
accommodations.
    There were 237 psychiatric hospitals with more than 48,000 patients 
in the country. In 2005 the Municipality of Rio had 39,321 patients in 
psychiatric facilities, but most facilities lacked beds, medicines, and 
staff. In one facility two psychiatrists were responsible for 83 
patients.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although the law prohibits 
racial discrimination, darker-skinned citizens, particularly Afro-
Brazilians, frequently encountered discrimination.
    The law specifically prohibits, among other practices, denial of 
public or private facilities, employment, or housing to anyone based on 
race. The law also prohibits and provides jail terms for the incitement 
of racial discrimination or prejudice and the dissemination of racially 
offensive symbols and epithets.
    Afro-Brazilians, representing 45 percent of the population, were 
significantly and pervasively underrepresented in professional 
positions and in the middle and upper classes; they experienced a 
higher rate of unemployment and earned average wages approximately half 
those of a white person. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Judiciary 
noted in 2005 that persons of African descent occupied less than 1 
percent of the senior posts in the judiciary and the Public 
Prosecutor's Office.
    There was also a sizeable racial education gap. According to the 
Education Ministry, Afro-Brazilians received an average of 5.3 years of 
schooling compared with 7.1 years for whites. Afro-Brazilians 
constituted 16 percent of the university population. Major public 
universities in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Mato 
Grosso, Bahia, and the Federal District of Brasilia maintained 
affirmative action programs; for instance, the University of Brasilia 
set aside 25 percent of its first-year vacancies for self-declared 
students of color. During the year the Palmares Foundation noted that 
more than 30 universities had voluntarily implemented a quota system.
    In October the Health Minister Agenor Avares acknowledged clear 
signs of discriminatory practices within the national health system.
    During the year Afro-Brazilians made up 56 percent of the prison 
population.
    On November 18, the OAS Human Rights Committee criticized the 
failure to prosecute a woman who advertised a domestic work position 
with an ad clearly stating that ``white'' candidates would be given 
preference. Domestic worker Simone Andre Diniz reportedly applied for 
the job and was turned down for not being white, and when she brought 
the case before the police in 1997, it was filed away without being 
prosecuted.

    Indigenous People.--The law grants the indigenous population broad 
rights, including the protection of their cultural patrimony and the 
exclusive use of their traditional lands. Although many problems still 
existed, the Government made limited progress in securing these rights.
    The country has an indigenous population close to 460,000 persons 
belonging to 225 ``nations.'' The Government estimated that more than 
half of indigenous people lived in poverty in communities whose 
traditional ways of life were threatened on a variety of fronts, 
including land development, agricultural expansion, and mining. The 
National Foundation of the Indigenous (FUNAI) reported that indigenous 
people faced many problems, including disease and poor health care, 
loss of native culture, and recurring incursions as well as illegal 
mining and extraction activities on indigenous lands. In addition 
threats also came from road construction and deforestation.
    In April FUNAI hosted in Brasilia the first National Conference on 
Indigenous Peoples. More than 800 indigenous persons representing more 
than 220 indigenous groups attended with proposals from delegates to 
create a new indigenous policy in a democratic forum. The conference 
participants offered 1,300 proposals; primary among these was the 
proposal for the Government to create a ministry of indigenous peoples 
headed by an indigenous person that could centralize actions on 
education, health, agricultural questions, culture, and sustainable 
development. The Missionary Indigenous Council (CIMI) criticized the 
event claiming that several participants were connected with government 
organizations and that professional organizations dealing with 
indigenous issues were not invited.
    Indigenous leaders and activists complained that indigenous persons 
had only limited participation in decisions taken by the Government 
affecting their land, cultures, traditions, and allocation of national 
resources. They also criticized the Government for devoting 
insufficient resources to health care, other basic services, and 
protection of indigenous reserves from outsiders. This sometimes 
culminated in clashes between indigenous persons and nonindigenous 
persons.
    CIMI reported that there were 40 indigenous persons killed during 
the year, 20 of whom were killed in Mato Grosso do Sul State, where 
there indigenous lands are not fully demarcated and there are frequent 
conflicts between cattle ranchers/farmers and indigenous peoples. 
However, approximately half of these killings were internal (an 
indigenous person killing another indigenous person) versus external 
disputes. CIMI believed that the living conditions and government-
imposed proximity play a role in the internal killings.
    The Marcal de Souza Center of Human Rights (MSCDH) said the health 
services provided by the National Foundation of Health (FUNASA) and 
FUNAI were effective and significantly improved the situation among 
indigenous children in Mato Grosso do Sul State, where FUNASA 
accredited three nearby hospitals to treat indigenous patients, and the 
Government provided additional funds to local hospitals serving the 
local indigenous population. In May 2005, after an on-site 
investigation at the indigenous reserve of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 
State, a government commission issued a report with 52 health-related 
recommendations to various government entities.
    In response to a 2005 government study reporting unacceptably high 
infant mortality indices among the indigenous population, on February 
15, FUNASA provided $24.2 million (52 million reais) for health 
services to indigenous persons. Also in March FUNASA held a major 
conference to discuss indigenous health issues.
    The 1988 constitution charged the federal government with 
demarcating indigenous areas within five years. The complete process 
includes four phases: identification, declaration, approval, and 
registration. According to FUNAI, by year's end 398 of the 611 
recognized indigenous areas had reached the final registration stage, 
90 were in one of the four phases of the registration process, and 123 
had yet to be processed. Identified indigenous territory constituted 
12.5 percent of the national territory. However, CIMI stated that 
FUNAI's data failed to recognize other legitimate indigenous groups; 
CIMI claimed that the Government denied status to 200 such indigenous 
groups.
    The law provides indigenous people with the exclusive beneficial 
use of the soil, waters, and minerals on indigenous lands, but only if 
the Congress approves each case. The Government administered the lands 
but was obliged to consider the views of the affected communities 
regarding their development or use, and communities have the right to 
``participate'' in the benefits gained from such use.
    Nonindigenous persons who illegally exploited indigenous lands for 
mining, logging, and agriculture often destroyed the environment and 
wildlife, spread disease, and provoked violent confrontations. FUNAI 
acknowledged a lack of resources to protect indigenous lands from 
encroachment, and it depended on the understaffed and poorly equipped 
federal police for law enforcement on indigenous lands. However, on 
July 7, in response to previous complaints, the federal police 
cooperated with FUNAI and IBAMA to remove illegal workers from Kayapo 
lands in Para State.
    Disputes between indigenous and nonindigenous persons occasionally 
erupted into violence. Most conflicts concerned land ownership or 
resource exploitation rights in which indigenous persons resorted to 
forceful occupation, hostage taking, and killing.
    Two years after the 2004 killings of 32 prospectors by Cinta-Larga 
Indians for illegal trespass on the Roosevelt Reserve, the Ministry of 
Justice admitted that there were 300 engaged in illegal mining during 
the year.
    On October 17, Xikrin Indians occupied the Valley of Rio Doce 
Company (CVRD) Carajas iron mine in Para State for four days, 
preventing the production of 500,000 tons of iron ore. Armed with 
clubs, bows, and arrows, the Xikrin demanded money and improvements to 
local infrastructure from the company, including housing for tribal 
members. FUNAI said CVRD had not fulfilled a renegotiation agreement 
with the indigenous group, a claim that CVRD denied. On October 31, 
CVRD stated that it would not pay its annual contribution towards 
social welfare benefits for the indigenous community. They rescinded 
payment, citing the $4.2 million (9.2 million reais) as compensation e 
for lost revenues caused by recent invasions. CVRD declared that the 
state, not the private sector, was responsible for the welfare of 
indigenous groups. In early November CVRD denounced the Government at 
the OAS for lacking public policies to protect indigenous populations, 
attributing recent invasions in Para, Maranhao, and Minas Gerais to 
government inaction. The President of FUNAI, however, reported that 
CRVD realized they had no case and decided to continue its payments and 
subsequently dropped the action at the end of the year.
    Land invasions by indigenous groups continued and sometimes 
resulted in violence and killings. On July 1, Guarani-Kaiowa tribal 
members attempted to invade the Cristal farm near Dourados, Mato Grosso 
do Sul State, and briefly held two FUNAI mediators hostage.
    In late 2005 federal police forcibly moved 400 members of the 
1,115-member Guarani-Kaiowa tribe to a smaller area of the Nade Ru 
Marangatu reserve after a Supreme Court injunction prevented the land 
from becoming federally protected. Many tribal members were forced to 
build shelters on the side of roadways since the relocation area was 
too small to accommodate the group. Before the eviction, the tribe had 
complained of constant threats from local cattle ranchers. The 
situation continued at the end of the year.
    In December 2005 private security guard Joao Carlos Gimenes was 
indicted for the December 2005 killing of Dorvalino Rocha, a member of 
the Guarani-Kaiowa tribe, on a ranch near Antonio Joao, Mato Grosso do 
Sul State. In January the federal police concluded their investigation, 
but at year's end Carlos Gimenes was free on bail pending trial.
    In March Mayor Joao Rodrigues of Chapeco, Santa Catarina, was 
charged with racism against indigenous people on the grounds that his 
municipal program used defamatory language and that he abused his 
authority by improperly using the police against indigenous persons. He 
was sentenced to pay a fine and offer community services to the 
indigenous community.
    According to FUNAI, only 2,500 of the approximately 400,000 
indigenous persons attended college. FUNAI also reported that 60 
percent of all indigenous students were obliged to abandon studies due 
to lack of financial resources. Some universities, such as the 
University of Brasilia, increased reserved spots in their universities 
as part of their affirmative action programs for indigenous people.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--State and federal laws 
prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the federal 
and state governments generally enforced these laws, as there was a 
history of societal violence against homosexuals.
    The Secretariat of State Security in Rio de Janeiro State in 
partnership with NGOs operated a hot line and offered professional 
counseling services to victims of antihomosexual crimes.
    According to the NGO Bahian Gay Group, 81 homicides of homosexuals 
were reported between January and July, compared with 63 killed during 
the same period in 2005.
    There were incidents of violent attacks against homosexuals carried 
out by neo-Nazi groups in the southern part of the country. In March 
and April a group or groups of neo-Nazi skinheads attacked several 
homosexuals in the Jardim Paulista neighborhood of metropolitan Sao 
Paulo.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for union 
representation of all workers (except members of the military, the 
uniformed police, and firefighters) but imposes a hierarchical, unitary 
system funded by a mandatory union tax on workers and employers. New 
unions must register with the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), 
which accepts the registration unless objections are filed by other 
unions. Unions that represent workers in the same geographical area and 
professional category may contest registration, in which case the MTE's 
Secretariat for Labor Relations has 15 days to consider the validity of 
the objection. If the objection is found to be valid, the MTE does not 
register the union. Union organizers may challenge this decision in the 
labor courts.
    The law stipulates certain restrictions, such as unicidade (one per 
city), which limits freedom of association by prohibiting multiple, 
competing unions of the same professional category in a given 
geographical area. Most elements of the labor movement and the 
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions criticized unicidade. 
While a number of competing unions existed, the MTE and the courts 
enforced unicidade in decisions regarding the registration of new 
unions.
    The Single Worker's Central (CUT) estimated that between 20 to 25 
percent of workers were unionized. Most informal sector workers, 
including self-employed workers and those not formally registered with 
the MTE, fell outside the official union structure; they therefore did 
not enjoy union representation and usually were unable to exercise 
fully their labor rights. The informal sector accounted for 
approximately one-half of the labor force. In the agricultural sector, 
70 percent of workers were unregistered.
    Intimidation and killings of rural labor union organizers and their 
agents continued to be a problem. The CPT reported that violence in 
rural areas victimized labor leaders, with the perpetrators enjoying 
relative impunity (see section 1.a.). The CPT reported that 10 rural 
labor leaders were killed during the year and 266 received death 
threats in 2005.
    Although the law prohibits the dismissal of employees who are 
candidates for or holders of union leadership positions and requires 
employers to reinstate workers fired for union activity, authorities at 
times did not effectively enforce laws protecting union members from 
discrimination. Labor courts charged with resolving these and other 
disputes involving unfair dismissal, working conditions, salary 
disputes, and other grievances were slow and cumbersome, averaging six 
years for resolution. Parties generally agreed that, when ultimately 
resolved, cases were decided fairly and on their merits, although there 
was been a trend for courts to rule against employees claiming that 
union membership was not a factor. Although most complaints were 
resolved in the first hearing, the appeals process introduced many 
delays, and some cases remained unresolved for five to 10 years.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective 
bargaining was widespread in the formal sector. The law obliges unions 
to negotiate on behalf of all registered workers in the professional 
category and geographical area they represent, regardless of whether an 
employee pays voluntary membership dues to the union.
    The law provides workers (except for the military, military police, 
and firefighters) with the right to strike, and workers exercised this 
right in practice. While the civil police were allowed to form unions 
and conduct strikes, the military police were prohibited from 
organizing.
    The law stipulates that a strike may be ruled ``abusive'' by labor 
courts and be punishable if a number of conditions are not met, such as 
maintaining essential services during a strike, notifying employers at 
least 48 hours before the beginning of a walkout, and ending a strike 
after a labor court decision. Employers may not hire substitute workers 
during a legal strike or fire workers for strike-related activity, 
provided that the strike is not ruled abusive. In practice employers 
fired strike organizers for reasons ostensibly unrelated to strikes, 
and legal recourse related to retaliatory discharge was often a 
protracted process (see section 6.a.).
    The MST, which had approximately 100,000 members of unemployed farm 
workers, was extremely active in invading farms across the country as 
well as organizing protests, many of which resulted in major property 
damage. In March the MST destroyed a laboratory in Para State and 
confiscated goods from trucks after blocking highways. Most of their 
activities were in Pernambuco State, where by March there had been 36 
land occupations on farms and on highways usually involving hundreds to 
thousands of persons, effectively shutting down operations.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the country's four free trade zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, forced 
labor and trafficking of workers occurred in many states (see section 
5), most commonly in activities such as forest clearing, logging, 
charcoal production, raising livestock, and agriculture, particularly 
harvesting sugarcane, coffee, and cotton. Forced labor typically 
involved young men drawn from the impoverished northeast to work in the 
north and central west of the country, but women and children, 
typically working with their parents, also were engaged in activities 
such as charcoal production.
    The law provides that violators of forced or compulsory labor may 
be sentenced up to eight years in prison. The law also provides 
penalties for various crimes related to forced labor, such as 
recruiting or transporting workers or obliging them to incur debt as 
part of a forced labor scheme. The abolition of forced labor was 
hindered by failure to impose effective penalties, the impunity of 
those responsible, delays in judicial procedure, and the absence of 
coordination between the various government bodies. On November 30, the 
Supreme Court decided that all slave/forced labor cases fall under the 
jurisdiction of federal courts. This decision required that all slave/
forced labor cases pending in state or local courts were to be 
transferred to federal courts immediately.
    There were few criminal prosecutions relating to forced labor 
because of the lack of a clear legal definition; local political 
pressure; weak coordination among the police, the judiciary, and 
prosecutors; the remoteness of areas in which forced labor was 
practiced; witnesses' fear of retaliation; and police failure to 
conduct criminal investigations when accompanying labor inspectors on 
raids. Since violators of forced labor laws enjoyed virtual impunity 
from criminal prosecution, the Government used fines and other 
disincentives to penalize violators. The Government withholds credit to 
landowners using forced labor.
    The law also allows the Government, after compensating the 
landowner, to seize lands on which forced labor has been found and to 
distribute the property in the Government's land reform program.
    Labor intermediaries (gatos) trafficked most forced laborers to the 
remote estates where they worked. At the worksite, laborers were forced 
to work in harsh conditions until they repaid inflated debts related to 
the costs of travel, tools, clothing, or food. Armed guards sometimes 
were used to retain laborers, but the remoteness of the location, 
confiscation of documents, and threats of legal action or physical harm 
usually were sufficient to prevent laborers from fleeing.
    On February 8, the hydroelectric company Sao Francisco in Ceara 
State paid $16,300 (35,000 reais) to 24 persons discovered working in 
slave-like conditions by the Public Labor Ministry.
    In December the Labor Ministry released a list of 170 employers 
accused of keeping their workforce in conditions analogous to slave 
labor. Para State led with 35.5 percent of these employers, 42 of whom 
were formally charged. The Para Federal Public Ministry adjudicated 26 
criminal actions during the year.
    In August 800 persons were found working for evangelical pastors in 
slave-like conditions in Minas Gerais State. Pastors Cicero Vicente 
Araujo and Edmilson Pereira da Silva, who formed the Jesus Church in 
1998, convinced these ``followers'' to relinquish their worldly 
possessions, work for free, and offer all proceeds to the two leaders. 
These ``followers'' were told that they would receive free food and 
clothing in exchange for field labor.
    In April near Rio de Janeiro City, Labor Ministry inspectors found 
approximately 20 unregistered employees living and working in degrading 
conditions. They were working 12-hour days, seven days per week, for 
the Telecom Network, contracted by Telsul, a subsidiary of Telemar. 
According to the workers, they had not been paid since December 2005. 
The Labor Ministry investigation was ongoing at year's end. Workers 
explained that expenses to pay for necessities such as food and 
medicine made it impossible for them to return to their homes in other 
cities and forced them into wage slavery.
    In August 431 cane workers, working for less than minimum wage and 
living in slave-like conditions, were returned to their countries of 
origin by the Labor Ministry. The workers had been housed in animal 
stalls, without proper toilet and sanitary facilities, and not provided 
with sufficient food. They were forced to work hours that significantly 
exceeded the standard work-day and not provided with the necessary 
protective equipment
    In February a federal judge ordered an indemnity payment of $1.3 
million (2.8 million reais) to 54 forced labor workers rescued in 2003 
in Rondonia State.
    In February 2005 the Attorney General's labor office uncovered 
slave labor conditions pertaining to 70 workers employed in the 
construction of a government building north of Rio de Janeiro City. 
Judicial proceedings against the two construction companies remained 
pending at the end of the year.
    In August the labor ministry returned to their countries of origin 
431 cane workers in Bauru, Sao Paulo State, who were working for less 
than minimum wage and living in degrading conditions. The ministry 
characterized the work as slave labor because several workers were 
housed in unsanitary animal stalls, without proper toilet/sanitary 
facilities, and without personal protective equipment and without 
sufficient food. In addition daily working hours significantly exceeded 
standard working hours. These workers lacked money to return to their 
homes and were trapped in this work environment.
    The National Commission to Eradicate Slave Labor (CONATRAE) 
coordinated the Government's efforts to eliminate forced labor. The 
group's enforcement arm, the Special Group for Mobile Inspection, had 
responsibility for locating and freeing victims of forced labor. The 
mobile unit worked in conjunction with federal police officers, who 
always accompanied labor inspectors on raids to provide protection. 
Mobile teams levied fines on estate owners using forced labor and 
required employers to provide back pay and benefits to workers before 
returning the workers to their municipalities of origin. Although 
mobile units enjoyed some success in freeing those working in slave-
like conditions, inspectors sometimes faced resistance (see section 
1.a.).
    A series of three articles by the Bloomberg News Service in 
November and December reported on the use of slave/forced labor to 
produce charcoal used in the pig iron production process. Although this 
generated media attention, the Ministry of Labor pointed out that only 
16 percent of slave labor occurred in this sector, compared with 64 
percent in cattle raising and 20 percent in agriculture.
    On December 7, federal police raided a poor settlement in Goias 
State and arrested landowners suspected of environmental crimes and 
labor abuse in making charcoal from illegally felled timber from 
protected areas. There was no official report available on the number 
arrested.
    The ILO Project to Combat Forced Labor, in the country assisted in 
the development of the National Plan to Combat Forced Labor; 
established a data base to consolidate and analyze trafficking in 
persons and forced labor information, and provided technical assistance 
to government agencies, including to the Ministry of Labor's Special 
Group for Mobile Inspection teams.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law restricts work that may be performed by children, 
child labor continued to be a widespread problem.
    The minimum working age is 16 years, and apprenticeships may begin 
at age 14. The law bars all minors under age 18 from work that 
constitutes a physical strain or from employment in nocturnal, 
unhealthy, dangerous, or morally harmful conditions; however, the 
authorities rarely enforced additional legal restrictions intended to 
protect working minors under age 18. The law requires parental 
permission for minors to work as apprentices, and apprentices must 
attend school through the primary grades. Nonetheless, the ILO office 
in Brazil estimated that there were five million child laborers between 
the ages of five and 17. Approximately half of child laborers received 
no income, and 90 percent worked in the unregistered informal sector. 
Slightly more than half of child laborers worked in rural areas, and 
two-thirds were boys.
    A report of the Institute for Work and Society Studies identified 
69 main rural and urban activities in which children worked. Common 
rural activities included: harvesting corn, manioc, and other crops; 
fishing; mining; raising livestock; and producing charcoal. In urban 
areas children worked in shoe shining, domestic services, 
transportation, construction, restaurants, street peddling, begging, 
drug trafficking, and prostitution (see section 5). The ILO estimated 
that approximately 20 percent of 10- to 14-year-old girls worked as 
household domestics. Most of these workers received less than half the 
minimum wage and worked in excess of 40 hours a week.
    The hidden and informal nature of child labor made children 
especially vulnerable to workplace accidents. For instance, children 
who produced charcoal, sisal, sugarcane, and footwear suffered from 
dismemberment, gastrointestinal disease, lacerations, blindness, and 
burns caused by applying chemical products with inadequate protection.
    The MTE was responsible for inspecting worksites to enforce child 
labor laws; its regional offices had special groups to enforce child 
labor laws, principally by gathering data and developing plans for 
child labor inspection. Nonetheless, most inspections of children in 
the workplace were driven by complaints brought by workers, teachers, 
unions, NGOs, and the media. Labor inspectors continued to prioritize 
inspections in the informal sector, but they remained unable to enter 
private homes and farms, where much of the nation's child labor was 
found. In most cases inspectors attempted to reach agreements and to 
have employers desist from labor law violations before levying fines of 
$188 (402 reais) per violation up to a maximum of fine of $944 (2,013 
reais); for a second or third violation the fine doubles or triples 
respectively. As a result, few employers were fined for employing 
children.
    The Labor Inspection Secretariat reported that between January and 
August 2006, a total of 8,326 children and adolescents were removed 
from exploitive labor situations. MTE inspectors often worked closely 
with labor prosecutors from the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT)--an 
independent agency responsible for prosecuting labor infractions--which 
had broader powers and was able to impose larger fines. The MPT has a 
national commission to fight child labor. The commission included 50 
prosecutors and focused on strategic areas including sexual 
exploitation, trash collecting, apprenticeships, and work in a family 
setting. The commission included 50 prosecutors and focused on 
strategic areas including sexual exploitation, trash collecting, 
apprenticeships, domestic labor, drug trafficking. Brazil's National 
Commission to Eradicate Child Labor (CONAETI) developed the 2004-2007 
National Plan to Eradicate Child Labor and proposed a series of legal 
reforms to help bring national laws into full compliance with the 
conventions.
    The Ministry of Social Development coordinated the National Forum 
for the Eradication of Child Labor (FNPETI), which provided cash 
stipends to low-income families who kept their children in school and 
out of work. Because the public school day lasts only four hours, the 
FNPETI emphasized complementary educational activities for children 
during nonschool hours as an alternative to working. According to the 
Ministry and data from the UN Development Program (UNDP), one million 
children benefited from this program in 2005, and UNDP projections for 
the year estimated that 2.2 million children benefited. Approximately 
569,000 children benefited from this program. This contributed to a 51 
percent decline in child labor from 1995 to 2005.
    To prevent child labor and promote education, the Government 
continued to promote its family stipend program, Bolsa Familia, which 
provides approximately seven dollars to $44 (15 to 95 reais) monthly to 
low-income families for each child (up to a total of three children per 
family) between the ages of six and 15 whose school attendance rate was 
85 percent or above. Municipal governments had primary responsibility 
for day-to-day management of the program. The Institute of Geography 
and Statistics (IBGE) demonstrated that the program provided stipends 
to more than eight million families (15.6 percent of all families) or 
almost 39 million persons. In addition to the federal program, an 
estimated 100 municipal governments operated stipend programs. However, 
in May IBGE released data showing that 72 million persons had a low to 
moderate level of food security.
    NGOs supported the Government's child labor elimination programs. 
For example, the National Forum for the Prevention and Eradication of 
Child Labor, with chapters in every state and more than 40 
institutional members from the Government and private sector, promoted 
debate and broad analysis of national child labor prevention efforts. 
In addition the Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents 
were active in many parts of the country and reported violations of 
children's rights. The Pro-Child Institute in Sao Paulo State 
coordinated a labeling program to reduce instances of child labor in 
the footwear industry.
    The private sector also played a role in fighting child labor. The 
toy industry's Foundation for Children's Rights operated a labeling 
program that identified companies with child-friendly policies and a 
commitment to eliminate child labor. The foundation also fostered 
initiatives through its awards programs for organizations, journalists, 
and mayors. All major labor centrals implemented programs to educate 
union members about the hazards of child labor and encouraged members 
to report instances of child labor to authorities.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage did 
not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The 
Government adjusts the minimum wage annually and in April raised it 
from approximately to $140 to $163 (300 to 350 reais) per month, an 
increase of more than 13 percent in real terms. Over the last four 
years, the Government has increased the real value of the minimum wage 
by 25 percent. The Intersindical Statistic and Socio-economic Studies 
Department estimated that approximately one in three workers earned the 
minimum wage or less.
    The law limits the workweek to 44 hours and specifies a weekly rest 
period of 24 consecutive hours, preferably on Sundays. The law also 
prohibits excessive compulsory overtime and stipulates that hours 
worked above the weekly limit must be compensated at time-and-a-half 
pay; these provisions generally were enforced in the formal sector.
    Although the Ministry of Labor sets occupational, health, and 
safety standards that are consistent with internationally recognized 
norms, the Government devoted insufficient resources for adequate 
inspection and enforcement of these standards. Unsafe working 
conditions were prevalent throughout the country. There were no figures 
available on workplace accidents during the year. Employees or their 
unions may file claims related to worker safety with regional labor 
courts, although this was frequently a protracted process.
    According to the Ministry of Social Security, during 2005 there 
were 491,711 workplace accidents, a 5.5 percent increase from the 
previous year, although the number of deaths from accidents decreased 
by 4.8 percent to 2,708 from the previous year.
    The law requires employers to establish internal committees for 
accident prevention in workplaces. It also protects employee members of 
these committees from being fired for their committee activities. Such 
firings occurred, however, and legal recourse usually required years 
for a resolution. The MPT reported that numerous firms used 
computerized records to compile ``black lists'' identifying workers who 
had filed claims in labor courts. Individual workers did not have the 
legal right to remove themselves from the workplace when faced with 
hazardous working conditions, but workers could express such concerns 
to a company committee for an immediate investigation.
    On January 17, a 17-year-old male was found suffocated on a farm 
belonging to Celso Manica, the brother of two men accused of ordering 
the killing of a labor inspector in (see section 1.a.). The young man 
was allegedly suffocated in a grain transfer process in a soy silo near 
Unai. An inspection by the local labor ministry resulted in 32 safety 
violations.

                               __________

                                 CANADA

    Canada, with a population of 32.8 million, is a constitutional 
monarchy with a federal parliamentary form of government. In free and 
fair federal elections held on January 23, the Conservative Party, led 
by Stephen Harper, won a plurality of seats and formed a minority 
government. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective 
control of the security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, and the law and judiciary provide effective means of 
addressing individual instances of abuse. Human rights problems 
included harassment of religious minorities, violence against women, 
and trafficking of persons to, from, and within the country.
                        respect for human rights
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.
    There were no known developments in an investigation opened by the 
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in September 2005 concerning 
allegations of brutality in the arrest and imprisonment of an 
indigenous man in the Natuashish community of northern Labrador.
    The Winnipeg police and the Law Enforcement Review Agency 
investigations of allegations of physical abuse of a person arrested in 
2004 remained pending at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards. The Government permitted visits 
by independent human rights observers, and such visits occurred during 
the year.

    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 RCMP is an 
effective national, federal, provincial, and municipal policing body 
that reports to the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency 
Preparedness. It provides federal police service throughout the country 
and also provides police services under contract to the three 
territories, eight provinces (Quebec and Ontario have their own 
provincial police), approximately 198 municipalities, and 192 
indigenous communities. The RCMP, provincial, and local police forces 
have internal review mechanisms; corruption and impunity were not 
problems.

    Arrest and Detention.--Authorities generally apprehended persons 
openly with warrants. A judge may issue a warrant after being satisfied 
that a criminal offense may have been committed. A person arrested for 
a criminal offense has the right to a prompt judicial determination of 
the legality of the detention; to timely information as to the reason 
for the arrest; to a lawyer of his or her choice and, if indigent, to 
one provided by the state; and to prompt access to family members. Bail 
generally was available.
    In June the Supreme Court heard arguments on an appeal of a 2004 
Federal Court of Appeal ruling that it was constitutional for the 
Government to arrest and detain indefinitely noncitizens who pose a 
threat to national security; the court's decision was pending at year's 
end. Such cases are presented in secret to two cabinet ministers by 
intelligence or police agencies and then reviewed by a federal judge. 
The evidence generally is not shown to the detained individual. If the 
judge approves the ministers' recommendation, the individual may be 
imprisoned indefinitely, pending deportation proceedings. In November a 
suspected Russian intelligence officer was detained pursuant to this 
procedure and deported the following month. At year's end, three 
individuals were incarcerated awaiting deportation, and three other 
detainees had been conditionally released, subject to the 
administrative deportation process.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice. The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    The court system is divided into federal and provincial courts, 
which handle both civil and criminal matters. The highest federal court 
is the Supreme Court, which exercises general appellate jurisdiction 
and advises on federal constitutional matters.

    Trial Procedures.--The judicial system is based on English common 
law at the federal level as well as in most provinces. In Quebec 
Province civil law is derived from the Napoleonic Code; however, 
criminal law is the same nationwide. The Government appoints the 
judges. Trials are public and defendants have a right to have their 
case heard before a judge alone or, for more serious cases, before a 
judge and jury. 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, and 
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. 
Defendants also enjoy a presumption of innocence and have a right of 
appeal.
    With passage of the Ontario Family Statute Law Amendment Act on 
February 23, all family law arbitration became subject to civil law, 
ending civil enforcement of religious arbitration decisions, which had 
been permitted in Ontario under the 1991 Ontario Arbitration Act.

    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. Human rights violations may 
be heard by the provincial or federal human rights commissions. 
Remedies can be monetary, declaratory, or injunctive. In general there 
were no problems enforcing domestic court orders.

    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.--The law 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.
    The Supreme Court has ruled that the Government may limit free 
speech in the name of goals such as ending discrimination, ensuring 
social harmony, or promoting gender equality. It also has ruled that 
the benefits of limiting hate speech and promoting equality are 
sufficient to outweigh the freedom of speech clause in the Charter of 
Rights and Freedoms, which is the country's bill of rights incorporated 
in the country's constitution.
    In October an Ontario Superior Court justice struck down three 
measures of the Security of Information Act (SOIA) and admonished the 
RCMP for abusing its power in a case that arose in 2004 when the police 
raided the home and office of an Ottawa Citizen journalist in what they 
stated was an effort to determine the source of sensitive and 
classified information involving a story the journalist wrote about 
terrorism-related activities. Lawyers for the reporter and newspaper 
brought a motion to court to seal the confiscated items and quash the 
search warrants, stating that they were unconstitutional. The lawyers 
argued the SOIA does not define the term ``secret'' and that SOIA 
provisions criminalizing possession of ``secret'' government 
information without authorization were too broad-thus permitting the 
Government to intimidate and arrest any reporter found possessing 
leaked government documents. The judge agreed and struck down the 
provisions. In her ruling, the judge also stated the RCMP abused the 
process by threatening to charge the journalist if she did not reveal 
her source, ordered the RCMP to return the material seized, and ordered 
the Government to pay the newspaper's legal costs.
    Inciting hatred (in certain cases) or genocide is a criminal 
offense, but the Supreme Court has set a high threshold for such cases, 
specifying that these acts must be proven to be willful and public. The 
Broadcasting Act prohibits programming containing any abusive comment 
that would expose individuals or groups to hatred or contempt. 
Provincial-level film censorship, broadcast licensing procedures, 
broadcasters' voluntary codes curbing graphic violence, and laws 
against hate literature and pornography also impose some restrictions 
on the media.
    On June 8, a Saskatchewan court set aside a July 2005 decision of a 
Saskatoon court that found the former leader of the Assembly of First 
Nations guilty of willfully promoting hatred against Jews under the 
hate propaganda provisions of the criminal code. The charges stemmed 
from remarks made in a 2002 public address to the Federation of 
Saskatchewan Indian Nations. On June 19, the Saskatchewan Justice 
Department announced its plans to appeal the decision to the 
Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
    There were no developments concerning a Quebec City radio station's 
appeal to the Supreme Court of a September 2005 Federal Court of Appeal 
decision that upheld denial of the station's broadcasting license. The 
general public had filed numerous complaints alleging that announcers 
on the station used offensive comments, personal attacks, and 
harassment as part of its programming. The station remained on the air 
pending a Supreme Court ruling on whether to hear the case.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. 
Internet access was readily available and widely used.
    The Canadian Human Rights Commission investigates complaints about 
hate messages on Web sites and may forward cases to the Canadian Human 
Rights Tribunal for action. In March the tribunal issued a ruling 
finding that messages posted through a Web hosting service constituted 
hate under the Human Rights Act. The tribunal ordered the respondents 
to stop posting hate messages on the Internet and to pay a $7,135 (Cdn 
$8,000) penalty.
    In July a federal court jailed a white supremacist for nine months 
for contempt of court for continuing to post hate messages on the 
Internet. In late 2005 the federal court ordered him to stop his 
Internet postings pending resolution of a complaint against him by the 
Human Rights Commission. In April the tribunal ruled against the 
individual and fined him $5,384 (Cdn $6,000).

    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.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    In March the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Sikh elementary 
school student who had been prohibited from wearing his kirpan 
(ceremonial dagger) to school. The rationale for the prohibition 
involved security concerns rather than religious discrimination. The 
Supreme Court, however, upheld a lower court ruling that required the 
kirpan to be worn under the clothes and sewn into a sheath.
    In September and October 2005, a Sikh law student was twice 
prohibited from riding on national rail carrier trains because he was 
wearing a kirpan. The carrier's baggage policy bans weapons and makes 
no exceptions for religious symbols. There were no developments in the 
student's pending appeal to the Ontario Human Rights Commission for 
redress.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were a number of reports 
of harassment of religious minorities, which the Government 
investigated and punished. The Criminal Code and related statutes, the 
Anti-Terrorism Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act, provincial human 
rights codes, broadcasting regulations, and other acts seek to counter 
hate and bias activity, and the Government enforced its laws to protect 
religious freedom and combat discrimination.
    Approximately 1.1 percent of the population was Jewish. The B'nai 
Brith Canada League for Human Rights received 829 reports of anti-
Semitic incidents in 2005, a 3.3 percent decrease from 2004. The 
highest number of reports came from Ontario Province (544 incidents, 
418 of which took place in the greater Toronto area), followed by 
Quebec Province (133 incidents, 127 of which took place in Montreal); 
approximately 80 percent of the Jewish population resided in these two 
provinces. B'nai Brith reported significant regional increases in 
reports received in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the 
maritime provinces, whereas both Montreal and Winnipeg showed 
significant decreases. The 829 reports included 531 cases of 
harassment, 273 cases of vandalism, and 25 cases of violence; 167 cases 
of these cases involved attacks on synagogues, Jewish homes, or 
communal buildings. Jewish students reported 48 cases of anti-Semitic 
incidents that occurred on campus, and another 48 involved school 
settings. The B'nai Brith League also noted a marked increase in Web-
based hate, with 161 reports, including 34 cases of targeted hate by e-
mail. There were no known developments in the provincial police 
investigation of a December 2005 incident in which the Beth Shalom 
Synagogue in Edmonton was spray-painted with a swastika and the acronym 
ZOG (Zionist Occupied government).
    On June 8, a Saskatchewan court set aside a July 2005 Saskatoon 
court decision that found the former leader of the Assembly of First 
Nations guilty of willfully promoting hatred against Jews under the 
hate propaganda provisions of the criminal code (see section 2.a.).
    On June 27, a Manitoba court sentenced three individuals to prison 
terms ranging from two years minus one day to three years for the arson 
destruction of a 105-year-old church; the court also levied one million 
dollars (C$1.2 million) against the three as restitution. The 
individuals, followers of a Norwegian musician jailed for a 1993 murder 
and for the destruction of several churches in Europe, set the church 
ablaze on February 12, the Norwegian convict's birthday.
    In September a masked perpetrator threw a Molotov cocktail at an 
Orthodox Jewish boys' school in Montreal. The school sustained limited 
fire damage and some water damage from the automatic sprinkler system. 
Since the perpetrator did not leave behind any message or graffiti, the 
police undertook an arson probe rather than a hate crime investigation; 
the Canadian Jewish Congress urged the police to treat it as a hate 
crime.
    In September at the start of Ramadan, an arsonist set fire to an 
Islamic school in Ottawa. No injuries were reported, but the school 
sustained damaged to its exterior and roof. Since the perpetrator(s) 
did not leave behind any message or graffiti, the police undertook an 
arson probe rather than a hate crime investigation; the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations Canada urged the police to treat it is a 
hate crime.
    Following the June 2 arrests of 17 individuals with Middle Eastern 
and South Asian surnames in the Toronto area on alleged terrorism 
charges, several anti-Muslim incidents occurred in various locations, 
including Montreal and Toronto. On June 9, an individual with a knife 
threatened an imam outside his mosque in Montreal, leading to the 
arrest of the alleged attacker. Police charged the individual with 
armed assault, uttering threats, and possession of a dangerous weapon; 
the suspect was released on bail while the investigation continued. On 
June 3, vandals broke windows and damaged cars parked at the Rexdale 
mosque in northwest Toronto. Police classified the attack as a hate 
crime and continued their search for the perpetrators while increasing 
patrols at all mosques in the city to prevent further vandalism. Muslim 
and non-Muslim community leaders and government officials were among 
those who urged calm and referred to the acts as ``motivated by 
politics and hatred, not by any religion or faith.''
    The Government urged the population to refrain from prejudice 
against Jews, Muslims, or other persons on the basis of their religious 
beliefs, ethnic heritage, or cultural differences. The Government's 
Human Rights Commission is responsible for developing and conducting 
information programs to foster public understanding of the Canadian 
Human Rights Act. Provincial human rights commissions perform similar 
functions for those activities that are not federally regulated. Four 
provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New 
Brunswick) officially recognize Holocaust Remembrance Day, while every 
province conducts a remembrance ceremony attended by national, 
provincial, and local leaders.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees, granted refugee status or asylum, and cooperated with the 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
    In practice the Government provided protection against refoulement, 
the return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. The 
Government offered alternatives to refugee claimants whose cases were 
refused by the Immigration and Refugee Board. The option for judicial 
review through the federal court exists. Two other remedies of last 
resort are available through Citizenship and Immigration-Canada. They 
include the initiation of a ``pre-removal risk assessment'' process as 
well as an appeal to the minister for citizenship and immigration 
services for a waiver based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
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.--In the free and fair 
multiparty federal general election on January 23, the Conservative 
Party took control of Parliament, ending 13 years of Liberal Party 
rule. The Conservative Party, which did not win a majority of the 308 
seats, formed a minority government.
    Following the January election, there were 64 women and five 
indigenous persons in the 308-member House of Commons. There were 34 
women and seven indigenous members in the 105-seat Senate (whose 
members are appointed by the Government). Women held six seats in the 
27-person cabinet. The governor general and four of the nine members of 
the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, were women.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The nongovernmental 
organization (NGO) Transparency International reported that corruption 
was not considered a problem.
    There were isolated reports of government corruption during the 
year, and there was concern about the lack of enforcement of 
whistleblower legislation. The authorities removed from office and 
prosecuted career civil servants found to be engaged in malfeasance of 
any kind.
    In November 2005 an independent commission appointed by the Prime 
Minister, the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and 
Advertising Activities (known as the Gomery Commission), released the 
first part of its two-part report. The report established that 
advertising agencies, many allied with the Quebec branch of the federal 
Liberal Party, received in commissions and fees nearly half of the 
federal funds authorized to promote federal Canada in Quebec from 1996 
to 2001, and that up to $87 million (Cdn $100 million) was 
inappropriately channeled to the Liberal Party.
    On February 1, the Gomery Commission released the second part of 
its report, which focused on recommendations to restore accountability 
in government. The commission noted that there was a general lack of 
transparency concerning government spending at all levels, and its 
recommendations focused on restoring the balance of power between 
Parliament and the executive branch to attain better accountability 
within government. The Gomery Commission findings prompted extensive 
media coverage, tarnished the reputation of the Government, especially 
in Quebec, and led to the conviction of three persons for defrauding 
the Government.
    The law permits public access to government information by citizens 
and noncitizens, including foreign media. The Government released 
quarterly information on the public expenditures of senior government 
officials and also published expense information on individual 
ministerial Web sites and on a centralized Web site.
Section 4. 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 September 18, a government commission of inquiry released a 
report on government actions relating to a dual Canadian-Syrian 
citizen, Maher Arar, who claimed he was tortured while in Syrian 
custody after he was deported there by the United States in 2002. While 
the commission of inquiry found no evidence of government participation 
in the decision to detain or deport Arar, it concluded that the RCMP 
provided inaccurate information that very likely may have contributed 
to those decisions. The commission also recognized that it did not have 
access to all the information available to the United States. The 
commission's report included recommendations to prevent a similar 
occurrence and a review of RCMP practices.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equal benefits and protection of the law 
regardless of race, gender, national or ethnic origin, age, language, 
social status, or disability; the Government effectively enforced these 
rights.
    A July 2005 law extended equal access to civil marriage to same-sex 
couples.

    Women.--Although prohibited by law, violence against women, 
including spousal abuse, remained a problem. The Government's 
statistical office reported that there were 73.7 sexual assaults per 
100,000 persons in 2004, down from 74.1 in 2003, while the 2004 
homicide rate related to domestic violence was 0.71 per 100,000 
couples.
    The law prohibits domestic violence: although the Criminal Code 
does not define specific domestic violence offenses, an abuser can be 
charged with an applicable offense, such as assault, intimidation, 
mischief, or sexual assault. Persons convicted of assault may be 
penalized with up to five years in prison. Assaults involving weapons, 
threats, injuries, or endangerment of life carry sentences up to 14 
years in prison. Sexual abuse may be penalized with up to 10 years in 
prison. Sexual assaults involving weapons, threats, injuries, or 
endangerment of life carry sentences up to life imprisonment.
    The 2004 General Social Survey estimated that 7 percent of citizens 
15 years of age or over in a current, previous, or common-law union 
experienced spousal violence in the previous five years. Approximately 
4 percent of men and women in current marital or common-law 
relationships experienced physical or sexual violence committed by 
their partner. Indigenous (aboriginal) people were three times more 
likely to be victims of spousal violence than nonindigenous people. The 
rate of spousal violence among those who were gay or lesbian was twice 
that of the reported violence experienced by heterosexuals. Women were 
more likely than men to report that they were injured as a result of 
the violence (44 percent compared with 18 percent).
    There were more than 500 shelters for abused women, which provided 
both emergency care and long-term assistance. The Government's family 
violence initiative involving 12 departments and a cabinet ministry, 
Status of Women Canada, was charged with eliminating systemic violence 
against women and advancing women's human rights.
    The Amnesty International 2006 Report noted that there were 
continuing high levels of discrimination and violence against 
indigenous women and criticized officials for failing to advance a 
national strategy. The report specifically pointed out that police 
responses to threats against indigenous women's lives were inconsistent 
and inadequate.
    Prostitution is legal, but the law prohibits pimping (benefiting 
from the earnings of prostitution of another) and operating, being 
found in, or working in a brothel.
    Women were trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits criminal harassment (stalking) and makes it 
punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment. The law does not contain a 
specific offense of ``sexual harassment'' but contains criminal 
prohibitions that may be applicable in addressing this conduct, such as 
criminal harassment and sexual assault. Penalties for sexual assault 
vary, depending on the offense, and range from 10 years' imprisonment 
for nonaggravated sexual assault to life imprisonment for aggravated 
sexual assault. The Government generally enforced these prohibitions. 
Most harassment cases were settled out of court.
    Women were well represented in the labor force, including business 
and the professions. According to Statistics Canada, 67 percent of 
women were employed in the workforce in April. Employment equity laws 
and regulations cover federal employees in all but the security and 
defense services. Women have marriage and property rights equal to 
those of men.

    Children.--The Government demonstrated its commitment to children's 
rights and welfare through well-funded systems of public education and 
medical care. Education is free through grade 13 and is compulsory 
nationwide through age 15 or 16, depending on the province. The UN 
Children's Fund reported that 100 percent of elementary-age children 
attended school; high school was the highest level completed by most 
children. Federal and provincial regulations protect children from 
abuse, overwork, and discrimination and penalize perpetrators of such 
offenses.
    According to the 2004 General Social Survey, children and youth 
under the age of 18 accounted for 21 percent of victims of physical 
assault and 61 percent of victims of sexual assault, while representing 
21 percent of the population. In 40 percent of the cases, parents were 
the ones accused of sexual assault against children and youth.
    Children were trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation (see 
section 5, Trafficking).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and 
within the country.
    The criminal code makes trafficking in persons a specific criminal 
offense and prohibits global trafficking in persons, benefiting 
economically from trafficking in persons, and withholding or destroying 
documents to facilitate trafficking in persons. The Immigration and 
Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) establishes criminal penalties of up to 
life in prison and fines of up to $870,000 (one million Canadian 
dollars) for convicted cross-border traffickers. The Government 
prosecutes all forms of trafficking, including kidnapping, forcible 
confinement, uttering threats, sexual assault, prostitution-related 
offenses, and extortion.
    In April 2005 Vancouver police brought the first case under IRPA 
against the owner of a massage parlor whom they charged with two counts 
of human trafficking for bringing women into the country under false 
pretenses and coercing them into prostitution. There were no new 
developments in this case, which remained pending at year's end.
    The Government has an interdepartmental working group, consisting 
of 17 departments and agencies and co-chaired by senior officials from 
the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, to combat trafficking in 
persons.
    Through agencies such as Interpol, the Government created 
mechanisms to assist other countries with criminal investigations of 
trafficking cases and cooperated with law enforcement authorities in 
neighboring and source countries.
    The country is a source, transit point, and destination for men, 
women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual 
exploitation. In 2004 the RCMP estimated that 600 to 800 persons were 
trafficked into the country annually and that an additional 1,500 to 
2,200 persons were trafficked through the country into the United 
States. Women and children were trafficked from Africa, Central and 
South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia for sexual exploitation. Most 
trafficking victims come from source countries in Asia, including South 
Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. On a lesser scale, 
men, women, and children were trafficked for forced labor. Some 
Canadian girls and women were trafficked internally for commercial 
sexual exploitation.
    Vancouver and Toronto served as hubs for organized crime groups 
that trafficked in persons, including for prostitution. East Asian 
crime groups targeted the country, Vancouver in particular, exploiting 
immigration laws, benefits available to immigrants, and the proximity 
to the U.S. border.
    In May the Government issued guidelines that defined the status of 
trafficking victims and offered avenues for victims assistance. Under 
these guidelines officials may grant a temporary residence permit of 
120 days (or longer, in special meritorious cases) to provide a 
reflection period for the victim and an investigative window for law 
enforcement to determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a 
trafficking case. During this 120-day period, immigration officials 
determine whether a longer residency period of up to three years may be 
warranted. Nonetheless, NGOs reported anecdotal evidence that some 
victims of trafficking were arrested and deported. The RCMP implemented 
a law enforcement training program to sensitize officers about 
trafficking realities, to help identify potential trafficking victims, 
and to provide information about implementing the new guidelines.
    In addition to legal status under a temporary residence permit, 
trafficking victims have access to federally funded emergency medical 
services, including psychological and social counseling. In addition, 
they are able to access a number of other programs and services such as 
legal assistance. Finally, victims of trafficking are eligible to apply 
for assistance from victims' assistance funds maintained by the 
provincial governments.
    The Government's Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in 
Persons, the policy development body for the federal government, 
trained officials to increase awareness about trafficking. The group 
also produced, translated into 14 languages, and distributed an 
antitrafficking pamphlet to the country's diplomatic missions and to 
NGOs with access to potential victims in source countries. In addition, 
the Government supported efforts by NGOs and community organizations to 
raise awareness of trafficking and funded academic studies of the 
problem.

    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, and the Government effectively enforced these prohibitions. 
Sexual exploitation of persons with disabilities in situations of 
dependency is a criminal offense. The Government effectively 
implemented laws mandating access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities.
    The federal, provincial, and territorial governments share 
responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. 
The Office for Disability Issues is the federal government's focal 
point for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Charter of Rights and 
Freedoms protects the linguistic and cultural rights of minorities and 
establishes English and French as the country's two official languages. 
Despite the federal policy of bilingualism, English speakers in Quebec 
(9 percent of the province's population) and French speakers in other 
parts of the country generally lived and worked in the language of the 
majority. The provinces may grant French or English the status of an 
official language. Only New Brunswick has granted the two languages 
equal status. The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French 
the official language of the province and requires the use of French in 
commerce, the workplace, education, and government. Minority language 
rights are secured by law in Quebec's Charter of the French Language.
    The Charter of the French Language restricts access to publicly 
funded English education to those students who did most of their 
elementary or secondary studies in English in the country or whose 
immediate relative did. Francophones in Quebec have no constitutional 
right to publicly funded English language education, but immigrants and 
families from other provinces who have moved to Quebec may access 
English language schools by obtaining a waiver.
    In June the Prime Minister offered a full apology for the head tax 
imposed on Chinese immigrants who entered the country between 1885 and 
1923, and Newfoundland until 1949. In addition, the estimated 20 
Chinese-Canadians from this group or their spouses still living were 
promised a $17,853 (Cdn $20,000) ex gratia payment. The Government 
undertook to establish two other funds worth approximately $30.3 
million (Cdn $34 million) for community projects and education 
programs.

    Indigenous People.--The law recognizes three different groups of 
indigenous people: Indians (generally called First Nations), Inuit 
(formerly called Eskimos), and Metis (persons of mixed Indian-European 
ancestry). According to the 2001 census, indigenous people constituted 
approximately 3.3 percent of the national population and higher 
percentages in the country's three territories: Yukon, 22.9 percent; 
Northwest Territories, 50.5 percent; and Nunavut, 85 percent. Disputes 
over land claims, self-government, treaty rights, taxation, duty-free 
imports, fishing and hunting rights, and alleged harassment by police 
continued to be sources of tension on some reserves. Indigenous people 
remained underrepresented in the work force, overrepresented on welfare 
rolls and in prison populations, and more susceptible to suicide and 
poverty than other population groups.
    The law recognizes and specifically protects indigenous rights, 
including those established by historical land claims settlements. 
Historical treaties with indigenous groups in the eastern part of the 
country form the basis for the Government's policies there, but there 
were legal challenges to the Government's interpretation of treaty 
rights. Indigenous groups in the west that never signed historical 
treaties continued to claim land and resources, and many continued to 
seek legal resolution of outstanding issues. As a result, the evolution 
of the Government's policy toward indigenous rights, particularly land 
claims, was linked closely to legal challenges, including 45 Supreme 
Court decisions.
    In February aboriginal protesters took over a construction site in 
southern Ontario on disputed land claimed by the Six Nations of the 
Grand River reserve. The dispute originated from an agreement in the 
1840s in which the Six Nations claims that it leased the land to the 
provincial government. The provincial government, however, claimed the 
land was purchased and eventually resold. Protesters ignored a court 
injunction ordering them to vacate the site, and Ontario authorities 
did not enforce it. In June the Ontario government announced it had 
purchased the disputed land from the developer but its fate remained 
uncertain. The dispute and occupation continued at year's end; on 
several occasions protesters and local residents resorted to violence, 
although no one was killed or seriously injured.
    In April the Government reached an agreement to compensate 80,000 
aboriginals who attended government-financed residential schools where 
many suffered physical and sexual abuse. Negotiators representing the 
Government, aboriginal peoples, and several churches that ran the 
schools agreed that nearly $1.8 billion (Cdn $2 billion) would be paid 
out in damages. Payments were scheduled to begin in 2007 but may be 
accelerated for the elderly and the sick. The agreement allotted 
payments of about $17,853 (Cdn $20,000) to each of the 80,000 former 
students. An additional $107 million (Cdn $120 million) will be 
allotted to a foundation to promote traditional native healing 
therapies and to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to 
hear testimony from victims and possibly perpetrators.
    The annual report of the Government's corrections ombudsman, 
released in October, charged that the federal government discriminated 
against aboriginal prisoners by putting a disproportionate number in 
maximum-security penitentiaries and segregation, keeping them jailed 
longer, and failing to provide proper programs to help them readjust to 
society after release. The report noted that aboriginal people make up 
only 2.7 percent of the country's population but accounted for 18.5 
percent of the federal prison population. The ombudsman attributed the 
higher rate of recidivism in part to the Correctional Service's failure 
to manage aboriginal inmates in a culturally responsive and non-
discriminatory manner.
    In 2005 the Government agreed with five national indigenous 
organizations to commit $4.96 billion ($Cdn 5.7 billion) over five 
years to support programs in such areas as education, housing, and 
health care; however, in May the new government budgeted only a portion 
of the amount pledged for 2007-08.
    In August a court in Ontario ordered a mining exploration company 
to suspend its exploration activities after an aboriginal group claimed 
the exploration area lay on disputed land and that the community was 
never adequately consulted on the project. The judge stressed that 
indigenous people must be consulted and their views accommodated in any 
plans that could affect their land claims.
    The Government continued the process of claim settlements and self-
government negotiations with more than 350 First Nations communities.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers in both the 
public (except armed forces and police) and the private sectors to form 
and join unions of their choice without previous authorization, and 
workers did so in practice.
    Trade unions are independent of the Government. Approximately 30 
percent of the civilian labor force held union membership.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects collective bargaining, and collective agreements covered 
approximately 32 percent of the civilian labor force. All workers, 
except for those in the public sector who provide essential services, 
have the right to strike, and workers exercised this right in practice. 
The law prohibits employer retribution against strikers and union 
leaders, and the Government generally enforced this provision in 
practice. There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor legislation varies from province to province. The federal 
government does not employ youths under age 17 while school is in 
session. Most provinces prohibited children under age 15 or 16 from 
working without parental consent, at night, or in any hazardous 
employment. The province of Alberta allows children age 12 to 14 to 
work in certain sectors for limited periods of time without a permit 
from the director of employment standards. British Columbia permits 
employment of children between age 12 and 14, with the written consent 
of the child's parent or guardian, and also permits employment of 
children under age 12, with the permission of the director of 
employment standards and only in ``exceptional circumstances,'' for 
instance, in the entertainment industry.
    Federal and provincial labor ministries' inspections effectively 
enforced child labor laws and policies.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Each province and territory sets 
minimum wage rates, which ranged from $5.88 to $7.46 (Cdn $6.50 to Cdn 
$8.25) per hour. Ontario and Alberta have a minimum wage rate for 
youths lower than their respective minimums for adult workers. The 
minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker 
and family. In 2005 a family of four with a before-tax income of 
$28,749 (C$32,345) would have been living below the poverty line.
    Standard work hours vary from province to province, but in all 
provinces the limit is 40 or 48 hours per week, with at least 24 hours 
of rest. The law requires payment of a premium for work above the 
standard workweek. There is no specific prohibition on excessive 
compulsory overtime, which is regulated by means of the required rest 
periods in the labor code that differ from industry to industry.
    Federal law provides safety and health standards for employees 
under federal jurisdiction, while provincial and territorial 
legislation provides for all other employees. Federal and provincial 
labor departments monitored and enforced these standards. Federal, 
provincial, and territorial laws protect the right of workers with 
``reasonable cause'' to refuse dangerous work and remove themselves 
from hazardous work conditions, and authorities effectively enforced 
this right.

                               __________

                                 CHILE

    Chile is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately 
16 million. In January voters elected Michelle Bachelet of the 
Socialist Party as President in a free and fair runoff election. In 
December 2005 voters also elected 20 of the 38 senators and all 120 
members of the Chamber of Deputies; these elections were also 
considered generally free and fair. Civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens. There were isolated reports of excessive use of force and 
mistreatment by police forces, of physical abuse in jails and prisons, 
and of generally substandard prison conditions. Authorities failed to 
advise detainees promptly of charges against them and to grant them a 
timely hearing. Domestic violence against women and children was 
widespread. There were isolated incidents of trafficking in persons to, 
from, and within the country. Some indigenous people were marginalized, 
particularly in rural areas, and suffered some forms of discrimination. 
Many children were employed in the informal economy.
    The judiciary convicted and sentenced several former officials for 
human rights abuses committed during the 1973-90 military regime. 
Before his death on December 10, former military dictator Augusto 
Pinochet faced charges for human rights violations from 1973 to 1990 
and for allegedly illegal financial dealings during and following that 
period.
                        respect for human rights
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 March 2005 the Chamber of Deputies approved a $1.5 million (780 
million pesos) payment to the family of dual Chilean-Spanish citizen 
Carmelo Soria, who was executed by National Intelligence Directorate 
(DINA) agents in 1976. Senate action was pending at year's end.
    At the time of his death on December 10, former military dictator 
Augusto Pinochet was under investigation or indictment in at least six 
cases involving extrajudicial executions, kidnapping, and torture 
dating from the military government of 1973-89. However, Pinochet was 
never brought to trial or convicted on human rights charges.
    In November the Rancagua Appeals Court ordered Judge Raul Mera to 
continue investigations in the 1988 killings of Raul Pellegrini and 
Cecilia Magni. Pellegrini and Magni were Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic 
Front activists killed in apparent reprisal for an attack on a local 
police barracks. The court upheld Judge Mera's decision to delay filing 
charges against two suspects, and the case remained pending at year's 
end.
    Judge Alejandro Solis concluded an investigation of the 1974 car 
bomb assassination in Buenos Aires of former army commander Carlos 
Prats in August. Seven former DINA agents, including former DINA 
director Manuel Contreras, and one civilian have been indicted in the 
case. At the end of the year, all those indicted in the Prats case were 
free on bail, except for Contreras, who was serving a 12-year sentence 
for the death of Miguel Angel Sandoval.
    Judge Jorge Zepeda's investigation of retired security officer 
Rafael Gonzales, charged in connection with the 1973 killing of U.S. 
citizen Charles Horman, remained pending at year's end.
    In March Judge Victor Montiglio filed murder charges against 13 
former army officers and amended charges against six others from 
aggravated kidnapping to murder in the 1973 ``Caravan of Death'' case. 
The defendants were temporarily taken into custody, then released on 
bail. In November Judge Montiglio charged five other former officers, 
including former dictator Augusto Pinochet, with two additional 
killings in this case. The case remained pending at year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    Courts prosecuted a number of historical cases based on plaintiffs' 
arguments that the abduction of political prisoners constituted an 
ongoing crime, not covered by amnesty, unless the subsequent execution 
of the subject could be established concretely by identification of 
remains. The Supreme Court upheld a number of convictions based on 
indefinite or permanent kidnapping.
    The judiciary continued to investigate human rights abuses 
committed by the former military government and, in several cases, 
passed sentence on those found guilty. According to the Interior 
Ministry, as of October there were 361 active court cases involving 485 
former officials (mostly military officials but including some 
civilians). By year's end 126 individuals had been convicted and 
sentenced for human rights violations during the Pinochet regime.
    Judge Jorge Zepeda continued investigations of military-era 
detentions and disappearances of persons at Colonia Dignidad, now 
called Villa Baviera, a German-speaking settlement 240 miles south of 
Santiago. Settlement founder Paul Schaefer, indicted in 2005 for his 
involvement in four kidnappings under the former military regime, was 
sentenced to seven years in prison on weapons charges in August and 
faced multiple counts of child molestation. Several of Schaefer's 
associates, including Gerard Muecke, were jailed and remained under 
investigation for possible human rights violations at Colonia Dignidad.
    The investigation into the 1985 disappearance of U.S. citizen Boris 
Weisfeiler near Colonia Dignidad remained open at year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) received isolated reports of abuse and 
mistreatment by the Carabineros, the Investigations Police (PICH), and 
prison guards.
    Few reports of abuse or mistreatment led to convictions. Military 
rather than civilian courts typically processed cases of military and 
police abuse (see section 1.e.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally were poor. Prisons often were overcrowded and antiquated, 
with substandard sanitary conditions. In November there were 
approximately 43,500 prisoners in prisons designed to hold 28,700 
inmates. Prisons in the Santiago Metropolitan Region were at nearly 
double capacity. The 2006 Diego Portales University School of Law study 
on prison conditions reiterated that prison services such as health 
care remained substandard. Prison food met minimal nutritional needs, 
and prisoners were able to supplement their diets by buying food. Those 
with sufficient funds often could ``rent'' space in a better wing of 
the prison.
    In isolated instances prisoners died due to lack of clear prison 
procedures and insufficient medical resources in the prisons. In 
December prison officials reported that deaths by preventable causes 
increased to 46 in 2005 (compared with 24 in 2004) and continued to 
increase during the year. As of October 13, 38 inmates had been killed 
by other prisoners, and 16 inmates had committed suicide.
    A study by the public defender's office in seven of 13 regions 
reported that during 2005, 59 percent of prisoners claimed to have been 
victims of abuse or attacks. In 34 percent of reported abuse cases, the 
alleged offenders were prison officials. Seventeen percent of prisoners 
reported receiving physical punishment, and 6 percent of prisoners 
described their physical punishment as ``torture.''
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, and such visits took place. These included regular visits by 
Catholic and Protestant clerics and the NGO Paternitas. Amnesty 
International and the International Committee of the Red Cross were 
also granted access to facilities and prisoners. Prisoner rights groups 
continued to investigate alleged use of excessive force against 
detainees and particularly were concerned with the treatment of 
prisoners in maximum security prisons. Prisoners with HIV/AIDS and 
mental disabilities allegedly failed to receive adequate medical 
attention.
    During the year one court case alleging physical abuse or 
negligence was filed against prison officials. Of the eight court cases 
filed in 2005, two officials had been absolved; charges were dropped in 
another case; and one official convicted for abuse received a suspended 
sentence, a two-month suspension, and was fined $700 (364,000 pesos) 
plus court costs. Judicial action in the remaining cases continued at 
year's end. As of August, courts had not substantiated any of the 29 
complaints alleging abuse or negligence that were filed during the 
year. The Gendarmeria also conducted administrative investigations into 
all allegations of abuse.

    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 27,000-member 
Carabinero force, under operational control of the Ministries of 
Defense and Interior, has primary responsibility for public order, 
safety, traffic control, and border security. The PICH, comprising 
approximately 3,500 detectives, is responsible for criminal 
investigations and immigration control. While under the operational 
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior, the PICH also receives 
guidance from the prosecutor or judge in a criminal investigation. The 
Gendarmeria, with approximately 620 officials and 8,520 corrections 
officers, operated the national prison system under jurisdiction of the 
Ministry of Justice. The police force experienced a low incidence of 
corruption. Police, prison guards, and officials took courses in human 
rights, which are part of the core curriculum in the police and 
military academies.

    Arrest and Detention.--Only public officials expressly authorized 
by law can arrest or detain citizens. The authorities must advise the 
courts within 48 hours of the arrest and place the detainee at a 
judge's disposition. No one can be held or detained except in their 
home or a jail, prison, or other public facility designed for that 
purpose.
    While the authorities generally respected constitutional provisions 
for arrest and detention, detainees often were not advised promptly of 
charges against them nor granted a timely hearing before a judge. 
However, judicial reforms that took effect in June 2005 improved 
performance, and during the year more than 80 percent of cases were 
resolved within the designated period. The law allows civilian and 
military courts to order detention for up to five days without 
arraignment and to extend the detention of alleged terrorists for up to 
10 days. The law allows judges to set bail. Provisional liberty must be 
granted unless a judge decides that detention is necessary to the 
investigation or for the protection of the prisoner or the public.
    The law affords detainees 30 minutes of immediate and subsequent 
daily access to a lawyer (in the presence of a prison guard) and to a 
doctor to verify their physical condition. Regular visits by family 
members are allowed.
    The law requires that police inform detainees of their rights and 
expedite notification of the detention to family members. The law also 
prohibits police from demanding identification from or stopping persons 
based solely on suspicion, and it prohibits physical abuse by police 
against detained persons (see section 1.c.).
    The President is authorized to grant amnesty to prisoners and 
typically grants amnesty to a limited number of prisoners each year on 
humanitarian grounds.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The judiciary has civil, criminal, juvenile, family, and labor 
courts of first instance throughout the country. There are 16 courts of 
appeal. The 21-member Supreme Court is the court of final appeal. A 
constitutional tribunal decides whether laws or treaties present 
conflicts with the constitution. There are also military courts-
martial.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. National 
and regional prosecutors investigate crimes, formulate charges, and 
prosecute cases. Three-judge panels form the court of first instance; 
the process is oral and adversarial, trials are public, and judges rule 
on guilt and dictate sentences. Court records, rulings, and findings 
were generally accessible to the public.
    The law provides for the right to legal counsel, and public 
defender's offices in all 12 regions and the Santiago Metropolitan 
Region provide professional legal counsel to anyone seeking such 
assistance. When requested by other human rights organizations or 
family members, the NGO Corporation for the Promotion and Defense of 
the Rights of the People and other lawyers working pro bono assisted 
detainees during interrogations and represented some persons charged 
with terrorist acts in court. Defendants enjoy a presumption of 
innocence and have a right of appeal.
    If formal charges are filed in civilian courts against a member of 
the military (including the Carabineros), the military prosecutor can 
ask for jurisdiction, which the Supreme Court occasionally granted. 
This was particularly significant in human rights cases from the period 
covered by the Amnesty Law, since military courts were more likely to 
grant amnesty without a full investigation. Military courts have the 
authority to charge and try civilians for terrorist acts, defamation of 
military personnel, and sedition. Persons arrested during 
demonstrations for assaulting a police officer also are brought before 
military tribunals.
    Civilians prosecuted in military courts have the same legal 
protections as those prosecuted in civilian courts. They are entitled 
to counsel, the charges are public, the sentencing guidelines are the 
same (with the exception that the death penalty can be imposed in a 
military court but not in a civilian court), and the Supreme Court 
ultimately may hear appeals. A military prosecutor formulates charges 
and conducts the investigation, and the first instance of appeal is in 
a court-martial, composed of two civilian and three military judges.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees, although a number of inmates in 
Santiago's maximum security prison charged with terrorist acts 
following the return to democracy in 1989 claimed to be political 
prisoners. In July 2005 the Senate approved a law allowing prisoners 
convicted on terrorism charges to apply for parole; 32 prisoners were 
eligible to apply under the provisions, but there was no report on how 
many were released on parole.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While there is an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, which permits 
access for lawsuits regarding human rights violations, modernization of 
the judiciary has yet to affect the civil justice system, which was 
characterized by antiquated and inefficient procedures. Courts were 
overwhelmed by more than 800,000 new cases each year. The average civil 
trial lasts more than five years, and civil suits could continue for 
decades. Additionally, only 8 percent of lawsuits result in a 
definitive sentence or court-imposed settlement. Of the rest, 90 
percent are eventually resolved through mediation outside the courts or 
settlement between the parties.

    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.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice, subject to significant legal restrictions.
    Human rights groups and press associations criticized the existence 
and application of laws that prohibit insulting state institutions, 
including the presidency, the legislature, and judicial bodies, and 
those that allow government officials to bring charges against 
journalists who insult or criticize them. Military courts may charge 
and try civilians for defamation of military personnel and for 
sedition, but their rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court (see 
section 1.e.). Media organizations and individuals can also be sued for 
libel.
    The law prohibits the surreptitious recording of private 
conversations.
    Two major media groups, which were largely independent of the 
Government, controlled most of the print media. The Government was the 
majority owner of La Nacion newspaper but did not directly control its 
editorial content.
    The broadcast media generally were independent of direct government 
influence. The Television Nacional network was state-owned but not 
under direct government control. It was self-financed through 
commercial advertising, editorially independent, and governed by a 
board of directors appointed by the President and approved by the 
Senate.
    The government-funded National Television Council (CNT) was 
responsible for ensuring that television programming ``respects the 
moral and cultural values of the nation.'' The CNT's principal role was 
to regulate violence and sexual explicitness in both broadcast and 
cable television programming content. Films and other programs judged 
by the CNT to be excessively violent, have obscene language, or depict 
sexually explicit scenes may be shown only after 10 p.m., when ``family 
viewing hours'' end. The CNT occasionally levied fines.

    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 electronic mail. 
While the PICH maintained a sexual crimes unit that monitored Web sites 
for child pornography and prosecuted several individuals for selling, 
storing, or trading child pornography on the Internet, there were no 
reports that the Government monitored e-mail or Internet chatrooms for 
other 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    Religious organizations were required to register with the Ministry 
of Interior in order to enjoy religious nonprofit status and provide 
certain religious services, such as marriage ceremonies.
    Although the law grants non-Catholic religions the right to have 
chaplains in public hospitals, prisons, and military units, some 
leaders of the country's Protestant churches (accounting for more than 
15 percent of the population) noted a reluctance to name Protestant 
chaplains in the armed forces and obstacles to pastoral visits at 
military hospitals. Hospitals and prisons outside the military system, 
however, provided good access to evangelicals as well as other minority 
religious denominations.
    While schools were required to offer religious education twice a 
week through middle school, enrollment in such classes was optional. 
The law mandates teaching the creed requested by parents, but 
enforcement was sometimes lax. Instruction was almost exclusively Roman 
Catholic.
    In September 2005 the Supreme Court sustained a government 
challenge to the registration of the Unification Church as a religious 
nonprofit organization. Since then, the Unification Church continued to 
operate under a more limited private nonprofit status.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were isolated reports of 
anti-Semitic incidents, including spray-painted graffiti of swastikas 
and derogatory comments directed at Jewish individuals. The Jewish 
community was estimated at approximately 21,000 persons.
    Neo-Nazi and skinhead groups engaged in gang-type criminal 
activities and violence against immigrants, homosexuals, punk rockers, 
and anarchists. While these groups share the anti-Semitic rhetoric of 
neo-Nazi groups, there were no reports of neo-Nazi attacks targeting 
the Jewish community. Identified neo-Nazis have been dismissed from the 
armed forces and Carabineros, and the Government closed a neo-Nazi 
newspaper in 2005.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government established a system for providing protection to refugees. 
In practice the Government provided protection against refoulement, the 
return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. The 
Government granted refugee status or asylum. During the year, 850 
persons residing in the country had recognized refugee status. The 
Government also provided temporary protection to approximately 450 
individuals applying for status as refugees under the 1951 Convention 
and the 1967 Protocol. These individuals were eligible for government-
funded health care and education while awaiting adjudication of their 
cases and were financially supported by the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other organizations. The Government cooperated 
with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
refugees and asylum seekers.
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 held on the basis of universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In January voters elected 
Michelle Bachelet of the Socialist Party as President in a free and 
fair runoff election. Bachelet is a member of the center-left 
Concertacion coalition, which includes the Socialist Party, the 
Christian Democratic Party, the Party for Democracy, and the Radical 
Social Democrat Party. In December 2005 voters elected 20 of the 38 
senators and all 120 members of the Chamber of Deputies in elections 
generally considered free and fair. President Bachelet and the new 
congress assumed office on March 11.
    There were 15 women in the 120-seat Chamber of Deputies, two women 
in the 48-seat Senate, and 10 women in the 18-member cabinet. 
Indigenous people have the legal right to participate freely in the 
political process, but relatively few were active. No members of the 
legislature acknowledged indigenous descent.
    Women became more visible in political life after Michelle Bachelet 
assumed the presidency in March. As a result of her policy of ``gender 
parity,'' women filled nearly 50 percent of governmental appointments. 
However, women continued to be vastly underrepresented among elected 
officials, constituting, for instance, only 12 percent of municipal 
mayors.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were isolated 
reports of government corruption during the year. Transparency 
International's annual corruption index recorded that the public 
perceived the country as relatively free of corruption.
    In December 2005 the mayor of Quillota, Luis Mella (Christian 
Democrat), alleged the Government's Employment Generation Program (PGE) 
paid political allies for work that was not performed. The Public 
Ministry and the comptroller then initiated parallel investigations 
into the potential illicit use of public funds. Although earmarked for 
employment programs, these resources were possibly diverted to the 
political campaigns of Socialist Party and Party for Democracy 
candidates in the Fifth Region during the 2005 congressional elections. 
The PGE investigations revealed that individuals paid to do public 
works actually spent their time campaigning for political parties.
    Further investigations revealed that funds were also misused in 
other Fifth Region counties. Many midlevel public officials in the 
regional government, such as the former regional ministerial secretary 
of labor, were formally investigated, and several local officials were 
removed.
    The Government took remedial steps to control public employment 
programs, dismantling the PGE and designating three government agencies 
to manage recruitment of public works employers and workers and payment 
of wages.
    In October a government audit revealed financial irregularities in 
Chiledeportes, a national program to promote amateur and professional 
sport activities. Opposition political figures charged that the funds 
had been diverted into the national political campaigns of ruling party 
figures, while the organization's director characterized the issue as 
``common crime.'' The Government removed all 13 Chiledeportes regional 
directors and initiated a broad-based investigation to determine the 
extent and nature of potential fraud or mismanagement. Congress created 
an investigative committee in February, and prosecutors brought charges 
of tax evasion and falsification of documents against some individuals. 
Executive, congressional, and judicial investigations were ongoing at 
year's end.
    The Freedom of Information Act requires the Government and its 
agencies to make all unclassified information about their activities 
available to the public. All government ministries and most public 
agencies have Web pages. In 2005 the NGO Participa released the results 
of a far-ranging survey, which found that national and local government 
agencies failed to respond to 69 percent of requests for information 
and provided incomplete or otherwise deficient responses to 14 percent 
of requests.
Section 4. 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 Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued two rulings against 
the Government in September. In one case, the court ruled the 
application of the country's 1978 Amnesty Law in the 1973 killing of 
Luis Almonacid Arellano constituted denial of justice. The court 
further ruled that the Amnesty Law could not be applied in the 
Almonacid case or other cases comprising crimes against humanity for 
purposes of closing investigations or suspending sentence against 
persons convicted of those crimes. The court ordered that the 
Government pay Almonacid's family $10,000 for legal fees. The 
Government accepted the court's ruling, and at year's end Congress was 
considering legislation to restrict the scope of the Amnesty Law.
    In the case of Claude Reyes, the court issued a ruling regarding 
the Government's refusal to release certain financial information about 
a forestry contract negotiated with a foreign investor in 1998. The 
contract was never finalized, and the environmentally sensitive project 
was terminated. However, the court ruled that the Government had 
violated the plaintiff's right to free speech by denying access to 
public information without a valid justification. The ruling called on 
the Government to provide all the requested information and guarantee 
effective access to public information in the future. The court also 
ordered the Government to pay the plaintiffs $10,000 in compensation 
for legal fees and other expenses.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, gender, age, 
nationality, national origin, or social status, and the Government 
enforced this prohibition; however, such discrimination continued to 
occur.

    Women.--Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. 
A 2004 National Women's Service (SERNAM) study reported that 50 percent 
of married women had suffered spousal abuse, 34 percent reported having 
suffered physical violence, and 16 percent reported psychological 
abuse. From January to November 2005, 76,000 cases of family violence 
were reported to the Carabineros; 67,913 were reported by women, 6,404 
by men, and approximately 1,000 by children.
    The courts frequently order counseling for those involved in 
intrafamily violence. At year's end there were 29 government and 
private centers to attend to victims of intrafamily violence. During 
the year the SERNAM partnered with NGOs to conduct courses on the 
legal, medical, and psychological aspects of domestic violence for 
police officers and judicial and municipal authorities.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense. Penalties for 
rape range from five to 15 years' imprisonment, and the Government 
generally enforced the law. The age for statutory rape is 14. The law 
protects the privacy and safety of the person making the charge. From 
January to November, police received reports of 1,926 cases of rape, 
compared with 2,451 cases in all of 2005. Experts believed that most 
rape cases went unreported.
    The Ministry of Justice and the PICH had several offices 
specifically to provide counseling and assistance in rape cases. A 
number of NGOs, such as La Morada Corporation for Women, provided 
counseling for rape victims.
    Although adult prostitution is legal, bordellos are not. Several 
hundred women were registered as prostitutes with the National Health 
Service. Police often detained prostitutes (usually as a result of 
complaints by neighborhood residents) on charges of ``offenses against 
morality,'' which could lead to a $96 (50,000 pesos) fine or five days 
in prison. Procurement or pandering is illegal and punishable under 
law. Inducing a minor (below age 18) to have sex in exchange for money 
or other favors is illegal. Punishment ranges from three to 20 years in 
prison and a $1,000 (520,000 pesos) fine depending on the age of the 
minor. A police sexual crimes brigade was specifically charged with 
investigating and prosecuting pedophilia and child pornography cases.
    Sexual harassment generally was recognized as a problem. A 2005 law 
against sexual harassment provides protection and financial 
compensation to victims and penalizes harassment by employers or co-
workers. From January through September, the Labor Directorate had 
received 244 complaints of sexual harassment; 205 of these cases 
involved harassment by a supervisor or employer. During 2005 there were 
264 such complaints--254 made by women and 10 by men; 238 of these 
cases involved a supervisor or employer. Most of the complaints were 
resolved quickly, resulting in action against the harasser in 33 
percent of cases.
    Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, including rights under 
family law and property law. The quadrennial 2004 National Socio-
Economic Survey suggested that the overall gender income gap remained 
at 33 percent, which widened to 38 percent in managerial and 
professional positions. Women's workforce participation rose to 42 
percent. The minimum wage for domestic workers, probably the largest 
single category of working women, was 75 percent of the standard 
minimum wage (see section 6.e.). The labor code provides specific 
benefits for pregnant workers and recent mothers, including a 
prohibition against dismissal; these benefits also apply to domestic 
workers. Employers may not ask women to take pregnancy tests prior to 
hiring them, although the NGO La Morada received reports that the 
practice continued in some companies. The SERNAM is charged with 
protecting women's legal rights.
    A 2005 study by Corporacion Humana and the University of Chile's 
Institute of Public Affairs revealed that 87 percent of women surveyed 
felt that women suffered discrimination. According to the survey, 95 
percent believed women faced discrimination in the labor market, 67 
percent believed they faced discrimination in politics, 61 percent felt 
that women were discriminated against by the media, and 54 percent 
within the family.

    Children.--The Government is committed to children's rights and 
welfare.
    Education is universal, compulsory, and free from first through 
12th grade. The latest government figures showed that in 2002 the 
median level of education was 10 years but varied regionally and across 
age groups. The World Bank reported that in 2004 more than 90 percent 
of school-age children attended school. Three-quarters of the 
population had completed primary education (eight years), and 61 
percent had secondary education (12 years).
    The Government provided basic health care through a public system, 
which included regular checkups, vaccinations, and emergency health 
care. Boys and girls had equal access to health care.
    Violence against children was a problem. A 2003 study by the 
Citizens' Peace Foundation indicated that 60 percent of children 
surveyed between the ages of seven and 10 had suffered some type of 
aggression against them or their belongings either inside or outside 
their homes. A 2006 UNICEF study reported that 75 percent of 13- and 
14-year-olds reported they were subject to some type of physical or 
psychological violence from one or both parents, including 26 percent 
who reported having suffered serious physical violence (e.g., beatings, 
cuts, and burns).
    From January to November, the Public Ministry reported 197 cases of 
commercial juvenile sexual exploitation, compared with 195 cases in all 
of 2005. Since June 2003 the Government's National Children's Service 
(SENAME) assisted more than 2,100 victims of commercial juvenile sexual 
exploitation. SENAME, the Carabineros, and PICH worked together, along 
with schools and NGOs, to identify children in abusive situations, 
provide abused children with counseling and other social services, and 
keep families intact.
    Child prostitution was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor in the informal economy was a problem (see section 
6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons, and there were isolated reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, and within the country for the purposes of 
sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude.
    The law criminalizes promoting the entry into or exit from the 
country of persons for the purpose of facilitating prostitution, with 
penalties of up to three years in prison and a fine of $827 (430,000 
pesos). Sanctions are increased in a number of circumstances, including 
cases in which the victim is a minor, violence or intimidation is used, 
deception or abuse of authority is involved, the victim is related or 
under the tutelage of the perpetrator, or advantage is taken of a 
victim's circumstances or handicap. The law criminalizes the 
prostitution of children and corruption of minors, and the age of 
consent for sexual relations is 14. The law criminalizes obtaining 
sexual services from a minor in exchange for money or other 
considerations.
    Most trafficking victims were minors trafficked internally for 
sexual exploitation. Within the country, victims reportedly were 
trafficked from rural areas to urban areas such as Santiago, Iquique, 
and Valparaiso. Law enforcement authorities stated that small numbers 
of victims were trafficked to the neighboring countries of Argentina, 
Peru, and Bolivia, as well as to the United States, Europe, and Asia. 
Victims reportedly entered the country from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, 
and Bolivia, although it was difficult to distinguish trafficking 
victims from economic migrants.
    Anecdotal reports suggested that young women were the primary 
targets for trafficking to other countries. Traffickers reportedly used 
newspaper advertisements for models and product promoters to lure 
girls, ages 11 to 17, into prostitution. Law enforcement agencies 
indicated that traffickers looking for children also targeted 
economically disadvantaged families, convincing the parents that they 
were giving the child the opportunity for a better life.
    An antitrafficking coordinator in the Interior Ministry worked with 
the Public Ministry to gather information on new cases investigated and 
prosecuted. From May 2005 through March, 83 new cases were opened, with 
50 pending active investigations and 14 prosecutions initiated by the 
year's end. Most trafficking-related cases dealt with commercial sexual 
exploitation of minors. The Public Ministry investigated 11 cases of 
cross-border trafficking in persons from January to November, compared 
with seven cases in all of 2005. Additionally, the PICH sex crimes and 
cybercrime units worked with the Ministries of Justice and Interior to 
address trafficking. The Government cooperated with Interpol on law 
enforcement activities.
    The Ministry of Labor performed regular worksite inspections, 
responded to specific complaints, and maintained offices in each region 
and throughout the Santiago Metropolitan Region to identify potentially 
abusive situations and inform workers of their legal rights. The Public 
Ministry trained hundreds of law enforcement agents to recognize and 
investigate potential trafficking and trained prosecutors to prosecute 
cases more effectively. SERNAM raised trafficking awareness and 
provided information on victim's rights and the prosecution of 
traffickers to 100 officials and 160 civic activists in the border 
cities of Iquique and Arica.
    The Government made substantial efforts to assist trafficking 
victims during the year. Child victims trafficked into sexual 
exploitation received counseling, psychological and health care, and 
educational courses in NGO-operated centers for abused and exploited 
children. The Government gave two million dollars (1.04 billion pesos) 
to 16 NGOs that implement victim-assistance programs in 12 different 
districts. Police officials who identified child trafficking victims 
referred them to family courts for placement in protective custody with 
foster families, relatives, or shelters and put victims in contact with 
NGOs.
    SENAME worked with 75 local offices, with international 
organizations, including the International Organization for Migration, 
and with NGOs to ensure that minors involved in possible trafficking 
situations were not returned to abusive or high-risk situations. The 
Government also worked with Bolivian and Argentine authorities to 
coordinate the safe repatriation of foreign victims. Trafficking 
victims may remain in the country during legal proceedings against 
their traffickers. Victims may also bring legal action against 
traffickers and seek restitution. The Government had no residence visa 
program for foreign trafficking victims; however, at least one victim 
was granted temporary residence to avoid returning her to potential re-
victimization in her home country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities, but such persons 
suffered forms of de facto discrimination. The law mandates access to 
buildings for persons with disabilities, but a Ministry of Housing and 
Urban Planning study based on a 2002-03 census showed that 70 percent 
of the buildings in the country designated as public or multiuse failed 
to meet that standard. An improved public transportation system in 
Santiago provided wheelchair access on major ``trunk'' routes. Some 
local ``feeder'' routes also provided low-rise buses with access ramps. 
Subway lines in the Santiago metropolitan area provided limited access 
for persons with disabilities. Public transport outside of Santiago was 
problematic.
    In April 2005 the Government released its First National Study of 
Disability, which revealed that twice as many persons with disabilities 
were in the lower socioeconomic brackets as in the middle and upper 
brackets. Approximately 100,000 persons with disabilities under the age 
of 27 did not receive any special care or education.

    Indigenous People.--The 2002 census recorded approximately 692,000 
self-identified persons of indigenous origin (5 percent of the total 
population). The Mapuches, from the south, accounted for approximately 
85 percent of this number. There were also small populations of Aymara, 
Atacameno, Rapa Nui, and Kawaskhar in other parts of the country.
    The law gives indigenous people a voice in decisions affecting 
their lands, cultures, and traditions and provides for bilingual 
education in schools with indigenous populations. Approximately one-
half the self-identified indigenous population remained separated from 
the rest of society, largely due to historical, cultural, educational, 
and geographical factors. Both internal factors and governmental 
policies limited the ability of indigenous people to participate in 
governmental decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and 
the allocation of natural resources. Indigenous people also experienced 
some societal discrimination and reported incidents in which they were 
attacked and harassed. A 2003 Ministry of Planning survey reported that 
indigenous people earned 26 percent less than nonindigenous citizens 
for similar work.
    The National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI), which 
included directly elected indigenous representatives, advised and 
directed government programs to assist the economic development of 
indigenous people.
    In 2005 CONADI regularized the property titles to approximately 
173,000 acres of land that were restored to 300 Aymara families in the 
north. However, some observers criticized a lack of transparency in 
CONADI's land restoration processes and favoritism of the Mapuche over 
other indigenous groups.
    There were isolated instances of violent confrontations between 
indigenous Mapuche groups and landowners, logging companies, and local 
government authorities in the southern part of the country. The actions 
took the form of protests and, occasionally, instances of rock 
throwing, land occupations, and burning of crops or buildings. Many of 
these actions were initiated by the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), 
an indigenous group that has been accused of terrorist acts.
    Three CAM-related Mapuches and a non-indigenous sympathizer 
remained imprisoned in a 2001 arson case in which antiterrorism 
penalties were applied. The four initiated a hunger strike in March, 
demanding the terrorism convictions be voided to allow their release on 
parole. In April the court acquitted two other individuals of all 
charges, criminal and terrorist, in the same case. In September the 
Senate rejected a proposed law to allow the release of the four 
imprisoned on terrorist charges. Government-sponsored legislation which 
would clarify the application of the antiterrorism law remained pending 
at year's end.
    The Government did not act on a UN special rapporteur's 2003 
recommendation that there be a judicial review of cases affecting 
Mapuche leaders. The Government has not applied the antiterrorism law 
in Mapuche-related prosecutions since 2002.
    The Ministry of Education provided a package of financial aid 
consisting of 1,200 scholarships for indigenous elementary and high 
school students in the Araucania Region during 2005. The Government 
also implemented the Indigenous Scholarship Program that benefited 
36,000 low-income indigenous elementary, high school, and college 
students with good academic performances.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to form and 
join unions without prior authorization, and approximately 10 percent 
of the total work force (estimated at 5.9 million) was unionized in 
more than 16,000 unions. Police and military personnel may not organize 
collectively. Members of unions were free to withdraw from union 
membership. The law prohibits closed union shops.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the 
Government protected this right in practice. Temporary workers--those 
in agriculture and construction as well as port workers and 
entertainers--may form unions, but their right to collective bargaining 
is limited. Intercompany unions were permitted to bargain collectively 
only if the individual employers agreed to negotiate under such terms. 
Collective bargaining in the agricultural sector remained dependent on 
employers agreeing to negotiate.
    While employees in the private sector have the right to strike, the 
Government regulated this right, and there were some restrictions. The 
law permits replacement of striking workers, subject to the payment of 
a cash penalty that is distributed among the strikers.
    Public employees do not enjoy the right to strike, although 
government teachers, municipal and health workers, and other government 
employees have gone on strike in the past. The law proscribes employees 
of 30 companies--largely providers of such essential services as water 
and electricity--from striking. It stipulates compulsory arbitration to 
resolve disputes in these companies. There was no provision for 
compulsory arbitration in the private sector. Strikes by agricultural 
workers during the harvest season were prohibited. Employers must show 
cause and pay severance benefits if they dismiss striking workers.
    Labor laws applied in the duty-free zones; there are no export 
processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that such 
practices occurred. The Labor Code does not specifically prohibit 
forced or compulsory labor by children, and child prostitution remained 
a problem (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law restricts child labor, but it was a problem in the informal 
economy. The law provides that children between the ages of 15 and 18 
may work with the express permission of their parents or guardians, but 
they must attend school; 15-year-old children may perform only light 
work that does not require hard physical labor or constitute a threat 
to health and childhood development. Additional provisions in the law 
protect workers under age 18 by restricting the types of work open to 
them (for example, they may not work in nightclubs) and by establishing 
special conditions of work (they may not work more than eight hours in 
a day). The minimum age to work in an underground mine is 21; special 
regulations govern the ability of 18- to 21-year-olds to work at other 
types of mining sites.
    Ministry of Labor inspectors enforced these regulations, and while 
compliance was good in the formal economy, many children were employed 
in the informal economy. From January through November, the Ministry of 
Labor imposed some form of sanctions in 93 cases involving violations 
of child labor laws. There were reports that children were trafficked 
(see section 5). A 2004 survey by the Ministry of Labor and the 
International Labor Organization reported that in 2003 approximately 
200,000 children between the ages of five and 17 worked, and 3 percent 
of all children and adolescents worked under unacceptable conditions. 
Among working children, those between the ages of five and 14 worked an 
average of 18.5 hours a week, and adolescents worked an average of 39.5 
hours.
    In August 2005 SENAME released a report indicating that, as of 
September 2004, there were 1,123 cases of children and adolescents 
involved in the worst forms of child labor. Of this number, 
approximately 68 percent were boys; 75 percent were 15 years or older; 
and 66 percent did not attend school. Fifty-eight percent of the 
individuals were involved in hazardous activities such as mining or 
working with chemicals or toxins, 24 percent in commercial sexual 
exploitation, and 14 percent in illegal activities.
    The Government devoted adequate resources and oversight to child 
labor policies. SENAME, in coordination with labor inspectors, has a 
system for identifying and assisting children in abusive or dangerous 
situations. The Ministry of Labor convened regular meetings of a 
tripartite group (business-labor-government) to monitor progress in 
eradicating child labor. SENAME operated rehabilitation and reinsertion 
programs in 75 municipalities for exploited child workers. SENAME also 
implemented public educational programs to create awareness about child 
labor and its worst forms.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage is set by law 
and is subject to adjustment annually. A tripartite committee 
comprising government, employer, and labor representatives normally 
suggests a minimum wage based on projected inflation and increases in 
productivity. On July 1, the minimum wage increased 6 percent to 
approximately $255 a month (135,000 pesos). This wage was designed to 
serve as the starting wage for an unskilled single adult worker 
entering the labor force and did not provide a worker and family with a 
decent standard of living. The minimum wage for domestic servants was 
75 percent of that for other occupations (see section 5). The Labor 
Directorate, under the Ministry of Labor, was responsible for 
effectively enforcing minimum wage and other labor laws and 
regulations.
    The law sets the legal workweek at six days or 45 hours. The 
maximum workday length is 10 hours (including two hours of overtime 
pay), but positions such as caretakers and domestic servants are 
exempt. All workers enjoy at least one 24-hour rest period during the 
workweek, except for workers at high altitudes who may exchange a work-
free day each week for several consecutive work-free days every two 
weeks. The law establishes fines for employers who compel workers to 
work in excess of 10 hours a day or do not provide adequate rest days. 
The Government effectively enforced these standards.
    The law establishes occupational safety and health standards, which 
were administered by the Ministries of Health and Labor and effectively 
enforced. Insurance mutual funds provide workers' compensation and 
occupational safety training for the private and public sectors. The 
law protects employment of workers who remove themselves from dangerous 
situations if labor inspectors from the Labor Directorate and 
occupational safety and health inspectors from the Chilean Safety 
Association determine conditions that endanger their health or safety 
exist. Authorities effectively enforced the standards and frequently 
imposed fines for workplace violations.

                               __________

                                COLOMBIA

    Colombia is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a 
population of approximately 42 million. On May 28, independent 
Presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe was reelected in elections that 
were considered generally free and fair. The 42-year internal armed 
conflict continued between the Government and terrorist organizations, 
particularly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the 
National Liberation Army (ELN). [.] The United Self Defense Forces of 
Colombia (AUC) was demobilized by August, but renegade AUC members who 
did not demobilize, or who demobilized but later abandoned the peace 
process, remained the object of military action. While civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces, there were instances in which elements of the security forces 
acted in violation of state policy.
    Although serious problems remained, the Government's respect for 
human rights continued to improve, which was particularly evident in 
actions undertaken by the Government's security forces and in 
demobilization negotiations with the AUC. The following societal 
problems and governmental human rights abuses were reported during the 
year: unlawful and extrajudicial killings; forced disappearances; 
insubordinate military collaboration with criminal groups; torture and 
mistreatment of detainees; overcrowded and insecure prisons; arbitrary 
arrest; high number of pretrial detainees some of whom were held with 
convicted prisoners; impunity; an inefficient judiciary subject to 
intimidation; harassment and intimidation of journalists; unhygienic 
conditions at settlements for displaced persons, with limited access to 
health care, education, or employment; corruption; harassment of human 
rights groups; violence against women, including rape; child abuse and 
child prostitution; trafficking in women and children for the purpose 
of sexual exploitation; societal discrimination against women, 
indigenous persons, and minorities; and illegal child labor.
    Illegal armed groups committed the majority of human rights 
violations. Despite a unilateral cease-fire declared by the AUC in 2002 
and a nationwide demobilization, renegade paramilitary members 
committed the following criminal acts and human rights abuses: 
political killings and kidnappings; forced disappearances; torture; 
interference with personal privacy and with the political system; 
forced displacement; suborning and intimidation of judges, prosecutors, 
and witnesses; infringement on citizens' privacy rights; restrictions 
on freedom of movement; recruitment and employment of child soldiers; 
and harassment, intimidation, and killings of human rights workers, 
journalists, teachers, and trade unionists.
    The FARC and ELN committed the following human rights violations: 
political killings; killings of off-duty members of the public security 
forces and local officials; kidnappings and forced disappearances; 
massive forced displacements; suborning and intimidation of judges, 
prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on citizens' privacy rights; 
restrictions on freedom of movement; widespread recruitment of child 
soldiers; attacks against human rights activists; harassment, 
intimidation, and killings of teachers and trade unionists.
    During the year the Government demobilized 17,560 paramilitary 
members, which brought the total number demobilized since 2003 to more 
than 32,000 and concluded the demobilization process. Former 
paramilitaries who refused to demobilize were treated as common 
criminals. Representatives of the Government, the ELN, civil society, 
and international observers continued meeting to explore a possible 
peace process and demobilization of the ELN.
    Government steps to improve the human rights and security situation 
showed demonstrable results. Government statistics indicated that 
during the year there were decreases in the homicide rate (5 percent), 
massacres (23 percent), kidnappings (14 percent), and forced 
displacement (20 percent).
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Political and 
unlawful killings remained an extremely serious problem, and there were 
periodic reports that members of the security forces committed 
extrajudicial killings.
    The Jesuit-founded Center for Popular Research and Education 
(CINEP), a local human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO), 
claimed there were at least 161 political and unlawful killings, 
committed by all actors, during the first six months of the year. Some 
NGOs, such as CINEP, attributed reports of paramilitary human rights 
violations directly to the Government and included paramilitary 
killings in their definition of ``unlawful killings.'' The Government's 
Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that during the year 193 
persons died in 37 massacres (defined by the Government as killings of 
four or more persons) committed by illegal armed groups, a 23 percent 
decrease from 2005.
    Security forces were responsible for multiple unlawful killings.
    CINEP reported that there were 92 such killings during the first 
six months of the year.
    In conformity with the law, the military or civilian authorities 
investigated killings allegedly committed by security forces. Civilian 
courts tried a number of military personnel accused of human rights 
violations (see section 1.e.). Investigations of past killings 
proceeded, albeit slowly.
    The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) 
expressed concern over the January 4 killings of Edimer Witer Hernandez 
Giraldo, Ricardo Arley Jaramillo, and John Jairo Guzman in Montebello, 
Antioquia. According to the allegations, members of the Fourth 
Brigade's Pedro Nel Ospina Battalion summarily executed the victims and 
subsequently presented them as enemy combatants.
    According to CINEP, on March 4, soldiers from the Fourth or 17th 
Brigade killed Nelly Johana Durango in San Jose de Apartado. CINEP 
alleged that the soldiers subsequently presented her as an enemy 
combatant.
    The UNHCHR expressed concern over the March 9 killing of John Jairo 
Gomez Garces in Bello, Antioquia. According to the allegations, 
soldiers from the Fourth Brigade's Pedro Nel Ospina Battalion summarily 
executed the victim and later claimed he was killed in cross-fire with 
the AUC.
    In May the UNHCHR requested the Government provide an explanation 
for 15 reports of alleged unlawful killings. Of the 15 reports, 11 
involved the Fourth Brigade, one involved the 17th Brigade, one 
involved the Sixth Brigade, and two were unidentified. In June the 
UNHCHR requested the Office of the Inspector General (Procurador 
General) to investigate 37 cases of alleged killings of persons who had 
been presented as enemies killed in combat. In response to these 
requests, the Government subsequently identified 29 cases. Of these, 
the military justice system was investigating one case, the Supreme 
Council of the Judiciary was reviewing another for jurisdiction, and 
the remaining 27 were being investigated by the Prosecutor General's 
Office (Fiscal General). As of September, the Prosecutor General's 
Office had issued seven preventive detention orders in two of its 
cases.
    In September the Prosecutor General's Office detained Army Major 
Jorge Alberto Mora Pineda, commander of the antikidnapping unit in 
Barranquilla, for his role in an alleged false kidnapping operation on 
August 14 in which members of the unit killed six persons. The 
Prosecutor General's Office investigated six members of the 
Governmental GAULA (Unified Action Groups for Personal Liberty, an 
entity formed to combat kidnapping and extortion) and one agent from 
the Department of Administrative Security (DAS).
    In the February 2005 case of eight civilians killed in San Jose de 
Apartado, the Human Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office 
continued collecting evidence against members of the army's 17th 
Brigade for their alleged involvement. However, the Prosecutor 
General's Office reported difficulty in collecting testimony from the 
members of the peace community in San Jose de Apartado, which impeded 
the investigation.
    On February 20, the Prosecutor General's Office indicted seven 
members (including the commander) of the ``Pantero Uno'' Squad from the 
army's 12th Infantry Battalion (``Alfonso Manosalva Florez'') for 
homicide and criminal conspiracy in the killings of Wilman Guillermo, 
Arriaga Arboleda, and Jefferson Moreno Lopez in July 2005 in Condoto, 
Choco.
    The Prosecutor General's Office detained army soldier Miguel Angel 
Molina Delgado on charges of homicide and trafficking firearms owned by 
the armed forces, for launching a grenade into a house, which caused 
the death of a minor and injuries to three persons in September 2005.
    In February the Prosecutor General's Human Rights Unit in Cali took 
over the case of the September 2005 killing of Jhonny Silva Aranguren 
during a protest at Valle University. The investigation remained in the 
preliminary stage at year's end.
    In September the Prosecutor General's Office detained one officer, 
one noncommissioned officer, and four soldiers in the October 2005 
killing of Luis Orozco and Mario Pineda in Tierralta, Cordoba. 
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the soldiers originally 
presented the victims as insurgents killed in combat, but a subsequent 
investigation revealed the soldiers had summarily executed the victims. 
The case was pending at year's end.
    In December 2005 a military penal court ruled there was no evidence 
of criminal wrongdoing in a 2004 ``friendly fire'' incident, in which 
two policemen killed GAULA members in Floridablanca, Santander 
Department.
    In September the Prosecutor General's Office ordered the detention 
of eight soldiers for killing Juan Daza in 2004 in Atanquez, Cesar. The 
army had presented the victim as an insurgent killed in combat, but the 
prosecutor general's investigation determined the suspects summarily 
executed the victim.
    In August the Prosecutor General's Office detained a 
noncommissioned officer and three soldiers for the 2003 killing of 
Jesus Montero in Rioseco, Cesar. The army had presented the victim as 
an insurgent killed in combat, but a subsequent investigation 
determined the soldiers summarily executed the victim.
    There were also reports of security forces killing civilians during 
the internal armed conflict (see section 1.g.).
    There was no information available regarding developments in the 
following killings that CINEP attributed to army units in 2005: in 
February, two peasants by Battalion 21 Vargas in Meta Department and 
two civilians by the Santander Battalion in Cesar Department and in 
March, three persons in Arauca Department by Second Division troops.
    Both governmental and nongovernmental actors used landmines (see 
section 1.g.). The Government expressed its commitment to removing the 
remaining 31 government-controlled minefields, as the security 
situation permits.
    There continued to be credible reports that some members of the 
security forces cooperated with illegal paramilitaries in violation of 
orders from the President and the military high command (see section 
1.g.). Such collaboration often facilitated unlawful killings and 
sometimes may have involved direct participation in paramilitary 
atrocities.
    Impunity for military personnel who collaborated with members of 
renegade paramilitary groups remained a problem (see section 1.g.).
    Renegade paramilitary members committed numerous political and 
unlawful killings, primarily in areas under dispute with guerrillas or 
lacking a strong government presence (see section 1.g.).
    Guerrillas, particularly the FARC, committed unlawful killings. 
Guerrillas killed teachers, journalists, religious leaders, union 
members, human rights activists, candidates for public office, elected 
officials and other politicians, alleged paramilitary collaborators, 
and members of the Government security forces (see section 1.g.).
    Other terrorist groups also carried out attacks (see section 1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--Forced disappearances, many of them politically 
motivated, continued to occur. CINEP reported 73 victims of forced 
disappearance during the first six months of the year, an increase of 
23 percent compared with the same period in 2005.
    Although continuing to decline in frequency, kidnapping, both for 
ransom and for political reasons, remained a serious problem. According 
to the Presidential Program for Human Rights, there were 687 
kidnappings during the year, compared with 800 in 2005. The 
Government's National Fund for the Defense of Personal Liberty 
(Fondolibertad) reported 282 kidnappings for extortion (defined as 
kidnapping to obtain a benefit, utility, act, or omission) during the 
year, compared with 377 in 2005.
    GAULA and other elements of the security forces freed 138 hostages 
during the year. However, Fondolibertad reported that at least 20 
kidnap victims died in captivity during the year, compared with 17 in 
2005.
    Renegade paramilitaries, the FARC, and the ELN continued the 
practice of kidnapping. There were numerous reports that guerrillas 
killed kidnapping victims (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, there were 
reports that the police, military, and prison guards sometimes 
mistreated and tortured detainees. Members of the military and police 
accused of torture were tried in civilian rather than military courts 
(see section 1.e.). CINEP asserted that, as of June, government 
security forces were involved in 40 incidents of torture, a 50 percent 
increase compared with the first six months of 2005. CINEP also 
reported that during the first six months of the year there were 32 
victims of torture by the armed forces. On January 25, a group of 
soldiers allegedly tortured army conscripts at a training center in 
Tolima. The Prosecutor General's Office investigated five officers, 
nine noncommissioned officers, and one soldier in the case and placed 
six of them in preventive detention. They were all under indictment.
    CINEP reported that on February 1, soldiers assigned to the 40th 
Battalion Heroes de Santuario tortured Mario Varela in Puerto Rico, 
Meta Department.
    In February CINEP alleged that army soldiers tortured William 
Alberto Idagarra Agueirre in Arauquita, Arauca Department.
    A judgment was pending in the civilian judicial system against 
three police officers for the 2002 torture and killing of Edison 
Watsein in Medellin, Antioquia Department.
    CINEP reported that demobilized paramilitaries were responsible for 
at least 20 cases of torture as of June. For example, CINEP stated that 
paramilitaries tortured and killed Carlos Arciniegas of the Colombian 
Communist Party, who disappeared in December 2005.
    The Human Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office reported 
it was investigating one case of torture that was attributed to an ex-
paramilitary.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--With the exception of new 
facilities, prison conditions were poor, particularly for prisoners 
without significant outside support. The National Prison Institute 
(INPEC) runs the country's 139 national prisons and is responsible for 
inspecting municipal jails. Although part of the Ministry of Interior 
and Justice, INPEC has an independent budget and administrative 
decentralization.
    Many of INPEC's 14,000 prison guards and administrative staff were 
poorly trained, and overcrowding, lack of security, corruption, and an 
insufficient budget continued to be serious problems. As of July more 
than 62,000 prisoners were held in space designed to accommodate fewer 
than 52,000, an overcrowding rate of nearly 18 percent, an improvement 
compared with nearly 40 percent overcrowding in 2005. In five 
institutions the number of prisoners was more than twice the design 
capacity, and in Itagui's penitentiary, more than 5,000 prisoners lived 
in a space designed for 2,000. The Committee in Solidarity with 
Political Prisoners (CSPP) noted a continued decrease in corruption 
resulting from improved training, increased supervision, and more 
accountability for prison guards.
    Budget problems affected prisons in many ways. At Combita Prison 
lack of money to pay sanitation fees led to water rationing. An October 
report by the Inspector General's Office on Combita Prison found 
violations of health standards, such as lack of potable water and a 
proliferation of insects and rodents. During the year INPEC spent 
approximately two dollars (4,990 pesos) per day on each inmate for 
food. Private sources continued to supplement many prisoners' food. 
CSPP reported that there were up to 1,200 patients per doctor in some 
institutions.
    INPEC reported that from January 1 to August 31, there were nine 
violent deaths among inmates that were related to fighting and riots. 
From January to August, there were 11 riots at various institutions, 
which were sparked principally by inmates' internal fights; demands 
regarding working rights, food, and health care; and rebellion against 
prison discipline. The Prosecutor General's Office continued to 
investigate allegations that some prison guards routinely used 
excessive force and treated inmates brutally. There was no information 
available on prosecutions.
    Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local and international human rights groups, and such 
monitoring occurred during the year. The FARC and ELN continued to deny 
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to police 
and military hostages (see section 1.g.).

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the law prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, there were allegations that authorities 
detained citizens arbitrarily.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police are 
responsible for internal law enforcement and are under the jurisdiction 
of the Ministry of Defense. Law enforcement duties are shared with the 
DAS and the prosecutor general's Corps of Technical Investigators. The 
army also shared limited responsibility for law enforcement and 
maintenance of order within the country. For example, military units 
sometimes provided logistical support and security for criminal 
investigators to collect evidence in high-conflict or hard-to-reach 
areas. The army also supported the National Police in providing 
security, especially by establishing perimeters around rural 
municipalities. On limited occasions the army also provided support in 
guarding prisons. During the year the Human Rights Unit of the 
Prosecutor General's Office issued preventive detention orders for 66 
members of the armed forces for human rights violations or paramilitary 
collaboration. However, impunity continued to be widespread due to a 
lack of resources for investigations, protection for witnesses and 
investigators, coordination between government entities, and in some 
cases obstruction of justice. Between January and October, the Ministry 
of Defense relieved 147 members of the armed forces from duty for 
inefficiency, unethical conduct, corruption, and reasonable doubt 
regarding possible violations of human rights.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police apprehended suspects with warrants 
issued by prosecutors based on probable cause. However, a warrant is 
not required to arrest criminals caught in the act or fleeing the scene 
of a crime. Members of the armed forces detained members of illegal 
armed groups captured in combat but were not authorized to execute 
arrest warrants; however, a member of the Technical Investigative Unit 
who accompanies military units may issue such warrants.
    Law enforcement authorities must promptly inform suspects of the 
reasons for the arrest and bring suspects before a senior prosecutor 
within 36 hours of detention. Prosecutors must rule on the legality of 
detentions within 72 hours. These requirements were enforced in 
practice. In the case of most felonies, detention prior to the filing 
of formal charges cannot exceed 180 days, after which a suspect must be 
released. In cases of crimes deemed particularly serious, such as 
homicide, terrorism, or rebellion, authorities are allowed up to 360 
days to file formal charges before a suspect must be released. Habeas 
corpus is available to address cases of alleged arbitrary detention.
    While individuals accused of lesser offenses have access to bail, 
it generally is not available for serious crimes such as murder, 
rebellion, or narcotics trafficking. Suspects have the right to prompt 
access to counsel of their choice, and public defenders from the Office 
of the Human Rights Ombudsman assist indigent defendants.
    Prominent human rights NGOs complained that the Government 
arbitrarily detained hundreds of persons, particularly social leaders, 
labor activists, and human rights defenders. For its part, CINEP 
reported that security forces arbitrarily detained 223 persons during 
the first six months of the year, compared with 321 in the comparable 
period of 2005. Many of these detentions took place in high conflict 
areas (notably in the departments of Arauca, Cesar, Meta, and Putumayo) 
where the military was involved in active hostilities against terrorist 
insurgents. For example, CINEP reported the following incidents:
    On February 6, soldiers from the army's 53rd Counterinsurgency 
Battalion detained former city councilman from the Union Patriota 
political party in Vista Hermosa, Meta Department.
    On February 13, army soldiers arbitrarily detained 12 peasants in 
Puerto Asis, Putumayo Department. Reportedly two of those detained had 
previously criticized military misconduct in the area.
    In June the army's 39th Sumapaz Battalion arbitrarily detained 
Edilberto Proveda, the President of the SINTRAPAZ trade union outside 
Bogota.
    The Government and prominent local NGOs frequently disagreed on 
what constitutes ``arbitrary'' detention. While the Government 
characterized detentions based on compliance with legal formalities, 
NGOs typically applied other criteria, such as arrests based on tips 
from informants about people allegedly linked to guerrilla activities; 
detentions by members of the security forces without a judicial order; 
detentions allegedly based on administrative authority; detentions 
during military operations; large-scale detentions; and detentions of 
people while they were ``exercising their fundamental rights.''
    Due to overcrowding, convicted individuals in some cases remained 
at police stations for up to seven months before being transferred to a 
prison. Under the new accusatory justice system, individuals were 
detained at police stations for a maximum of 36 hours before either 
being released or moved to a permanent detention facility.
    According to INPEC, as of July there were 21,333 pretrial detainees 
held in police jails, which were often overcrowded. Failure on the part 
of many local military commanders and jail supervisors to keep 
mandatory detention records or follow notification procedures made 
accounting for all detainees difficult. Trial delays were caused by 
large numbers of detainees, financial constraints, and staff shortages.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, the judicial system was overburdened, 
inefficient, and hindered by the suborning and intimidation of judges, 
prosecutors, and witnesses. In these circumstances, impunity remained a 
serious problem. The Supreme Council of the Judiciary (CSJ) reported 
that the civilian judicial system suffered from a significant backlog 
of cases, which led to large numbers of pretrial detainees (see section 
1.d.).
    Judicial authorities frequently were subjected to threats and acts 
of violence. According to the National Association of Judicial Branch 
Employees and the Corporate Fund of Solidarity with Colombian Judges, 
eight judicial branch employees were killed and 31 received threats 
against their lives. One employee was kidnapped, one ``disappeared,'' 
and five left the country in self-imposed exile because of death 
threats. Some judges and prosecutors assigned to small towns worked out 
of departmental capitals because of security concerns. Witnesses were 
even more vulnerable to intimidation, and many refused to testify.
    January press reports indicated that Alvaro Lopez Giraldo, the 
prosecutor for the Fourth Specialized Court of Huila, Tolima, and 
Caqueta departments, fled the country after receiving death threats 
from the FARC. Lopez Giraldo was in charge of investigations that led 
to the capture of 1,050 FARC members associated with the Teofilo Forero 
Mobile Column.
    In May the media reported that the ELN kidnapped prosecutor Javier 
Enrique Gaviria in Narino Department while he was traveling on a boat 
near Tumaco. Military forces rescued Gaviria in June.
    The civilian justice system is composed of four functional 
jurisdictions: civil, administrative, constitutional, and special. The 
civil jurisdiction is the largest and handles all criminal, civil, 
labor, agrarian, and domestic cases involving nonmilitary personnel. 
The Supreme Court of Justice is the highest court within the civil 
jurisdiction and serves as its final court of appeal.
    The administrative jurisdiction handles administrative actions such 
as decrees and resolutions, which may be challenged on constitutional 
or other grounds. The Council of State is the highest court in the 
administrative jurisdiction and serves as the final court of appeal for 
complaints arising from administrative acts.
    The Constitutional Court is the sole judicial authority on the 
constitutionality of laws, Presidential decrees, and constitutional 
reforms. The Constitutional Court also may issue advisory opinions on 
the constitutionality of bills not yet signed into law and acts within 
its discretion to review the decisions of lower courts on tutelas, or 
writs of protection of fundamental rights, which can be filed before 
any judge of any court at any stage of the judicial process by any 
citizen.
    The special jurisdiction of the civilian justice system consists of 
the justices of the peace program and the indigenous jurisdiction. The 
CSJ is responsible for the administration and discipline of the 
civilian justice system.
    The Supreme Court, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court, 
and the CSJ are coequal supreme judicial bodies that sometimes issued 
conflicting rulings and frequently disagreed about jurisdictional 
responsibilities.
    The military justice system consists of 44 military courts and the 
Supreme Military Tribunal, which serves as the court of appeal for all 
cases tried in military courts. The Supreme Court of Justice serves as 
a second court of appeal for cases in which sentences of six or more 
years in prison are imposed. In September the minister of defense 
appointed the first civilian to head the military justice system.
    The military justice system may investigate and prosecute active 
duty military and police personnel for crimes ``related to acts of 
military service.'' The military penal code specifically defines 
torture, genocide, massacre, and forced disappearance as crimes 
unrelated to military service. All serious human rights violations are 
considered unrelated to military service and are handled by the 
civilian justice system. The military penal code specifically excludes 
civilians from military jurisdiction, and civilian courts must try 
retired military and police personnel, even for service-related acts 
committed before their retirement. The military penal code denies 
commanders the power to impose military justice discipline on their 
subordinates and extends legal protection to service members who refuse 
to obey orders to commit human rights abuses.
    The Office of the Prosecutor General is responsible for 
investigations and prosecutions of criminal offenses. Its Human Rights 
Unit, which included 15 satellite offices in seven regional capitals, 
specialized in investigating human rights crimes. The unit's 47 
prosecutors were handling 3,789 cases at year's end.
    The Office of the Inspector General, also known as the Public 
Ministry, investigates allegations of misconduct by public employees, 
including members of the state security forces. The Inspector General's 
Office referred all cases of human rights violations it received to the 
prosecutor general's human rights unit.
    During the year the Office of the Inspector General opened 
disciplinary processes against 54 members of the armed forces for human 
rights offenses; the cases were referred to the prosecutor general for 
criminal investigation. In addition the Prosecutor General's Office 
brought charges against 56 members of the armed forces and found 12 
other armed forces members guilty of murders or kidnappings and 
sentenced them to prison terms ranging between 20 and 38 years.

    Trial Procedures.--The country continued implementing a new 
accusatorial-style criminal procedure code. The code replaced the 
Napoleonic system whereby a person was detained pending an 
investigation that involved the formal acceptance of evidence, without 
an actual trial. The percentage of convictions under the old system was 
extremely low, and criminal cases typically lasted three to five years.
    Under the new criminal code, which judicial authorities were 
implementing over a four-year period to conclude in 2007, the 
prosecutor files a formal charge with a judge, and the accused is 
notified of the charge. Trials are public and juries are used. 
Defendants have the right to be present and consult with an attorney, 
the right to confront witnesses, and the right to present evidence. The 
accused is presumed innocent and has a right of appeal.
    In the military justice system, military judges preside over 
courts-martial without juries. Counsel may represent the accused and 
call witnesses, but the majority of fact-finding takes place during the 
investigative stage. Military trial judges issue rulings within eight 
days of a court-martial hearing. Representatives of the civilian 
Inspector General's Office are required to be present at courts-
martial.
    Criminal procedure within the military justice system includes 
elements of the inquisitorial and accusatorial systems. Defendants are 
considered innocent until proven guilty and have the right to timely 
consultation with counsel. A Constitutional Court ruling forbids 
military attorneys from undertaking defense counsel duties. Defendants 
must retain counsel at their own expense or rely on defenders paid by a 
special military officers' fund.
    Military justice system reforms begun in 2005 aimed to establish a 
forensic investigative corps, transition to an accusatorial system, and 
establish a military defense corps. In October Luz Marina Gil became 
the first civilian to head the military justice system.
    In June President Uribe recommended that the Prosecutor General's 
Office investigate and prosecute through the ordinary justice system 
military killings of 10 antinarcotics police officers. After a judge 
returned jurisdiction to the military justice system, the Ministry of 
Defense voluntarily ceded jurisdiction back to the Prosecutor General's 
Office. Fifteen soldiers, including the commanding officer, were 
arrested in connection with the case, and the trial began on December 
18.
    In November the Prosecutor General's Office sentenced two army 
officers to 38 years and 15 years, respectively, for aggravated 
homicide in the 1998 La Cabuya massacre.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government stated that it 
did not hold political prisoners or detainees, although there were 
2,466 prisoners accused of rebellion or aiding and abetting insurgency. 
The Government provided the ICRC access to these prisoners. Some human 
rights advocacy groups characterized as political detainees some 
detainees held on charges of rebellion or terrorism (see section 1.d.).
    Renegade paramilitaries and guerrillas, particularly the FARC and 
the ELN, continued to take hostages for ransom. The FARC and ELN also 
kidnapped politicians, prominent citizens, and members of the security 
forces to use as pawns in a prisoner exchange (see section 1.g.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens can sue for 
damages for a human rights violation against a state agent or body in 
the Administrative Court of Litigation. Although critics complained of 
delays in the process, the court was generally considered to be 
impartial and effective.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; while the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice, there were 
exceptions. The law requires government authorities to obtain a warrant 
signed by a senior prosecutor to enter a private home without the 
owner's consent unless the suspect has been caught in hot pursuit, and 
government authorities generally adhered to these regulations.
    Government authorities generally need a judicial order to intercept 
mail or monitor telephone conversations, even in prisons. However, 
government intelligence agencies investigating terrorist organizations 
sometimes monitored telephone conversations without judicial 
authorization; such evidence could not be used in court.
    The Government continued to use a network of civilian informants to 
identify terrorist activists and sympathizers. Some national and 
international human rights groups criticized the network as subject to 
abuse and a threat to privacy and other civil liberties. The Government 
maintained that the network was voluntary and established to facilitate 
citizens' right to self-defense.
    Renegade paramilitaries and guerrillas routinely interfered 
arbitrarily with the right to privacy. Both groups forcibly entered 
private homes, monitored private communications, engaged in forced 
displacement (see section 1.g.) and conscription, and abused family 
members. The FARC, which employed large numbers of female combatants, 
prohibited pregnancies among its troops.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The country's 42-year-long internal armed conflict, involving 
government forces, a right-wing paramilitary movement, and two leftist 
insurgent groups, continued although the paramilitary demobilization 
was concluded during the year. The conflict and the narcotics 
trafficking that both fueled and prospered from it were the central 
causes of multiple violations of human rights.
    The Government concluded demobilization negotiations with most 
major blocs of the AUC but continued to confront militarily any 
paramilitary group not involved in negotiations. According to its 
statistics, the Government demobilized 17,560 paramilitaries during the 
year, bringing the total number demobilized to approximately 32,000 
paramilitaries since the process began in 2003. The Organization of 
American States (OAS) continued to verify all stages of demobilization 
and reincorporation of former combatants into society. On September 29, 
the Government published a decree implementing the Justice and Peace 
Law, which authorizes the Prosecutor General's Office to start the 
legal process of hearing confessions and further prosecuting 
demobilized paramilitary combatants. Critics, including domestic and 
international human rights groups, expressed concerns that the law did 
not sufficiently take into account international standards on the 
principles of truth, justice, and reparations. In August the OAS 
verification mission noted ``emerging situations of possible rearmament 
and the appearance of armed groups claiming to be the 'new generation 
of paramilitaries,''' who in some cases ``are recruiting former 
paramilitary combatants.''
    In many areas of the country, the 12,000-member FARC and the 2,000-
member ELN worked together to attack government forces or demobilized 
paramilitary members; in other areas, especially in Arauca Department, 
they fought each other. There were an estimated 1,990 guerrilla 
desertions during the year.
    Members of security forces committed human rights abuses related to 
the internal armed conflict.
    The Association of Indigenous Councils of Choco and Orewa reported 
a massive displacement on March 15 of members of the indigenous 
community of Conondo due to fighting between the army and the FARC.
    Amnesty International (AI) reported alleged homicides of 10 people 
on April 10, committed by members of the 12th Brigade in the hamlet of 
Sanza, San Juan de Arama, Meta Department. According to AI, witnesses 
alleged that the soldiers targeted unarmed civilians who sought refuge 
in a school-house during combat in the area. The case remained under 
Military Justice System investigation at year's end.
    On September 15, soldiers from the Pichinicha Battalion fired a 
mortar grenade that fell short of its intended target, killing an 
eight-year-old boy from an indigenous community near Popoyan, Cauca 
Department.
    There were no known developments in the November 2005 case in which 
a grenade allegedly from the army's 17th Brigade killed San Jose de 
Apartado community leader Arlen Salas David.
    On May 9, the Prosecutor General's Office issued preventive 
detention measures against Captain Juan Carlos Rodriguez Agudelo, 
Corporal Francisco Blanco Esteban, and Albeiro Perez Duque in the case 
of aggravated homicide, aggravated forced disappearance, and aggravated 
torture for involvement with paramilitary forces in the murders of Jhon 
Jairo Iglesias Salazar, Araceli Londono Varona, Ananias Mojica, and 
Jesus Antonio Cespedes Salgado (alias Jose Cespedes) in November 2003 
in Cajamarca, Tolima Department. On August 15, the Prosecutor General's 
office issued arrest warrants for three more soldiers in this case, 
which remained under investigation at year's end.
    On July 31, public hearings began in the trial against seven 
soldiers from the Pijaos Antiterrorist Battalion for their alleged 
involvement in the April 10, 2004, killing in Cajamarca of Norberto 
Mendoza Reyes, Albeiro Mendoza Reyes, Julio Santana Reyes, Yamile 
Uruena Arango, and Cristian Albeiro Mendoza Uruena along the Potosi 
hamlet in Cajamarca, Tolima Department. The trial was ongoing at year's 
end.
    The trial of four officers and one civilian for their alleged role 
in the 2004 killing of three trade union members near Saravena, Arauca 
Department, continued at year's end.
    On May 2, authorities indicted one officer, 10 soldiers, and two 
civilians for their role in the 2004 killing of Kankauamo indigenous 
leader Victor Hugo Maestre Rodriguez. The case remained under 
investigation at year's end.
    The trial for the 1998 Air Force bombing of the village of Santo 
Domingo, Arauca Department, remained suspended. The Prosecutor 
General's Human Rights Unit suspended the trial in November 2005 to 
allow for additional evidence to be collected and to allow time to hear 
all of the scheduled testimony. According to Amnesty International, on 
March 22, FARC members killed Wilson Garcia Reatiga, President of the 
Collective Action Committee of Tame, Arauca, who was a key witness in 
the case.
    Some members of the Government security forces, including enlisted 
personnel, noncommissioned officers, and senior officials, collaborated 
with or tolerated the activities of renegade paramilitaries. Reports 
suggested that tacit nonaggression pacts between local military 
officers and renegade paramilitary groups existed in certain regions, 
such as eastern Antioquia, Choco, Meta, and Narino departments, and 
indicated that members of the security forces assisted, or sought the 
assistance of, paramilitary groups. Impunity for these military 
personnel remained a problem.
    In April former AUC member Victor Manuel Mejia Munera was indicted 
for his role in the 2004 paramilitary massacre of 11 peasant farmers in 
Tame, Arauca. In October authorities captured three other ex-
paramilitaries. The trial had not yet begun at year's end.
    The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued rulings in two 
cases related to military collusion with paramilitaries. The Government 
agreed to comply with the rulings in both cases:
    In January the court ordered the Government to pay $5.6 million to 
the families of individuals killed or missing from a 1990 massacre in 
Pueblo Bello, Antioquia Department.
    In July the court ruled that the Government was responsible by 
omission for two 1997 massacres committed by the AUC in La Granja and 
El Aro communities in Ituango, Antioquia Department. The decision 
established that the Government was responsible for the 19 killings, 
forced displacement, and abuses suffered by local residents because the 
security forces and authorities failed to take the necessary measures 
to prevent the killings or stop the AUC. The court ordered the 
Government to pay $2.25 million to relatives of the victims, establish 
a housing plan for inhabitants of both communities, issue a public 
apology, and reopen a judicial investigation into the case.
    In July 2005 the Prosecutor General's Office issued an arrest 
warrant for Sergeant Sergio Salazar Soto for conspiracy in helping 
paramilitary members massacre 40 persons in Cienaga, Magdalena 
Department, in 2000. On April 18, the Prosecutor General's Office 
indicted nine additional suspects, including five members of the armed 
forces, for their role, and the case continued at year's end.
    Although the defense concluded its case against retired brigadier 
general Jaime Uscategui and former army colonel Hernan Orozco in August 
2005 for the 1997 massacre in Mapiripan of at least 27 civilians, the 
judge had not made a ruling at year's end.
    CINEP alleged that on March 21 renegade paramilitaries, acting with 
the acquiescence of the military, tortured, raped, and murdered Yamile 
Agudelo Penaloza, leader of the Popular Women's Organization in 
Barrancabermeja, Santander Department.
    Demobilized paramilitaries committed crimes, which primarily 
affected civilians. The NGO Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ) 
claimed that paramilitaries, demobilized or active, had killed more 
than 3,000 civilians from December 1, 2002, through July 2006.
    According to CINEP, demobilized paramilitary members were 
responsible for the deaths of 58 civilians from January through June, a 
75 percent decrease from 234 deaths reported during the same period in 
2005. Demobilized and renegade paramilitary members killed journalists, 
local politicians, human rights activists, indigenous leaders, labor 
leaders, and others who threatened to interfere with their criminal 
activities or showed leftist sympathies. Renegade paramilitary members 
also killed persons to protect criminal activities. Amnesty 
International alleged that renegade paramilitary members killed Jairo 
Romero, a mayoral candidate in Yumbo, Valle de Cauca Department, on 
January 17, as well as Eduardo Hernandez, a mayoral candidate in 
Buenaventura, Valle de Cauca Department, on January 18. In September a 
court convicted three men for killing Romero, but it was unclear 
whether they were paramilitary members.
    There were no new developments and none were expected in the 
investigations into the 2005 killings of the following individuals, 
reportedly by paramilitary members: Jaime Orlando Reuto Monsalve, the 
former mayor of Tame, Arauca Department; eight indigenous people in La 
Guajira Department; 12 youths in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca 
Department; and labor union President Factor Antonio Durango in Bello, 
Antioquia Department.
    On March 22, the Prosecutor General's Office arrested a suspected 
AUC member, Alvaro Padilla Medina (``El Boxeador''), on murder charges 
related to the killing of Afro-Colombian leader Orlando Valencia in 
October 2005. In May a specialized court in Antioquia sentenced Padilla 
to 24 years' and 5 months' imprisonment. On October 13, Hermen Jose 
Munoz Gonzalez (``Diomedes''), a suspected ex-paramilitary member, was 
indicted on murder charges. He remained detained. Authorities also 
arrested AUC member Julio Cesar Silva Borja (``El Indio'') on September 
6 and Pablo Jose Montalvo Cuitiva (``Alfa 11''), the suspected material 
author of the crime, on November 6. Their trials had not started by 
year's end. On October 9, the Prosecutor General's Office also opened 
an investigation into the alleged involvement of two police officers in 
the killing.
    Renegade paramilitary members or criminal groups not participating 
in the peace process killed journalists, local politicians, human 
rights activists, indigenous leaders, labor leaders, and others who 
threatened to interfere with their criminal activities, showed leftist 
sympathies, or were suspected of collaboration with the FARC. On March 
17, authorities indicted nine alleged paramilitaries for aggravated 
homicide and other charges for their role in the April 2005 torture and 
killing of 12 minors in Buenaventura, Valle de Cauca Department. The 
accused were on trial at year's end.
    The Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that 
paramilitary members, who killed eight persons in massacres in 2005, 
committed no massacres before demobilization was completed in August. 
There were reports that renegade paramilitary members committed 
massacres, ``social cleansing'' killings of prostitutes, drug users, 
vagrants, and gang members in city neighborhoods they controlled. For 
example, the press reported that on February 11 renegade paramilitaries 
killed six persons in Sabanalarga, Antioquia Department.
    In November the Prosecutor General's Office indicted Ernesto Baez 
and Rodrigo Perez, both former commanders of the AUC's Central Bolivar 
Bloc, for ordering the 2001 killing of lawyer and human rights activist 
Alma Rosa Jaramillo Lafourie in Bolivar Department.
    The prosecutor general's investigation into the December 2005 
massacre by the AUC's Northern Bloc in Curumani, Cesar Department, led 
to the arrest of one suspect in June.
    The Prosecutor General's Office arrested four suspected 
paramilitaries for their alleged role in a 2004 massacre in Curumani, 
in which eight to 22 people were reportedly killed.
    In compliance with the Justice and Peace Law, demobilized 
paramilitary members began revealing the existence of mass graves, and 
the Prosecutor General's Office uncovered graves across the country. On 
February 14, authorities uncovered the remains of 21 individuals in a 
mass grave in Magdalena Department. On April 11, the Prosecutor 
General's Office exhumed the remains of 20 individuals in La Gabarra, 
Norte de Santander. On April 27, authorities discovered five bodies in 
a grave in a former AUC camp in Santo Domingo, Antioquia Department. By 
the end of the year, the Prosecutor General's Office had discovered 
approximately 390 bodies in mass graves, one-third of which had been 
identified. The Prosecutor General's Office estimated that mass graves 
still held remains of more than 3,000 victims.
    On March 15, the Prosecutor General's Office detained the former 
governor of Meta Department, Edilberto Castro, for his alleged role in 
the killings of former governor Carlos Javier Sabogal, former mayor of 
El Dorado Euser Rondon, and former member of Congress Nubia Sanchez, 
whose bodies were found in 2004. Authorities indicted Castro on seven 
charges, including aggravated homicide. The trial continued at year's 
end.
    According to CINEP, renegade paramilitary members abducted at least 
34 persons during the first six months of the year, compared with 30 in 
the same period of 2005. Renegade paramilitary members often abducted 
persons suspected of collaboration with guerrillas, almost all of whom 
were presumed dead.
    The National Foundation for the Defense of Personal Liberty 
(Fondelibertad) reported that renegade paramilitary members were 
responsible for 34 kidnappings during the year, compared with 43 in 
2005.
    The actions of renegade paramilitary members continued to result in 
forcible displacement of civilians residing along key drug and weapons 
transit corridors or suspected of collaborating with guerrillas (see 
section 2.d.).
    Paramilitary members also prevented or limited the delivery of food 
and medicines to towns and regions considered sympathetic to 
guerrillas, straining local economies and increasing forced 
displacement (see section 2.d.). For example, according to CINEP, on 
January 20, paramilitary members from the Bloque Miguel Arroyave 
blocked the UN's World Food Program (WFP) from entering Puerto Toledo, 
Meta Department, to deliver food intended for internally displaced 
communities.
    FARC and ELN guerrillas committed numerous unlawful killings, 
kidnapped civilians and military personnel, displaced citizens, and 
recruited child soldiers. They killed journalists, religious leaders, 
candidates for public office, local elected officials and politicians, 
alleged paramilitary collaborators, and members of government security 
forces. The Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that during 
the year the FARC killed at least 40 persons in seven massacres, 
although another 143 persons were killed in massacres in which the 
perpetrators remained unidentified. Examples of representative 
incidents included the following:
    In early February press reports indicated FARC members killed a 
family of six in Llanos del Encuentro, Antioquia Department, when they 
fired on the family's home.
    On February 26, FARC members from the 10th Front killed Juan 
Ramirez Villamizar, governor of the indigenous group Guahibos Makaguan.
    On February 28, FARC members from the 10th Front killed teacher Luz 
Myriam Farias in Tame, Arauca Department, as she returned from 
recovering the body of her husband, Juan Ramirez Villamizar, who was 
killed by FARC members two days earlier.
    On March 31, FARC members killed indigenous leader John Jairo 
Osorio Piraza, while he was on the way to the funeral of indigenous 
teacher Arcelio Pena Guatico, whom the FARC had killed the previous 
day.
    On July 24, a specialized judge in Pereira, Risaralda Department, 
sentenced Norbey Garcia Orozco and Javier Augusto Rendon of the FARC's 
Teofilo Forero Mobile Column to 36 years for their role in the April 
killing of Liliana Gaviria Trujillo, the sister of former President 
Cesar Gaviria.
    On May 13, in Sabana de Torres, Santander Department, the ELN 
killed six civilians, according to press accounts. Authorities asserted 
that the massacre was directed against individuals who had failed to 
alert ELN forces of army presence in the area.
    On January 24, authorities sentenced Lizardo Valderrama Rojas to 11 
years in prison for his role in a terrorist attack against CATAM Air 
Force Base in 2003.
    On March 23, a judge in Antioquia Department sentenced 16 FARC 
members to 40 years' imprisonment for their role in the 2003 kidnapping 
and murder of then governor Guillermo Gaviria Correa and his assistant 
Gilberto Echeverri Mejia.
    On March 7, the Prosecutor General's Office detained a member of 
the FARC's Teofilo Forero column for his role in a 2005 massacre of 
city council members and their family members in Campoalegre, Huila 
Department.
    On April 6, the Prosecutor General's Office detained Manuel Enrique 
Mendoza Rodriguez (``Guzman''), for his role in the 2001 kidnapping and 
killing of Consuelo Araujo Noguera, former minister of culture.
    Various courts indicted members of the FARC secretariat in absentia 
on charges ranging from kidnapping and terrorism to aggravated 
homicide.
    There were several FARC massacres of public security forces. The 
Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that between January and 
October, the FARC had killed 391 members of the public security forces 
and the ELN had killed 24.
    On February 6, FARC members killed six members of a police unit 
guarding manual eradicators of coca in Sierra Nevada de la Macarena 
National Park.
    On April 20, suspected FARC members ambushed and killed 17 DAS 
agents and members of an army unit that were pursuing Victor Navarro 
(``Megateo''), a leader of the People's Liberation Army in Astilleros, 
Norte de Santander Department.
    On July 4, FARC members in Arenillo, Valle de Cauca, attacked and 
set fire to a police station, killing six police officers and injuring 
10 others.
    On November 1, approximately 450 FARC members from the Fifth, 18th, 
and 58th fronts attacked a police station in Tierradentro, Cordoba 
Department, killing 17 police officers and three civilians. The FARC 
members allegedly launched their attack from civilian homes.
    The FARC also killed persons it suspected of collaborating with 
government authorities or paramilitary groups. For example, in July the 
press reported that FARC members killed 10 agricultural workers whom 
they suspected of working for paramilitaries in Arquia Limon, Choco.
    According to the Government's Tracking, Monitoring, and Evaluation 
System, 368 demobilized paramilitaries were killed during the year. 
Unknown gunmen killed the following former AUC members:
    On December 27, former paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso's 
deputy in the Sinu and San Jorge Blocs, Jairo Angarita, killed in 
Medellin;
    On November 25, former paramilitary leader Don Berna's close 
associate, Daniel Mejia (``Daniel''), disappeared and presumed killed 
in Medellin;
    On November 19, former paramilitary leader Jorge 40's lieutenant, 
Jefferson Martinez (``Omega''), killed in the outskirts of Medellin
    In October the Fourth Criminal Court of the Villavicencio 
Specialized Circuit sentenced three former AUC leaders to 40 years in 
prison for the kidnapping and summary execution of a fellow 
paramilitary known as ``Alicate'' in 2003.
    According to the Presidential Program for Human Rights, guerrillas 
committed 646 terrorist acts during the year, compared with 611 in 
2005. For example, in February suspected FARC members detonated 
explosives on a horse-drawn cart outside a police station in Cali, 
Valle de Cauca Department, killing two civilians and injuring five 
pedestrians. In April suspected FARC members planted explosives on two 
public buses in Bogota; the explosions killed three children and 
injured 17 others. The FARC and ELN continued to commit numerous 
kidnappings. Fondelibertad reported that during the year guerrillas 
were responsible for 119 kidnappings (48 percent of those in which a 
perpetrator was identified); the FARC kidnapped 75 persons; and the ELN 
44 persons.
    In May four suspected FARC members kidnapped Claudia Teresa 
Buenaventura Paredes, daughter of the former secretary general of the 
Tolima departmental government.
    Kidnapping for ransom remained a major source of revenue for both 
the FARC and ELN.
    The FARC continued to hold political and foreign-born hostages 
taken in previous years.
    Taken in 2003: Foreign citizens Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and 
Keith Stansell; in the same incident, foreign citizen Tom Janis and 
Colombian Luis Alcides Cruz were killed by the FARC. The FARC did not 
provide proof-of-life-for these hostages during the year.
    Taken in 2002: former Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt; 
former senator Jorge Eduardo Gechem; former member of congress 
Francisco Giraldo, and 12 former regional legislators from Valle del 
Cauca Department.
    Taken in 2001: former governor of Meta Department Alan Jara and 
former members of congress Orlando Bernal, Luis Eladio Perez, Gloria 
Polanco, and Consuelo Gonzalez and at least four foreign-born persons.
    In other cases, The FARC released proof-of-life videos during the 
year, which stirred debate over the possibility of an exchange of 
hostages for imprisoned FARC members. The hostages' families, national 
and international NGOs, foreign governments, and prominent public 
figures pressured the Government to agree with the FARC for an 
exchange.
    According to the Antipersonnel Landmine Observatory, during the 
year 1,091 landmine explosions killed 230 persons and injured 861 
others; military personnel accounted for 779 of the victims, while 312 
were civilians. Guerrillas were responsible for an estimated 59 percent 
of landmine incidents during the year. Landmine incidents attributed to 
former paramilitary groups constituted less than 1 percent of the 
total; those responsible for the remaining 40 percent were not 
identified.
    Guerrillas failed to respect the injured and medical personnel. 
Both the FARC and the ELN frequently executed injured prisoners, 
threatened and harassed doctors and nurses, and killed enemy combatants 
receiving medical care. In January FARC members stopped an ambulance 
near Santa Elena, Putumayo Department, stole medicine and equipment, 
and set the vehicle ablaze.
    In October the FARC attacked an ambulance near Florencia, Cauca 
Department, and killed the driver. The ambulance was transporting two 
officials from the San Pablo Hospital in Narino Department.
    Guerrillas forcibly displaced peasants to clear key drug and 
weapons transit routes and remove potential government or paramilitary 
collaborators from strategic zones. Guerrillas also imposed de facto 
blockades of communities in regions where they had significant 
influence. For example, in May an indigenous community in the rural 
district of Bagado, Choco Department, reported that the FARC had 
imposed a curfew barring community members from traveling to their 
farms after noon. The community complained of crop and animal losses 
due to the curfew. In January FARC members illegally detained a WFP 
truck and stole humanitarian relief food bound for displaced families 
in Antioquia Department.
    The National Indigenous Organization (ONIC) reported many incidents 
in which illegal armed groups forcibly recruited indigenous people or 
obligated them to collaborate, restricted their freedom of movement, 
and blockaded their communities.
    In October the IACHR Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women 
reported that ``violence against women is employed as a strategy of war 
by the actors of the armed conflict'' and that they employ different 
forms of psychological, and sexual violence to 'wound the enemy' by 
dehumanizing the victim, injuring her family circle and/or spreading 
terror in her community.''
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. A number of independent newspapers and 
magazines published freely, and all print media were owned privately. 
Privately owned radio and television stations broadcast freely.
    Government security forces and corrupt officials occasionally 
subjected journalists to harassment, intimidation, or violence. In May 
President Alvaro Uribe criticized press allegations of paramilitary 
infiltration of the DAS as ``frivolous and irresponsible.'' Human 
Rights Watch subsequently denounced the criticism as ``aggressive and 
degrading.''
    National and international NGOs reported that local media 
representatives regularly practiced self-censorship because of threats 
of violence from illegal armed groups, corrupt officials, and common 
criminals. At least four journalists went into voluntary exile during 
the first six months of the year.
    In June the NGO Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) stated that 
Barranquilla El Heraldo newspaper director Gustavo Bell Lemus and 
reporters Ernesto McCausland Sojo and Armando Benedetti Jimeno received 
fake letter bombs. The packages included a timer with cables and a 
condolence note that read, ``Don't get involved with things that don't 
concern you. Next time, this will explode.'' The newspaper's editorials 
had criticized corruption in Barranquilla, Atlantico Department.
    In July FLIP reported that a police officer assaulted the director 
of El Kanal News, Javier Urrego Gutierrez, while he was covering a 
police action in Ibague, Tolima Department.
    In September FLIP reported that police had arbitrarily detained 
Rubiel Lis Velasco and Griseldino Yafue Guetoto, two employees of the 
indigenous radio station Radio Uxwal in Caldona, Cauca Department.
    In the case of threats against Daniel Coronell, a well-known 
director of a television news show, a Bogota court found Luis Fernandez 
Uribe Botero guilty of making the threats and sentenced him to 16 
months in prison and a fine of $3,520 (8.16 million pesos).
    During the year members of illegal armed groups intimidated, 
threatened, kidnapped, and killed journalists. According to FLIP, there 
were 27 death threats against journalists in the first six months of 
the year, compared with 19 for the same period in 2005 (see section 
1.g.).
    In January press reports indicated that the editor of La Tarde 
magazine, Diro Cesar Gonzalez, fled Barrancabermeja, Santander 
Department, after receiving repeated threats from alleged paramilitary 
groups.
    In February gunmen in Monteria, Cordoba Department, attacked 
journalist Gustavo Rojas, who died of his injuries a month later. In 
April the Office of the Prosecutor General captured three of the 
alleged killers, who were identified as demobilized AUC members. The 
status of the case at year's end was unknown.
    In October unknown gunmen pressured vendors of the newspaper El 
Meridiano de Sucre to surrender all issues of that day's editions, 
which revealed evidence of ties between local politicians and former 
paramilitary leader ``Jorge 40.'' The UNHCHR denounced the act, and the 
vice President ordered government authorities to protect the vendors.
    The Ministry of Interior and Justice operated a program to protect 
journalists that covered 94 media representatives during the year, 
compared with 46 in 2005. The ministry also supported an alerts network 
organized for journalists by providing a small number of radios and an 
emergency telephone hot line.
    In February Vice President Francisco Santos, a former journalist 
and kidnapping victim, announced the formation of a special committee 
of police and prosecutor general investigators to work with the 
Colombia Foundation for Press Freedom, with the goal of combating 
violence and threats against journalists.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals could engage in the peaceful expression 
of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However, 
guerrillas maintained a presence on many university campuses to 
generate political support for their respective causes and undermine 
support for their adversaries through both violent and nonviolent 
means. Paramilitary groups and guerrillas threatened, displaced, and 
killed academics and their families for political and financial 
reasons. According to the vice President's office, various assailants 
killed 34 teachers during the first eight months of the year. Threats 
and harassment caused many professors and students to adopt lower 
profiles and avoid discussing controversial topics.
    The Ministry of Education, in conjunction with the Colombian 
Federation of Educators and the Presidential Program for Human Rights, 
operated a program for at-risk teachers with 78 regional committees to 
investigate specific threats against teachers and, in some cases, 
facilitate relocation with continued employment as educators. 
Approximately 168 threatened educators were successfully relocated 
since 2004, raising to 1,500 the number relocated since 2002.

    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. Freedom of association was limited 
in practice by threats and acts of violence committed by illegal armed 
groups against NGOs, indigenous groups, and labor unions (see section 
1.g.).
    Although the Government does not prohibit membership in most 
political organizations, membership in private organizations that 
espoused or carried out acts of violence, such as the AUC, FARC, and 
ELN, was illegal.
    Between May 14 and 16, the police Mobile Antidisturbance Squadron 
and army units confronted an estimated 15,000 demonstrators in Cauca 
Department. In the confrontations, which involved violent exchanges 
from both sides, one protester was killed, and several police and 
demonstrators were injured. The Prosecutor General's Human Rights Unit 
is investigating the incident.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    The Roman Catholic Church retained a de facto privileged status. 
Accession to a 1997 public law agreement with the state is required for 
non-Catholic religions to minister to their adherents in public 
institutions and to perform marriages recognized by the state. When 
deciding whether to grant accession, the Government considers a 
religion's total membership, its degree of popular acceptance within 
society, and other relevant factors.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Renegade paramilitary groups, 
new criminal groups, and guerrillas harassed, threatened, and sometimes 
killed religious leaders and activists, although often for political 
rather than religious reasons (see section 1.g.). The Presidential 
Program for Human Rights reported that illegal armed groups, especially 
the FARC, made numerous threats against priests and other religious 
workers. Five pastors, a priest, and two religious workers were 
reported killed during the year.
    In January a court sentenced FARC commander John Fredy Jimenez and 
hired gunman Alexander de Jesus Zapata to 35 years' and 36 years' 
imprisonment, respectively, for their role in the 2002 killing of 
Isaias Duarte, the Catholic archbishop of Cali.
    In March gunmen killed evangelical pastor Oscar Munoz Perea in 
Buenaventura, Valle de Cauca Department. Witnesses identified the 
killers as belonging to the AUC.
    The Jewish community had an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 members. 
There were increased reports of anti-Semitism, including graffiti 
painted on the exterior walls of synagogues and anti-Semitic statements 
in pamphlets published by small xenophobic organizations. On August 6, 
anti-Semitic graffiti was found in Bogota near the Israeli embassy; it 
included a spray-painted Star of David intertwined with a swastika and 
virulent anti-Semitic slogans. There were reports that university 
students, feminist groups, and trade unionists shouted anti-Semitic 
slogans at an opposition party protest march during the July-August 
Israel-Lebanon conflict. However, the Jewish Community Center 
exonerated the party, whose Presidential candidate strongly supported 
the community and denounced anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
while the Government generally respected them in practice, there were 
exceptions. NGOs criticized military operations and occupation of 
certain rural areas as restricting freedom of movement.
    Paramilitary groups and guerrillas continued to establish illegal 
checkpoints on rural highways, although a larger and more visible 
government security presence along major highways reduced the number of 
kidnappings at illegal checkpoints.
    In February FARC members set ablaze eight buses in Hormiga, 
Putumayo Department, after blocking the road to Orito, and also set 
ablaze three vehicles in Tibu, Norte de Santander, after blocking a 
rural access road.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ 
it. However, many persons went into self-imposed exile because of 
threats from paramilitaries, guerrillas, or common criminals.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The internal armed conflict 
was the major cause of internal displacement. Estimates of the numbers 
of IDPs varied. In the first nine months of the year, the Social 
Solidarity Network (RSS), the Government's displaced persons service 
agency, registered 110,302 newly displaced persons, compared with 
131,716 during 2005. The NGO Consultancy for Human Rights and 
Displacement (CODHES) estimated that 175,216 persons were displaced 
during the first nine months of the year, a 30 percent decrease 
compared with CODHES' estimate for the same period in 2005. The 
difference was because the Government registered new IDPs whose 
applications for benefits had been accepted, while CODHES estimated new 
displacements based on information from the media, civil society, and 
some field work. CODHES estimates have been higher than government 
estimates in recent years. CODHES also included as displaced persons 
coca and opium poppy producers who migrated in response to government 
drug eradication efforts but did not quantify the scope of this 
problem. However, the ICRC indicated that the number of IDPs it had 
assisted in the first nine months of the year increased by 
approximately 20 percent, primarily due to a rise in the number of 
individual displacements, which were more difficult to detect than mass 
displacements.
    While precise numbers were difficult to obtain, by year's end the 
RSS had registered more than 1.8 million displaced persons since 1995; 
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated 
that more than 2.5 million persons in the country had been displaced at 
some point during the past 15 years. The FARC and ELN continued to 
discourage IDPs from registering with the Government through force, 
intimidation, and disinformation; guerrilla agents sometimes 
masqueraded as IDPs to sow doubt and discontent among IDPs. Most IDPs 
were rural peasants displaced to large cities such as Bogota.
    The UNHCR reported that exact numbers of indigenous or Afro-
Colombian IDPs were difficult to obtain because of geographic 
isolation, displacement within traditional territories, and a tendency 
to seek assistance from other communities rather than the Government. 
The ONIC reported that 8,170 indigenous persons were displaced through 
November. The Government registered 4,492 new indigenous IDPs in the 
first nine months of the year. The UNHCR estimated that during the year 
11 percent of the displaced population was Afro-Colombian. 
Paramilitaries and guerrillas continued to use forced displacement to 
gain control over strategic or economically valuable territory, weaken 
their opponents' base of support, and undermine government control and 
authority.
    International humanitarian assistance organizations and NGOs 
observed that the rate of mass displacements (a displacement of 50 
persons or more at one time) had not increased. These organizations 
pointed out that, while the emergency response to such mass 
displacements was often rapid and adequate, assistance to those 
displaced individually or in smaller groups was frequently delayed for 
several days or weeks. In addition, due to the intensity of the 
fighting in conflict zones, including areas in Narino, Choco, and Norte 
de Santander departments, national and international aid organizations 
often could not gain humanitarian access to reach newly displaced 
populations.
    Mass displacements occurred in various departments throughout the 
year. In February the UN Office of the Commissioner for Humanitarian 
Affairs reported that incursions by unidentified armed groups displaced 
approximately 600 persons from the rural village Pueblito Mejia in 
Bolivar Department. In April threats by illegal armed groups, including 
the FARC, in rural, drug-producing zones in Narino Department resulted 
in the displacement of more than 1,500 persons to the municipalities of 
Policarpa and Cumbitara, according to CODHES.
    In April a series of FARC threats led to the displacement of 
approximately 700 members of the Wanaan indigenous group in Istimina, 
Choco Department. Also in April the RSS reported that guerrillas 
attacked and threatened several villages in rural zones of Valle de 
Guamuez, Putumayo Department, displacing 850 residents to the town of 
La Hormiga. UNHCR reported this same month that unknown actors 
displaced 77 members of the nomadic Nukak Maku in Guaviare from their 
jungle tribal lands to the city of San Jose de Guaviare, making them 
vulnerable to disease and hardship and further threatening the 200-
member tribe with extinction.
    In June and July, FARC attacks in Barbacoas and Recaurate, Narino 
Department, led to the displacement of 1,400 Awa indigenous people. 
Also during the summer, a series of FARC killings of community members 
drove 745 persons from their rural homes to the towns of Unguia and 
Riosucio in Choco Department.
    In September FARC attacks and threats by renegade paramilitaries 
displaced an estimated 500 Afro-Colombians from rural areas in Narino 
Department. In November UNHCR denounced fighting between the army and 
the FARC in Choco Department. According to UNHCR, the clashes affected 
2,500 civilians, primarily Afro-Colombians, forcing approximately 40 
persons to flee to Panama. UNHCHR expressed concern over the 
displacement of the Embera indigenous community due to the fighting.
    Although it increased during the year, government assistance to 
IDPs remained insufficient. IDPs continued to live in unhygienic 
conditions with little access to health care, education, or employment. 
IDP advocacy groups held protests to call for an improved government 
response, most notably during a 45-day protest in July and August, 
which was held in a south Bogota park with participation of 
approximately 1,500 long-term IDPs. The Government provided $410 
million (878.4 billion pesos) in assistance for the displaced 
principally through the RSS, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute 
(ICBF), and the Ministry of Social Protection. While the ICRC provided 
the greatest amount of emergency (first 90 days) humanitarian 
assistance to the displaced, the Colombian Red Cross and several other 
international and domestic NGOs also provided assistance to IDPs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing assistance to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. 
The Government reserved the right to determine eligibility for asylum, 
based upon its own assessment of the nature of an applicant's claim. 
According to the Government, as of September, 144 recognized refugees 
resided in the country, and four refugee cases were approved during the 
year.
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, generally free and fair elections held on the basis of nearly 
universal suffrage. Active duty members of the armed forces and police 
may not vote or participate in the political process. Civilian public 
employees, although eligible to vote, may participate in partisan 
politics only during the four months immediately preceding a national 
election.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On May 28, independent 
candidate Alvaro Uribe won a second term as President in elections that 
were considered generally free and fair, despite a concerted campaign 
by the FARC and AUC to disrupt or manipulate the outcome. The OAS 
electoral observation mission stated that the elections took place ``in 
an atmosphere of freedom, transparency and normalcy.''
    Political reforms enacted for the March parliamentary elections 
raised the vote threshold for parties to retain formal status and gain 
access to government funds. The threshold rose from 50,000 votes to 2 
percent of votes cast for either the Senate or the House of 
Representatives; 24 of the 60 parties maintained their official status 
following the March elections.
    The Liberal and Conservative parties have long dominated politics, 
but the reelection of President Uribe as an independent, the second 
place showing of the Polo Democratico Alternativo's (POLO) Presidential 
candidate Carlos Gaviria, and the success of third party candidates in 
the March parliamentary elections reflected a widening of the political 
arena.
    Both renegade paramilitary groups and the FARC threatened and 
killed government officials (see section 1.g.). According to the 
National Federation of Councils (FENACON), 23 council members were 
killed during the year, compared with 26 during 2005. FENACON 
attributed 60 percent of attacks on council members to the FARC.
    Scores of local officials throughout the country resigned because 
of threats from the FARC. In October the press reported that 60 public 
officials, including seven mayors, tendered their resignations in Norte 
de Santander Department after receiving death threats from FARC. Also 
in October senators from POLO denounced an ``extermination and 
intimidation'' plan by paramilitary groups against the party in Valle 
de Cauca Department. A Ministry of Interior and Justice program 
provided protection to 155 mayors, two former mayors, and 1,914 council 
members during the year.
    The law requires that women be placed in at least 30 percent of 
appointed government posts and that the Government report to Congress 
each year the percentage of women in high-level government positions. 
There were 11 women in the 102-member Senate, including its President, 
and 16 women in the 166-member House of Representatives. There were 
five women in the 13-member cabinet and three on the 23-member Supreme 
Court.
    There were four indigenous senators, two of whom occupied seats 
reserved for indigenous persons, and one indigenous member of the House 
of Representatives. There were no indigenous cabinet members and no 
indigenous persons on any of the nation's high courts.
    There were two Afro-Colombian senators and three Afro-Colombian 
members of the House of Representatives. There were no Afro-Colombian 
cabinet ministers and no Afro-Colombians on any of the nation's high 
courts.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The country suffered from 
endemic corruption and graft in both the public and private sectors. 
Drug-trafficking revenues exacerbated corruption by enabling 
trafficking organizations to suborn government officials.
    The Government actively prosecuted cases of governmental 
corruption. For instance, in October authorities sentenced Rafael 
Enrique Garcia, former director of the DAS computer department, to 18 
years' imprisonment for tampering with a database and erasing criminal 
records pertaining to drug traffickers wanted for extradition.
    The Justice and Peace Law process exposed corruption and 
paramilitary ties within the Government and security forces. President 
Uribe publicly urged the Supreme Court to pursue all leads and punish 
public officials found guilty. The President increased funding for the 
Supreme Court, which investigates members of Congress and senior 
government officials, to allow it to have its own investigative unit. 
President Uribe stated that the accusations related to the conduct of 
individuals, not institutions, and Congress continued to function 
normally.
    On November 9, the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of three 
congressmen--senators Alvaro Garcia and Jairo Merlano and 
representative Erik Morris--charged with aggravated conspiracy to 
commit criminal activity based on allegations of ties with paramilitary 
groups. In early December the Supreme Court questioned eight senators, 
three representatives, and the governor of Magdalena on similar 
allegations. Since the Supreme Court only has power to investigate 
acting government officials, in mid-November the Prosecutor General's 
Office opened investigations into former office holders and businessmen 
and ordered them to appear for questioning. Among those summoned were 
former DAS director Jorge Noguera, former Sucre governor Salvador 
Arana, former Sucre assembly deputy Angel Daniel Villarreal, 
businessman Jose Joaquin Garcia, cattle rancher Miguel Nule, and 
engineering contractor Octavio Otero. In addition, in September the 
Prosecutor General's Office arrested four deputies in Sucre Department 
for ties with paramilitary groups.
    In January the Inspector General's Office opened an investigation 
into Edilberto Castro Rincon, governor of Meta Department, for spending 
public funds for personal electoral benefit. According to 
investigators, Rincon signed contracts amounting to 28 percent of the 
department's budget in less than one month's time leading up to 
elections.
    On December 4, the Inspector General's Office ordered Cali mayor 
Apolinar Salcedo removed from office and prohibited him from holding 
public office for 16 years. The Inspector General's Office accused 
Salcedo of mismanagement of the tender and award of a public contract 
for collecting city taxes. Salcedo's appeal of the decision remained 
pending at year's end.
    On December 2, an appellate court placed Barranquilla Mayor 
Guillermo Hoenigsberg under house arrest as part of a criminal 
proceeding for cost overruns on the renovation of Barranquilla's City 
Hall. Hoenisgsberg was under investigation for embezzlement and public 
contract fraud.
    The Inspector General's Office barred a number of former officials 
from public office for up to 13 years for engaging in corrupt 
practices. Those barred included the former governor of Atlantico, Luis 
Daniel Vargas Sanchez; the former governor of Boyaca, Miguel Angel 
Bermudez Escobar; and the former President of the Social Security 
Institute, Guillermo Fino Serrano.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
the Government generally provided such access in practice. While there 
are no prohibitive fees to access government information, there were 
reports that a few low-level officials insisted on bribes to expedite 
access to information.
Section 4. 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. Although government 
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views, 
NGOs claimed that criticism from high-level officials, including 
President Uribe, put them at risk for retaliation by illegal armed 
groups. Many domestic NGOs also contended that the Government 
arbitrarily arrested and detained human rights activists, particularly 
in high conflict areas (see sections 1.d. and 6.a.).
    While the Uribe administration maintained an open dialogue with 
NGOs and met with them several times during the year, NGOs complained 
that they had difficulty getting meetings with government officials or 
getting prompt replies to their correspondence.
    Several thousand human rights and civil society NGOs were 
registered in the country, although most existed only on paper. Local 
human rights NGOs had far-reaching influence. By sharing information 
among themselves and disseminating it to international human rights 
organizations and the media, they raised the country's human rights 
profile and contributed to significant levels of international 
attention.
    The Government and prominent local NGOs differed in their 
evaluations and analyses of the human rights situation, which led to 
profound mutual suspicions.
    The Government asserted that some human rights activists engaged in 
activities that supported terrorism (see section 1.e.). The cases 
included the January 4 incarceration in Bucaramanga of Principe Gabriel 
Gonzalez Arango, Santander coordinator of the Committee for Solidarity 
with Political Prisoners, who remained in prison at year's end; and 
Jose Vicente Murillo Tobo, President of the Joel Sierra Regional Human 
Rights Committee in Arauca, arrested in 2003 and held for more than 
three years in pretrial detention, who alleged he was denied legal due 
process. Jose Murillo Tobo was released in September and convicted of 
rebellion after his release (see section 1.d.).
    In October the Government of Denmark announced charges against the 
spokesman for the Danish NGO Association Rebellion for providing 
financial support to terrorism.
    According to the CCJ, four human rights activists were killed 
during the year. The CCJ attributed the killings to renegade and 
demobilized paramilitaries (see section 1.g.).
    In May, August, October, and November, several NGOs reported 
receiving e-mail threats, allegedly from newly formed paramilitary 
groups. The UNHCHR expressed concern over the threats. The Government 
condemned these threats and the Prosecutor General's Office opened an 
investigation.
    There were several reports of thefts of computers and electronic 
data from human rights groups. In April CODHES reported a robbery of 
information from its headquarters in Bogota. Another break-in occurred 
in August, involving the theft of data on IDPs. In April two computers 
were stolen from the home of a lawyer from the Jose Alvear Restrepo 
Lawyers' Collective.
    The Ministry of Interior and Justice and the DAS allocated 
approximately $21 million (45 billion pesos) to the Government's 
program to protect human rights activists and other vulnerable groups, 
approximately 20 percent of which funded protection measures for human 
rights groups and civil society leaders. The Government provided 
protection to more than 509 human rights activists during the year and 
bulletproofed 90 NGO offices since 2000.
    The Government cooperated with international organizations. The 
UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the 
International Labor Organization (ILO), the UNHCHR, and the ICRC had an 
active presence in the country and carried out their work without 
government interference.
    In its 2005 report, the UNHCHR issued 27 recommendations to improve 
the human rights situation in the country, 24 of which were directed at 
the Government and the independent Prosecutor General's Office (see 
section 1.e.). Some of the recommendations had been broadened from 
previous years. Throughout the year the Government met with the UNHCHR, 
local NGOs, and members of the diplomatic corps to discuss its action 
plan and the steps it had taken to comply with the recommendations. 
While acknowledging progress on several recommendations, the UNHCHR and 
local NGOs reported that the Government had not fully complied with 
most of them by year's end. In September the Government renewed the 
UNHCHR's mandate for one year.
    The national human rights ombudsman is independent, reports to the 
inspector general (see section 1.e.), and has responsibility for 
ensuring the promotion and exercise of human rights. The Government 
generally cooperated with the ombudsman. The ombudsman's Bogota office 
was the headquarters of a national early warning system, which was 
designed to alert public security forces of impending human rights 
violations, particularly large-scale massacres. The office generally 
was underfunded and understaffed, limiting its ability to effectively 
monitor human rights violations or prevent their occurrence. Regional 
human rights ombudsmen were under constant threat from illegal armed 
groups.
    The Presidential Program for Human Rights, which operated under the 
authority of the vice President, coordinates national human rights 
policy and actions taken by government entities to promote or protect 
human rights. It is the Government's primary interlocutor with domestic 
and international NGOs and with foreign governments on human rights 
issues. The program publishes the Human Rights Observer magazine that 
provides analyses of major human rights issues and the human rights 
situation in various regions of the country.
    Both the Senate and House of Representatives have human rights 
committees. The committees serve as forums for discussion of human 
rights issues but have no authority to draft legislation.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law specifically prohibits discrimination based on 
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, many of these 
prohibitions were not enforced in practice.

    Women.--Although prohibited by law, domestic violence, including 
spousal abuse, remained a serious problem. Judicial authorities may 
remove an abuser from the household and require therapy or re-
education. The law provides prison time if the abuser causes grave harm 
or the abuse is recurrent; however, provisions for fines were not 
applied. The Institute for Legal Medicine and Forensic Science reported 
approximately 33,000 cases of domestic violence against women during 
the year but noted that only a small percentage of cases were brought 
to its attention. The law stipulates that the Government must provide 
victims of domestic violence with immediate protection from physical or 
psychological abuse. The ICBF provided safe houses and counseling for 
victims, but its services were dwarfed by the magnitude of the problem. 
In addition to fulfilling traditional family counseling functions, ICBF 
family ombudsmen handled domestic violence cases. The Human Rights 
Ombudsman's Office conducted regional training workshops to promote the 
application of domestic violence statutes.
    Although prohibited by law, rape, including spousal rape, remained 
a serious problem. The law provides for sentences ranging from eight 
years' to 15 years' imprisonment for violent sexual assault. For acts 
of spousal sexual violence, the law mandates sentences of six months to 
two years and denies probation or bail to offenders who disobey 
restraining orders. The Institute for Legal Medicine and Forensic 
Science, which reported 14,246 cases of suspected sex crimes, including 
rape, indicated that many cases went unreported. Renegade paramilitary 
members and guerrillas raped, sexually abused, and in some cases, 
sexually mutilated women and children for allegedly fraternizing with 
the enemy, working as prostitutes, having sexual relations outside of 
marriage, or violating imposed codes of conduct or restrictions on 
dress. The ICBF provided psychosocial, medical, and legal support to 
victims of sexual violence.
    Adult prostitution is legal in designated ``tolerance zones,'' but 
enforcement of, and restriction to, the zones remained difficult. 
Prostitution was widespread and exacerbated by poverty and internal 
displacement. Sex tourism existed to a limited extent, particularly in 
coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla, where marriage and 
dating services were often fronts for sexual tourism. The law prohibits 
organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and provides penalties of 
three to eight years' imprisonment. Trafficking in women for sexual 
exploitation continued to be a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    In January the congress passed a law applicable to both the private 
and public sectors that provided measures to discourage and punish 
harassment at the workplace, such as sexual harassment, verbal abuse or 
derision, aggression, and discrimination. Nonetheless, sexual 
harassment remained a pervasive problem.
    Although women enjoy the same legal rights as men, discrimination 
against women remained a persistent problem. Women faced hiring 
discrimination, were disproportionately affected by unemployment, and 
had salaries that generally were incompatible with their education and 
experience. Female workers in rural areas were affected most by wage 
discrimination and unemployment.
    The President's advisor for equality of women has primary 
responsibility for combating discrimination against women. The advisor 
ran a program to help women who were microbusiness entrepreneurs and 
heads of families to get favorable lines of credit for their companies. 
During the year the Government provided 5,973 microcredit loans to 
women, in the amount of five million dollars (12 billion pesos). NGOs 
such as the Popular Women's Organization in Barrancabermeja, Santander 
Department, and the Women's Path to Peace in Medellin, Antioquia 
Department, worked on women's issues, particularly peace initiatives.
    On January 23, congress created an Observatory for Gender Affairs 
to monitor and improve gender equality and enacted a law to combat 
workplace harassment, including sexual harassment. No information was 
available on its effectiveness during the year.
    In August the Government published its National Plan for the 
Defense of Woman's Rights, which outlined 116 measures to combat 
domestic violence, enhance women's rights after the dissolution of a 
marriage, and protect women in the workplace.

    Children.--The Government generally was committed to children's 
rights and welfare. The ICBF oversees all government child protection 
and welfare programs and also funds nongovernmental programs that 
benefit children.
    Public schooling is provided up to age 18 and is universal, 
compulsory, and free up to age 15. The National Department of 
Statistics (DANE) estimated that more than eight million children 
between ages six and 15 attended school. The Government covered most 
basic costs of primary education. However, families were obliged to pay 
for such additional matriculation fees after age 15, books and school 
supplies, and transportation; these costs often were prohibitive, 
particularly for the rural poor.
    While the Government provided equal medical care to boys and girls, 
medical facilities were not widely available, especially in rural 
areas.
    Child abuse was a serious problem. The National Institute for Legal 
Medicine and Forensic Sciences reported approximately 18,000 cases of 
child abuse during the year. The institute also estimated that 
approximately 85 percent of the 17,000 reported sex crimes involved 
sexual abuse of children, most of whom were under the age of 14. 
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), approximately 35,000 
children were sexually exploited each year.
    According to a report by the Inspector General's Office, 25,000 
minors were sexual workers. Children were trafficked for sexual 
exploitation (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits service in the public security forces before age 
18, and government practice conformed with the law. Guerrillas forcibly 
recruited and used children as soldiers. The Ministry of Defense 
estimated that 20 percent of FARC members were minors and that most 
guerrilla fighters had joined the FARC ranks as children. Human Rights 
Watch stated there were approximately 11,000 child soldiers, 80 percent 
of whom belonged to the FARC and the ELN.
    A 2002 UNICEF study estimated that 83 percent of child soldiers 
volunteered and did so because of limited educational and economic 
opportunities and a desire for acceptance and camaraderie. 
Nevertheless, many children found membership in guerrilla and 
paramilitary organizations difficult, and the Ministry of Defense 
reported an increase in the number of minors deserting illegal armed 
groups. At least 396 children (225 of them former members of the FARC) 
surrendered to state security forces during the year and were 
transferred to the ICBF, which operated a reintegration program for 
former child soldiers. While child labor remained a problem, in October 
President Uribe signed the Law of Children and Adolescents, which 
raised the minimum age for work from 14 to 15 years of age (see section 
6.d.).
    The UNHCR reported that 74 percent of IDPs were women and children 
(see section 2.d.). Displaced children particularly were vulnerable to 
physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and recruitment by criminals.

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked from, through, 
and within the country.
    The country was a major source for trafficking in persons, 
primarily for both sexual and labor purposes. As of September the IOM 
received 244 hot-line calls related to trafficking. The vast majority 
of trafficking victims were young women, although children and young 
men were also at risk. Destination countries included Venezuela, 
Ecuador, El Salvador, Aruba, Panama, The Netherlands, Chile, Costa 
Rica, Curacao, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, and the 
United States. Internal trafficking of women and children from rural to 
urban areas for sexual exploitation and forced labor remained a serious 
problem. Victims also transited the country from other South American 
countries on their way to Europe and the United States.
    Many traffickers disclosed the sexual nature of the work they 
offered but concealed information about working conditions, clientele, 
freedom of movement, and compensation. Others disguised their intent by 
portraying themselves as modeling agents, offering marriage brokerage 
services, providing study programs, or operating lottery or bingo scams 
with free trips as prizes. Recruiters reportedly loitered outside high 
schools, shopping malls, and parks to lure adolescents into accepting 
nonexistent jobs abroad. The IOM and domestic NGOs estimated that 
international organized crime networks were responsible for most 
transnational trafficking. Domestically, organized crime networks, some 
related to illegal armed groups, were also responsible for trafficking 
for sexual exploitation or organized begging, and the armed conflict 
created situations of vulnerability for a large number of internal 
trafficking victims.
    The law provides for prison sentences of between 13 and 23 years 
and fines of up to 1,000 times the monthly minimum wage for trafficking 
offenses. These penalties may be increased by up to one-third if there 
are aggravating circumstances, such as trafficking of children under 
the age of 14. Additional charges of illegal detention, violation of 
the right to work in dignified conditions, and violation of personal 
freedom also may be brought against traffickers. While limited 
resources hindered prosecutions, during the year the Prosecutor 
General's Office handled 208 trafficking investigation cases, 15 of 
which resulted in indictments. Trials were pending at year's end.
    With the support of the IOM, the National Committee against 
Trafficking (composed of 14 agencies) prepared information campaigns, 
promoted information exchange between government agencies, and planned 
the implementation of a database to monitor trafficking cases. The 
prosecutor general's Anti-Trafficking Unit has the lead on combating 
trafficking. The Government cooperated with foreign counterparts on 
investigations.
    The country's diplomatic missions provided legal and social welfare 
assistance to victims abroad and worked with the IOM to repatriate 
victims. The IOM strengthened government institutions involved in 
antitrafficking efforts and assisted trafficking victims. From 
September 2004 to August, the IOM trained 382 officials on specific 
trafficking issues and provided awareness-raising training to 2,084 
officials and NGO workers. The IOM also provided victims with job 
training and employment opportunities, temporary emergency shelter, 
necessary medical and psychological care, and opportunities for social 
reintegration. The Hope Foundation, an antitrafficking NGO, provided 
educational information, social support, and counseling to trafficking 
victims. The Rebirth Foundation also provided housing, psychosocial 
therapy, medical care, and legal assistance to child victims of sexual 
exploitation through trafficking.
    The IOM started a campaign to advertise an IOM national hot line to 
prevent trafficking and report violators. The IOM also continued its 
antitrafficking public awareness campaign that included placing large 
posters in airports, bus stations, foreign consulates, and travel 
agencies and running professionally produced public service 
announcements on radio and television.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state 
services, and the Government effectively enforced these prohibitions. 
There is no law mandating access to public buildings for persons with 
disabilities. The law provides persons with physical disabilities 
access to voting stations. The Presidential Program for Human Rights is 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
    The Colombian Association for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 
reported that only approximately 15 percent of the disabled population 
received medical attention adequate to prevent complications arising 
from disabilities. According to press reports, only 7,000 of Bogota's 
100,000 persons with disabilities had access to public education.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the national 
census, approximately 11 percent of the population was of African 
origin. While Afro-Colombians are entitled to all constitutional rights 
and protections, they faced significant economic and social 
discrimination. An estimated 74 percent of Afro-Colombians earned less 
than minimum wage. Choco, the department with the highest percentage of 
Afro-Colombian residents, had the lowest per capita level of social 
investment and ranked last in terms of education, health, and 
infrastructure. It also continued to experience some of the country's 
worst political violence, as paramilitaries and guerrillas struggled 
for control of the department's key drug- and weapons-smuggling 
corridors.
    On May 25, a court in Antioquia sentenced Alvaro Padilla Medina to 
24 year's and five months' imprisonment for the October 2005 killing of 
Afro-Colombian community leader Orlando Valencia in Belen de Bajira, 
Choco Department (see section 1.g.).

    Indigenous People.--The constitution gives special recognition to 
the fundamental rights of indigenous people, who comprised 
approximately 2 percent of the population.
    By law indigenous groups have perpetual rights to their ancestral 
lands. Traditional Indian authority boards operated approximately 866 
reservations as municipal entities, with officials selected according 
to indigenous traditions. However, many indigenous communities had no 
legal title to lands they claimed, and illegal armed groups often 
violently contested indigenous land ownership. The National Agrarian 
Reform Institute administered a program to buy lands declared to belong 
to indigenous communities and return those lands to them.
    The law provides for special criminal and civil jurisdictions 
within indigenous territories based on traditional community laws (see 
section 1.e.). Proceedings in these jurisdictions were subject to 
manipulation and often rendered punishments that were more lenient than 
those imposed by regular civilian courts. The law permits indigenous 
communities to educate their children in traditional dialects and in 
the observance of cultural and religious customs. Indigenous men are 
not subject to the national military draft.
    Indigenous leaders complained about the occasional presence of 
government security forces on indigenous reservations and asked that 
the Government consult with indigenous authorities prior to taking 
military action against paramilitaries and guerrillas in such areas. 
The Government stated that for security reasons it could not provide 
advance notice of most military operations and that it consulted with 
indigenous leaders when possible before accessing land held by the 
communities. For national security reasons, the law permits the 
presence of government security forces on lands of indigenous 
communities.
    The Ministry of Interior and Justice, through its Office of 
Indigenous Affairs, is responsible for protecting the territorial, 
cultural, and traditional rights of indigenous people. Ministry 
representatives resided in all regions of the country and worked with 
other governmental human rights organizations and NGOs to promote 
indigenous interests and investigate violations of indigenous rights.
    Despite special legal protections and government assistance 
programs, indigenous people continued to suffer discrimination and 
often lived on the margins of society.
    Parties in the internal armed conflict continued to victimize 
members of indigenous communities (see section 1.g.). ONIC reported 
that through July, violence killed 32 indigenous persons and displaced 
5,731 others. ONIC stated that the FARC alone kidnapped 12 indigenous 
persons during this period. In January clashes between the FARC's 
Jacobo Arenas Mobile Column and eight battalions of the army trapped a 
Paez indigenous community in a cross fire for several days. The 
fighting killed one community member and injured two others, forcing 
more than 3,000 Paez from their homes.
    On August 9, the International Day of World Indigenous People, 
hooded gunmen in Ricaurte, Narino Department, killed five members of 
the Awa indigenous community, including a former governor of the 
Chinbuza indigenous reserve. The Prosecutor General's Office was 
investigating the killings.
    The UNHCHR continued to criticize threats and violence against 
indigenous communities, characterized government investigations of 
human rights violations against indigenous groups as inadequate, and 
appealed to the Government to do more to protect indigenous people.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to 
organize unions, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. The law does not cover members of the armed forces or police. 
Violence against union members and antiunion discrimination discouraged 
workers from joining unions and engaging in trade union activities, and 
the number of unions and union members continued to decline. 
Approximately 830,000 workers (or less than 5 percent of the 18-
million-member workforce) were union members.
    The labor code provides for automatic recognition of unions that 
obtain 25 signatures from potential members and comply with a 
registration process. Unions claimed that this process was slow and was 
used to block union registration, specifically in the cut flower 
sector.
    In June the Government, trade confederations, and business 
representatives signed an accord to have a resident ILO representative 
sent to the country; he was scheduled to arrive in January 2007. The 
agreement also committed the Government to finance the ILO Special 
Technical Cooperation program and allocated $1.5 million to the 
Prosecutor General's Office to combat impunity for violence against 
trade unionists. By the end of the year, the Government had assigned 
nearly 100 prosecutorial and investigative personnel to 128 cases of 
violence against trade unionists. In addition, the agreement reconvened 
the National Settlement Commission for Labor and Salary, which had been 
boycotted by labor representatives prior to the May Presidential 
election, and removed the country from discussion in the ILO's 
Committee for the Application of Standards for the first time in 21 
years.
    Labor leaders continued to be targets of attacks by both guerrillas 
and renegade paramilitary for political reasons (see section 1.g.). 
According to the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) 25 trade 
unionists, nine of whom were union leaders, were killed during the 
year, compared with 13 in 2005. According to the National Labor College 
(ENS), a labor rights NGO, 37 trade unionists were killed during the 
year. ENS and government figures differed because the ENS counted non-
affiliated advisers to unions, retired and nonactive union members, and 
rural community organization members as trade unionists, which the MSP 
did not.
    Illegal armed groups disproportionately targeted educators. Labor 
groups counted teachers affiliated with trade unions among the total 
number of trade unionists killed, whereas the MSP counted them 
separately. The MSP reported that 34 teachers affiliated with unions, 
two of whom were leaders, were killed during the year. The ENS reported 
35 teachers affiliated with unions were killed. There had been no 
convictions in any of these cases by year's end. Threats, intimidation, 
or coercion against prosecutors, judicial investigators, and witnesses 
contributed to impunity in these cases.
    The Government continued its protection program for threatened 
labor leaders, providing protection measures for more than 1,200 trade 
unionists during the year.
    Illegal armed groups killed, kidnapped, and threatened trade union 
members for political and financial reasons (see section 1.g.). On 
March 2, unknown gunmen in a Barrancabermeja neighborhood reportedly 
under paramilitary control killed Hector Diaz Serrano, a member of the 
National Workers' Union (USO). Also on April 2, unknown gunmen killed 
Daniel Cortez, a member of an electricity worker's union, SINTRAELECOL; 
the union attributed the killing to paramilitaries. On September 13, 
unknown gunmen killed Gregorio Izquierdo, a member of the union 
SINTRAEMSERPA, in Arauca City, Arauca Department; the union considered 
paramilitaries responsible.
    Union leaders contended that perpetrators of violence against 
workers operated with virtual impunity. In cases of killings of trade 
unionists and teachers affiliated with unions, authorities identified 
guerrillas as the perpetrators of seven acts, renegade paramilitaries 
for four, and common criminals for two. The ENS attributed nine 
killings to renegade paramilitaries, seven to guerrillas, and 1 to 
common criminals.
    On October 3, a judge in a foreign court dismissed a 2001 union 
lawsuit against Coca-Cola bottling plants in the country. The suit 
alleged collusion with paramilitaries to kill and intimidate trade 
unionists. The union stated it would appeal the decision.
    While the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, some long-
standing ILO criticisms of the labor code remained, including the 
legality of firing union organizers from their jobs within six months 
following a strike or dispute, the legality of firing union organizers 
from their jobs within six months following a strike or dispute, the 
prohibition of strikes in a wide range of public services that are not 
necessarily essential, the Government's power to intervene in disputes 
through compulsory arbitration when a strike is declared illegal, and 
the power to dismiss trade union officers involved in an unlawful 
strike. The Government countered that ILO technical assistance helped 
to draft the labor code and that it does not impede labor rights. The 
Government did not declare illegal any of the eight strikes that 
occurred during the year.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, and 
the Government respected this right in the private sector; however, 
collective bargaining was not implemented fully in the public sector. 
Unions claimed that fewer than 150,000 of their members had collective 
bargaining contracts. High unemployment, a large informal economic 
sector, traditional antiunion attitudes, and violence against trade 
union leaders made organizing difficult. Weak union organization 
limited workers' bargaining power in all sectors.
    Collective pacts between individual workers and their employers 
were not subject to collective bargaining. Collective pacts give 
employers the right to negotiate accords on pay and labor conditions at 
any time with extemporaneous groups of workers when no union is present 
or when a union represents less then half of the employees. Labor 
groups complained that employers used collective pacts, permitted by 
law, to discourage labor organization. In practice, when a union 
presented a collective bargaining proposal, employers offered some 
workers better conditions and pay in exchange for their leaving the 
union and temporarily joining the pact, which undermined organized 
labor's ability to bargain collectively.
    The continued growth and prevalence of workers' cooperatives 
further diminished collective bargaining. Workers' cooperatives are 
required to register with the superintendent of economic cooperatives, 
which estimated the number of such cooperatives at 3,000 and the number 
of associated workers at approximately 379,000. Workers' cooperatives 
were obligated to provide compensation at least equivalent to the 
minimum wage and the same health and retirement benefits as other 
workers receive.
    Government investigators discovered that most cooperatives engaged 
in subcontracting and, in some cases, that private sector employers had 
forced workers to form cooperatives and were themselves managing the 
cooperatives' daily operations. The Government has the authority to 
fine violators but has no recourse to shut down repeat offenders. In 
practice nominal fines assessed by the Government did little to 
dissuade violators. In December the Government issued a decree to 
combat the misuse of workers' cooperatives by explicitly prohibiting 
their use as labor subcontractors, limiting their status to that of 
nonprofit, and raising the maximum fine for illegal cooperatives.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice; however, members of the armed forces, police, 
and persons performing ``essential public services'' as defined by law 
were not permitted to strike.
    Before staging a legal strike, public sector unions must negotiate 
directly with management and accept mediation if they cannot reach an 
agreement. The law prohibits the use of strikebreakers. The law that 
prohibits public employees from striking was often ignored. By law 
public employees must accept binding arbitration if mediation fails.
    In May the U.S. successfully negotiated a collective bargaining 
agreement with Ecopetrol, the Government petroleum company.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
export processing zones. Labor law applies in the country's 15 free 
trade zones, and its standards were enforced.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there were some 
reports that such practices occurred.
    Paramilitaries and guerrillas practiced forced conscription; forced 
labor was also involved in prostitution (see section 5). There were 
some reports that guerrillas and paramilitaries used forced labor, 
including child labor, in areas outside government control (see section 
6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
While there are laws to protect children from exploitation in the 
workplace, child labor remained a significant problem, particularly in 
the informal sector. The ICBF reported that at least 2.5 million 
children worked in the country, of whom only an estimated one in five 
was working legally. An estimated 25,000 minors were sexual workers 
(see section 5).
    In October the minimum age for employment was raised to 15 years. 
Minors between 15 and 17 years of age must obtain authorization from 
the local inspection units of the MSP. Such minors may work only six 
hours per day and 30 hours per week, with no work hours past 6 p.m. 
Minors between 17 and 18 years of age may only work eight hours per 
day, 40 hours per week with no work hours past 8 p.m. There is an 
exception to the minimum age: minors under age 15 may receive 
authorization from the local inspection unit to engage in remunerated 
activities in art, culture, recreation, or sport. However, the 
authorization establishes maximum number of hours and specific labor 
conditions. For example, a minor under age 15 may not engage in 
remunerated activities more than 14 hours per week.
    The legal minimum age for work was consistent with completing a 
basic education, but only 38 percent of working children attended 
school. All child workers are prohibited from working at night or 
performing work where there is a risk of bodily harm or exposure to 
excessive heat, cold, or noise. Although children are prohibited from 
working in a number of specific occupations, including mining and 
construction, in practice these prohibitions largely were ignored.
    Estimates of the number of children who worked in illegal mining 
operations varied widely: DANE estimated the number at 10,000 to 
15,000; the state-entity MINERCOL estimated up to 200,000; the ILO's 
International Program for the Eradication of Child Labor estimated the 
number at approximately 100,000. According to DANE, children also 
worked as coca pickers or in other aspects of the illegal drug trade. 
Children were also engaged in illegal conscripted labor as child 
soldiers.
    Although there were no reports of forced child labor in the formal 
economy, several thousand children were forced to serve as paramilitary 
or guerrilla combatants (see sections 1.g. and 5), prostitutes (see 
section 5), or coca pickers. The minor's code provides for fines of up 
to 40 times the minimum monthly wage for violations of child labor 
laws. A violation deemed to endanger a child's life or threaten moral 
values may be punished by temporary or permanent closure of the 
responsible establishment.
    The MSP's 276 labor inspectors nationwide were responsible for 
enforcing child labor laws in the formal sector (which covered 
approximately 20 percent of the child labor force) through periodic 
inspections. Resources were inadequate for effective enforcement. With 
assistance from the ILO, the Government worked to improve cooperation 
and coordination among national, regional, and municipal governments 
through its ``Third National Plan for the Eradication of Child Labor 
and Protection of Working Youth.''

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government establishes a 
uniform minimum wage every January that serves as a benchmark for wage 
bargaining. The monthly minimum wage, which is set by tripartite 
negotiations among representatives of business, organized labor, and 
the Government, was approximately $187 (433,700 pesos), a 6.3 percent 
increase from the previous year. The national minimum wage did not 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. 
Approximately 59 percent of the workforce was employed in the informal 
sector, which is not covered by the minimum wage.
    The labor code provides for a regular workweek of 48 hours and a 
minimum rest period of eight hours within the week. The code stipulates 
that workers are entitled to receive premium compensation for 
additional hours worked over the regular workweek of 48 hours and for 
work performed on Sundays. Compulsory overtime is permitted only in 
exceptional cases where the work is considered essential for the 
company's functioning.
    The law provides comprehensive protection for workers' occupational 
safety and health, which the MSP enforced through periodic inspections. 
However, a lack of government inspectors, poor public safety awareness, 
and inadequate attention by unions resulted in a high level of 
industrial accidents and unhealthy working conditions. Workers in the 
informal sector sometimes suffered physical or sexual abuse. The law 
provides workers with the right to remove themselves from a hazardous 
work situation without jeopardizing continued employment, and the 
Government enforced this right. Nonunion workers, particularly those in 
the agricultural and in some parts of the flower sector, claimed they 
often continued working in hazardous conditions because they feared 
losing their jobs if they criticized abuses.

                               __________

                               COSTA RICA

    Costa Rica, a constitutional democracy with a population of 
approximately 4.3 million, is governed by a President and unicameral 
legislative assembly directly elected in free multiparty elections 
every four years. In February Oscar Arias Sanchez, of the National 
Liberation Party (PLN), won elections that generally were considered 
free and fair. While civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces, there were a few instances in 
which elements of the security forces acted independently of government 
authority.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, the following human rights problems were reported: prison 
overcrowding in certain facilities; inadequate prison medical services 
in general; substantial judicial process delays, particularly in 
pretrial detention and civil and labor cases; antiquated libel laws and 
excessive penalties for violations; domestic violence against women and 
children; child prostitution; and child labor.
                        respect for human rights
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 May 27, authorities arrested a current and a former police 
officer and accused them of assisting in the revenge killings of three 
citizens in May 2005. According to police reports, the men lured the 
victims, believed to be responsible for killing Colombian Javier 
Caceido, to a park to purchase stolen tools. The men presented police 
credentials, arrested the three persons, and drove them to a nearby 
park where they were delivered to four associates of Caceido and 
killed. At year's end one of the suspects remained in preventive 
detention and the other awaited trial.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits such practices, and 
the Government generally respected this prohibition, some members of 
the security forces committed abuses. Any statement obtained through 
violence is invalid, and the Government investigated, prosecuted, and 
punished agents responsible for confirmed cases of abuse.
    All four police officers found guilty in August 2005 of abuse of 
authority for beating a suspect who resisted arrest appealed their 
three-year suspended sentences, and the appeals were still pending as 
of year's end.
    In September a court found the former police officer charged with 
the 2003 beating of a robbery suspect guilty and sentenced him to two 
years in prison, but the sentence was commuted to parole.
    The ombudsman's office lodged and recorded complaints of police 
misconduct (see section 4). During the year the ombudsman's office 
received 20 complaints, 19 of which remained under investigation, and 
one was determined to be legitimate.
    On July 18, Nicaragua denounced Costa Rica at the Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), citing a November 2005 incident in 
which seven public security officers witnessed but did not intervene 
when two guard dogs attacked a Nicaraguan. Nicaragua claimed this 
showed that its citizens face discrimination and xenophobia in Costa 
Rica. On October 18, the IACHR held a public hearing on the case but 
had not released any findings by year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Although the Government 
worked to improve prison conditions during the year, isolated cases of 
overcrowding, as well as poor sanitation, lack of health services, and 
violence among prisoners remained problems in some prison facilities. 
The ombudsman's office investigated all complaints and referred serious 
cases of abuse to the public prosecutor. Illegal narcotics were readily 
available in the prisons, and drug abuse was common.
    Recent expansions at several prison facilities reduced the 
countrywide prison population at midyear approximately to the system's 
capacity level, although overcrowding persisted at the San Sebastian 
prison and the women's prison at Buen Pastor. San Carlos prison reduced 
its population 7 percent, which put it at capacity in June. As of June 
30, the social adaptation division of the Ministry of Justice reported 
12,987 persons under its supervision, including 7,737 jailed prisoners, 
660 persons required to spend nights and weekends in jail, 4,039 
persons in supervised work programs requiring no jail time, and 551 
juveniles.
    San Sebastian, where most prisoners in pretrial detention were 
held, continued to be overcrowded and unsanitary. Because of increases 
in the number of persons held in preventive detention arising out of 
court backlogs, the San Sebastian prison was not able to handle 
adequately the growing inmate population. Medical care at most 
facilities generally was adequate for routine illnesses and injuries 
but was inadequate for complex medical issues, such as HIV/AIDS.
    While prisoners generally were separated by sex and by level of 
security (minimum, medium, and maximum), overcrowding sometimes 
prevented proper separation of prisoners of different security levels. 
As of June the San Jose women's prison held 5 percent more inmates than 
its intended capacity.
    Due to overcrowding at the San Sebastian complex, some pretrial 
detainees were held with convicted prisoners in long-term detention 
facilities throughout the country.
    The Government permitted prison visits by international and local 
independent human rights observers, including representatives from the 
office of the ombudsman. Human rights observers were allowed to speak 
with prisoners and to prison employees in confidence and without the 
presence of prison staff or other third parties.

    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 Ministry of Public 
Security oversees the general preventive police force, as well as the 
drug control police, the border police, and coast guard. Traffic 
control and law enforcement are administered by the Ministry of Public 
Works and Transportation. Police forces generally were regarded as 
effective. However, due to limited resources, the police forces were 
routinely unable to conduct adequate patrols or take effective 
preventive measures. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) did not 
perceive corruption to be a serious problem. Each ministry had an 
internal disciplinary unit to investigate charges of abuse and 
corruption against its officers. If these units discover criminal 
evidence in any case (such as abuse of authority), they hand over the 
case to the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). Citizens can file a 
complaint against police directly with the OIJ, or anonymously through 
its hot line.
    All new police recruits received human rights awareness training as 
part of their basic training course.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law requires issuance of judicial 
warrants before making arrests, except where probable cause is evident 
to the arresting officer. The law entitles a detainee to a judicial 
determination of the legality of detention during arraignment before a 
judge within 24 hours of arrest. The law provides for the right to 
bail, prompt access to an attorney, and prompt access to family 
members, and the authorities generally observed these rights in 
practice. Indigents are provided a public attorney at government 
expense and access to family members; in practice even those with 
sufficient personal funds were able to use the services of a public 
defender. With judicial authorization, the authorities are able to hold 
suspects incommunicado for 48 hours after arrest or, under special 
circumstances, for up to 10 days.
    A criminal court may hold suspects in pretrial detention for 
periods of up to one year, and the court of appeals may extend this 
period to two years in especially complex cases. The law requires that 
suspects in pretrial detention have their cases reviewed every three 
months by the court to determine the appropriateness of continued 
detention. According to the Ministry of Justice, as of June 30, there 
were 1,686 persons in pretrial detention, representing 13 percent of 
the prison population.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice. The legal system faced many challenges, 
including significant delays in the adjudication of civil disputes and 
a still growing workload.
    The judicial branch of government includes the upper and lower 
courts, the OIJ, the office of the prosecutor, the office of the public 
defender, forensic laboratories, and the morgue. The lower courts 
include courts of first instance and circuit courts. The Supreme Court 
is the highest court, with 22 justices known as magistrates. The 
legislative assembly elects those magistrates for eight-year terms, 
which are renewed automatically unless two-thirds of the assembly 
opposes such renewal.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    All trials, except those that include juvenile defendants, are 
public. A trial is presided over by a single judge or by a three-judge 
panel, depending on the potential penalties arising from the charges. 
Trials that involve victims or witnesses who are minors are closed 
during that portion of the trial where the minor is called to testify. 
There are no jury trials. Accused persons can select attorneys to 
represent them, and the law provides for access to counsel at state 
expense for the indigent. The law provides for detainee and attorney 
access to government-held evidence, and defendants can question 
witnesses against them and present witnesses on their behalf. 
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and, if convicted, have the 
right of appeal.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees, although former Presidents Rafael 
Angel Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who were released in October 
2005 after nearly one year in custody, asserted that their arrests and 
preventive detention on corruption charges were politically motivated. 
In September 2005 Calderon asked the IACHR to review his case. In 
December 2005 he told reporters that the NGO International Society for 
Human Rights had filed an amicus curiae brief that asserted that his 
detention was politically motivated. The review by the IACHR was still 
pending at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters where lawsuits, including 
human rights violations, are brought. Administrative and judicial 
remedies for alleged wrongs are available.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The law 
requires judicial warrants to search private homes. Judges may approve 
the use of wiretaps in investigations of certain crimes such as 
genocide, homicide, kidnapping, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, 
production of pornography, trafficking in persons, and the trafficking 
of persons for their organs. However, legal guidelines on the use of 
wiretaps are so restrictive that the use of wiretaps was rare.
    The law grants considerable rights to squatters who invade 
uncultivated land, regardless of who may hold title to the property. 
Irregular enforcement of property rights and duplicate registrations of 
title harmed the real property interests of many who believed they held 
legitimate title to land. Landowners throughout the country suffered 
occasional squatter invasions; sometimes they received government 
assistance to evict squatters forcibly from private land.
    In July 2005 the ombudsman's office requested governmental action 
to title the land where feasible or to resettle 2,000 of the 4,500 
families living on lots too small to be plotted or in dangerous areas 
of the squatter development of La Carpio. The office reported that the 
project would take several years to complete and might require a 
declaration that the housing development was in the public interest 
through introduction of a bill to reform the law on the housing 
financial system. At year's end the Government continued to survey and 
delineate land plots and to identify the most dangerous areas.
    In February 2005 a court decision overturned the usurpation 
conviction of 17 squatters in the Bambuzal case, and the landowner and 
the prosecutor's office subsequently appealed the acquittal to the 
Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial. As of November 1, the case 
remained undecided by an agrarian tribunal.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press. Journalists and media company 
owners continued to criticize outdated legislation that imposed 
criminal penalties, including lengthy jail sentences instead of civil 
fines, for common press infractions and argued that such legislation 
promoted self-censorship.
    Under the law, reporters are not required to reveal the identity of 
a source in any civil or criminal trial if the source has requested 
confidentiality. Reporters are allowed to defend themselves against 
libel charges by claiming that they were merely repeating a story 
published by foreign media. Libel convictions are punishable with fines 
or jail time.
    The Government had not yet modified the law to comply with a 2004 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling that the Government should 
reform within a reasonable amount of time the press freedom laws on 
media prosecution. The ruling arose out of a 1999 conviction of a 
journalist for defamation. In May the Supreme Court rejected a claim by 
a journalist that prison sentences for common press infractions are 
unconstitutional. In June the World Press Freedom Committee sent a 
letter to President Arias asking him to change the press laws that jail 
journalists found guilty of libel or slander.
    The law provides persons criticized in the media with an 
opportunity to reply with equal attention and at equal length. Media 
managers reported that it was difficult to comply with provisions of 
this law. The provisions outline a series of ``insult laws'' that 
establish criminal penalties of up to three years in prison for those 
convicted of insulting the honor or decorum of a public official. The 
law also identifies defamation, libel, slander, and calumny as offenses 
against a person's honor that can carry criminal penalties. The Inter-
American Press Association cited as problems former President Pacheco's 
informal ban on government advertising in La Nacion newspaper (which 
remained in effect) and stalling of attempts to adopt legislative 
reforms to press laws.
    In July a trial court found journalist Ana Maria Navarro not guilty 
of libel and defamation for two reports she wrote critical of a mayor's 
alleged nepotism.
    The trial of the six defendants accused of killing or illicit 
association in relation to the 2003 killing of journalist Ivannia Mora 
began in May. In November all six were acquitted because judges in the 
case found that key evidence had been improperly obtained. The trial of 
10 defendants arrested in 2004 for the 2001 killing of radio host 
Parmenio Medina continued at year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom.
    The commission on control and rating of public performances rates 
films and has the authority to restrict or prohibit their showing if it 
is determined that the films are pornographic or violent in nature, or 
incite crime or vice. The commission has similar powers over television 
programs, radio programs, and stage plays. In addition the commission 
regulates the sale and distribution of written material deemed 
pornographic, enforcing specific packaging and display regulations. A 
tribunal reviews appeals of the commission's actions.
    In October 2005 the IACHR agreed to review allegations of 
censorship brought against the rating commission by the owner of a 
local tabloid magazine that the Government closed in 2004 after the 
owner printed semi-nude photographs in a 2003 issue without first 
submitting that issue for the rating commission's review. The case 
remained undecided at year's end.

    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.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    Although Roman Catholic religious instruction is provided in the 
public schools, it is not mandatory, and students may obtain exemptions 
from the instruction with the permission of their parents. The school 
director, the student's parents, and the student's teacher must agree 
on an alternative course of instruction for the exempted student during 
the instruction time. Religious education teachers in public schools 
must be certified by the Roman Catholic Church Conference, which does 
not certify teachers from other denominations or faiths. In April 2005 
the public National University alleged that the church conference 
certification requirement was discriminatory and requested that the 
Ministry of Public Education reform the law governing public education 
to allow teachers certified in religious instruction by an entity other 
than the Roman Catholic Church to teach religion in the public school 
system. The Ministry of Public Education had not acted on this request 
as of September 15.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts, during 
the year. There was a small Jewish population.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice. The 
law requires that adults carry national identification cards at all 
times. Persons who fail to produce such documents at security 
checkpoints may be detained until their identity and immigration status 
are verified.
    The constitution prohibits forced internal or external exile, and 
it was not used in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law and a series of executive decrees 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with 
the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol, and the Government has established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. In practice the Government provided protection 
against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they 
feared persecution. The Government granted refugee status or asylum and 
cooperated with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers.
    The Refugee Department, in the General Directorate of Migration, is 
in charge of refugee status determination. The law requires refugee 
applications to be adjudicated within a month of receipt.
    In September the security ministry announced its intention to 
cooperate with the Colombian government to determine if any of the 
approximately 10,000 Colombian refugees living in the country had 
obtained refugee status under false pretenses. In public statements, 
the UNHCR characterized this action as a collective investigation based 
on nationality and therefore a violation of the confidentiality 
principle refugees should enjoy. As of November 1, there were no 
reports of abuse originating from this information sharing.
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 
and by secret ballot every four years. The independent Supreme 
Electoral Tribunal ensured the integrity of elections, and the 
authorities and citizens respected election results. Presidents may 
seek reelection after sitting out two subsequent four-year terms, and 
assembly members may seek reelection after at least one term out of 
office.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the February national 
elections, Oscar Arias of the PLN won the presidency in elections that 
generally were considered free and fair.
    The Supreme Electoral Tribunal requires that a minimum of 40 
percent of candidates for elective office be female and that women's 
names be placed accordingly on the ballots by party slate. The first 
vice President (who was also the minister of justice), and the 
ministers of science and technology, health, culture, and public works 
were women. There were 22 women in the 57-seat legislative assembly, 
including seven legislative committee chairwomen and the heads of three 
of the four major party caucuses.
    Indigenous people did not play significant roles in politics or 
government except on issues directly affecting their welfare, largely 
because of their relatively small numbers and physical isolation. There 
were no indigenous members in the legislative assembly.
    There was one black member in the assembly. There were no minority 
members in the cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The NGO Transparency 
International reported a serious level of perceived domestic 
corruption, a slight increase from 2005. There continued to be 
allegations of corruption against the executive branch. Two former 
Presidents, Rafael Angel Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez, remained 
under investigation for separate and unrelated cases of suspected 
corruption (see section 1.e.). In December the Constitutional Chamber 
ruled that authorities violated Rodriguez's rights when he was shown on 
local television leaving the plane handcuffed after his arrest. Former 
President Jose Maria Figueres Olsen remained in Switzerland despite a 
standing request by the legislative assembly for his return to answer 
questions regarding kickbacks received from his former company.
    There were no new developments reported in the 2004 corruption 
investigation of the former President and board of directors of the 
social security fund.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
the Government generally respected this right. Government institutions 
published reports that detailed the year's activities. The ombudsman's 
office operated a Web page dedicated to enhancing transparency by 
improving citizen's access to public information.
Section 4. 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.
    There is an ombudsman's office of approximately 150 employees 
dedicated to the oversight of actions or inactions by the Government 
that impact the rights and interests of citizens, which includes human 
rights advocacy. The ombudsman is accountable to the legislative 
assembly, which appoints him or her to a four-year term and funds the 
office's operations. The ombudsman plays an active role in the drafting 
and approval process of legislation, promotes good administration and 
transparency, and presents an annual report to the assembly with 
nonbinding recommendations. While the ombudsman's recommendations and 
decisions are not legally enforceable, the position carried a strong 
moral and symbolic weight in the country.
Section 5. 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 effectively.

    Women.--The Government continued to identify domestic violence 
against women and children as a serious and growing societal problem. 
The law prohibits domestic violence and provides measures for the 
protection of domestic violence victims. Criminal penalties range from 
10 to 100 days in prison for aggravated threats and up to 35 years in 
prison for aggravated homicide.
    During the year the autonomous National Institute for Women (INAMU) 
provided legal and psychological counseling to 5,325 women and lodging 
for 245 battered women and 465 children in INAMU shelters. As of August 
15, INAMU reported that 19 women and girls were killed in incidents of 
domestic violence, compared with 40 victims during all of 2005. INAMU 
also maintained a domestic abuse hot line.
    As of December 21, the office of the special prosecutor for 
domestic violence and sexual crimes for the San Jose area investigated 
a total of 1,084 cases, compared with 1,243 cases in all of 2005.
    The law against domestic violence established a number of victim-
assistance mechanisms including basic training for new police personnel 
on handling domestic violence cases, requiring public hospitals to 
report cases of domestic violence against women, and denying 
perpetrators possession of the family home in favor of the victim. The 
public prosecutor, police, and ombudsman had offices dedicated to this 
problem.
    The law defines various types of rape and provides penalties 
dependent upon a victim's age and other factors such as an assailant's 
use of violence or position of influence over the victim. The law 
provides for penalties from 10 to 18 years in prison for rape and two 
to 10 years in prison for statutory rape. The judiciary effectively 
enforced the rape law and provided due process for both victim and 
defendant. According to INAMU, the rape law applies in the same manner 
to spousal rape, although spousal rape cases in practice were much more 
difficult to prove.
    Authorities acknowledged that many known rape cases were not 
investigated due to reluctance by the victim or family of the victim to 
press charges against perpetrators. During the first six months of the 
year, 316 rape cases, 36 intent cases, and 403 cases of sexual abuse of 
minors were reported to the prosecutor's office.
    Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18 and was 
practiced openly throughout the country, particularly in areas with 
heavy concentrations of foreign tourists. The penal code prohibits 
individuals from promoting or facilitating the prostitution of persons 
of either sex, regardless of the person's age, and the penalty is 
increased if the victim is under the age of 18. There are no specific 
laws against sex tourism, which was growing; however, law enforcement 
agencies initiated investigations under existing legislation. The 
Government and several advocacy groups also initiated awareness 
campaigns publicizing the dangers of sex tourism and its association 
with child sexual exploitation (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and 
educational institutions, and the Ministry of Labor generally enforced 
this prohibition. The law imposes penalties ranging from a letter of 
reprimand to dismissal, with more serious incidents subject to criminal 
prosecution. During the year the ombudsman's office received 52 
complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace, compared with 56 
complaints during 2005.
    The law for the promotion of social equality of women prohibits 
discrimination against women and obligates the Government to promote 
political, economic, social, and cultural equality. The Government 
maintained offices for gender issues in most ministries and parastatal 
organizations. The Ministry of Labor was responsible for investigating 
allegations of gender discrimination. INAMU implemented programs that 
promoted gender equality and publicized the rights of women.
    In July the census institute reported that women represented 35 
percent of the labor force. Approximately 4.8 percent worked in 
agriculture, 12.5 percent in manufacturing, and 82.4 percent in the 
service sector. According to a 2005 UN Development Program report, 
women occupied 45 percent of professional and technical positions and 
29 percent of high-level legislative, senior official, and managerial 
positions. The law requires that women and men receive equal pay for 
equal work. The estimated earned income for women was approximately 78 
percent of the earned income for men.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare through systems of public education and medical care. Primary 
education is compulsory, free, and universal. The law requires six 
years of primary and three years of secondary education for all 
children, and attendance is required until age 15.
    The Ministry of Education reported that the estimated primary 
school dropout rate was 3.3 percent and the secondary school dropout 
rate was 11.6 percent; these figures were based on actual registration 
and did not reflect students who failed to register at the beginning of 
the school year. The UN Children's Fund reported that approximately 30 
percent of primary school students never entered secondary school and 
that 47 percent of secondary school students dropped out before 
graduation.
    The law provides equal access to education and health care services 
to all minors, regardless of gender or legal residency status.
    In recent years the autonomous National Institute for Children 
(PANI) increased public awareness of abuse of children, which remained 
a problem. From January 1 to June 30, PANI assisted 34,006 children and 
adolescents (17,117 girls and 16,889 boys), including 3,403 cases of 
physical abuse, 2,647 cases of sexual abuse, and 1,164 cases of 
psychological abuse. Traditional attitudes and the inclination to treat 
sexual and psychological abuse as misdemeanors occasionally hampered 
legal proceedings against those who committed crimes against children.
    The Government, security officials, and child advocacy 
organizations acknowledged that commercial sexual exploitation of 
children remained a serious problem (see section 5, Trafficking). PANI 
estimated that an unknown but significant number of children suffered 
from commercial sexual exploitation. Street children in the urban areas 
of San Jose, Limon, and Puntarenas were particularly at risk. During 
the first six months of the year, PANI reported that it provided 
assistance to minors in 163 separate cases of commercial sexual 
exploitation.
    Child labor was a problem mainly in the informal sector of the 
economy (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits the trafficking 
of women and minors for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor, 
there is no legislation to address all forms of trafficking. The lack 
of a comprehensive antitrafficking law inhibited the Government's 
ability to prosecute and convict traffickers, and prosecutors relied on 
several criminal statutes to bring traffickers to justice. Immigration 
reform legislation, passed in October 2005, went into effect on August 
12. The law explicitly criminalizes the ``illicit smuggling of people'' 
with a two- to six-year prison sentence but is designed to combat the 
movement of illegal aliens, not the trafficking of persons for 
prostitution or forced labor. There were reports that persons were 
trafficked to, from, and within the country, most often for commercial 
sexual exploitation.
    Cases of trafficking involved persons from Cuba, Guatemala, Peru, 
Ecuador, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, the 
Philippines, China, Russia, and several countries of Eastern Europe. 
While evidence suggested that most trafficked persons remained in the 
country, some transited to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Some 
female citizens, generally from impoverished backgrounds, also were 
trafficked to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Women and children 
were trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation, while men, 
women, and children were also trafficked with the country for forced 
labor as domestic servants, agricultural workers, and workers in the 
fishing industry. Traffickers often recruited victims with a promise of 
secure employment and good pay.
    The law provides for sentences of between two and 10 years' 
imprisonment for anyone who engages in sex with a minor and between 
four and 10 years' imprisonment for managing or promoting child 
prostitution. The office of the special prosecutor for domestic 
violence and sexual crimes for the San Jose area raided seven sites, 
resulting in the detention of four suspects, who remained in custody at 
year's end.
    Hundreds of investigations into the commercial sexual exploitation 
of children were initiated, but few resulted in successful prosecution 
as a result of governmental inefficiency and an inability to protect 
witnesses. Minimal coordination among government offices responsible 
for trafficking-related offenses also frustrated enforcement efforts.
    Government agencies responsible for combating trafficking and child 
sexual exploitation included the special prosecutor on domestic 
violence and sex crimes, PANI, the foreign ministry, the labor 
ministry, the public security ministry, the tourism ministry, and the 
OIJ, which has an investigative unit dedicated solely to trafficking in 
persons.
    There were reports of corruption among immigration officials 
involving trafficking in persons along the country's borders, but the 
Immigration Directorate reported that no disciplinary actions were 
taken.
    A governmental inter-ministerial group on trafficking made efforts 
to raise awareness of trafficking issues and sexual exploitation of 
children and to encourage law enforcement and prevention measures, 
particularly at the local level. A campaign initiated in 2005 that used 
television, radio, and billboard notices to warn young women of the 
dangers of commercial sexual exploitation continued. However, a lack of 
resources hampered the Government's efforts.
    While there were limited formal mechanisms specifically designed to 
aid trafficked victims, the Government offered indirect assistance, 
such as stay-in-school programs, to child victims of trafficking. 
Foreign victims were not granted temporary or permanent residence 
status and often were deported immediately to their country of origin.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in 
employment, education, health care access, or provision of other state 
services, and there were no reports of individual, intentional 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in education or in the 
provision of other state services. There were no reports of employment 
discrimination, but the ombudsman's office reported to the legislative 
assembly that, due to poor facility access and entrenched business 
practices, unreported discrimination occurred.
    Although a 1996 law mandates access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities and established a 10-year deadline for the Government to 
make necessary installations and upgrades, the Government did not 
enforce this provision in practice, and many buildings remained 
inaccessible to persons with disabilities. Public transportation 
services improved access slightly for wheelchair-bound passengers. 
However, only 6 percent of buses had complied with the accessibility 
regulations as of September 15.
    The Ministry of Education operated a program for persons with 
disabilities, including a national resource center that provided 
parents, students, and teachers with advanced counseling, training, and 
information services. The ministry reported that 14,710 special 
education students were registered in the school system during the 
year, and there were 540 special education centers to assist special 
education students and students with disabilities. In addition 1,173 
primary and secondary schools had programs to provide some support to 
students with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's 100,000 blacks, 
who mostly resided in the province of Limon, enjoyed full rights of 
citizenship, including the protection of laws against racial 
discrimination. There were no reports with the ombudsman's office of 
racial discrimination against blacks. Approximately 15 percent of the 
resident black population was foreign born. There were sporadic reports 
of discrimination, usually directed against Nicaraguans, but there were 
no government-endorsed patterns of discrimination. Undocumented illegal 
immigrants were sometimes denied discretionary or long-term medical 
care because they were not participants in the national health care 
insurance program.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous people, comprising nearly 70,000 
persons among eight ethnic groups, accounted for nearly 2 percent of 
the population. While indigenous persons were not subject to official 
discrimination, social and health network gaps diminished their quality 
of life. Approximately 73 percent of the indigenous population lived in 
traditional communities on 24 reserves, which because of their remote 
locations, often lacked access to schools, health care, electricity, 
and potable water. The housing ministry estimated that only 27 percent 
of the indigenous population lived in homes considered to be in good 
condition. Few government health care facilities had been established 
in indigenous reserves. The law nominally protects reserve land as the 
collective, nontransferable property of the indigenous communities. 
Some indigenous landowners, however, sold their land to pay off debts, 
sometimes illegally to nonindigenous people. The ombudsman had a unit 
dedicated to investigating violations of the rights of indigenous 
people and sought to return reserve land to indigenous groups.
    At year's end nonindigenous property owners continued to hold title 
to land on approximately 40 percent of the reserves legally set aside 
for indigenous occupation. The law requires that the Government 
purchase all pre-existing land titles within the reserves in order to 
secure exclusive use and ownership rights for the indigenous 
populations.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although there are no 
laws prohibiting discrimination against persons based on sexual 
orientation, discrimination based on HIV/AIDS in health care, 
employment, and education was prohibited by law and by Presidential 
decree. The ombudsman's office received no reports of complaints of 
such discrimination during the year.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law specifies the right of 
workers to join unions of their choosing without prior authorization, 
and workers exercised this right in practice. The law also provides for 
the right not to join a union and to leave a union and accordingly 
prohibits any action that might infringe that right. The Ministry of 
Labor reported that approximately 9 percent of workers were unionized 
as of July.
    Some trade union leaders contended that the existence of worker 
``solidarity associations'' in some enterprises displaced unions and 
discouraged collective bargaining. The law prohibits these non-dues-
collecting associations from representing workers in collective 
bargaining negotiations or in any other way that assumes the functions 
of or inhibits the formation of trade unions. Solidarity associations 
offered membership services, including credit union programs, matching-
fund savings accounts, and low-interest loans. As of June 30, 
solidarity associations had approximately 225,000 members, 81 percent 
of whom worked in the private sector.
    Although the law provides protection from dismissal for union 
organizers and members during union formation, including reinstating 
workers fired for union activities, cases of enforcement were almost 
nonexistent, and employers often failed to comply with this provision 
in practice. In its 2005 annual report, the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts identified as a problem ``slow 
and ineffectual procedures for penalties and redress in the event of 
antiunion acts.'' In addition, the International Trade Union 
Confederation's annual survey stated that there is no legal mechanism 
to oblige an employer to comply with a court order to reinstate a fired 
worker. Workers who are denied reinstatement under a court decision 
must file a new action with the labor court.
    The center for alternative resolution of labor disputes handled 
1,255 cases during the first six months of the year, 67.8 percent of 
which resulted in an agreement between the parties. Year-end statistics 
indicated a relatively high settlement rate when both employer and 
employee attended the hearing; with both parties present, two-thirds of 
the cases reached successful resolution.
    To reduce backlogs caused by the lengthy labor dispute resolution 
process, the Ministry of Labor trained arbitrators and educated workers 
and unions on labor rights, and in 2005 the Supreme Court ordered the 
Government to develop a large-scale labor reform project. The executive 
branch sent a reform bill to the legislature in 2005, which was 
considering it in committee at year's end.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers 
exercised the constitutional right to organize and the right to 
voluntary collective bargaining. Foreign nationals are expressly 
prohibited from exercising direction or authority in unions. There are 
no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in export 
processing zones.
    The law requires employers to initiate the bargaining process with 
a trade union if at least 34 percent of the workforce requests 
collective bargaining, and the Government enforced this law in 
practice.
    Although private sector unions had the legal right to engage in 
collective bargaining with employers, direct bargaining arrangements 
between employers and unorganized workers occurred more commonly. As of 
July the Ministry of Labor reported 67 collective agreements in the 
public sector and 13 agreements in the private sector.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice; however, unions complained of burdensome 
administrative requirements for a strike to be legal. The law requires 
that at least 60 percent of the workers in an enterprise support strike 
action. Restrictions on the right to strike apply only to essential 
services that concern the national economy or public health.
    In May the Supreme Court repealed specific sections of collective 
bargaining agreements between several public employee unions and 
various government agencies, stating that some fringe benefits received 
by certain public employees were disproportionate and unreasonable. An 
ILO commission visited in October to consider these rulings given the 
country's obligations as an ILO member but had not released its report 
by year's end.
    After labor court judges declared a July 2005 strike by a group of 
municipal trash collectors illegal, the mayor fired 67 striking 
workers. The workers sought an injunction from the Constitutional 
Chamber of the Supreme Court, and the court ordered the workers 
temporarily reinstated pending a review of the case. Subsequently, the 
workers withdrew the case because the municipality annulled its 
decision to fire them.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law provides special occupational protection for minors and establishes 
a minimum working age of 15 years. Adolescents between the ages of 15 
and 18 may work for a maximum of six hours daily and 36 hours weekly 
with special permission from PANI. The law prohibits night work and 
overtime for minors. Certain activities considered to be unhealthy or 
hazardous typically require a minimum age of 18. In addition, minors 
are entitled to facilities allowing them to attend educational 
establishments through school arrangements and timetables adapted to 
their interests and employment conditions, and to participate in 
apprenticeship training programs.
    The Ministry of Labor, in cooperation with PANI, generally enforced 
these regulations effectively through inspections in the formal sector; 
the regulations were not effectively enforced in the informal labor 
sector as a result of inadequate resource allocations by the 
Government.
    Child labor continued to be a problem in formal and informal 
agricultural operations and in informal activities such as domestic 
work and family-run enterprises. Child prostitution and other types of 
child sexual exploitation remained serious problems (see section 5).
    The Ministry of Labor maintained an Office for the Eradication of 
Child Labor (OATIA), which was responsible for coordinating government 
efforts and programs targeted at child labor. In June 2005 OATIA 
presented its second national plan of action for the eradication of 
child labor, designed to eliminate child labor within five years and 
requiring each participating government agency to include initiatives 
to combat child labor among their activities. Subsequently, OATIA 
implemented 101 training programs for 3,019 public and private sector 
officers on child labor awareness; developed two child labor research 
initiatives, one in a rural area and the other in a coastal area; 
standardized guidelines for the provision of services to child labor 
victims; and developed a training manual for labor inspectors financed 
by the ILO.
    During the year the Government continued to provide small loans and 
economic aid to families with at-risk children and 556 scholarships for 
poor families to cover the indirect costs of attending school. In 2005 
the Ministry of Education initiated a new child labor education 
campaign to remove children from work and return them to school. OATIA 
reported that in 2005 it had registered 815 children working under the 
legal age. Working in coordination with the ministry and other 
government agencies, the Ministry of Labor removed these children from 
the work environment and placed them in schools, as well as provided 
counseling and orientation.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for a minimum 
wage, which is set by the national wage council. Monthly minimum wages 
for the private sector ranged from approximately $160 (81,789 colones) 
for domestic employees to approximately $630 (635,850 colones) for 
university graduates. The Ministry of Labor effectively enforced 
minimum wages in the San Jose area but was not generally effective in 
enforcing the wage laws in rural areas, particularly those where large 
numbers of migrants were employed. The national minimum wage did not 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
    The constitution sets workday hours, overtime remuneration, days of 
rest, and annual vacation rights. Workers generally may work a maximum 
of 48 hours weekly. While there is no statutory prohibition against 
compulsory overtime, the labor code stipulates that the workday may not 
exceed 12 hours under any circumstances. Nonagricultural workers 
receive an overtime premium of 50 percent of regular wages for work in 
excess of the daily work shift. However, agricultural workers did not 
receive overtime pay if they worked voluntarily beyond their normal 
hours. Hourly work regulations generally were enforced in the formal 
labor market in San Jose but were enforced poorly in rural areas and in 
the informal sector.
    While the Ministries of Labor and Health shared responsibility for 
drafting and enforcing occupational health and safety standards, they 
did not enforce these standards effectively as a result of inadequate 
allocation of government resources. The law requires industrial, 
agricultural, and commercial firms with 10 or more workers to establish 
a joint management-labor committee on workplace conditions and allows 
the Government to inspect workplaces and to fine employers for 
violations. Most firms subject to the law established such committees, 
but they either did not use the committees or did not turn them into 
effective instruments for improving workplace conditions. Resource 
constraints continued to hinder the labor ministry inspection 
directorate's ability to carry out its inspection mandate. Workers who 
consider a work condition to be unhealthy or unsafe must make a written 
request for protection from the Ministry of Labor or the Ministry of 
Health in order to remove themselves from the condition without 
jeopardizing their continued employment.

                               __________

                                  CUBA

    Cuba, with a population of more than 11 million, is a totalitarian 
state led by an acting President, General Raul Castro. The Government 
exercises control through the Communist Party (CP) and its affiliated 
mass organizations, the bureaucracy, and the state security apparatus. 
General Castro was granted provisional control by his older brother, 
Fidel Castro, in a proclamation issued on July 31, after the latter 
underwent medical treatment. The Ministry of Interior is the principal 
instrument of state security and control, and officers of the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces, which are led by Raul Castro, have occupied 
most key positions in the ministry during the past 15 years.
    The Government's human rights record remained poor, and the 
Government continued to commit numerous, serious abuses. The Government 
denied citizens the right to change their government. There were at 
least 283 political prisoners and detainees at year's end. Thousands of 
citizens served sentences for ``dangerousness,'' in the absence of any 
criminal activity. The following human rights problems were reported: 
beatings and abuse of detainees and prisoners, including human rights 
activists, carried out with impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison 
conditions, including denial of medical care; frequent harassment, 
beatings, and threats against political opponents by government-
recruited mobs, police, and state security officials; frequent 
arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights advocates and members of 
independent professional organizations; denial of fair trial, 
particularly to political prisoners; and interference with privacy, 
including pervasive monitoring of private communications. There were 
also severe limitations on freedom of speech and press; denial of 
peaceful assembly and association; restrictions on freedom of movement, 
including selective denial of exit permits to thousands of citizens; 
and refusal to recognize domestic human rights groups or permit them to 
function legally. Domestic violence, underage prostitution, sex 
tourism, discrimination against persons of African descent, and severe 
restrictions on worker rights, including the right to form independent 
unions, were also problems.
                        respect for human rights
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 any politically motivated 
killings.

    b. Disppearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits abusive treatment of detainees and 
prisoners; however, members of the security forces sometimes beat and 
otherwise abused human rights and prodemocracy advocates, detainees, 
and prisoners, and did so with impunity.
    Although physical torture was rare, authorities beat, harassed, and 
made death threats against dissidents, both inside and outside of 
prison. Many were interrogated and pressured to sign incriminating 
statements or collaborate with authorities. Some detainees and 
prisoners endured physical and sexual abuse, sometimes by other inmates 
with the acquiescence of guards, or long periods in isolation or 
punishment cells. Political prisoners and detainees who refused to wear 
the prison uniform or take part in ``reeducation'' activities were 
targeted for mistreatment.
    On January 19, freed political prisoner Mario Enrique Mayo reported 
that guards at Green Sea prison in Santiago Province had tortured 
political prisoner Agustin Cervantes. Mayo stated that Cervantes, 
serving four years for dangerousness, was taken to a punishment cell 
where guards attached his handcuffed hands to a hook and left him 
suspended for at least 24 hours.
    On June 14, guards at Taco Taco prison in Pinar del Rio Province 
punched political prisoner Orlando Zapato Tamayo repeatedly in the head 
while forcibly cutting his hair and shaving him. Zapata reacted by 
yelling ``Down with Fidel!'' and then spent the next 72 hours in a 
punishment cell. On November 2, Zapata's mother reported that a 
prosecutor had indicted her son for jailhouse disorder and disrespect 
and was seeking 15 additional years' imprisonment.
    The Government knowingly forced some mentally healthy prisoners to 
share cells with mentally disturbed inmates.
    The Government continued to subject persons who disagreed with it 
to ``acts of repudiation.'' The Government targeted dissenters by 
directing militants from the CP, the Union of Communist Youth (UJC), 
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs), the Federation of 
Cuban Women, the Association of Veterans of the Cuban Revolution, and 
other groups and individuals to stage public protests against the 
dissidents, usually in front of their homes. Participants shouted 
insults and obscenities, sometimes damaged the victim's home or 
property, and occasionally assaulted the victim or his relatives. 
Threats of beatings or killings were common. Although the Government 
characterized acts of repudiation as spontaneous uprisings by patriotic 
neighbors, undercover police and State Security agents were often 
present and served in an organizational capacity. The Government did 
not detain any participants in acts of repudiation, even those who 
physically attacked the victim; the Government detained many victims 
following acts of repudiation. Non-Communist militants who were called 
on but refused to take part faced potential disciplinary action. In 
addition to acts of repudiation, the Government organized similar 
events called ``acts of revolutionary reaffirmation,'' ``acts of 
warning,'' and ``acts of neutralization.'' All were aimed at 
ostracizing and intimidating those who questioned the Government's 
policies.
    On January 22 in the Matanzas city of Pedro Betancourt, hundreds of 
Communist militants surrounded a house used by the Alternative Option 
Independent Movement (MIOA), associated with the Sigler Amaya family. 
The crowd intimidated the occupants with shouted insults. Photographs 
showed CP and government officials leading the activity.
    On March 17, a crowd of 500 Communist militants surrounded the 
Sancti Spiritus home of Isel Acosta Obregon, a member of the ``Ladies 
in White'' protest group and the wife of political prisoner Blas 
Giraldo Reyes. The participants pounded on the doors and screamed 
insults for four hours. The group prevented her from traveling to 
Havana to commemorate, with other members of the group, the third 
anniversary of the ``Black Spring'' arrests of 75 peaceful activists, 
including her husband (see section 2.d.).
    On August 3, a government-organized mob of approximately 100 
persons staged an act of repudiation in front of the Las Tunas home of 
Yamile de los Angeles Llanes, wife of political prisoner Jose Garcia 
Paneque. Llanes was at home with 11 youngsters at the time, when a 
member of the mob yelled, ``Let's set the house on fire and burn the 
worms!"
    On August 19-20, a half-dozen Communist militants occupied the 
hallway of dissident Martha Beatriz Roque's housing complex for six 
hours during the night. The men behaved as though they were drunk, 
hurled insults and obscenities at Roque, and hammered on her window 
with the butt of a pistol, inviting her to ``step outside so we can 
kill you.''
    On October 10 in Santa Clara, participants in an act of repudiation 
beat independent librarians Orestes Suarez Torres and his wife, Nancy 
Gonzalez Garcia, after they left a dissident gathering. Twelve 
assailants broke Suarez's ribs and left both victims with black eyes, 
bruises, and cuts.
    On December 10 in Havana, the Government deployed at least 100 
state security officials and no less than 200 Communist militants to 
confront and attack 12 peaceful prodemocracy activists holding a silent 
march to mark Human Rights Day. Militants shoved, punched, and kicked 
the activists, who were led by dissident Darsi Ferrer Ramirez. State 
Security agents detained all of the participants for a number of hours.
    Citizens also often attacked dissidents in individual 
confrontations. For example, on January 29, a proregime militant 
assaulted dissident Felix Bonne on the street following Bonne's visit 
to the Havana home of a fellow activist. The militant approached Bonne 
from behind and said, ``This area is off-limits to 
counterrevolutionaries.'' When Bonne turned and started to reply, the 
militant knocked him to the ground with punches to the head and 
stomach.
    State security officers, police, military officials, and officers 
of the Technical Investigations Department occasionally made death 
threats against human rights activists and other dissidents. In July 
state security agents told Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, head of the Cuban 
Youth Movement for Democracy, that he would ``not be around'' to see 
his daughter grow up. On August 1, an Army colonel approached Julia 
Cecilia Delgado, acting President of the Liberal Party, and threatened 
to put her ``six feet under,'' saying dissidents like her were 
endangering the country.
    Death threats behind bars were not uncommon. For example, on August 
8, two common criminals, Arnolis Torres Rueda and Joel Zayas, acting on 
orders of guards at Playa Manteca prison in Holguin Province, 
threatened to kill political prisoner Fidel Garcia Roldan for his 
prodemocracy positions.
    Dissidents also received death threats from unknown sources. On 
January 2 and 4, Oswaldo Paya of the Christian Liberation Movement 
(MCL) received a death threat in a phone call made to a relative. The 
caller said: ``We are with a revolutionary group, and we are going to 
kill Oswaldo Paya.''

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
continued to be harsh and life-threatening; conditions at detention 
facilities were even worse. Prison authorities frequently beat, 
neglected, isolated, and denied medical treatment to detainees and 
prisoners, particularly those convicted of political crimes or those 
who persisted in expressing their views. Authorities also often denied 
family visitation, adequate nutrition, exposure to natural light, pay 
for work, and the right to petition the prison director. The Government 
sent most political convicts to prisons located far from their 
families, increasing their and their families' sense of isolation.
    On July 5, the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National 
Reconciliation (CCDHRN) denounced the ``cruel, inhumane, and 
degrading'' conditions at the country's prisons, which it said were 
overcrowded, unsanitary, and offered inadequate nutrition. The 
commission also complained that brutal prison staff members enjoyed 
almost total impunity, and that ``rare is the day'' that the commission 
failed to receive a report about a terrible beating behind bars.
    Power and water cuts were frequent at prisons, and inmates often 
suffered from extreme heat. Prisoners sometimes were held in punishment 
cells that lacked light and fresh air, had little access to water, and 
only a hole for a toilet. Reading materials were either prohibited or 
heavily restricted. Prison officials regularly denied prisoners other 
rights, such as the right to correspondence.
    Prison food was often inedible, and food from outside was essential 
to meet nutritional needs. In May an inmate at Camaguey's Kilo 8 prison 
was reportedly killed in a fight in a dispute over a piece of chicken. 
Rice was often either putrefied or contained worms. Drinking water, 
when available, was often contaminated. Prisoners' relatives are 
ostensibly allowed to bring them 40 pounds of food each visit, but in 
practice prison guards often prevented the relatives of political 
prisoners from bringing in provisions.
    Overcrowding was common. Released political prisoner Albert 
Dubouchet stated that during the first six months of the year at 
Quivican prison in Havana Province, he and approximately 150 other 
prisoners lived in an area roughly as long and three times as wide as a 
bowling lane.
    Inmates friendly with prison guards often received preferential 
treatment. This led to abuse, whereby favored inmates assaulted other 
prisoners with impunity. Those in the guards' good graces sometimes 
extorted or stole money from fellow prisoners. Guards also mobilized 
preferred inmates to punish prisoners for defiance. At the Holguin 
provincial prison on July 26, guards directed a group of hardened 
convicts to attack prisoners who refused to watch a reeducation 
program.
    Some inmates resorted to self-mutilation, often to seek a transfer 
to a prison closer to family. In March political prisoner Juan Carlos 
Herrera Acosta sewed his mouth shut as part of a hunger strike protest 
after guards beat him at Kilo 8 prison in Camaguey. On August 8, the 
independent press group Young People Without Censorship reported that 
Adrian Loaiza, a prisoner at Camaguey's Kilo 8 prison, carved deep 
gashes on his arms to gain a transfer to Cienfuegos, where his family 
resided.
    The Government stated that prison guards only use force when 
strictly necessary to restore order, but during the year guards often 
resorted to violence and showed little tolerance for special requests. 
On February 3, guards at Kilo 5.5 prison in Pinar del Rio beat Iraudy 
Casero Basilet unconscious after he demanded medical attention. Guards 
at the same prison sent political prisoner Diosdado Gonzalez Marrero to 
a punishment cell in November for five days after he requested greater 
access to fresh air. When political prisoner Normando Hernandez failed 
to stand at attention during a head count at the same prison on March 
28, a guard clubbed him in the leg, threw him down a flight of stairs, 
and then made him stand in the heat for seven hours. On July 22, five 
guards at the Holguin provincial prison beat inmate Carlos Hernandez 
Infante after he demanded medical attention.
    There was anecdotal evidence of guard brutality against inmates at 
100 y Aldabo and Villa Marista, two detention centers in Havana. Some 
violence was inmate-on-inmate, with guard collusion. Sources who had 
contact with inmates reported that at 100 y Aldabo, male inmates paid 
guards for access to individual female cells, where they raped young 
female inmates.
    During the first seven months of the year, at least two inmates 
committed suicide at Quivican prison in Havana Province, which credible 
sources attributed to the harsh conditions at the prison. On January 1, 
inmate Roberto Alfonso Arteaga asphyxiated himself at Villa Clara Youth 
Prison. At Kilo 5.5 prison in Pinar del Rio, inmate Arami Monet Cabrera 
hanged himself on January 5.
    Health conditions and hygiene at prisons were very poor. Family 
members reported widespread serious disease and illnesses among 
political prisoners, for which the prison staff sometimes withheld 
treatment. Digestive disorders were widely reported, and preventable 
ailments such as beri-beri and dengue fever were common.
    Poor prison conditions prompted a number of political prisoners to 
wage hunger strikes. Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia, Alexis Rodriguez 
Fernandez, and Agustin Cervantes Garcia staged a hunger strike from 
April 28 until May 19 at Green Sea prison in Santiago Province to 
protest mistreatment and ``systematic humiliation.'' Others waged 
hunger strikes to protest State Security harassment of their family 
members. For this reason, political prisoner Lester Gonzalez Penton 
maintained a hunger strike March 20-29 at La Pendiente prison in Santa 
Clara.
    Sexual assault occurred at prisons, but the Government did not 
disclose such incidents. At Manto Negro prison in Havana, the country's 
biggest women's prison, forced homosexual relationships were common. In 
many such cases, women serving lengthy sentences targeted younger 
women. Those who resisted faced potential violence including beatings, 
stabbings, and chemical attacks using hair-coloring products. Guards 
frequently looked the other way and failed to punish perpetrators.
    The Government operated two or three detention/rehabilitation 
centers for prostitutes in the Havana area. Human rights activists 
claimed that these facilities held dissidents as well as prostitutes.
    Although officials sought to separate the juvenile and adult 
prisoners, juveniles sometimes were held in the same facilities as 
adults. In February and March, the Government held 16-year-old Maddiel 
Bachiller Pedrozo, the son of a dissident, at the Villa Marista 
detention center, where he shared a cell with two adult males. At Manto 
Negro women's prison, the staff forced girls ages 16 and 17 to share 
cells with much older women.
    The Government did not release information on the treatment of 
minors at either youth or adult prisons or detention centers. On April 
17, prisoner Miguel Angel Vidal reportedly denounced beatings by two 
guards of 18 male minors at area six of La Pendiente prison in Santa 
Clara.
    The Government sometimes denied political detainees and prisoners 
pastoral visits. In June and July, authorities at Red Ceramic prison in 
Camaguey denied a written request from independent journalist Armando 
Betancourt Reina to see a Catholic priest.
    The Government did not permit independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by international or national human rights groups. The 
Government did not permit access to political detainees by 
international humanitarian organizations. The Government has denied 
prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross since 
1989.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although prohibited by law, the 
Government effectively and frequently used arbitrary arrest and 
detention to harass opponents.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the 
Interior exercises control over police, the internal security forces, 
and the prison system. The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) is the 
primary law enforcement organization and generally was effective in 
investigating common crimes. Specialized units of the Ministry of the 
Interior's State Security service are responsible for monitoring, 
infiltrating, and suppressing opposition political groups. The PNR 
played a supporting role by carrying out house searches and provided 
interrogation facilities for State Security agents.
    Members of the security forces acted with impunity in committing 
numerous, serious human rights abuses. While the PNR ethics code and 
Interior Ministry regulations ban police brutality, the Government did 
not announce any investigations into police misconduct during the year. 
Corruption was a problem (see section 3).
    CP officials and leaders of neighborhood CDR branches lack formal 
law enforcement powers but wielded considerable authority and often 
used it to mobilize action against anyone expressing criticism of the 
Government or its leaders.

    Arrest and Detention.--The police have broad detention powers, 
which they may exercise without a warrant. Under the law, police can 
detain without a warrant not only persons caught in the act but also 
someone merely accused of a crime against state security.
    The law requires police to file formal charges and either release a 
detainee or bring the case before a prosecutor within 96 hours of 
arrest; it also requires authorities to provide suspects with access to 
a lawyer within seven days of arrest. In practice the law was not 
respected. According to the CCDHRN, the Government held at least 15 
dissidents without formal charges during the year.
    On September 1, approximately 50 state security officials took 
dissident doctor Darsi Ferrer Ramirez into custody and held him at a 
police station for 19 hours, leaving his small child home alone. The 
authorities accused Ferrer of putting up stickers with the word 
``CHANGE,'' an accusation Ferrer denied. The authorities confiscated 
his shirt and shoes before allowing him to walk home.
    Bail was available, although typically not in cases involving 
antigovernment activity. Time in detention before trial counted toward 
time served if convicted. The Government denied prisoners and detainees 
prompt access to family members.
    Conditional probation was available, but the Government was able to 
revoke this status on political grounds. On April 3, the Havana 
Municipal Court revoked the conditional probation of Mayda Barbara 
Jordan Contreras, who was sentenced to 15 years for her part in a 
spontaneous 1994 protest known as the ``Maleconazo.'' Jordan was 
reincarcerated for her failure to join proregime mass social 
organizations. Throughout the year, the Government threatened to return 
to prison dissidents who were on conditional probation and continued, 
or were accused of continuing, their opposition activities (see section 
2.d.).
    The law provides that all legally recognized civil liberties may be 
denied to anyone who ``actively opposes the decision of the people to 
build socialism.'' government officials routinely invoked this 
authority to deny due process to persons detained on purported state 
security grounds. The authorities routinely engaged in arbitrary arrest 
and detention of human rights advocates. Police frequently lacked 
warrants when carrying out arrests or issued warrants themselves at the 
time of arrest. Authorities sometimes employed false charges of common 
crimes to arrest political opponents and often did not inform detainees 
of the charges against them. During the year, the Government greatly 
increased its use of interrogations, warnings, fines, and short-term 
detentions. Authorities continued to detain human rights activists and 
independent journalists for short periods, including house arrest, 
often to prevent them from attending or participating in events related 
to human rights issues (see sections 2.a. and 2.b.).
    The penal code includes the concept of ``potential dangerousness,'' 
defined as the ``special proclivity of a person to commit crimes, 
demonstrated by his conduct in manifest contradiction of socialist 
norms.'' If the police decide that a person exhibits signs of 
dangerousness, they may bring the offender before a court or subject 
him to therapy or political reeducation. The Government increasingly 
applied this statute during the year, and the CCDHRN estimated in 
November that between 2,000 and 3,000 citizens, at least 19 of them 
activists, were being held for dangerousness.
    According to the CCDHRN, during the year authorities detained at 
least 152 citizens for peaceful democratic or political activity; most 
were held for a day or two, or for a few hours. At year's end at least 
18 political prisoners were still awaiting trial; of these, three were 
taken into custody during the year.
    Authorities sometimes detained independent journalists to question 
them about contacts with foreigners or to prevent them from covering 
sensitive issues or criticizing the Government (see section 2.a.). The 
Government often released activists without charges after months of 
detention. On January 30, State Security officials detained two Czech 
women who had been taking photographs of a Havana slum. The authorities 
denied them contact with their embassy for 11 hours and then expelled 
them from the country.
    The Government used house arrest without due process. On March 20, 
State Security officials informed former political prisoner Miguel 
Valdes Tamayo that he would no longer be allowed to leave his home 
unless accompanied by a State Security official.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides 
for independent courts, it explicitly subordinates them to the National 
Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) and the Council of State. The ANPP 
and its lower-level counterparts choose all judges. Thus, in practice 
the CP controlled the courts.
    Civilian courts existed at the municipal, provincial, and appellate 
levels. Panels composed of professionally certified and lay judges 
presided over them. Military tribunals, which were governed by a 
special law, assumed jurisdiction for certain ``counterrevolutionary'' 
cases. The military tribunals tried civilians if a member of the 
military was involved with civilians in a crime. In these tribunals, 
there was a right to appeal and access to counsel, and the charges were 
made known to the defendant.

    Trial Procedures.--The courts undermined the right to a fair trial 
by restricting the right to a defense and often failed to observe due 
process rights nominally available to defendants. While most trials 
were ostensibly public, trials were closed when there were alleged 
violations of state security. Almost all cases were tried in less than 
one day; there were no jury trials. The law provides the accused with 
the right to an attorney and, except in cases involving state security, 
the right to consult an attorney in a timely manner, but many 
defendants either had no defense attorney or met an attorney only 
minutes before the start of their trial. Moreover, the Government's 
control over members of the lawyers' collectives compromised their 
ability to represent clients, especially those accused of state 
security crimes.
    On July 4, a court in the Holguin city of Gibara convicted 
Alexander Santos Hernandez, of the Cuban Liberal Movement, of 
dangerousness and sentenced him to four years in prison. Santos was 
arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced in less than 24 hours. 
Colleagues said Santos had angered authorities by celebrating the 
movement's fourth anniversary.
    Criteria for presenting evidence were arbitrary and discriminatory. 
Often the sole evidence provided, particularly in political cases, was 
the defendant's confession, usually obtained under duress and without 
legal advice. A defendant's right to present witnesses was arbitrarily 
observed. Defense attorneys were given access to the police dossier and 
the prosecutor's written accusation only at, or minutes before, the 
trial. Because of this constraint, and because most trials last less 
than eight hours, defense attorneys did not have time to arrange for 
testimony by defense experts.
    Prosecutors may introduce testimony from a CDR member about the 
revolutionary background of a defendant, which may contribute to a 
longer or shorter sentence. The law presumes the accused are innocent 
until proven guilty, but authorities often ignored this presumption in 
practice. The law recognizes the right of appeal in municipal courts 
but limits it in provincial courts to cases involving lengthy prison 
terms or the death penalty. Appeals in capital cases are automatic. The 
Council of State ultimately must affirm capital punishment.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The CCDHRN stated that the 
Government held at least 283 political prisoners and detainees as of 
December 31; 47 of them were convicted of terrorism and 30 of 
dangerousness. At least three political prisoners spent the year on 
death row, but none was executed. The authorities incarcerated persons 
for such offenses as disrespect of the head of state (Angel Fernandez 
Rivera, sentenced on September 7 to 15 months in prison); disrespect 
and scorn of patriotic symbols (Yoandri Gutierrez Vargas, sentenced on 
July 24 to one year); public disorder (Armando Betancourt Reina, 
sentenced on May 22 to three years); and attempt to leave the country 
illegally (Yonger Robles Miranda, sentenced in 2003 to six years' 
imprisonment). Other charges included disseminating enemy propaganda, 
illicit association, clandestine printing, or the broad charge of 
rebellion, which sometimes was brought against advocates of peaceful 
democratic change. Dissidents were among the 2,000 to 3,000 citizens 
serving sentences of up to five years for the crime of potential 
dangerousness, also known as social dangerousness. At year's end, 59 of 
the 75 peaceful activists, journalists, union organizers, and 
opposition figures arrested and convicted in 2003, mostly on charges of 
violating national security and aiding a foreign power, remained in 
prison.
    On April 12, police detained prodemocracy activist Manuel Antonio 
Batista Perez, who was subsequently convicted of dangerousness and 
sentenced to two years' imprisonment. On May 20, police detained Miguel 
Angel Lopez Herrera of the November 30 Democratic Party for 
``disrespecting the head of state.'' He was convicted on August 30 and 
sentenced to three years' imprisonment. On July 12, a court in Santiago 
de las Vegas, Havana Province, convicted dissident Camilo Cairo Falcon 
of public disorder and sentenced him to one year of correctional work. 
Communist militants had savagely beaten Cairo in July 2005 as he and 
other dissidents commemorated the 1994 sinking of the ``13 de Marzo'' 
tugboat.
    Mistreatment of political prisoners and detainees was widespread 
(see section 1.c.). Beatings were not uncommon, and many political 
inmates were denied privileges given to ordinary prisoners, such as 
access to an exercise yard or sunshine. In April at Guayabo prison on 
the Isle of Youth, a fellow prisoner punched political prisoner Fabio 
Prieto Llorente in the presence of a guard, who took no action against 
the attacker. Rather, the guard took Prieto to a punishment cell.
    The Government continued to deny human rights organizations and the 
International Committee of the Red Cross access to political prisoners 
and detainees. Authorities denied visits to families of political 
prisoners and detainees. Prisoners in punishment cells had no access to 
lawyers.
    During the year, the Government released a number of detainees who 
had been held for long periods without charge. In October and November, 
the Government freed without comment Ricardo Medina Salabarria, 
Francisco Moure Saladrigas, Mario Gonzalez Perez, Santiago Valdeolla 
Perez, and Alberto Hernandez Suarez. All had been taken into custody in 
July 2005 in connection with a protest.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a judiciary for 
civil matters. The law provides citizens alleging human rights 
violations the right to lodge a formal complaint with prosecutors, but 
the CCDHRN noted that CP control of the courts discouraged citizens 
from seeking recourse to the civil judiciary. The CCDHRN was not aware 
of any successful rights-related lawsuit during the year or of any 
damages ordered by any court in connection with a human rights case.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--While the constitution provides for the inviolability 
of a citizen's home and correspondence, official surveillance of 
private and family affairs by government-controlled organizations, such 
as the CDRs, remained pervasive. The Government employed physical and 
electronic surveillance against nonviolent political opponents. The 
state interfered in the lives of citizens, even those who did not 
actively oppose the Government and its practices. The authorities 
employed a wide range of social controls to discover and discourage 
nonconformity.
    The Ministry of Interior employed a system of informants and CDR 
block committees to monitor and control public opinion. CDRs continued 
to report on suspicious activity, including conspicuous consumption; 
unauthorized meetings, including those with foreigners; and what it 
considered defiant attitudes toward the Government and the revolution.
    In January a government fraud inspector visited the housing complex 
of dissident Osmany Rodriguez Sanchez of the Jose Luis Boitel 
Association of Political Prisoners and found a rigged electric meter. 
Although the meter served the entire complex, the inspector fined only 
Rodriguez, after consulting with the local CDR chief and a CP official.
    State Security read international correspondence and monitored 
overseas telephone calls and conversations with foreigners. The 
Government also monitored domestic phone calls and correspondence and 
sometimes denied telephone service to dissidents. During the year, 
State Security agents subjected journalists and foreign diplomats to 
harassment and surveillance, including electronic surveillance and 
surreptitious entry into their homes (see section 2.a.).
    In mid-February state telecommunications company ETECSA terminated 
telephone service to Waldimar Ibarra Santana, President of the Cuban 
League of Independent Farmers, in Santiago. ETECSA explained that the 
Government had ordered the service to be shut off. On February 9, a CDR 
official approached Ibarra's mother and played a tape recording in 
which Ibarra could be heard speaking with a Radio Marti reporter. The 
official accused Ibarra of using the telephone to undermine the 
revolution.
    There were numerous credible reports of forced evictions of 
squatters and residents who lacked official permission to reside in 
Havana and other major cities. The husband of a dissident painter was 
not permitted to reside legally with his wife under the same roof in 
Havana. Twice during the year he was expelled to the city where the 
Government had ordered him to live.
    The Government sometimes used the children of dissidents as a means 
of punishing the parents. For example, authorities occasionally 
threatened parents with the loss of custody of their children for 
taking part in counterrevolutionary activities. On April 27, a State 
Security officer in Santa Clara encouraged the former husband of 
dissident Noelia Pedraza Jimenez to seek custody of their five-year-old 
son, who lived with Pedraza. The officer hinted that courts would 
support the custody claim. On October 17, dissident Niurka Brito Rivas 
was jailed for three days after failing to fill out a ``survey'' given 
to her by her daughter's elementary school. The survey, which was not 
given to other parents, asked Brito to identify her political 
affiliation and economic situation. Children of dissidents were exposed 
to frequent intimidation and occasional violence, including sexual 
harassment. On February 19, dissident Maria de los Angeles Cabello 
reported that a teacher had sexually harassed her 12-year-old child.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press insofar as they ``conform to the 
aims of socialist society,'' a clause effectively barring free speech, 
and in practice the Government did not allow criticism of the 
revolution or its leaders. Laws against antigovernment propaganda, 
graffiti, and disrespect of officials impose penalties of between three 
months and one year in prison; criticism of the President or members of 
the ANPP or Council of State is punishable by three years' 
imprisonment. Disseminating ``enemy propaganda,'' which included 
expressing opinions at odds with those of the Government, is punishable 
by up to 14 years' imprisonment. The Government considered the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international reports of human 
rights violations, and mainstream foreign newspapers and magazines to 
be enemy propaganda. Local CDRs inhibited freedom of speech by 
monitoring and reporting dissent or criticism.
    The Government considered print and electronic media to be state 
property. All media must operate under CP guidelines and reflect 
government views. The Government owned and the CP controlled all media 
except for a few small, unauthorized church-run publications. The law 
bars ``clandestine printing.'' The Government was the sole book 
publisher in the country, and state censors required prepublication 
approval.
    Catholic church-run publications were subject to governmental 
pressure; however, Vitral magazine, a publication of the diocese of 
Pinar del Rio, continued to publish during the year, as did others. 
Catholic church officials were allowed to broadcast programming on 
September 8 to mark the celebration of the country's patron saint.
    The Government subjected independent journalists to travel bans, 
detentions, harassment of family and friends, equipment seizures, 
imprisonment, and threats of imprisonment. State Security agents posed 
as independent journalists in order to gather information on activists, 
spread misinformation, and spread mistrust within independent 
journalist circles. During the year, the Committee to Protect 
Journalists (CPJ) condemned the Government's ``constant harassment of 
independent journalists.'' It said 24 journalists were in prison merely 
for exercising their right to free expression. The CPJ complained that 
the Government continued to harass some journalists even after freeing 
them from prison. Citing the case of Jorge Olivera Castillo, the CPJ 
noted that the Havana Municipal Court had forbidden him from leaving 
the capital or taking part in any public meetings.
    Occasional physical attacks on independent journalists, mainly by 
plain-clothes assailants, occurred during the year. In April an 
unidentified man punched independent journalist Jose Manual Caraballo 
on a street in Ciego de Avila, smashed his camera, and warned that he 
would be destroyed, just like his camera. The same month in Havana, 
State Security officials detained, interrogated, and threatened 
independent journalist Luis Cino.
    On May 14 and 15, President Castro threatened to expel accredited 
international journalists based in Havana for coverage that displeased 
the regime. Some reporters admitted to engaging in self-censorship to 
keep their Havana bureaus open. Reporters privately accused the 
Government of listening in on their calls and monitoring their 
activities.
    The Government frequently banned foreign reporters from entering 
the country to cover politically sensitive developments. At least four 
European journalists who had complied with the country's visa 
requirements had their permission to enter the country revoked. A Swiss 
journalist was denied permission to report on the country because he 
had referred to the Government as ``the regime.'' In the days following 
the July 31 proclamation that granted power to Raul Castro, the 
Government barred entry to at least 11 foreign journalists and ordered 
a number of others to leave within 24 hours.
    On August 5, the Government released Albert Santiago Dubouchet, 
director of the independent Havana Press agency, from prison after he 
completed a one-year sentence for resisting arrest and disrespecting 
authorities. Dubouchet continued to maintain his innocence. He had been 
arrested in July 2005, after confirming for a foreign media 
organization a report that a home-made bomb had exploded at a 
government office in Artemisa, Havana Province.
    On November 15, police detained independent journalist Luis Garcia 
Vega for four hours after he visited a diplomatic mission's Internet 
center. Authorities warned him that if he continued to write articles 
critical of the Government, he could be held indefinitely, without 
charge.
    On December 4, State Security officials searched the home of 
independent journalist Ahmed Rodriguez Albacia, confiscated his 
computer, books, and papers, and drove him to a detention center, where 
he was imprisoned. Authorities told his mother that he would be held 
between one week and one year. The detention followed a November 24 
opposition youth forum in which Rodriguez played a key role. Rodriguez 
was released on December 12. On December 19, three police officers 
detained journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira and took him to a police 
station, where they fined him $250 (6,000 pesos) and informed him that 
if he did not halt his ``illegal activities''--an apparent reference to 
his journalism--the Government would charge him with disobedience, 
under Article 147 of the penal code.
    Citizens who spoke with independent journalists risked government 
retaliation. On August 10, authorities reportedly threatened Lazaro 
Alvarez, a baker in Batabano, Havana Province, with the loss of his job 
for speaking with an independent journalist about his brother, 
Francisco, a farmer jailed for attempting to leave the country 
illegally.
    The Government operated four national television stations, six 
national radio stations, one international radio station, one national 
magazine, and three national newspapers. Additionally, it operated many 
local radio stations, television stations, magazines, and newspapers. 
All were official organs of the CP. Content was nearly uniform across 
all of these media; none enjoyed editorial independence. With the 
exception of a few Catholic publications, the regime vigorously 
prosecuted anyone attempting to distribute written, filmed, or 
photographed material.
    Citizens did not have the right to receive or possess publications 
from abroad, although newsstands at some hotels for foreigners and 
certain hard-currency stores sold limited numbers of foreign newspapers 
and magazines. The Government continued to jam the transmissions of 
Radio Marti and Television Marti.
    Law 88, Protection of the National Independence and Economy of 
Cuba, prohibits a broad range of activities, including distribution of 
printed material from foreign sources, that purportedly undermine state 
security. Many of the country's political prisoners were convicted of 
violating this statute.
    The Government tightly controlled the distribution of information; 
it frequently barred independent libraries from receiving materials 
from abroad and seized materials donated by foreign diplomats. The 
Government prohibited diplomatic missions from printing or distributing 
publications, including newspapers and newspaper clippings, unless such 
publications exclusively addressed conditions in a mission's home 
country and prior government approval was received.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government controlled nearly all Internet 
access. Authorities reviewed and censored e-mail and forbade any 
attachments. Authorities also blocked access to Web sites they 
considered objectionable. Citizens could access the Internet only 
through government-approved institutions, except at Internet facilities 
provided by a few diplomatic offices. The only citizens granted direct 
Internet access were some government officials and certain government-
approved doctors, professors, and journalists. Foreigners, but not 
citizens, were allowed to buy Internet access cards from the national 
telecommunications provider.
    From January 31 to August 31, independent journalist Guillermo 
Farinas waged a hunger strike at a Santa Clara hospital in an effort to 
obtain uncensored Internet access for all citizens.
    On February 17, university officials held a meeting at the 
University of Information Sciences (UCI) to castigate six students 
caught running chat rooms and using school servers to sell Internet 
access to others. UCI suspended the six students for between four and 
five years.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom and continued to emphasize the importance of 
reinforcing revolutionary ideology and discipline. Academics were 
prohibited from meeting with some diplomats without prior government 
approval. Academics whom the Government allowed to travel abroad were 
aware that their actions, if deemed politically unfavorable, could 
negatively impact their relatives back home.
    Independent academic Roberto de Miranda, head of the Cuban 
Independent Educators' College, estimated that at least 300 educators 
were struggling financially during the year, having lost their jobs on 
political grounds because they were deemed ``untrustworthy.'' Some had 
been dismissed from the education system for having tried to flee the 
country illegally. State Security intervened in academic matters. 
Hunger-striking dissident Guillermo Farinas alleged in May that State 
Security agents had visited Havana's Superior Institute of Health 
Sciences, which Farinas attended, and altered his academic file, 
lowering his grade-point average from 4.51 (on a five-point scale) to 
4.0.
    State Security blocked or interrupted occasional conferences 
organized by the Cuban Independent Educators' College, including one on 
May 20 in Havana.
    Government-controlled public libraries denied access to books or 
information unless the requester produced a government letter of 
permission.
    The Government frequently harassed and sometimes detained 
independent librarians. On April 10, police detained Aini Martin Valero 
three days after she opened an independent library in Havana. Martin, 
who belongs to the Trade Union of Independent Cuban Workers, regained 
her freedom after several hours.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Although the 
constitution grants limited rights of assembly and association, these 
rights are subject to the requirement that they may not be ``exercised 
against the existence and objectives of the Socialist State.''

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law punishes any unauthorized assembly of 
more than three persons, including those for private religious services 
in private homes, by up to three months in prison and a fine. The 
authorities selectively enforced this prohibition and often used it as 
a pretext to harass and imprison human rights advocates.
    The authorities never have approved a public meeting by a human 
rights group and often detained activists to prevent them from 
attending meetings, demonstrations, or ceremonies. Unapproved meetings 
and demonstrations took place, which the Government frequently 
disrupted, infiltrated, or attempted to prevent. Authorities sometimes 
used or incited violence against peaceful demonstrators.

    Freedom of Association.--The law specifically prohibits 
unrecognized groups, and the Government denied citizens freedom of 
association. Authorities have never approved the existence of a human 
rights group; however, a number of professional associations operated 
as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) without legal recognition, 
including the Association of Independent Teachers, the Association of 
Independent Lawyers, the Association of Independent Architects and 
Engineers, and several independent journalist organizations. The 
constitution proscribes any political organization other than the CP 
(see section 3).
    Recognized churches (see section 2.c.), the Roman Catholic 
humanitarian organization Caritas, the Freemason movement, and a number 
of fraternal or professional organizations were the only associations 
permitted to function outside the formal structure, but not the 
influence, of the state, the CP, and their mass organizations. The 
authorities continued to ignore applications from new groups for legal 
recognition, thereby subjecting members to potential charges of illegal 
association.
    The Government punished other citizens for associating with 
dissidents. On May 13, police in Havana fined Carlos Prieto Fresco and 
threatened him with arrest for ``meeting with counterrevolutionary 
elements.'' Hours earlier, Prieto and others in the neighborhood of 
Arroyo Naranjo had protested the arrest of their neighbor, dissident 
Odelin Alfonso.
    The Government confiscated funds sent from overseas to banned human 
rights organizations, NGOs, and independent labor unions. In May 
officers from State Security's economic crimes bureau reportedly raided 
the home of Maybel Padilla Perez, head of the illegal Unitary Council 
of Cuban Workers. The Government reportedly seized a sizeable donation 
from a European NGO. On some occasions, government officials stole 
money from prodemocracy activists during searches. On September 28, 
State Security officials visited the home of Jose Luis Pitaluga and 
took $325 (7,800 pesos).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--Although the constitution recognizes the 
right of citizens to practice any religious belief within the framework 
of respect for the law, the Government continued to restrict freedom of 
religion. The Government requires churches and other religious groups 
to enroll with the provincial registry of associations within the 
Ministry of the Interior to obtain official recognition. In practice 
the Government appeared to halt registration of new denominations, 
although no groups were known to have applied for registration during 
the year.
    The Government continued to allow foreign priests and religious 
workers into the country to replace foreign priests and nuns who had 
died or whose residence permits had expired. In June 2005 the 
Government eased its restrictive policies and granted work permits to 
at least eight foreign priests and 14 foreign nuns who entered the 
country as nonreplacements. The applications of 104 priests and nuns 
remained pending. For the first time in many years the Government 
allowed into the country three new Catholic congregations, or orders, 
including Franciscan nuns from Colombia.
    The Ministry of Interior sought to control and monitor religious 
institutions, particularly through surveillance, infiltration, and 
harassment of religious professionals and practitioners. State Security 
officials visited priests and pastors prior to significant religious 
events to warn that dissidents were trying to ``use the church.''
    Although it did not favor any one particular religion or church, 
the Government appeared to be most tolerant of those churches that 
maintained close relations to the state through the Cuban Council of 
Churches (CCC), which existed to ensure that members did not oppose 
government policies.
    On December 4, authorities placed a Protestant pastor, Carlos 
Lamelas, on trial in Havana on charges of ``human trafficking.'' 
However, a new prosecutor absolved him, declaring that there was no 
evidence for the charges. Observers believed Lamelas was targeted for 
his outspoken calls for increased religious liberty; Lamelas was 
imprisoned without charge for four months earlier in the year. He was 
the former President of the Church of God denomination, a member of the 
CCC.
    There continued to be reports of discrimination in schools; 
Jehovah's Witness children were denied participation in school field 
trips because of their religion.
    Officials of various groups reported cases of persons engaged in 
religious practices experiencing harassment because of ignorance or 
personal prejudice by a local official. In February at Havana's 
Combinado del Este prison, prison authorities broke up a prayer group 
of more than 15 inmates, without explanation.
    The Government, with rare exceptions, prohibited the construction 
of new churches, forcing many growing congregations to seek permits to 
meet in private homes. Most registered religious groups were able to 
hold services in private homes. House churches have grown in number in 
recent years; Christian Solidarity Worldwide estimated that there were 
at least 10,000 house churches nationwide. Many religious leaders 
attributed this growth to the Government's refusal to authorize the 
construction of new churches.
    However, in 2005 the Government implemented a directive that 
restricted the operation of house churches. Directive 43 and Resolution 
46 require house-church operators to register their house churches with 
the Government, thus ``legalizing'' their existence. The vast majority 
of house churches were unregistered and thus technically illegal.
    A leading Baptist church official estimated no more than 20 of the 
1,500 Baptist house churches in the western region had been legalized 
by the time the directive was issued in April 2005. To register one's 
house church, an operator must meet a number of requirements: the house 
church must host no more than three meetings per week, it must not be 
located within 1.2 miles of another house church, and it may be open 
only between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on workdays, and between 9 a.m. and 10 
p.m. on other days.
    Church officials from a number of denominations said that the 
Government had made the 2005 regulations against house churches widely 
known but had not undertaken sweeping action to implement the new 
rules. Some Pentecostal church officials considered themselves singled 
out by the directive, and a Baptist church leader also judged it a 
threat. At least one Baptist church leader criticized the requirement 
that a house church not be located within 1.2 miles of another house 
church, arguing that the directive would be difficult to obey in a 
congested city.
    Education was secular, and no religious educational institutions 
were allowed; however, the Catholic Church, Protestant churches, and 
Jewish synagogues were permitted to offer religious education classes 
to their members.
    Religious literature and materials must be imported through a 
registered religious group and may be distributed only to officially 
recognized religious groups.
    The CCC continued to broadcast a monthly 15-minute radio program on 
condition that it not include material of a political nature.
    Religious groups were required to submit a request to local CP 
officials before being allowed to hold processions or events outside of 
religious buildings. The Catholic Church decided to stop requesting 
permits for processions in areas where they historically have not been 
permitted.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of 
religious groups. There were between 1,000 and 1,500 members of the 
Jewish community. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law qualifies these rights, and the 
Government severely restricted foreign travel and emigration. The 
Government tightly restricted foreign and domestic travel by dissidents 
and limited internal migration to Havana. Dissident blacklists were 
maintained at bus stations, railway terminals, and airports, and those 
appearing on the list were unable to purchase tickets.
    Although the law allows all citizens to travel anywhere within the 
country, residence is heavily restricted, thus impeding the right to 
move. The local housing commission and provincial government 
authorities consider requests for change of residence largely on the 
basis of housing space. During the wait for permission, which routinely 
lasts six months or more, the applicant cannot obtain food rations or a 
local identification card. Anyone from another province living in 
Havana illegally may be fined and sent home. While the regulation was 
in effect nationwide, it was applied most frequently in Havana.
    Residency law was enforced selectively against dissidents. On 
August 7, a court in Havana informed independent journalist Carlos 
Serpa Maceira that he was living in the capital illegally and could be 
fined $125 (3,000 pesos).
    Between February 14 and 19, Communist militants blocked the Havana 
home of dissident Martha Beatriz Roque, barring entry by saying that 
Roque was no longer entitled to receive visitors. The militants 
physically threatened visitors, deployed at least one attack dog, 
booby-trapped the street so visitors to Roque would have their tires 
punctured, and stationed State Security officials at both ends of 
Roque's block.
    The Government routinely detained activists or thwarted their 
travel plans. State Security officials across the island took steps to 
prevent Ladies in White from traveling to Havana to take part in a 
march that marked the third anniversary of the Black Spring crackdown 
in which 75 peaceful activists were jailed. Members of the group were 
blocked in Ciego de Avila, Puerto Padre, Sancti Spiritus and other 
cities (see section 1.c.).
    On November 24, authorities in the eastern provinces blocked at 
least 11 youth activists from attending an opposition youth forum in 
Havana. In most cases, police or political police confiscated their 
identification cards, forcing the activists to return home.
    On April 26, dissident Elsa Morejon of the Lawton Human Rights 
Foundation was heading to an opposition event when she hailed a taxi. 
Two State Security officials forced their way into the cab and 
instructed the driver to head to Morejon's house, where she was dropped 
off.
    Throughout the year, authorities in the Villa Clara city of 
Manicaragua denied dissidents access to bus stations, restaurants, 
recreational facilities, and sports fields and prevented them from 
receiving visitors at home.
    Citizens who visited certain foreign diplomatic missions faced 
retaliation ranging from detention and physical assault to loss of 
employment. On May 22, food service worker Juan Alberto de la Nuez lost 
his job in Aguada Municipality, Cienfuegos Province, three days after 
visiting a foreign diplomatic mission in Havana. The company's director 
made clear that he viewed any such visit as an attempt to conspire 
against the Government.
    The Government imposed restrictions on both emigration and 
temporary foreign travel, mainly by requiring an exit permit. Although 
the Government allowed the majority of persons who qualified for 
immigrant or refugee status in other countries to depart, at least 
1,000 citizens who received foreign travel documents, or their 
dependents, were denied exit permits during the year. Most were 
doctors, nurses, and other health professionals. Others denied exit 
permits included young men of military age, dissidents, and citizens 
with certain political or religious beliefs.
    An unpublished government policy denies exit permits to medical 
professionals until they have performed three to five years of service 
in their profession after requesting permission to travel abroad. As of 
September 28, no fewer than 91 doctors, 73 nurses, and dozens of other 
medical professionals were in this category. Adrian Elias Rodriguez 
Noa, a doctor in Santiago, said on October 5 that he, his wife, and 
their two children had been waiting five and a half years for the 
Government to authorize his exit.
    The Government banned some medical and other professionals who were 
denied exit permits from working in their occupational fields or 
subjected them to arbitrary punishment. Others were allowed to continue 
to work but were transferred for political reasons to inferior clinics, 
often in areas far from their homes.
    The Government also systematically denied exit permits to some men 
of military age, usually those ages 18 to 27 facing obligatory military 
service. However, in most cases involving migration under the 1994 U.S. 
Cuba Migration Accords, the applicants eventually received exemption 
and were granted exit permits.
    The Government denied exit permits for several years to relatives 
of individuals who migrated illegally (for example, merchant seamen and 
sports figures who defected while out of the country). The Government 
frequently withheld exit visas to control dissidents. Dissident doctor 
Hilda Molina continued to wait for exit permission, as she had for more 
than 11 years. In addition, Molina's elderly mother was not allowed to 
apply for exit permission; her application in May for a passport was 
not acted upon by year's end.
    The Government denied exit permission to human rights activists who 
held valid foreign travel documents and hoped to claim awards or other 
honors overseas. In May the Government denied Oswaldo Paya permission 
to travel abroad to receive an honorary degree. On October 16, the NGO 
Human Rights First awarded its annual human rights prize to the Ladies 
in White (and another co-winner), but the Government denied them exit 
permission, and they were unable to attend the ceremony.
    The Government used both internal and external exile to control 
internal opposition. The law permits authorities to bar an individual 
from a certain area, or to restrict an individual to a certain area, 
for a period of one to 10 years. Under this provision, authorities may 
exile any person whose presence in a given location is considered 
``socially dangerous.'' On February 21, the Old Havana Municipal Court 
informed independent journalist Jorge Olivera Castillo, a conditional 
parolee, that he was no longer allowed to leave the city of Havana 
without explicit government permission. The Government also informed 
Oscar Espinosa Chepe, Margarito Broche, and Roberto de Miranda, all of 
whom had been imprisoned with Olivera in the aftermath of the March 
2003 crackdown on dissidents, that they were prohibited from travel 
outside their cities of residence without specific approval.
    The Government routinely warned emigrating dissidents or their 
family members that if they were to speak out against the Government 
overseas, their relatives on the island would suffer retaliation. Such 
retaliation typically included the threatened loss of jobs or loss of 
permission to leave the island.
    Those seeking to emigrate legally also faced reprisals, harassment, 
and intimidation by the Government, including expulsion from school, 
involuntary job transfers, threatened arrest, and dismissal from 
employment. In August refugee applicants reported a general increase in 
harassment, citations, and detentions. Some reported being placed in 
house arrest for six to 12 months. On August 31, a Santa Clara-based 
dissident reported that one week before he was scheduled to leave the 
country with government permission as a refugee, the Government 
informed him that it had revoked his exit permit and that although his 
family was free to leave, he would have to wait another year or two. 
The dissident had already turned over possession of his house, 
belongings, and ration card and would be homeless.
    Migrants must pay processing fees of approximately $180 (4,500 
pesos) for exit permission, $66 (1,650 pesos) for a passport, and $30 
(750 pesos) for an airport tax, which amount to approximately 23 
months' salary for the average citizen. Migrants to the United States 
faced an additional charge of approximately $720 (18,000 pesos, or five 
years' salary) for adults and $480 (12,000 pesos) for children. These 
fees represented a significant hardship, particularly for migrants who 
had been fired from their jobs for being ``politically unreliable'' and 
had no income. At year's end some migrants were unable to leave the 
country because of inability to pay exit fees. Authorities routinely 
dispossessed migrants and their families of their homes and most of 
their belongings before permitting them to leave the country.
    The law provides for imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of 
$12 to $40 (300 to 1,000 pesos) for unauthorized departures by boat or 
raft. The Government also sometimes applied a law on trafficking in 
persons to would-be migrants escaping the country. The CCDHRN estimated 
that at year's end, between 300 and 500 citizens were serving sentences 
or awaiting trial on this charge, which ordinarily carries a term of 15 
to 20 years' imprisonment. Under the terms of the 1994 U.S. Cuba 
Migration Accord, the Government agreed not to prosecute or retaliate 
against migrants returned from international or U.S. waters, or from 
the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo, after attempting to emigrate 
illegally if they had not committed a separate criminal offense. 
However, in practice some would-be migrants experienced harassment and 
discrimination. On March 18, maritime border authorities intercepted a 
makeshift vessel in which several dissidents, including Iovany Aguilar 
Camejo and Luis Angel Medina, were attempting to flee the country. They 
were fined $208 (5,000 pesos), approximately 22 months' wages for the 
average worker.

    Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is not a party to the 
1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol, the constitution provides for the granting of asylum to 
individuals persecuted for their ideals or actions involving a number 
of specified political grounds. Although the Government has no formal 
mechanism to process asylum for foreign nationals, in practice it 
provided protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a 
country where they feared persecution, including to some fugitives from 
justice, whom it defines as refugees for political reasons.
    The Government had an established system to provide assistance to 
refugees. During the year, 22 persons applied for refugee status; 19 
were approved. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR), there were 83 refugees in the country. The Government 
cooperated with the UNHCR and provided temporary protection to a small 
number of persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    On July 31, the President's chief of staff announced that President 
Castro had been incapacitated by surgery, leaving Raul Castro in charge 
of the country. The Government's succession announcement allowed no 
participation for citizens in the decision-making process. Instead, 
existing undemocratic institutions, such as the Armed Forces, Communist 
Party, and ANPP, were called upon to rubber-stamp the succession.

    Elections and Political Participation.--While the constitution 
provides for direct election of provincial, municipal, and ANPP 
members, citizens do not have the right to change their government, and 
the Government retaliated against those who sought peaceful political 
change. The constitution defines socialism as its ``irrevocable'' basis 
and proscribes any political organization other than the CP. Candidates 
for provincial and national office must be approved in advance by mass 
organizations controlled by the Government. In practice a small group 
of leaders, under the direction of the President, selected the members 
of the highest policy-making bodies of the CP, the Politburo, and the 
Central Committee.
    Although not a formal requirement, in practice CP membership was a 
prerequisite for high-level official positions and professional 
advancement. The Government continued to reject the petition for a 
national referendum on political and economic reforms known as the 
Varela Project, which contained more than 40,000 signatures. On May 10, 
exactly four years after he personally delivered the Varela Project 
petition to the National Assembly, Oswaldo Paya of the MCL unveiled his 
proposal for a modified, democratic constitution. In a document titled 
``Program for All Cubans,'' Paya, with input from at least 12,000 
participants, called for a legal framework that would embrace multiple 
political parties, private enterprise, and ``social justice.''
    Varela Project organizers continued to collect signatures in 
support of their proposal; however, activists reported increased 
harassment by State Security agents. Authorities arrested and detained 
Varela activists, confiscated signatures, fined and threatened 
activists and signers, and forced signers to rescind signatures. State 
Security agents impersonated canvassing volunteers and increasingly 
infiltrated the ranks of activists. On February 6, police in the Pinar 
del Rio community of San Cristobal threatened to charge Varela Project 
signature collector Humberto Vigoe Chirino with dangerousness.
    The Government not only refused dissidents political participation 
but linked them to crimes that there was no evidence they had 
committed. On July 11, authorities at a bus terminal in Santiago 
allegedly found an abandoned packet containing an explosive device 
rigged to a watch. Hours later, CP and UJC officials held a mass 
meeting at a city plaza and reportedly said they would not permit 
dissidents to carry out terrorist acts. Dissidents said the move was 
aimed at discrediting the peaceful opposition.
    There were two women in the 22-member Politburo and 17 in the 126-
member Central Committee. Women held five seats in the 29-member 
Council of State and 219 seats in the 608-seat National Assembly.
    Persons of African descent held six seats in the 24-member 
Politburo. Following the selection of the new ANPP in 2003, the 
Government reported its composition as 67 percent white, 22 percent 
black, and 11 percent mixed race.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Independent and official 
press reported incidents of government corruption. During the year, the 
most prominent case involved Juan Carlos Robinson Agramonte, a 
Politburo member who was removed from his position on April 28 for 
``improper conduct and attitude.'' On June 16, a Havana court convicted 
him of influence peddling and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. 
Separately, the head of the Customs service told state media that 
during the first six months of the year, it had fired 18 persons and 
prosecuted nine of them for ``inappropriate conduct.'' State media also 
reported that during this time frame, 66 persons were reprimanded or 
otherwise punished for offering bribes to Customs officials, mainly to 
avoid baggage checks or to be allowed to bring certain items into the 
country. The Customs officials were also either fired or prosecuted.
    During the first few months of the year, the Government relied on 
young adults, pressed into service as ``social workers,'' to fight 
graft at gas stations and other sites. In March the Government started 
deploying ``all-around'' inspectors, many of them older 
revolutionaries, to fight corruption and other economic crimes at 
agricultural markets, stores, tourist centers, and elsewhere.
    According to the CCDHRN, prison guard corruption was common 
throughout the country, but the Government sometimes applied bribery 
charges selectively to dissidents instead. In June authorities at Manto 
Negro women's prison in Havana threatened to prosecute dissident Maria 
de los Angeles Borrego Mir for attempted bribery, a charge that could 
carry a four- to eight-year sentence. Borrego, serving four years for 
dangerousness, allegedly asked a guard to buy her a pack of cigarettes.
    The CCDHRN stated in October that it had received many reports of 
prostitutes providing sexual favors to police, to avoid arrest. Corrupt 
police sometimes detained women on false charges of prostitution, 
either to extract bribes or obtain sexual favors. On January 22, Havana 
resident Elia Vidal Perez was walking down the street with a female 
friend when two police officers approached, asked to see their 
identification cards, and took them to a police station. That night, an 
Interior Ministry official allegedly informed Vidal that she would be 
free to leave if she had sex with him.
    Government officials occasionally engaged in shakedowns involving 
citizens legally residing overseas who were returning home to the 
country to meet with relatives. Customs officials illegally confiscated 
the belongings of some such visitors or requested unauthorized fees to 
pass through the customs process.
    The law provides for public access to government information, but 
in practice requests for information routinely were rejected, often on 
the grounds that access was not a right. Many convicts and their 
defense attorneys never received a copy of the sentence certification 
to which they were legally entitled.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    In violation of its own statutes, the Government did not recognize 
any domestic human rights groups or permit them to function legally. 
Several human rights organizations continued to function outside the 
law, including the CCDHRN, the MCL, the Assembly to Promote Civil 
Society, and the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights. The Government 
subjected domestic human rights advocates to violence, intense 
intimidation, and harassment, including threats of death and 
disappearance.
    State security officials often infiltrated human rights 
organizations and subjected them to constant surveillance. Public 
identification of state security officials posing as activists was a 
crime punishable by eight to 15 years' imprisonment. State Security 
also tried, where possible, to turn human rights activists into 
informants, often through blackmail. On August 25, a State Security 
officer in Havana invited independent labor activist Aurelio Bachiller 
Alvarez to work with State Security, hinting that the officer could use 
his influence with the courts to get Bachiller's 17-year-old son 
released from prison.
    The Government took various steps to restrict the operation of 
domestic NGOs that criticized the Government's human rights policies. 
The Government convicted some members of human rights NGOs and 
sentenced them to lengthy sentences.
    The Government also staged many acts of repudiation (see section 
1.c.), in which it mobilized Communist militants and others to hold a 
public rally aimed at intimidating and ostracizing a member of a human 
rights NGO. Most such events were held in front of the activist's home.
    On some occasions, the Government seized the property of NGO 
members. In May the Government informed Felix Bonne Carcasses of the 
Assembly to Promote Civil Society that it was taking legal possession 
of his Havana home's backyard, which in May 2005 was the site of the 
country's largest dissident gathering in years. Authorities turned the 
yard into a park, where militants staged frequent political rallies, 
many targeting Bonne. On May 31, police and State Security officers in 
the Holguin city of Moa raided the Pedro Luis Boitel No. 3 independent 
library and confiscated books and other written materials, a portable 
shortwave radio, and 11 compact disks. The authorities also arrested 
the librarian, Felipe Disnayd Ramos Leiva, but released him after a 
relatively brief incarceration.
    The Government also prosecuted, or threatened to prosecute, members 
of human rights groups for dangerousness. On March 8, State Security 
officials in the Holguin city of Banes issued official warnings to at 
least four human rights activists, including Guillermo Llanos Ricardo, 
threatening to incarcerate them for dangerousness.
    The Government also took steps to prevent the movement of 
activists; on many occasions, State Security, police, and mobs 
prevented Ladies in White members from traveling to Havana to take part 
in marches (see section 2.d.).
    The Government rejected international human rights monitoring, did 
not recognize the mandate of the UNCHR, and refused to acknowledge 
requests by the Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for 
Human Rights to visit the country. On September 26, the personal 
representative, Christine Chanet, told the UNCHR that the country had 
not cooperated with her on the investigation of its human rights 
situation. She said the country had failed to improve its human rights 
record and criticized the Government's censorship and its detention of 
dissidents.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, or social status; however, racial discrimination occurred 
frequently.

    Women.--The law prohibits threats and inflicting injuries, 
including those associated with domestic violence. Human rights 
advocates reported that violence against women was a problem, and 
police often did not act on cases of domestic violence. Violent crime 
rarely was reported in the press, and the Government did not release 
data on the extent of domestic violence. However, on August 4, the 
press reported that domestic violence rates were increasing.
    To raise awareness about the problem, the Government carried out a 
campaign on television and in the press during the year, reminding the 
public that domestic violence is illegal. However, judges remained 
extremely reluctant to issue a restraining order in the event of a 
domestic dispute. On November 27, the CCDHRN said that domestic 
violence occurred within a culture of impunity in which it is 
considered ``normal'' for a man to beat his wife, and that pervasive 
male chauvinism impacted negatively on domestic violence victims. Many 
women did not report acts of domestic violence because they feared 
doing so could trigger another attack.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and a victim has 
the right to report the matter to the police. Police rarely forwarded 
cases to a court if the victim did not suffer visible physical 
injuries.
    Although the Government did not release statistics during the year 
on arrests, prosecutions or convictions for rape, the law stipulates 
penalties ranging from four to 10 years' imprisonment. If two or more 
rapists are involved, or if the rapist had been convicted previously of 
the same offense, sentences could reach 15 years. If the victim is 
under 12, or if the act results in injuries or grave illness, capital 
punishment is possible. The Government enforced the law.
    Prostitution is legal for persons over age 17, but pandering and 
economic activities facilitating prostitution, including room rentals, 
are illegal. Large numbers of foreign tourists visited the country 
specifically to patronize prostitutes, and sex tourism was a problem. 
Some street police officers were suspected of providing protection to 
individuals engaged in prostitution, who were numerous and visible in 
Havana and other major cities.
    The law provides penalties for sexual harassment, with potential 
sentences of three months' to five years' imprisonment. The Government 
did not release any statistics during the year on arrests, 
prosecutions, or convictions for offenses related to sexual harassment. 
The law was applied most frequently to male supervisors ``abusing their 
power'' over female subordinates, according to the CCDHRN.
    Sexual harassment was one of many means the Government used to 
inflict suffering on dissidents or their family members. A favorite 
tactic involved strip-searching dissidents' wives. On January 5 at 
Canaleta prison in Ciego de Avila, guards ordered the wife and daughter 
of Adolfo Fernandez Sainz to submit to a strip search. On May 18 at 
Kilo 5.5 prison in Pinar del Rio, guards ordered the wife of political 
prisoner Normando Hernandez to completely disrobe and perform deep knee 
bends before visiting her husband. On June 15 at the same prison, 
guards forced the elderly mother, wife, and 15-year-old daughter of 
political prisoner Horacio Pina to be strip-searched.
    The law provides that women and men have equal rights and 
responsibilities regarding marriage, divorce, raising children, 
maintaining the home, and pursuing a career. The law grants working 
mothers preferential access to goods and services. The law provides for 
equal pay for equal work, and women generally received pay comparable 
to men for similar work.

    Children.--The law provides that all children have equal rights and 
that parents have a duty to ensure their protection. Public education 
was free through the university level, but advancement in the school 
system depended on participation in political activities. The law 
requires school attendance until the ninth grade, which was the highest 
level achieved by most children. The Government reported that 98 
percent of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school during 
the 2005-06 school year and that attendance by secondary-school-age 
children was 91 percent. All elementary and secondary school students 
received obligatory ideological indoctrination.
    The Government maintained a dossier on every child from 
kindergarten through high school, which included a record of the 
child's participation in political activities, such as mandatory 
marches. Full participation in political activities, such as membership 
in the Union of Pioneers of Cuba, a regimented youth organization used 
by the Government for political indoctrination, was essential to 
advance in the school system.
    Boys and girls had equal access to a national health care system 
that claimed to cover all citizens, although there were notable 
weaknesses in this system. The UN Children's Fund reported high 
vaccination rates for childhood diseases. Children up to age seven 
received additional food rations through the ration card system.
    There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
    Child prostitution was a problem, with young girls engaging in 
prostitution to help support themselves and their families (see section 
5, Trafficking). While underage prostitution was widely apparent, there 
were no reliable statistics available regarding its extent. Children 
may marry with the consent of their parents at age 14, but the law 
provides for two to five years' imprisonment for anyone who ``induces 
minors under 16 years of age to practice homosexuality or 
prostitution.'' Minors played a key role in the country's thriving sex 
trade, which was fueled by visits by thousands of foreign tourists. 
There was anecdotal evidence that state-run hotel workers, travel 
company employees, taxi drivers, bar and restaurant workers, and law 
enforcement personnel were complicit in the commercial sexual 
exploitation of children.
    Although the police sometimes enforced laws on underage 
prostitution, cabarets and discos catered to sex tourists. Sex-tourism 
revenues provided an important, direct source of hard currency to the 
Government. The Government prosecuted some persons involved in child 
prostitution and forced some foreign suspects to leave the country. The 
Government prosecuted some persons involved in child pornography and 
assisted other countries in international investigations of child 
sexual abuse.
    Child endangerment received little coverage in state media. On 
April 17, state media announced that the Government would prosecute 
seven women for endangering their children, aged one to 14, during a 
bungled attempt to leave the country illegally. Between April 3 and 5, 
the children had gone without food or water and trekked through a 
mosquito-filled swamp in Pinar del Rio Province.
    There were no reports of abuse involving institutionalized children 
during the year, and the Government did not release information on any 
steps taken to prevent or punish such abuse.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits all forms of trafficking 
in persons. However, there were reports that women were being 
trafficked from the country. Trafficking for underage prostitution and 
forced labor occurred within the country.
    The nature and extent of trafficking in the country were difficult 
to gauge due to the closed nature of the Government and the lack of NGO 
reporting. However, there were reports that some women married Mexican 
nationals in order to migrate but were held against their will at 
Mexican brothels or strip clubs. In addition, some citizens who had 
successfully emigrated on ``go-fast'' vessels were forced to work as 
deckhands on subsequent smuggling trips, to pay off smuggling debts.
    Trafficking victims came from all over the country, and most worked 
in the major cities and tourist resort areas. Anecdotal information 
indicated that victims generally came from poor families, but other 
sources reported the phenomenon at all levels of society, including 
families of senior CP and government officials. In some cases, families 
encouraged victims to enter into prostitution for the additional income 
that such activities could provide. In many cases, traffickers lured 
victims from rural areas with bus tickets and promises of well-paid 
jobs in urban areas.
    The law criminalizes promoting or organizing the entrance of 
persons into, or the exit of persons from, the country for the purpose 
of prostitution; violators were subject to 20 to 30 years' 
imprisonment. The Penal Code provides penalties from 10 years to life 
in prison for trafficking for purposes other than prostitution. Civil 
penalties are referred to as ``responsibilities'' and, for an offense 
such as damaging a government-owned boat, can include indemnifications, 
pensions, or other reparations. The CCHRN stated that in cases of 
internal trafficking, rather than bring a trafficking charge against an 
individual, the Government might charge him or her with ``pimping.''
    The Ministries of Justice and Education, the PNR, and local 
governments were tasked with different facets of combating trafficking 
in persons and the problem of underage prostitution; no entity had 
complete autonomy dealing with these problems. The police were 
responsible for investigating and arresting traffickers, the Ministry 
of Justice with prosecuting and incarcerating traffickers, and the 
Ministry of Education with rehabilitating prostitutes, including 
underage prostitutes.
    There were no reliable statistics on the number of traffickers 
prosecuted or convicted during the year. However, the CCDHRN stated 
that in the past three to four years, the Government prosecuted or 
convicted between 40 and 60 people for ``illegal traffic in persons.'' 
All those prosecuted or convicted had come to the country from the 
United States, Mexico, or other countries such as the Bahamas, 
apparently to traffic people out of Cuba. No information was available 
concerning government assistance with international investigations of 
trafficking or the extradition of traffickers.
    There was anecdotal evidence that state-run hotel workers, law 
enforcement personnel, and others involved in the tourist industry were 
complicit in the commercial sexual exploitation of children involved in 
the sex trade targeting tourists. There were no known investigations or 
prosecution of public officials for complicity in trafficking during 
the year.
    Although prostitution is not a crime per se, individuals who 
engaged in prostitution, including possible trafficking victims and 
children, often were treated as criminals, detained, and taken to 
rehabilitation centers that were not staffed with personnel who were 
trained or equipped to adequately care for trafficking victims.
    No civil society groups in the country assisted trafficking victims 
in an official capacity, although a Havana-based NGO that focused on 
women's rights publicized the plight of poor prostitutes. The 
Government did not coordinate on trafficking-related matters with 
international organizations or NGOs operating in the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There was no known law prohibiting 
official discrimination against persons with disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of 
other state services. However, a Labor Ministry resolution gives 
persons with disabilities the right to equal employment opportunities 
and to equal pay for equal work. There was no official discrimination 
against persons with disabilities. There are no laws mandating 
accessibility to buildings for persons with disabilities, and in 
practice, buildings and transportation rarely were accessible to 
persons with disabilities.
    The Special Education Division of the Ministry of Education was 
responsible for the education and training of children with 
disabilities. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security was in charge 
of the Job Program for the Handicapped.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although there were many black 
police officers and army enlisted personnel, Afro-Cubans often suffered 
racial discrimination. Afro-Cubans complained of frequent and 
disproportionate stops for identity checks. Non-whites, who comprised 
an estimated 50 percent or more of the population, constituted an 
estimated three-quarters of the country's prison population.
    An Afro-Cuban human rights activist, Andres Sabon Lituane, reported 
in April that his daughter studied gastronomy and found work at a 
Chinese restaurant. However, her employment was short-lived; the 
manager told her black people had no business working at a Chinese 
restaurant.
    Race sometimes surfaced as an element in mob actions against human 
rights activists. On July 18 in Santa Clara, Communist militants 
chanted insults at Afro-Cuban Noelia Pedraza Jimenez.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against homosexuals persisted, as police occasionally conducted sweeps 
in areas where homosexuals congregated, particularly along sections of 
Havana's waterfront. However, in mid-year television aired a soap opera 
with a homosexual subplot, which had the effect of partially 
destigmatizing homosexual behavior.
    The Government continued to restrict some persons found to be HIV-
positive to sanatoriums for treatment and therapy before conditionally 
releasing them into the community. Even after their release, some 
persons with HIV/AIDS said the Government monitored their movements 
with a chaperone to prevent the spread of the illness. In November the 
Cuban Commission for Human Rights of People with HIV/AIDS (CCDHPHS) 
said state medical professionals frequently failed to respect 
confidentiality, with the result that sufferers' condition was known 
widely throughout their neighborhoods. At hospitals, rooms holding HIV-
positive patients were clearly marked as such, as were the patients' 
smocks. Some persons with HIV/AIDS suffered job discrimination, or were 
rejected by their families. The CCDHPHS stated that doctors often 
offered shoddy treatment or none at all to patients with HIV/AIDS and 
that the Government offered ``cocktail'' medications only to sufferers 
whose condition was advanced. The group also complained that at many 
hospitals, HIV/AIDS sufferers were turned away in favor of foreign 
medical tourists.
    The Government operated four prisons exclusively for HIV/AIDS 
sufferers; some inmates were serving sentences for ``propagating an 
epidemic.'' Activists said the prisons, while well-intentioned, failed 
to deliver on necessary services and became dysfunctional institutions.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law does not allow workers to 
form and join unions of their choice. Rather, the state established 
official unions and did not permit competing independent unions. 
Official labor unions had a mobilization function and did not act as 
trade unions, promote worker rights, or protect the right to strike. 
Such organizations were under the control of the state and the CP, 
which also managed the enterprises for which the laborers worked. 
Because all legal unions were government entities, antiunion 
discrimination by definition did not exist.
    The only legal labor confederation was the Confederation of Cuban 
Workers (CTC), whose leaders were chosen by the CP. The CTC's principal 
responsibility was to ensure that government production goals were met. 
Virtually all workers were required to belong to the CTC, and 
promotions were frequently limited to CP members who took part in 
mandatory marches, public humiliations of dissidents, and other state-
organized activities.
    Workers often lost their jobs because of their political beliefs, 
including their refusal to join the official union.
    On March 14, MIOA member Juan Francisco Sigler Amaya lost his job 
at the Free Cuba sugar refinery in the Matanzas city of Pedro 
Betancourt. A government official subsequently told Sigler that he was 
fired because he had met at his home with people opposed to the 
ideological principles of the revolution. On May 31, CP officials in 
the Holguin town of Moa reportedly organized a meeting at the Nickel 
Union Services Enterprise to seek the expulsion of employee Omar Perez 
Torres, a prodemocracy activist. After independent journalists 
publicized his case, Perez was able to retain his job as a driver, and 
at year's end continued to work under ``strict vigilance.''
    Several small independent labor organizations operated without 
legal recognition. These organizations also were subject to 
infiltration by government agents and were unable to represent workers 
effectively or work on their behalf.
    The Government harassed labor leaders. On August 10, State Security 
officials searched the Havana home of Aurelio Bachiller Alvarez, 
secretary general of the National Confederation of Independent Workers 
of Cuba. The officials, who did not produce a search warrant, accused 
Bachiller of planning to hold a dissident event. On May 24, 
approximately two dozen independent labor leaders met in Havana to 
launch a training program designed to teach workers about their rights 
according to international labor standards. Among the organizers of the 
event was Carmelo Diaz Fernandez; police detained Diaz briefly on 
September 15 and searched his home without a warrant on September 28.
    The Government continued to incarcerate independent labor 
activists, including Pedro Pablo Alvarez Pedroso, President of the 
Unitary Workers Council, serving a 25-year sentence.
    Six of the seven independent labor leaders jailed in 2003 remained 
in prison, serving sentences of between 12 and 25 years.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Although 
provided for in the law, collective bargaining did not exist in 
practice. The State Committee for Work and Social Security set wages 
and salaries for the state sector, which was virtually the only 
employer in the country. The law does not provide for strikes, and none 
were known to have occurred during the year.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the three export processing zones.
    The law denies all workers, except those with special government 
permission, the right to contract directly with foreign companies 
investing in the country. Although a few firms negotiated exceptions, 
the Government required foreign investors and diplomatic missions to 
contract workers through state employment agencies, which were paid 
well in foreign currency, but which in turn paid workers very low wages 
in pesos (see section 6.e.). Human Rights Watch stated that the 
required reliance on state-controlled employment agencies left workers 
without any ability to directly negotiate wages, benefits, the basis of 
promotions, or the length of the workers' trial period at the job with 
the employer. Workers subcontracted by state employment agencies must 
meet certain political qualifications. The state employment agencies 
consulted with the CP, the CTC, and the UJC to ensure that the workers 
chosen ``deserved'' to work in a joint enterprise.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
prohibit forced or compulsory labor by adults. The Government 
maintained correctional centers for persons convicted of such crimes as 
dangerousness (see section 1.c.). Prisoners held in such centers were 
forced to work on farms or at sites performing construction, 
agricultural, or metal work. The authorities also often imprisoned 
persons sent to work sites who refused to work.
    The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children, but there 
were reports that such practices occurred (see section 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the Ministry 
of Labor and Social Security was responsible for enforcement. 
Nonetheless, the Government required children to work in various 
situations.
    Students at rural boarding schools were expected to participate in 
several hours of manual labor per day. Secondary school students were 
expected to devote up to 15 days of their summer vacation completing a 
variety of tasks ranging from farm labor to urban cleanup projects and 
were paid a small wage for this labor. Students in postsecondary 
institutions (technical schools, university preparatory schools, and 
agricultural institutes) were expected to devote 30 to 45 days per year 
to primarily agricultural work. Refusal to do agricultural work could 
result in expulsion from school.
    The legal minimum working age is 17, but the labor code permits the 
employment of 15- and 16-year-old children to obtain training or to 
fill labor shortages. The labor code does not permit teenagers to work 
more than seven hours per day or 40 hours per week or on holidays. 
Children ages 13 to 18 cannot work in specified hazardous occupations, 
such as mining, or at night.
    The Government took steps to identify child labor and rectify the 
problem.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage, which is 
enforced by the Labor Ministry, varies by occupation. On average, the 
minimum monthly wage was approximately $9 (225 pesos). The Government 
supplemented the minimum wage with free education, subsidized medical 
care (daily pay is reduced by 40 percent after the third day of being 
admitted to a hospital), housing, and some subsidized food. Even with 
subsidies, the minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living 
for a worker and family.
    The law requires foreign investors to contract workers through 
government employment agencies. Foreign companies pay the Government as 
much as $600 to $800 per worker per month. However, because the 
Government pays salaries in nonconvertible pesos, workers only receive 
approximately 3 percent of the money paid by their foreign employer.
    The standard workweek is 44 hours, with shorter workweeks in 
hazardous occupations, such as mining. The law provides workers with a 
weekly 24-hour rest period. These standards were effectively enforced. 
The law does not provide for premium pay for overtime or prohibit 
obligatory overtime. Workers were occasionally asked to work overtime 
at the nonpremium pay rate; refusal to do so could result in a notation 
in the employee's official work history that could imperil any 
subsequent request for vacation time.
    In October a lawsuit was filed in a foreign court alleging that 
workers employed at a ship repair company were forced to work 112 hours 
a week and that numerous occupational safety and health violations took 
place at the company.
    Laws providing for workplace environmental and safety controls were 
inadequate, and the Government lacked effective enforcement mechanisms. 
Labor activist Carmelo Diaz Fernandez said in October that construction 
workers were at risk because they worked on scaffolding without safety 
lines. Others in danger, he said, were workers exposed to electrical 
lines and chemicals without protective gloves or masks. The Government 
reported that in the first half of the year, 49 workers died in work-
related accidents. By profession, the most common victims were 
soldiers, drivers, and stevedores. The law provides that a worker who 
considers his life in danger because of hazardous conditions has the 
right to refuse to work in a position or not to engage in specific 
activities until such risks are eliminated; the worker remains 
obligated to work temporarily in whatever other position may be 
assigned him at a salary provided for under the law.

                               __________

                                DOMINICA

    Dominica is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a population 
of approximately 69,000. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's Dominica 
Labour Party (DLP) prevailed over the opposition United Workers Party 
(UWP) in May 2005 elections, the results of which were certified 
despite challenges filed by the opposition in a few constituencies. The 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the 
security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens; however, there were problems in a few areas, primarily poor 
prison conditions, violence against women and children, and adverse 
conditions experienced by indigenous Kalinago (Carib Indians).
                        respect for human rights
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 February 10, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) dismissed 
the case of police officers charged with the February 2005 beating, 
shooting, and killing of Clifford Ambo. The February 2005 case of 
prison guards beating to death Henson Joseph was still under review by 
the DPP at year's end.

    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, there were reports 
that police used excessive force while making arrests, including two 
documented cases during the year. Both victims chose to sue the police 
for damages.
    On February 17, police officers allegedly attacked and beat Derwin 
Peltier. Police claimed that Peltier was intoxicated and attacked them, 
and they used force only to subdue him. Similarly, in February a police 
officer allegedly beat Edward Bruney with the butt of his gun. Because 
these men chose to file civil suits, internal police review tribunals 
were suspended until the civil suits concluded. At year's end both 
cases were still before the civil courts.
    All six cases of excessive force brought against police officers in 
2005 were still pending at year's end. The police force's internal 
disciplinary tribunal found three police officers guilty, and all three 
appealed to an independent appeal board. Two cases were still before 
the internal tribunal, while the Police Commission, DPP, and attorney 
general ruled that one case was sufficiently severe to bring criminal 
charges against the officer. At year's end this case was still before 
the magistrate's court.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor. The buildings at the country's single prison, Stock Farm, were in 
disrepair; conditions remained unsanitary; and overcrowding was a 
serious problem. The prison held 301 prisoners in a facility designed 
for fewer than 200 inmates.
    Juvenile detainees were held with adults, and pretrial detainees 
were held with convicted prisoners, due to a lack of separate 
facilities.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred during 
the year.

    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 Prime Minister's 
office oversees the Dominica Police, the country's only security force. 
The 411-officer force effectively carried out its responsibilities to 
maintain public order. The police have a formal complaint procedure to 
handle allegations of excessive force or abuse by police officers. 
Corruption was not a problem within the police force.

    Arrest and Detention.--The police apprehend persons openly with 
warrants issued by a judicial authority. The law requires that the 
authorities inform persons of the reasons for arrest within 24 hours 
after arrest and bring the detainee to court within 72 hours. This 
requirement generally was honored in practice; however, if the 
authorities were unable to bring a detainee to court within the 
requisite period, the detainee could be released and rearrested at a 
later time. There is a functioning system of bail. Criminal detainees 
were provided prompt access to counsel and family members.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.
    The judicial system is composed of a high court judge, five 
magistrates in the capital city of Roseau, and 10 magistrate's courts 
located in police stations around the country. Appeals can be made 
first to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and then to the Privy 
Council in the United Kingdom.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial 
before an independent, impartial court, and an independent judiciary 
generally enforced this right. There are trials by jury, and defendants 
can confront or question witnesses. Criminal defendants are presumed 
innocent until proven guilty, are allowed legal counsel, and have the 
right to appeal. Courts provide free legal counsel to juveniles unable 
to obtain their own counsel, regardless of the crime committed, and to 
the indigent, but only in cases involving serious crimes.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent, 
impartial judiciary in civil matters where one can bring lawsuits 
seeking damages for a human rights violation.

    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.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. Generally individuals could criticize the 
Government publicly or privately without reprisal. The independent 
media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without 
restriction.
    On August 24, the government-sponsored radio station, Dominica 
Broadcasting Service (DBS), chose not to air a radio program entitled 
``Gates of Health,'' allegedly because of pressure from the Ministry of 
Health. The program documented conditions at Princess Margaret 
Hospital, and the journalist responsible for the program performed his 
research, including interviews, while disguised as a patient. The 
journalist alleged that the documentary was cancelled because of its 
negative portrayal of the medical system. DBS and Ministry of Health 
officials claimed that DBS cancelled the program because of the 
clandestine manner in which it was researched, citing breaches of 
confidentiality.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. The 
Internet was largely available in homes, offices, and Internet cafes in 
urban areas. Infrastructure limitations restricted Internet access in 
villages.

    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.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    The Government requires all religious organizations to register. 
Organizations must register as nonprofit organizations with the 
Attorney General's office and also register their buildings through the 
Government registrar. On February 21, the Government formally 
recognized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had 
been seeking full authorization since 2004.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was no organized Jewish 
community, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. Rastafarians 
complained that the use of marijuana, an aspect of their religious 
rituals, was illegal and that their members were victims of societal 
discrimination, especially in hiring.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is a signatory to the 
1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol, the Government has not formulated a policy regarding refugees 
or asylum. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, but did not routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
    After the fall of the Aristide government in Haiti in 2004, 
thousands of Haitians fled to Dominica. However, none of these Haitians 
had requested refugee status by year's end. Although the Haitians 
normally entered legally, many only used the country as a transit point 
and attempted to depart illegally for the neighboring French 
territories of Martinique or Guadeloupe. In September, as an incentive 
to enter and exit the country legally, the Government began charging 
Haitians $400 (EC$1,000) when entering the country and promised to 
return the funds upon legal exit from the country. The refundable 
entrance fee had little effect on the numbers of Haitians departing 
illegally. There were no reported cases that any Haitians were 
trafficked against their will.
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.--In May 2005 the ruling DLP 
won 12 seats in parliamentary elections, defeating the UWP, which won 
eight seats. An independent candidate affiliated with the DLP also won 
a seat. Although the country has a history of holding free and fair 
elections, impartial election observers were not present to verify the 
results. In April the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal dismissed for 
lack of evidence petitions brought in 2005 by the UWP that disputed the 
results in five constituencies.
    There were two women in the 30-seat legislature: an elected 
parliamentary representative who also served in the cabinet and a 
senator appointed by the President.
    The parliamentary representative for the constituency that includes 
the Carib Territory was a Carib Indian; he served concurrently as 
minister for Carib affairs.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were no reports of 
government corruption during the year.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, and the Government did not provide such access in 
practice.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no government restrictions on the formation of local 
human rights organizations, although no such groups existed. Several 
advocacy groups, such as the Association of Disabled People, the 
Dominica National Council of Women (DNCW), and a women's and children's 
self-help organization, operated freely and without government 
interference. There were no requests for investigations of human rights 
abuses from international or regional human rights groups.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law specifically prohibits discrimination based on race, 
gender, place of origin, color, and creed, and the authorities 
generally respected it in practice.

    Women.--Domestic violence cases were common. Although there are no 
specific laws criminalizing spousal abuse, women could bring charges 
against husbands for battery. The Protection against Domestic Violence 
Act allows abused persons to appear before a magistrate without an 
attorney and request a protective order. The court also may order the 
alleged perpetrator to be removed from the home in order to allow the 
victims, usually women and children, to remain in the home while the 
matter is investigated. However, enforcement of these restraining 
orders was difficult because of a lack of police resources. Police 
officers continued to receive training in dealing with domestic abuse 
cases.
    The DNCW, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), provided preventive 
education about domestic violence and maintained a shelter where 
counseling and mediation services were available daily. It assisted 
approximately 70 persons during the year. Due to a shortage of funding, 
the organization could permit persons to stay at the shelter only for 
several days at a time; however, if needed, further housing was 
provided in private homes for up to three weeks. Because of the 
country's small size, abusive spouses commonly found and visited the 
victims at the shelter, making private homes a safer option in many 
cases. The Catholic Church continued to be active in educating the 
public about domestic violence.
    The law criminalizes rape, which can include spousal rape. Whenever 
possible, female police officers handled rape cases. Although the 
maximum sentence for sexual molestation (rape or incest) is 25 years' 
imprisonment, the normal sentence given was five to seven years, except 
in the case of murder. The Women's Bureau of the Ministry of Community 
Development assisted victims of abuse by finding temporary shelter, 
providing counseling to both parties, or recommending police action. 
The Women's Bureau also coordinated interagency efforts to collect 
data, advocate policy changes, and provide programs for the empowerment 
of women.
    Prostitution is illegal but was a problem. Although women from the 
Dominican Republic reportedly traveled to the country to work as 
prostitutes, there was no evidence that they were trafficked.
    The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and it remained a 
problem.
    While there was little open discrimination against women, minor 
cultural instances of discrimination existed. Also, property ownership 
continued to be deeded to heads of households, who were usually male. 
When the male head of household dies without a will, the wife may not 
inherit or sell the property, although she may live in it and pass it 
to her children. The law establishes fixed pay rates for specific civil 
service jobs, regardless of gender. The Labor Department reported that 
many rural women found it difficult to meet basic economic needs, which 
resulted partly from the continuing decline of the banana export 
industry. There was a 53 percent unemployment rate for women. Although 
there were some women in managerial or high-level positions, most women 
worked as shopkeepers, nurses, or in education.
    The Gender Bureau of the Ministry of Community Development and 
Gender Affairs is charged with promoting and ensuring the legal rights 
of women. The bureau provides lobbying, research, support, counseling, 
training, and education services. The Gender Bureau worked with the 
DNCW and other organizations to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the 
16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women. From November 25 
through December 10, these organizations ran a number of projects, 
including marches and television broadcasts, to promote the 
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, World 
AIDS Day, and International Human Rights Day. In December 2005 the 
Gender Bureau and DNCW, along with other related government bodies and 
NGOs, launched a two-year, UN-sponsored program designed to improve the 
implementation of existing laws, policies, and plans of action to 
address violence against women and girls. The program was successful 
throughout the year in helping the Government, NGO, and police sectors 
work more closely together, particularly in data collection and 
information sharing.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare.
    Education is compulsory, free, and universal through the age of 16. 
Approximately 90 percent of primary school-age children attended 
school. In September 2005 the Government made secondary education 
universal, and a year later approximately 87 percent of secondary 
school-age children attended school.
    Primary health care was available throughout the country, and boys 
and girls had equal access.
    Child abuse continued to be a pervasive problem, both at home and 
at school. As of October the Welfare Department of the Ministry of 
Community Development and Gender Affairs received 143 reports of child 
abuse, compared with 152 in all of 2005. This included 78 cases of 
sexual abuse, 25 cases of neglect, 18 cases of physical abuse, four 
cases of emotional abuse, and 18 cases of multiple types of abuse. Of 
these 143 cases, at least 84 of the victims were female. The Welfare 
Department also assisted victims of abuse by finding temporary shelter, 
providing counseling to both parties, or recommending police action. 
The Welfare Department reported all severe cases of abuse to the 
police. Lack of staff and resources continued to hamper enforcement of 
children's rights laws.
    The age of consent for sexual relations is 16 years. No specific 
laws prohibit commercial sexual exploitation of children, but such 
activity could be prosecuted under laws against prostitution or 
trafficking.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons, 
specifically involving forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation, 
and smuggling illegal migrants. There were no reports that persons were 
trafficked to, from, or within the country. Persons convicted of 
trafficking are subject to a fine of $37,500 (EC$100,000) and up to 
seven years in prison.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law does not specifically 
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities, there was no 
reported discrimination against them in employment, education, access 
to health care, or in the provision of other state services. However, 
mentally challenged children had difficulty attending school and 
finding appropriate foster homes when faced with neglect from their 
birth parents. There is no legal requirement mandating access to 
buildings for persons with disabilities. Labor laws authorize 
employment of persons with disabilities for less than the minimum wage 
to increase employment opportunities for such persons (see section 
6.e.).

    Indigenous People.--There was a significant Kalinago, or Carib 
Indian, population, estimated at 4,000 persons, most of whom lived in 
the 3,782-acre Carib Territory. The Government has a Ministry of Carib 
Affairs headed by a Kalinago. A police station on the Carib Territory 
was staffed by four to five officers, several of whom were Kalinago. 
Two neighboring police stations and fire stations also served the Carib 
Territory, along with two health centers. School, water, and health 
facilities on the territory were rudimentary but similar to those 
available in other rural communities; there were four preschools and 
two primary schools in the Carib Territory and two secondary schools in 
nearby communities attended by Kalinago children. In September the 
Northern Education Complex, a technically advanced school, opened, and 
the number of students from the Carib Territory attending secondary 
school increased significantly. Unemployment in the territory generally 
was higher than in the rest of the country, and mean income was below 
the national level.
    The Carib Act states that any child of a Kalinago is also Kalinago. 
Non-Kalinagos may become Kalinagos if they are invited to live in the 
Carib Territory and continuously do so for 12 years. Every five years 
Kalinagos over the age of 18 who reside in the territory may vote for 
the chief and six members of the Council of Advisors. They also are 
eligible to vote in national elections. According to the Carib Act, the 
council must meet once a month, determine the chief's itinerary, and 
publish council meeting agendas in the Government Gazette.
    The Kalinago people continued to suffer from low levels of 
unofficial and societal discrimination.
    Territory building permits may be obtained from the Carib Council 
and were available only to Kalinagos. Although the law permits Kalinago 
men and women married to non-Kalinagos to continue living in the 
territory, in practice Kalinago women married to non-Kalinagos had to 
move out of the territory.
    The law establishing the Carib Territory does not delineate clearly 
its territorial boundaries. Kalinagos continued to report difficulties 
obtaining bank financing, particularly since reservation land was 
communal and therefore unavailable for use as collateral for loans.
    To lessen the challenges the Kalinago people face, the Ministry of 
Education covered tuition for Kalinago students at the Dominica State 
College, awarded scholarships to Kalinago students for study throughout 
the Caribbean, and sent the Karifuna Cultural Group on a three-month 
tour throughout the country to promote Kalinago culture. On May 1, the 
Government opened the Kalinago Barana Aute (Carib Cultural Village by 
the Sea) to promote Kalinago culture and contribute to the 
socioeconomic development of the Kalinago people by providing 
employment, teaching skills, and fostering cooperation among them.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws that 
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual 
orientation in employment, housing, education, or health care. Although 
no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that 
societal discrimination against homosexuals occurred.
    The Government and the Dominica Planned Parenthood Association 
(DPPA) initiated programs designed to discourage discrimination against 
HIV/AIDS-infected persons and others living with them. The Ministry of 
Health programmed various television spots and radio discussions on 
``Know Your Status,'' a theme promoting free HIV testing and 
counseling. On World AIDS Day, the DPPA sponsored a march to raise 
awareness of free testing and counseling.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised the legal right to 
organize and choose their representatives. Unions represented 
approximately one-third of the total work force; approximately half of 
government workers were unionized.
    The law provides that employers must reinstate workers fired for 
union activities, and employers generally did so in practice. The 
National Workers Union pursued a case on behalf of a shop steward who 
allegedly was dismissed for union activities in 2003. At year's end the 
steward had not yet been reinstated, and this case remained unresolved.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions have 
legally defined rights to organize workers and to bargain with 
employers. Workers exercised this right, particularly in the 
nonagricultural sectors of the economy, including in government 
service. Government mediation and arbitration were also available. 
There are no export processing zones.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. However, emergency, port, electricity, 
telecommunications, and prison services, as well as banana, coconut, 
and citrus fruit cultivation industries, were deemed essential, which 
effectively prohibited workers in these sectors from going on strike. 
The Labor Office recognized that this law was rather broad and should 
be updated.
    In 2004 a court found in favor of the Government in a case brought 
by the Public Service Union (PSU) concerning the legality of government 
cost-cutting measures. In November the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 
took leave of the case, allowing an appeal to be presented to the Privy 
Council in the United Kingdom. At year's end PSU lawyers were preparing 
the appeal.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although two laws prohibit employment of children, one law defines a 
``child'' as under age 12 and the other as under age 14. The Government 
defined 15 years as the minimum age for employment and enforced this 
standard in principle. Children between the ages of 12 and 14 were 
allowed to work only in certain family enterprises such as farming. 
Safety standards limit the type of work, conditions, and hours of work 
for children over the age of 14. The Government effectively enforced 
these standards.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law sets minimum wages for 
various categories of workers, but these were last revised in 1989. The 
minimum wage rate for some categories of workers (for example, 
household employees) was as low as $0.37 (EC$1.00) per hour if meals 
were included. However, minimum wages for most workers ranged from 
$0.74 (EC$2.00) per hour for tourist industry workers to $1.11 
(EC$3.00) per hour for occupations such as shop clerk. Minimum wages 
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. 
However, most workers (including domestic employees) earned more than 
the legislated minimum wage for their category, and there was no need 
to enforce the outdated legal minimum wages.
    Labor laws provide that the labor commissioner may authorize the 
employment of a person with disabilities at a wage lower than the 
minimum rate in order to enable that person to be employed gainfully.
    The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in five days. The law 
provides overtime pay for work above the standard workweek; however, 
excessive overtime is not prohibited. The Government effectively 
enforced these standards.
    The Employment Safety Act provides occupational health and safety 
regulations that are consistent with international standards. 
Inspectors from the Environmental Health Department of the Ministry of 
Health conducted health and safety surveys. The Department of Labor 
conducted inspections that prescribe specific compliance measures, 
impose fines, and can result in prosecution of offenders. Workers have 
the right to remove themselves from unsafe work environments without 
jeopardy to continued employment, and the authorities effectively 
enforced this right.

                               __________

                           DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

    The Dominican Republic is a representative constitutional democracy 
with a population of approximately 9.2 million, including an estimated 
650,000 to one million undocumented Haitians. In August 2004 President 
Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) was elected 
for a second (nonconsecutive) term, and in May the PLD won majorities 
in both chambers of Congress during congressional and municipal 
elections. Impartial outside observers assessed both elections as 
generally free and fair. While civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some 
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently 
of government authority.
    Although the Government's human rights record improved somewhat, 
serious problems remained: unlawful killings; beatings and other abuse 
of suspects, detainees, and prisoners; poor to harsh prison conditions; 
arbitrary arrest and detention of suspects; severe discrimination 
against Haitian migrants and their descendants; widespread perceptions 
of corruption; violence and discrimination against women; child 
prostitution and other abuse of children; trafficking in persons; and 
disregard of fundamental labor rights.
    The Government's new police chief implemented changes that 
diminished the level of killings and other abuse carried out by 
security forces and in some cases prosecuted those suspected of 
misconduct. Continued implementation of the new Criminal Procedures 
Code provided detainees additional protections, enhanced due process, 
and improved respect for detainee rights.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although the 
Government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated 
killings, security forces were involved in many killings that were 
unlawful, unwarranted, or involved excessive use of force.
    According to the Attorney General's office, security forces killed 
361 persons during the year, a 36 percent decline from 2005. The office 
stated that most (298) of these deaths resulted from ``exchanges of 
gunfire'' in the course of arrests, which required officers to act in 
self-defense. However, that office's data were not always updated to 
reflect the results of internal police investigations; at least one 
unjustified police killing was left off its list. According to the 
National Commission on Human Rights, many killings were related to 
aggressive tactics on the part of the police.
    In July citizens protested in Bonao following news that two police 
officials detained for killing a local businessman had ``escaped'' from 
their holding cells the day after the incident took place. On July 6, 
the officials allegedly killed the victim, Joesi Marte Nunez, after he 
accused them in a police report of assaulting his family and stealing 
$1,700 (50,000 pesos) from their business. Police captured the alleged 
killers on July 15 and brought charges against two additional police 
officers; all four awaited trial at year's end. A subsequent 
investigation resulted in the firing of several other police officers, 
including Colonel Antonio Cepeda Urena, who had served as director of 
the city's police detachment.
    On July 24, there were protests at the funeral service in Navarrete 
for Luis Manuel Ventura, a 25-year-old leader of the Broad Front for 
People's Protests (FALPO), a local leftist organization. Although 
authorities initially classified his killing on July 23 by police as 
occurring during an exchange of gunfire, witnesses disputed this 
account, claiming that Ventura had been dragged by persons dressed in 
police uniforms from a family funeral service and shot in full view of 
other mourners. Authorities arrested two police sergeants and charged 
them with homicide in connection with the case, and at year's end they 
remained in preventive detention pending the outcome of their trial.
    On September 25, the police killing of another FALPO member sparked 
more protests in the same community. Police had initially classified 
the killing of Elvin Amable Rodriguez, a FALPO leader and spokesman, as 
an exchange of gunfire, but witnesses claimed that police dragged 
Rodriguez from a neighborhood corner store, hooded him, and executed 
him in view of his companions. After a subsequent investigation 
corroborated witness reports, the police chief ordered the arrest of 
two officers on murder charges and the immediate replacement of every 
officer assigned to the Navarrete police unit.
    Human rights organizations, while conceding that the situation 
improved somewhat during the year, stated that the police employed 
unwarranted deadly force against criminal suspects as in previous 
years, and uniformed vigilantism persisted on a less-than-deadly level 
(see section 1.c.).
    The new police chief implemented changes that diminished the level 
of killings and other forms of abuse carried out by security forces. As 
a result, authorities investigated many of those suspected of 
misconduct, suspended them from their duties, and in some cases 
prosecuted them (see section 1.d.). However, some cases previously 
referred to courts for investigation remained unresolved or resulted in 
the release of the accused. In August the trial of two former policemen 
accused of murdering a 12-year-old girl, her aunt, and a suspected 
criminal in 2005 was again postponed. This most recent delay ignited 
protests in Santiago, where the victims resided.
    Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) alleged corruption among the 
military and migration officials stationed at border posts and noted 
that these officials sometimes facilitated the illegal transit of 
Haitian workers into the country. In January authorities indicted seven 
military officials accused of accepting bribes to permit the entry of 
Haitians, 25 of whom died from asphyxiation while being smuggled in the 
back of a truck (see section 5, Trafficking).
    A number of deaths occurred in custody due to negligence by prison 
authorities (see section 1.c.).
    On a number of occasions citizens attacked Haitians in vigilante-
style reprisals for violent crimes allegedly committed by other 
Haitians. In some cases the Haitians targeted were killed.
    In March citizens beat two Haitians, doused them with gasoline, and 
set them on fire in the rural community of Las Matas de Farfan. The 
victims, who suffered severe burns over most of their bodies, later 
succumbed to their injuries and died. The attack was provoked by the 
murder of a Dominican man, allegedly by four persons of Haitian 
descent.
    In January men dressed in military uniforms were seen setting 
ablaze more than 30 dwellings in the Haitian community of El Fao, near 
Santo Domingo. This was reportedly an act of reprisal for the killing 
of an air force sergeant by an unidentified Haitian, although in fact 
the sergeant had been killed by a police officer. The secretary of the 
armed forces later disputed the allegations of military involvement, 
attributing them to NGOs seeking to tarnish his agency's reputation.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits torture, beating, and physical 
abuse of detainees and prisoners, security forces personnel, primarily 
mid-level and lower-ranking members of the police, continued such 
practices. However, improvements in oversight and awareness resulted in 
a decrease in alleged incidents of torture and physical abuse of 
detainees. The public defender's office made regular visits to prisons, 
which enabled it to report cases of torture and maltreatment of 
prisoners.
    The law provides penalties for torture and physical abuse, 
including sentences from 10 to 15 years in prison. Civilian prosecutors 
sometimes filed charges against police and military officials alleging 
torture, physical abuse, and related crimes. New abuse and torture 
cases were remanded to civilian criminal courts as they arose.
    Senior police officials treated the prohibition on torture and 
physical abuse seriously, but lack of supervision, training, and 
accountability throughout the law enforcement and corrections systems 
undercut efforts to contain the problem. Although prison monitors and 
other observers agreed that conditions improved during the year, human 
rights groups reported repeated instances of physical abuse of 
detainees, most commonly beatings.
    On October 3, authorities placed two police officials in preventive 
detention pending torture charges and released a third official on 
bail. The victim, Dionisio Contreras, had filed a complaint with the 
public prosecutor alleging that the officials handcuffed and repeatedly 
beat him in order to force him to confess to stealing a handgun. In a 
sign of the National Police's improved responsiveness towards 
allegations of abuse, the suspects were immediately suspended from 
their duties and imprisoned pending the charges.
    There were reports of violence against demonstrators and protesters 
by members of the security forces (see section 2.b.).
    According to the National Commission on Human Rights, military and 
police officials harassed, beat, and randomly deported Haitians as well 
as citizens who appeared to be Haitians (see sections 2.d. and 5).
    Lawyers from the National District prosecutor's office monitored 
the investigative process to ensure that detainees' rights were 
respected in high-volume police stations and in several National Drug 
Control Directorate (DNCD) offices (see section 1.d.). Some evidence 
indicated that assistant prosecutors at times acquiesced in improper 
police practices rather than attempting to insist they be changed to 
conform to constitutional standards.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions ranged 
from poor to extremely harsh in most prisons, although one-fifth of the 
prison population experienced good conditions in newer ``model 
prisons.'' Reports of mistreatment and inmate violence in prisons were 
common. The prisons were seriously overcrowded, health and sanitary 
conditions were poor, and some prisons were out of the control of 
authorities and effectively run by criminal gangs of armed inmates. A 
common sentiment among prison wardens was that while they may control 
the perimeter, inside the prison the inmates often made their own rules 
and had their own system of justice.
    Budget allocations for necessities such as food, medicine, and 
transportation were insufficient. Most inmates begged for or purchased 
food from persons in the vicinity of the prison or obtained it from 
family members. Prisoners were often not taken to their trials unless 
they paid bribes to the guards (see sections 1.d. and 1.e.), and 
visitors often had to bribe prison guards in order to visit prisoners. 
Similarly, detainees who wished to avail themselves of the vocational 
training offered at some facilities had to pay bribes before being 
allowed to attend. Prison officials accepted money in exchange for a 
recommendation that a prisoner be furloughed or released for health 
reasons. Prisons often did not provide adequate medical care to 
inmates. Prisoners immobilized by AIDS or who had terminal illnesses 
were not transferred to hospitals.
    According to the Directorate of Prisons, the police and the 
military held approximately 13,500 prisoners and detainees in 35 
prisons with an intended capacity of approximately 9,000. Virtually all 
prisons experienced extreme overcrowding. La Victoria prison, the 
largest in the country, held more than 4,300 prisoners in a facility 
designed for 1,600, with beds for fewer than 1,800 inmates. Officials 
estimated that the entire prison system had 6,300 beds, leaving more 
than 7,000 inmates sleeping on the floor. Some existing beds were 
flammable and contained a toxic substance that several autopsies showed 
to be cause of death for deceased detainees.
    Although a warden who reports to the Attorney General was 
technically responsible for running each prison, in practice police or 
military officers (generally appointed for a period of only three to 
six months and responsible for providing security) were usually in 
charge of most prisons. A significant number of smaller prisons were 
co-located on military bases and were under actual military control, 
although military officers were untrained in corrections methodologies.
    The press and human rights groups reported extensive drug and arms 
trafficking within the prisons, as well as prostitution and sexual 
abuse.
    There were also reports of abuse of minors in custody, particularly 
at Najayo Prison for Minors, where prisoners were reportedly punished 
by being handcuffed to a fence in the hot sun, sometimes for hours at a 
time. When public defenders reported the abuse to the public 
prosecutor's office, the latter immediately fired several guards in 
connection with the complaints. The same public defenders reported that 
conditions at the prison had improved by year's end with the 
appointment of a new prison director.
    There were reports that police officials convicted of criminal 
activity, including a few known human rights abusers, were interned in 
a Santo Domingo facility known as the ``Special Prison for Police 
Agents.'' Prisoners at this facility reportedly had access to a wide 
range of amenities, including flexible movement restrictions, a 
restaurant, a shooting range, and a bar.
    There were a number of deaths due to negligence in the prisons. On 
May 26, a prison fight resulted in the death of Damian Rafael Polanco 
Diaz. Critics alleged that the practice of holding inmates together in 
overcrowded, poorly supervised prisons made it difficult to prevent 
incidents of this nature.
    Following the March 2005 riot and fire that killed at least 136 
inmates and injured 26 in Higuey prison, authorities announced that 
they would file murder charges against prisoners and law enforcement 
officials who were involved, and they arrested five inmates in 
connection with the case. The public prosecutor's office transferred 
the case to San Francisco de Macoris, where it remained active at 
year's end. In November investigative reporting by the newspaper Clave 
Digital revealed that prosecutorial authorities misplaced key files 
associated with the case in March. Allegedly this was at least part of 
the reason that no convictions had been obtained by year's end, nearly 
two years after the fire took place.
    Female inmates generally were separated from male inmates, and 
instances where male and female prisoners were held together ceased 
around September, when all female inmates had been moved to model 
prisons or wings thereof. Half of the total female population was held 
in a females-only prison. Conditions in the prison wings for females 
generally were better than those in prison wings for males. Female 
inmates, unlike their male counterparts, were prohibited from receiving 
conjugal visits. Those who gave birth while incarcerated were permitted 
to keep their babies with them for a year.
    Authorities often detained juveniles with the general prison 
population and sometimes treated minors as adults and incarcerated them 
in prison rather than juvenile detention centers.
    Because of serious overcrowding, authorities at many smaller 
facilities did not attempt to segregate prisoners according to the 
severity of criminal offense.
    Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners. The 
Directorate of Prisons estimated that only 37 percent of the detainees 
in prison as of September had been convicted; another 57 percent were 
awaiting trial while the remaining 6 percent had a trial in process. In 
certain prisons, the vast majority of prisoners had not been convicted 
of a crime but rather were held awaiting trial. Of the inmates in 
Puerto Plata and Higuey prisons, 90 percent and 87 percent, 
respectively, were pretrial detainees.
    There were also insufficient efforts in place to segregate and 
provide services to the mentally ill, especially at traditional 
prisons. There were confirmed reports of inmates suffering afflictions 
such as severe bipolar disorder who were kept alongside other inmates 
and denied prescription medication at La Victoria, the country's 
largest facility.
    Prison authorities continued to revamp certain prisons to create 
``model'' facilities; they improved the aging physical plant of 
existing facilities, replaced the police and military administration 
with professionally trained corrections officers, and focused on 
rehabilitation of and vocational training for inmates. To support this 
effort, authorities established a training program for specialized 
corrections officers to ease the shortage of professionally trained 
prison personnel. As of September, authorities had converted nine 
prisons to the new model, and human rights organizations and the press 
reported improved conditions and respect for human rights at the 
renovated facilities. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 
(IACHR) special rapporteur on the rights of persons deprived of liberty 
visited the country in August, and subsequently the IACHR noted that 
opening new prisons had improved the situation of a significant number 
of prisoners.
    Despite improvements in the new prisons, unrest among the inmates 
at certain locations continued. On July 27, guards shot and wounded two 
inmates and injured several others during a riot and subsequent fire at 
Rafey-Men's prison. The detainees were protesting poor food quality, 
the infrequency of conjugal visits, and the uniforms required for 
inmates under the new prison model.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers and by the press, and such visits took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the Criminal Procedures 
Code prohibits detention without a warrant unless a suspect is 
apprehended in the act or in other limited circumstances, arbitrary 
arrest and detention continued to be problems. By law, authorities may 
detain a person without charges for up to 48 hours. There were numerous 
reports of individuals held and later released with little or no 
explanation for the detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police, 
the National Department of Investigations (DNI), the DNCD, the Airport 
Security Authority (CESA), Port Security Authority (CESEP), and the 
armed forces (army, air force, and navy) form the security forces. The 
Ministry of the Interior and Police is responsible for making policy 
decisions affecting the police force. The military's domestic 
responsibilities include maintaining public order and protecting 
persons and property. The military, CESA, and CESEP are under the 
secretary of the armed forces; the DNI and the DNCD, which have 
personnel both from the police and military, report directly to the 
President.
    In an effort to stem a rise in crime, in June the armed forces 
began providing troops to support the National Police in its nightly 
patrols of Santo Domingo, Santiago, and other areas of the country. The 
mixed-unit patrols prompted recruitment of 2,600 additional members of 
the armed forces. As of year's end, authorities had received no 
complaints of human rights abuses by these mixed-unit patrols.
    The National Police responded more transparently and effectively to 
allegations of police misconduct than in past years. In a change 
instituted by the new chief, formal reviews took place whenever a 
member of the police was involved in a death by shooting. The Internal 
Affairs Unit of the National Police conducted these inquiries, and the 
unit improved its ability to conduct fair and impartial investigations. 
Representatives from the public prosecutor's office provided assistance 
to and oversight of investigations, but police reported that their 
participation was not consistent. Allegations of criminal misconduct 
were forwarded to civilian criminal courts, which have full 
jurisdiction to prosecute offenders (see section 1.e.).
    The Internal Affairs Unit reported that its investigations had 
resulted in 628 findings of criminal misconduct against members of the 
National Police over the first 10 months of the year. Two-thirds of 
these cases involved physical aggression, death threats, improper use 
of a firearm, verbal aggression, muggings, or theft. These findings of 
misconduct represented a significant improvement over the impunity that 
existed in previous years.
    Authorities discharged police officers for violent attacks, 
extortion, drug use, and trafficking, and removed from duty all members 
of the DNCD unit in the town of Bonao due to multiple accusations of 
illicit activity. Significant problems of this nature remained, in part 
because of insufficient background checks of police recruits. Many 
persons with prior criminal records allegedly were incorporated into 
police ranks, either under false names or with identification or 
recommendations from other state institutions, such as the army. Many 
members of the police force lacked basic education, received inadequate 
training, and showed weak discipline, all factors that directly 
contributed to unlawful or unwarranted killings and to cruel or inhuman 
treatment (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
    On many occasions, police officials attempted to solicit bribes 
from individuals facing arrest or imposition of fines. Local human 
rights observers reported roundups of Haitian and Dominican-Haitian 
construction workers and other manual laborers. Officials allegedly 
took groups of darker-skinned or ``Haitian-looking'' individuals to 
empty buildings soon after they were paid to extort money from them.
    In a revised police curriculum, both new and existing officers 
received human and civil rights training as well as increased technical 
training. The Institute of Human Dignity, a branch of the National 
Police, held more than 100 courses, seminars, and conferences, which 
were attended by 2,774 members of the National Police, armed forces, 
and civilians. From January to September, more than 2,500 participants 
graduated from the police course on respect for human dignity.
    Training for military and DNCD enlisted personnel and officers 
included instruction on human rights. The Military Institute of Human 
Rights offered diploma courses in human rights and regularly sent 
representatives to border units to conduct mandatory human rights 
training. Approximately 7,000 participants from the military and civil 
society received training during the year.
    Systems for monitoring and sanctioning abuses of human rights 
improved somewhat during the year. In response to the public perception 
of police corruption, the National Police reinstituted a system to 
provide every police officer with visible identification.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution provides that an accused 
person may be detained for up to 48 hours before being presented to 
judicial authorities. It also provides for recourse to habeas corpus 
proceedings to request the release of those unlawfully held. Any 
prisoner detained for more than 48 hours without being formally charged 
is entitled to request a hearing of habeas corpus. The presiding judge 
at the habeas corpus hearing is empowered to order the prisoner's 
release when the prisoner has been detained for more than 48 hours 
without being formally charged or when there is insufficient proof of a 
crime to warrant further detention. The judge's decision to release a 
prisoner is subject to appeal by the district attorney.
    Despite the foregoing provisions, at times the police detained 
suspects for investigation or interrogation beyond the prescribed 48-
hour limit for detaining suspects without a warrant. Even so, 
successful habeas corpus hearings reduced these abuses significantly. 
Police often detained all suspects and witnesses in a crime and used 
the investigative process to determine the individuals who were 
innocent and merited release, and those whom they should continue to 
hold. Police occasionally detained relatives and friends of suspects in 
order to pressure suspects to surrender or to confess, but this 
practice diminished significantly after the Criminal Procedures Code 
came into force.
    Given the inefficiency of the courts (see section 1.e.), the 
granting of bail served as a de facto criminal justice system, and 
defendants awarded bail rarely faced an actual trial. Although few 
defendants were granted bail, bail became more common under the new 
code, which requires judicial review of detentions at an earlier point 
in a criminal case.
    Most detainees and prisoners unable to afford defense services did 
not have prompt access to a lawyer. The National Office of Public 
Defense, with foreign donor support, provided legal advice and 
representation to indigent persons, but resource constraints resulted 
in inadequate levels of staffing despite significant expansion of the 
public defender's office. The Government continued its program to train 
public defenders on relevant changes caused by implementation of the 
Criminal Procedures Code, giving an advantage to defendants who secured 
one of these attorneys. In addition, the Government implemented 
measures to improve the public defender program, including use of full-
time public defenders, and increased salaries approximately 300 
percent.
    Despite the police chief's representations to the contrary, police 
continued the practice of making sporadic sweeps or roundups in low-
income, high-crime communities, during which they arrested and detained 
individuals without warrants, allegedly to fight delinquency. During 
these sweeps, which increased following a crackdown on crime in June, 
police arrested large numbers of residents and seized property, 
including motorcycles, other vehicles, and weapons. Prosecutors often 
lacked the resources to investigate cases fully. Instead, prosecutors 
often depended on police reports, many of which were based on forced 
confessions.
    Many suspects endured long pretrial detention. Under the Criminal 
Procedures Code, the judge has authority to order a detainee to remain 
in police custody for a period between three months and one year. 
According to the Directorate of Prisons, average pretrial detention 
decreased but still typically was between three and six months. Time 
served in pretrial detention counted toward a sentence.
    Juveniles at the Department for Minors at the Villa Juana police 
station commonly were held well beyond the 12-hour limit for sending 
the case to the district attorney's office. The law prohibits 
interrogation of juveniles by the police or in the presence of police; 
prosecutors and judges handle interrogation.
    The failure of prison authorities to produce the accused for court 
hearings caused a significant percentage of trial postponements (see 
section 1.e.). Inmates often had their court dates postponed because 
they were not taken from the prison to court or because their lawyer or 
witnesses did not appear. Reports indicated that the Government lacked 
the funding to transport several defendants between prison and court. 
Despite additional protections for defendants in the Criminal 
Procedures Code, in some cases the authorities continued to hold 
inmates beyond the mandated deadlines even though there were no formal 
charges against them. In some instances, a defendant appeared before 
the judge on the scheduled trial date, but the trial could not go 
forward due to the absence of one or more co-defendants. The decision 
of the trial judge to postpone cases with multiple defendants 
prejudiced defendants who complied with the law by appearing as 
originally scheduled.
    The judiciary successfully implemented a number of measures to 
reduce the large backlog of criminal cases under the old Criminal 
Procedures Code, and the Supreme Court assigned special judges (Courts 
of Liquidation) dedicated solely to resolving them. On September 27, 
the court mandated dismissal (with leave to refile) of all ``old'' 
criminal cases that had not received final judgment.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, public and private entities continued to 
undermine judicial independence. The judiciary continued to receive 
training on the Criminal Procedures Code to help create and maintain 
professional standards, with the judges receiving on average more than 
70 hours of training. However, undue influence remained a problem.
    The judiciary includes a 16-member Supreme Court, appeals courts, 
courts of first instance, and justices of the peace. There are 
specialized courts that handle tax, labor, land, and juvenile matters. 
The Supreme Court is responsible for naming all lower court judges 
according to criteria defined by law. The Government established 17 of 
the 25 tribunals provided for by law and five courts of appeal for 
children and adolescents. The Code for Minors outlines the judicial 
system for criminal cases involving juveniles and family disputes.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for a presumption of innocence, 
the right of appeal, and the right to confront or question witnesses. 
The law establishes a citizen's right not to be deprived of liberty 
without trial or legal formalities or for reasons other than those 
provided by law, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to 
a defense in an impartial and public trial. Defendants have the right 
to remain silent. Although authorities violated these rights in some 
cases, adherence to due process generally improved after enactment of 
the Criminal Procedures Code.
    The new code replaced the inquisitorial model with one that 
emphasizes respect for human rights, offers more expeditious judgments, 
includes anticorruption measures and means for alternative conflict 
resolution, and ensures due process for both defendant and victim. The 
new code grants all prisoners the right to have their attorneys present 
while they are being questioned, which was not previously the case for 
those arrested on narcotics charges. Defendants in cases processed 
under the new code appear to have received greater legal protection 
than their predecessors previously received.
    Because of the additional protections for defendants under the new 
code, some commentators attributed the increase in crime during the 
year to the ability of defendants to obtain bail or to have their cases 
dismissed on ``technicalities.'' Some police officials and other public 
officials asserted that the safeguards contained in the code were 
responsible for the rise in crime. A recent study undertaken by the 
Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice appeared to offset that 
argument, showing evidence that the success rate for reaching final 
judgments in criminal trials was higher under the new code than under 
the previous system.
    During the year the Public Ministry began implementing a law 
designed to create a civil service career track for prosecutors. It 
hired 100 new career prosecutors and trained and certified them along 
with an additional 27 current prosecutors. Although a large majority of 
current prosecutors did not have career status, the National School of 
the Public Ministry provided continuing training to prosecutors on the 
new Criminal Procedures Code and established criteria to convert 
prosecutors from political appointee to career status. Judges and 
public defenders received similar training in prior years.
    Although military and police tribunals previously exercised 
exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving members of the security 
forces, cases of killings allegedly committed during the year by 
members of the security forces were remanded to civilian criminal 
courts (see section 1.a.).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are separate court 
systems for claims under criminal law, commercial and civil law, and 
labor law. Commercial, civil, and labor courts reportedly suffered 
lengthy delays in adjudicating cases, although their decisions were 
generally enforced. As in criminal courts, undue political or economic 
influence in civil court decisions remained a problem.
    Citizens had recourse to the remedy of amparo, an action to seek 
redress of any violation of a constitutional right, including 
violations by judicial officials. However, this remedy was rarely used, 
except by those with sophisticated legal counsel.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary entrance into a private 
residence, except when police are in hot pursuit of a suspect or when a 
suspect is caught in the act of committing a crime. The law provides 
that all other entrances into a private residence require an arrest 
warrant or search warrant issued by a judge. Despite the law, the 
police conducted illegal searches and seizures, including raids without 
warrants on private residences in many poor Santo Domingo 
neighborhoods.
    Although the Government denied using unauthorized wiretapping and 
other surreptitious methods to interfere with the private lives of 
individuals and families, human rights groups alleged such interference 
continued. There was an active illegal private wiretapping industry.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. Individuals or groups generally were able to 
criticize the Government publicly and privately without reprisal.
    Newspapers and magazines presented a variety of opinions and 
criticisms. There were eight daily newspapers, a number of weekly 
newspapers, and numerous online news outlets. Editors at times 
practiced self-censorship, particularly when coverage could adversely 
affect the economic or political interests of media owners. This 
tendency was particularly pronounced in reporting on the trials ensuing 
after the major 2003 bank frauds, since banks and banking families 
owned prominent newspapers.
    In late November the news corporation Color Vision fired popular 
journalist Adolfo Salomon from his job in response to complaints by 
high-level officials in the Catholic Church and the armed forces. 
Salomon had angered the church during a November 28 news conference at 
which Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez criticized 
homosexuality. After the cardinal's remarks, Salomon asked him about 
his feelings on homosexuality within the church. Lopez Rodriguez 
responded aggressively, questioning Salomon's ethics and 
professionalism. Secretary of the Armed Forces Ramon Aquino, reportedly 
with the help of the cardinal, then personally contacted Color Vision 
to demand that Salomon be reprimanded. His employer complied by firing 
him the next day.
    There were many privately owned radio and television stations, 
broadcasting a wide spectrum of political views. The Government 
controlled one television station. International media were allowed to 
operate freely.
    There were occasional reports of harassment of journalists. During 
the first nine months of the year, the National Journalists' Union 
recorded three killings and 19 other instances of assault or harassment 
of journalists in the country, although most of these appeared random 
or unrelated to the victims' professions. An August attempted killing 
targeted Arelis Pena Brito, deputy editor-in-chief of El Caribe 
newspaper, while she was driving home with her family. The motive for 
the attack was not known, and the assailant, who fired multiple gunshot 
rounds from a motorcycle while driving alongside the family's vehicle, 
was not apprehended.
    On August 15, head bodyguard Mateo Vazquez of the first lady's 
security detail reportedly roughed up Clave Digital photographer 
Orlando Ramos as Ramos tried to photograph her during a cultural event. 
Police held the photographer in custody overnight even though he had 
broken no laws.
    The Press Freedom Committee of the Inter-American Press Association 
publicly complained in March of the ``sluggish and ineffective'' 
response of justice officials to calls to apprehend and prosecute those 
suspected of crimes against journalists. Subsequently, arrests were 
made in the unrelated 2004 cases of the murder in Azua of radio 
journalist Juan Andujar and the attempted shooting in Santo Domingo of 
broadcast journalist Euri Cabral. At least one of the victims allegedly 
was targeted due to independent reporting that linked corrupt officials 
and gang leaders to criminal acts.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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, but outdoor public 
marches and meetings require permits, which the Government usually 
granted. On some occasions, when police officers used force to break up 
spontaneous demonstrations, they caused injuries to demonstrators or 
bystanders.
    In April police injured 18 demonstrators in Barahona who were 
protesting the presence of a foreign military humanitarian mission. 
According to press reports, police fired on the gathering without 
warning or apparent provocation as it was commencing.
    In August university students announced a protest event in the 
colonial zone in Santo Domingo, but failed to obtain permission from 
the district administrators; police barred the event and briefly 
detained one of the organizers. The event was held at a different site 
one month later without controversy.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice. The law 
prohibits discrimination on religious grounds, and many religions and 
denominations were active.
    The Catholic Church enjoyed special privileges not extended to 
other religions, under the terms of a concordat. For example the 
cardinal has the rank of a military general officer, and there is a 
Catholic chapel at the Presidential palace. The Catholic Church also 
received public funding to cover some church expenses such as 
rehabilitation of church facilities.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Relations among various 
religious congregations were harmonious, and society was generally 
tolerant with respect to religious matters.
    The Jewish community was very small, and there were no reports of 
anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--Although the law provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected these provisions in 
practice, there were some exceptions. Local and international human 
rights groups charged that there was discrimination against Haitian 
migrants and that they were subject to arbitrary and unjustified action 
by the authorities (see sections 5 and 6).
    The Government refuses to recognize the citizenship of Dominican-
born children of parents who are not legal residents and does not grant 
identity documents to them, a policy that most commonly affected 
persons of Haitian descent. There were hundreds of thousands of persons 
who lacked citizenship or identity documents and faced obstacles in 
traveling both within and outside of the country (see section 5).
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its 
use.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. This protection generally applied to individuals who 
gained access to the refugee process and had been issued proof that 
they were refugees or had applications pending. However, the Government 
did not apply standards agreed upon with the office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to improve receipt and adjudication 
of refugee claims. The UNHCR withdrew its personnel from Santo Domingo 
in July 2005 and subsequently monitored migration and refugee issues 
from a regional office outside the country.
    An applicant for refugee status must be referred by the National 
Office of Refugees in the Migration Directorate to the Technical 
Subcommittee of the National Commission for Refugees, which is chaired 
by the Foreign Ministry. The subcommittee has the responsibility of 
making a recommendation to the commission, made up of members from the 
Foreign Ministry, the DNI, and the Migration Directorate. The full 
commission has responsibility for the final decision on the 
application. The commission includes the three members of the 
subcommittee, the legal advisor to the President, and members from the 
National Police, the Ministry of Labor, and the Attorney General's 
office.
    In August authorities detained Haitian citizen Michelove Jean 
Francois en route to Ecuador while she was attempting to transit 
legally in Santo Domingo's airport. She was traveling under auspices of 
a UNHCR-sponsored family reunification procedure. Immigration 
inspectors incorrectly presumed that her valid Ecuadorian visa was 
fraudulent and confined her with 17 men identified for deportation to 
Haiti. According to Francois and the NGO that assisted her, during her 
24-hour-long confinement she was denied both food and water. UNHCR and 
the NGO supporting the family reunification procedure requested her 
release and were eventually able to facilitate her travel to Ecuador.
    As of October the Migration Directorate reported more than 300 
applications, nearly all made by Haitians. Some of these cases had been 
awaiting decision since 2000. In 2005 the National Commission for 
Refugees reviewed and granted asylum in five cases, three of which were 
submitted by members of the same family. That was the committee's first 
meeting in 10 years. According to the Jesuit Refugee Service, an NGO, 
thousands of other asylum seekers submitted claims that had not been 
processed, leaving those individuals in a state of legal limbo. Most of 
these individuals lacked documentation sufficient to obtain permission 
to work legally and to exercise other rights, such as obtaining 
documentation for their children.
    In June the Committee of Political Refugees Unified for Their 
Rights sent a letter to the UNHCR highlighting the problems facing 
Haitian asylum seekers and requesting that a permanent UNHCR 
representative be stationed in the country. The committee reported that 
Haitian refugees applying to renew valid residence documents were 
sometimes deported when immigration officials were unable to locate 
their records in the Government's inaccurate database.
    The 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees provides 
that children born to refugees also be entitled to refugee status. 
There were reports that children born to Haitian refugees--even those 
born to holders of migration documents--were routinely denied birth 
certificates as well as education, health, and security documentation 
(see section 5). In this respect they received the same treatment as 
any undocumented Haitian migrant.
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 nearly 
universal suffrage. Active-duty police and military personnel may not 
vote or participate in partisan political activity.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2004 PLD candidate 
Leonel Fernandez won the presidency in an election described as 
generally free and fair by the Organization of American States, the 
National Democratic Institute, and the International Foundation for 
Electoral Systems, as well as by the Government electoral board and the 
NGO Citizen Participation. In May observers described the congressional 
and municipal elections as generally free and fair.
    By law parties must reserve for women 33 percent of positions on 
their lists of candidates for the national House of Representatives and 
city councils; in practice the parties often placed women so low on the 
lists as to make their election difficult or impossible. Women held 
three cabinet posts in the Fernandez administration. There were two 
women in the 32-member Senate, 33 women in the 178-member House of 
Representatives, and five women on the 16-seat Supreme Court.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The NGO Transparency 
International and others reported that perceptions of severe corruption 
persisted, even as government officials worked on bringing to trial a 
series of high-profile private and public sector corruption cases, the 
latter largely involving officials from the administration of former 
President Mejia. The use of nonjudicial sanctions (e.g., dismissal, 
transfer) against armed service members, police officers, and other 
minor governmental officials engaged in bribe taking and other corrupt 
behavior provided insufficient incentive to check pervasive petty 
corruption.
    Complicating this problem was a widespread attitude of tolerance 
towards at least some forms of corruption in society. In December 
results of a poll conducted by the Pontifical Catholic University 
showed that 82 percent of survey participants found corruption to be at 
least somewhat tolerable. More than 67 percent of respondents reported 
that they would suggest to their friends or family payment of a bribe 
in order to expedite an administrative process.
    Government officials who took action against corruption were 
threatened. The chief safety inspector of the Aviation Authority, Angel 
Cristopher Martinez, was shot to death, probably by criminal elements, 
in response to his refusal to countenance operation of aircraft that he 
considered unfit or unauthorized to fly. In the months before his 
killing, narcotics smugglers reportedly approached Martinez, offered 
him bribes, and made threats in an effort to persuade him to look the 
other way.
    A Presidential commission for ethics and against corruption 
continued to function, although its work was not well defined or well 
known by the general public. The office of the inspector general of the 
judiciary, headed by the President of the Supreme Court, publicized 
procedures for citizens to initiate complaints by telephone or the 
Internet. That office terminated several lower-ranking judges for 
improprieties.
    In February President Fernandez issued a temporary decree, which 
entered force on June 1, designed to increase transparency in 
contracting, bidding, and procurement for public works. Despite 
numerous limitations and escape clauses, civil society commentators 
called the decree ``a step in the direction of better controlling the 
mechanisms of governmental corruption.'' The decree remained in effect 
until August 18, when it was supplanted by legislation addressing these 
issues.
    Judicial proceedings in three major bank fraud cases moved forward, 
although doubts about the pace of progress remained. In February a 
three-judge review panel voted two to one to uphold five criminal 
indictments related to the 2003 collapse of Banco Intercontinental 
(Baninter). Civil society commentators considered the trial, which 
began in May, to be a major challenge to impunity; two of the principal 
defendants, Baninter former President Ramon Baez Figueroa and economist 
Luis Alvarez Renta, reportedly had strong ties within local political 
circles. In August a judge delivered a guilty verdict against the 
principal defendant in the 2003 collapse of Bancredito. An additional 
case regarding the fraudulent 2003 collapse of Banco Mercantil was in 
preliminary stages at year's end.
    In September an appeals court upheld fraud and embezzlement 
convictions for 10 defendants involved in a Mejia-era transportation 
modernization program known as Plan Renove. The trial court originally 
found that a number of former government and private sector 
transportation officials defrauded the Government of approximately $60 
million (1.8 billion pesos) through bribes, bidding irregularities, and 
outright graft in the purchase of replacement vehicles for the 
country's aging transport fleet.
    The law provides for public access to government information, with 
limits on the availability of public information only under specified 
circumstances (such as to protect national security), and penalties of 
up to six months to two years in prison and a five-year ban from 
positions of public trust for government officials who obstruct access 
to public information. A court may review the decision of an agency to 
deny access to information. On November 29, Senator Francisco Dominguez 
Brito, a former attorney general, publicly declared that the access to 
information legislation was ineffective because it was under-used by 
the citizenry.
Section 4. 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.
    Principal local groups included the Dominican Human Rights 
Committee, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Santo Domingo 
Institute of Human Rights. There were also several smaller 
organizations, both secular and religious, that addressed among other 
things women's rights, labor issues, and the rights of Haitians.
    The Government has not implemented a 2001 law mandating the 
creation of a human rights ombudsman's office with authority over 
public sector problems involving human rights, the environment, women's 
issues, youth issues, and consumer protection.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race and gender, 
such discrimination existed, and the Government seldom acknowledged its 
existence or made efforts to combat it.

    Women.--Domestic violence continued to be a serious problem. Under 
the Law against Domestic Violence, the state can prosecute rape, 
incest, sexual aggression, and other forms of domestic violence. 
Penalties for these crimes range from one to 30 years in prison and 
fines from approximately $20 to $7,000 (600 to 210,000 pesos). A local 
NGO estimated that 24 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 
had been victims of physical abuse.
    In the National District, which includes a large section of Santo 
Domingo with approximately 10 percent of the country's population, the 
public prosecutor's office created a specialized Violence Prevention 
and Attention Unit and 13 satellite offices around the city, where 
victims of violence could file criminal complaints, obtain free legal 
counsel and receive psychological and medical attention. Police were 
instructed to forward all domestic violence and sexual assault cases to 
these offices. Each office had professional psychologists on staff to 
counsel victims of violence and to assess the threat of impending 
danger associated with a complaint. Since July these offices had the 
authority to issue temporary restraining orders immediately after 
receiving complaints.
    Also in the National District, in November authorities created a 
special police unit to respond to complaints of domestic violence and 
to enforce court orders in favor of battered women and children.
    During the year the Violence Prevention and Attention Unit received 
10,281 domestic violence complaints in the National District. This 
number appeared to be growing: the second half of the year saw nearly 
30 percent more complaints than were submitted in the first six months, 
which may have reflected a growing awareness of the resources available 
to victims.
    The number of restraining orders these offices issued gradually 
increased after July, and in the month of December, of the 922 domestic 
violence and sexual assault complaints received, 30 percent prompted 
restraining orders or orders for preventive arrest. Victim assistance 
specialists in the National District reported satisfaction with the 
cooperation they received from local law enforcement authorities, 
especially after the creation of the specialized police unit in 
November.
    However, these resources were available only to those living in the 
National District. Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in 
other parts of the country continued to suffer from a lack of resources 
for victims and insufficient funding for police, investigators, and 
prosecutors. Even so, the National District had a reputation for being 
a laboratory for country-wide changes, and officials from the Violence 
Prevention and Attention Unit said that plans were being devised to 
extend its programs to other parts of the country.
    The National Directorate for Assistance to Victims, created in 
2005, coordinates efforts of official and nongovernmental institutions 
that offer services to victims of violence. It opened three offices in 
Santo Domingo and another three at locations around the country. These 
offices not only accepted criminal complaints from victims of violence 
throughout the country but also provided counseling and protection 
services and, when necessary, referrals to medical or psychological 
specialists.
    The Attorney General's office and the Secretariat of Women, as well 
as various NGOs, conducted outreach and training programs on domestic 
violence and legal rights. In its October session, the IACHR held a 
hearing on the situation of violence against women in the country.
    The NGO Piedra Blanca operated a shelter for battered women, and 
the Secretariat of Women supported operation of a center for victims of 
domestic violence in Bani, where victims of abuse could make a report 
to the police and receive counseling.
    Rape was a serious and widely underreported problem. The penalties 
for committing rape are 10 to 15 years in prison (or 10 to 20 years in 
case of rape against a vulnerable person or under other egregious 
circumstances) and a fine of approximately $3,300 to $6,600 (100,000 to 
200,000 pesos). The state may prosecute a suspect for rape even if the 
victim does not file charges, and rape victims may press charges 
against a spouse. Victims often did not report cases of rape because of 
fear of social stigma, as well as the perception that the police and 
the judiciary would fail to provide redress; however, this appeared to 
be changing, at least in the National District. In other parts of the 
country, police were reluctant to handle rape cases and often 
encouraged victims to seek assistance from NGOs.
    Prostitution is legal, although there are some prohibitions against 
sex with minors, and it is illegal for a third party to derive 
financial gain from prostitution. However, the Government usually did 
not enforce prostitution laws. Sex tourism remained a serious problem, 
particularly in Las Terrenas, Sosua, and Boca Chica. Human rights 
groups reported continuing prostitution in sugarcane work camps and 
areas outside the capital. NGOs conducted programs on prostitution and 
child sexual exploitation for hotel and industrial zone workers, male 
and female prostitutes, and other high-risk groups. Trafficking in 
women and children was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, which was a 
misdemeanor and carried a possible penalty of one year in prison and a 
fine of up to $333 (10,000 pesos); however, union leaders reported that 
the law was not enforced, and sexual harassment was a problem.
    Although the law provides that women have the same legal status as 
men, in practice women experienced discrimination. Traditionally, women 
did not enjoy social and economic status or opportunity equal to those 
of men, and men held most leadership positions in all sectors. In many 
instances women were paid less than men in jobs of equal content and 
requiring equal skills. Some employers reportedly gave pregnancy tests 
to women before hiring them, as part of a required medical examination. 
Union leaders reported that pregnant women often were not hired and 
that female employees who became pregnant sometimes were fired. There 
were no effective government programs to combat economic discrimination 
against women.

    Children.--The Government declared its commitment to children's 
rights and welfare and tried to increase protection for children, with 
emphasis on eliminating child labor. The Code for Minors established 
the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) as a 
noncabinet public agency to coordinate public policy to protect 
children's human rights and to administer the code. While the law 
stipulates that CONANI is to receive at least 2 percent of the national 
budget and that a minimum of 5 percent of municipal government budgets 
must be devoted to projects to benefit children, this requirement was 
not met.
    Education is free, universal, and compulsory for all minors through 
the eighth grade, but legal mechanisms provide only for primary 
schooling, which was interpreted as extending through the fourth grade. 
Although the Ministry of Education reported a 97 percent enrollment 
rate in grades one through eight in 2004, a government study estimated 
that the average grade level achieved by children in public schools was 
the fifth grade in rural areas and the sixth grade in urban areas. Many 
children of Haitian descent and children of undocumented citizens 
experienced difficulties gaining acceptance to school due to their lack 
of documentation and irregular status (see section 5, National/Racial/
Ethnic Minorities).
    Several government programs provided medical care for children in 
public hospitals, but these programs, as well as all other medical 
programs, faced severe budget limitations.
    Abuse of children, including physical, sexual, and psychological 
abuse, was a serious problem. Of the 10,281 domestic violence and 
sexual assault complaints filed during the year in the National 
District, nearly a quarter (2,434) involved allegations of child abuse. 
CONANI asserted that three of every 10 children in Santo Domingo had 
been sexually abused. Few such cases reached the courts, due to fear of 
family embarrassment, lack of economic resources, or lack of knowledge 
regarding available legal assistance. The Santo Domingo district 
attorney's office reported that in 85 percent of abuse cases, the 
accused was a person close to the child, such as a family member or 
close family friend. The law provides for removal of a mistreated child 
to a protective environment.
    Local monitors believed that instances of child abuse were 
underreported because of the social norm that such problems should be 
dealt with inside the family. The law contains provisions concerning 
child abuse, including physical and emotional mistreatment, sexual 
exploitation, and child labor (see sections 5, Trafficking, and 6.d.). 
The law provides penalties of between two and five years' incarceration 
and a fine of three to five times the monthly minimum wage for persons 
found guilty of abuse of a minor. The penalty is doubled if the abuse 
is related to trafficking.
    The Government's National Directorate for Assistance to Victims 
coordinated efforts of official and nongovernmental organizations to 
assist children who were victims of violence and abuse.
    Trafficking and sexual exploitation of children within the country 
were problems, particularly in popular tourist destinations (see 
section 5, Trafficking). Adolescent girls and boys from poor families 
sometimes were enticed into performing sexual acts by the promise of 
food or clothing.
    In July authorities filed charges against Ernesto Lisandro Santos 
Disla, accused of operating a child pornography network over the 
Internet from San Francisco de Macoris. In September police in Santo 
Domingo raided a number of Internet cafes in search of child 
pornography. At the request of the Attorney General, police continued 
to close bars, nightclubs, and ``massage parlors'' used for child 
prostitution and sexual exploitation of women.
    Child labor was a serious problem in the informal sector of the 
economy (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, there were reports that men, women, and children were 
trafficked to, from, and within the country.
    The law includes penalties for traffickers of 15 to 20 years' 
imprisonment and a fine of up to 175 times the monthly minimum wage. 
The Code for Minors provides penalties for sexual abuse of children of 
20 to 30 years' imprisonment and fines from 100 to 150 times the 
minimum wage.
    The Attorney General's antitrafficking unit coordinated the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases. Units at the 
National Police, the Migration Directorate, and the Attorney General's 
office targeted trafficking in persons, as did the interagency 
Committee for the Protection of Migrant Women. The Migration 
Directorate's antitrafficking department coordinated with the Attorney 
General's office and the National Police to find and prosecute persons 
dedicated to trafficking women for prostitution and commercial sexual 
exploitation.
    International groups estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 
Dominican women worked in prostitution around the world, a substantial 
portion of whom were victims of trafficking. Principal destination 
countries were in Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America, and 
included Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Germany, 
Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Spain, St. Maarten, and 
Switzerland. Traffickers in the Caribbean maintained and in some cases 
strengthened their networks. Women 18 to 25 years of age were at the 
greatest risk of being trafficked. Many victims were uneducated single 
mothers desperate to improve the living conditions of their children.
    On November 10, authorities rescued six trafficked Venezuelans in 
the Hotel Kay in Santo Domingo. The victims alleged that they had been 
contracted under false pretenses but upon arrival were confined in the 
hotel and forced to prostitute themselves. Authorities arrested and 
confined in preventive custody two individuals in connection with the 
case.
    There were conflicting reports that sugarcane plantations around 
the country had ceased the practice of transporting new undocumented 
workers from Haiti. Such workers traditionally played a crucial role in 
the sugar industry, but they were forced to live in conditions that 
were described as modern-day slavery (see section 6.e.). The apparent 
discontinuation of this practice was attributed to government 
crackdowns on Haitian immigration, investment by private sugar 
producers in mechanization, and the cessation of large-scale cane 
harvesting on government-owned plantations. However, at year's end 
there were allegations that some employers, specifically the Vicini 
Corporation, had resumed the practice of importing undocumented workers 
for the sugar fields.
    NGOs estimated that there were hundreds of alien smuggling and 
trafficking rings operating within the country. According to the NGO 
Center for Integral Orientation and Investigation (COIN) and the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM), trafficking 
organizations were typically small groups. Individuals in the country 
recruited the persons to be trafficked and obtained identification and 
travel documents. Traffickers frequently met women through friends and 
family; they promised some form of employment, obtained false or 
legitimate documents for the women, and often retained their passports 
after arrival in the destination country. Trafficking organizations 
reportedly received $5,000 to $8,000 (150,000 to 240,000 pesos) for 
trafficking a woman for purposes of prostitution.
    Some elements within the tourist industry facilitated the sexual 
exploitation of children. Particular problem areas were Boca Chica, Las 
Terrenas, and Sosua.
    The Government made some efforts to investigate, fire, and 
prosecute public officials who facilitated, condoned, or were complicit 
in trafficking activities or migrant smuggling. In June the Attorney 
General suspended and later fired Maria Asuncion Santos, district 
attorney for San Cristobal. The dismissal took place after one of her 
subordinates was accused of involvement in a trafficking scheme that 
lured citizens with false offers of employment in Spain.
    At year's end 29 public officials, including a city mayor and an 
assistant director of immigration, were in prison on charges of 
conspiring to falsify official travel documents in order to smuggle 
large numbers of persons (mostly women) to several European countries. 
Authorities accused the officials, from a variety of government 
agencies, of involvement in a trafficking network that accumulated 
nearly $1.5 million (45 million pesos) over six months. The first 
arrests were made in September 2005, but as further investigations 
revealed more extensive involvement, arrests continued to be made 
throughout the year.
    In August authorities fired police Major Rafael Elpidio Fernandez 
Garcia from his job and placed him and his wife in preventive detention 
on trafficking charges. The suspects were accused of operating a 
trafficking network between the country and Spain.
    In other cases, government prosecutors appeared reluctant to pursue 
criminal charges against public officials involved in trafficking. On 
June 23, Colonel Juan Reyes Santana of the La Caleta firefighters was 
arrested on suspicion of involvement in alien smuggling. According to 
witness testimony, Reyes Santana collected $3,000 (90,000 pesos) each 
from eight individuals in exchange for fraudulently securing them visas 
to travel under the auspices of a firefighter training program. 
Although authorities fired Reyes Santana from his job, as of year's end 
they had declined to pursue criminal charges against him.
    Human rights organizations alleged the involvement of some 
diplomatic missions in organized trafficking operations. In August the 
Haitian government launched an investigation into allegations that its 
consulate in Barahona was linked to a network smuggling Chinese 
nationals. Consulate supervisor Pierre Laud Lagrenade was suspended 
from his duties, convicted in Haiti on charges of trafficking, and 
sentenced to 15 months in prison.
    NGOs alleged corruption among the military and migration officials 
stationed at border posts and noted that these officials sometimes 
facilitated the illegal transit of Haitian workers into the country. 
There were also elements within the Migration Directorate and the 
National Police that organized or facilitated the smuggling of aliens 
through the international airports.
    In January, 25 Haitian citizens died from asphyxiation in the back 
of a truck while being smuggled from Haiti to Santiago. An 
investigation by the public prosecutor resulted in criminal indictments 
against 10 civilians and seven military officials accused of accepting 
bribes in exchange for looking the other way.
    Within the Attorney General's office, the Department of Alien 
Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons secured further convictions 
against human smugglers and traffickers. According to the IOM, there 
were 11 convictions for trafficking-related offenses in the first 11 
months of the year. The May conviction of Wilson Charles on charges of 
trafficking in persons and child sexual exploitation resulted in a 
sentence of 15 years in prison.
    Authorities arrested five suspects on trafficking charges related 
to a case in July involving 11 women promised work in Spain but 
defrauded of their possessions and left abandoned in Italy, Turkey, and 
Peru. The suspects remained in preventive detention in Najayo Prison 
and awaited trial at year's end.
    Since 2004 the Venezuelan embassy received multiple complaints from 
trafficked Venezuelans victimized by a Dominican-Venezuelan company 
named Literatura Universal. The embassy repeatedly communicated its 
concerns about the problem to the foreign ministry and others, but as 
of year's end it had not received a satisfactory response. The company 
remained in operation and reportedly continued to traffic Venezuelans.
    Some cases, especially those perceived to involve politically well-
connected suspects, continued to languish. A series of delays and 
postponements plagued an early 2005 case against a group of Colombian 
and Dominican traffickers, one of whom was a former leader of the 
Dominican Communist Party and another of whom was a former employee of 
Literatura Universal. After a series of delays, the accused were found 
guilty in February of operating a criminal network that trafficked 
young Colombian girls into the country to work as prostitutes. The 
accused were allowed to go free pending sentencing hearings, which were 
repeatedly postponed due to the failure of the accused to appear in 
court. The convicted traffickers remained free at year's end.
    The Government provided some assistance to trafficking victims both 
overseas and in the country. The Secretariat of Foreign Affairs 
developed a worldwide network of consular officers trained to recognize 
and assist victims of trafficking. The Government continued working 
with NGOs to develop job-training programs for returned women. When 
trafficked individuals were repatriated from abroad, they were given a 
control record that went into their official police record and were 
interviewed by a migration inspector. According to COIN, most victims 
were too embarrassed or frightened to seek legal action against 
traffickers, and victims received limited or no psychological 
counseling. COIN worked to develop relationships with embassies and 
consulates that serve trafficked victims and with other NGOs in 
destination countries that serve similar populations. There were 
several church-run shelters that provided refuge to children who 
escaped prostitution.
    The Prevention Unit of the Department of Alien Smuggling and 
Trafficking in Persons, in coordination with the Secretariats of Labor 
and Education, conducted outreach training at schools around the 
country. The courses warned children of the dangers of alien smuggling, 
commercial sexual exploitation, and trafficking and were given to an 
estimated 2,130 adolescents during the first eight months of the year.
    COIN and the IOM counseled women planning to accept job offers in 
Europe and the eastern Caribbean about immigration, health, and other 
problems, including the dangers of trafficking, forced prostitution, 
and forced domestic servitude. COIN administered the Center for Health 
and Migration Information for Migrant Women, which carried out 
community education campaigns in high-risk areas on these issues, as 
well as citizenship documentation and legal work requirements. With IOM 
support, COIN also provided a minimal level of clinical services and 
adult education classes for returned women.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, these individuals 
encountered discrimination in employment and in obtaining other 
services. The law provides for physical access for persons with 
disabilities to all new public and private buildings, but the 
authorities did not enforce this law. The Dominican Association for 
Rehabilitation, which had 17 branches around the country, received a 
subsidy from the Ministry of Public Health to provide rehabilitation 
assistance to persons with disabilities.
    Discrimination against persons with mental illness was common, and 
there were few resources dedicated to the mentally ill.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There was significant racial 
prejudice against persons of dark complexion, and the Government did 
little to address the problem. Acts of discrimination were common, 
ranging from the petty to the more serious. In particular there were 
strong prejudices against Haitians, which disadvantaged many Haitians 
and Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, as well as other foreigners of dark 
complexion (see section 1.d.). Few government officials acknowledged 
the existence of this discrimination; others regularly and publicly 
denied that it existed.
    Darker-skinned persons sometimes reported being denied entry into 
stores, nightclubs, and restaurants. In September a private security 
officer shot and killed 22-year-old student Alexandra Nunez Rodriguez 
at a popular Santo Domingo nightclub. The guard's employer catered to 
upper-class youth and was known periodically to deny entry to 
individuals of darker complexion. According to witness accounts, the 
victim, who was unarmed, was shot when the security officer's refusal 
of admission to her darker-skinned friend escalated into a heated 
argument. Authorities immediately launched an investigation and 
temporarily closed the club. At year's end they held the guard in 
preventive detention pending his trial but allowed the club to reopen 
in December.
    Haitians continued to immigrate to the country in search of 
economic opportunity, and many of them were repatriated. Migration 
authorities and security forces conducted periodic sweeps throughout 
the year to locate and repatriate undocumented persons of Haitian 
descent, more than 26,000 of whom were deported during the year. This 
figure was 20 percent greater than in 2005, despite President 
Fernandez's mid-2005 promise to suspend so-called mass repatriations. 
Some of those removed from the country reported that they were denied 
the opportunity to demonstrate that they were legal residents, to make 
arrangements for their families or property, or to express a credible 
fear of persecution or torture if returned to Haiti. Migration 
officials and security forces sometimes confiscated and destroyed 
expellees' residency documents. In some cases expellees with 
appropriate legal documents received permission to return.
    Efforts by the authorities to stem the influx of illegal Haitian 
immigrants made life more difficult for Haitians who were legally in 
the country. Police regulations permit the confiscation of vehicles 
offering transportation to illegal immigrants, a factor discouraging 
taxi and bus drivers from picking up darker-skinned persons. In 
roundups aimed at illegal immigrants, the authorities picked up and 
expelled darker Dominicans as well as Haitians legally resident (see 
section 1.d.).
    The constitution provides that anyone born in the country is a 
citizen, except those in transit or children born to diplomats. 
Children born of Haitian parents in the country were regularly denied 
registration as citizens under the transit exception, even when their 
parents had resided in the country for long periods of time. In 
November 2005 the Supreme Court ruled that ``in transit'' status 
applied to children of undocumented migrants.
    Haitian consulates reported that they were legally authorized to 
register only those births that were declared within a year. Parents 
declaring a birth were required to submit valid forms of identification 
in order to file a claim. These requirements could not be met by a 
significant number of Haitian descendents in the country, and thus 
their children remained undocumented.
    Government officials often took strong measures related to the 
sensitive issue of citizenship for persons of Haitian descent. Some 
provincial officials took steps to cancel birth certificates issued to 
persons of Haitian descent. The Government stated that these 
cancellations were made based on evidence the certificates had been 
obtained fraudulently, but critics alleged that the revocations 
arbitrarily targeted persons whose names sounded Haitian. In November 
the foreign minister published a diplomatic note to a foreign 
ambassador sharply attacking alleged comments by the ambassador in 
favor of granting citizenship to the locally born children of Haitians 
who lacked residency. In fact, the ambassador's public comments had 
clearly been directed at the general problem that all children born of 
foreigners without residency face: the lack of a legal means to 
register birth, a key step in establishing identity (although not 
necessarily citizenship).
    In September 2005 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found 
that the Government had violated the right to nationality of two young 
Dominican girls of Haitian descent by denying them birth certificates. 
A December 2005 press release quoted the foreign minister as saying 
that even though the verdict against the country was unjust, the 
country would pay as instructed by the court. The foreign minister 
reaffirmed this in June. Despite these assurances, the Government 
failed to comply with the ruling's provisions within the timeframe 
ordered by the court.
    At year's end there were some indications that the Government was 
working to develop a system to issue birth certificates to the children 
of nonresidents, a central component of the court's ruling. This 
registration process would not confer nationality but would assist the 
Government in meeting its legal obligation to register all children 
born in the country.
    Although a legal ordinance allows undocumented children to attend 
school through the fifth grade, some school administrators denied 
undocumented children access to school, particularly those who appeared 
to be of Haitian ancestry. NGOs reported that undocumented Haitian 
children were prevented from enrolling in school to a greater degree 
than were similarly undocumented Dominican children.
    When permitted to attend primary school, the children of poor 
Haitian parents, like poor Dominican children in the same 
circumstances, rarely progressed beyond the sixth grade.
    The IOM estimated that approximately 650,000 Haitian immigrants--or 
7.5 percent of the country's population--lived in shantytowns or 
sugarcane work camps known as bateyes, harsh environments with limited 
or no electricity, usually no running water, and no adequate schooling. 
Many of these settlements were associated with sugar mills that had 
been abandoned. Although some Haitians were brought to the country 
specifically to work in sugarcane fields, many had no documentation. 
Human rights NGOs, the Catholic Church, and activists described Haitian 
living conditions in bateyes as modern-day slavery. In many bateyes, as 
in many poor areas in other parts of the country, medical assistance 
either was rudimentary or not readily available. Housing in the bateyes 
was poor; many individuals slept in barracks on iron beds without 
mattresses or on dirt floors. Many families of five or more shared 
living quarters that measured as little as nine by 10 feet. Bathroom 
facilities, where available, were generally unhygienic, and cooking 
facilities were usually improvised. The availability of fresh food, 
including fruits and vegetables, was severely limited. Clean water was 
rarely available. Many batey residents, lacking documentation, felt 
they had little choice but to remain in their communities, where they 
felt relatively safe from the risks of deportation and harassment that 
existed elsewhere in the country.
    Private sector enterprises in the sugar sector, including the 
Vicini Corporation, made improvements at some facilities during the 
year.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS, 
particularly women, faced discrimination in the workplace and 
elsewhere. An estimated 80,000 to 222,000 persons in the country were 
infected with the disease. According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty 
International, workers in many industries faced obligatory HIV testing 
in the workplace or when seeking medical care or medical insurance. 
Workers or patients found to have the disease could be fired from their 
jobs or denied adequate health care. Although the law prohibits the use 
of HIV testing to screen employees or for medical services unrelated to 
the disease, there were no known instances where this law was enforced, 
despite reports that official complaints had been filed.
    According to Amnesty International, HIV/AIDS activist Adonis 
Polanco received a number of anonymous death threats throughout the 
year.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the freedom to 
organize labor unions, and all workers, except the military and the 
police, were free to form and join unions of their choice. Organized 
labor represented an estimated 8 percent of the work force. The law 
calls for automatic recognition of a union if the Government has not 
acted on its application within 30 days.
    Although the law forbids companies to fire union organizers or 
members, it was enforced inconsistently, and penalties were 
insufficient to deter employers from violating worker rights. There 
were reports of harassment and intimidation by employers in an effort 
to prevent union activity, especially in the free trade zones (FTZs) 
(see section 6.b.). The Dominican Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers 
(FEDOTRAZONAS) reported incidents of antiunion activity at two of 13 
production facilities belonging to apparel manufacturing firm Grupo M, 
one of the largest private sector employers in the country. Company 
management conducted a public campaign against union organizers and 
affiliates, which allegedly included firings and salary reductions 
targeting union members and the creation of a fraudulent rival union 
favoring company policies. At year's end a decision on the legality of 
this rival group remained pending.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective 
bargaining is legal and must be used in firms in which a union has 
gained the support of an absolute majority of the workers. Few 
companies have collective bargaining pacts, and the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) considered the requirements for collective 
bargaining rights to be excessive and an impediment to collective 
bargaining.
    The law establishes a system of labor courts for dealing with 
disputes. While cases made their way through the labor courts, the 
process was often long and cases remained pending for several years.
    Many participants reported that mediation facilitated by the 
Secretariat of Labor was the most effective method for resolving 
worker-company disputes.
    The law provides for the right of most workers to strike (and for 
private sector employers to lock out workers), but formal strikes were 
not common. Formal requirements for a strike include the support of an 
absolute majority of all company workers whether unionized or not, a 
prior attempt to resolve the conflict through mediation, written 
notification to the Ministry of Labor, and a 10-day waiting period 
following notification before proceeding with the strike.
    Government workers and essential public service personnel are not 
allowed to strike. Government-employed physicians of the Dominican 
Medical Association threatened to strike in midyear but cancelled their 
plan following last-minute negotiations with the President's office.
    A few labor unions represented a small number of Haitian workers, 
who are covered by the Labor Code regardless of legal status. Various 
NGOs reported that the majority of Haitian laborers in the sugar and 
construction industries did not exercise their rights, fearing firing 
or deportation.
    The Labor Code applies in the 57 established FTZs, which employed 
approximately 155,000 workers. According to the National Council of 
Labor Unions, unions were active in only four companies in the FTZs. 
Workplace regulations and their enforcement in the FTZs did not differ 
from those in the country at large, although working conditions were 
sometimes better and the pay was occasionally higher. Mandatory 
overtime was a common practice, and it was sometimes enforced through 
locked doors or loss of pay or employment for those who refused.
    There were reports of widespread covert intimidation by employers 
in the FTZs in an effort to prevent union activity (see section 6.a.). 
Unions in the FTZs reported that their members hesitated to discuss 
union activity at work, even during break time, for fear of losing 
their jobs. Some FTZ companies were accused of discharging workers who 
attempted to organize unions. The majority of the unions in the FTZs 
were affiliated with the National Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers 
(FENATRAZONAS) or FEDOTRAZONAS. FEDOTRAZONAS estimated that fewer than 
10 percent of the workers in the FTZs were unionized. Many of the major 
manufacturers in the FTZs had voluntary codes of conduct that included 
worker rights protection clauses generally consistent with the ILO 
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. However, 
workers were not always aware of such codes or of the principles they 
contained.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, and there no longer were reports that it 
occurred. In previous years managers regularly prohibited workers on 
sugarcane plantations from leaving during the harvest, but it appeared 
that this was no longer the case (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
While the law prohibits employment of children younger than 14 years of 
age and places restrictions on the employment of children under the age 
of 16, child labor was a serious problem. The Central Bank's Statistics 
Department estimated that throughout the first half of the year more 
than 157,000 children, including 15.7 percent of children between the 
ages of 14 and 17, engaged in some sort of work, although bank 
officials conceded that the actual proportion of child laborers was 
much higher than these statistics indicated. Regulations limited 
working hours of those between the ages of 14 and 16 to six hours per 
day, prohibited employment of those under the age of 18 in hazardous 
occupations or in establishments serving alcohol, and limited nighttime 
work. Fines and legal sanctions may be applied to firms employing 
underage children. While the Government effectively enforced these 
regulations in the formal sector, child labor was largely a problem in 
the informal sector beyond regulatory reach.
    The high level of overall unemployment, an insufficient social 
safety net, and the lack of educational or recreational alternatives 
created pressures on families to allow or encourage children to earn 
supplemental income. According to the ILO, 90 percent of child laborers 
began working before the age of 14. Child labor took place primarily in 
the informal economy, small businesses, private households, and 
agriculture. Children often accompanied their parents to work in 
agricultural fields, in part because parents had nowhere else to leave 
their children, since schools in the countryside were usually in 
session only for a few hours a day. The commercial sexual exploitation 
of children remained a problem, especially in popular tourist 
destinations (see section 5, Trafficking).
    There was some inconclusive evidence that poor Haitian families 
arranged for Dominican families to ``adopt'' and employ their children, 
in hopes of assuring a more promising future for them. The adoptive 
parents were alleged to register the child as their own. In exchange 
the birth parents received monetary payment or a supply of clothes and 
food. In many cases adoptive parents were said not to treat the adopted 
children as full family members, expecting them to work in the 
households or family businesses rather than to attend school. This was 
alleged to result in a kind of indentured servitude for children and 
adolescents.
    The Ministry of Labor and other government institutions, as well as 
organizations from civil society, collaborated with the ILO's Program 
for the Elimination of Child Labor and other international labor rights 
organizations to continue programs combating child labor. These 
included programs to eliminate the employment of children in hazardous 
agriculture in the rice-growing region around San Francisco de Macoris 
and the agricultural provinces of Constanza, San Juan de la Maguana, 
and Barahona. The effort also included a program to combat the 
commercial sexual exploitation of minors in popular tourist 
destinations such as Boca Chica, Sosua, and Las Terrenas. These 
programs provided psychological support and medical assistance, 
returned children to classrooms, and reunited children with their 
families and communities whenever possible. The programs also provided 
legal assistance to child victims in order to arrest and convict 
exploiters.
    According to the Secretariat of Labor, approximately 28,000 
children either actively working or at risk of exploitation benefited 
from child labor prevention and withdrawal programs. The National 
Steering Committee against Child Labor adopted a National Strategic 
Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor. This plan set 
objectives, identified priorities, and assigned responsibilities so 
that exploitive labor could be efficiently tackled and the number of 
child laborers significantly reduced by 2016.
    The Ministries of Labor and Education continued to support the 
Combating Child Labor through Education program, which established 
several camps that hosted large numbers of children and adolescents.
    There were no confirmed reports of forced child labor in the formal 
sector.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The executive branch sets 
minimum wage levels for public workers, and the National Salary 
Committee sets levels for the private sector, with the exception of 
workers in the FTZs and the sugar, construction, hotel, and shoe 
manufacturing industries. The minimum monthly salary was approximately 
$139 (4,450 pesos) in the FTZs and $200 (6,400 pesos) outside the FTZs. 
The minimum wage for the public sector was approximately $81 (2,600 
pesos) per month. The daily minimum wage for farm workers covered by 
minimum wage regulations was approximately $4.00 (130 pesos), based on 
a 10-hour day. The national minimum wage did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family.
    The law establishes a standard work period of 44 hours per week and 
stipulates that all workers are entitled to 36 hours of uninterrupted 
rest each week. The law provides for premium pay for overtime, which 
was mandatory at some firms in the FTZs.
    On sugar plantations, cane cutters usually were paid by the weight 
of cane cut rather than the hours worked. Observers suspected fraud at 
some weighing stations and noted that employers sometimes did not 
provide trucks or carts to transport the newly cut cane at the end of 
the workday, causing workers to receive lower compensation because the 
cane dried out overnight and weighed less. The amount of cane a worker 
could cut varied, but many cane cutters earned less than $2.50 (75 
pesos) per day.
    Conditions for agricultural workers were poor, particularly in the 
sugar industry. Most bateyes lacked schools, medical facilities, 
running water, and sewage systems and had high rates of disease. 
Company-provided housing was sub-standard (see section 5). Most 
sugarcane workers were Haitian or of Haitian descent. In some bateyes, 
employers withheld a portion of wages to ensure that workers returned 
to the fields for the next season's harvest. Sugarcane workers often 
did not receive medical services or pensions due them even though 
deductions were taken from their pay.
    The Diocese of San Pedro de Macoris continued to promote worker 
rights in the bateyes and to seek a work contract for cane workers. 
Officials of the association of sugar industries criticized the priest 
heading this effort, who was abruptly recalled and departed the country 
in October. Media reports indicated that the diocese abandoned the many 
projects the priest had managed on behalf of batey residents.
    The Dominican Social Security Institute (IDSS) sets workplace 
safety and health conditions. Both the IDSS and the Ministry of Labor 
had a small corps of inspectors charged with enforcing standards. The 
Secretariat of Labor had 185 active inspectors. Inspector positions 
customarily were filled through political patronage, and inspectors 
typically took bribes from businesses. Workers complained that 
inspectors were not trained and did not respond to health and safety 
complaints. While the law requires that employers provide a safe 
working environment, in practice workers could not remove themselves 
from hazardous working situations without losing their jobs.

                               __________

                                ECUADOR

    Ecuador is a constitutional republic with a population of 
approximately 13.5 million. Vice President Alfredo Palacio assumed the 
presidency in April 2005 after the National Congress removed his 
predecessor, and he will complete the previous President's term in 
January 2007. On October 15, general elections were held, resulting in 
a Presidential runoff between Alvaro Noboa and Rafael Correa. On 
November 26, Correa won the presidency in elections that the 
Organization of American States (OAS) considered generally free and 
fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of 
the security forces.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there continued to be serious problems in the following 
areas: isolated unlawful killings and use of excessive force by 
security forces; occasional torture, abuse, and killing of suspects and 
prisoners by security forces, sometimes with impunity; poor prison 
conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; a high number of pretrial 
detainees; and corruption and denial of due process within the judicial 
system. Members of the National Police were accused of murder, 
attempted murder, rape, extortion, kidnappings, and alien smuggling. 
Societal problems continued, such as violence against women; 
discrimination against women, indigenous people, Afro-Ecuadorians, and 
homosexuals; trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation of minors; 
and child labor.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although the 
Government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated 
killings, there continued to be credible reports that security forces 
used excessive force and committed numerous unlawful killings.
    In April a stray bullet that came from a police officer's gun 
killed a student protester in Cuenca. The authorities denied 
responsibility (see section 2.b.).
    On June 22, Miguel Angel Chiran, an off-duty police officer, 
allegedly shot and killed taxi driver Eulogio Tabango Quishpe. 
Witnesses suspected that the shooting took place as Chiran tried to 
steal the taxi and the driver resisted. On June 26, following a 
hearing, the Police Disciplinary Tribunal fired the police officer, 
although he remained in jail pending a possible trial.
    On August 26, two military officers reportedly shot to death an 
indigenous medicine man in Puyo, Pastaza Province, in the belief that 
the victim had cast a spell (see section 2.c.).
    A police court case against police officer Freddy Abel Rizzo 
Barzola continued in connection with the August 2005 killing of 
detainees Washington Enrique Vilela Barra and Luis Antonio Cevallos 
Barre, whose bodies were found the day after their arrest. In November 
2005, authorities arrested a second police officer implicated in the 
killing, and a police prosecutor's investigation continued at year's 
end.
    In September 2005, military officers on patrol in Sucumbios 
Province reportedly opened fire with no warning on a vehicle, killing 
two occupants. The district attorney charged four army officers in the 
case: Angel Chuya, Carlos Badillo, Benito Tangamashi, and Jorge Zamora. 
Military authorities detained the four officers, and the Sucumbios 
attorney general initiated a formal investigation that continued at 
year's end.
    There were no developments in the 2004 police killing of Luis 
Alfonso Ortiz Rodriguez. The police officer, who killed Ortiz while 
investigating a domestic dispute, remained in prison pending an 
investigation to determine whether the killing was accidental.
    There were no new developments in the 2004 investigation of the 
alleged police killing of Erik Fabricio Lopez Yanez. The accused police 
officer and his brother remained in jail pending the outcome of the 
investigation.
    In contrast with 2005, there were no reports that prison guards 
killed inmates during the year.
    There were cases of mob violence against suspected criminals, which 
occurred particularly in indigenous communities and poor neighborhoods 
of major cities, where there was little police presence (see section 
1.e.). However, the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU) reported 
that there were fewer incidents of mob violence than in 2005.
    On June 13, residents in the rural agricultural community of El 
Carmen, Manabi Province, tried to lynch two persons suspected of 
attempting to kidnap a young girl. Residents had reported the incident 
to police who failed to apprehend the suspects.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    Criminal kidnapping for profit continued to be a problem in 
selected regions of the country. There were also reports of extortion 
and threats of kidnapping of ranchers, farmers, and businessmen along 
the northern border with Colombia. During the year police registered 41 
kidnapping cases and 18 related arrests as well as 25 ``express 
kidnappings'' (in which a person is driven around and forced to make 
automatic withdrawals of personal funds) with seven related arrests.
    On May 26, a group of seven to 10 individuals, including a police 
officer, kidnapped Jose Stisin Barriga on the outskirts of Quito. The 
family was unable to comply with the three-million-dollar ransom 
request, and after a two-month police investigation, Stisin's body was 
recovered. The authorities arrested the officer and two other suspects, 
one of whom acknowledged having ties to Colombia's Revolutionary Armed 
Forces, a terrorist group. The police officer, Darwin Pozo, was fired, 
tried and convicted in civil court, and sentenced to eight years' 
imprisonment.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the constitution and laws prohibit torture and 
similar forms of intimidation and punishment, some police continued to 
torture and abuse suspects and prisoners, often with impunity.
    The Government took no action on a November 2005 finding by the UN 
Committee Against Torture that the country's laws on torture do not 
meet standards set by the UN Convention Against Torture. The committee 
had noted that the definition of torture in the criminal code, which 
criminalizes ``corporal torment'' but not psychological torture, does 
not correspond to the definition outlined in the convention. Torturers 
often were penalized with a fine, rather than imprisonment.
    Through August CEDHU registered alleged cases of torture by police 
forces involving approximately 30 victims. In most cases the police 
appeared to have abused such persons during investigations of ordinary 
street crime, antigovernment demonstrations, or because of a personal 
grudge. The victims reported that the security forces beat them, 
punching and kicking different parts of their body. During the night 
while sleeping on the floor without blankets, the victims also reported 
being awakened and showered with cold water, forced to stand for long 
periods while blindfolded, and made to kneel for hours while security 
forces stepped on their legs. To hide any evidence of bruising, the 
victims said security forces would either pad their bodies or cover 
with cloth the stick with which they were beaten.
    On January 23, Quito judicial police arrested a group of students 
suspected of participating in street demonstrations protesting the 
implementation of the Government's student identification program. 
According to one of those arrested, human rights activist Victor Hugo 
Salazar, the police separated the students into two groups and took one 
group to an area reserved for those deemed to have committed serious 
crimes. Police allegedly stripped members of the group, showered them 
with cold water, then kicked, punched, and beat them with a broomstick. 
The students alleged that they were then taken to an interrogation room 
and beaten. The police also allegedly used a thick stick inscribed with 
the words ``human rights'' to beat the students, as they taunted ``Here 
are your human rights.'' The police, who later released the students, 
confirmed that the students were detained but denied any mistreatment 
and did not conduct any investigation.
    According to CEDHU, in January two police officers in Quito stopped 
a transvestite pedestrian, Jorge Tamayo, and insulted him, later 
sprayed him with tear gas, beat him with a stick full of nails, then 
took him to jail where he was hosed with water to wash away the blood 
and beaten again. The police refused Tamayo's request to be sent to a 
hospital for his injuries and continued the beatings, threatening to 
kill him; finally they released him. In both March and April, police 
officers accosted and again beat Tamayo and his partner and took some 
of their belongings. The police split Tamayo's lip and inflicted head 
injuries. Police also beat Tamayo's partner and took some of their 
belongings. After a police investigation, the victims were called in to 
identify the two alleged suspects; however, the victims never appeared, 
and the investigation was closed.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and 
detention centers generally were poor and tended to be worse in the 
tropical coastal areas than in the temperate highlands. In June the 
Government declared a 70-day state of emergency covering the country's 
34 jails and detention centers to address infrastructure, staffing, and 
funding issues in the prisons. The National Office for Social 
Rehabilitation (DNRS) reported that the Government had disbursed only 
2.5 million dollars out of a proposed eight million dollars to pay jail 
guards' unpaid wages and to improve the infrastructure at jails in 
Quito and Guayaquil. Overcrowding was a chronic problem in most 
facilities. According to the Attorney General's office, as of June, 
15,125 prisoners nationwide were held in facilities built to hold 
7,463. A number of prisons experienced serious outbreaks of disease, 
and medical care often was inadequate. The daily allocation for prison 
rations was one dollar per inmate; prisoners often supplemented these 
rations by buying their own food. Prisoners in various centers 
threatened to strike during the year, citing overcrowding, low budgets, 
and problems with rehabilitation and social reintegration programs.
    The DNRS reported that through December, 30 prisoners died: 14 from 
illness, five from serious injury, and five from unknown causes; six 
were suicides. On January 21, Pablo Daniel Sanchez Altamirano died 
after being held for over a week by the Judicial Police. While police 
sources indicated that Sanchez had been injured before his arrest, 
human rights sources claimed that more rapid medical attention might 
have saved his life.
    In September and December 2005, unknown assailants killed two 
guards suspected of killing four prison inmates in September 2005. 
Authorities suspected that the head of a prison gang ordered the 
killings.
    Conditions were notably better in the women's prison in Quito than 
in men's facilities. Approximately 325 children lived in prison with 
their mothers at year's end. Pretrial detainees were held with 
convicted prisoners. According to CEDHU, male guards are responsible 
for guarding female inmates, and female inmates reported being beaten 
by male guards who accused them of trying to escape. The law stipulates 
that pregnant women cannot be jailed in prison facilities, yet many 
were jailed rather than being confined to their homes.
    Although in most instances the Government permitted prison visits 
by independent human rights observers, authorities occasionally did not 
permit human rights observers to visit prisoners who had been placed in 
isolated cells after they allegedly had been beaten.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While the constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary 
Detention noted on February 22 that provisions in the Criminal 
Procedure Code, the penal code, and some regulations adopted by central 
or provincial authorities ``undermine the guarantees and protection 
offered.'' The UN working group cited two laws of particular concern: 
one imposes an obligation on judges to order detention for persons 
awaiting trial, i.e., ``preventive detention,'' which in practice 
created a situation in which thousands of persons were detained for 
longer periods than the constitution allows, often years longer, thus 
violating their right to be tried within a reasonable time. The second 
measure abolishes sentence reductions, which led to a large number of 
persons serving lengthy sentences for minor offenses. On September 26, 
the Constitutional Court found the ``preventive detention'' provision 
unconstitutional, but prisoners were not released.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police are 
under the authority of the Ministry of government. National Police 
effectiveness was impaired by corruption, poor hiring procedures, and 
insufficient training, supervision, and resources. In the state of 
Guayas, 21 police recruits reportedly ``cleaned'' their criminal 
convictions. Through July, 60 recruits had been convicted of crimes 
committed after becoming recruits or faced charges; only four of the 60 
had graduated from training.
    On November 11, four police officers escorted Oscar Caranqui, a 
jailed narcotics trafficker out of jail for a visit to an entertainment 
club. Caranqui, who was wearing a police uniform lent to him by one of 
the officers, declared at a hearing that the November 11 excursion was 
his eighth such outing and revealed that seven other inmates enjoyed 
similar privileges. The police officers who accompanied Caranqui were 
under investigation at year's end.
    In November President Palacio ordered the restructuring of the 
National Police and directed top police officials to punish those 
responsible for corruption.
    Some municipalities, such as Quito and Guayaquil, have their own 
metropolitan police forces in addition to the National Police. A police 
internal affairs office investigates complaints against police officers 
and can refer cases to the police courts. Nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) claimed that members of the Quito and Guayaquil metropolitan 
police occasionally used excessive force. Police corruption was 
sometimes a problem. An internal affairs investigation of charges that 
the former National Police director facilitated alien smuggling 
concluded without formal charges.
    The National Police contracted with NGOs to provide human rights 
training. A 2006 Amnesty International report again criticized the use 
of the police court system, citing the UN Committee against Torture's 
concern that complaints of human rights violations by the security 
forces continued to be tried in police and military courts, which were 
neither independent nor impartial.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law requires authorities to issue 
specific written arrest orders within 24 hours of detention, and 
authorities must charge the suspect with a specific criminal offense 
within 24 hours of arrest. Within 24 hours of arrest, detained persons 
may challenge the legality of their detention by habeas corpus petition 
to the senior elected official in the locality where detention takes 
place, usually the mayor; however, few such petitions were made in 
practice.
    In the case of an illegal detention, mayors have the right to 
release the detainee, based solely on procedural issues under the 
habeas corpus mechanism. Otherwise, a prisoner may be released only by 
court order. In some cases detainees who are unaware of this provision, 
or who do not have the funds to hire a lawyer, may remain in prison for 
an extended period without being tried. Bail is allowed only in the 
case of less serious crimes, those punishable with ``correctional 
imprisonment,'' and is prohibited for more serious crimes involving 
narcotics and other major offenses requiring long-term incarceration 
(offenses that ``affect or put at risk'' the public, punishable by 
three to 35 years' imprisonment). According to government data as of 
June, 66 percent of detainees in jail had not been sentenced.
    Although the law entitles detainees to prompt access to lawyers and 
family members, there were delays depending on the circumstances and 
officials' willingness to enforce the law; alleged narcotics 
traffickers commonly waited 24 to 48 hours for these visits. Detainees 
with sufficient resources often bribed prison officials to facilitate 
access.
    Although the law prohibits incommunicado detention, human rights 
organizations continued to report occasional violations. Even when 
police obtained a written arrest order, authorities charged with 
determining the validity of detention often allowed frivolous charges 
to be brought, either because they were overworked or because the 
accuser bribed them. The system frequently was used as a means of 
harassment in civil cases in which one party sought to have the other 
arrested on criminal charges.
    Investigative detention up to and including trial is legal if a 
judge determines that it is necessary and if evidence that a crime has 
been committed is presented. The law limits immediate detention to 24 
hours for in flagrante crimes or to allow for investigative detention 
to begin. If the investigation report is detrimental, the judge may 
order preventive detention. Preventive detention is limited to six 
months for minor offenses and 12 months for major offenses. However, 
the law permits prisoners to be held for an indefinite period after 
indictments have been issued but before they have been convicted or 
sentenced. The majority of the accused remained in prison during the 
investigation phase. More than 60 percent of the detainees in jail had 
not been sentenced, and approximately 10 to 15 percent had been tried 
but not sentenced.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was at times 
susceptible to outside pressure and corruption. The media reported 
extensively on the susceptibility of the judiciary to bribes for 
favorable judicial decisions and resolution of legal cases and on 
judges parceling out cases to outside lawyers who wrote judicial 
sentences on cases before the court and sent them back to the presiding 
judge for signature. CEDHU further asserted that judges occasionally 
reached decisions based on media influence or political and economic 
pressures.
    In September a former congressman involved in litigation before the 
Supreme Court accused three justices of soliciting a $500,000 bribe to 
secure a favorable ruling. The three judges were expelled from the 
court, and at year's end the case remained under investigation by the 
Office of the Attorney General.
    The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, superior circuit 
courts, other courts, and tribunals that hear cases in accordance with 
the constitution and other laws, and the Judicial Council, which is 
charged with administering the court system and disciplining judges. 
There also are military and police tribunals that have the same status 
as circuit courts, as well as criminal, provincial, and cantonal 
(county) courts. The Supreme Court supervises the selection by open 
competition of all appellate judges.
    A decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on a 
February 2005 appeal brought by 27 justices of the Supreme Court who 
were replaced by Congress in 2004 remained pending at year's end.

    Trial Procedures.--Despite ongoing efforts to modernize the court 
system, the judiciary continued to operate slowly and inconsistently. 
There were lengthy delays before most cases came to trial. Judges 
reportedly rendered decisions more quickly or more slowly as a result 
of political pressure or, in some cases, the payment of bribes. The 
failures of the justice system contributed to cases in which 
communities took the law into their own hands, such as mob violence 
against suspected criminals (see section 1.a.).
    There are no juries in the justice system. Defendants are presumed 
innocent until proven guilty and have the right to a public trial, 
defense attorneys, and appeal. They may present evidence, refuse to 
testify against themselves, and confront and cross-examine witnesses. 
Although a public defender system exists, in practice only 31 attorneys 
were available to defend the large number of impoverished suspects 
throughout the country.
    Civil society groups, lawyers' associations, universities, and 
foreign donors sought to support vulnerable groups of the population 
that did not have access to legal defense. From January to September, 
foreign donor assistance funded legal counseling and defense services 
for 2,518 persons from vulnerable groups of the population (especially 
poor prisoners and women) in seven cities.
    A recent evaluation the local NGO Fundacion Esquel conducted in 
three cities that account for 60 percent of the country's criminal 
cases indicated that, despite some advances in the application of the 
accusatory justice system, severe limitations remained. The study 
identified a particular need for improvements in the public defender 
system, better prosecutor-police coordination, and implementation of a 
national program to protect victims and witnesses.
    The regular court system tries most nonmilitary defendants, 
although some indigenous groups try members independently for 
violations of tribal rules. The law permits police or military courts 
to try police officers and military defendants in closed sessions in 
accordance with the respective military and police court martial 
manuals. Only the Supreme Court may try cases involving flag-rank 
officers. Despite a constitutional provision that civilian courts have 
jurisdiction over police or military officers charged with criminal 
offenses, these officers are often tried in police or military courts. 
The police court often did not pursue cases or announce verdicts and 
punishments, reinforcing the impression that police were immune from 
prosecution. While the constitution places both police and military 
justice under the regular judicial system, the systems remained 
separate.
    Although the law recognizes indigenous communities' right to 
exercise their own system of justice based on their traditions and 
customs, it does not specify its implementation. This parallel system 
raised questions of both jurisdiction and conformity to the right to a 
fair trial.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civilian courts and the 
Administrative Conflicts Tribunal, generally considered independent and 
impartial, handle lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human 
rights violations. However, civilian lawsuits seeking damages for 
alleged wrongs by the state were rarely filed since such suits were 
time consuming and difficult to prosecute, with judges taking up to a 
decade to rule on the merits.

    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.
    Although wiretapping by the national police to investigate crimes 
is legal with a court order, there is no specific procedural guidance 
for obtaining such approval.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. 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 and a largely 
democratic political system combined to promote freedom of speech and 
of the press. There were no cases of public figures bringing criminal 
charges against journalists during the year. The independent media were 
active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction.
    While there were no reports of officials using libel laws to 
suppress criticism of political or other leaders, in June Ignacio 
Alvarez, the OAS special rapporteur for freedom of expression in the 
Americas, in June called on the Government to review legislation that 
constituted ``insult laws.'' Other respected NGOs supported Alvarez's 
comments.
    In February two journalists were killed within a 24-hour period. 
The Inter-American Press Association and other press freedom NGOs 
called on authorities to investigate whether the killings were related 
to the victims' journalistic activities. The authorities claimed that 
the deaths were most likely related to gang violence, and there were no 
arrests of suspected perpetrators.
    On several occasions the Government declared emergencies, 
suspending civil liberties in specific regions. For example, in 
February the Government declared a state of emergency in Napo Province 
during a regional strike that paralyzed the export of crude oil. The 
order suspended constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and of 
expression.
    On February 22, in the city of Esmeraldas, the Popular Democratic 
Movement organized a protest march led by the mayor and the prefect, 
who were from the same political party; some 4,000 persons protested 
against the media while the mayor and prefect verbally insulted news 
organizations. The Attorney General's Office investigated four 
individuals rumored to have been hired by the mayor's office to 
distribute flyers denouncing local media and their owners.
    A superior court decision remained pending in the January 2005 case 
against University Leftist Revolutionary Front activists who attacked 
former vice President Leon Roldos Aguilera while he was giving a speech 
at the Central University.
    After a preliminary investigation, the case of a February 2005 
dynamite attack on the Radio Canela radio station in Macas, Morona 
Santiago Province, was closed in November 2005.
    In January a judge dismissed all charges against members of a pro-
Gutierrez movement who invaded and vandalized the offices of the NGO 
Citizen Participation in March 2005.
    On March 3, Quito's Superior Court dismissed sedition charges 
against former President Gutierrez and ordered his release from prison. 
The charges stemmed from statements the ex-President made while abroad 
claiming to be the country's legitimate leader.
    Economic considerations influenced elements of the media who tended 
to reflect the narrow, regional interests of their owners. Business and 
private interest pressures on the media sometimes constrained freedom 
of the press.
    The 2004 request by then President Gutierrez for a formal inquiry 
into allegations by a prominent radio director that Gutierrez accepted 
money from a Colombian guerrilla group did not result in any further 
investigation.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of peaceful assembly, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice; however, 
security forces used force and tear gas to quell some violent 
demonstrations, resulting in several injuries. Public rallies require 
prior government permits, which generally were granted, although 
exceptions occurred.
    Through its state of emergency decrees, the Government at times 
restricted popular demonstrations and freedom of speech by arresting 
and bringing civilian demonstrators before military tribunals and 
sentencing them to between six and seven years in prison.
    President Palacio on several occasions during the year quelled 
disruptive protests. In January a Presidential decree issued to stop 
street protests against local authorities suspended the right to 
assembly in the coastal city of Chone, Manabi Province, for up to 90 
days.
    Indigenous demonstrations, led by the Confederation of Indigenous 
Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), took place in February and March. 
The Government announced it would use force, if necessary, to stop the 
demonstrations, and CEDHU reported that military and police forces use 
of tear gas and batons against many demonstrators caused serious 
injuries.
    In March a tear gas canister fired by police in Pichincha Province 
struck protester Jose Alberto Cabascango, causing the loss of an eye; 
other demonstrators suffered neck, nose, and head injuries. In the city 
of Cayambe, the armed forces surrounded the Radio Intipacha station and 
detained announcers William Ramos and Julio Charro for reporting on 
demonstrations in Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Canar and sections of 
Pichincha provinces. The next day the armed forces forcibly entered the 
radio station's premises and ordered the playing of music in place of 
regular programming.
    In April a stray bullet killed student protester Jhonny Montesdeoca 
in Cuenca. Although an investigation determined the bullet came from a 
police officer's gun, the authorities denied any police involvement and 
alleged that bank guards were responsible for the shooting. Bank 
representatives disputed these accounts and stated that bank guards 
only fired their guns in the air. No further details were available.
    On September 6, residents of Guayaquil demonstrated in the center 
of the city to demand wider access to the city's metrobus system. 
National Police forces dispersed the demonstrators, many of whom were 
elderly, women, and children, with physical force including the use of 
tear gas. Members of the media covering the demonstrations were also 
affected by the police force's actions. By contrast, a similar type of 
demonstration supporting the city's metrobus system and the mayor of 
Guayaquil received police protection (see sections 2.a., 2.b., and 
6.a.).
    There were no further developments in the investigation relating to 
the March 2005 police actions to suppress a protest at the Jorge 
Mantilla Ortega School in Quito, which resulted in serious injuries to 
a student.
    An investigation continued in the April 2005 case of Chilean 
journalist Julio Garcia Romero, who had a heart attack after being 
exposed to tear gas while covering a demonstration.
    There were no new developments in the 2004 case in which the 
military shot four participants (one of whom later died) in a 
demonstration by indigenous people (see sections 1.a. and 5). The case, 
according to the military prosecutor, remained under investigation.
    Protesters often blocked roads. Security forces generally 
intervened in such demonstrations only when there was violence against 
bystanders or destruction of property.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    The Government requires religious groups to be licensed or 
registered if they engage in proselytizing activity. Religious 
organizations that do not engage in such activity may still choose to 
register to obtain a legal identity, which is useful when entering into 
contracts. Any religious organization wishing to register with the 
Government must possess a charter and be in nonprofit status, include 
all names used by the group (to ensure that names previously registered 
are not used without their permission), and provide signatures of at 
least 15 members. In addition, groups must file a registration petition 
with the Ministry of government, using a licensed attorney, and pay a 
$100 registration fee.
    The press reported that on August 26, two military officers shot to 
death a shaman (indigenous medicine man) in Puyo, Pastaza Province. One 
of the officers reportedly believed the shaman had used a ``powerful 
stone'' to cast a spell on his wife and asked the shaman for the stone 
to cure her. Later that evening, the officers returned, escorted the 
shaman and two of his sons to a river, and allegedly fired several 
shots that killed the shaman and injured one of his sons. Both officers 
remained under arrest. Press reports added that at least nine shamans 
have been killed in the past 10 years in the same area.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The country has a small Jewish 
population. During the year there were no reports of societal abuses or 
discrimination against members of religious groups, including anti-
Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice. Protesters often 
blocked roads (see section 2.b.). Men must show proof of having 
completed military service or pay a fine to leave the country.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government granted refugee status or asylum. The 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also provided 
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees 
under the 1951 Convention/1967 Protocol. The Government cooperated with 
the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees 
and asylum seekers.
    The Government reported that through September it had received 
5,779 applications for refugee status. Approximately 2,600 cases from 
this and preceding years were pending. Rejected applicants have a legal 
right to appeal and after appeals are exhausted, they have 30 days to 
put their affairs in order and leave the country. Both UNHCR and the 
Government reported difficulty dealing with the number of applicants 
and appeals.
    Approximately 97 percent of refugee applicants were Colombians. A 
small but rising percentage of applicants were Peruvians; however, both 
the UNHCR and government reported that the vast majority of these 
applicants were actually economic migrants. Most Colombian refugees 
were poor farmers or small businessmen fleeing fighting in Colombia. 
The law allows persons granted refugee status to work. The 
identification card issued to asylum seekers explicitly states that 
bearers have the right to work, health care, and an education. The 
Government reported that it has undertaken a campaign to educate local 
officials on refugee rights. UNHCR officials noted that growing anti-
Colombian sentiment discouraged many Colombian refugees from formally 
seeking asylum. The UNHCR began training police officials to refer such 
cases to the Foreign Ministry.
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.--In April 2005 following 
large-scale protests in Quito and the public withdrawal of support by 
the military and the National Police leadership, Congress voted to 
remove President Gutierrez, who had been democratically elected in 
2002. Vice President Alfredo Palacio assumed the presidency to finish 
Gutierrez's term. First-round Presidential elections on October 15 
resulted in a runoff between Alvaro Noboa and Rafael Correa. On 
November 26, in an election considered generally free and fair, Correa 
won the runoff; his inauguration was scheduled for January 15, 2007. 
The OAS deployed electoral observation missions for both the first-
round and runoff elections; after the second round, the mission ``took 
place in an atmosphere of calm, and voters were able to freely exercise 
their franchise.''
    On October 15, 26 women, four indigenous persons, and one Afro-
Ecuadorian were elected to the 100-seat Congress. There were two women 
but no members of ethnic minorities among the 31 Supreme Court members. 
President-elect Correa named eight women, one Afro-Ecuadorian, and one 
indigenous person to his cabinet to take office on January 15, 2007.
    The law requires that the percentage of female candidates increase 
in each election until it reached 50 percent in 2008 (with 45 percent 
specified for the 2006 election). Some political parties met this 
mandate by listing women as alternates, including spouses of party 
leaders, and alternated multiple male candidates at the top of the list 
followed by an equal number of women. Legal challenges to this practice 
have been unsuccessful.
    In 2005 the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) barred former 
President Gutierrez from running for political office claiming that he 
violated campaign financing laws during his 2002 Presidential campaign. 
In July the Constitutional Court upheld the TSE ruling that Gutierrez 
could not run for public office at any level until 2008.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of corruption in all areas of the Government. The NGO 
Transparency International reported in its 2006 Corruption Perceptions 
Index that corruption continued to be a ``severe'' problem, worsening 
from the previous year.
    An investigation begun in August 2005 of advisers to President 
Palacio who allegedly forged the President's signature on documents 
granting government positions resulted in dismissal of a military aide 
from the army; a second adviser's case remained pending in the criminal 
court.
    The 2004 case involving the national police chief, several other 
police officials, and members of the army accused of collaborating with 
alien smugglers ended with no charges filed against any suspects.
Section 4. 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 restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials cooperated 
with the groups but often did not act on their views.
    There is an office of the ombudsman to focus on human rights 
problems; however, some observers criticized its lack of independence 
in practice. The office had adequate resources but was not considered 
effective on human rights issues.
    The Government continued to implement various aspects of the 
National Human Rights Plan, including human rights training for the 
Congress, seminars, publication of documents, and a contingency plan 
for refugees. Several prominent human rights NGOs publicly criticized 
the Government's lack of progress in implementing the plan.
    Congress has a seven-member human rights committee. The committee 
met infrequently, and local human rights organizations did not consider 
the committee's role particularly significant.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status; however, women, persons with 
disabilities, indigenous people, and Afro-Ecuadorians continued to face 
significant discrimination.

    Women.--Although the law prohibits violence against women, 
including within marriage, abuses were widespread. The law provides 
penalties for domestic violence of up to $28 or seven days in prison, 
creates family courts, and gives courts the power to remove an abusive 
spouse from the home if continued cohabitation creates a risk to the 
victim of abuse. The courts may also issue restraining orders 
prohibiting the abusive spouse from approaching the victim or her place 
of employment or study; prohibiting the abusive spouse from persecuting 
or intimidating the victim or any member of her family; reinserting the 
victim into the family home, if shared, while simultaneously removing 
the abusive spouse from the premises; and ordering any treatment deemed 
beneficial to the affected family.
    The Office of Gender, in the Ministry of government, reported 
68,184 cases of sexual, psychological, or physical mistreatment of 
women during the year. Women may file complaints against a rapist or an 
abusive spouse or companion only if they produce a witness. Thirty 
special Police Stations for Women and Families handled issues including 
domestic violence. The Government's National Commission on Women 
(CONAMU) may accept complaints about abuse of women but must refer 
cases to the prosecutor's office for action. CONAMU had projects in all 
provinces, focusing primarily on equal opportunities, public policy 
programs toward women, and lines of credit for women's businesses. 
CONAMU also offered legal and psychological services to victims of 
violence in most provinces. In some police stations, social workers 
employed by city governments or NGOs assisted victims. A variety of 
NGOs offer legal and psychological assistance to victims of domestic 
violence.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and provides a 
penalty of up to 25 years in prison. In cases of statutory rape 
involving ``amorous'' sex with a minor, the rapist may marry the 
victim, which cancels the charges unless the marriage subsequently is 
annulled. The penalty for rape where death occurred is 35 years in 
prison. By the end of the year there were 1,452 reported rapes, 
resulting in 586 persons charged. No information was available on the 
number of cases prosecuted successfully. Many rapes were not reported 
due to the victim's reluctance to confront the perpetrator.
    Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18 so long as the 
businesses are registered with the Government and follow health 
regulations. Trafficking in persons for prostitution was a problem (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    Despite the legal prohibition of harassment, women's rights 
organizations described sexual harassment in the workplace as common.
    The law also provides legal support to the Government's National 
Women's Council, which is charged with building public policies that 
promote women's human rights and equality in cases of sexual 
harassment. The Council and the Ministry of Education and Culture 
organized a sexual harassment monitoring program in the provinces of 
Esmeraldas, Manta, Cuenca, and Loja to prevent sexual harassment in the 
education sector. The Government provided protection to sexual 
harassment victims and those who report such incidents, and it 
conducted public education against sexual harassment in the workplace.
    Despite legal protections of women's rights in politics, the home, 
and employment, societal discrimination against women was pervasive, 
particularly with respect to educational and economic opportunities for 
older women and for those in the lower economic strata. Although women 
enjoy the same legal status as men, the Office of Gender reported that 
women often did not receive equal rights in practice. According to the 
Government, women received approximately 65 percent of the pay received 
by men for equal work. Women's advocates alleged that culture and 
tradition inhibited achievement of full equality for women. There were 
fewer women than men employed in professional work and skilled trades.
    The Ecuadorian Women's Permanent National Forum included more than 
320 women's organizations and promoted social, economic, and cultural 
change through various methods, including increasing political 
participation by women. The National Women's Council provided support 
for approximately 500 women's organizations, many of which promoted 
social consciousness and greater participation by women in the 
political process. The NGO Women's Political Coordinator operated in 
all 22 provinces and promoted similar themes relating to women's 
rights, with emphasis on political participation and human rights. It 
also focused on young women and Afro-Ecuadorian women.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare and has increased funding for child health and education; 
however, those steps were not fully effective. The UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) reported that approximately 70 percent of the country's 4.8 
million children lived in poverty and that malnutrition affected 15 
percent of children under age five.
    The law requires that children receive a minimum of 10 years of 
education; however, due to the lack of schools in many rural 
communities, the Government's failure to provide adequate resources, 
the economic needs of families, and the comparatively high cost for 
poor families of books and uniforms, the Government rarely enforced 
this requirement in practice. The Ministry of Education reported that 
most children achieved a sixth grade education. The citizen movement 
Social Contract for Education estimated that during the year 660,000 
children ages six to 17 (approximately 22 percent of school-age 
children) did not attend school. Education was free through high 
school, although there were various related fees that prevented many 
children and adolescents from attending school. The Government operated 
programs that provided families with educational subsidies, which 
assisted approximately 50,000 children to remain in school. In rural 
areas many children attended school only sporadically after 10 years of 
age because they needed to contribute to household income, primarily as 
farm laborers (see section 6.d.). In some areas there were no teachers 
in the classrooms at the start of the school year; other schools 
reported an extremely high student/teacher ratio forcing school 
administrators to initiate morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate 
the students.
    The Government provided free medical care to children under age 
six. Boys and girls received equal access to such care.
    There was no societal pattern of abuse against children.
    Commercial sexual exploitation of minors was a problem (see section 
5, Trafficking).
    More than 20 NGOs promoted child welfare. UNICEF and several 
private organizations were active in programs to assist street 
children. The children of the poor often experienced severe hardships, 
particularly in urban areas.

    Trafficking in Persons.--While the criminal laws prohibit 
trafficking in persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked 
within, to, from, and through the country.
    The country was a source, transit, and destination country for 
persons trafficked for the purpose of sexual and labor exploitation. 
The most recent statistics, from a 2002 International Labor 
Organization (ILO) report, estimated that 5,200 minors were engaged in 
prostitution. Ecuadorians were trafficked to Italy, Spain, Colombia, 
and Venezuela; however, most victims were trafficked within the 
country. Anecdotal evidence showed that traffickers lured young victims 
romantically or with promises of legitimate employment and then forced 
them into prostitution. According to press reports, some poverty-
stricken parents also sold their children into trafficking situations, 
wittingly or unwittingly, including prostitution or forced labor in 
agriculture.
    Traffickers were organized criminal gangs specializing in movement 
of persons, proprietors of small businesses such as bars or brothels, 
or illicit employment brokers. Anecdotal evidence indicated that some 
of those willing to pay up to $10,000 to be smuggled out of the country 
were also victims of trafficking, and women were susceptible to sexual 
abuse by smugglers. NGOs and the press reported several instances of 
judges releasing trafficking detainees prematurely. Falsification of 
civil registry documents to disguise the nationalities of trafficking 
victims and the ages of juveniles was a problem.
    The law criminalizes trafficking in persons and provides prison 
terms of six to 35 years. The law also provides penalties of six to 12 
years in prison for promoting sexual tourism and child sex tourism. 
Since the law took effect in June 2005, there have been more than 100 
arrests: all were in some stage of prosecution.
    The country increased the number of law enforcement officials and 
prosecutors devoted to combating trafficking in persons. In May, the 
child welfare police created an eight-person trafficking intelligence 
unit to work with police, Interpol, and prosecutors. In August the 
Government created and trained a 36-member specialized police unit, 
spread over seven major cities, dedicated to victim and witness 
protection. In September the Government established a specialized 14-
person Special Sexual Crimes Police Unit to investigate trafficking-in-
person crimes.
    Prosecutors and judges received training on preparing and 
adjudicating trafficking cases.
    The police youth protection agency (DINAPEN) conducted regular 
raids on nightclubs, bars, and brothels. Raids in Guayaquil, Machala, 
Quito, and Santo Domingo de los Colorados all produced arrests. An 
April 18 DINAPEN raid on a brothel in Guayaquil rescued three 15- to 
17-year-old girls and resulted in the detention of four men who 
allegedly prostituted the minors. In February the Government appointed 
special prosecutors to oversee trafficking cases in Guayaquil and 
Machala, two of the worst trafficking areas. The special prosecutor 
appointed in Quito in 2005 also continued to work on cases. A police 
unit to combat alien smuggling formalized a cooperative relationship 
with DINAPEN and judicial police to investigate trafficking cases.
    The Government cooperated in international investigations of 
trafficking. In August the President approved a national 
antitrafficking plan to coordinate strategy among the Government 
agencies and earmark funds for that purpose, and subsequently an 
operational plan was adopted.
    Minors engaged in prostitution were returned to their families or 
to NGOs without being detained. Shelters and victims' services have 
been identified and shelter staffs trained. The Public Ministry's 
victim and witness protection program assisted trafficking victims by 
providing shelter, psychological and medical attention, police 
protection, and economic and employment assistance to victims willing 
to assist in investigations. NGOs assisted more than 1,000 victims of 
trafficking or trafficking-related crimes during the year. The 
Government signed agreements with a private trafficking victims' 
shelter to provide witness protection.
    The Government implemented a nationwide trafficking awareness and 
prevention campaign in which the first lady played a leadership role. 
The Government's National Institute for Children and Families spent 
more than one million dollars in its annual antitrafficking campaign. 
The Government also promoted a hot-line number to identify victims, 
provide assistance, and increase arrests.
    The Government conducted a two-day media training session on 
trafficking for television, radio, and print journalists. In June 
authorities also launched a million-dollar year-long public awareness 
campaign and in October began an anti-sexual tourism campaign. The 
Victim and Witness Protection program assisted 43 trafficking victims 
during the year.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of 
other state services, and the Government effectively enforced the law. 
The interagency National Council on Disabilities oversees government 
policies regarding persons with disabilities. Although the law mandates 
access to buildings for persons with disabilities, the Government did 
not enforce it.
    For the national elections, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal printed 
Presidential election ballots in Braille, provided sign language 
translators, and made efforts to ensure that voting precincts were 
fully accessible to persons with disabilities. However, accessibility 
to some voting precincts was difficult. Observers reported seeing 
numerous persons with disabilities throughout the day being assisted by 
the military and others to ensure they were able to access their voting 
tables. Although ballots in Braille for the Presidential ticket were to 
be provided nationwide, some voting precincts reported never receiving 
such ballots.
    A December 2005 law requires the hiring of persons with 
disabilities in all public and private enterprises with more than 25 
employees; there was no information on its implementation by year's 
end.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The estimated 600,000 Afro-
Ecuadorian citizens suffered widespread poverty and pervasive 
discrimination, particularly with regard to educational and economic 
opportunity.
    The Afro-Ecuadorian Cultural Center estimated that 70 percent of 
Afro-Ecuadorians lived in poverty. Afro-Ecuadorian organizations noted 
that, despite the absence of official discrimination, societal 
discrimination, including stereotyping, continued to affect them. For 
example, they asserted that the police stopped Afro-Ecuadorians for 
document checks more frequently than they stopped other citizens and 
that employers often would not interview persons whose job applications 
carried Afro-Ecuadorian photos. There were no special government 
efforts to address these problems.

    Indigenous People.--Estimates of those who maintained their 
indigenous cultural identity and lived in indigenous communities varied 
between 7 and 20 percent of the population. The vast majority of 
indigenous citizens resided in rural areas, including the highlands and 
the Amazonian provinces. Despite their growing political influence and 
the efforts of grassroots community groups, which were increasingly 
successful in pressuring the Government to assist them, indigenous 
people continued to suffer discrimination at many levels of society. 
With few exceptions, indigenous people were at the lowest end of the 
socioeconomic scale.
    Arable land was scarce in the more heavily populated highland 
areas, where high infant mortality, malnutrition, and epidemic disease 
were common. Electricity and potable water often were unavailable. 
Although the rural education system was seriously deficient, many 
indigenous groups participated with the Ministry of Education in the 
development of the bilingual education program used in rural public 
schools.
    The law recognizes the rights of indigenous communities to hold 
property communally, to administer traditional community justice in 
certain cases, and to be consulted before natural resources are 
exploited in community territories. Indigenous people also have the 
same civil and political rights as other citizens. In the Amazon 
region, indigenous groups lobbied the Government, enlisted the help of 
foreign and domestic NGOs, and mounted protests, including kidnapping 
oil workers in attempts to win a share of oil revenues and a voice in 
natural resource and development decisions. In November in the 
northwestern province of Sucumbios, indigenous villagers from Tarapoa 
took over the Andes Petroleum installations and kidnapped approximately 
700 oil workers. Andes Petroleum officials later agreed to a series of 
villager demands for employment.
    The Government generally consulted indigenous communities on 
natural resource matters. Although oil companies increased efforts to 
minimize the environmental and social impact of their oil projects in 
the Amazon, indigenous groups asserted that environmental damage, 
particularly deforestation, continued. Corrupt local officials, a lack 
of political will, and divisions among and within indigenous 
communities undermined indigenous efforts to manage the flow of illegal 
lumber.
    The ombudsman's office had representatives in indigenous 
communities throughout the country. These had responsibility for 
promoting human and indigenous rights among indigenous communities and 
providing specific advisory services to these groups.
    In March Quito police used force to suppress CONAIE demonstrations 
(see section 2.b.).
    There were no developments in the 2004 case in which two 
unidentified individuals shot at Leonidas Iza, President of CONAIE, or 
in the killing of Maria Lalbai by members of the military during a 
protest in 2004.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although the law 
prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, homosexuals, 
transsexuals, and transvestites continued to suffer discrimination from 
both public and private bodies.
    According to a credible NGO, homosexuals, transsexuals, and 
transvestites were subjected to cruel, inhumane, and degrading 
treatment by the police. They accused the police of specifically 
targeting them and inflicting physical and psychological abuse, 
threats, extortion, and robbery. Police routinely arrested homosexuals 
and transvestites in public areas (see section 1.c.).
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides most workers 
with the right to form and join trade unions of their choice, legal 
protections of these rights were inadequate, sometimes failing to deter 
employers from retaliating against workers for organizing. Members of 
the police, the military, and most public sector employees were not 
free to form trade unions. Approximately 2 percent of the workforce was 
organized.
    The law sets the number of workers required for an establishment to 
be unionized at 30, which the ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association 
considered too stringent a limitation at the plant workers' council 
level. Some companies took advantage of this law by subcontracting with 
several shell companies, each of which has less than 30 workers. A law 
enacted in June provides subcontracted workers with the right to 
freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, and to legal 
protection against antiunion discrimination. The Labor Ministry is 
responsible for enforcing the new law.
    While employees of state-owned organizations enjoyed rights similar 
to those in the private sector, the law prevents the majority of public 
sector employees from joining unions or exercising collective 
bargaining rights. However, most public employees maintained membership 
in a labor sector association; such associations are not allowed to 
strike or bargain collectively (see section 6.b.).
    The labor code requires workers in state enterprises to be 
represented by only one labor union. The law does not require 
reinstatement of workers fired for antiunion activity but does require 
compensation and fines. The law does not protect workers against 
antiunion discrimination in hiring. In September a group of 48 
employees at the Transnavo shipping company attempted to unionize and 
were fired. The unionists filed for compensation and the case was 
pending at year's end.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
requires all private employers with 30 or more workers belonging to a 
union to negotiate collectively when the union so requests. Collective 
bargaining agreements covered 25 percent of the organized workforce. 
Most of the economically active population was employed in the 
agricultural sector or the urban informal sector; the vast majority of 
these workers were not organized. The law allows businesses to hire 
workers on individual contracts.
    Many newly hired employees, particularly in the agricultural 
sector, worked on temporary contracts. In practice it was difficult to 
organize temporary employees on short-term contracts. Since the labor 
code does not recognize temporary workers, they did not enjoy the same 
level of protection offered to other workers.
    There are few restrictions on the right of private-sector workers 
to strike, although a 10-day period is required before a strike can be 
declared. The law allows solidarity strikes or boycotts of three days 
if the Ministry of Labor approves them. In some industries, during a 
legal strike, workers may take possession of the factory or workplace 
(thus ending production at the site) and receive police protection 
during the takeover. However, in other industries, such as agriculture, 
the law requires a 20-day waiting period from the day the strike is 
called. During this time, workers and employers must agree on how many 
workers are needed to ensure a minimum level of service, and at least 
20 percent of the workforce must continue to work in order to provide 
essential services. The law provides that ``the employer may contract 
substitute personnel'' only when striking workers refuse to send the 
number of workers to provide the minimum necessary services, although 
in practice this law was not enforced. The law protects strikers and 
their leaders from retaliation.
    The law does not provide the majority of public workers (those who 
fall under the civil service law) with the right to strike and includes 
a provision that striking public sector workers are liable to between 
two and five years in prison; however, there were frequent ``illegal'' 
strikes, including by public school teachers and health workers. Public 
workers are prohibited from bargaining collectively.
    The law permits the hiring of temporary workers for the maquila 
(in-bond processing for export) industries. The maquila system allows a 
company and its property to become an export-processing zone wherever 
it is located. There were no unions or labor associations in the 
maquilas. Most workers were hired on temporary contracts by the 
employer to complete a specific order.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were 
reports that children were trafficked for labor (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and defines 
acceptable working conditions. Although the Government sought to 
enforce the law, child labor remained a problem.
    The labor code and the child and adolescent code set the minimum 
working age for minors at 15 for all types of labor and the maximum 
hours a minor may work at six hours per day and five days per week. The 
law lists 15 jobs that are not suitable for children and prohibits 
minors from working in hazardous conditions, including in mines or in 
jobs requiring exposure to toxic or dangerous substances. The law 
requires employers to pay minors at least 80 percent of the wages 
received by adults for the same type of employment. Penalties for 
violations of the child labor laws include fines of $50 to $300 for 
parents or guardians and $200 to $1,000 for employers hiring 
adolescents between ages 15 and 17 and a $1,000 fine for any employer 
found to have hired children under the age of 15. In cases of repeated 
infractions, the employer's business can be closed. The Government 
employed 23 child labor inspectors on a contract basis to inspect 
locations that employed child labor; these inspectors had the authority 
to cite violations and sanction companies and employers found to have 
illegally hired child labor. During the year the Ministry of Labor 
issued 100 citations to employers for child labor law violations.
    While the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Social Welfare, and the 
Minors' Tribunals were charged with enforcing child labor laws, 
enforcement was ineffective. A 2005 study by the Ministry of Labor, the 
Institute for the Child and Family, and the National Committee for the 
Progressive Eradication of Child Labor found that 550,000 children 
between ages five and 14 (approximately 15 percent of children in this 
age group) were engaged in labor not permitted by law, primarily 
working in rural areas in the informal sector.
    More than 40 percent of all children lived in rural areas, and many 
left school at an early age to do unpaid agricultural work for their 
families.
    In August the Ministry of Labor hired 28 permanent child labor 
inspectors and seven support staff, whose sole function is to inspect 
companies throughout the country, monitor whether children are 
employed, and impose fines for violations. Through December the 
inspectors conducted approximately 1,486 workplace inspections and 
found approximately 93 minors under age 15 and 104 adolescents between 
15 and 17 years old. The ministry will reinvest some part of the fines 
collected in the inspection program. The National Committee for the 
Progressive Elimination of Child Labor also has 30,000 education 
scholarships available for children identified as child laborers.
    The Ministry of Labor has a three-officer Division for Child Labor, 
which meets monthly with other divisions in the ministry and the 
National Committee for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor, 
which includes government agencies, businesses, and labor 
organizations.
    While the Ministry of Labor's Social Service Directorate monitored 
child labor in businesses such as factories, enforcement in most 
sectors of the economy remained limited. In urban areas many children 
under age 15 worked in family-owned businesses in the informal sector, 
shining shoes, collecting and recycling garbage, or as street peddlers. 
Other children were employed in commerce, messenger services, domestic 
services, and begging. Children as young as five or six often sold 
newspapers or candy on the street to support themselves or to augment 
family income.
    The Government supported the Program for the Schooling and 
Protection of Child Workers, which implemented a workshop program in 
six cities to work with families and schools on the problem of child 
labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor 
periodically sets the minimum wage in consultation with the Commission 
on Salaries, but Congress also may adjust the minimum wage. As of July 
the minimum wage plus mandated bonuses provided a gross monthly 
compensation of approximately $186, or one dollar per hour, in the case 
of contract workers. The statutory minimum wage did not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most organized 
workers in state industries and formal-sector private enterprises 
earned substantially more than the minimum wage and also received other 
significant benefits through collective bargaining agreements. However, 
most workers worked in the large informal and rural sector without 
obtaining the minimum wage or legally mandated benefits.
    The law provides for a 40-hour workweek and two consecutive days of 
rest per week. If required to work beyond the standard workweek, 
workers must be paid overtime. A higher overtime rate is set for 
working at night. The maximum number of hours of overtime was 12 hours 
per week, which generally was respected, except in subcontracting 
companies where workers sometimes were required to work up to 28 hours 
of overtime per week. The Ministry of Labor did not deploy sufficient 
resources to enforce labor laws.
    The law also provides general protection for workers' health and 
safety on the job. However, a worker may not leave the workplace for 
health reasons, even if there is a hazardous situation. A worker is 
allowed to request that an inspector from the Ministry of Labor confirm 
a workplace hazard; that inspector then may close down the workplace. 
Response time for inspectors ranged from three days in major cities to 
much longer in the countryside.
    The Social Security Institute is responsible for enforcing health 
and safety standards and regulations. In the formal sector, 
occupational health and safety was not a significant problem. However, 
there were no specific regulations governing health and safety 
standards in the agricultural sector, and in practice there was no 
enforcement of safety rules in the small mines that make up the vast 
majority of enterprises in the mining sector.

                               __________

                              EL SALVADOR

    El Salvador is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with an 
estimated population of 6.7 million. In 2004 voters elected Elias 
Antonio Saca of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) as 
President for a five-year term in generally free and fair elections. 
March nationwide municipal and legislative assembly elections were also 
free and fair. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective 
control of the security forces.
    Although the Government generally respected the rights of its 
citizens, protection of human rights was undermined by widespread 
violent crime, including gang-related violence, impunity, and 
corruption. The most significant human rights problems included harsh, 
violent, and overcrowded prison conditions; lengthy pretrial detention; 
inefficiency and corruption in the judicial system; violence and 
discrimination against women; abuses against children, child labor, and 
forced child prostitution; trafficking in persons; discrimination 
against persons with disabilities; discrimination against indigenous 
persons; discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation; 
and lack of enforcement of labor rights.
                        respect for human rights
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. As of November, however, the Office of the 
Inspector General of the Civilian National Police (PNCIG) reported that 
security forces allegedly killed 22 persons, in comparison with 23 in 
2005 and 29 in 2004. The PNCIG also reported that as of November, it 
had received 449 complaints of alleged violations to the integrity of 
persons. During the year the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights 
(PDDH) received 48 cases of attempted killings and determined that 12 
were for arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life.
    Through December the PDDH received complaints of mistreatment by 
police officials, including unlawful killings, attempted unlawful 
killings, assaults, and other offenses causing bodily harm. The PDDH 
determined that since 2005 the Civilian National Police (PNC) was at 
fault in 21 cases.
    The PNCIG reported that as of November, it had received 22 cases of 
alleged police involvement in killings. There was no information 
available regarding how many cases involving use of lethal force by the 
police concerned gang members. As of December, however, the PNC 
reported that 12,930 persons belonged to gangs.
    On February 15, the Sentencing Tribunal of Usulutan Jurisdiction 
exonerated two defendants, Santos Sanchez and Rosa Elba de Ortiz, 
charged in the 2004 killing of foreign labor activist Jose Gilberto 
Soto. The tribunal sentenced Joel Ramirez Gomez to 25 years in prison 
for the killing. The remaining defendants were found not guilty and 
released.
    During a July 5 demonstration outside the University of El 
Salvador, masked militants associated with the Revolutionary Student 
Brigade and Popular Youth Bloc vandalized public and private property. 
As police tried to restore order, a sniper who was later identified as 
former Faribundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) city councilman 
Jose Mario Belloso Castillo fired on police with a military rifle, 
resulting in the killing of two police officers and the wounding of 10 
others. Several hours after a search warrant was issued police entered 
the campus. Police officers did not employ lethal force in responding 
to the protestors, and protestors suffered no serious injuries. At 
year's end Belloso remained at large and was the subject of an Interpol 
arrest warrant. His accomplice Luis Antonio Herrador was in custody 
awaiting a hearing scheduled for April 2007 (see section 2.a.).
    On October 12, PNC officers Victor Manuel Cabrera Valladares, Henry 
Vladimir Valladares Sanchez, Julio Cesar Rivera Sanchez, and Jaime 
Olivares Martinez were suspended from duty for 180, 90, and 120 days, 
respectively, for consuming alcoholic beverages during work hours and 
negligence, resulting in PNC Officer Nelson Alexander Minero Vasquez's 
March 2005 killing of PNC Officer Antonio Cruz Vasquez. On February 1, 
the PNC dismissed Minero Vasquez from his job.
    Following a reported November 29 death threat against Ricardo 
Alberto Iglesias Herrera, an expert named by a court to evaluate 
impunity and administration of justice, the President of the court 
requested in December that the Government take measures to protect 
Iglesias Herrera's life.
    On December 3, Oscar Cesar Vanegas died in a public hospital after 
he was arrested and allegedly injured by police officers Edilberto 
Alexander Cruz Chavez, Angel Antonio Garcia Hernandez, and William 
Leonidas Beltran in Tenancingo, Cuscatlan Department. On December 15, 
the Office of the Attorney General (AG) issued arrest warrants for the 
officers involved. At year's end the case remained under investigation 
by the AG and the PNCIG.
    There were no developments during the year regarding the 
investigation into the killing of Melvin Guadalupe during 2004 riots in 
San Salvador, during which the police reportedly used excessive force.
    On September 26, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights asked the 
Government to protect the lives of the family of Mauricio Garcia 
Prieto, who was killed in 1994 by three armed men with suspected ties 
to the armed forces, and the family's legal counselors at the Institute 
of Human Rights of the University of Central America (IDHUCA).
    On March 2, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) 
admitted for review a 1990 petition filed by the Legal Aid Office 
(Oficina de Tutela Legal) of the Archbishop of San Salvador, alleging 
the Government's responsibility for violating the human rights of 765 
persons killed extrajudicially during a 1981 military operation known 
as the ``El Mozote Massacre,'' conducted by the armed forces' Atlacatl 
Battalion in the cantons of La Joya and Cerro Pando, and in the 
villages of El Mozote, Jocote Amarillo, Rancheria, and Los Toriles.
    During the year there were no further developments regarding 
whether the Government would reopen the case of the 1980 killing of 
Archbishop Oscar Romero, despite continued calls by the Catholic Church 
to reopen the investigation.
    There were no developments in the PNC's investigation of 
discoveries of a number of decapitated bodies of persons killed in 
2005, possibly due to gang violence.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances. Most disappearances were criminal kidnappings for 
ransom, and there were no reports of kidnappings by governmental 
actors. According to statistics from the AG, 16 persons were kidnapped 
during the year, compared with 10 during 2005. Of the 16 cases, 12 were 
resolved and four remained under investigation.
    The Association for the Search of Disappeared Children (Pro-
Busqueda) investigated 97 cases of children who disappeared during the 
year and in previous years, opened files for 22 new cases, organized 10 
family reunification meetings, and determined the location of 15 
children who had disappeared, two of whom had died.
    At year's end the IACHR had not published any findings regarding 
its February 2005 reopening of the 1982 case of the disappearances of 
Gregoria Herminia, Serapio Cristian, and Julia Ines Contreras, captured 
by members of the military's Fifth Infantry Brigade during an operation 
carried out at La Conacastada, San Vicente Department. On December 12, 
Pro-Busqueda organized the family reunification of Gregoria Herminia 
Contreras with her biological mother.
    On September 22, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a 
resolution stating that the Government had not complied with the 
measures set out in the Serrano Cruz case and ordered once again that 
the state ``adopt all the measures necessary to ensure that the points 
of the sentence pending completion are given effect and observed as 
soon as possible.'' The court asked the Government to present a report 
before January 19, 2007, in which the Government would confirm its 
compliance with all of the reparation measures.
    The reparation measures ordered by the court included that the 
Government publish the sentence in a national newspaper, designate a 
day dedicated to the children who disappeared during the internal armed 
conflict between 1980 and 1992, and pay Pro-Busqueda's $38,000 in court 
costs.
    On December 28, the Government published the court's sentence in 
the leading daily La Prensa Grafica. The Government also designated 
March 29 as the Day for Disappeared Children of the Armed Conflict, and 
paid Pro-Busqueda's court costs. According to media accounts, the court 
also stated that the Government had not yet adequately complied with 
other requirements of the resolution, including providing free medical 
and psychological treatment for relatives of the victims; creating a 
website to search for children who disappeared; forming a national 
search commission to search for children who disappeared; and 
developing a system to enable the conservation of genetic data for 
determining family relationships.
    There were no developments regarding the IACHR's October 2005 
agreement to review the 2001 complaint filed by Pro-Busqueda and the 
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) regarding the 1983 
disappearance of three-year-old Jose Ruben Rivera, who was allegedly 
abducted by the military's Fifth Infantry Brigade, and the subsequent 
failure of the Government to investigate and make reparations for these 
violations.
    There were no developments regarding the IACHR's October 2005 
acceptance for review of a 2001 complaint filed by Pro-Busqueda and 
CEJIL concerning the disappearance of Ana Julia and Carmelina Mejia 
Ramirez, allegedly abducted by the military's Atlacatl Battalion in 
1981, and for the Government's subsequent failure to investigate and 
make reparations.
    On November 9, the IACHR admitted the case of Jose Adrian Hernandez 
Rochac, who disappeared in 1980 when he was five years old during a 
military operation carried out by the Salvadoran Air Force in San Jose 
Segundo, San Salvador Department.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, but during the 
year the PDDH received 824 complaints that PNC officers used excessive 
force or otherwise mistreated detainees. The PDDH found PNC officers 
responsible in 33 cases. The PNCIG received 22 petitions to investigate 
cases of alleged violations of personal integrity.
    On October 17, police officers Juan Pablo Reyes Guevara and Jose 
Mauricio Trejo of the PNC's counternarcotics unit allegedly injured two 
persons near the University of El Salvador during a routine search. At 
year's end the AG was investigating the case.
    Through November the PNCIG received 1,499 complaints of police 
misconduct and submitted 12 of these to special investigation units. 
The PNCIG sanctioned 2,778 officers in response to complaints filed 
during the year and in previous years. The sanctions included 
dismissing 369 officers for misconduct, suspending 453 from work 
without pay for serious violations, and suspending 1,956 from work 
without pay for minor infractions.
    On March 31, police officer Wilfredo Antonio Romero Garcia was 
sentenced to six years in prison on sexual abuse and extortion charges 
in connection with a 2005 PNC investigation finding that six PNC agents 
had forced alien minors to have sex with them to avoid deportation. 
Romero Garcia presented a petition before the Criminal Chamber of the 
Supreme Court to annul the sentence. By year's end the Supreme Court 
was considering Romero's appeal. The other five PNC agent defendants 
remained in pretrial detention.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
dangerous and harsh. Overcrowding constituted a serious threat to 
prisoners' health and lives. The prison population increased for the 
sixth consecutive year.
    There were 14,682 prisoners held in 21 correctional facilities and 
two secure hospitals wards, with a combined designed capacity of 7,372 
persons. At year's end 9,893 inmates had been tried and convicted, and 
5,841 were held in pretrial detention. During the year 44 inmates 
escaped from correctional facilities; 22 were recaptured.
    Through December correctional facilities authorities reported 14 
riots in nine prisons in Apanteos, Chalatenango, Ciudad Barrios, 
Cojutepeque, Ilopango, Oriental, Quezaltepeque, San Francisco Gotera, 
San Miguel, Santa Ana, and Zacatecoluca. Between February 3 and 4, 
several inmates at La Esperanza Central Penitentiary broke out of their 
cells and temporarily took control of cell blocks. In March and May 
prisoners rioted briefly at La Esperanza before authorities 
reestablished control of the facility.
    On February 22, the vice minister of governance criticized 
penitentiary judges' backlog, stating that the cases of 380 inmates who 
had fulfilled all legal, social, and psychological requirements for 
parole were still pending review.
    Prison authorities reported that during the year 18 prisoners died 
due to violence, and 25 died due to natural causes. Prisoners obtained 
weapons that had been smuggled into prisons, in some cases apparently 
with the knowledge of guards.
    Prison authorities seized from prisoners 14,759 bags of marijuana, 
2,658 bags of crack cocaine, 56 bags of cocaine, 357 cell phones, 529 
machetes, 1,121 knives, 1,963 homemade edged weapons, 13 improvised 
explosive devices, and nine ounces of poison.
    Gang activities in prisons remained a serious problem.
    By year's end 4,375 inmates were gang members, which was 
approximately 25 percent of the prison population. Gangs continued to 
exercise influence within the prisons and the judicial system, and 
prisoners reportedly continued to run criminal activities from their 
cells. Gang violence in juvenile holding facilities was a serious 
problem. Following discussions over several weeks with a commission of 
the Directorate of Prisons, gangs within the maximum-security prison at 
Zacatecoluca ended a hunger strike that began in September 2005.
    In March the Directorate of Prisons, the Ministry of Health, and 
the HIV/AIDS nongovernmental organization (NGO) FUNDASIDA began 
implementing a voluntary HIV testing program for inmates in the 
nation's penitentiaries. Between March and August approximately 7,069 
inmates underwent voluntary HIV testing. During November and December 
prison employees received medical training for dealing with HIV-
positive inmates, and prison staff trained 51 prisoners to conduct HIV/
AIDS awareness-raising campaigns among inmates.
    On October 5, a prison guard at Apanteos penitentiary reportedly 
attempted to provide illegal drugs for inmate consumption. At year's 
end the AG was investigating the case.
    On January 13, sentencing judges acquitted 13 Mariona prison 
inmates previously found guilty of homicide in August 2005 in relation 
to a 2004 prison riot.
    By year's end there were no new developments regarding the 
recapture of seven remaining prisoners who had escaped in September 
2005 from Ilobasco Penitentiary.
    Due to a lack of holding cells, pretrial detainees often were sent 
to regular prisons where sometimes they were placed together with 
violent criminals.
    The Government permitted prison monitoring visits by independent 
human rights observers, NGOs, and the media; such visits occurred 
during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, there were complaints that at 
times the PNC arbitrarily arrested and detained persons. The PNCIG 
reported that by year's end it had received 304 complaints of arbitrary 
acts, including arbitrary arrest, and 149 other complaints that police 
officers acted beyond the scope of their authority. The PDDH reported 
that through December PNC officials were responsible for 30 cases of 
arbitrary detention and 33 cases of excessive use of force and 
mistreatment of detainees.
    On September 26, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights asked the 
Government to take necessary measures to protect Major Adrian Melendez 
Quijano and his family, who filed a complaint in August against Defense 
Minister Otto Alejandro Romero for illegal detention and labor rights 
violations.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNC maintains 
public security, and the Ministry of Defense is responsible for 
national security. The military provided support for a few PNC patrols 
in rural areas and also gave support to the law enforcement agencies 
for specific activities, including antinarcotics efforts. The Ministry 
of Governance headed the Anti-Gang Task Force. Approximately 823 
military personnel were deployed to protect police in high crime areas. 
Military personnel, however, do not have arrest authority.
    The PNC's effectiveness was undermined by inadequate training, 
corruption, insufficient government funding, and the lack of a uniform 
code of evidence. Persons could report complaints about PNC abuses to 
the PDDH or the PNCIG, which then investigate the case or refer the 
matter to the AG for further review.
    The PNCIG reported that during the year 1,652 officers received 
human rights awareness training. The Salvadoran Institute for the 
Development of Women (ISDEMU), a government agency, gave training to 
the police regarding prevention of rape, child abuse, and related 
offenses. The NGO ``Norma Virginia Guirola de Herrera'' Women's Studies 
Institute also trained police regarding the treatment of women. The 
International Law Enforcement Academy for training police, prosecutors, 
and other public security and judicial officials began operating during 
the year at temporary facilities in Santa Tecla.
    By year's end the AG reported receiving 301 complaints of alleged 
irregularities against prosecutors, compared with 215 complaints for 
the year 2005. The irregularities included workplace harassment, sexual 
harassment, corruption, fraud, and lack of due diligence in 
presentation of charges before a court.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and the law require a 
written warrant for arrest, except in cases where an individual is 
arrested in the commission of a crime. In practice authorities 
apprehended persons openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence 
and issued by a duly authorized official and brought them before 
appropriate judicial officials. The constitution provides that a 
detainee has the right to a prompt judicial determination of the 
legality of the detention, and authorities generally respected this 
right in practice. In general detainees were promptly informed of 
charges against them.
    The law permits release on bail for detainees who are unlikely to 
flee or whose release would not impede the investigation of the case. 
Because it may take several years for a case to come to trial, some 
prisoners were incarcerated longer than the maximum legal sentences for 
their crimes. In such circumstances, a detainee was able to request a 
review by the Supreme Court of the continued detention.
    The courts generally enforced a ruling that interrogation without 
the presence of counsel is considered coercion, and that any evidence 
obtained in such a manner is inadmissible. As a result, PNC authorities 
generally delayed questioning until a public defender or an attorney 
arrived. Family members were allowed prompt access to detainees. 
Detainees generally had prompt access to counsel of their choosing or 
to an attorney provided by the state.
    The constitution permits the PNC to hold a person for 72 hours 
before delivering the suspect to court, after which the judge may order 
detention for an additional 72 hours to determine if an investigation 
is warranted. Because of a lack of holding cells, such detainees often 
were sent to regular prisons where they might be placed together with 
violent criminals (see section 1.c.). The law permits a judge to take 
up to six months to investigate serious crimes before requiring either 
a trial or dismissal of the case. In exceptionally complicated cases, 
the prosecutor may ask the appeals court to extend the deadline for 
three or six months, depending on the seriousness of the crime. Many 
cases were not completed within the legally prescribed time frame. As 
of December 4,789 inmates were held in pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the judiciary suffered from inefficiency 
and corruption. Corruption in the judicial system contributed to 
impunity from the country's civil and criminal laws. Impunity remained 
a significant problem, undermining respect for the judiciary and the 
rule of law. As of September the civil courts reported a workload of 
4,500 cases.
    On June 27, the AG announced it was investigating seven judges for 
corruption. By year's end the Supreme Court had sanctioned two and 
ordered disciplinary procedures against the other five. The Supreme 
Court also sanctioned 25 other judges.
    On July 1, the Supreme Court issued a public statement that it 
would discharge corrupt or negligent judges, and that it would improve 
internal controls through a new process of judicial investigations to 
address the failure of judges to follow procedures, judges' absences 
from legal proceedings, and other sanctionable offenses.
    On August 25, Supreme Court Justice Mirna Perla telephoned and 
visited first-instance judges in an attempt to influence them to 
transfer Doctor Yomar Vallejo, a staff member of the Social Security 
Institute (ISSS) awaiting trial on charges of corruption, from a 
military hospital to a public hospital. On August 30, Perla alleged 
that Vallejo required special attention that the military hospital 
could not provide.
    CID-Gallup polls in October revealed citizens' belief that judicial 
system inefficiencies allowed criminals to escape from justice. Many 
judges allowed unjustified trial delays, but few were ever sanctioned 
for this practice. NGOs such as the Foundation for Studies in Legal 
Application, the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social 
Development, and IDHUCA continued to complain that the Supreme Court 
did not respond adequately to public criticism and did not make a 
comprehensive effort to remove unqualified and corrupt judges.
    The PNC, prosecutors, public defenders, and the courts continued to 
have problems with criminal investigations. Inadequate government 
funding of the PNC, combined with intimidation and killing of victims 
and witnesses, made it difficult to identify, arrest, and prosecute 
perpetrators of human rights abuses and other crimes, thus diminishing 
public confidence in the justice system.
    There were no developments regarding any investigation of the 
killing or any arrest of gang members who killed trial witness Antonio 
Alexander Pacas in September 2005.
    On March 14, the IACHR admitted a 2000 IDHUCA complaint alleging 
the Government's responsibility in the violation of the right to a fair 
trial and other human rights of Supreme Electoral Tribunal Magistrate 
Eduardo Benjamin Colindres, whom the Legislative Assembly dismissed 
from his job on grounds of performance irregularities. At year's end 
the IACHR continued to examine the merits of the case.
    On May 15, Levis Italmir Orellana, President of the Judges and 
Appellate Judges Association, stated that a witness and victim 
protection law, passed by the legislature on April 26, was 
unconstitutional. The law went into force on August 22. Italmir 
Orellana asserted that he and other judges would not enforce its 
provisions because of what they viewed as a conflict with the 
presumption of innocence and a defendant's right to confront his or her 
accuser.
    On June 28, sentencing judges Manuel Edgardo Turcios, Rosa Estela 
Hernandez, and Ramon Ivan Garcia compelled four sexually abused minors 
to testify in front of their stepfather, who allegedly had raped them, 
violating established law and AG guidance proscribing forcing sexual 
abuse victims to testify in the presence of their alleged abusers. The 
AG and NGOs publicly criticized the judges' decision, but because the 
victims did not present a complaint to the Supreme Court regarding the 
violation of the established law, the judges were not sanctioned for 
their behavior. On July 11, the Fourth Sentencing Tribunal in San 
Salvador sentenced the stepfather to 18 years imprisonment and ordered 
him to pay a $1,000 fine.
    On June 27, the AG announced it had initiated investigations 
against seven judges for corruption and malfeasance, including for 
compelling victims of sexual abuse to testify in the presence of their 
alleged abusers.
    On August 22, the Government inaugurated a new center for victims 
and witnesses but allocated inadequate resources to enable the center 
to provide victims with adequate care.
    During the year the AG received 301 complaints of prosecutorial 
irregularities, including bribery, negligence, and failure to attend 
legal proceedings, compared with 215 in 2005.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding 
the criminal court's 2004 decision to release from police custody, and 
to dismiss charges against, criminal court legal clerk Graciela Roque, 
in connection with the 2004 flight from justice of Raul Garcia Prieto.
    At year's end there were no developments, and none were expected, 
regarding an appellate court's 2004 decision to uphold a lower court 
ruling to transfer defendant Fernando Palacios Luna, convicted of 
kidnapping and organized crime, from a maximum-security to a medium-
security prison.
    The court system has four levels: justices of the peace, trial 
courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court 
oversees the budget and administration of the court system, and selects 
justices of the peace, trial judges, and appellate judges from a list 
of nominees proposed by the National Judiciary Council (CNJ), an 
independent body that nominates, trains, and evaluates justices. There 
are separate court systems for family matters and juvenile offenders. 
The law requires that minors from 12 to 17 years of age be tried in 
juvenile courts.
    On October 5, the President of the CNJ recommended that the Supreme 
Court sanction 39 judges following an evaluation of the conduct of 652 
judges in 2005.
    Although juries were used for specific charges, including 
environmental pollution and certain misdemeanors, judges decided most 
cases. By law juries hear only cases that the law does not assign to 
sentencing courts. After the jury's determination of innocence or 
guilt, a tribunal decides the sentence.
    Defendants have the right to be present in court and to question 
witnesses and present witnesses and evidence. Although the constitution 
further provides for the presumption of innocence, protection from 
self-incrimination, the right to legal counsel, freedom from coercion, 
and government-provided legal counsel for the indigent, these legal 
rights and protections were not always respected in practice. Although 
a jury's verdict is final, a judge's verdict can be appealed. Trials 
are public.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the law provides 
for access to the courts, enabling litigants to bring civil matter 
lawsuits, including seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights 
violations, the judiciary was not independent or impartial. Judges were 
subject to outside influence. Some persons sought to bring their cases 
before international bodies, such as the Inter-American Court of Human 
Rights and the IACHR, because they believed that these organizations 
would adjudicate their claims with greater fairness and impartiality. 
The law provides administrative remedies for alleged wrongs through the 
PDDH, the solicitor's office, the Government Ethics Tribunal, and the 
Center for Consumer Protection, as well as administrative offices 
within the various ministries. There were problems in enforcing 
domestic court orders.

    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.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice. During official Presidential 
addresses to the country, all telecommunications media routinely were 
blacked out except for radio and television stations carrying the 
President's presentation. NGOs commented that this exerted a chilling 
effect on free speech. The independent media were active and expressed 
a variety of views without restriction. International media were 
allowed to operate freely.
    There were no further developments, and none were expected, 
regarding the 2004 convictions for public disorder and the sentencing 
of defendants to two-year suspended sentences in relation to attacks on 
journalists and the burning of media vehicles in 2004 during a 
demonstration by social security workers.
    International NGOs generally commented positively on the status of 
press freedom in the country. Some media groups asserted, however, that 
a criminal code provision allowing judges to close court proceedings if 
public exposure could prejudice a case abridged press freedom. 
According to some practitioners and observers, at times newspaper 
editors and radio directors discouraged journalists from reporting on 
topics or presenting views that the owners or publishers might not view 
favorably.
    Following the fatal shootings of police officers during a July 5 
riot at the University of El Salvador (see section 1.a.), social 
activist Gilberto Garcia reportedly attempted to intimidate La Prensa 
Grafica photographer Milton Flores during preliminary hearings against 
Luis Antonio Herrador. At the hearings Herrador and former Mejicanos 
city councilman Jose Belloso Castillo were charged as accomplices in 
the shootings. Garcia stated that his presence at the hearings was 
connected to his work as a media correspondent. Flores's photographs 
were key evidence in the case against the fugitive Belloso Castillo 
(see section 1.a.).
    On July 8, the Salvadoran Press Association strongly condemned 
violence against journalists covering the events of July 5 (see section 
1.a.), including attacks and property destruction by demonstrators 
against Teledos television reporter Ernesto Landos, El Diario de Hoy 
photographer Felipe Ayala, and YSUCA radio reporter Ivan Perez.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic and Cultural Freedom.--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 freedom of assembly, and the 
Government generally respected this right in practice. On September 21, 
the Legislative Assembly passed new counterterrorism legislation, which 
FMLN leaders alleged was instituted to undermine the ability of 
demonstrators to carry out civil disturbances to protest government 
policies. During July 5 demonstrations, masked individuals vandalized 
public and private property, and a former FMLN councilman fatally shot 
two police officers and wounded 10 others. Police did not use lethal 
force and no demonstrators suffered serious injuries (see section 
1.a.).

    Freedom of Association.--Although the constitution provides for 
freedom of association, there were concerns regarding registration 
delays of certain types of civil society groups. NGOs asserted that the 
Governance Ministry delayed approval of legal status for NGOs with 
particular human rights or political agendas. There were no 
developments regarding the Governance Ministry's 2005 denial of legal 
status to En Nombre de la Rosa, a homosexual and transvestite advocacy 
NGO (see section 5).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. Under the law for nonprofit organizations and foundations, 
the Ministry of Governance has responsibility for registering, 
regulating, and overseeing the finances of NGOs, non-Catholic churches, 
and other religious groups. The law exempts unions, cooperatives, and 
the Roman Catholic Church from this registration requirement. Although 
the law prohibits visitors to the country from proselytizing while on a 
visitor or tourist visa, this prohibition was not enforced.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community totaled approximately 150 persons.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government 
observed this prohibition in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
refugee status or asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government established a system for providing protection to refugees. 
In August the President enacted new regulations relating to the status 
of refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. During the year the Government received two refugee 
petitions from Sri Lankan nationals and granted the two applicants 
refugee status. The Government also provided temporary protection to 
individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 UN 
Convention or 1967 Protocol. The Government cooperated with the office 
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
    Pursuant to concerns brought by the UNHCR to the Government, in 
April the Government granted refugee status to 29 Nicaraguans who had 
moved to the country during the 1980s but had never completed 
procedures for receiving refugee status.
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.
    In March elections, described as free and fair by international 
observers, the ruling center-right ARENA party won a plurality of 34 
deputy seats in the 84-seat unicameral Legislative Assembly and later 
negotiated with the 10 deputies of the center-right National 
Conciliation Party (PCN) and the five deputies of the center-left 
Christian Democratic Party (PDC) to maintain a simple working majority. 
The opposition FMLN Party won 32 seats in the March elections.
    In 2004 ARENA party candidate Elias Antonio Saca won the 
Presidential election, which the Organization of American States and 
other international observers reported was free, fair, and with few 
irregularities.
    The country's vice President was a woman, and 13 of 84 legislators 
were women. There were five women on the 15-member Supreme Court.
    No persons identified as members of an ethnic or religious minority 
held leadership positions in the Government or the Legislative 
Assembly.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were reports of 
substantial government corruption during the year within the judicial 
system (see section 1.e.), as well as in the executive and legislative 
branches.
    On grounds of lacking jurisdictional competence, on May 12, the AG 
declined to proceed with a challenge brought by a justice of the 
Supreme Court contesting a June 2005 decision by the Supreme Court 
holding that a request by the court's probity section for bank records 
of former cabinet members of the 1999-2004 Flores administration 
violated due process.
    During the year, acting on a petition of the Probity Section of the 
Supreme Court, the AG prosecuted 30 public officials, including 17 
legislators and former legislators, 12 members of municipal councils, 
and a former director of public transportation. By year's end eight 
legislators had paid the fines imposed upon them by the Supreme Court, 
and the assets of eight other public officials were ordered embargoed.
    On November 29, the Legislative Assembly revoked the immunity of 
PCN Alternate Deputy Roberto Carlos Silva Pereira, accused of money 
laundering, illicit negotiations with mayors, and fraud. Following the 
revocation of immunity, the AG submitted the case to the First 
Appellate Court of San Salvador to determine whether to proceed with a 
trial. At year's end the court had not arrived at a decision.
    Although the law provides for public access to government 
information, the public had difficulty accessing government budget 
figures, information involving investigations by the comptroller's 
office, and information on cases before the Supreme Court.
Section 4. 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. Although government 
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to these groups, 
officials at times were reluctant to discuss worker rights issues with 
NGOs and refused to discuss the topic with the PDDH. Domestic and 
international NGOs were required to register with the Government, and 
some reported difficulties (see section 2.b.).
    The principal human rights investigative and monitoring body is the 
PDDH, whose head is elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-
year term. The PDDH operated independently, without government or 
political party interference. On August 17, the Fourth Chamber of First 
Instance of the Court of Accounts found 16 administrative failures and 
four financial failures against the PDDH amounting to $21,585.27, 
relating to the 2004 fiscal year. By year's end the PDDH had appealed 
the court's verdict.
    During the year the PDDH reported receiving death threats from 
unknown sources. The PDDH regularly issued reports and press releases 
and maintained a constructive dialogue with the President's office. The 
Government publicly acknowledged receipt of the PDDH's reports. In some 
cases, however, the Government did not take action on PDDH reports' 
recommendations, which are not legally binding.
    By year's end the PDDH had accepted 2,703 complaints of human 
rights violations (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.) and had issued 1,082 
preliminary decisions and 660 final decisions for cases filed during 
the year and previous years. The rights most frequently alleged to have 
been violated related to personal integrity, freedom of movement, labor 
laws, access to justice, and personal security. The PDDH provided no 
information regarding the number of cases it dismissed or the number of 
cases in which it issued recommendations.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the constitution and laws establish that all persons are 
equal before the law and prohibit discrimination regardless of race, 
gender, disability, language or social status, in practice the 
Government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. There was 
discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and indigenous 
people regarding salaries and hiring.

    Women.--Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a 
widespread and serious problem. The law prohibits domestic violence and 
provides for sentences ranging from one to three years in prison. In 
addition convicted offenders are prohibited from using alcohol or drugs 
and from carrying guns. The length of the prohibition depends on the 
circumstances of the case and is at the judge's discretion. The law 
also permits the imposition of restraining orders against offenders. 
Domestic violence was considered socially acceptable by a large portion 
of the population. Few victims filed complaints against abusers, and 
the police reportedly at times were reluctant to pursue charges in such 
cases. ISDEMU conducted public awareness campaigns against domestic 
violence and sexual abuse in coordination with the judicial and 
executive branches and with civil society groups.
    During the year ISDEMU received 4,792 reports of domestic violence, 
compared with 4,033 complaints in 2005 and 4,329 in 2004, and the PNC 
received 773 complaints of domestic violence during the year.
    Incidents of domestic violence and rape continued to be 
underreported for a number of reasons, including societal and cultural 
pressures against victims, fears of reprisal, ineffective and 
unsupportive responses by the authorities toward victims, fear of 
publicity, and a perception among victims that cases were unlikely to 
be prosecuted.
    Government institutions such as the PDDH, the AG, the Supreme 
Court, the public defender's office, and the PNC coordinated efforts 
with NGOs and other organizations to combat violence against women 
through education, increased enforcement of the law, and NGO support 
programs for victims. The National Secretariat for the Family, through 
ISDEMU, defined policies, programs, and projects on domestic violence 
and continued to maintain a hot line and a shelter for victims of 
domestic abuse. Judges are permitted to give NGOs legal authority to 
assist victims of domestic violence.
    Rape and other sexual crimes against women were widespread and 
serious problems. ISDEMU received 891 cases of sexual abuse, including 
rape. The PNC received reports of 488 rapes against children and 869 
rapes against women, in comparison with 455 cases of rape and 225 cases 
of other sexual assaults during 2005. There was no information 
available on the number of rapes and other sexual assaults that were 
gang-related.
    The law permits the AG to prosecute rape cases with or without a 
complaint from the victim and does not permit the victim's pardon to 
nullify the criminal charge. In general the penalty for rape is six to 
10 years in prison, but the law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 
years for rape of certain classes of victims, including children and 
persons with disabilities.
    ISDEMU conducted sensitivity and technical courses for the 
education, government, public health, and social assistance ministries; 
the judiciary; the PNC; the AG; and the ISSS. During the year ISDEMU 
provided psychological assistance to 13,872 victims of rape and other 
forms of sexual abuse, child abuse, and domestic violence.
    Although the law does not specifically address spousal rape, it may 
be considered a crime if the actions meet the definition of rape in the 
criminal code.
    Although prostitution is legal, the law prohibits inducing, 
facilitating, promoting, or giving incentives to a person to work as a 
prostitute. Prostitution remained common, and there were credible 
reports that some women and girls were forced into prostitution (see 
section 6.c.). There were no reports that police or other public 
security officials condoned or engaged in abuse of persons engaged in 
prostitution.
    There were no reports of sex tourism. Trafficking in women and 
girls for purposes of sexual exploitation was a problem (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment and stipulates penalties of 
three to five years in prison for those convicted of harassment, or 
four to eight years in cases where the victim was a minor under the age 
of 15. Fines are added to the prison term in cases where the 
perpetrator is in a position of authority or trust over the victim.
    The Government did not enforce sexual harassment laws effectively. 
It was difficult to estimate the extent of the problem. Underreporting 
by victims of sexual harassment appeared to be related to traditional 
cultural norms. ISDEMU estimated that 40 percent of incidents of sexual 
abuse and rape were preceded by sexual harassment. Even though 
pregnancy testing as a condition for employment is illegal, some 
employers, including maquila factories in the export processing zones 
(EPZs), required female job applicants to present pregnancy test 
results and also fired workers found to be pregnant (see section 6).
    The constitution grants women and men the same legal rights under 
family and property law, but at times women did not receive equal 
treatment in practice. The law establishes sentences of one to three 
years in prison for public officials who deny a person's civil rights 
based on gender. Although the law provides for a prison sentence of six 
months to two years for employers who discriminate against women in 
labor relations, it was difficult for employees to report such 
violations because they feared reprisals.
    Women suffered from cultural and societal discrimination and had 
reduced economic opportunities. Men often received priority in job 
placement and promotions, and women were not accorded equal respect or 
stature in traditional male-dominated sectors, such as agriculture and 
business. Training for women generally was confined to low-wage 
occupational areas where women already held most positions, in fields 
such as teaching, nursing, home industries, and small businesses.
    A 2003 UN Development Program study, the most recent available, 
reported that women earned on average $3,350 per year, compared with 
$7,381 for men. In the maquila sector, where women formed approximately 
85 percent of the labor force, men held the majority of positions in 
management and in departments where employees received higher wages.
    During the year ISDEMU gave human rights awareness training on 
various issues, including prevention of domestic violence, public 
policies relating to gender, and HIV/AIDS to approximately 12,300 men 
and women. ISDEMU, along with Foundation for Small and Medium-Sized 
Enterprises and the Salvadoran Institute for Professional Training, 
also supported combating economic discrimination through providing 
technical and financial assistance to 1,305 female heads of household 
in 25 municipalities.

    Children.--The Government was committed to improving children's 
rights and welfare but allocated insufficient resources and suffered 
from poor interagency coordination in its child welfare activities. The 
Salvadoran Institute for Children and Adolescents (ISNA), an autonomous 
entity, has primary responsibility for child welfare issues.
    The Government focused on improving children's education, with the 
goal of creating a more competitive work force through continuing 
programs that supported bilingual studies and computer and mathematics 
skills.
    The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor, with foreign 
government assistance, coordinated the APRENDO program that raised 
awareness among students, teachers, and parents regarding the 
importance of remaining in school and avoiding harmful forms of child 
labor. The Government also continued to cooperate in a program 
sponsored by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) that provided information 
to children regarding sexual and commercial exploitation.
    Education is free, universal, and compulsory through the ninth 
grade and nominally free through high school. Children on average 
attended school for approximately 5.5 years. The law prohibits persons 
from impeding children's access to school due to inability to pay fees 
or buy uniforms. Some public schools, however, continued to charge 
student fees, preventing poor children from attending school. Rural 
areas fell short of providing a ninth grade education to all potential 
students, due to a lack of resources and because rural parents often 
withdrew their children from school by the sixth grade to work. The 
majority of private schools dismissed adolescent females in cases of 
pregnancy but authorized adolescent males who were expectant fathers to 
continue studying.
    Boys and girls enjoyed equal access to state-provided medical care.
    Child abuse was a serious and widespread problem. ISDEMU reported 
2,932 cases of child abuse, including 623 cases of negligence, 468 
cases of mistreatment, 434 cases of children living on the streets, 265 
cases of sexual abuse, 260 cases of abandonment, and 79 cases of 
children employed as beggars.
    Notwithstanding unsubstantiated reports in previous years of police 
abuse of street children, during the year the PNCIG and the PDDH 
received no reports of PNC abuse of street children. The Government 
provided street children with food, shelter, and healthcare. There were 
174 street children housed in ISNA shelters, but ISNA lacked adequate 
resources to provide assistance to all street children.
    As of September ISNA reported 184 cases of sexual crimes against 
children, including prostitution, rape, statutory rape, and 
molestation; 411 cases of negligence; 186 cases of abandonment; 184 
cases of domestic violence; and 53 cases of exploitation as beggars. 
International Labor Organization (ILO) data indicated that there was 
societal tolerance toward having sexual relations with minors.
    The law prohibits participating in, facilitating, or purchasing 
materials containing child pornography and sanctions offending adults 
with prison sentences of up to 16 years. Following the August 
publication of an article in La Prensa that reported despite legal 
prohibitions, pornographic materials remained available through vendors 
in San Salvador, police in the capital undertook a crackdown to stop 
the sale and distribution of pornographic materials.
    Child labor remained a widespread and serious problem. In September 
the Ministry of Education reported that its 2004-2005 school attendance 
census, the most recent available, revealed that approximately 15 
percent of students between five and 17 years old worked, with children 
in rural areas most likely to be involved in work activities (see 
section 6).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and 
within the country. Trafficking in persons and forced prostitution are 
felonies, penalized by four to eight years' imprisonment. If the 
trafficking victim is under 18, suffers mental or physical disease, 
suffers violations to freedom of transit in a foreign country, dies as 
a consequence of negligence or imprudence, or if the perpetrator is a 
law enforcement agent or public officer, the maximum sentence increases 
by one-third.
    The country was a source, transit, and destination country for 
women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. 
The country was also a source country for forced labor. There was 
evidence that the country was a transit point for girls trafficked to 
Mexico, the United States, neighboring Central American countries, and 
elsewhere. Most international trafficking victims came from Nicaragua, 
Honduras, and South America. Some children were trafficked internally 
to cities, particularly to Acajutla and San Miguel, and to bars and 
border regions. Sex trafficking of minors occurred within the country's 
borders, as did sex trafficking in which commercial sex was induced by 
force, fraud, or coercion. According to the ILO's International Program 
to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor (IPEC), girls were sexually 
exploited commercially in San Salvador and San Miguel.
    There were no firm estimates on the extent of trafficking. 
Particular groups at special risk for trafficking were girls and young 
women from 12 to 19 years of age, persons from rural and poor areas, 
single mothers in poor areas, adolescents without formal schooling, 
adolescent mothers, unemployed young men, and foreign girls. In October 
the ILO stated that children were most vulnerable to become victims of 
trafficking.
    According to immigration authorities, the principal traffickers in 
the country were the owners of topless bars and brothels and employment 
agencies that offered inducements for work in beauty salons, as models, 
in gyms, as maids, or in factories. The PNC reported that the most 
common methods of obtaining victims were kidnapping, lucrative job 
offers, and inducement into prostitution by family, friends, and 
smugglers. Some victims were transported by organizations. Most 
victims, however, entered the country on their own from Nicaragua, 
Honduras, and other neighboring countries in response to job offers to 
work as domestic servants but upon arrival were forced into 
prostitution.
    By year's end the AG had prosecuted 35 cases of trafficking, with 
four cases resulting in convictions of seven traffickers. Traffickers 
received sentences between three and 20 years in prison.
    On February 1, Santa Tecla Justice of the Peace Eduardo Tenorio 
acquitted Jose Miguel Clara Uriarte, Oscar Ernesto Rodr!guez Perez, 
Jorge Armando Rodr!guez, and Roberto Carlos Melgar Suria of charges of 
sexual exploitation, rape, child pornography, alien smuggling, and 
prostitution of three Nicaraguan girls between 14 and 16 years of age. 
Tenorio claimed that the victims had entered the country of their own 
free will and that during their brief time in the country had not 
generated income for the defendants. The ILO and the AG publicly 
contested the decision on the grounds that it violated domestic laws 
and international conventions. On October 26, the Second Criminal Judge 
of Santa Tecla confirmed Judge Tenorio's decision. The AG appealed the 
decision, but an appellate court acquitted the defendants temporarily 
and offered the AG one year to present new evidence against them.
    On July 11, Juan Santos Martinez was sentenced to 20 years in 
prison for rape, violation to the right of freedom of transit, and 
trafficking in persons in relation to the purchase of a 13-year-old 
girl in Belize in August 2005.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, in the AG's 
attempt to reopen the case of Sara Elizabeth Galdamez de Orellana, 
arrested in 2004 for procuring for prostitution three girls aged 14 to 
16 in Metapan, but acquitted by a justice of the peace for lack of 
evidence.
    On March 5, the minister of foreign affairs formally swore in the 
National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, comprising the 
Government agencies responsible for addressing trafficking in persons. 
Government agencies on the committee included the Alien Smuggling and 
Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Office of the Attorney General; the 
PNC; ISNA; and the foreign affairs, governance, treasury, education, 
labor, health, and tourism ministries. The ILO and UNICEF advised and 
provided financial support to the committee.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor, along with the ILO, trained 
and provided trafficking awareness training to 60 PNC agents of the 
trafficking and alien smuggling division, 280 officers and 21 agents of 
the trafficking prevention unit, and 1,800 officers from other units. 
The National Academy of Public Security, the Ministry of Labor, and the 
ILO trained 62 new PNC agents on trafficking issues. Additionally the 
Ministry of Labor and the ILO gave trafficking awareness training to 75 
Ministry of Education psychologists, 90 ISDEMU staff members, 90 
judges, and 145 agents of the Migration Directorate.
    During the year the Government coordinated 14 cases of trafficking 
in cooperation with INTERPOL and Guatemalan, Belizean, Nicaraguan, and 
Mexican authorities, resulting in 24 arrests. By year's end there were 
no extraditions based on trafficking charges.
    The Government detained illegal migrants, including those who might 
have been trafficking victims. When illegal immigrants who were victims 
of trafficking were older than 18 years and did not request assistance 
or express fear for their lives, they were deported under the 
immigration law. Persons under 18 years of age were repatriated through 
ISNA cooperation with the counterpart organization in the victim's 
country of origin. The PNC encouraged national trafficking victims to 
press charges against traffickers. Victims could apply for temporary 
residence or refugee status if they were likely to face persecution in 
their country of origin.
    The Government provided access to legal, medical, and psychological 
services upon request. Victims of trafficking were not treated as 
criminals unless they were undocumented workers of legal age. Although 
the Government provided assistance to its repatriated citizens who were 
victims of trafficking, victims faced societal discrimination due to 
having engaged in prostitution or other commercial sexual activities.
    The Salvadoran Network Against Trafficking, comprising the ILO, 
Catholic Relief Services, the NGOs Las Dignas, CONAMUS, Flor de Piedra, 
FESPAD, and CARITAS, provided legal counseling and human rights 
awareness to victims of trafficking. CEMUJER, IDHUCA, CONAMUS, the 
International Office on Migration, and the ILO had programs to prevent 
trafficking. On April 29, the Government opened a shelter for victims 
of trafficking. As of October 58 trafficking victims had received 
shelter, many of whom were minors later repatriated to their families 
or countries of origin. At year's end 12 trafficking victims were 
living at the shelter.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although 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 did not effectively enforce these 
prohibitions, nor did it effectively enforce legal requirements for 
access to buildings for persons with disabilities. There was 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment and 
education.
    The Government made inadequate efforts during the year to combat 
discrimination and increase opportunities for persons with non-war-
related mental and physical disabilities. The law requires that one of 
every 25 employees hired by private businesses be a person with 
disabilities. Even though there were no reliable data on the number of 
persons with disabilities who were employed, the unemployment rate 
among this group remained significantly higher than that of the general 
population.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, regarding an 
October 2005 ruling of a justice of the Constitutional Chamber that a 
criminal court had violated a deaf man's right of defense by failing to 
provide a sign language interpreter during March 2004 judicial 
proceedings relating to child abuse charges.
    Access by persons with disabilities to basic education was limited 
due to lack of facilities and appropriate transportation. Few of the 
Government's community-based health promoters were trained to treat 
persons with disabilities, and they rarely provided such services. The 
Government provided insufficient funding to the several organizations 
dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of persons with 
disabilities.
    The National Council for Disabled Persons (CONAIPD) is the 
Government agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities. Through year's end CONAIPD provided medical and 
psychological assistance to 28,025 persons with disabilities. It 
trained 182 officials from different government agencies in sign 
language and coordinated the first Central American Special Olympics 
for persons with disabilities. CONAIPD also conducted awareness 
campaigns to promote hiring of persons with disabilities and to improve 
the treatment of persons with disabilities in the employment, 
education, and health sectors. Through December the National Registry 
of Persons reported that there were 200,728 persons over 18 years of 
age with disabilities.
    The Rehabilitation Foundation (Teleton), in cooperation with the 
Salvadoran Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, continued 
to operate a treatment center to offer services to persons with 
disabilities, including a touch garden for the blind, art workshops, a 
special educational assistance program, and an education program for 
parents of children with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--While the constitution states that native 
languages are part of the national heritage and should be preserved and 
respected, the law does not recognize indigenous communities and 
accords no special rights to indigenous people. Indigenous persons 
comprise approximately 1 percent of the national population and form 
three principal groups: Nahua-Pipiles in western and central areas of 
the country, Lencas in the eastern region, and Cacaoperas also in the 
eastern region. Due to the persistence of discriminatory cultural 
attitudes against indigenous people, few individuals publicly 
identified themselves as indigenous. There were a few small indigenous 
communities whose members continued to wear traditional dress and 
maintain traditional customs to a recognizable degree without 
repression or interference by the Government and nonindigenous groups. 
Government estimates in 2004, the most recent available, indicated that 
approximately 99 percent of indigenous persons lived below the poverty 
level.
    Access to land was a problem for indigenous persons. Because few 
possessed title to land, bank loans and other forms of credit were 
extremely limited. In a March session, the UN Committee on Elimination 
of Racial Discrimination (CERD) noted with concern the vulnerability of 
the country's indigenous persons with regard to enjoyment of their 
economic, social, and cultural rights, particularly with regard to land 
ownership and access to drinking water; the low level of indigenous 
participation in government and public affairs; and that indigenous 
persons did not have access to their sacred sites of worship in the 
same ways as followers of other religions.
    The CERD expressed concerns about government assertions that there 
was no racial discrimination. The CERD noted discrepancies between 
government assessments that the country was ethnically homogenous and 
credible indications that specific indigenous populations lived in the 
country. The CERD recommended that the Government consider granting 
legal recognition to indigenous persons.
    During the year five schools in the western part of the country 
continued operating an after-school Nahuat language program, in which 
817 students participated. The Government's National Committee for Art 
and Culture, in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank, 
the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), and Don Bosco University, 
continued to support the program. There were no government programs 
dedicated to combat discrimination against indigenous persons.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--During the year IDEMU 
received 584 complaints of domestic violence against the elderly.
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of HIV status and 
sexual orientation, although in practice discrimination was widespread. 
There were reports of violence and discrimination by public and private 
actors against persons with HIV/AIDS, and against homosexual, lesbian, 
and transgender persons, including denial of legal registration for a 
homosexual rights advocacy group (see section 2.b.). As in the previous 
year, in September the Ministry of Labor along with the Ministry of 
Health launched another campaign to eliminate workplace discrimination 
based on pregnancy or HIV status as part of a comprehensive effort to 
combat an increase in HIV cases.
    A 2005 PAHO report, the most recent available, revealed that HIV/
AIDS patients suffered from a lack of information and supplies. Lack of 
public information remained a problem in confronting discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS or in assisting persons suffering from 
HIV/AIDS. According to a National Health Survey presented in September, 
only half of the population between the ages of 15 and 24 were 
sufficiently aware of methods for preventing HIV infection.
    There were no new developments regarding any investigation of two 
bodyguards of the prisons director who in September 2005 were accused 
of sexually abusing a transvestite minor whom they picked up on the 
streets in a government vehicle. The defendants remained on bail 
pending trial.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, regarding any 
investigation into the 2004 separate killings of transvestite Jose 
Flores Natividad Duran and transvestite David Antonio Andrade 
Castellano.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the constitution provides for 
the right of workers, except military personnel, national police, and 
government workers, to form unions without previous authorization, 
there were problems in the exercise of this right.
    During the year the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association 
supported worker complaints that the Government impeded the exercise of 
the right of association. Union leaders asserted that the Government 
and judges continued to use excessive formalities as a justification to 
deny applications for legal standing to unions and federations. Among 
the requirements to obtain legal standing, unions must have a minimum 
of 35 members in the workplace, hold a convention, and elect officers. 
According to Ministry of Labor statistics, 10.2 percent of the 
country's total workforce in the formal and informal sectors was 
unionized, compared with 9.1 percent in 2005.
    According to the 2004 Multiple Household Survey, the most recent 
available, 772,407 persons, representing approximately 50 percent of 
the economically active urban population, worked in the informal 
sector. Of those, 274,931 were women, and 221,610 were men.
    On July 24, the Ministry of Labor granted legal status to the 
airport maintenance workers union following a workers' appeal 
contesting a June 9 ministry decision denying legal status on technical 
grounds.
    On September 18, members of the communications union SITCOM filed 
an appeal with the Ministry of Labor contesting the ministry's denial 
of the union's legal status. On November 15, the ministry upheld its 
previous decision to deny SITCOM's legal status.
    The law does not require employers to reinstate illegally dismissed 
workers. Employers dismissed workers who tried to form unions, and in 
most cases the Government did not prevent their dismissal or seek their 
reinstatement.
    On November 15, the Third Sentencing Court of San Salvador 
sentenced to two years in prison Hermosa Manufacturing Co. owner 
Joaquin Salvador Montalvo Machado, for illegally retaining workers' 
payments to the ISSS and pension system. Mantalvo was also fined 
$144,724.05, which he paid. At year's end, however, payment of wages 
and benefits due to workers remained pending in the courts. In 
September the Ministry of Labor imposed fines of $2,399.88 on the 
company in response to a June 2005 suit brought by the National 
Federation of Salvadoran Workers before the ILO.
    Using mediation provided by the Ministry of Labor, on November 9, 
ISSS officials and labor leaders of the Social Security Workers Union 
reached a settlement of a labor dispute under which ISSS employees 
would receive a monthly salary increase of $80 in May 2008. The 
settlement also included a two-year extension of the collective 
bargaining agreement and a provision that the new collective bargaining 
agreement would be registered with the ILO to provide legal assurances 
for workers and the ISSS.
    On February 13, the owners of Evergreen Manufacturing Company 
closed their factory permanently, and pursuant to a labor ministry 
directive sold the factory's machinery and paid wages and other legal 
benefits to workers.
    The law specifies 18 reasons for which an employer can legally 
suspend workers, and employers can invoke 11 of these reasons without 
prior administrative or judicial authorization. Workers reported 
instances where employers used illegal means to undermine union 
organizing, including the dismissal of labor activists and the 
circulation of lists of workers who would not be hired because they had 
belonged to unions.
    Through December the Ministry of Labor reported that the country 
had 205 active registered unions, 20 labor federations, and four labor 
confederations, with a combined membership of 168,849 workers.
    By end of the year workers fired in 2005 for organizing the legally 
recognized Port Industry Workers Union of El Salvador, and whose case 
the Public Services Union Federation of El Salvador brought before the 
ILO in June 2005, still had not been rehired. The Ministry of Labor 
imposed fines on port enterprises that refused to rehire worker union 
members.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for collective bargaining by employees in the private sector 
and by certain categories of workers in autonomous government agencies, 
such as utilities and the port authority. At year's end the Ministry of 
Labor reported 264 collective bargaining agreements in effect, covering 
54,209 workers. Labor leaders asserted that the Government had an 
unfair advantage in arbitration of public sector labor disputes because 
the Government holds two of three seats on arbitration panels.
    With the exception of public workers who provide vital community 
services, the constitution recognizes the right to strike, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. Despite the prohibition on strikes by 
public sector workers performing vital community services, the 
Government generally treated work stoppages called by such worker 
associations as legitimate.
    On March 2, the IACHR accepted for review a 2003 complaint filed by 
the NGO Derechos Humanos para las Americas, alleging that the 
Government violated the human rights of the founding members of the 
Ministry of Education Workers Union in denying it legal status. Through 
December there were no further developments in this case.
    In order for a strike to be legal, 51 percent of workers in an 
enterprise must support a strike, including workers not represented by 
the union. Unions may strike only after the expiration of a collective 
bargaining agreement or to protect professional rights. Unions first 
must seek to resolve differences through direct negotiation, mediation, 
and arbitration before striking. A strike must aim to obtain or modify 
a collective bargaining agreement and to defend the professional 
interests of workers. Union members must approve a decision to strike 
through secret ballot, and the union must name a strike committee to 
serve as a negotiator and send the list of names to the Ministry of 
Labor, which notifies the employer. The union must wait four days from 
the time the Ministry of Labor notifies the employer before beginning 
the strike.
    There were 123 maquila plants, 56 of which were located in the 
country's 15 EPZs. There are no special laws or exemptions from regular 
labor laws inside the EPZs. There were credible reports that some 
factories in the EPZs dismissed union organizers; there were no 
collective bargaining agreements among the 15 unions active in the 
maquila sector. Maquila workers reported verbal and physical abuse, as 
well as sexual harassment by supervisors (see section 5).
    The Government did not allocate sufficient resources for adequate 
inspection and oversight to ensure respect for association and 
collective bargaining rights in EPZs. There continued to be allegations 
of corruption among labor inspectors in the maquilas. The ILO Committee 
of Experts noted allegations by unions that maquila companies set 
production targets requiring employees to work beyond the ordinary 
working day without pay and under threat of dismissal and asked the 
Government to document the number of instances in which workers alleged 
imposition of labor outside the ordinary working day.
    The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economy concurred that 
during the year approximately 10,000 workers in the maquila sector were 
not receiving social security and other payment benefits to which they 
were legally entitled.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except in 
the case of natural catastrophe and other instances specified by law. 
Although the Government generally enforced this prohibition, there were 
problems with trafficking of persons for forced commercial sexual 
purposes (see section 5, Trafficking).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14, but child 
labor remained a serious and widespread problem.
    On September 20, the Government launched its first comprehensive 
national plan to eliminate child labor, by aiming within four years to 
reduce the worst forms of child labor among 288,221 children and youth 
between five to 17 years of age. The plan was a collaborative effort by 
the labor, education, health, agriculture, foreign affairs, tourism, 
governance, and economy ministries, the National Secretariat for the 
Family, the National Secretariat for Youth, ISNA, the Small and Medium 
Enterprises Committee, the National Superior Labor Council, the 
National Roundtable Against Sexual Commercial Exploitation, and the 
National Committee for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor, coordinated with IPEC.
    As of September IPEC had removed 1,503 children from work 
activities. There was no data available regarding the approximate 
number of children working in the country during the year.
    The law limits the workday to six hours, plus a maximum of two 
hours of overtime, for youths between 14 and 16 years of age and sets a 
maximum normal workweek for youths at 34 hours. For all sectors of the 
economy, the law prohibits those under the age of 18 from working in 
occupations considered hazardous (see section 6.e.). The Ministry of 
Labor was responsible for enforcing child labor laws. In practice labor 
inspectors focused almost exclusively on the formal sector, where child 
labor was rare. There were no reports of child labor in the formal 
industrial sector.
    With the exception of efforts among the Government, growers, and 
refiners to end child labor on sugarcane plantations, the Government 
did not devote adequate resources to enforce effectively child labor 
laws in agricultural activities, especially coffee production, and in 
the large informal sector. Orphans and children from poor families 
frequently worked for survival as street vendors and general laborers 
in small businesses. The Ministry of Labor received few complaints of 
violations of child labor laws because many citizens perceived child 
labor as an essential component of family income rather than a human 
rights violation.
    There were credible reports of trafficking in children and child 
prostitution (see section 5).
    The Ministry of Labor had 163 labor inspectors distributed 
nationwide, 24 of whom specifically worked on child labor issues. The 
Government conducted monitoring and inspections, especially in the 
sugarcane cultivation sector, including 36 programmed inspections and 
six follow-up inspections affecting 9,755 workers, resulting in the 
removal of 149 children from child labor. The Government also conducted 
33 child labor awareness campaigns in which 13,287 workers 
participated. The Ministry of Labor conducted 10,075 inspections, 6,315 
follow-up visits, and issued civil penalties in 436 cases. The 
Government's National Interagency Committee for Elimination of the 
Worst Forms of Child Labor launched the first national plan against 
child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage is set by 
executive decree, based on recommendations from a tripartite committee 
comprising representatives from labor, government, and business. The 
minimum monthly wage was $174.24 for service employees, $170.28 for 
industrial laborers, and $157.25 for maquila workers. The agricultural 
minimum wage was $81.51, except for seasonal coffee harvesters 
($89.10), sugarcane workers ($75.57), and cotton pickers ($67.98). The 
minimum wage with benefits did not provide a sufficient standard of 
living for most workers with families.
    According to the 2004 Multiple Household Survey, the most recent 
available, more than half of informal sector workers were women, whose 
incomes were often below the minimum wage. In general the Ministry of 
Labor enforced minimum wage laws effectively only in the formal sector. 
By year's end the ministry had imposed 22 fines on employers in the 
industrial, commercial, and service sectors due to nonpayment of 
minimum wages to employees.
    Some maquila plants underpaid workers and failed to compensate 
workers for mandatory overtime. Corruption among labor inspectors and 
in the labor courts remained barriers to enforcing the minimum wage 
laws.
    The law sets a maximum normal workweek of 44 hours, which is 
limited to no more than six days for all workers and requires bonus pay 
for overtime. The law mandates that full-time employees be paid for an 
eight-hour day of rest in addition to the 44-hour normal workweek. 
These standards were not enforced effectively. A number of workers who 
worked more than the legal maximum number of hours were not paid 
overtime. The law prohibits compulsory overtime.
    The Ministry of Labor inspected 3,312 workplaces during the year 
and issued 700 recommendations for improvements in working conditions. 
There were 543 occupational safety and health committees at work in 
industries nationwide. The ministry, in conjunction with the private 
sector, organized 155 training sessions for prevention of occupational 
risks in the workplace.
    The law requires all employers to take steps to ensure that 
employees are not placed at risk to their health and safety in the 
workplace, including prohibitions on the employment of persons under 18 
years of age in occupations considered hazardous or morally dangerous. 
Health and safety regulations were outdated, and enforcement was 
inadequate due to the Ministry of Labor's restricted powers and the 
limited resources allocated to it by the Government. The law does not 
clearly recognize the right of workers to remove themselves from 
hazardous situations without jeopardy to their continued employment.

                               __________

                                GRENADA

    Grenada is a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature. 
Grenada and two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, have 
a population of approximately 102,000. In 2003 Prime Minister Keith 
Mitchell's New National Party (NNP) won eight of 15 parliamentary seats 
in generally free and fair elections. The civilian authorities 
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens; however, problems included allegations of corruption, 
violence against women, and instances of child abuse.
                        respect for human rights
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 confirmed reports that government officials employed 
them. However, there were occasional allegations that police beat 
detainees. Flogging, a legal form of punishment, was occasionally used 
as punishment for sex crimes.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards, with the exception of 
overcrowding, and the Government permitted visits by independent human 
rights observers. Overcrowding was a significant problem as 334 
prisoners were housed in space designed for 98 persons.
    Women were held in a separate section of the prison from men. There 
was no separate facility for juveniles, so they were mixed in with the 
general prison population.

    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 country does not 
have a military. The 830-person Royal Grenadian Police, together with 
200 rural constables, has a hierarchical structure and generally was 
effective in responding to complaints. However, lack of resources 
remained a problem. The police commissioner has instituted a community 
policing program.
    The police report to the minister of national security, who works 
in the Ministry of the Prime Minister. The police commissioner can 
discipline officers (up to the rank of sergeant) in cases of brutality 
with penalties that include dismissal. Only the Public Service 
Commission can discipline officers with the rank of inspector or above.
    There was one report of a corrupt police officer in the Criminal 
Investigation Department during the year. Authorities brought charges 
against the officer and discharged him from the service. He was 
awaiting trial at year's end.
    Authorities brought charges against the police officer who stole 
drugs and ammunition from the evidence room in 2005 and dismissed him 
from the force. He awaited trial at year's end. Authorities dismissed 
two other officers for fraud; they also awaited trial.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and law permit police to 
detain persons on suspicion without a warrant, but they must bring 
formal charges within 48 hours, and this limit generally was respected. 
In practice detainees were provided access to a lawyer and family 
members within 24 hours. The law provides for a judicial determination 
of the legality of detention within 15 days after arrest on a criminal 
charge. The police must formally arraign or release a detained person 
within 60 days, and the authorities generally followed these 
procedures. There is a functioning system of bail, although persons 
charged with capital offenses are not eligible. Persons charged with 
treason may be accorded bail only upon the recommendation of the 
governor general. The court will appoint a lawyer for the indigent in 
cases of murder and other capital crimes.
    In March police detained the editor of a local paper and questioned 
him for an hour based on a suit lodged against him over the contents of 
an article (see section 2.a.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected 
this provision in practice.
    The judiciary is a part of the Eastern Caribbean legal system, 
which consists of three resident judges who hear cases in the High 
Court and a Court of Appeals staffed by a chief justice who travels 
between the Eastern Caribbean islands hearing appeals of local cases. 
Final appeal may be made to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right 
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this 
right. There is a presumption of innocence, and the law protects 
persons against self-incrimination and requires the police to explain a 
person's rights upon arrest. The accused has the right to remain silent 
and to seek the advice of legal counsel. The law allows for a defense 
lawyer to be present during interrogation and to advise the accused how 
to respond or not to respond to questions. The accused has the right to 
confront his accuser and has the right of appeal.
    The court appoints attorneys for indigents only in cases of murder 
or other capital crimes. In other criminal cases that reach the 
appellate stage, the court appoints a lawyer to represent the accused 
if the defendant was not represented previously or reappoints earlier 
counsel if the appellant no longer could afford that lawyer's services. 
With the exception of foreign-born drug suspects or persons charged 
with murder, the courts grant most defendants bail while awaiting 
trial.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.
    In 2004 the High Court was set to resentence or possibly free 14 
members of the ``Grenada 17,'' who were convicted for the 1983 murder 
of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, when the Government appealed the 
decision to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. In June 2005 the 
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled that the group could take its 
case for resentencing to the Privy Council in London, but by year's end 
the matter had not yet been presented.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary for civil matters. The civil court system 
encompasses a number of seats around the country at which magistrates 
preside over cases.

    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.--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.
    In June the Prime Minister won a libel case he brought against the 
editor of a newspaper, and the editor was ordered to pay approximately 
$37,000 (EC$100,000). The Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG) 
accused the police of suppression of freedom of the press because 
authorities had detained and questioned the newspaper editor for one 
hour. The MWAG argued that the lawsuit that resulted in the detention 
and questioning should have been brought in civil court, not criminal. 
The editor ignored the fine and was threatened with closure, but by 
year's end nothing had been done about making him pay the fine or 
closing the newspaper.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right 
in practice.
    There is no state religion; however, all religious organizations 
must register with the Government, which entitles them to some customs 
and import tax exemptions.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community was miniscule.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution and law provide for 
these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law does not address forced exile, but the Government did not 
use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not party to the 1951 UN 
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 
The Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees or asylum seekers. In practice the Government provided 
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country 
where they fear persecution.
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.--In 2003 the incumbent NNP 
administration of Prime Minister Keith Mitchell retained power by 
winning eight of the 15 seats in parliamentary elections generally 
considered free and fair, but with some irregularities noted by the 
Organization of American States in several very close races.
    In late 2005 the Government began an examination of the 
constitutional provisions regarding dual citizenship and qualifications 
for election to parliament. In February the Attorney General filed suit 
to nullify the 2003 election to parliament of a leading opposition 
member who maintains dual citizenship. In September the court handed 
down its decision against the Government, ruling that the Government 
should have filed its complaint according to election law, within 21 
days of the vote; the defendant was awarded approximately $3,745 
(EC$10,000). The Government appealed the decision, lost in the Court of 
Appeal, and was fined an additional $2,962 (EC$8,000).
    There were four women in the 15-seat parliament and four women 
among the 12 appointed senators. There were six female ministers of 
government.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There are no laws 
mandating transparent reporting of political donations. According to 
the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Transparency International there 
was a serious perceived level of domestic corruption. The public 
perception of official corruption was nuanced, with a number of 
government officials perceived to be quite corrupt, others somewhat 
corrupt, and a few perceived to be incorruptible.
    The Commission of Inquiry established to investigate whether Prime 
Minister Mitchell accepted money from a foreign citizen, reportedly in 
exchange for a diplomatic title, adjourned but had not yet issued its 
report by year's end. The Prime Minister continued to maintain that he 
was given $15,000 to cover travel expenses, not the $500,000 he was 
accused of receiving. The leader of the opposition won the right to 
cross-examine the witnesses in this case, but by year's end, the 
inquiry had not been reopened to allow him to do so.
    Although there is no law providing for public access to government 
information, citizens may request access to any information that is not 
deemed classified.
Section 4. 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.
    On September 13, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), 
launched in 2001 to investigate the period between the mid-1970s and 
the late 1980s, presented its final report to the Government. The 
Government made no decisions about how to implement the 
recommendations, including whether to grant a retrial for the Grenada 
17, and invited the public and NGOs to provide input. The legal affairs 
minister established a committee to review the findings of the TRC, and 
the committee was expected to hold a series of public consultations to 
recommend how they might be implemented.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
place of origin, political opinion, color, creed, or gender, and the 
Government generally upheld these prohibitions.

    Women.--Women's rights monitors noted that violence against women 
remained a serious problem. The law prohibits domestic violence and 
provides for penalties at the discretion of the presiding judge based 
on the severity of the offense. Police and judicial authorities usually 
acted promptly in cases of domestic violence. Sentences for assault 
against a spouse vary according to the severity of the incident. A 
court convicted three men accused of killing their wives and sentenced 
them to life in prison. At year's end one new domestic violence case, 
in which a teacher allegedly killed his wife, was awaiting trial. A 
shelter accommodating approximately 20 battered and abused women and 
their children operated in the northern part of the country, staffed by 
medical and psychological counseling personnel.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and stipulates a 
sentence of flogging or up to 15 years' imprisonment for a conviction 
of any nonconsensual form of sex. In the June court session, 37 out of 
96 cases dealt with either rape or related charges: nine rape cases, 13 
indecent exposure cases, 11 unlawful carnal knowledge cases, three 
defilement cases, and one unnatural carnal knowledge case.
    Prostitution is illegal but existed. There are no laws prohibiting 
sex tourism.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment, but there are no criminal 
penalties for it. It is the responsibility of the complainant to bring 
a civil suit against an alleged harasser. A number of local 
organizations spoke out against sexual discrimination on radio and 
television programs to raise awareness amid the female population of 
their rights. The programs also addressed issues of women's health, 
particularly the risks of HIV/AIDS.
    Women generally enjoyed the same rights as men, and there was no 
evidence of official discrimination in health care, employment, or 
education; however, women frequently earned less than men performing 
the same work.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. The Social Welfare Division within the Ministry of Housing, 
Social Services, and Cooperatives provided probationary and 
rehabilitative services to youths, day care services and social work 
programs to families, assistance to families wishing to adopt or 
provide foster care to children, and financial assistance to the six 
children's homes run by private organizations.
    Education was compulsory, free, and universal until the age of 16.
    Government social service agencies reported 15 physical abuse and 
three sexual abuse cases during the year, equal to the number of child 
abuse cases in 2005. Abused children were placed either in a 
government-run home or in private foster homes. The law stipulates 
penalties ranging from five to 15 years' imprisonment for those 
convicted of child abuse and disallows the victim's alleged ``consent'' 
as a defense in cases of incest.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The constitution and law do not prohibit 
trafficking in persons; however, there were no reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law do not protect 
job seekers with disabilities from discrimination in employment. The 
law does not mandate access to public buildings or services. The 
Government provided for special education in its school system; 
however, most parents chose to send their children to three special 
education schools operating in the country. Persons with disabilities 
had full access to the health care system and other public services. 
The Government and NGOs continued to provide training and work 
opportunities for such persons.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution and law allow 
workers to form and join independent labor unions. Labor ministry 
officials estimated that 52 percent of the work force was unionized.
    All major unions belong to one umbrella labor federation, the 
Grenada Trades Union Council, which was subsidized by the Government.
    The law does not oblige employers to recognize a union formed by 
their employees if the majority of the work force does not belong to 
the union; however, they generally did so in practice.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers can be 
forced to rehire employees if a court finds they were discharged 
illegally. Such cases were rare, however, and on one recent occasion, a 
company reinstated temporary workers it had discharged in accord with 
their contract simply because the workers' union threatened to go on 
strike or take the company to court.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers 
exercised the legal right to organize and to participate in collective 
bargaining. The law requires employers to recognize a union that 
represents the majority of workers in a particular business. There are 
no export processing zones.
    The law provides workers with the right to strike, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. Port workers threatened to strike 
when three temporary employees were laid off in September; the union 
and the port authorities agreed upon how to handle these workers, and 
the strike was called off.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although child labor is illegal, children sometimes worked in the 
agricultural sector on family farms. The statutory minimum age for 
employment of children is 18 years. Inspectors from the Ministry of 
Labor enforced this provision in the formal sector through periodic 
checks, but enforcement in the informal sector remained a problem.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor last 
updated minimum wages in 2002. Minimum wages were set for various 
categories of workers; for example, agricultural workers were 
classified into male and female workers. Rates for men were $1.85 
(EC$5.00) per hour, and for women $1.75 (EC$4.75) per hour; however, if 
a female worker performed the same task as a man, her rate of pay was 
the same. The minimum wage for domestic workers was set at $148 
(EC$400) monthly. The national minimum wage did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. During the year 31 percent 
of the population earned less than the official poverty line, which was 
drawn at $224 (EC$599) per month. The Government effectively enforced 
minimum wages; workers in construction- related sectors and other high-
demand sectors earned far higher wages.
    The law provides for a 40-hour maximum workweek. The law requires a 
premium for work above the standard workweek and prohibits excessive or 
compulsory overtime.
    The Government sets health and safety standards, but the 
authorities enforced them inconsistently. Workers have the right to 
remove themselves from dangerous workplace situations without jeopardy 
to continued employment.

                               __________

                               GUATEMALA

    Guatemala is a democratic, multiparty republic with a population of 
approximately 12.7 million. In 2003 national elections, generally 
considered by international observers to be free and fair, Oscar Berger 
of the Grand National Alliance coalition (GANA) won a four-year term, 
which began in January 2004. While the civilian authorities generally 
maintained control of the security forces, there were instances in 
which members of the security forces committed illegal acts including 
human rights abuses.
    Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, serious problems remained. The human rights and societal 
problems included the Government's failure to investigate and punish 
unlawful killings committed by members of the security forces; 
widespread societal violence, including numerous killings; corruption 
and substantial inadequacies in the police and judicial sectors; police 
involvement in kidnappings; impunity for criminal activity; harsh and 
dangerous prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; failure of 
the judicial system to ensure full and timely investigation, or fair 
trials; failure to protect judicial sector officials, witnesses, and 
civil society organizations from intimidation; discrimination and 
violence against women; discrimination and violence against gay, 
transvestite, and transgender persons, trafficking in persons; ethnic 
discrimination; and ineffective enforcement of labor laws, including 
child labor provisions.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although there were 
no reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically 
motivated killings, members of the police force committed a number of 
unlawful killings. Corruption, intimidation, and ineffectiveness within 
the police and other authorities prevented adequate investigation of 
many such killings and other crimes, as well as the arrest and 
successful prosecution of perpetrators (see sections 1.c. and 1.e.).
    During the year the National Civilian Police (PNC) Office of 
Professional Responsibility (ORP) reported that it had investigated 37 
accusations of killings involving PNC personnel.
    On March 27, police inspector Marvin Wilfredo Mendez Mayorga was 
arrested for the alleged extrajudicial killing of two youths in Villa 
Nueva, a suburb of Guatemala City.
    On March 29, police agent Leonel Giovany Herrera Reyes was 
sentenced to 90 years in jail for sexually abusing one woman and 
sexually abusing and killing another woman.
    On June 11, the Public Ministry Office for Crime reported to the 
press that 86 bodies found in the course of the year in Guatemala City 
had indications that the victims had been tortured before dying.
    On June 17, five transvestites were shot, one of them fatally (see 
section 5). By year's end there was no information on any 
investigation. There were no developments regarding any investigation 
of the December 2005 killing of one transvestite and the wounding of 
another allegedly by persons dressed as police officers.
    On June 20, four off-duty police officers in Escuintla were rescued 
from a mob attempting to lynch them after they allegedly killed 
Cristian Oswaldo Rodriguez Alvarez.
    On July 7, Spanish Judge Santiago Pedraz issued an international 
arrest warrant for former heads of state Efrain Rios Montt and Oscar 
Humberto Mejia Victores, as well as Angel Anibal Guevara Rodriguez, 
German Chupina Barahona, Pedro Garcia Arredondo, Benedicto Lucas 
Garcia, Donaldo Alvarez, and Fernando Lucas Garcia for genocide, 
terrorism, torture, and illegal detention during the country's 1960-96 
conflict. On November 7, the Supreme Court acted on the Spanish 
judicial request by ordering the arrest of all persons named in the 
Spanish warrant except Rios Montt. Subsequent court decisions excluded 
former heads of state Efrain Rios Montt and Oscar Humberto Mejia 
Victores from the warrant, although these decisions were under appeal 
at year's end. Another court decision suspended the arrest order 
against Pedro Garcia Arrendondo. By December Angel Anibal Guevara 
Rodriguez and German Chupina Barahona were in detention, receiving 
medical care. Guevara Rodriguez and Chupina Barahona were appealing 
their cases at year's end.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding 
the 2004 confrontation between peasants and members of the PNC at Nueva 
Linda plantation, in which three police and seven workers were killed.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, concerning 
any investigation of the 2004 killing reportedly by police of former 
gang member David Ixcol Escobar.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding 
the search for fugitive Colonel Juan Valencia Osorio, whose 25-year 
prison sentence for being the intellectual author of the 1990 killing 
of anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang was reinstated by the Supreme Court 
of Justice in 2004. At year's end Valencia had been at large for almost 
three years.
    The Government reported that during the year the National 
Reparations Program disbursed approximately $16 million (120 million 
quetzales) to families of victims of the 1960-96 armed conflict.
    At year's end the case of the 1982 military massacre of 250 
civilians at Dos Erres, Peten, remained stalled in court due to appeals 
made by defendants.
    During the year two justice sector workers were killed (see section 
1.e.).
    By December the police had completed an investigation of the 
September 2005 killing of Casa Alianza's legal advisor Harold Perez 
Gallardo by unknown gunmen and were transferring the report to the 
Public Ministry for legal action.
    Societal violence occurred widely throughout the country. Nonstate 
actors with links to organized crime, gangs, private security 
companies, and alleged ``clandestine groups'' committed hundreds of 
killings and other crimes. Human rights activists alleged that these 
persons also were responsible for threats, assaults, burglaries, and 
thefts targeted at human rights organizations. Reports also suggested 
that former or current members of the police condoned or were involved 
in some of the attacks and other abuses.
    Killings, including evidence of sexual assault, torture, and 
mutilation, of women continued to increase, as did the overall number 
of killings of men and women. Although during the year there was only a 
slight increase in the percentage of women killed as a percentage of 
total killings in 2005, the actual number of women killed by year's end 
was substantially higher than in 2005 (see section 5).
    Killings of children, particularly in Guatemala City, increased 
during the year (see section 5).
    The human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) Mutual Support 
Group reported that 59 attempted lynchings took place during the year, 
compared with 14 such incidents in 2005. Many observers attributed the 
rise in lynchings from the previous year to increased public 
frustration with the failure of the justice sector to guarantee 
security. Among the victims were civil servants or police officials who 
had taken unpopular actions in either enforcing or failing to enforce 
the law.
    There were also other incidents of societal violence. On June 11, 
the NGO Association of Urban Transportation reported that from January 
to May there had been 30,200 assaults in public buses, an average of 
200 assaults per day involving bus passengers and drivers.

    b. Disappearance.--Although there were no reports of politically 
motivated disappearances, there were reports of police involvement in 
kidnappings for ransom. The ORP reported that between January and 
December, there were 10 complaints of kidnapping by PNC personnel. The 
office determined that three cases had merit, with the identity of the 
offenders established in two of the cases. The officers identified in 
the two cases faced disciplinary action at year's end. On June 29, the 
First Appeals Court overturned the October 2005 kidnapping convictions 
of, and ordered a new trial for, former police commissioner Rudy Giron, 
former PNC official Marvin Utrilla Marin, and four other persons. Giron 
and Utrilla Marin remained in prison at year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and the law prohibit such 
practices, during the year there were credible reports of torture, 
abuse, and other mistreatment by PNC members. Complaints typically 
related to the use of excessive force during police operations and 
arbitrary detention of suspected gang members and others targeted 
during extortion schemes.
    On January 30, police arrested seven men accused of membership in 
the People's Avengers (previously known as the People's Social 
Cleansing Group), a group of vigilantes in San Lucas Toliman, Solola. 
Local residents accused the group of extortion and beatings in the 
Solola area.
    A human rights NGO reported the alleged May 22 beatings of three 
homeless children by soldiers assigned to the Military Police Brigade. 
A military investigation was not able to substantiate the charges, and 
at year's end the Public Ministry was investigating the case (see 
section 5).
    There were credible reports that PNC officials or persons disguised 
as police officers stopped cars and buses to demand bribes or steal 
private property. In some cases the supposed police officers assaulted 
and raped victims.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and dangerous. The prison system continued to suffer from a 
severe lack of resources, particularly in the areas of prison security 
and medical facilities. Prisoners complained of inadequate food and 
medical care. Corruption, especially drug-related, was widespread. 
Prison officials reported frequent escape attempts and other 
manifestations of prisoner unrest.
    Prison overcrowding was a problem. According to the registry 
maintained by the prison system, at the end of the year there were 
7,477 persons held in 40 prisons and jails designed to hold 6,974. 
Approximately 44 percent of the national penitentiary system population 
was held in pretrial detention. The media and NGOs reported physical 
and sexual abuse of women and juvenile inmates as a serious problem in 
detention cells at police precincts. Many of the abused juvenile 
inmates were suspected gang members.
    There were no new developments regarding any investigation of the 
identities of persons who smuggled weapons into the prisons or of the 
August 2005 simultaneous incidents involving violence in four prisons 
that claimed 36 lives.
    On June 22, in an outbreak of violence between rival gang member 
inmates at the San Jose Pinula Juvenile Detention Center, four juvenile 
inmates were killed and five others were injured. The Office of the 
Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) alleged the prison guards were involved in 
the killings.
    There were no developments regarding any investigation of a 
December 2005 intragang dispute in a prison in Mazatenango resulting in 
the killing of one gang member inmate.
    On September 25, 3,000 members of the security forces, including 
police, military, and prison guards, recovered control of El Pavon 
prison farm from inmates who had been operating organized crime 
activities throughout the Guatemala City area from within the prison. 
There was minimal violence. Seven inmates were reportedly killed in 
acts of armed resistance against the Government takeover. Some 
prisoners alleged that the dead inmates were the victims of 
extrajudicial killings that occurred after the prison was occupied by 
security forces. The PDH supported this claim and reported that 
security forces had committed extrajudicial killings in the immediate 
aftermath of the recovery effort. By year's end the Public Ministry had 
announced that it was investigating these accusations. The 
approximately 1,650 remaining prisoners at El Pavon were moved 
temporarily to nearby prison facilities while the authorities rebuilt 
El Pavon. By December prison authorities had reportedly returned 
approximately 495 prisoners to El Pavon.
    On rare occasions male and female detainees in immigration 
facilities were held together. Pretrial detainees sometimes were held 
in the same prison blocks with the general prison population.
    The Government permitted prison monitoring visits by local and 
international human rights groups, the Organization of American States, 
public defenders, religious groups, and family members, and such visits 
took place throughout the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but there were credible 
reports of arrests without judicial warrants, illegal detentions, and 
failure to adhere to prescribed time limits in legal proceedings. In 
practice arresting officers often failed to satisfy legal requirements 
due to the failure of magistrates to receive the case within the 
legally mandated timeframe of six hours.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The 18,000-member PNC, 
headed by a director appointed by the President, remained understaffed, 
poorly trained, and severely underfunded. As of December the PNC 
reported 118 deaths of PNC personnel during the year, with 60 of these 
deaths due to firearms and two due to lynching.
    Police corruption was a serious problem, and there were credible 
allegations of involvement by individual police officers in criminal 
activity, including rapes, killings, and kidnappings. Police impunity 
remained a serious problem. When ORP investigations failed to elicit 
successful administrative or judicial punishment, the PNC often 
transferred suspected officers to different parts of the country. 
Attempts to curb impunity included placing 157 officers in employment 
dismissal proceedings.
    While no active members of the military served in the police 
command structure, the Government continued to employ the military to 
support police units in response to rising rates of violent crime. 
Joint police and military operations under operational control of the 
PNC continued in areas of Guatemala City with the highest crime rates, 
as well as in other regions of the country. Under Presidential 
instructions, in March and April the military trained and equipped 
approximately 3,000 military reservists and former soldiers to form the 
Special Corps for Citizen Security, which military commanders deployed 
in Guatemala City and several other areas of the country to undertake 
joint patrols with police units.
    On June 30, PDH and 16 civil society organizations requested that 
President Berger end combined patrols between army and police units due 
to concerns about the potential for abuses. During the year there were 
no credible reports of abuses conducted by the joint patrols, which 
continued to operate.
    Police threatened persons engaged in prostitution and other 
commercial sexual activities with false drug charges to extort money or 
sexual favors and harassed homosexuals or transvestites with similar 
threats of false charges (see section 5). Critics accused the police of 
indiscriminate and illegal detentions when conducting antigang 
operations in specific high-crime neighborhoods. Suspected gang members 
allegedly were arrested and imprisoned without charges or on the basis 
of false drug charges, and in some instances were arrested without a 
warrant and not during the commission of a crime.
    On June 29, the security reform NGO Instance of Monitoring and 
Support for Public Security reported personnel and technical resource 
deficiencies in police internal investigation processes.
    The ORP undertook internal investigations of misconduct by police 
officers. Although the ORP increased its professionalism, its 
independence and effectiveness were hampered by a lack of material 
resources and the absence of cooperation from other PNC units. The ORP 
reported that at year's end it had received 1,571 complaints, which 
included: 37 killings, 36 forced disappearances, 10 kidnappings, 51 
illegal detentions, 260 thefts, 16 rapes, 124 instances of bribery, 80 
threats, 274 cases of abuse of authority, and 51 instances of illegal 
detention.
    Although cases with sufficient evidence of criminal activity were 
forwarded to the Public Ministry for further investigation and 
prosecution, few cases went to trial. Throughout the year ORP 
investigations resulted in the removal from duty of 157 police officers 
and exoneration of 175 officers.
    Immigration and police officials often subjected persons attempting 
to enter the country illegally to extortion and mistreatment. Many 
civil society and media observers believed this mistreatment was 
underreported.
    During the year the PNC trained 954 cadets in courses that included 
human rights and professional ethics. The army developed a manual for 
human rights training, and the military continued to incorporate human 
rights training into its curriculum and developed relevant courses with 
the PDH. Civil affairs officers at each command were required to plan 
and document human rights training provided to soldiers, and the 
officers met this requirement during the year.
    Approximately two-thirds of the police districts remained 
understaffed. Indigenous rights advocates asserted that police 
authorities' continuing lack of sensitivity to indigenous cultural 
norms and practices engendered misunderstandings in dealing with 
indigenous groups and that few indigenous police officers worked in 
their own ethnic-linguistic communities.

    Arrest and Detention.--The constitution and the law require that a 
court-issued arrest warrant be presented to a suspect prior to arrest 
unless the suspect is caught in the act of committing a crime. Police 
may not detain a suspect for more than six hours without bringing the 
case before a judge. Detainees often were not promptly informed of the 
charges filed against them. Once a suspect has been arraigned, the 
prosecutor generally has three months to complete the investigation and 
file the case in court or seek a formal extension of the detention 
period. The law provides for access to lawyers and bail for most 
crimes. The Government provided legal representation for indigent 
detainees, and detainees had access to family members.
    Through December the ORP had received 46 accusations of illegal 
detention. There were no reliable data on the number of arbitrary 
detentions, although most accounts indicated that police forces 
routinely ignored writs of habeas corpus in cases of illegal detention, 
particularly during neighborhood antigang operations.
    On March 17, the Government began a pilot project of a 24-hour 
court in the basement of the Supreme Court of Justice building in 
Guatemala City, staffed with police, prosecutors, public defenders, and 
judges. In the jurisdictional area of the 24-hour court, the pilot 
project significantly reduced the number of cases dismissed by judges 
for lack of evidence and increased the Government's ability to comply 
with legal requirements to bring suspects before a judge within six 
hours of the start of detention.
    Although the law sets a limit of three months for pretrial 
detention, prisoners often were detained past their legal trial or 
release dates, sometimes for years. During the year approximately 44 
percent of persons incarcerated were in pretrial detention. Some 
prisoners were not released in a timely fashion after completing their 
full sentences due to the failure of judges to issue the necessary 
court order or to other bureaucratic problems. On April 18, Carlos 
Bermudez Lopez was released from jail nine months after a court had 
ordered his release in July 2005. A judge has the discretion to 
determine whether bail is necessary or permissible for pretrial 
detainees depending on the circumstances of the charges. Detainees who 
are offered bail but are unable to pay, or choose not to pay, must 
remain in jail.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution and the law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial system often failed 
to provide fair or timely trials due to inefficiency, corruption, 
insufficient personnel and funds, and intimidation of judges, 
prosecutors, and witnesses. The majority of serious crimes were not 
investigated or punished. Many high-profile criminal cases remained 
pending in the courts for long periods as defense attorneys employed 
successive appeals and motions.
    During the year there were numerous reports of corruption, 
ineffectiveness and manipulation of the judiciary. Judges, prosecutors, 
plaintiffs, and witnesses also continued to report threats, 
intimidation, and surveillance. The special prosecutor for crimes 
against justice sector workers received 71 cases of threats or 
aggression against judges, compared with 79 in 2005. During the year 
two judicial sector workers were killed by unknown assailants.
    There were no developments regarding the investigations of the 
March 2005 killing of Justice of the Peace Jose Antonio Cruz Hernandez 
by unknown assailants or of the April 2005 killing of High Impact Court 
Judge Jose Victor Bautista Orozco. There were credible reports of 
killings of witnesses. Less than 3 percent of reported crimes were 
prosecuted, and significantly fewer received convictions.
    On May 2, a judge sentenced Julio Cesar Roque Villela and Jose 
Romilio Moscoso Lemus to 300 years in prison for the 2002 killing of 
six persons in Xororagua, Chiquimula. Two other persons, Kenneth 
Vanegas and Fredy Osorio, were released from police custody for lack of 
evidence. During the prosecution of the case in February, witnesses 
disappeared, were killed, or refused to present testimony for fear of 
losing their lives. Two relatives of the victims refused to testify 
against Vanegas in court after previously identifying him in written 
statements.
    On May 11, Judge Maria Ester Roldan stated that she had received 
threats from a police lawyer for ordering the transfer of the recently 
discovered historical police archive to the custody of the PDH. By 
year's end the case had been transferred to the Public Ministry for 
review.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, regarding the 
2004 killing of Jesus Mendoza, cousin of Bamaca case witness Otoniel de 
la Roca Mendoza.
    The Supreme Court of Justice continued to seek the suspension of 
judges and to conduct criminal investigations for improprieties or 
irregularities in cases under its jurisdiction. During the year the 
Judicial Discipline Unit investigated and held hearings for 266 
complaints of wrongdoing, including 94 for judges, 95 for justices of 
the peace, 105 for judicial auxiliaries, and 12 for administrative 
personnel. The Supreme Court did not provide statistics on the 
resolution of these cases.
    Prosecutors remained susceptible to intimidation and corruption and 
were often ineffective. The law's failure to differentiate between the 
responsibilities of the PNC and the Public Ministry regarding 
investigating crimes led to organizational rivalries and the 
duplication of investigative efforts.
    The judiciary consisted of the Supreme Court of Justice, appellate 
courts, trial courts, and probable-cause judges (with a function 
similar to that of a grand jury), as well as courts of special 
jurisdiction, including labor courts and family courts. More than 350 
justices of the peace were located throughout the country. Some of the 
justices specialized in administering traditional and indigenous law in 
community courts, which were under the jurisdiction of the Supreme 
Court of Justice. The Constitutional Court, which reviews legislation 
and court decisions for compatibility with the constitution, is 
independent of the rest of the judiciary.
    Between January and December, the Public Ministry had approximately 
139 persons in its witness protection program. In November one witness 
under police protection was killed at her home in Palencia.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair, public trial, the presumption of innocence, the right to be 
present at trial, and the right to counsel. The law provides for plea-
bargaining, the possibility of release on bail, and the right to an 
appeal. Three-judge panels render verdicts. The law provides for oral 
trials and requires language interpretation for those needing it, in 
particular the large number of indigenous persons who were not fluent 
in Spanish (see section 5). Inadequate government funding limited the 
effective application of this legal requirement. The Public Ministry 
concentrated 16 interpreters in former conflict areas of the country, 
and the Office of the Public Defender employed bilingual public 
defenders in locations where they could serve as translators in 
addition to defending clients.
    The Public Ministry, semi-independent of the executive branch, may 
initiate criminal proceedings on its own or in response to a complaint. 
Private parties may participate in the prosecution of criminal cases as 
coplaintiffs. Lengthy investigations and frequent procedural motions 
used by both defense and prosecution often led to excessively long 
pretrial detention (see section 1.d.), frequently delaying trials for 
months or years.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law does not provide 
for jury trials in civil matters. The law provides for administrative 
and judicial remedies for alleged wrongs, including the enforcement of 
domestic court orders, but there were problems in enforcing domestic 
court orders.

    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.
    On May 30, police raided a residence of Gustavo Adolfo Herrera, a 
fugitive from justice in an embezzlement case, and although Herrera 
avoided capture, his family accused the police of kidnapping Herrera's 
son and briefly detaining his grandson to compel Herrera's surrender.
    Human rights defenders alleged that individuals affiliated with 
clandestine armed groups participated in a number of illegal entries 
into their homes and offices. The Public Ministry investigated a number 
of these cases but failed to identify suspects for prosecution.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. 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.
    On February 1, the Constitutional Court declared void three 
articles of the Penal Code that criminalized disrespect for public 
officers, holding that these articles violated freedom of expression 
guaranteed in the constitution.
    On March 28, Juan Carlos Aquino, a reporter for Radio Novedad, 
alleged that he received death threats for his news coverage of an 
exhumation in Zacapa of victims of the 1960-96 internal armed conflict.
    On March 21, the NGO Reporters Without Borders reported that the 
Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Journalists and 
Unionists, with the support of the Telecommunications Authority and the 
National Broadcast Commission, closed nine community radio stations for 
failing to have a broadcasting license and usurping airwaves belonging 
to others. Critics asserted that the Government's action represented 
discrimination against indigenous groups that largely operated the 
unlicensed radio stations.
    On August 23, radio journalist Vinicio Aguila was shot and wounded 
while he was jogging in Mixco. Preliminary investigations could not 
determine a motive for the shooting, but robbery was ruled out. The two 
assailants fled immediately after firing a single shot.
    Although the independent media, including international media, 
operated freely and were active and expressed a wide variety of views 
without government restriction, there were reports that members of the 
media were targets of threats and intimidation from unidentified 
persons. The Public Ministry reported 67 incidents of intimidation 
against journalists, compared with 26 during 2005.
    Reporters Without Borders reported that in July 2005 former members 
of the civil defense patrols assaulted Prensa Libre correspondent Edwin 
Paxtor with machetes while he filmed a demonstration in Chiquimula 
Department. Paxtor also claimed to have received anonymous death 
threats on September 23. The threats were reported to the PDH.
    By year's end one of the defendants, who was convicted and 
sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2005 in conection with the 
2003 home invasion of Jose Ruben Zamora, publisher of El Peridico, had 
appealed the conviction but remained in custody. The other defendant 
was acquitted. Zamora filed an appeal challenging the acquittal.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic and Cultural Freedom.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the constitution and the law provide for freedom of 
assembly, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice, there were some allegations of unnecessary use of force or 
inaction by the police during violent demonstrations.
    Although between September 25 and 29, the Government restricted 
freedom of assembly in Fraijanes municipality in connection with the 
takeover of El Pavon prison (see sections 1.c and 2.d.); this 
restriction was not enforced.
    Between August 29 and September 12, the Government declared and 
enforced a state of exception that restricted freedom of assembly 
during a counternarcotics operation in five municipalities in San 
Marcos Department. The state of exception was imposed to forestall 
armed opposition to poppy eradication and related operations.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding 
the investigation of the January 2005 death of a protester in Solola. 
By year's end the authorities had not released a report on the 
investigation of the March 2005 killing of a protester in 
Huehuetenango.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for 
freedom of association, and the Government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. There is no state religion; however, the constitution 
recognizes explicitly the distinct legal personality of the Catholic 
Church. The Government does not establish requirements for religious 
recognition, nor does it impose registration requirements for religious 
members to worship together. The Government requires religious 
congregations, nonreligious associations, and NGOs to register as legal 
entities in order to transact business.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination against persons for their religious 
beliefs or practices, and no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish 
population numbered approximately 2,000 persons.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution and the law provide for 
these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    On September 25, the Government declared a state of exception in 
the Fraijanes Municipality around El Pavon prison to support the 
security authorities' reassertion of control of that facility (see 
sections 1.c and 2.b.). The declaration restricted freedom of movement 
and assembly and arms possession within the boundaries of the 
municipality as a public security measure but was not enforced. Between 
August 29 and September 12, the Government enforced restrictions on 
freedom of movement during a declared state of exception in five 
municipalities in San Marcos Department (see section 2.b.).
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use 
exile in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution and the law provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN 
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
and the Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and the law provide 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 nearly universal suffrage for those 18 years of age and older. 
Members of the armed forces and police are not permitted to vote.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2003 national 
elections, Oscar Berger of the GANA coalition won a four-year term as 
President with approximately 54 percent of the vote in the second 
round. Despite some irregularities in the electoral registry, the 
Organization of American States' international observation mission 
categorized the elections as generally free and fair.
    There were 14 women in the 158-seat Congress of the Republic, two 
women on the Supreme Court of Justice, including the President of the 
court, and one woman on the Constitutional Court. There were 197 women 
serving as judges. There was one female minister in the cabinet and 
seven female Presidential secretaries. Of the country's 331 mayors, 
nine were women. There was one indigenous member in the cabinet, and 
two Presidential secretaries were indigenous. There were 15 indigenous 
members of the Congress of the Republic. Of the 331 mayors, 120 were 
indigenous.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Government corruption was 
widely perceived to be a serious problem, with public surveys noting a 
lack of confidence in almost all government institutions including 
those in the legislative and judicial branches. The Public Ministry 
continued to investigate corruption charges against former vice 
President Reyes Lopez, former President Alfonso Portillo, former 
minister of government Byron Barrientos, and other senior members of 
the previous government.
    On December 13, Jorge Mario Nufio, a former board member of the 
Social Security Institute, arrested on embezzlement charges, was 
sentenced to 13 years in prison. By year's end Nufio's lawyer had 
announced that he would appeal the sentence.
    On October 26, Manuel Abundio Maldonado, former director of the 
General Directorate of Civil Aviation, was sentenced to two years in 
prison, or payment of $7,200 (54,000 quetzales), for abuse of authority 
in connection with a 2003 diversion of $160,000 (1.2 million quetzales) 
from civil aviation funds through payments to nonexisting workers. 
Three other former civil aviation employees, including the finance 
director, were sentenced to prison terms or ordered to pay fines.
    There were no new developments regarding the appeal of the 
acquittal of former Social Security Institute head Carlos Wohlers who 
had been charged with corruption and abuse of authority or of the 
appeal of the conviction for material falsification in transferring 
funds of former minister of finance Eduardo Weymann.
    There were no new developments regarding the whereabouts of former 
director of the National Transit Authority, Arnoldo Heriberto Quezada 
Chapeton, who remained at large after failing to appear at a September 
2005 hearing on charges of corruption.
    Judicial authorities continued to restrict the movements of former 
defense ministers Eduardo Arevalo Lacs and Alvaro Lionel Mendez 
Estrada, who remained under investigation for corruption in relation to 
alleged embezzlement of $121 million (906 million quetzales) of 
Ministry of Defense funds between 2001 and 2003.
    In May police discovered stolen gasoline trucks at a gas station 
owned by Congressman Hector Loaiza Gramajo. Based on subsequent 
investigations, the Public Ministry charged Loaiza with fraud, tax 
evasion, and other crimes. At year's end the Supreme Court of Justice 
was reviewing government evidence seeking to strip Loaiza of his 
parliamentary immunity.
    At year's end former director of the tax administration body Marco 
Tulio Abadio, who had been in prison since 2004, was still awaiting 
trial for embezzlement of tax administration funds.
    Although the constitution provides for the right of citizens to 
access public information, there are no laws regulating provision or 
facilitating access to information held by public institutions and no 
other established mechanisms to enable citizens or noncitizens to 
access government information.
Section 4. 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 somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views, including 
civil society advocacy for the election of members to the 
Constitutional Court and the negotiation of the International 
Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Many NGOs and human 
rights workers and a number of trade unionists (see section 6.a.) 
reported threats or intimidation by unidentified persons and complained 
that the Government did little to investigate these reports or to 
prevent further incidents. Only a small number of these cases were 
officially reported to authorities.
    The resident Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 
assisted the Government in investigating various issues, including land 
use conflicts, and discrimination against indigenous persons.
    The Government continued to provide security to homes and offices 
of human rights activists who received threats. The Myrna Mack 
Foundation and the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG) 
received ongoing security protection. Staff members of FAFG continued 
to receive death threats throughout the year.
    During the year the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human 
Rights opened several new cases on matters involving anonymous 
telephoned or written threats, break-ins, physical assaults, as well as 
surveillance of workplaces, residences, and vehicular movements. The 
majority of such cases remained pending for lengthy periods without 
investigation or languished in the court system as defense attorneys 
filed successive motions and appeals to delay trials.
    Substantial threats were made against the lives and safety of 
persons involved in the exhumation of often secret burial sites 
containing the bodies of victims of the 36-year internal armed conflict 
that concluded with the signing of peace accords in 1996. Forensics 
groups used the information obtained from the exhumations to verify 
eyewitness reports of massacres during the conflict.
    In June UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and in 
September UN Rapporteur for Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston 
visited the country. In July the Inter-American Commission on Human 
Rights (IACHR) held a special session in the country to analyze 
petitions, cases, precautionary measures, and thematic and general 
reports on human rights and also met with representatives of the 
Government and civil society.
    Human Rights Ombudsman Sergio Morales, elected by the Congress of 
the Republic, reports to the Congress of the Republic and monitors the 
rights recognized under the constitution. The PDH's rulings do not have 
the force of law. The PDH operated without government or party 
interference, had adequate resources to undertake its duties, and had 
the Government's cooperation.
    The PDH issued reports and recommendations that were made public, 
including its annual report on the fulfillment of the PHD's mandate to 
the Congress of the Republic. During the year the PDH also issued 
reports on femicide in Central America, the death of Claudia Isabel 
Madrid, July 18 disturbances at a juvenile detention center, and the 
discovery of the National Police Archives. There were no developments, 
and none were expected, in the investigation to identify individuals 
who made threats in 2004 against PDH field staff.
    The President's Commission on Human Rights (COPREDEH), directed by 
human rights leader Frank La Rue, is charged with formulating and 
promoting the Government's human rights policy, representing the 
Government for past human rights abuse cases before the Inter-American 
Court of Human Rights, and negotiating amicable settlements in those 
cases before the IACHR. COPREDEH took a leading role in coordinating 
police protection for various human rights and labor activists 
throughout the year and in consultations for redrafting the provisions 
of the CICIG.
    The Congressional Committee on Human Rights also drafts and 
provides advice on legislation regarding human rights issues. By law 
all political parties represented in the Congress of the Republic are 
required to have a representative on the committee. NGOs reported that 
they considered the committee to be valuable.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status. In practice the 
Government frequently did not enforce these provisions due to 
inadequate resource allocations, corruption, and a dysfunctional 
judicial system (see sections 1.c. and 1.e.).

    Women.--Violence against women, including domestic violence, 
remained a common and serious problem. The law prohibits domestic abuse 
but does not provide prison sentences for cases of domestic abuse. 
Prosecutors noted that the law permits the charging of abusers with 
assault only if bruises from the abuse remained visible for at least 10 
days. The law provides for the issuance of restraining orders against 
alleged aggressors, police protection for victims, and requires the PNC 
to intervene in violent situations in the home. In practice, however, 
the PNC often failed to respond to requests for assistance related to 
domestic violence. Women's groups noted that few officers were trained 
to deal with domestic violence or provide victims' assistance.
    The Program for Prevention and Eradication of Intrafamily Violence, 
a government program under the Presidential Spouse's Secretariat of 
Social Work, reported receiving approximately four calls a day via its 
emergency hot line from battered women and children. The Public 
Ministry reportedly received more than 9,657 complaints of family 
violence against women and children through December. During the year 
the Public Ministry achieved convictions in 79 of the 3,547 cases it 
opened during the year.
    Justices of the peace issued an unspecified number of orders of 
restraint against domestic violence aggressors and police protection 
for victims. Full investigation and prosecution of domestic violence 
and rape cases usually took an average of one year, and prosecutors 
noted that half of the victims of domestic violence who filed 
complaints failed to pursue their cases after their initial visit to 
the Public Ministry. The Public Ministry handled 6,281 cases against 
perpetrators of domestic violence, but there was no information on the 
number of prosecutions or convictions. Although the law affords victims 
of domestic violence with protection, such as shelter, during the 
period of investigation, in practice there were insufficient facilities 
for this purpose.
    The ombudsman for indigenous women, an office of COPREDEH, provided 
social services for victims of domestic or social violence, as well as 
mediation, conflict resolution, and legal services for indigenous 
women. This office also coordinated and promoted action by government 
institutions and NGOs to prevent violence and discrimination against 
indigenous women but lacked human resources and logistical capacity to 
perform its functions on a national level. The office handled 1,425 
cases between January and September, including labor conflicts and 
domestic violence.
    Sexual offenses remained a serious problem. The law criminalized 
rape, including spousal rape and aggravated rape, and establishes 
penalties between six and 50 years in prison. Prosecutors from the 
Special Unit for Crimes against Women noted that reports of rapes had 
increased by 30 percent over the past four years, although some 
observers suggested that the increases might reflect improved record-
keeping of crime statistics. Until 2004 the law provided that a rapist 
could escape charges by marrying the victim. Although the law no longer 
allows for this, judicial processes that were entered into before the 
law changed are judged according to the old law. During the year there 
were cases in which this occurred.
    Police had minimal training or capacity for investigating or 
assisting victims of sexual crimes. The Government maintained a PNC 
Special Unit for Sex Crimes, an Office of Attention to Victims, and a 
Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Women, Children, and Trafficking 
in Persons, but none of these units were effective in reducing sexual 
violence. The PNC in Guatemala Department reported opening 342 cases 
against sexual offenders and making 64 arrests relating to sexual 
violence. The Public Ministry did not provide data on the number of 
convictions in cases of rape and sexual abuse of women and minors. The 
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that rape victims sometimes did 
not report the crime for lack of confidence in the prosecution system 
and fear of reprisals.
    Between January and December the prosecutor's office reported 
receiving 581 cases of rape and sexual assault in Guatemala City. Of 
these, 74 cases went to trial resulting in 63 convictions with an 
average sentence of six to 20 years' imprisonment, 21 persons were 
absolved, and 25 cases were settled out of court.
    The PNC reported that by year's end there were 603 killings of 
women, constituting approximately 10 percent of the total number of 
5,885 killings reported during that period, compared with approximately 
10 percent (552 women out of 5,747 total killings) during 2005, and 
approximately 11 percent (509 women out of 4,519 total killings) during 
2004. Although the PNC attributed gang violence, narcotics trafficking, 
and domestic abuse as the probable causes for many of the killings, 
authorities were unable to identify the perpetrator or motives for over 
half of the killings. Through December female victims represented 21.5 
percent (75 of 349) of the reported killings by strangulation. A study 
during the year by the NGO Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres reported that 
11 percent of killings of women in the country could be identified as 
targeted killings based on gender. The overall number of killings of 
both men and women continued to rise, as did the rate of victims of 
killings per 100,000 persons.
    Due to weaknesses throughout the judicial and law enforcement 
systems, including inadequate governmental allocation of resources to 
criminal investigation authorities, government investigations of 
killings of women and of homicides generally were extremely 
ineffective, resulting in the erosion of public confidence in these 
governmental institutions and in the ability of the Government to 
resolve crimes and protect citizens.
    Although prostitution is legal, procuring and inducing a person 
into prostitution are crimes that can result in fines or imprisonment, 
with heavier penalties if minors are involved. Trafficking in women and 
minors, primarily for the purpose of prostitution, is illegal and was a 
broadly recognized problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment is not specified as a crime in the penal code, 
and during the year there were no accurate estimates of the incidence 
of sexual harassment. Human rights organizations reported, however, 
that sexual harassment was widespread, especially in industries in 
which the workforce was primarily female, such as the textile and 
apparel assembly sector. While the law establishes the principle of 
gender equality, in practice women faced job discrimination and were 
less likely to hold management positions. The 2002 National Study on 
Income and Spending, the most recent available, showed that indigenous 
women earned 58 percent of what indigenous men earned and that 
nonindigenous women earned 71 percent of what nonindigenous men earned. 
Women were employed primarily in low-wage jobs in agriculture, retail 
businesses, the service sector, the textile and apparel industries, and 
the Government and were more likely than men to be employed in the 
informal sector, where pay and benefits generally were lower. Women may 
legally own, manage, and inherit property on an equal basis with men, 
including in situations involving divorce.
    The Secretariat for Women's Affairs advised President Berger on 
interagency coordination of policies affecting women and their 
development. The secretariat's activities included seminars, outreach, 
and providing information on discrimination against women.

    Children.--The Government devoted insufficient resources to ensure 
adequate educational and health services for children.
    Although the constitution and the law provide for free compulsory 
education for all children up to the sixth grade, less than half the 
population had received a primary education. The UN Development 
Program's 2003 Human Development Report, the most recent available, 
estimated that 40 percent of children who entered primary school 
finished their third year and 30 percent were promoted beyond sixth 
grade. Completion rates were lower in rural and indigenous areas. 
According to the Population Council's annual report, the average 
education level attained varied widely based on background and 
geographic region. Although the average nonindigenous child received 
4.2 years of schooling, indigenous children received an average of 1.3 
years.
    Boys and girls had equal access to medical care. UNICEF statistics 
reported that 67 percent of indigenous children suffered from chronic 
malnutrition.
    Child abuse remained a serious problem. The Public Ministry did not 
provide a figure on the number of cases of child abuse during the year. 
The Social Secretariat for the Welfare of Children, with oversight for 
children's treatment, training, special education, and welfare programs 
provided shelter and assistance to children who were victims of abuse 
but sometimes placed children under its care in shelters with other 
youths who had criminal records. Due to an overwhelmed public welfare 
system, family courts during the year referred 329 minors to Casa 
Alianza, an NGO focusing on issues regarding street children. The 
Special Prosecutor's Office for Women included a unit that investigated 
only child abuse cases.
    Child prostitution was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking and 
section 6.c.).
    Child labor was a widespread and serious problem. According to the 
International Labor Organization (ILO), during the year almost one 
quarter of children had to work to survive (see section 6.d.).
    Credible estimates put the number of street children at 5,000 
nationwide, approximately 3,000 of them in Guatemala City. Most street 
children ran away from home after being abused. Casa Alianza reported 
that increased gang recruitment decreased the number of street children 
in the capital, because after joining a gang, street children often 
lived with fellow gang members and no longer slept on the streets. Casa 
Alianza reported that by year's end approximately 377 minors suffered 
violent deaths in Guatemala City. Criminals often recruited street 
children for purposes of stealing, transporting contraband, 
prostitution, and illegal drug activities. Approximately 10,000 
children were members of street gangs. NGOs dealing with gangs and 
other youth reported concerns that street youth detained by police were 
subject to abusive treatment, including physical assaults (see section 
1.d.).
    The Government closed its two shelters in Guatemala City and moved 
their functions to a shelter for girls in Antigua and a shelter in San 
Jose Pinula for boys. Two other shelters in Quetzaltenango and Zacapa 
served both boys and girls.
    The Government devoted insufficient funds to its shelters, and 
governmental authorities often preferred to send juveniles to youth 
shelters operated by Casa Alianza and other NGOs. The Government 
provided no funding assistance for shelter costs to these NGOs. 
Juvenile offenders were incarcerated at separate youth detention 
facilities.

    Trafficking in Persons.--While the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, 
through, and within the country. The law criminalizes all forms of 
trafficking, defines the categories of persons responsible for 
trafficking offenses, and mandates jail time for traffickers. The 
Government acknowledged that trafficking was a significant and growing 
problem in the country.
    The Public Ministry operated the Office of Special Prosecutor for 
Crimes against Women, Children, and Victims of Trafficking. During the 
year a task force, which included the Office of the Special Prosecutor, 
immigration authorities, PNC, and Casa Alianza, conducted an 
unspecified number of bar raids.
    The country cooperated with Mexico on an annual work plan to care 
for victims and regularize cooperation between the respective 
government agencies. This cooperation included ensuring that the 
repatriation of trafficking victims was handled separately from 
deportations. The country had repatriation agreements for minor victims 
of trafficking with El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and 
Panama.
    The country was a source, transit, and destination country for 
women and children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and 
child labor. One 2004 NGO report, which contained the most recent data 
available, identified 600 to 700 minors who were victims of trafficking 
in centers of prostitution across the country. There were no reliable 
estimates of forced labor trafficking, mainly involving children used 
in begging rings in Guatemala City.
    Trafficking was particularly a problem in the capital and in towns 
along the borders with Mexico and El Salvador. Child migrants who did 
not cross the border into Mexico often remained in the country and 
resorted to or were forced into prostitution. Many women and children 
also were brought into the country from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and 
Honduras by organized rings that forced them into prostitution. The 
primary target population for sexual exploitation was minor boys and 
girls or young women from poor families. Traffickers often approached 
individuals with promises of economic rewards, jobs in cafeterias or 
beauty parlors, or employment in other countries. The means of 
promotion included flyers, newspaper advertisements, and verbal or 
personal recommendations.
    Brothel owners often were responsible for transporting and 
employing victims of trafficking. Traffickers frequently had links to 
other organized crime, including drug trafficking and migrant 
smuggling.
    There were credible reports that police and immigration service 
agents were complicit in trafficking of persons. In a 2002 study by the 
NGO End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of 
Children for Sexual Purposes, some minor victims of trafficking 
reported that immigration officials took bribes from traffickers, gave 
the victims falsified identification papers, and allowed them to cross 
borders. There were credible reports that brothel owners allowed police 
and migration officials to have sex with minor victims without charge. 
There were no further developments, and none were expected, regarding 
the investigation of former PNC official Rudy Giron Lima's ownership of 
three bars where underage persons were engaged in prostitution. During 
the year Giron Lima remained in prison under a 63-year sentence for an 
unrelated kidnapping conviction.
    The Secretariat for Social Welfare, a government institution, 
operated shelters in Antigua, San Jose Pinula, Quetzaltenango and 
Zacapa that housed victims of trafficking and offered social casework, 
job training, and counseling.
    Immigration officials generally deported foreign adult trafficking 
victims but did not treat them as criminals. Immigration officials 
deported an unspecified number of women found during bar raids back to 
Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Victims were not prosecuted and 
were not required to testify against traffickers.
    During the year the Government undertook efforts to address the 
problem of trafficking in persons, including increased attention to 
rescuing minors from commercial sexual exploitation in bars, brothels, 
and other establishments. The Government released minor trafficking 
victims rescued in bar raids primarily to the custody of Casa Alianza, 
which provided shelter, medical treatment, psychological counseling, 
and job training. Other NGOs provided similar services and, along with 
Casa Alianza, lobbied for legislation, protection of victims, and 
prevention of trafficking.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and the law contain no 
specific prohibitions against discrimination based on physical 
disability in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services. The law, however, mandates equal 
access to public facilities and provides some other legal protections, 
such as equal hiring opportunities. In many cases persons with physical 
and mental disabilities did not enjoy these rights, and the Government 
devoted few resources to combat this problem. A 2004 report by the 
International Disability Rights Monitor, the most recent available, 
noted that the Government discriminated against persons with 
disabilities by not providing adequate protection.
    There were minimal educational resources for those with special 
needs, and the majority of universities were not made accessible to 
persons with disabilities. The National Hospital for Mental Health, the 
principal healthcare provider for persons with mental illness, lacked 
basic supplies, equipment, hygienic living conditions, and adequate 
professional staffing. Although the National Council for the Disabled, 
composed of representatives of relevant government ministries and 
agencies, met regularly to discuss initiatives, the Government devoted 
no resources to the implementation of the council's recommendations.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous people from approximately 22 ethnic 
groups constituted an estimated 43 percent of the population. In 
addition to the many Mayan communities, there were also the Garifuna, 
descendents of Africans brought to the Caribbean region as slaves who 
intermarried with Amerindians, and the indigenous Xinca community. The 
law provides for equal rights for indigenous people and obliges the 
Government to recognize, respect, and promote their lifestyles, 
customs, traditions, social organization, and manner of dress. Although 
some indigenous people attained high positions as judges and government 
officials, they generally were underrepresented in politics and 
remained largely outside the country's political, economic, social, and 
cultural mainstream due to limited educational opportunities, poverty, 
and pervasive discrimination.
    In a session during the year, the UN Committee on the Elimination 
of Racial Discrimination (CERD) reported its deep concern at the extent 
to which racism and racial discrimination against the Maya, Xinca, and 
Garifuna communities was entrenched in the country, and at the 
inadequacy of public policies to eliminate racial discrimination. The 
CERD recommended that the Government adopt specific legislation to 
punish dissemination of ideas based on notions of superiority or racial 
hatred, incitement of racial discrimination, and violent acts directed 
against indigenous people and persons of African descent.
    The CERD also stated that it was concerned about the low level of 
political participation among indigenous people, problems expressed by 
indigenous people in gaining access to the justice system, the lack of 
access by indigenous people to land, the lack of respect shown for 
their traditional lands, and difficulties surrounding restitution of 
lands to indigenous people displaced by armed conflict or economic 
development. The committee recommended that the Government take steps 
to return lands and territories traditionally owned by indigenous 
persons and to adopt a national land bill so that indigenous 
communities could be identified and demarcated.
    A 2004 World Bank study, the most recent available, found that 76 
percent of the indigenous population lived in poverty, compared with 41 
percent of the nonindigenous population.
    Rural indigenous persons had limited educational opportunities and 
fewer employment opportunities. Many of the indigenous were illiterate, 
and approximately 33 percent did not speak Spanish. More than 50 
percent of indigenous women were illiterate and a disproportionate 
number of indigenous girls did not attend school (see section 5, Women, 
and Children). According to a 2005 report of the Ministry of Education, 
the most recent available, 309,764 preschool and kindergarten aged 
indigenous children were enrolled in bilingual education programs. The 
Government devoted less than 10 percent of the total budget to 
bilingual education.
    The Department of Indigenous People in the Ministry of Labor, 
tasked with investigating cases of discrimination, representing 
indigenous rights, and promoting implementation of ILO Convention 169 
on the rights of indigenous people, counseled indigenous persons on 
their rights. This department had no separate budget, only four 
employees, and lacked resources to investigate any discrimination 
claims.
    Legally mandated court interpreters for criminal proceedings were 
rarely available, placing indigenous people arrested for crimes at a 
disadvantage due to their limited comprehension of Spanish (see section 
1.e.). There were 63 judges who spoke Mayan languages among the 561 
tribunals in the country. There were 62 court interpreters, and the 
Supreme Court of Justice reported that the judicial system had 689 
employees who spoke indigenous languages. In many instances bilingual 
judicial personnel continued to be assigned to areas where their second 
language was not spoken.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law does not 
criminalize homosexuality, but it also does not expressly include 
sexual orientation or HIV status among the categories prohibited from 
discrimination. There was social discrimination against gay, lesbian, 
and transgender persons and persons with HIV/AIDS. Homosexual rights 
support groups alleged that members of the police regularly waited 
outside clubs and bars frequented by sexual minorities and demanded 
that patrons and persons engaged in commercial sexual activities 
provide protection money. These groups also complained that police at 
times raped lesbians and transvestites, but that due to a lack of trust 
in the judicial system and out of fear of further persecution or social 
recrimination, victims were unwilling to file complaints.
    On June 17, five transvestites were shot in Guatemala City, one of 
them fatally. A human rights group claimed that the victims were 
attacked because of their sexual preferences. By year's end police 
authorities had investigated the attack but had not identified any 
suspects. A December 2005 incident involving the killing of one 
transvestite person and the injuring of another remained under 
investigation. Members of the gay rights group OASIS asserted that the 
perpetrators were wearing police uniforms (see section 1.d.).
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides for freedom of 
association and the right to form and join trade unions, in practice 
enforcement remained weak and ineffective. With the exception of 
members of the security forces, all workers have the right to form or 
join unions, but less than 3 percent of the formal sector work force 
was unionized.
    Legal recognition of a new industry wide union requires that the 
membership constitute 50 percent plus one of the workers in an 
industry. In its annual report, the ILO Committee of Experts (COE) 
recalled that for many years it had been commenting on this requirement 
as among ``restrictions on the formation of organizations in full 
freedom.'' Labor rights activists considered this number to be a nearly 
insurmountable barrier to the formation of new industry wide unions.
    Enforcement of legal prohibitions on retribution for forming unions 
and for participating in trade union activities was weak. To hold union 
office, the law requires that a person must be both a citizen of the 
country and actively employed by the enterprise or economic activity. 
Many employers routinely sought to circumvent legal provisions for 
union organizing by resisting union formation attempts or by ignoring 
judicial orders to enforce them. An ineffective legal system and 
inadequate penalties for violations continued to undermine enforcement 
of the right to form unions and participate in trade union activities.
    There were credible reports of retaliation by employers against 
workers who tried to exercise internationally recognized labor rights. 
There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding the 
status of a 2004 case involving 20 workers dismissed by the Secretariat 
for Social Welfare while trying to form a public sector union, despite 
a court order calling for their reinstatement.
    Some workers who suffered illegal dismissal took their cases to the 
labor courts and won 6,037 injunctions ordering reinstatement. The law 
requires employers to reinstate workers dismissed illegally for union 
organizing activities. In practice employers often failed to comply 
with reinstatement orders. Appeals by employers, along with legal 
recourse such as reincorporation as a different entity, often prolonged 
reinstatement proceedings. The labor courts rarely dismissed frivolous 
appeals, did not operate in a timely manner, or ensure enforcement of 
their decisions. According to labor ministry officials, employers 
rarely were disciplined for ignoring legally binding court orders.
    The COE noted problems with failure to comply with court orders to 
reinstate dismissed trade union members, tardiness of the procedures to 
impose penalties for breaches of labor legislation, and numerous 
antiunion dismissals.
    Labor leaders reported receiving death threats and other acts of 
intimidation. A three-prosecutor Office of the Special Prosecutor for 
Crimes Against Unionists and Journalists accepted 30 new union-related 
cases during the year (see section 4). During the year prosecutors 
secured no convictions for crimes against trade unionists and often 
claimed that they had minimal evidence to prosecute such cases. In its 
annual report the COE expressed ``deep concern at the acts of violence 
against trade union leaders and members,'' emphasized that ``trade 
union rights can only be exercised in a climate that is free of 
violence,'' and requested government information on how the Government 
would protect trade unionists.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor granted legal status to 53 
new labor unions. Although there were 1,769 legally registered labor 
unions, fewer than 415 appeared to be active based on administrative 
register records.
    An active solidarismo (solidarity association) movement claimed to 
have approximately 170,000 members. Its advocates claimed that these 
associations operated in an estimated 400 companies. Unions may operate 
legally in workplaces that have solidarity associations, and workers 
have the right to choose between them or to belong to both. The 
Government characterized these associations as civic organizations that 
need not interfere with the functioning of trade unions. Although the 
law stipulates that trade unions have an exclusive right to negotiate 
work conditions on behalf of workers, unions charged that management 
promoted solidarity associations to avoid the formation of trade unions 
or to compete with existing labor unions. Representatives of most 
organized labor groups criticized these associations for their 
inability to strike, having inadequate grievance procedures, and for 
displacing genuine, independent trade unions with an employer-dominated 
structure.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the 
Government generally strove to protect this right in practice. The law 
requires that union members approve a collective bargaining agreement 
by simple majority. Although workers had the right to organize and 
bargain collectively, the small number of unionized workers limited the 
practice of organizing and bargaining. In its annual report, the COE 
identified ``violation of collective agreements'' in the country as a 
restriction on the exercise of trade union rights in practice.
    In a factory or business, 25 percent of the workers must be union 
members for collective bargaining to take place. Most workers, 
including those organized in trade unions, did not have collective 
contracts documenting their wages and working conditions, nor did they 
have individual contracts as required by law.
    According to the Ministry of Labor, there were 17 collective 
bargaining agreements, covering an estimated 15,000 unionized and non-
unionized workers, primarily in the public sector.
    Workers have the right to strike, but due to the very low level of 
unionization and procedural hurdles, there were only two legal strikes 
by year's end. The law requires approval by simple majority of a firm's 
workers to call a legal strike, and it requires that a labor court 
consider whether workers are conducting themselves peacefully and have 
exhausted available mediation before ruling on the legality of a 
strike. Teachers, farm workers, and other labor groups held illegal or 
unofficial work stoppages.
    The law empowers the President and his cabinet to suspend any 
strike deemed ``gravely prejudicial to the country's essential 
activities and public services,'' an authority that the Government did 
not use during the year.
    Workers in the essential services and public services sectors can 
address grievances by means of mediation and arbitration through the 
Ministry of Labor's General Inspectorate of Labor and also directly to 
the labor courts. Employers may suspend or fire workers for absence 
without leave if authorities have not recognized a strike as legal. The 
law calls for binding arbitration if no agreement is reached after 30 
days of negotiation. The law prohibits employer retaliation against 
strikers engaged in legal strikes.
    Labor laws and regulations apply throughout the country, including 
in the 12 active export processing zones (EPZs) and within the 
maquiladoras, which operated under an EPZ-like regime, although they 
were not located in distinctly established areas. By end of year the 
number of workers in the maquiladora sector decreased to approximately 
85,766 businesses due to competition from producers in Asian countries.
    There were no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the EPZs. Due to worker mistrust of employers and union organizers, 
unions had minimal success in organizing workers in EPZs and in the 
maquiladora sector. There was one collective bargaining agreement in 
the EPZ sector. Only five enterprises in the maquiladora sector had 
legally registered unions. Labor leaders and activists asserted that 
employer intimidation and pressure undermined organizing activities. 
Among the deficiencies in the exercise of trade union rights identified 
in the COE's annual report were ``the need to promote trade union 
rights (particularly collective bargaining) in export processing 
zones.''

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the 
constitution and the law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including 
by children, women and increasingly minors were trafficked for the 
purpose of sexual exploitation (see section 5). There were reports that 
employers sometimes forced workers to work overtime, often without the 
premium pay mandated by law (see section 6.e.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law bars employment of minors under the age of 14 without 
written permission from parents or the Ministry of Labor, child labor 
was a widespread problem. The law prohibits minors from work in 
establishments where alcoholic beverages are served, from work in 
unhealthy or dangerous conditions, and from night work and overtime 
work. The legal workday for persons younger than 14 is six hours, and 
for persons 14 to 17 years of age, seven hours. Despite these 
protections, child laborers worked on average in excess of 45 hours per 
week.
    The informal and agricultural sectors regularly employed children 
below 14 years of age, usually in small family enterprises. Economic 
necessity forced most families to have their children work to 
supplement family income, particularly in rural and indigenous 
communities.
    Laws governing the employment of minors were not enforced 
effectively. The vast majority of child labor cases occurred in the 
informal sector. The situation was exacerbated by the weakness of the 
labor inspection and labor court systems, and because the law provides 
that parental consent alone is sufficient to permit a child to work.
    The ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor 
(IPEC) continued to operate programs in the country to deal with 
commercial sexual exploitation of children, child labor in commercial 
agriculture, children working in garbage dumps, and child labor in 
quarries. During the year IPEC ended two child labor programs in 
Retalhuleu and San Marcos. The Ministry of Labor estimated that 
approximately 3,000 children were illegally employed in the very 
hazardous cottage-based fireworks production industry.
    The Child Worker Protection Unit within the Ministry of Labor is 
charged with enforcing restrictions on child labor and educating 
minors, their parents, and employers on the rights of minors in the 
labor market.
    The Government devoted insufficient resources to prevention 
programs, but Guatemala City's municipal administration managed several 
small programs that offered scholarships and free meals during the year 
to encourage families to send to school children who had formerly 
worked in the broccoli, coffee, gravel, and fireworks industries.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law sets national minimum 
wages for agricultural and nonagricultural work. The daily minimum wage 
was $6.95 (52.91 quetzales) per day for agricultural work and $7.12 
(54.15 quetzales) for nonagricultural work.
    The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. The National Statistics Institute calculated that 
the minimum food budget for a family of four was $197.40 (1,502.28 
quetzales) per month, significantly above the $208 (1,587.40 quetzales) 
per month that could be earned at the nonagricultural minimum wage 
rate. The institute's estimate of a family's total needs, including 
housing, clothing, utilities, and healthcare, was $360.23 (2,741.38 
quetzales). Labor representatives noted that even where both parents 
worked, the minimum wage did not allow the family to meet its basic 
needs.
    Noncompliance with minimum wage provisions in the informal sector 
was widespread. The Ministry of Labor conducted inspections to monitor 
compliance with minimum wage provisions, but the Government allocated 
inadequate resources to enable inspectors to enforce the minimum wage 
law adequately, especially in the very large informal sector. Advocacy 
groups focused on rural sector issues estimated that more than half of 
workers in rural areas who engaged in day-long employment did not 
receive the wages, benefits, and social security allocations required 
by law.
    According to the National Center for Economic Investigations, 
approximately 75 percent of the workforce operated in the informal 
sector and therefore outside of the basic protections, such as minimum 
wage, afforded by the law.
    The legal workweek is 48 hours with at least one paid 24-hour rest 
period, although in certain economic sectors workers continued to 
operate under a tradition of longer work hours. Daily and weekly 
maximum hour limits did not apply to domestic workers. Time-and-a-half 
pay was required for overtime work. Although the law prohibits 
excessive compulsory overtime, trade union leaders and human rights 
groups charged that employers sometimes forced workers to work overtime 
without legally mandated premium pay. Labor inspectors reported 
uncovering numerous instances of overtime abuses, but effective 
enforcement was undermined due to inadequate fines and inefficiencies 
in the labor court system.
    Labor courts have responsibility for sanctioning employers found 
violating labor laws. Labor inspectors are not empowered to adopt 
administrative measures or to impose fines for labor violations. During 
the year the labor courts received 7,119 cases from the labor 
inspectorate and ruled in favor of reinstatement of the worker in 6,037 
cases.
    The Government sets occupational health and safety standards, which 
were inadequate and poorly enforced. When serious or fatal industrial 
accidents occurred, the authorities often failed to investigate fully 
or assign responsibility for negligence. Employers rarely were 
sanctioned for failing to provide a safe workplace. Legislation 
requiring companies with more than 50 employees to provide on-site 
medical facilities for their workers was not enforced. Workers have the 
legal right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without 
reprisal. Few workers, however, were willing to jeopardize their jobs 
by complaining about unsafe working conditions.

                               __________

                                 GUYANA

    The Co-operative Republic of Guyana is a multiparty democracy with 
a population of approximately 750,000. On August 28, citizens voted in 
generally free national elections to reelect the People's Progressive 
Party Civic (PPP/C) and President Bharrat Jagdeo. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    The most significant reported human rights abuses included unlawful 
killings by police, police abuse of suspects, poor prison and jail 
conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, and warrantless searches. 
Inequitable use of government-controlled media resources compromised 
media freedom during the campaign for the August elections. There was a 
widespread perception of government corruption. Sexual abuse and 
domestic violence against women and children and discrimination against 
indigenous persons were pervasive; trafficking in persons remained a 
problem.
    The August elections were the country's first nonviolent elections 
in nearly two decades.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While there was no 
evidence that the Government or its agents committed any politically 
motivated killings, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Guyana Human 
Rights Association (GHRA) and the media asserted that police continued 
to commit unlawful killings. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) 
received complaints of seven unlawful killings during the year. In most 
cases the police shot the victims while attempting to make an arrest or 
while a crime was being committed. Police seldom were prosecuted for 
unlawful killings. The constitution broadly defines justifiable use of 
lethal force.
    On February 8, police fatally shot Bemaul Harrinarine. According to 
press reports, police officers shot Harrinarine at his residence while 
attempting to arrest him on robbery charges. Police reported that 
Harrinarine threatened officers with a machete. According to 
Harrinarine's family members, however, police shot him three times 
immediately after he opened the door to them and then retrieved a 
machete from the house to corroborate their story.
    On April 9, minibus driver Orin Adams died after being taken to the 
Brickdam police station for a traffic offense. According to press 
reports, two officers hit Adams before taking him to the station. Adams 
was pronounced dead on arrival at Georgetown Public Hospital; a 
postmortem showed that he died as a result of a blow to the back of the 
neck. Authorities arrested two policemen in connection with the death. 
In May policeman Mohanlall Persaud was charged with manslaughter in the 
case and released on bail. His case remained pending at year's end.
    On September 8, police fatally shot Kelvin Nero. The police 
maintained that Nero was wanted for murder and fled when ordered to 
surrender. Nero's relatives claimed that no warrant had been issued for 
his arrest. An eyewitness said that Nero was unarmed at the time of the 
shooting and reported that after Nero had been shot in the leg, an 
officer kicked him and ordered him to get up before dragging him to a 
police vehicle. He died while being taken to the hospital.
    On October 26, police shot and killed James Bennet. According to 
press reports, police fired warning shots before pursuing Bennet and 
several other persons suspected of dealing in cocaine. Eyewitnesses 
reported that a police officer shot Bennet as he was running away and 
then shot again after he fell down incapacitated. According to the 
police, the second shot was accidentally discharged when the pursuing 
officer also fell to the ground. Bennet died before receiving medical 
attention.
    There were no developments in the allegations of police killings in 
previous years, including the 2005 cases of Simeon Hope, Eon Forrester, 
Dwight McKenzie, Eon Alleyn, and Carl Abrams.
    On April 22, masked gunmen armed with AK-47s forced their way into 
Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh's home and killed him, along 
with two relatives and a security guard. While the gunmen also stole 
some cash and jewelry, authorities did not believe that robbery was the 
motivation for the attack. In several instances during the following 
months, men wanted for questioning in relation to the Sawh killing were 
shot and killed by police during pursuit or arrest. The case remained 
open at year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits torture, and there were no 
reports of its use, allegations of police abuse of suspects continued. 
As of October the PCA received 47 complaints of unlawful arrest and by 
year's end had received 22 complaints of unnecessary use of violence.
    According to the GHRA, high levels of violent crime and pressure on 
the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to deliver results contributed to an 
upsurge in police misconduct.
    In September masked men, some wearing camouflage gear, allegedly 
forced Buxton residents Troy Freeman, Wendrick Providence, and Kester 
October into vehicles; the men claimed that they were held for three 
days in a room, interrogated, and threatened with torture before being 
handed over to the police. Speaking with the independent Stabroek News 
in October, Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene did not confirm or 
deny police involvement; however, he stated that as a security tactic, 
police could wear masks while carrying out certain arrests.
    In the May 2005 case of alleged sexual abuse by staff members of a 
former female inmate at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), a correctional 
facility for juvenile delinquents, the trial of three former employees 
was underway.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and jail conditions 
were poor, particularly in police holding cells. The GHRA stated that 
while the Prison Authority was committed to creating a humane and 
professional prison service, capacity and resource constraints were a 
problem. The Prison Authority reported that there were 1,724 prisoners 
in five facilities, more than half of whom were in Georgetown's Camp 
Street Prison, which was designed to hold 500 inmates but held 
approximately 900 during the year. Overcrowding was in large part due 
to backlogs of pretrial detainees. Despite efforts by the Prison 
Authority and the judiciary to reduce the numbers of pretrial 
detainees, the GHRA noted that the pretrial detainee population 
increased.
    In August there was violent unrest at the Camp Street Prison. 
Prisoners climbed onto the roof and set fire to mattresses to protest 
substandard food, inadequate bedding materials, lack of access to 
sufficient water for bathing, and lengthy delays in their cases. Prison 
guards fired warning shots and sprayed teargas to break up the protest. 
Home Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira eventually brokered a deal with the 
prisoners allowing them to return to their cells, providing new 
mattresses, and promising better food.
    In September the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Guyanese Women 
in Development helped a group of female pretrial detainees at the 
Berbice prison obtain an audience at the New Amsterdam Magistrate's 
Court to air their complaints about detention conditions. The women 
complained that, unlike male prisoners, they were forced to do heavy 
chores despite having medical conditions. The women said that their 
requests for medical attention had been denied and complained about 
substandard food. They reported that food items delivered by relatives 
were often taken away, forcing them to supplement their rations from an 
expensive prison-run food shop. Dale Erskine, director of prisons, sent 
a team to the prison to investigate and submit recommendations to the 
director.
    Conditions in the country's four smaller prisons generally were 
adequate. Some prison officers received basic medical training, but no 
doctor regularly visited any of the prisons. The prison system faced 
staffing constraints and lack of resources. However, attempts were made 
to give all prison officers human rights training, and the senior level 
management of the Prison Service made serious efforts to combat cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading treatment in the prisons. The GHRA did not 
consider mistreatment of prisoners a problem in the prison system.
    Although sanitary and medical conditions in police holding 
facilities varied, overall these conditions were worse than those in 
the prisons. Some jails were bare, overcrowded, and damp. Few had beds, 
washbasins, furniture, or utensils. Meals normally were inadequate; 
friends and relatives routinely had to bring detainees food and water. 
Cells rarely had sanitary facilities, and staff members sometimes 
escorted inmates outside the cells to use holes in the floor for 
toilets. Inmates generally slept on a thin pallet on the concrete 
floor. Ventilation and lighting were often inadequate. Although 
precinct jails were intended to serve only as pretrial holding areas, 
some suspects were detained there as long as two years, awaiting 
judicial system action on their cases.
    On June 20, police found Sean Andrews dead in the Sparendaam Police 
Station lockup. Relatives had brought Andrews, who was mentally ill, to 
the police on June 18 after he became violent at home. Police stated 
that Andrews was placed in the lockup while the documents necessary for 
admitting him to hospital observation were obtained and that they 
suspected Andrews had hit his head against the lockup walls. The press 
reported that a postmortem examination revealed injuries suggesting 
Andrews may have been beaten.
    Juvenile offenders ages 16 and older were held with the adult 
prison population. Juvenile offenders ages 15 and younger were held in 
the NOC, which originally was conceived as a training and 
rehabilitation facility rather than as a juvenile detention center. 
There were complaints that juvenile runaways, or those out of their 
guardians' care, were placed with juveniles who had committed crimes, 
with the result that some petty offenders became involved in more 
serious criminal activity. According to the Director of Public 
Prosecutions (DPP), a separate, secure facility for juveniles who had 
committed more serious offenses was needed to correct this problem. The 
DPP also noted the need for better rehabilitation and education 
programs at the NOC. The NOC facility had multiple problems including 
staffing capacity, capabilities, and lack of effective security.
    Since there were no facilities in Georgetown to house female 
offenders ages 16 and over, women awaiting trial were held in the same 
facilities as men. The Prison Authority reported that there were 60 
female inmates in the women's prison located in New Amsterdam. The GHRA 
reported that the large number of female prisoners incarcerated on drug 
charges caused overcrowding in the facility. Due to inadequate 
facilities, juvenile female pretrial detainees were sometimes held 
together with adult female pretrial detainees.
    In September the Prison Service launched a restructuring of the 
prisoner rehabilitation program to offer more skills training to 
inmates. According to the GHRA, rehabilitation programs did not 
adequately address the needs of prisoners with substance-abuse 
problems.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions, but there were no known requests by human rights 
organizations to conduct such monitoring during the year.

    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 GPF, which is 
headed by the commissioner of police and overseen by the minister of 
home affairs, maintains internal security. The Guyana Defense Force 
(GDF) is responsible for defending the country's territorial integrity, 
assisting civil authorities to maintain law and order, and contributing 
to economic development. The GDF consists of approximately 2,500 troops 
and is headed by the chief of staff. The GDF falls under the purview of 
the Defense Board, which the President chairs.
    Poor training, poor equipment, and acute budgetary constraints 
severely limited the effectiveness of the GPF. Public confidence in and 
cooperation with the police remained low. There were reports of 
corruption in the force. Most cases involving charges against police 
officers were heard by lower magistrate's courts, where specially 
trained police officers served as the prosecutors.
    According to the GHRA, the PCA's effectiveness, especially in 
making field visits to outlying regions, steadily improved despite 
staff shortages. After the PCA receives and investigates a complaint, 
it sends a report and relevant statements to the chairman and a two-
person panel for review. By law the police commissioner must comply 
with the PCA's recommendation on complaints. The PCA currently relies 
on the GPF to conduct investigations into complaints against its own 
officers. According to the chairman, long delays in getting reports 
from the commissioner of police significantly hampered the complaints 
process.
    The PCA received 257 written complaints during the year, of which 
seven involved police killings. The remaining 250 complaints were 
mostly for police neglecting their duties or misbehaving in public 
places, unlawful arrest, wrongful seizure of firearms or motor 
vehicles, corrupt transactions, and unnecessary use of force. 
Investigation into the complaints led to three recommendations of 
criminal charges and 31 recommendations of disciplinary action against 
police officers. At year's end 97 reports remained outstanding, and the 
other 160 complaints had been investigated and dealt with by the police 
force or rejected by the PCA.
    The GPF includes a basic human rights course in its recruit-
training program. In April the GHRA presented the GPF with a human 
rights training manual, Human Rights in Policing.

    Arrest and Detention.--An arrest requires a warrant issued by a 
court official, unless an officer witnesses a crime, or at the 
officer's discretion in instances where there is good cause to suspect 
that a crime or a breach of the peace has been or will be committed. 
The law requires that a person arrested and held for more than 72 hours 
be brought before a court to be charged; authorities generally observed 
this requirement in practice. Bail was generally available except in 
capital offenses and narcotics trafficking cases.
    Although the law provides criminal detainees prompt access to a 
lawyer of their choice, as well as access to family members, in 
practice these rights were not fully respected. Police routinely 
required permission from the senior investigating officer, who was 
seldom on the premises, before permitting counsel access to a client. 
There were reports that senior officers refused to grant prompt access 
to prisoners.
    Lengthy pretrial detention, due primarily to judicial inefficiency, 
staff shortages, and cumbersome legal procedures, remained a problem, 
despite the chief justice's efforts to have the courts deal more 
quickly with inmates on remand. Pretrial detainees made up 
approximately one-third of the prison population, and the average 
length of pretrial detention was four months for those awaiting trial 
at the Magistrate's Court and 18 months for those awaiting trial at the 
High Court.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice, some law enforcement officials, prominent 
lawyers, and others accused the Government of occasional judicial 
intervention. NGOs described a general perception that the executive 
influenced the judiciary and that corruption existed at the magistrate 
level.
    Delays and inefficiencies in the judicial process undermined due 
process. Delays in judicial proceeding were caused by shortages of 
trained court personnel and magistrates, inadequate resources, 
postponements at the request of the defense or prosecution, occasional 
allegations of bribery, poor tracking of cases, and the slowness of 
police in preparing cases for trial. The delays resulted in a backlog 
of more than 14,000 cases.
    While the courts made some attempt to deal with the backlog, 
including working overtime hours, encouraging the use of mediation on a 
voluntary basis, and opening a specialized Commercial Court on June 21, 
the backlog remained severe. Some judges did not deliver written 
decisions on completed cases in a timely manner, further adding to the 
backlog.
    The court system is composed of several magistrate's courts, the 
High Court, and the Court of Appeals. There is also the right of final 
appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice. The magistrate's courts deal 
with both criminal and civil matters. Specially trained police officers 
serve as prosecutors in lower magistrate's courts. The DPP is 
statutorily independent, may file legal charges against offenders, and 
handles all criminal cases.
    The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has the authority to appoint 
judges, determine tenure, and appoint the DPP and his or her deputy. 
The President, on the advice of the JSC, may temporarily appoint judges 
to sit in magistrate's courts and on the High Court. At year's end five 
of 14 High Court judges, as well as the chancellor of the judiciary, 
were serving in an acting capacity.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants enjoy a 
presumption of innocence. Cases in magistrate's courts are tried 
without jury; more serious cases are tried by jury in the High Court. 
Defendants can confront witnesses against them and have access to 
relevant government-held evidence. Defendants have a right of appeal. 
Trial postponements were granted routinely to both the defense and the 
prosecution. Programs designed to improve legal structures, reform 
judicial procedures, upgrade technical capabilities, and improve 
efficiency of the courts had a limited effect.
    The law recognizes the right to legal counsel; however, excepting 
cases involving capital crimes, it was limited to those who could 
afford to pay. Although there is no public defender system, a defendant 
in a murder case that reaches the High Court receives a court-appointed 
attorney. The Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, with government and private 
support, provided advice to persons who could not afford a lawyer, 
particularly victims of domestic violence and violence against women.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government did not detain 
persons on political grounds, although supporters of Mark Benschop, a 
talk show host arrested on charges of treason in 2002, considered him 
to be a political detainee. In December 2005 Benschop sued the Attorney 
General over his continued incarceration without bail and the High 
Court's delay in hearing his case a second time. Benschop's mother and 
political supporters made several appeals to the local press urging 
that a near date be named for his retrial, which was pending at year's 
end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and the 
Government generally respected this provision in practice. The 
magistrate's courts deal with both criminal and civil matters. Delays, 
inefficiencies, and corruption in the magistrate court system affected 
the ability of citizens to seek timely remedy in civil matters, and 
there was a large backlog of civil cases waiting to be heard.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--While the law prohibits such actions, authorities 
sometimes infringed on citizens' privacy. Law enforcement officials 
must obtain warrants before searching private homes or properties. 
Although the authorities generally respected these requirements, there 
were reports that police officers searched homes without warrants, 
particularly in the village of Buxton, a criminal enclave, and in 
neighborhoods where narcotics trafficking was suspected.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press. The Government generally respected these 
rights in practice; however, there were some exceptions. Inequitable 
use of government-controlled media resources was a problem, especially 
during the months leading up to the August 28 national elections.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. International media operated freely. The 
Government's daily newspaper, the Guyana Chronicle, which typically 
displayed a progovernment bias, covered a broad spectrum of political 
and nongovernmental groups.
    In September authorities charged local television station owner 
Anthony Veira with contempt of court for airing a political commentary 
that the Government characterized as containing ``statements and 
comments which tend to bring the authority and administration of the 
law in Guyana into disrepute and disregard and to scandalize the 
court.'' The case was pending at year's end.
    Government limits on licensing and expansion sharply constrained 
the broadcast media. The Government owned and operated two radio 
stations broadcasting on several frequencies, which are the only media 
that reach the entire country. A third station, Radio Paiwomak, 
operated under the license of the government-operated National 
Communications Network as a community radio station with a limited 
broadcast area in the hinterland Rupununi region. Private interests and 
the political opposition continued to criticize the Government for its 
failure to approve long-standing requests for private radio frequency 
authorizations.
    In August there were reports that an unlicensed radio station 
broadcast music and opposition political advertisements in Region Ten 
for three weeks leading up to the national elections. The head of the 
Presidential Secretariat called these illegal broadcasts a ``threat to 
national security.''
    Equitable access to the state media remained a contentious issue 
between the Government and opposition parties and grew more heated 
during the run-up to the national elections. In the month before 
polling day, the government-run television and radio stations tripled 
the cost for political advertisements, effectively denying access to 
less well-funded opposition parties. After international observers 
intervened, the rates were reduced to match the fees charged during the 
1997 campaign, still nearly double the regular advertising rates.
    Two independent groups monitored the media during the election 
campaign. The Independent Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) monitored and 
rated the pre-election coverage of radio, television, and print, while 
the Independent Refereeing Panel assessed compliance with the Media 
Code of Conduct voluntarily signed by media outlets in January. Both 
groups noted numerous incidents of unbalanced or biased coverage, 
including unfair use of state-controlled media by the ruling party, 
such as the airing of pro-party documentaries. The ruling party 
received 64 percent of positive political coverage on the state-owned 
National Communications Network television channel, with nine 
opposition parties sharing the remaining positive coverage. The MMU 
made several final recommendations in its report, including the passage 
of a Freedom of Information Act, better regulations for paid political 
advertisements, and the liberalization of radio licenses.
    In August four pressroom workers were killed execution-style at the 
independent Kaieteur News. No evidence suggested that the murders were 
related to Kaieteur News' reporting.
    There were no developments in the 2005 Guyflag prior restraint case 
against Stabroek News.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    While the Government recognizes religious groups of all faiths, 
churches must register with the Government to be formally recognized. 
Foreign religious groups seeking to establish operations require 
permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs before commencing their 
activities.
    Some GDF commanders required attendance at Christian religious 
services, and the GDF made no allowances for Hindu dietary preferences 
or Muslim observance of Friday as a holy day.
    Under a March revision of the Amerindian Act, religious groups 
seeking access to Amerindian villages do not need special permission 
from the minister of Amerindian affairs, but like all travelers, do 
need to obtain permission from the local village council before 
entering village lands.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community was very small, perhaps fewer than 10 members.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    A revision of the Amerindian Act requires that the local village 
council grant permission for travel to Amerindian areas. Previously, 
governmental permission had been required. In practice most persons 
traveled throughout these areas without a permit.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not established a system to protect refugees. In 
practice the Government provided protection against refoulement, the 
return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. The 
Government did not grant refugee status or asylum.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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 elections based on universal suffrage. There is a 
multiparty political system based on proportional representation, and 
the party that wins the most votes for parliament wins the presidency. 
Rather than voting for individual candidates, voters endorse one 
party's list of candidates. After the election the party leadership 
determines which of the listed candidates will fill any seats it wins. 
The President appoints a cabinet and prime minister who, with the 
President, exercise executive power.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On August 28, citizens 
voted in a generally free election to keep the PPP/C government in 
office. Incumbent Bharrat Jagdeo remained the PPP/C's Presidential 
candidate and was re-elected to a five-year term. International 
observers, including teams from the Organization of American States, 
the Caribbean Community, the Carter Center, and the Commonwealth, noted 
isolated irregularities not sufficient to change the outcome of the 
election.
    However, ruling party use of government resources during the 
campaign disadvantaged opposition parties. According to reports by 
independent monitoring groups, the Government used its radio monopoly 
and control over state television stations to air coverage casting the 
Government and ruling party in a favorable light. Some opposition 
parties and politicians reported that their tax records had been 
singled out for scrutiny during the pre-election period.
    In November the Alliance for Change (AFC) party filed an election 
petition claiming that incorrect counting of the votes in Region Ten 
had wrongly awarded a seat to the ruling PPP/C that should have gone to 
the AFC. The leader of the Justice for All Party also claimed that 
counting mistakes had cost his party a parliamentary seat. In late 
December the Electoral Assistance Bureau, a local observer group, 
released an audit of Region Ten results that supported the AFC's claim. 
Also in December, an Elections Commission official told accredited 
international election observers that the claims of both political 
parties had merit.
    The composition and verification of the official list of electors 
was a source of controversy during the campaign. The constitution and 
laws do not clearly delineate who is entitled to vote, creating ground 
for confusion and disagreement. No complete, up-to-date compilation of 
electoral laws was publicly available.
    Local government elections, due every three years, were last held 
in 1994.
    The constitution requires that one-third of each party list of 
candidates be female but does not require the parties to select any 
women for seats. There were 20 women in the 65-seat National Assembly. 
Five of 22 cabinet ministers were women.
    While supporters of the two major parties (the PPP/C and the 
People's National Congress Reform) were drawn largely from the Indo-
Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese communities respectively, political party 
leadership was more diverse. The ethnically diverse National Assembly 
included four indigenous people. The cabinet was also ethnically 
diverse, mirroring the ethnic makeup of the general population. Over 
one-quarter of the 22 cabinet ministers were Afro-Guyanese, including 
the Prime Minister and the head of the Presidential secretariat; there 
were also two indigenous cabinet ministers.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of serious corruption in the Government, including 
law enforcement and the judicial system. Low-wage public servants were 
easy targets for bribery.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information. Government officials were often reluctant to provide 
public information without approval from senior levels of the 
administration.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic human rights groups generally operated without 
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on 
human rights cases. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and 
responsive to their views.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    While the constitution provides fundamental rights for all persons 
regardless of race, gender, religion, or national origin, the 
Government did not always enforce these provisions.

    Women.--Violence against women, including domestic violence, was 
widespread and crossed racial and socioeconomic lines. The law 
prohibits domestic violence, gives women the right to seek prompt 
protection, and allows victims to seek protection, occupation, or 
tenancy orders from a magistrate. Penalties for violation of protection 
orders include fines up to $54 (G$10,000) and 12 months' imprisonment; 
however, this legislation frequently was not enforced.
    According to the NGO Help and Shelter, the Government used laws 
against domestic violence with some measure of success; the problems 
lay with the failure of those responsible for implementation. Help and 
Shelter said that magistrates and magistrate court staff needed to be 
more sensitive to the problem of domestic violence and to their roles 
in ensuring implementation of the law. In addition not all police 
officers fully understood provisions of the law.
    NGOs reported a widespread perception that some police officers and 
magistrates could be bribed to make cases of domestic violence ``go 
away.'' The Government also did not prosecute cases in which the 
alleged victim or victim's family agreed to drop the case in exchange 
for a monetary payment out of court. NGOs asserted the need for a 
specialized Family Court.
    Domestic violence was a problem in all regions of the country. 
Enforcement of the domestic violence laws was especially weak in the 
interior, where police did not have as strong a presence and courts met 
only once a quarter.
    Between January and September, Help and Shelter handled 414 abuse 
cases, including child, spousal, nonspousal, and other domestic abuse; 
297 of the cases involved spousal abuse directed against women. Help 
and Shelter, which received private donor and some government funding, 
ran a free shelter for victims of domestic violence and operated a hot 
line to counsel victims.
    NGOs ran public service announcements and trained police officers, 
teachers, nurses, agricultural workers, religious groups, and health 
clinics to sensitize them to domestic violence. Domestic violence 
training was part of the curriculum of the Police Training College. 
There is a Task Force on Violence against Women whose membership 
included representatives from NGOs, law enforcement, the health 
community, and youth. The Task Force gathered data in preparation for 
drafting a national policy on domestic violence.
    Although rape and incest, including spousal rape, is illegal, it 
was a serious but infrequently reported or prosecuted problem. While 
increasing numbers of victims reported these crimes to the authorities, 
victims were socially stigmatized. A judge has discretion to issue a 
sentence of any length in a rape conviction, depending upon the 
circumstances and severity of the act committed. The established trend 
appeared to be a sentence of five to 10 years in prison.
    By the end of September, the police reported 87 rape charges; 
however, the actual number was likely much higher because victims were 
reluctant to file charges or report cases. Statistics showed that in 
more than 70 percent of sexual assault cases, the victim was under the 
age of 18. According to a study released by the GHRA, there were only 
nine convictions from 647 rape reports for the period 2000-04. The 
study described ``unreconstructed chauvinism'' of the country's legal 
culture as a major obstacle in delivering justice for victims.
    Lack of sensitivity for victims of sexual abuse and domestic 
violence and tolerance for perpetrators of abuse reached to all levels 
of society. In July Minister of Human Services and Social Security Bibi 
Shadick reacted to press reports of an alleged pornography ring 
blackmailing or drugging young girls and forcing them to appear in 
pornographic videos with the observation that based on her examination 
of two photographs of the incidents, the activities appeared to 
represent ``consensual sexual activity.'' Several prominent figures in 
politics and society retained their status despite widely circulating 
rumors of their past histories of sexual abuses and domestic violence 
against women.
    Prostitution is illegal but widespread. It received greater public 
attention due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS among prostitutes and 
increased prevalence of trafficking in persons (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment is prohibited under the Prevention of 
Discrimination Act, which provides for monetary penalties and award of 
damages to victims. Any act of sexual harassment involving physical 
assault can also be prosecuted under relevant criminal statutes. 
Although reports of sexual harassment were common, there were no 
prosecutions for sexual harassment under the Prevention of 
Discrimination Act, and according to the Office of the Director of 
Public Prosecutions, charges of sexual harassment were often settled 
out of court.
    The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, but there was no 
legal protection against such discrimination in the workplace. Although 
women constituted a significant proportion of the workforce, there were 
credible reports that they were not equally treated and faced 
disadvantages in promotion. Job vacancy notices routinely specified 
that the employer sought only male or only female applicants. The 
Women's Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Labor monitored the legal 
rights of women, but its role was limited to employment-related 
services. The bureau also held seminars on leadership and gender equity 
issues for women throughout the country. The constitution provides for 
a Women and Gender Equality Commission, but implementing legislation 
had not been passed.
    The law protects women's property rights in common-law marriages. 
It entitles a woman who separates or divorces to one-half the couple's 
property if she had been working and one-third of the property if she 
had not been employed. The courts may overturn a husband's will if it 
does not provide for his wife, so long as she was dependent on him 
financially.

    Children.--The Government generally was committed to children's 
rights and welfare. The constitution provides for a commission on the 
rights of the child, but implementing legislation had not been passed.
    Public education is available to age 20. Education is compulsory 
until age 15, universal, and free through secondary school. Children 
often did not attend school because their families needed them to 
contribute to the household by working or providing child care to 
siblings or younger relatives. The law provides penalties for parents 
who do not send their children to school, but these did not represent a 
meaningful deterrent. According to the Ministry of Education, 84 
percent of children completed primary school, and approximately 48 
percent completed secondary school. Schools suffered from high 
attrition rates of trained and experienced teachers, gross 
understaffing with a high proportion of untrained and underqualified 
teachers, and very poor infrastructure.
    Reports of physical and sexual abuse of children were common. 
Between January and September, Help and Shelter handled 75 cases of 
child abuse and an additional 24 cases of rape where the victim was 17 
years of age or younger. It was unclear how many deaths from child 
abuse took place; law enforcement officials and NGOs believed that the 
vast majority of child rape and criminal child abuse cases were not 
reported. As with cases of domestic abuse, according to NGOs there were 
reports that some police officers and magistrates could be bribed to 
make cases of child abuse ``go away.'' The Government did not further 
pursue cases in which the alleged victim or victim's family agreed to 
drop the case in exchange for a monetary payment out of court. The age 
of criminal responsibility is 10, although children usually were not 
prosecuted as adults, and offenders were sent to the NOC (see section 
1.c.).
    In October Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya 
Manickchand launched the Child Protection Agency (CPA), partially 
funded by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). The CPA took over child 
protection functions from Probation and Family Welfare Services, whose 
social workers did not specialize primarily in child welfare issues. 
Child protection services outside of Georgetown were limited, but the 
Government endeavored to put social workers in every region.
    The age of sexual consent is 16. Under the law anyone who has 
carnal knowledge of a girl under 16 can be found guilty of a felony and 
imprisoned for life. There were reports of child prostitution (see 
section 5, Trafficking).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The Combating of Trafficking in Persons 
Act prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons, but there were 
reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country. 
Penalties include three years' to life imprisonment, forfeiture of 
property, and full restitution to the victims.
    The country was a source and destination for trafficked women, 
children, and men; however, most trafficking in persons occurred 
internally and involved young women and girls trafficked for purposes 
of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude. 
Trafficking reportedly took place in the interior, where there was 
little government oversight and law enforcement was lacking. Young 
Amerindian men were exploited under forced labor conditions in timber 
camps. Most trafficking originated in impoverished indigenous 
communities, although some victims came from the larger coastal cities. 
In some instances victims were forcibly abducted. Some women trafficked 
into the country came from the northern regions of neighboring Brazil. 
A smaller number of women were trafficked into the country's sex trade. 
Reports indicated that trafficking victims were promised employment as 
highly paid domestic helpers, cooks, restaurant servers, and nude 
dancers. The victims were provided with barracks-style housing with 
cramped quarters and sometimes were locked inside. They were restrained 
through debt bondage, intimidation, and physical abuse. Most victims 
were exposed to the same health risks as women in prostitution and 
other victims of sexual exploitation, including sexually transmitted 
diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Girls and young women were trafficked for 
purposes of sexual exploitation to neighboring countries, including 
Suriname and Barbados.
    Most traffickers were believed to be individual business persons or 
small groups of miners. There was no evidence that government officials 
or institutions participated in or condoned human trafficking. There 
were no reports of any cases of police corruption linked to human 
trafficking. Prosecution of human traffickers was more difficult in the 
interior, where infrequent court sessions prolonged cases.
    In February shop owner Debbie Gaskin was charged with forcing a 13-
year-old girl into prostitution and forced labor after bringing her to 
the North West District to work as a cleaner. In March Ann Smith was 
also charged in the case. Both cases were later dismissed.
    In March five people were charged with forcing a runaway 12-year-
old girl into sexual slavery. Michael Joseph, Tinelle Edwards, John 
Wills, Shemroy Marks, and Treon Rutherford allegedly paid to have sex 
with the girl, who was eventually taken to the police by relatives who 
discovered her whereabouts. At year's end cases against Wills, Edwards, 
and Joseph were pending.
    In September Ramdai Narine was charged with harboring a 15-year-old 
girl ``by means of a position of vulnerability for the purpose of 
exploitation.'' Narine pled not guilty and was released on bail.
    The Government continued to make progress in its efforts to combat 
trafficking in persons, although there were no convictions under the 
Trafficking in Persons Act during the year. The country's slow judicial 
process contributed to the lack of progress in convicting traffickers. 
In January the Government released a review of its countertrafficking 
efforts from 2004-05 which acknowledged the need for improved policing 
and outreach efforts in rural communities. There is a National Plan of 
Action to combat human trafficking, and the deputy commissioner of 
police monitors enforcement.
    Victims identified by the Government were removed from the 
traffickers' custody and provided passage back to their homes. There 
were no reports of societal discrimination against trafficking victims. 
The Government also worked closely with and provided some financial 
support for the NGOs Help and Shelter and Red Thread that dealt with 
trafficking. The Government provided medical attention, housing, and 
funds to return victims to their home countries.
    In June six police officers and two employees from the Anti-
Trafficking in Persons Unit within the Ministry of Human Services and 
Social Security participated in a two-week trafficking-in-persons 
training program in the Bahamas organized by the International 
Organization for Migration.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution provides that ``the 
state shall . . . take legislative and other measures designed to 
protect disadvantaged persons and persons with disabilities''; however, 
there is no legislation allowing such persons to contest discriminatory 
acts. There is no law mandating provision of access for persons with 
disabilities, and the lack of appropriate infrastructure to provide 
access to both public and private facilities made it very difficult for 
persons with disabilities to be employed outside their homes. In March 
the National Commission on Disabilities (NCD) released the results of a 
survey of 1,500 persons with disabilities across four regions. Survey 
respondents reported facing significant obstacles in accessing 
employment, health care, education and training, and social outlets 
because of disability. Approximately 40 percent of respondents reported 
losing their employment as a result of incurring disabilities, and only 
17 percent reported current employment. Of respondents under the age of 
16, 42 percent reported never having attended school. A few independent 
organizations dealing with specific disabilities existed, such as a 
society for the visually impaired. The Open Door Center offered 
assistance and training to persons with disabilities and functioned 
throughout the year. In December a resource center equipped with 
specialty computers and other resources for the visually impaired and 
physically disabled opened at the NCD.

    National/Racial/Ethnic/Minorities.--Longstanding ethnic tensions, 
primarily between citizens of African descent and those of South Asian 
origin, continued to influence society and political life. Racial 
grouping of many social and political organizations polarized society 
along ethnic lines, and discrimination and exclusion continued to 
occur. A few politicians and media personalities engaged in rhetorical 
and propaganda attacks that fueled racial tensions. The constitution 
charges the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) with investigating 
complaints of ethnic discrimination. The ERC actively received 
complaints, launched investigations, provided mediation, and engaged in 
public education on ethnic relations issues. As of November the ERC had 
received 62 complaints, with an additional 56 unresolved complaints 
held over from 2005. Working with a two-person investigative unit, the 
ERC had resolved 67 of these complaints, with 51 outstanding as of late 
November.

    Indigenous People.--According to the 2002 census, the indigenous 
population constituted 9 percent of the population. There were nine 
tribal groups, and 90 percent of indigenous communities were located in 
the remote interior. Their standard of living was lower than that of 
most citizens, and they had limited ability to participate in decisions 
affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and allocation of natural 
resources. Indigenous communities had limited access to education and 
health care; there was no information on the effectiveness of 
government efforts to improve these services. All indigenous 
communities had primary schools, and there were 10 secondary schools in 
the hinterland regions. The secondary schools had dormitories that 
housed approximately 1,400 students at the Government's expense. The 
Government also offered scholarships for indigenous children to attend 
secondary school in Georgetown, and there were approximately 360 
students enrolled in the scholarship program. The Government funded an 
additional 273 students to attend technical institutions in Georgetown 
and provided 90 scholarships for indigenous students to attend the 
University of Guyana. The Government established programs to train 
health workers and established rudimentary health facilities in most 
communities.
    A revised Amerindian Act was enacted on March 14, replacing the act 
in force since 1951. Many indigenous groups opposed the new act because 
of concerns over rights to land and resources, use of the term 
``Amerindian'' rather than ``Indigenous,'' the powers conferred upon 
the minister of Amerindian affairs, and the lack of autonomy given to 
community governing institutions. The revised act regulates indigenous 
life, including local governance. Indigenous villages elect a village 
council headed by a ``Toshao,'' or head councillor. Persons wishing to 
enter indigenous lands must obtain permission from the local village 
council. Rules enacted by the village council require approval from the 
minister of Amerindian affairs before entering into force.
    For the indigenous population, land rights were a major issue. 
Indigenous communities complained that the Government allocated land 
(to mining and logging interests as well as for environmentally 
protected reserves) without proper consultations with them. The 
indigenous communities often viewed these allocations as illegitimate 
seizure of ``their'' lands and complained that consultations on 
development in the interior did not provide adequate time for feedback. 
Indigenous groups also argued that by granting their communities title 
to certain lands, the Government was able to take control of other 
lands previously understood to belong to their communities. During the 
campaign for the August 28 elections, some indigenous groups complained 
that many indigenous citizens lacked the basic identity documents, such 
as birth certificates, necessary for registering to vote.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides for the 
right of association and specifically enumerates workers' rights to 
form or belong to trade unions, and workers exercised this right in 
practice. However, the constitution also specifically bars GPF members 
from unionizing or associating with any established union. 
Approximately 25 percent of the work force was unionized.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers; however, 
some unions alleged antiunion discrimination by the Government.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Public and 
private sector employees possessed and utilized the right to organize 
and to bargain collectively. The Ministry of Labor certified all 
collective bargaining agreements, and there were no reports that it 
refused to do so. Individual unions directly negotiate collective 
bargaining status. The chief labor officer and the staff of the 
Ministry of Labor provided consultation, enforcement, and conciliation 
services.
    The law provides workers with the right to strike, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. Strikes may be declared illegal if 
the union leadership did not approve them or if they did not meet the 
requirements specified in collective bargaining agreements. Public 
employees providing essential services may strike if they provide the 
proper notice to the Ministry of Labor and leave a skeleton staff in 
place, but they are required to engage in compulsory arbitration to 
bring an end to a strike. There is no law prohibiting retaliation 
against strikers, but this principle always was included in the terms 
of resumption after a strike. The law defines and places limits on the 
retaliatory actions employers may take against strikers.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law sets minimum age requirements for employment of 
children, child labor in the informal sector was a problem, and it was 
common to see very young children engaged in street trading in the 
capital. No person under age 14 may be employed legally in any 
industry, and no person under age 16 may be employed at night, except 
under regulated circumstances. The law permits children under age 14 to 
be employed only in enterprises in which members of the same family are 
employed.
    According to a 1999-2005 UNICEF survey (the most recent available), 
19 percent of children between the ages of five and 14 were 
economically active. According to a 2001 UNICEF survey, approximately 
45 percent of children in the interior regions worked. The survey 
estimated that 3 percent of the children were involved in commercial 
sexual activity. Teenage prostitution was a problem (see section 5).
    Some children performed hazardous work in the mining, logging, 
farming, fishing, and manufacturing industries. The Government 
cooperated with international donors to administer a program to combat 
these worst forms of child labor.
    While the Ministry of Labor recognized that child labor existed in 
the informal sector, it did not employ sufficient inspectors to enforce 
existing laws effectively.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum public sector wage 
is $109 (G$22,480) per month. There were minimum wages for certain 
categories of private sector workers, including retail cashiers and 
clerks, printers, drivers, and conductors, starting with a minimum of 
$16 (G$3,300) per week. Although enforcement mechanisms exist, it was 
difficult to put them into practice, and unorganized workers, 
particularly women and children in the informal private sector, often 
were paid less than what was required legally in the service sector. 
Laborers and untrained teachers at public schools also were paid less 
than the minimum wage. The legal minimum wage did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family.
    The law sets hours of employment, which vary by industry and 
sector. In general work in excess of a 44-hour workweek required an 
overtime payment rate. The law does not require a minimum weekly rest 
period but does state that a person cannot be compelled to work 
overtime.
    The law also establishes workplace safety and health standards. The 
Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Ministry of Labor is 
charged with conducting factory inspections and investigating 
complaints of substandard workplace conditions. Inadequate resources 
prevented the ministry from effectively carrying out this function. 
Workers could not remove themselves from dangerous work situations 
without jeopardizing continued employment.

                               __________

                                 HAITI

    Haiti is a republic with a constitution that calls for an elected 
President and a bicameral legislature. Its population is approximately 
8.4 million. After then President Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned and 
departed the country in February 2004, Boniface Alexandre, chief 
justice of the Supreme Court, assumed office as interim President 
(pursuant to the constitutionally prescribed order of succession). In 
March 2004 Gerard Latortue was installed as prime minister of the 
Interim government of Haiti (IGOH). Presidential and run-off 
parliamentary elections were held on February 7 and April 21. More than 
3.5 million citizens registered to vote (79 percent of eligible voters 
according to a 2003 census), and an estimated 63 percent of registered 
voters participated in the elections. After a relatively stable and 
peaceful election process, voters selected a new President and filled 
129 parliamentary seats. President Rene Preval and the new parliament 
took office on May 14.
    The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), deploying 6,668 
troops and 1,692 civilian police from 45 countries, provided security 
in advance of and during the elections, trained and supported the 
national police force, and assisted the Government in suppressing gang-
related violence and deterring potentially violent opposition by well-
armed and militant political groups.
    Despite some improvements, the Government's human rights record 
remained poor. The following human rights problems were reported: 
occasional extrajudicial killings by elements of the Haitian National 
Police(HNP); overcrowding and poor sanitation in prisons; occasional 
arbitrary arrests; prolonged pretrial detention; an inefficient 
judiciary subject to significant influence by the executive and 
legislative branches; severe corruption in all branches of government; 
ineffective enforcement of trade union organizing rights; ineffective 
measures to prevent violence and societal discrimination against women; 
child abuse, internal trafficking of children, and child domestic 
labor; and ineffective measure to address killings by members of gangs 
and other armed groups; and kidnapping, torture and cruel treatment by 
gang members and criminals.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--In contrast with 
2005, the Government or its agents did not commit any politically 
motivated killings. However, there were incidents where suspected 
elements of the HNP (acting outside of their authority) unlawfully 
killed citizens. The Government was, for the most part, unable to 
conduct thorough and reliable investigations to determine who was at 
fault. It remained difficult to identify and prosecute suspected 
killings by HNP officers, sometimes due to imposters posing as HNP 
officers. The HNP lacked rudimentary expertise and resources and as a 
result was unable to conduct thorough and reliable investigations of 
many of these incidents. If suspects were arrested, they were often 
released due to the country's corrupt and inefficient judicial system.
    On May 14, there were two suspected but unconfirmed deaths in 
prison caused by prison guards using excessive force during a riot at 
the men's penitentiary. The HNP, prison authorities, and MINUSTAH were 
unable to substantiate the deaths (see section 1.c.).
    In August, media reported that an HNP officer in Gonaives shot and 
killed a man who was apparently arguing with the officer in front of 
the police station. The officer was arrested. No additional information 
was available.
    There were some developments in multiple killings by HNP officers 
reported in 2005 and earlier. Four of the eight HNP officers charged 
with the 2004 torture and killing of five juveniles escaped from prison 
in February 2005. On August 30, the criminal court fined the remaining 
four officers and sentenced them to five years' imprisonment.
    At year's end only two of the 15 HNP officers arrested for the 
August 2005 killings of six men during a soccer match in Port-au-Prince 
remained in prison and awaited trial. A judge, thought to be corrupt by 
one human rights organization, released the other 13 officers. Details 
concerning the release were not publicly available.
    Much of the violence in the country stemmed from the activities of 
organized criminal gangs. Common criminality and armed attacks against 
civilians continued to create fear among the population.
    On July 7, gang members deliberately killed at least 20 residents 
in the Gran Ravine district of Martissant, a slum area in Port-au-
Prince. Many more people were injured and hundreds of homes were 
burned. The violence resulted from a territorial dispute between rival 
gangs. Subsequent turf battles in the Martissant area caused several 
more deaths in the weeks that followed.
    On September 21, unknown assailants shot and killed Bruner Esterne, 
a human rights activist in the Gran Ravine district of Martissant. 
Esterne was an eyewitness to the HNP killings that occurred at a soccer 
match in Martissant in September 2005.
    On September 26, gang members killed eight residents of 
Martissant's Fontamara district. MINUSTAH subsequently strengthened its 
presence in the area, but violence continued.
    Suspected retribution killings also occurred. On September 14, Guy 
Francois, a former colonel in the now-disbanded army, was shot and 
killed by persons who were talking with him as he sat in his car in 
Petionville (a suburb of Port-au-Prince). The police have made no 
arrests in that case.
    In response to ongoing violence perpetrated with impunity by 
criminals, citizens in some neighborhoods resorted to vigilante 
justice. There were occasional and credible reports of irate citizens 
in Port-au-Prince killing individuals who were suspected of rape, 
murder, or kidnapping.
    On December 20, a crowd of several hundred citizens confronted HNP 
and MINUSTAH at an HNP substation under the mistaken belief that the 
HNP was holding a suspected kidnapper. The mob demanded that the 
authorities release the suspect so that the mob could kill him. The mob 
barricaded streets and burned a UN vehicle. HNP and UN-established 
civilian police (UNCIVPOL) broke up the mob, but at least two of the 
demonstrators were injured by gunfire and another possibly died. No 
further investigations were conducted at year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--Unlike in 2005, there were no reports of 
politically motivated disappearances caused by government agents; 
however, there were reports of disappearances that stemmed from 
internal conflict.
    There were widespread kidnappings of citizens from all social 
strata by armed and organized criminal elements. While most cases were 
resolved through the payment of ransom, some victims were tortured, 
raped, and killed while in their kidnappers' custody. There were 554 
reported kidnapping victims during the year, compared with 760 in 2005. 
Many kidnappings were not reported.
    In August and September the criminal court convicted and sentenced 
each of two HNP officers to seven years' imprisonment in two kidnapping 
cases.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices and, unlike in 2005 there 
were no reports that government officials employed them; however, 
criminal gangs frequently employed these practices.
    In September the criminal court sentenced James Montas, an HNP 
officer, to six years in prison for the rape of Carline Seide on 
November 2, 2003.
    During the year MINUSTAH investigated five cases of sexual 
exploitation and abuse of minors by MINUSTAH security forces. All 
remained pending at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--All but four of the police 
stations and prisons damaged or destroyed in 2004 have reopened; 
however, prisons remained overcrowded, poorly maintained, and 
unsanitary. According to the NGO National Human Rights Network for 
Haiti (RNDDH), prisoners and detainees continued to suffer from a lack 
of basic hygiene, malnutrition, poor quality health care, and the 
presence of rodents. Furthermore, most prisons lacked adequate food and 
sanitation and periodically suffered from lack of water, especially in 
the provinces. The incidence of preventable diseases such as beriberi, 
AIDS, and tuberculosis decreased during the year but remained a serious 
issue. Prisons were also plagued by guard corruption. There were 12 
known retribution killings of prison guards outside prison walls within 
the last three years.
    On May 14, a riot erupted at the National Penitentiary (housing 
adult men). Approximately 300 prisoners took over the maximum security 
facility within the penitentiary and held out for approximately four 
hours before surrendering to a combined force of prison guards, HNP 
crowd control CIMO officers (Haitian National Police's Company for 
Maintaining Order), and UNCIVPOL officers. Approximately 40 prisoners 
were injured (a few seriously) and perhaps two died according to 
UNCIVPOL officers on the scene; although the deaths have not been 
verified by the HNP, MINUSTAH or human rights organizations. Six police 
officers were injured. Information from MINUSTAH and witnesses at the 
scene indicated that during the riot prison guards physically abused 
prisoners, beating non aggressive prisoners with clubs and shooting 
firearms directly at unarmed prisoners. Intervention by a team of 
UNCIVPOL and HNP CIMO officers prevented the situation from becoming 
much worse.
    There are separate penitentiaries for adult men and women in Port-
au-Prince. The men's facility held 2,235 adult men, and the women's 
facility held 198 women (both adults and girls). There were 15 other 
local detention centers throughout the country. In those centers, space 
permitting, male and female prisoners were held in separate cells. 
Children 16 and older were confined with adults.
    Most boys (109 of 154) were held in a separate facility in Port-au-
Prince. By law, that facility may only hold boys ages 13 to 15, 
although there were a few children who claimed to be 11-to-12 and 16-
to-17 years-of-age. Most girls under age 16 (27 of 33) were held in the 
same cells as female adults in the women's penitentiary in Port-au-
Prince.
    The Government possessed a computerized national system for 
tracking the movements and status of prisoners in each of its 
facilities. This system was developed with the assistance of the UN 
Development Program and was maintained by correctional staff. The total 
prison population, including both pretrial detainees and sentenced 
prisoners in the country's 17 prisons, was 4,663. Of the 4,663 
prisoners in custody, only 738 of them (16 percent) had been tried and 
sentenced, while 3,925 detainees (84 percent) still awaited trial.
    An already burdened prison system was stressed further with 
insufficient facilities to hold prisoners, especially as new arrests 
mounted during the year. Due to lack of available space, minors and 
adults sometimes were held in the same cell. In addition, overcrowding 
prevented the constitutionally mandated separation of violent from 
nonviolent prisoners or convicted individuals from individuals in 
preventive detention. Many convicted prisoners were incarcerated for 
long terms in temporary holding cells, particularly in the provinces. 
Most severely overcrowded was the National Penitentiary in Port-au-
Prince, built in 1915. The penitentiary was originally designed to hold 
a maximum of 800 prisoners and was expanded in 1997 to accommodate an 
additional 400 inmates, for a total of 1200 prisoners. It held 2,235 
inmates at year's end.
    The total prison population did not include the large number of 
persons who were held in police stations around the country in 
``preventive detention'' (without a hearing or charges being filed) for 
longer than the constitutionally mandated 48-hour maximum detention 
period. Inadequate record keeping and data entry at the police stations 
made it difficult to estimate the number of persons held in preventive 
detention.
    The authorities freely permitted the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC), the Haitian Red Cross, and human rights groups to 
enter prisons and police stations, monitor conditions, and assist 
prisoners and detainees with medical care, food, and legal aid. The 
ICRC and RNDDH monitored prison conditions in cooperation with the 
Department of Prison Administration (DAP).
    The ICRC's primary concerns related to adequate water, food, and 
sanitation; however, the Government continued to lack the resources to 
implement necessary changes.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the constitution stipulates that a person may 
be arrested only if apprehended during the commission of a crime, or on 
the basis of a written order by a legally competent official such as a 
justice of the peace or magistrate. The authorities must bring the 
detainee before a judge within 48 hours of arrest. In practice 
officials frequently ignored these provisions. With so many detainees 
being held in preventive detention without the benefit of a hearing and 
in violation of the 48-hour rule, it was difficult to determine how 
many of them were arbitrarily arrested or detained.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The 7,700-member HNP 
has the sole responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of 
order in the country. The HNP is an officially autonomous civilian 
institution under a director general who controls the force. The 
Ministry of Justice, through its minister and the secretary of state 
for public security, provides oversight.
    In July 2005 the IGOH installed new HNP leadership, which then 
initiated a program to eliminate corrupt officers, train the remaining 
officers (including human rights training), and induct new classes of 
recruits who were cleared by MINUSTAH and UNCIVPOL. The director 
general installed in July 2005 purged the upper ranks of the internal 
affairs unit of corrupt officers and appointed a new professional 
inspector in charge of investigating accusations of police corruption 
and human rights abuses. Under the director general's leadership, the 
HNP conducted at times swift investigations of human rights cases and 
arrested suspected officers.
    Reform and professionalization of the HNP continued as 
international programs provided: training (including human rights 
training) and equipment for new recruits and for existing officers, 
police station upgrades, security and humanitarian improvements to 
prisons, vehicles, computers and communications equipment, forensics 
equipment and training, weapons inventory and ballistics testing, and 
technical assistance. Nevertheless, efforts to reform the HNP remained 
incomplete, and HNP officers were still implicated in corruption, 
kidnapping, and narcotics trafficking.
    The UNCIVPOL element of MINUSTAH supplemented the police and 
improved the HNP's capacity to maintain order. UNCIVPOL provided 
training (including human rights training) and operational support. 
Notably, with UNCIVPOL's assistance, HNP developed relatively well-
trained and professional SWAT and CIMO forces.
    In many cases the HNP failed to prevent or respond to societal 
violence, usually gang-related; the reasons being an insufficient 
number of officers and inadequate training. However, with the 
assistance of UNCIVPOL and international donors, the capacity and 
effectiveness of the HNP in preventing and responding to such violence 
improved.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police sometimes apprehended persons without 
warrants or on warrants not issued by a duly authorized official. The 
authorities occasionally detained individuals on unspecified charges or 
pending investigation.
    Police frequently disregarded the legal requirement to present 
detainees before a judge within 48 hours (see section 1.d.), often 
because of the sluggishness of the judicial system. Consequently, many 
detainees were held for extended periods in preventive detention 
without being informed of charges against them. Prolonged preventive 
detention remained a serious problem (see section 1.c.).
    Bail was available at the discretion of the investigative judge. 
Bail hearings were not automatic, and judges usually granted bail only 
for minor cases and based on compelling humanitarian grounds such as a 
need for medical attention. Detainees generally were allowed access to 
family members and a lawyer of their own choosing. Many detainees could 
not afford the services of an attorney, and the Government did not 
provide free counsel.
    Prisoners were sometimes detained after they were acquitted. 
According to information from the National Center for State Courts, an 
inefficient judicial record system occasionally caused detainees to 
remain in prison for weeks or months after a court had ordered their 
release.
    Citizens deported to the country after completing prison sentences 
in foreign countries were often detained, although they had not 
violated any domestic laws. These detentions sometimes lasted several 
months. The Government justified the practice because of the high level 
of insecurity in Port-au-Prince, considering those deportees with a 
record of violent or serious crime as potential threats to the public 
order. In September a court ruled that such detentions were not valid 
under the law; however, authorities continued to temporarily 
incarcerate deportees previously convicted of violent crimes. The 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) implemented a program to 
help the Government reintegrate the deportees into society.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was subject to 
significant influence by the executive and legislative branches. Years 
of extensive corruption and governmental neglect left the poorly 
organized and poorly funded judicial system largely moribund. Judges 
assigned to politically sensitive cases complained about interference 
from the executive branch. There were widespread and credible reports 
of judicial corruption. Previous attempts by the IGOH to rectify 
problems within the judicial system were only minimally effective. The 
newly elected government's efforts to reform the judiciary and judicial 
systems included the appointment of a new chief investigating 
magistrate (prosecutor) for the judicial district containing Port-au-
Prince.
    Systemic problems--including a shortage of funding and adequately 
trained and qualified justices of the peace, judges, and prosecutors--
created a huge backlog of criminal cases, with many detainees waiting 
months for a court date (see section 1.d.).
    Another systemic problem in the judicial system created a barrier 
for crime victims. After a citizen reported his or her victimization by 
a crime, justices of the peace charged inconsistent ``fees'' to 
initiate a criminal prosecution. These fees varied across jurisdictions 
and justices. The fees effectively barred some citizens from full 
access to the judicial system enabled corruption.
    Judges increasingly conducted legal proceedings exclusively in 
Creole rather than French (spoken by only a minority of citizens). 
However, since some proceedings were conducted in French, language 
remained a barrier to full access to the judicial system.
    In most regions judges lacked basic resources and professional 
competence. An internationally funded program provided training for 
judges, prosecutors, and other court personnel, furnished technical 
assistance in drafting rules and procedures, and worked with the 
parliament to draft legislation to establish a judicial council that 
would oversee the court system. In addition, the UNDP provided training 
for judges and court personnel in Jacmel, Cap Haitien, and Fort 
Liberte.

    Trial Procedures.--The judicial apparatus follows a civil law 
system based on the Napoleonic Code. Although the constitution provides 
for the right to a fair public trial, this right was widely abridged in 
practice. The constitution also expressly denies police and judicial 
authorities the right to interrogate suspects unless legal counsel or a 
representative of the suspect's choice is present or they waive this 
right. Most accused persons could not afford legal counsel for 
interrogation or trial, and the law does not require that the 
Government provide legal representation. However, some defendants had 
access to counsel during trials. While the constitution provides 
defendants with a presumption of innocence, the right to be present at 
trial, the right to confront witnesses against them, and the right to 
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, in practice corrupt 
and ill-trained judges frequently denied defendants these rights.
    At the lowest level of the justice system, justices of the peace 
issue warrants, adjudicate minor infractions, mediate cases, take 
depositions, and refer cases to prosecutors or higher judicial 
officials. Investigating magistrates and public prosecutors cooperate 
in the development of more serious cases, which are tried by the judges 
of the first instance courts. Thirty appeals court judges hear cases 
referred from the first instance courts, and the 11-member Court of 
Cassation, the country's highest court, addresses questions of 
procedure and constitutionality.
    The Code of Criminal Procedure does not assign clear responsibility 
for investigating crimes, dividing the authority among police, justices 
of the peace, prosecutors, and investigative magistrates. Examining 
magistrates often received files that were empty or missing police 
reports. Autopsies were rarely conducted, and autopsy reports seldom 
were issued. The law provides for at least two criminal court sessions 
(assises) per year in each of the 15 first-instance jurisdictions for 
all major crimes requiring a jury trial, with each session generally 
lasting two weeks. However, this did not occur in practice. Criminal 
assises in Port-au-Prince, the largest jurisdiction, have met only once 
a year since 1998, which was a significant reason for the lengthy 
delays for prisoners who were awaiting trial.
    In addition, each annual assise processes only about 10 jury 
trials. Since most of the 2,144 detainees awaiting trial in the 
National Penitentiary were held for serious crimes that warranted a 
jury trial, they were effectively denied the right to a jury trial. 
International donor programs allowed the Government to conduct 
additional jury and non-jury trials during the year but did not 
significantly reduce the backlog.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were differing reports 
regarding whether the Government was holding political prisoners. At 
least two respected local human rights organizations reported that the 
Government did not hold political prisoners. On the other hand, Amnesty 
International stated that the Government held approximately 100 
political prisoners. The differing reports reflected the large number 
of prisoners being detained without a trial. Since most prison 
detainees (84 percent) were awaiting trial, it was possible that some 
of them were being held for political reasons.
    Former high-profile detainees, considered by many to be political 
prisoners, who were released during the year included:
    On June 15 and July 27, respectively, former minister of interior 
Joclerme Privert and former prime minister Yvon Neptune were released 
from prison after more than two years in detention. Both were charged 
with involvement in the 2004 massacre of Aristide opponents near St. 
Marc. Neptune was released for medical reasons and Privert released 
pending the outcome of his appeal. Although many of the 28 former 
Aristide government officials and Lavalas supporters who were charged 
in the killings were provisionally released pending trial, four 
remained in detention.
    On January 29, Father Gerard Jean-Juste, a Catholic priest and pro-
Aristide activist who was arrested in July 2005, was provisionally 
released from custody for medical reasons after he was diagnosed with 
leukemia.
    On August 14, Annette Auguste ``So Anne,'' a self-proclaimed pro-
Lavalas community organizer, was released after charges against her 
were dropped. She was arrested in May 2004 and charged with being the 
architect of an attack on state university students and faculty in 
2003. On August 14 the court also released the other Lavalas militants 
accused in the attack, including George Honore, Paul Raymond, and Yvon 
``ZapZap'' Antoine, citing a lack of evidence against them.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and unlike previous 
years, the Government generally respected these prohibitions in 
practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. An independent press, a marginally effective 
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to 
ensure these freedoms. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports 
of killing or harassment of journalists.

    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 electronic 
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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
provided that practice does not disturb law and order, and the 
Government generally respected this right in practice.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination against members of religious groups, 
including anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community was very small.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits the involuntary exile of citizens, and there were 
no reports of its use. However, there were anecdotal reports that 
former government officials imposed internal and external exile upon 
themselves and their families for fear of retaliation.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
refugee status or asylum in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, but did not routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
    Since there were no known refugees in the country, there was no 
opportunity for the Government to cooperate with the Office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees.
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 2006 through free and 
fair elections based on universal suffrage.
    The political system changed significantly following President 
Aristide's February 2004 resignation and departure from the country. 
Boniface Alexandre, President (chief justice) of the Supreme Court, 
assumed office as interim President in accordance with the 
constitution. The President chose Gerard Latortue as interim prime 
minister.
    In April 2004 representatives of the IGOH agreed with political 
party leaders on a transition accord outlining the IGOH's mandate and 
committing it to organize elections in 2005. The IGOH eventually 
conducted primary and run-off elections in February and April 
respectively.

    Elections and Political Participation.--To implement its commitment 
to hold elections, the IGOH appointed a nine-person Provisional 
Electoral Council (CEP), with representatives from several parties 
including Fanmi Lavalas (FL), the party of former President Aristide. 
The CEP proceeded with its mandate but, due to internal conflicts among 
the members and bureaucratic delays, deferred the original October 2005 
election date to February 7 and April 21. Approximately 3.5 million 
people registered to vote, and 63 percent of registered voters 
participated in the elections.
    There were 35 registered candidates for the presidency from across 
the political spectrum. While most parties were able to freely declare 
their candidates and get on the ballot, questions arose about Haitian-
American businessman Dumarsais Simeus's citizenship status and a 
possible conflict with the constitution. Although the Supreme Court 
ruled twice in Simeus's favor, the CEP removed him from the 
Presidential ballot. The CEP also disqualified another dual citizen, 
Samir Mourra, on the same grounds.
    Despite delays, the first round of Presidential and parliamentary 
elections occurred with relatively few administrative difficulties. The 
vote-counting process for the Presidential election created temporary 
uncertainty. An abstruse CEP interpretation of rules concerning the 
counting of spoiled ballots led to allegations of fraud from those 
backing Rene Preval, whose supporters threatened members of the CEP and 
held mass demonstrations in his support. MINUSTAH and the HNP provided 
extensive election security and oversight, and there were only limited 
instances of violence, disruption, and corruption. Many teams of 
international monitors and observers provided oversight as well, 
lending credibility to the results. Despite shortcomings in the 
process, citizens and international observer groups considered the 
election process acceptable and the results credible. Rene Preval won 
the presidency with 51 percent of the votes, and 129 National Assembly 
members were also elected. On May 14, President Preval took office for 
a five-year term.
    The monetary deposit required of female candidates for political 
office (if sponsored by a recognized party) was one-half that required 
of male candidates. There was one female Presidential candidate, and a 
large number of female parliamentary and municipal candidates. Six 
women were elected to the 129-seat National Assembly, and there were 
two women in the 18-member cabinet.
    On December 3, the CEP conducted elections to fill 8,820 local 
government positions throughout the country. There were few incidents 
of violence or fraud. Citizens and international observers considered 
the election process acceptable and the results credible.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The NGO Transparency 
International reported in November that there was a widespread public 
perception of corruption. Corruption remained widespread in all 
branches and at all levels of government. The factors contributing to 
corruption in the country were poverty, lack of economic opportunity, 
and weak governmental institutions (especially relating to law 
enforcement and the judiciary). The HNP, with the assistance of 
UNCIVPOL, continued efforts to eliminate corruption within its ranks, 
and the Government sought to reduce corruption within the judicial 
system.
    No law requires public access to government information, but there 
were no reports that the Government prevented public access to 
government information.
Section 4. 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. The Government 
cooperated with the various human rights observation missions and 
generally acknowledged their views but lacked the capacity to implement 
their recommendations. The Government permitted special missions and 
the continued presence of UN bodies and other international 
organizations such as the ICRC, the UN Independent Expert on Human 
Rights, the UNDP, the IACHR, MINUSTAH's Human Rights Office, and the 
OAS Special Mission's Human Rights Office.
    At the national and international levels, human rights 
organizations were active and effective in monitoring human rights 
issues, meeting frequently with government officials. Human rights 
organizations made media appearances and published objective reports on 
violations. Human rights organizations continued to focus on such 
persistent problems as murders, rapes, kidnappings, prison conditions, 
impunity for criminals, trafficking in persons, and the status of 
children and women.
    The House of Deputies and the Senate each had a human rights 
commission. The new parliament took office in May and neither 
commission published any reports or passed any legislation during the 
year.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law does not specifically prohibit discrimination on the 
grounds of race, gender, disability, language, or social status. It 
does provide for equal working conditions regardless of gender, 
beliefs, or marital status. However, there was no effective 
governmental mechanism to administer or enforce these provisions.

    Women.--The law prohibits and provides penalties for rape and 
domestic violence against women. The penalty for rape is a maximum of 
10 years' imprisonment; for gang rape and premeditated, aggravated 
assault it is 15 years of hard labor. The criminal code excuses a 
husband who kills his wife or her partner found engaging in an act of 
adultery in his home, but a wife who kills her husband under similar 
circumstances is not excused.
    According to women's rights groups and human rights organizations, 
domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse and rape, was 
commonplace, underreported, and increased compared with last year. In 
its January report, the UN Commission on Human Rights noted that women 
were involved in 85 percent of interpersonal violence cases and that 
the increase in rape was ``disquieting.'' A report from Haitian Women 
in Solidarity (SOFA), a human rights organization for women, estimated 
that eight out of 10 women suffered domestic violence, and that 
incidence of rape increased. Women's shelters and organizations 
reported that local armed thugs frequently raped and harassed girls and 
women in districts such as Cite Soleil and Martissant. Police rarely 
arrested the perpetrators or investigated the incidents, and the 
victims sometimes suffered further harassment in retaliation and feared 
reprisals from the perpetrators. There were no government-sponsored 
programs for victims of violence.
    Although prostitution is illegal, it remained a widespread problem, 
particularly among women and girls (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although 
the labor code states that men and women have the same rights and 
obligations. Reports of sexual harassment in the workplace were not 
available, though reasons suggested that incidents of sexual harassment 
did occur in the country. Such incidents went unreported because of 
high unemployment and because citizens had little confidence in the 
ability of the judicial system to protect them.
    Women did not enjoy the same social and economic status as men. In 
some social strata, tradition limited women's roles. The majority of 
women in rural areas remained in traditional occupations of farming, 
marketing, and domestic labor. Very poor female heads of household in 
urban areas also often had limited employment opportunities, such as 
domestic labor and sales. Laws governing child support recognize the 
widespread practice of multiple-father families but rarely were 
enforced. Female employees in private industry or service jobs, and 
government jobs, seldom were promoted to supervisory positions. There 
were no government efforts to combat economic discrimination.
    Domestic women's rights groups were small, localized, and received 
little publicity. Some women's rights groups became increasingly 
involved in political and civic voter education initiatives in the pre-
election season.

    Children.--Governmental agencies and programs to promote children's 
rights and welfare existed, but the Government lacked the capacity and 
the resources to adequately support or enforce existing mechanisms.
    According to the constitution, public primary education is free and 
compulsory, but in practice many children did not have access due to 
the insufficient number of public schools. Nearly 90 percent of the 
approximately 15,000 schools in the country were managed by religious 
institutions, community organizations, or NGOs. The official school 
year begins in early September and ends in early June. Many children 
began their school year as late as January because of their families' 
inability to pay private school fees. Poorer families sometimes 
rationed education money to pay school fees only for male children. The 
Government implemented programs to reduce parents' educational costs by 
giving out 500,000 school uniforms and distributing two million 
textbooks across the country. According to the Government, 40 percent 
of children never attended school. Of those who did, less than 15 
percent graduated from secondary school. The Ministry of Education 
estimated net primary school enrollment at 65 percent but acknowledged 
that 500,000 children age six to 11 were not in school; the actual 
number was thought to be much higher). In addition, nearly 75 percent 
of adolescents were not in school. No government programs existed to 
address the educational and social reinsertion needs of youth (ages 15 
to 24) who had never attended school.
    According to the most recent UNICEF statistics from 2004, 
approximately 23 percent of all children under the age of five were 
chronically malnourished. According to the UN's independent expert, 
there were approximately 200,000 HIV-related orphans and vulnerable 
children affected by HIV (children who have HIV, who have become 
orphaned because of HIV, or who live with parents who have HIV).
    Child abuse was a problem. There was anecdotal evidence that in 
very poor families caretakers deprived the youngest children of food to 
feed older, income-generating children. In January the UN's independent 
expert stated that 47 percent of sexual assaults involved minors.
    There were credible reports that children were trafficked within 
the country and forced to work as domestic servants, called restaveks 
(``to live with'' in Creole) (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Port-au-Prince's large population of street children included many 
restaveks who were dismissed from or fled employers' homes. The 
Ministry of Social Affairs provided minimal assistance, such as food 
and temporary shelter, to street children.
    In 2005 a joint UNICEF/IACHR delegation expressed concern over 
grave violations of the human rights of children and adolescents 
committed as part of the ongoing violence in the country. In September 
UNICEF reinforced that assessment, highlighting the impact of the 
violence on the emotional equilibrium and development of the country's 
children, whether as victims or as witnesses. UNICEF attributed the 
violence to organized criminal gangs and called upon the Government to 
protect and guarantee the lives and rights of children.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons, although there are laws that could be used to 
combat human trafficking, and there were reports that persons were 
trafficked from and within the country. Such laws include labor laws 
and provisions prohibiting and penalizing kidnapping and violence 
against women.
    Internal trafficking of children for domestic labor remained a 
significant problem. The country was also a source for persons 
trafficked to the Dominican Republic, the United States, Europe, and 
Canada. The Government acknowledged the problem of human trafficking 
but did little to address it.
    Rural families continued to send young children, particularly 
girls, to more affluent city dwellers to serve as restaveks in exchange 
for that child's room and board. While some restaveks received adequate 
care, many employers compelled the children to work long hours, 
provided them little nourishment, and frequently abused them. The 
majority of restaveks worked in low-income homes where conditions, 
food, and education for non-biological children were not priorities.
    While difficult to quantify, the Government and UNICEF estimated 
that the number of restaveks ranged from 90,000 to 300,000.
    The Government acknowledged the problem of internal trafficking of 
children and took steps to address it by forming the Brigade for the 
Protection of Minors. As a branch of the HNP, the Brigade investigated 
cases of child trafficking and monitored movement of children across 
the border with the Dominican Republic. However, the lack of resources, 
training, and institutionalized procedures remained a barrier to its 
operational capacity. Also, NGOs reported a lack of cooperation by the 
Brigade in dealing with child trafficking cases.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There were no reports of discrimination 
by the Government against persons with disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services. However, because of widespread and chronic poverty, a 
shortage of public services, and limited educational opportunities, 
persons with disabilities were severely disadvantaged. No governmental 
mandates or programs operated to ensure that persons with disabilities 
were treated equitably or, for example, had access to public buildings.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
occurred against persons with HIV/AIDS, particularly women, but 
educational programs sponsored by foreign donors and efforts by HIV/
AIDS activists attempted to change that stigma.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers, except public 
sector employees to form and join unions of their choice. The law also 
requires that a union must have a minimum of 10 members and register 
with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs within 60 days of its 
formation. The law prohibits employers, management, and anyone who 
represents the interests of employers from joining a union. In theory 
unions are independent of the Government and political parties, but in 
practice most unions were extensions of political parties. Nine 
principal labor federations represented approximately 5 percent of the 
labor force.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--While the law 
protects trade union organizing activities and stipulates fines for 
those who interfere with this right, in practice the Government made 
little effort to enforce the law.
    High unemployment rates and antiunion sentiment among some factory 
workers and most employers limited the success of union organizing 
efforts.
    Collective bargaining was nonexistent, and employers set wages 
unilaterally. The labor code does not distinguish between industries 
producing for the local market and those producing for export. 
Employees in the export-oriented assembly sector enjoyed better than 
average wages and benefits.
    Although workers had access to labor courts established to resolve 
common labor-management disputes, the courts' judgments were not 
enforced. The courts function under the supervision of the Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs and adjudicate minor conflicts, but unions 
stated that the process was inefficient. Seven labor courts operated in 
Port-au-Prince, and in the provinces plaintiffs utilized municipal 
courts.
    The labor code provides for the right to strike, and workers (with 
the exception of managers, administrators, other heads of 
establishments, and public utility service workers) exercised this 
right in practice. The labor code defines public utility service 
employees as essential workers who ``cannot suspend their activities 
without causing serious harm to public health and security.''
    There were few public sector strikes during the year, all relating 
to the failure of government to pay staff in a particular hospital or 
school, for example, in a timely manner.
    There is one export processing zone (EPZ) located in Ouanaminthe, a 
town on the Dominican border. Legislation governing free trade zones 
provides that the labor code applies in the EPZs.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including of children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5, Trafficking).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum employment age in all sectors is 15 years, with the exception 
of domestic service, for which the minimum is 12 years. There is also a 
legal provision for employment of children between the ages of 12 and 
16 as apprentices. The labor code sets the minimum age for 
apprenticeships at 14. The law prohibits minors from working under 
dangerous conditions and prohibits night work in industrial enterprises 
for minors under 18. Fierce adult competition for jobs ensured child 
labor was not a factor in the industrial sector, however, children 
under the age of 15 commonly worked at informal sector jobs to 
supplement family income. Children also commonly worked with parents on 
small family farms, although the high unemployment rate among adults 
kept children from employment on commercial farms in significant 
numbers. According to the NGO Haitian Coalition for the Defense of the 
Rights of the Child, children worked primarily in domestic labor as 
restaveks, however, some worked on the street as vendors or beggars, 
and some were involved in prostitution.
    Labor laws require anyone who employs a child as a domestic to 
obtain a permit from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs' Social 
Welfare and Research Institute (IBESR) and to ensure the overall 
welfare of the child until he or she reaches 15 years of age. 
Additionally the law requires that restaveks 15 years of age and older 
be paid not less than one half the amount paid to an adult servant 
hired to perform similar work, in addition to room and board. To avoid 
this obligation, employers dismissed many restaveks before they reached 
that age.
    Although the Government designated IBESR to implement and enforce 
child labor laws and regulations, resources were inadequate to fund 
programs to investigate exploitative child labor cases throughout the 
country.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum daily wage, 
which was approximately $1.84 (70 gourdes), was established by the 
Tripartite Commission of Salaried Workers whose six members are 
appointed by the President (two representatives each of labor, 
employers, and government). This wage did not provide a decent standard 
of living for a worker and family. Some workers were paid on a piece-
rate basis and earned more than the minimum wage. The majority of 
citizens worked in the informal sector and subsistence agriculture 
where minimum wage legislation does not apply and daily wages of $0.40 
(15 gourdes) were common. Many women worked as domestic employees, 
where minimum wage legislation also does not apply.
    The law sets the standard workday at eight hours and the workweek 
at 48 hours, with 24 hours of rest on Sunday. The law was not 
effectively enforced, particularly for HNP officers who worked 12-hour 
shifts six days per week. There is no provision for the payment of 
overtime.
    The law also establishes minimum health and safety regulations. The 
industrial and assembly sectors largely observed these guidelines, but 
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs did not enforce them 
effectively. There were no formal data, but unions alleged that job-
related injuries were prevalent in the construction industry and public 
works sectors. Although they have the legal right to do so, in 
practice, workers were not able to exercise the right to remove 
themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued 
employment. Fifty percent of the population was unemployed.

                               __________

                                HONDURAS

    Honduras is a constitutional democracy with a population of 
approximately seven million. In November 2005 national elections, 
considered by international and domestic observers to be generally free 
and fair, voters elected as President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the 
Liberal Party. The Liberal and National parties continued to dominate 
the politics of the country within a multiparty system. While civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces, there were instances in which elements of the security forces, 
particularly the police, acted independently of government authority.
    Despite some positive steps, government corruption, impunity for 
violators of the law, and virulent gang violence exacerbated serious 
human rights problems in the country. The following human rights 
problems were reported: unlawful killings by members of the police, 
arbitrary and summary executions committed by vigilantes and former 
members of the security forces, the disappearance of a former 
dissident, beatings and other abuse of detainees by security forces, 
harsh prison conditions, failure to provide due process of law, lengthy 
pretrial detention, political interference in the judicial system, 
judicial corruption and institutional weakness, illegal searches, 
erosion of press freedom, violence and discrimination against women, 
child prostitution and abuse, trafficking in persons, discrimination 
against indigenous people, discrimination against persons based on 
sexual orientation, ineffective enforcement of labor laws, and child 
labor.
    The Government enacted a Civil Procedures Code to reform court 
proceedings within the next two years, the minister of security took 
significant steps to reform the police, and the country ratified the UN 
Convention on Civilian and Political Rights.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While the Government 
or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, 
members of the security forces were suspected of direct involvement in 
unlawful and arbitrary killings. As in previous years, nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) reported killings of youths and children by 
vigilante groups that also may have included members of the security 
forces (see section 5). There were no charges filed against or 
convictions of any persons in relation to such killings. Between 1998 
and October, the NGO Casa Alianza reported the killings of 3,351 
children and adults under the age of 23 (of which 472 occurred in the 
previous 12 months) and stated that government security forces were 
possibly involved in 65 of these killings.
    Authorities sought or detained a number of police officials for 
their involvement in the killings of various individuals (see section 
5).
    On December 20, two environmentalists, Heraldo Zuniga and Roger 
Ivan Cartagena, were executed in front of the Guarizama municipality in 
Olancho allegedly by four members of the preventive police. The human 
rights prosecutor filed criminal charges against the four suspects.
    On November 27, Comayagua police officers shot and killed bar owner 
Sean Keith Hanemann during a dispute at his bar; the police chief was 
also killed in the confrontation. At year's end two police remained in 
detention pending conclusion of an investigation.
    A number of prisoner deaths were attributed to members of the 
security forces.
    Investigations continued in the August 2005 kidnapping and killing 
of Jose Mario Garcia, the head of human resources at the Ministry of 
Public Works, and in the December 2005 killing of Francisco Cruz 
Galeano, a General Confederation of Workers (CGT) union leader.
    At year's end an investigation of the 2004 killing of Christian 
Democratic congressional candidate Luis Armando Genawer Paguada 
remained pending.
    During the year court sentenced Arlin Daniel Escobar Moli for the 
2003 killing of priest Guillermo Antonio Salgado.
    In November the Inter-American Court of Human Rights accepted the 
case of the 2001 killing of Nationalist Party congressional candidate 
Angel Pacheco, for which there were no known suspects.
    In 2004 the Government accepted responsibility for human rights 
abuses committed in the 1980s and undertook to comply with Inter-
American Court of Human Rights rulings regarding these killings. During 
the year a number of active and former military and police officials 
continued to face criminal charges for various human rights abuses, 
including the killings of 184 persons in the 1980s. Although most of 
the defendants were charged by the Public Ministry with illegal 
detention and murder, by year's end the Public Ministry remained unable 
to bring new cases against these individuals, including former members 
of the army's disbanded Intelligence Battalion 3-16 (see section 1.b.).
    On September 21, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned 
the Government in connection with the illegal detention and killing by 
police of four youths in 1995, known as the ``four cardinal points 
case,'' and ordered removal of any obstruction of justice that provided 
impunity for the perpetrators. As a result of the judgment, the human 
rights prosecutor requested that the criminal court in Tegucigalpa 
issue arrest orders for a number of suspects in the case. Despite the 
attention this case received, the court had not proceeded against the 
police officials involved.
    On July 6, the Office of Forensic Medicine turned over to their 
families the remains of Jose Edelmiro Lopez Rosales and Angel Rolando 
Padilla Guillen, who were killed in the 1980s. The remains were exhumed 
from clandestine graves in 2005. Human rights organizations continued 
to seek information from various sources to locate other clandestine 
graves for future exhumations to advance prosecutions against alleged 
human rights violators. By law courts will not accept a case unless the 
body of the victim has been recovered and positively identified. An 
identified body allows families and human rights organizations to bring 
a case of suspected human rights abuse to court. Although arrest 
warrants were issued in 1996, no one has been held responsible for 
these killings nor have the courts initiated further actions.
    The 2004 Inter-American Court of Human Rights case regarding the 
1998 killing of environmental activist and councilperson Carlos Antonio 
Luna Lopez remained pending at the court.
    At year's end the appeals court had not issued a judgment in the 
case involving retired major Manuel de Trejo Rosa, who was under house 
arrest for the 1982 illegal detention and attempted killing of Nelson 
MacKay Echevarria and Miguel Francisco Carias Medina (see section 
1.c.). Rosa was no longer under house arrest, and the alleged crime has 
gone unpunished.
    At year's end the case of Raymundo Alexander Hernandez Santos, who 
was charged with the 1982 illegal detention and killing of Adan Avilez 
Funez and Nicaraguan citizen Amado Espinoza Paz, remained pending a 
decision by the Supreme Court of Justice.
    In November 2005 police detained Colonel Juan Blas Salazar for the 
murder and illegal house search of two individuals in the 1980s. At 
year's end the matter remained under investigation, and Salazar was in 
detention in connection with other charges.
    Through October the Ministry of Public Security reported that 
unknown actors killed 30 police officers, noting that gangs may have 
committed nine of these killings. These killings included one in 
September in which 12 shots were fired point blank at the officer.
    Violent crime continued to fuel the growth of private unlicensed 
security guard services and vigilante groups that patrolled 
neighborhoods and municipalities allegedly to deter crime. Neighborhood 
watch groups called Citizen Security Councils occasionally took the law 
into their own hands. Human rights activists continued to assert that 
some councils, as well as private security companies with ties to 
former and current military or police officials, acted with the tacit 
complicity of police as vigilantes or death squads targeting youth and 
other elements of the population.
    There were no developments and none were expected in the 
investigation regarding the 2004 killing of Cesar Virgilio Pinot, 
allegedly by Agro Oriental security guards.
    During the year the NGO Casa Alianza reported 444 killings of 
persons 23 years or younger; 22 percent of the victims were age 18 or 
younger (see section 5). An increasing number of the victims showed 
signs of torture and characteristics of indiscriminate executions.

    b. Disappearance.--On June 11, five presumed agents of the General 
Office of Criminal Investigation (DGIC) kidnapped Jorge Ruiz Rosales, 
53, former advisor of the National Association of Farmers of Honduras, 
as he was traveling from Tegucigalpa to Tocoa, Colon. Rosales had been 
in self-imposed exile in the 1980s for his active participation in 
dissident political organizations but returned in 1991 when the 
Government issued a decree of unconditional amnesty for former 
dissidents. Family members filed a complaint with the DGIC on June 12.
    The Ministry of Public Security reported that as of November there 
had been 14 kidnappings for ransom, compared with seven in 2005.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
there were instances in which government officials employed them, 
including police beatings and other abuse of detainees.
    The Public Ministry's appeal of the 2004 dismissal of charges 
against retired colonel Juan Evangelista Lopez Grijalba remained 
pending. Although Lopez Grijalba remained free on bail, on March 31 a 
foreign court found him liable for compensatory and punitive damages 
for torture of two plaintiffs, the disappearance and extrajudicial 
killing of a man, and torture, disappearance, and extrajudicial killing 
of another man.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh, and prison security was poor. Human rights groups reported that 
prisoners suffered from severe overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of 
adequate sanitation, and allegedly were subjected to various other 
abuses, including rape by other prisoners. In many cases prisoners 
relied on outside help from visitors to survive because the prison 
system did not provide adequate food or other basic necessities. Prison 
escapes, through bribery or other means, remained a frequent 
occurrence.
    Prison disturbances, caused primarily by harsh conditions and 
intergang violence, occurred in the larger facilities of San Pedro 
Sula, Tegucigalpa, and Choluteca. Through November, 29 gang members had 
been killed in prison, in some cases by members of rival gangs. For 
instance, on January 5, 13 prisoners were killed and 38 injured in a 
gang-initiated conflict at the Tamara National Penitentiary near 
Tegucigalpa. Authorities suspended two prison officials and opened an 
investigation.
    Prison authorities attempted to hold prisoners from opposing gangs 
in different facilities or in different areas of the same prison to 
reduce intergang tensions and violence; however, Casa Alianza reported 
that rival gang members killed four minors in Centro Renaciendo. In the 
same detention center, a minor detainee died from a gunshot discharged 
from a guard's gun that had been smuggled into the center. After the 
incident, the Public Ministry and a juvenile court judge ordered the 
removal of armed guards from the detention center.
    There were no further developments in the investigation of the 2004 
fire at the San Pedro Sula prison that killed 107 inmates.
    The Supreme Court of Justice sentenced the prison director and four 
other defendants to 19 years in prison for the deaths of 68 persons in 
2003 at El Porvenir prison near La Ceiba.
    Persons with mental illnesses, as well as those with tuberculosis 
and other infectious diseases, were held among the general prison 
population. Human rights organizations charged that prison officials 
used excessive force against prisoners, including beatings, as well as 
isolation and threats.
    Female prisoners generally were held in separate facilities under 
conditions similar to those of male prisoners but did not have conjugal 
visit privileges as did male prisoners. At certain lower security 
prisons, women were held with the general population. Children up to 
age two were permitted to stay with their mothers in prison. Pretrial 
detainees generally were held together with convicted prisoners.
    While the Government operated four juvenile detention centers, 
minors were sometimes detained with adults.
    Although the National Honduran Institute for Families (IHNFA) 
improved the infrastructure of four youth detention centers, 
overcrowding remained a problem due to the overall deficiencies of the 
juvenile penal system. Judges tended to place youth in detention 
centers in the absence of other educational or reform programs.
    There were no further developments in the 2004 negotiations between 
the Government and Casa Alianza over Casa Alianza's complaint to the 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding four minors tortured in 
a Comayagua prison in 1995.
    The Government generally permitted prison visits by independent 
local and international human rights observers, and such visits 
occurred during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but the authorities at times 
failed to observe these prohibitions.
    In November the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in 
Honduras (CODEH) asserted that since its inception in August the 
Government's intensified crime reduction program, Operation Nation, had 
arbitrarily detained approximately 18,000 youth.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of Public 
Security oversees police operations, including those of the Preventive 
Police, DGIC, Transit Police, Frontier Police, Tourist Police, and 
Prison Police. The minister of security took steps to strengthen the 
police, selectively instituting polygraph and drug tests and changing 
key personnel. Despite these steps, police lacked training and funding 
and were understaffed. Corruption was a serious problem. The Ministry 
of Public Security reported that from August 2005 to November 2006, 
authorities had prosecuted 29 police officers for offenses ranging from 
incompetence to corruption. On October 26, authorities reassigned 40 
police officers and five other officials for soliciting bribes from 
suspects taken to the Fourth Station in the Belen neighborhood of 
Tegucigalpa. There was widespread public concern regarding the 
perceived inability of the security forces to prevent and control 
crime, and the public continued to believe that corrupt security 
personnel were complicit in the high crime rate.
    The Government revived the citizen security councils, which human 
rights groups claimed were responsible for an increase in unlawful 
deaths (see section 1.a.).
    A number of inspectors and directors of police have been charged 
with flagrant human rights abuses; their cases remained pending with 
the Public Ministry at year's end. For example, subcommissioner ``El 
Tigre'' Juan Carlos Bonilla who was suspected, but never charged, in a 
number of unresolved killings continued as inspector of jails at year's 
end.
    During the year police and military continued joint patrols of the 
streets. Gang violence and intimidation remained serious problems, and 
gangs continued to harass, threaten, and rob passengers on public 
transportation, causing the Government to station security officers on 
many public buses. Perpetrators of killings against youth and minors, 
including in some instances police, continued to act with impunity.
    The Office of Internal Affairs investigates allegations of illegal 
activities committed by members of the police force. The Preventive 
Police and the DGIC each have an office of professional responsibility 
that conducts internal reviews of police misconduct.
    The NGO CODEH continued government-funded programs to train staff 
of the Prison Police to prevent acts of torture. Police and military 
officials took human rights training provided by international donors.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law states that police may arrest a 
person only with a court order, unless the arrest is by order of a 
prosecutor, made during the commission of a crime, made when there is 
strong suspicion that a person has committed a crime and may try to 
evade criminal prosecution, or made when the person is caught with 
evidence related to a crime. Police must clearly inform the person of 
the grounds for the arrest. Police must bring a detainee before a 
competent authority within 24 hours. The prosecutor has 24 hours to 
decide if there is probable cause for an indictment, and a judge then 
has 24 hours to decide whether to issue a temporary detention order 
that can last up to six days, by which time the judge must hold a 
pretrial hearing to examine probable cause and make a decision on 
whether pretrial detention should continue. The law provides for bail 
for persons charged with felonies. The law also provides that prisoners 
have the right to prompt access to family members. Although the law 
also provides that prisoners have the right of prompt access to a 
lawyer of their choice and, if indigent, to state-provided counsel, 
these requirements were not always followed in practice.
    Lengthy pretrial detention was a serious problem. During the year 
approximately 62 percent of the prison population awaited trial. The 
law mandates the release from prison of any detainee whose case has not 
come to trial and whose time in detention exceeds the maximum prison 
sentence for the crime of which he is accused. Judicial inefficiency 
and corruption and lack of sufficient resources delayed proceedings in 
the criminal justice system. For instance, 310 prosecutors were 
responsible for handling more than 361,000 cases. As a result of these 
delays, many pretrial detainees already had served time in prison 
equivalent to the maximum allowable for the crime for which they were 
accused. Many prisoners remained in jail after being acquitted or 
having completed their sentences due to the failure of responsible 
officials to process their releases.
    By the end of fiscal year 2006, authorities achieved the goal of 
clearing the overall judicial backlog of criminal cases by closing 
256,713 cases, including approximately 13,000 cases involving current 
inmates.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial system was poorly 
funded and staffed, inadequately equipped, often ineffective, and 
subject to patronage, corruption, and political influence.
    In June authorities arrested a member of the Presidential Guard in 
connection with the 1999 killing of Francisco Javier Morales in 
Trujillo. Subsequently, at least five members of the Presidential Guard 
were deployed to Trujillo on official orders, where they threatened and 
attempted to suborn witnesses, prosecutors, and judges dealing with the 
case. Two witnesses subsequently recanted their testimony; although the 
presidency was informed of the situation, it took no action in 
response. The defense attorney requested DNA testing, but the court 
denied the request. The guard remained in jail awaiting trial.
    Low wages and lack of internal controls rendered judicial officials 
susceptible to bribery, and powerful special interests exercised 
influence in the outcomes of court proceedings.
    There are 12 appeals courts, 77 courts of first instance with 
general jurisdiction, and 330 justice of the peace courts with limited 
jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Justice names all lower court 
judges. The media and various civil society groups continued to express 
concern that the eight to seven split between the National and Liberal 
parties in the Supreme Court of Justice resulted in politicized rulings 
and contributed to corruption in public and private institutions.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public 
trial. Although the law provides that the accused is presumed innocent 
and has the right to an initial hearing by a judge, to bail, to consult 
with legal counsel in a timely manner, to have a lawyer provided by the 
state if necessary, and a right to appeal, these rights frequently were 
not observed.
    Although the law prohibits cases from proceeding where a suspect 
lacks legal representation, the Government allocated minimal resources 
to the prosecutors. As a result, the public defender was not able to 
meet the demand for legal assistance to those unable to afford 
representation.

    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, including access to a court 
to seek damages for a cessation of a human rights violation. There were 
no such cases reported during the year.
    CODEH and COFADEH were the only two organizations to bring charges 
against human right violators by seeking financial retribution. This 
can be done when the criminal court states that retribution may be 
sought.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the constitution and law generally prohibit 
such actions, a legal exception allows entry at any time in the event 
of an emergency or to prevent the commission of a crime. There 
continued to be credible charges that police personnel occasionally 
failed to obtain the required authorization before entering a private 
home.
    Garifuna and other indigenous rights leaders continued to complain 
that the Government failed to redress previous actions by private and 
public security forces that dislodged farmers and indigenous groups who 
claimed ownership of lands based on land reform laws or ancestral 
titles to property (see section 5). Despite reforms to the civil 
service system, National or Liberal party membership often was 
necessary to obtain or retain government employment.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Although the constitution and law 
generally provide for freedom of speech and of the press, demonstrators 
are restricted from using statements that could incite persons to riot.
    Some journalists acknowledged practicing self-censorship when their 
reporting could challenge the political or economic interests of media 
owners.
    A small number of powerful business magnates with intersecting 
commercial, political, and family ties owned most of the country's news 
media. The Government influenced media coverage of its activities 
through the granting or denial of access to government officials, 
creating a situation in which the media was so closely interrelated and 
linked to the political system that the powerful magnates strongly 
influenced the news agenda and thereby elections and political 
decisions.
    Congress, the Presidential Palace, and other government entities 
granted more than 20 major awards to individual journalists on 
Journalists' Day; NGOs believed that the Government also gave 
substantial sums of money to selected members of the media who covered 
their stories in the manner they requested. The Government exerted 
considerable influence on the print media through granting or 
withholding publicly funded official advertisements.
    The news media continued to suffer from internal corruption, 
politicization, and outside influences. According to NGOs, ministers 
and other high-ranking government officials obtained press silence 
through hiring journalists as public affairs assistants at high 
salaries and paid journalists to investigate or suppress news stories.
    Some media members claimed that when they attempted to report in 
depth on national politicians or official corruption, they were 
occasionally denied access to government information. Access to the 
Presidential palace was limited to the ``friendly'' press and was 
arbitrarily awarded and withdrawn by Presidential palace staff.
    In October the Inter American Press Association criticized 
President Zelaya for using rhetoric hostile to the media. For instance, 
during an October public conference, the President reacted to articles 
alleging government corruption and negative reports about his family by 
suggesting the slogan of the major conservative newspaper El Heraldo 
should be changed from ``Truth'' to ``Lies in Your Hands.''
    In July journalists Eduardo Maldonado and David Romero Ellner were 
charged for defamation and lies against Mario Maldonado (no relation to 
Eduardo Maldonado), former director of Hondutel. The case was pending 
prosecution at year's end.
    Former minister of housing Johnny Kafaty accused Channel 36 
journalist Esdras Amado Lopez of slander and libel in June 2005. 
Although charges were dismissed in an appellate court, on November 6, 
Kafaty refiled with the lower court.
    In 2005 the mayor of the municipality of San Marcos de Ocotepeque 
charged Radio America correspondent Jose Aleman with defamation and 
lies, but there was no prosecution. In March the case was resolved by 
conciliatory measures proposed by the presiding judge. Aleman agreed to 
refer to the mayor in a more respectful manner, and the mayor promised 
not to take retaliatory actions against the correspondent, his family, 
or the station.
    On September 4, city council member Guillermo Villatoro Hall sued 
journalist Ernesto Rojas of San Pedro Sula de Noche radio station. Also 
on September 4, in Tegucigalpa, Yansen Juarez, national coordinator of 
programs and projects in the Public Education Ministry, sued journalist 
Francisco Romero of the program Hablemos de Noche de Hondured. Media 
observers considered these to be harassment suits.
    During the year there were several reports of threats or lawsuits 
against journalists by powerful persons, including legal cases against 
journalists for their reports on corruption. NGOs that monitor freedom 
of the press registered threats that ranged from subtle to overt 
censure to threats by organized crime, mainly narcotraffickers.
    Journalists who worked for the NGO Association for a More Just 
Society (ASJ) suffered harassment, anonymous calls, and persecution for 
reporting on irregularities in the operation of two private security 
businesses. On December 4, Dionisio Diaz Garcia, the ASJ's human rights 
attorney who had reportedly received death threats associated with the 
same labor case, was shot to death in Tegucigalpa. The killing was one 
in a series of killings of lawyers and judges, many of which were 
attributed to involvement in narcotics trafficking cases.
    Journalist Renato Alvarez's 2004 appeal to the Supreme Court of 
Justice seeking an annulment of his sentence for defamation and slander 
remained pending at year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law generally 
provide for freedom of association, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice; however, the criminal associations 
law prohibits illicit association and prescribes prison terms of three 
to 12 years (see section 5). Human rights organizations criticized the 
law and its implementation as an undue restriction on the right to 
associate freely, while gay rights advocacy groups expressed concerns 
that the law could be used to criminalize social activities and 
organizations of the gay community. During the year the law prohibiting 
illicit associations was used to arrest individuals for being members 
of Mara Salvatrucha and other gangs. A reform to criminal code 332 
outlawing illicit association was used to persecute farmers and 
indigenous people.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right 
in practice. The Government requires foreign missionaries to obtain 
entry and residence permits and allows deportation of foreign 
missionaries who practice religions that claim to use witchcraft or 
satanic rituals. Although the Government does not require religious 
groups to register, those who receive ``juridical personality'' status 
are accorded tax exemptions and waivers of customs duty on imports.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
discrimination or violence against religious groups, including anti-
Semitic acts. There was a small Jewish population.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution and law provide for 
these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law does not explicitly prohibit forced internal or external 
exile, but the Government did not employ this practice during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, and granted refugee status or asylum. During the year the 
Government accepted 10 refugees for resettlement. The Government 
cooperated with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the 
International Office of Migration, and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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 held on the basis 
of nearly universal suffrage. Active members of the clergy and of the 
military and civilian security forces are not permitted to vote.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In November 2005 national 
elections, which were described by international observers as generally 
free and fair, Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the Liberal Party won 
election to the presidency with a plurality of votes. Observers noted 
irregularities at approximately 1,100 ballot boxes but no systemic 
patterns of fraud.
    Women participated actively in politics and were increasingly well 
represented in elected offices. There were 31 women elected to the 128-
seat National Congress, compared with seven in 2001; there were seven 
women on the Board of Congress, three of whom were in the top five 
vice-Presidential positions; 10 women presided over congressional 
committees; eight of the 15 members of the Supreme Court of Justice, 
including its President, were women; the National Party was led by a 
woman for the first time in its history; four women were secretaries of 
state and five were technical secretaries.
    There were few minorities or indigenous people in leadership 
positions in government or politics. There were three Garifuna members 
in the 128-seat legislature, but there were no members from other 
ethnic minority or indigenous communities.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The executive and 
legislative branches were subject to corruption and political 
influence. The Government implemented an anticorruption policy to 
reform institutions and prosecute public and private sector officials 
accused of corruption. The Government also strengthened the National 
Anticorruption Board to include representatives of 12 organizations 
from civil society. There remained, however, a widespread perception 
among the public and international observers that corruption was severe 
and that the Government's anticorruption institutions had not taken the 
steps necessary to combat corruption and were unwilling or lacked the 
professional capacity to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those 
involved in high-level corruption.
    Many observers argued that a small elite exercised considerable 
control over the country's economic, judicial, and political 
institutions, which created the potential for abuse of the country's 
institutions and democratic governance. A foreign government revoked 
the visa of former President Rafael Callejas on grounds of corruption. 
The public and press warmly welcomed the action, which prompted a 
vigorous public conversation about the need for national institutions 
to police themselves better.
    Ramon Romero, former director of immigration who was arrested and 
charged with various counts of corruption in May 2005, was dismissed 
from his post and at year's end faced criminal prosecution.
    On November 27, Congress passed a strong transparency law that 
permits citizens access to information regarding government operations 
and decisions.
Section 4. 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 
generally cooperated with these groups and were responsive to their 
views.
    Journalists and lawyers working for the ASJ were harassed by a 
security firm (see section 2.a.).
    There were no developments in the pending investigation of the 2004 
killing of human rights activist Marvis Guelio Perez and the 2004 
assault of Jose Idalecio Murillo, a leader of the Regional Coordination 
of Popular Resistance.
    The Government cooperated with international organizations such as 
the International Committee of the Red Cross, which visited once during 
the year.
    The National Human Rights Commission (CONADEH), an autonomous 
government institution, was headed by Human Rights Commissioner Ramon 
Custodio Lopez. The CONADEH director had open access to all civilian 
and military institutions and detention centers and functioned with 
complete immunity and without government or political party 
interference. The Government generally cooperated with, but allocated 
inadequate financial or other resources to, the CONADEH.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status; however, in practice it was not effectively 
enforced. Political, military, and social elites generally enjoyed 
impunity under the legal system; women were subjected to 
discrimination.

    Women.--Violence against women remained widespread. The law 
criminalizes domestic violence with two to four years' imprisonment. 
The only legal sanctions for lesser forms of domestic abuse are 
community service and 24-hour preventive detention if the violator is 
caught in the act. The law provides a maximum sentence of three years' 
imprisonment for disobeying a restraining order connected with the 
crime of intrafamily violence.
    The Government did not enforce the law effectively with regard to 
domestic abuse. However, Congress amended the law to expedite the 
judicial process and improve precautionary measures and treatment for 
the victims. During the year the Public Ministry received 9,467 reports 
of alleged domestic violence, which resulted in 1,023 convictions; 237 
cases remained under investigation. There were 2,398 reports of alleged 
intrafamily violence, a more serious crime under the law, with 47 cases 
prosecuted. There were 1,427 reports of rape, resulting in 52 
convictions.
    The Government worked with CARE and other NGOs to provide 
specialized training to police officials on enforcing the law relating 
to domestic violence. Two facilities, both operated by NGOs, provided 
shelter for battered women. The shelter in Tegucigalpa could 
accommodate 20 women and their families. Additionally, six other 
private centers for battered women offered legal, medical, and 
psychological assistance.
    The penalties for rape range from three to nine years' 
imprisonment, and the courts enforced these penalties in practice. 
Because all rapes, with the possible exception of spousal rape, which 
is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, are considered public crimes, a 
rapist can be prosecuted even if the victim does not press charges.
    Whereas adult prostitution is legal and relatively widespread, the 
law prohibits promoting or facilitating for purposes of prostitution. 
Women were trafficked for sexual exploitation and debt bondage (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and provides 
penalties of one to three years' imprisonment. Sexual harassment 
continued to be a problem, but the Government did not effectively 
enforce the law.
    Although the law accords women and men equal rights under the law, 
including property rights in divorce cases, in practice women did not 
enjoy such rights.
    The majority of women worked in lower-status and lower-paid 
informal occupations, such as domestic service, without legal 
protections or regulations. Women were represented in small numbers in 
most professions, and cultural attitudes limited their career 
opportunities. Under the law, women have equal access with men to 
educational opportunities. The law requires employers to pay women 
equal wages for equivalent work, but employers often classified women's 
jobs as less demanding than those of men to justify paying them lower 
salaries. Despite legal protections against such practices, workers in 
the textile export industries continued to report that they were 
required to take pregnancy tests as a condition for employment.
    The Government maintained a technical-level position directing the 
National Women's Institute, which develops women's and gender policy. 
Several NGOs actively addressed women's issues, including the Center 
for the Study of Women-Honduras, which dealt with trafficking in 
persons, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic workers, and other 
issues.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. The educational system, however, faced fundamental problems, 
including high dropout rates, low enrollment at the secondary level, 
unbalanced distribution of government spending, teacher absenteeism, 
and low quality of classroom education.
    Although the law provides for free, universal, and compulsory 
education through the age of 13, a 2006 National Institute of 
Statistics (INE) study estimated that as many as 368,000 of the 1.7 
million children ages five to 12 did not receive any schooling during 
the year. In 2002 INE reported that only one of two students reached 
the sixth grade.
    Girls and boys had equal access to state-provided medical care.
    Child abuse was a serious problem. The law establishes prison 
sentences of up to three years for persons convicted of child abuse. 
The Public Ministry received from Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula 1,934 
reports of alleged crimes against children, including child abuse of 
which 216 were processed; 100 of the 216 cases were returned with no 
merit from the courts. In the same two cities, 72 cases were resolved, 
and the others remained under investigation or held up in the courts.
    Trafficking in children for commercial sexual exploitation and 
child prostitution were problems (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor was a problem (see section 6.d.).
    The Government and children's rights organizations estimated that 
there were 20,000 street children, only half of whom had shelter. Many 
street children were sexually molested or exploited. Programs to 
address this problem were limited. The Tegucigalpa city administration 
operated 12 temporary shelters with a total capacity of 240 children. 
The NGO Casa Alianza operated three shelters (with a capacity for 160 
children) for victims of commercial sexual exploitation, for street 
children, and for children with substance abuse problems. The NGO 
provided assistance to approximately 1,300 children each year, 
attempting to reintegrate them with their families. Other private 
organizations and IHNFA centers also housed street children and cared 
for approximately 2,500 children.
    Abuse of youth and children in poor neighborhoods and in gangs 
remained a serious problem. Members of the police and members of the 
general population engaged in violence against poor youth and children 
(see sections 1.a. and 1.c.). Human rights groups alleged credibly that 
individual members of the security forces worked with civilian 
(including vigilante) groups and used unwarranted lethal force against 
supposed habitual criminals or suspected gang members, as well as 
against other youths not known to be involved in criminal activity.
    During the year the legal arm of Casa Alianza investigated two 
cases of police brutality against minors. On March 23, preventive 
police officers assaulted minors Luis Sander Gomes Salgado and Dawin 
Sevilla. On June 20, agents of the DGIC illegally detained and abused 
minor Josue Armando Turcios. During the year killings of 444 children 
and young adults (ages 23 and under) were reported. Casa Alianza 
reported that normally law enforcement officials participated in these 
actions as individuals rather than as agents carrying out official 
policy. The NGO also stated that often these officials enjoyed a 
``climate of impunity'' due to public opinion, which often favored a 
strategy of ``social cleansing'' toward alleged gang members and other 
juveniles suspected of criminal activities.
    Several groups and families of the victims pushed for 
investigations into specific incidents, while others claimed to have 
provided public prosecutors with evidence of collusion between police 
elements and business leaders. The Ministry of Public Security 
acknowledged that it investigated individual police officers for 
participation in killings of street youth; however, there was no 
information available on the outcome of the investigations. 
International NGOs, including CARE, and foreign government donors 
continued to provide training in domestic violence and other human 
rights problems for police and armed forces units.
    From January to September, the Special Investigative Unit on Child 
Killings had received cases involving killings of 80 minors; the unit 
attributed the killings to the categories of: unknown assailants (57 
percent), gang members (30 percent), private individuals, family 
members and delinquents (12 percent), and police (1 percent). The new 
administration replaced most personnel in the investigative unit, thus 
depriving the unit of experience and technical ability. The 
investigative unit reduced the frequency of its reporting from monthly 
to semiannually, which constituted a setback in the investigation and 
prosecution of killings of youths.
    The investigation continued into the 2004 Chamelecon massacre that 
resulted in 28 dead, six of them children; five gang-member suspects 
remained in detention pending the outcome of the investigation.
    The law outlaws illicit association, including gang and organized 
crime membership, for which it prescribes prison terms ranging from 
three to 12 years, depending on the individual's level of involvement 
and seniority. Through November, 718 persons were detained for illicit 
association. Year-end statistics indicated that there were 
approximately 30,000 to 40,000 gang members, many of them minors, 
belonging to nearly 500 separate groups or sub-groups; other reports 
indicated that approximately 5,000 actively participated in criminal 
activities. They were deemed responsible for between 20 and 50 percent 
of violent crime in the country. Gang membership was primarily confined 
to the Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula areas. The Mara Salvatrucha (MS 
13) and the Mara 18 were the largest and most violent of the gangs and 
accounted for approximately 40 percent of gang membership countrywide.

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although a new law criminalizes 
trafficking in persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked 
from and within the country.
    Women and children were trafficked into Guatemala and also 
internally, most often from rural to urban settings. The commercial 
sexual exploitation of children was a serious problem. Authorities 
estimated that 20 to 30 children (96 percent of them girls) crossed the 
border daily (approximately 15,000 a year) for purposes related to 
sexual exploitation. As of October Casa Alianza estimated that there 
were approximately 10,000 child victims of some form of commercial 
sexual exploitation, and 90 percent of the children trafficked from the 
country were girls. The Office of the Special Prosecutor for Children 
conducted 30 operations jointly with the police, the IHNFA, judges, and 
Casa Alianza, to rescue victims and to arrest and prosecute those 
responsible for the victims' exploitation.
    The new law, which came into force on February 4, sets increased 
penalties and defines new offenses related to trafficking. Penalties 
involve longer imprisonment in six areas: incest, lechery, abuse, 
prostitution, pornography, and knowingly infecting someone with HIV/
AIDS. Punishments include fines ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 (100,000 
to 500,000 Lempiras) and imprisonment for four to 20 years. The 
application of the new law has been limited, reflecting an inadequate 
understanding of the complexity of human trafficking and commercial 
sexual exploitation on the part of judicial officials.
    Most traffickers were apparently citizens of the country, 
Guatemalans, Mexicans, or in some cases, Chinese or Taiwanese.
    There were 13 prosecutors in Tegucigalpa, five in San Pedro de 
Sula, and two in La Ceiba who staffed the Office of the Special 
Prosecutor for Children, along with eight special child abuse 
investigators in Tegucigalpa, four of whom focused on sexual and 
commercial exploitation of minors. Some officials were investigated and 
dismissed for corruption.
    During the year the court sentenced Lina Odales Diaz Luqe to eight 
years in prison and imposed a fine of $5,000 (100,000 lempiras) for 
sexual exploitation of girls, possibly using the Internet, in Honduras 
and Guatemala.
    Three members of an international human trafficking ring arrested 
in January 2005 for luring women into commercial sexual exploitation 
abroad remained in detention while awaiting a preliminary hearing.
    A court convicted and sentenced Glenda Suyapa Calderon, who was 
arrested in May 2005, to three years' and nine months' imprisonment for 
trafficking girls into Guatemala.
    Casa Alianza estimated that there were approximately 10,000 victims 
of sexual exploitation in or from the country. The problem was growing 
because of the link between trafficking in persons and illegal 
immigration. In the greater Tegucigalpa metropolitan area, an estimated 
2,280 children were sexually expoited. In 2005 there were 37 cases of 
trafficking in persons, of which 17 were brought to trial and 10 
resulted in conviction. By the end of year, the Public Ministry 
indicated there were 21 active sexual exploitation cases, of which 10 
were under investigation.
    During the year the Government cooperated with foreign governments 
to identify and repatriate minors. The Office of the Special Prosecutor 
for Children worked with its Guatemalan counterpart to locate and 
repatriate children who were trafficking victims, with 51 children 
returned from Mexico and Guatemala and one child each from Belize and 
Nicaragua. A five-year National Action Plan against commercial sexual 
exploitation of children and adolescents in the country was published 
in June; however, by year's end no actions had been implemented.
    The women's prosecutor worked with the International Office for 
Migration (IOM) to help women who were victims of trafficking, found 
principally in Mexico and Guatemala, reintegrate into the social and 
work environment and provide them with psychological treatment; opened 
a prevention center for women; and trained 2,000 police officers on 
trafficking-related law enforcement practices and procedures. In 
November the IOM, the Interinstitutional Commission on Trafficking, and 
the UN Children's Fund completed a protocol for the repatriation of 
children and adolescents who were victims of or vulnerable to 
trafficking. The Government did not provide assistance to foreign 
victims of trafficking and did not provide funding to NGOs that helped 
trafficking victims. IHNFA was responsible for dealing with repatriated 
minors upon their arrival in the country. In Yunque, Ocotepque, IHNFA 
(with support of the Catholic Church and IOM) operated a shelter for 
the returned minor victims.
    The Government and Casa Alianza, along with other NGOs, 
participated in six training seminars on the prevention and eradication 
of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and trafficking in 
women and children. Through these seminars the Public Ministry trained 
a total of 250 justice officers, which included judges, prosecutors, 
and preventive and frontier police.

    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, but the Government did not adequately enforce these 
provisions.
    General statutory provisions make it illegal for an employer to 
discriminate against a worker based on disability. During the year 
there were no reports of discrimination against persons with 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services. The law requires access to buildings 
for persons with disabilities. In practice only a few buildings were 
accessible, such as the National Registry of Persons and the offices of 
the Property Institute. In May government responsibility for protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities passed from the Public 
Ministry's Office of the Special Prosecutor for Children and Persons 
with Disabilities to its Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human 
Rights.

    Indigenous People.--Approximately 621,000 persons, constituting 9 
percent of the general population, were members of indigenous and other 
ethnic groups. These populations, including the Miskitos, Tawahkas, 
Pech, Tolupans, Lencas, Chortis, Nahual, Islanders, and Garifunas, 
lived in 362 communities and generally had little or no political power 
to make decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and the 
allocation of natural resources.
    Most indigenous lands were owned communally, providing land use 
rights to individual members of the ethnic group. Indigenous land 
titles often were defined poorly in documents dating back to the mid-
19th century. Lack of clear title fostered encroachment and 
expropriation conflicts between landless nonindigenous settlers and 
powerful business elites and government entities interested in 
exploiting coastlines, forests, and other lands traditionally occupied 
or utilized by indigenous and other ethnic groups. Indigenous and 
nonindigenous communities criticized the Government's alleged 
complicity in the exploitation of timber and other natural resources on 
these lands. Amnesty International (AI) reported the use of politically 
motivated criminal charges to detain indigenous people. AI stated that 
these detentions often were intended to ``obstruct the efforts of 
indigenous leaders to secure recognition of their communities' claim to 
communal land titles.''
    By year's end there were several protests by indigenous groups 
regarding land rights disputes and perceived government discrimination. 
On November 30, the Government purchased indigenous community lands and 
transferred them to the Chorti, pursuant to a commitment the Government 
made in 1997.
    In early April Congressman Romualdo Bueso Melghem allegedly tried 
to strangle a journalist to prevent her from recording threats he was 
making to Lenca indigenous leader Salvador Zuniga. An investigation 
took place after journalist Marta Vasquez filed a complaint with the 
Public Ministry's special prosecutor for minority groups. One of the 
witnesses was Dr. Orizon Velasquez, then secretary of health, who had 
said he had been at the meeting where Melghem supposedly had committed 
the aggression; however, the Office of the Prosecutor was not able to 
present its case because the video tape of the aggression mysteriously 
disappeared, and Dr. Velasquez later declared that he had no comment on 
this case.
    Garifuna leaders continued to petition the Government regarding 
their concerns about large-scale commercial development undertaken on 
coastal lands traditionally occupied and utilized by their communities. 
The Government permitted tourism development by private local and 
foreign business interests on the disputed lands using 100-year leases 
designed to revert to the Garifuna after the expiration of that period 
of time. During the year Garifuna leaders reported harassment, threats, 
and assaults. Many Garifuna rights activists continued to oppose the 
Government's attempts to provide individual land titles to community 
members on lands traditionally held in common by the Garifuna people.
    In February the Inter-American Court of Human Rights criticized the 
Government for having held Garifuna leader Alfredo Lopez Alvarez in 
deplorable prison conditions without any evidence against him. Alvarez 
was released from prison in July 2004.
    In July Garifuna leader Jessica Garcia said she was forced at 
gunpoint to sign a document surrendering land and rights to a powerful 
real estate company. After refusing to accept a bribe to endorse the 
document, she claimed a company representative threatened to kill her 
and her children. The case, which was sent to the court by the local 
prosecutor's office and was considered a felony, followed the killing 
of two Garifuna community members in San Juan and violent attacks 
against the San Juan community by security guards working for a major 
real estate development company. The three cases involving the Garifuna 
were investigated by the office of the prosecutor and presented to the 
criminal court in Tela. At year's end the accused were in prison 
pending their court date.
    In July National Party Congressman Miguel Angel Gamez publicly 
stated that the election of three Liberal Party congressmen 
``bothered'' him. In a March 30 interview, Gamez said that he was a 
racist and ``did not like blacks.'' The Garifuna community denounced 
the congressman, urging the Government to punish him under the laws 
against racism. The Public Ministry's special prosecutor for minority 
groups opened an investigation, following which Congressman Gamez 
publicly apologized and promoted congressional motions to benefit the 
Garifuna community.
    Two Garifuna youths, Castillo and Lopez, were found killed after an 
incident at a party on February 25. Witnesses said they had argued with 
six naval officers of the First Naval Batallion. At the crime scene, M-
16 casings were found. The prosecutor's office issued orders of arrest 
against the six officers. Their first court appearance took place in 
March, and they remained imprisoned in the Tamara jail at year's end.
    Mirna Isabel Santos Thomas, a young Garifuna woman, was killed in 
San Juan, Tela, and the court of Tela issued an arrest order for three 
individuals who were clearly identified as the culprits. The first 
court hearing took place in September, and the judge ordered preventive 
prison terms for the three individuals pending a new court hearing.
    CONADEH reported that police agents fraudulently took natural 
resources such as wood from indigenous groups and that Monsignor Luis 
Alfonso Santos, who has led protests against strip mining, reported 
receiving death threats; however, no charges were brought against the 
mining companies.
    The Government undertook minimal efforts to work with indigenous 
groups to address concerns regarding ownership and use of traditional 
lands.
    The courts commonly denied legal recourse to indigenous groups and 
often favored nonindigenous parties of means and influence. Failure to 
obtain legal redress frequently led indigenous groups to attempt to 
regain land through invasions of private property, which gave the 
authorities occasion to retaliate forcefully.
    Human rights organizations, including AI, continued to complain 
about alleged poor treatment, police beatings, and denial of adequate 
medical care for indigenous brothers Marcelino Miranda Mendoza and 
Leonardo Miranda Mendoza, members of the Civic Council of Indigenous 
and Popular Organizations of Honduras. In 2003 a court convicted and 
sentenced the brothers to 29 years' imprisonment for the 2001 murder of 
Juan Reyes Gomez. The Supreme Court of Justice overturned the sentence 
in 2003 and ordered the appeals court to reconsider the case. The two 
brothers were released during the year and absolved of charges of 
murder, theft, and damages. The Special Prosecutor's Office of Ethnic 
Affairs opened a case against 22 police officials for abuse of power, 
torture, and damages against the Lenca brothers. The court put the case 
on hold, but the prosecutor's office requested that it be reopened.
    Daniel Martinez Montes from the Toulepan tribe was murdered at the 
El Palmar tribe in Morazon, Yoro. The prosecutor for ethnic affairs and 
the police captured three men accused of the crime, who were put in 
prison.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--During the Maduro 
administration, legal recognition and registration was granted to 
lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender rights group. There were no 
discriminatory laws based on sexual orientation, but in practice social 
discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation was 
widespread. Representatives of the sexual diversity rights NGOs Violet 
Collective, the San Pedro Gay Community, Kukulcan, and the Transvestite 
Sex Workers Collective of San Pedro Sula asserted that their members 
regularly experienced abuses, beatings, killings (see section 1.a.), 
and other physical and verbal mistreatment from authorities. In cases 
where lesbians, gays, and transgenders were found dead, the 
prosecutor's office often encountered serious difficulties because the 
victims were either concealing their identity or sexual orientation or, 
in many cases, were hiding from their families. Criminal investigations 
were categorized by female or male gender and not transgenders. The 
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights documented approximately 200 
cases, but continuing technical problems made these cases very 
difficult to document and process correctly. Gay rights groups also 
asserted that there was antigay discrimination by security forces and 
government agencies and that employers used illegal discriminatory 
hiring practices. These groups also reported that due to intimidation, 
fear of reprisal, and police corruption, gay and lesbian victims of 
abuse were reluctant to file charges or proceed with prosecutions.
    The NGO Red de Hombres Gay Positivos alleged that employers 
routinely ignored antidiscrimination employment laws and used testing 
supposedly for syphilis among employees and job applicants as a means 
to detect HIV status to screen persons testing positive. The NGO also 
alleged that some Protestant churches fueled prejudice against HIV-
positive persons because there are no regulations in the matter. 
Certain Protestant churches called for the elimination of the legal 
representation of gay and lesbian groups.
    Job-related age discrimination was a serious problem.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
workers to form and join unions of their choice, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. The law prohibits members of the armed forces 
and the police force from forming labor unions and also prohibits 
public service employees from presenting union-organizing petitions or 
participating in collective bargaining. According to July statistics 
from the Ministry of Labor, approximately 8 percent of the work force, 
excluding the agriculture sector, and approximately 13 percent of the 
133,000 maquiladora work force was unionized.
    The law prohibits coexistence of more than two trade unions at a 
single enterprise, requires 30 or more workers to constitute a trade 
union, prohibits foreign nationals from holding union offices, requires 
that union officials be employed in the economic activity of the 
business the union represents, and restricts unions in agricultural 
enterprises with less than 10 employees.
    A number of private firms continued to maintain solidarity 
associations that provided credit and other services to workers who 
were members of these associations. Representatives of organized labor 
groups criticized these associations, asserting that they did not 
permit strikes, had inadequate grievance procedures, were meant to 
displace genuine, independent trade unions, and were employer-
dominated.
    Although the law prohibits retribution by employers for engaging in 
trade union activity, retribution was a common practice with employers 
threatening to close unionized companies and harassing or dismissing 
workers seeking to unionize. Some foreign companies closed operations 
when notified that workers sought union representation.
    The Ministry of Labor can reach administrative decisions and fine 
companies over allegations of unfair dismissal, but only a court can 
order reinstatement of workers. Employers often failed to comply with 
court orders requiring them to reinstate workers fired for engaging in 
union activity, and failure to reinstate workers was a serious problem.
    Although the law prohibits blacklisting, there was credible 
evidence that maquiladora employers blacklisted employees seeking to 
form unions. There were 46 reports of maquiladora workers allegedly 
fired for union activity who were hired for one or two weeks and then 
dismissed with no explanation. Maquiladora employees reported seeing 
computer records that included previous union membership in personnel 
records. Some employers informed previously unionized workers that they 
were unemployable because of their previous union activity.
    The Ministry of Labor frequently failed to provide effective 
protection to labor organizers. Corruption and unethical behavior of 
inspectors included the selling of names of employee union organizers 
to company management before government recognition of the union. 
During the year the new minister of labor fired many of these 
inspectors.
    On September 28, the NGO Women's Group of Honduras complained that 
the Golden National Group maquila in Choloma closed operations without 
paying legally mandated salaries to 250 employees, mostly women.
    The complaint that 30 maquiladora workers filed, which alleged that 
they were fired in February 2005 for trying to form a union at their 
workplace at the Olga de Villanueva company, remained under 
investigation by the Ministry of Labor at year's end.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to organize and to bargain collectively, but the 
Government did not protect this right in practice. Although the law 
requires that an employer begin collective bargaining once workers 
establish a union, employers often refused to engage in bargaining.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. On August 1, public school teachers held a 
national strike. After a violent demonstration on August 9, in which 
security forces demonstrated due restraint, the strike ended on August 
11 when the Government agreed to a raise in salaries due to a campaign 
pledge. The law, however, prohibits strikes in a wide range of economic 
activities deemed essential services and any others that in the 
Government's opinion affect individual rights to security, health, 
education, economic, or social life. Essential services include air and 
water transportation, electrical energy production, telecommunications, 
hospitals and clinics, refuse collection and cleaning services, 
production of primary necessities affecting public services, social and 
charitable associations, animal and plant hygiene and scientific 
investigation of illnesses, as well as petroleum production, refining, 
transport, and distribution.
    The International Labor Organization (ILO) criticized the law's 
denial of the right to strike to workers in the petroleum sector and to 
all government workers, other than employees of state-owned 
enterprises. At times civil servants engaged in illegal work stoppages 
without experiencing reprisals. In such cases, however, the Ministry of 
Labor has the power to declare the protest illegal at the request of 
the employer or public service sector management and dismiss the 
protesting workers. The legal restrictions on strikes include a 
prohibition on labor federations and confederations from calling 
strikes and a requirement that a two-thirds majority of the votes of 
the total membership of the trade union call a strike, rather than a 
simple majority.
    The same labor regulations apply in the export processing zones 
(EPZs) as in the rest of private industry, with the exception that that 
the law provides additional restrictions on strikes in EPZs. There were 
45 free zones established in the country and 18 industrial parks 
operating as EPZs. An additional 26 companies had their own free zones, 
outside the industrial parks. In the absence of unions and collective 
bargaining, several companies in the EPZs instituted solidarity 
associations that, to some extent, functioned as company unions for the 
purposes of setting wages and negotiating working conditions. Other EPZ 
companies used the minimum wage to set starting salaries and adjusted 
wage scales by negotiating with common groups of plant workers and 
other employees, based on seniority, skills, categories of work, and 
other criteria.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
generally prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, 
it permits compulsory labor for convicted criminals. Additionally, 
there were credible allegations of compulsory overtime at maquiladora 
plants, particularly for women, who comprised approximately 65 percent 
of that sector's workforce.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law regulates child labor and provides that minors under age 16 or 
students age 16 and older cannot work unless authorities determine that 
the work is indispensable for the family's income and will not conflict 
with schooling. The constitution and law establish the maximum work 
hours for children under 17 years as six hours daily and 30 hours 
weekly. Parents or a legal guardian can request special permission from 
the Labor Ministry to allow children between the ages of 14 and 15 to 
work, so long as the ministry performs a home study to ensure that the 
child demonstrates economic necessity to work and that the child will 
not work outside of the country or in hazardous conditions, including 
offshore fishing. In practice the Ministry of Labor conducted few home 
studies.
    The law prohibits night work and overtime for minors under age 16 
and requires that employers in areas with more than 20 school-age 
children working at their business facility provide a location for a 
school. In practice the vast majority of children worked without 
ministry permits.
    Approximately 57 percent of the country's population was under age 
15. The Government did not devote adequate resources or inspectors at 
the institutions to follow-up, prevent, or monitor compliance of labor 
laws.
    The Ministry of Labor did not effectively enforce child labor laws 
outside the maquiladora sector, and there were frequent violations of 
the child labor laws in family farming, agricultural export, including 
the melon, coffee, and sugarcane industries, and in small-scale 
services and commerce. Many children worked out of economic necessity 
alongside other family members.
    A 2004 survey by the National Institute of Statistics managed by 
the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor 
(IPEC) determined that approximately 360,000 children, constituting 14 
percent of children between the ages of five and 18, worked either 
part-time or full-time. IPEC estimated that during the year the number 
may have risen to 500,000. Many boys between the ages of 13 and 18 
worked as lobster divers with little safety or health protection. 
Children who worked on melon and sugarcane farms were exposed to 
pesticides and long hours. Although legally off limits to children, 
large numbers of minors worked at the garbage disposal sites.
    Casa Alianza conducted a study in 20 cities throughout the country 
and found that 10,000 children were victims of commercial sexual 
exploitation crimes or trafficking in persons (see section 5). The NGO 
stated that 300,000 youngsters under the age of 15 worked, 78 percent 
of whom were boys. Approximately 20,000 children served in households 
as housekeepers, and 34 percent of child laborers did not go to 
schools.
    There were isolated cases of children under the legal working age 
working in the maquiladora sector. Younger children sometimes obtained 
work permits by fraud or purchased forged permits.
    The Ministry of Labor continued a campaign to increase industry 
awareness on the worst forms of child labor. The IPEC program 
identified the worst forms of child labor in the country as commercial 
sexual exploitation particularly in tourist areas along the North 
Coast, fireworks production, offshore diving from boats for commercial 
lobster fishing, limestone quarrying and lime mining, garbage dump 
picking, melon and other commercial agriculture production involving 
handling of pesticides, wood-cutting in saw mills, and construction 
activities.
    The Government undertook social and educational programs to reach 
at-risk children, including a school grant program of the Ministry of 
Education to provide money for school supplies for very poor families, 
and an alternative schooling program using radio and long-distance 
learning for children in distant rural areas with few schools. 
Government measures had minimal impact on diminishing child labor in 
light of extreme poverty, famine conditions in rural areas, and a lack 
of jobs for school graduates.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The daily minimum wage scale, 
which was updated during the year, is broken down by sector and size of 
business: small (one to 15 workers) and large (16 or more workers). The 
scale ranges from $3.58 (68 lempiras) for workers in small agriculture 
to $5.63 (107 lempiras) for workers in financial and insurance 
companies and workers in export-oriented businesses, including 
maquiladoras and commercial agriculture such as tobacco, coffee, 
bananas, and seafood production. Workers in areas such as construction, 
services, mining, transportation, and communication had minimum wages 
between these two rates. The minimum wage did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. The Ministry of Labor and 
the Minimum Wage Commission were responsible for enforcing the minimum 
wage.
    The law prescribes a maximum 44-hour workweek and at least one 24-
hour rest period for every six days of work. The law requires overtime 
payment for hours in excess of the standard, and there are prohibitions 
on excessive compulsory overtime. Employers frequently ignored these 
regulations due to the high level of unemployment and underemployment 
and the lack of effective enforcement by the Ministry of Labor. Foreign 
workers enjoyed equal protection under the law, although the process 
for a foreigner to obtain a work permit from the Ministry of Labor was 
cumbersome.
    The Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcing national 
occupational health and safety laws but did not do so consistently or 
effectively. Worker safety standards were enforced poorly, particularly 
in the construction industry and in agriculture production activities. 
There were complaints that foreign factory managers in EPZs and other 
private industrial facilities failed to comply with occupational health 
and safety regulations (see section 6.b.). Workers in pineapple 
production and other commercial agriculture enterprises alleged 
blacklisting by employers if they made complaints to the authorities 
about working conditions. During the year the Ministry of Labor trained 
labor inspectors to integrate and unify inspection capacity. The 
ministry also undertook with the National Autonomous University of 
Honduras a technical assistance workshop diploma course on workplace 
risk prevention that trained 24 inspectors.
    A 2005 case filed by the NGO Association of Crippled Mosquito 
Divers with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on the 
Government to adhere to a 2004 agreement with the association requiring 
employers to create better working conditions for divers. A July report 
by CONADEH indicated that 50 divers had died in recent years and nearly 
20 percent suffered paralysis. The minister of labor called upon 
employers to comply with security measures for the divers. The 
Commission of Divers was formed in order to follow up on training of 
divers and inspectors and to establish the minimum required equipment 
for divers in order to prevent accidents. Agreement was not reached on 
assigning responsibility for payment of damages in accident cases.
    The law does not provide workers with the right to leave a 
dangerous work situation without jeopardy to continued employment.

                               __________

                                JAMAICA

    Jamaica is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with a 
population of approximately 2.7 million. In the generally free and fair 
2002 elections, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's People's National Party 
(PNP) won 34 of the 60 seats in the House of Representatives. In March 
Portia Simpson-Miller replaced Patterson as prime minister and 
President of the party in an internal PNP election. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were serious problems in some areas, including: 
unlawful killings committed by members of the security forces; mob 
violence against and vigilante killings of those suspected of breaking 
the law; abuse of detainees and prisoners by police and prison guards; 
poor prison and jail conditions; continued impunity for police who 
commit crimes; an overburdened judicial system and frequent lengthy 
delays in trials; violence and discrimination against women; 
trafficking in persons; and violence against suspected or known 
homosexuals.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including: Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While the Government 
or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, 
security forces committed some unlawful or unwarranted killings during 
the year.
    The police frequently employed lethal force in apprehending 
criminal suspects, which resulted in 189 deaths (including 10 police 
officers) as of early December, compared with 160 deaths (including 13 
police officers) for the same period in 2005. While allegations of 
``police murder'' remained frequent, the validity of some allegations 
was suspect. The country faced a critical crime situation with a 
homicide rate exceeding 45 per 100,000 persons, a reduction from the 
2005 rate of 62 per 100,000. Well-armed gangs that trafficked in 
narcotics and guns controlled many inner-city communities. The gangs 
often were equipped better than the police force and conducted 
coordinated ambushes of joint security patrols.
    On August 19, police killed four men in Alexandria, Chapelton. 
Police stated that a shoot-out led to their deaths. Residents of the 
community protested the killings, claiming that there was no shoot-out 
and that guns were planted on the dead men. At year's end the police 
Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) was investigating the case.
    During the year one detainee died while in police custody. On April 
5, a police officer set fire to a detainee who was in custody at the 
St. James police headquarters lock-up in Montego Bay. The police 
commissioner suspended five police officers the next day, and the case 
was under review by the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) Professional 
Standards Branch at year's end.
    BSI concluded its investigation into the August 2005 killing of 16-
year-old Jeff Smellie by police in Kingston. At year's end the case was 
being reviewed by the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
    At year's end BSI continued its investigation of the December 2005 
police killing of Nichols Weir and Donald Allen in Portmore, St. 
Catherine.
    The 2004 police killing of three men in Burnt Savannah, 
Westmoreland, was before the coroner's court to determine whether 
criminal charges should be brought against any members of the JCF.
    Similarly, the 2004 killing by Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldiers 
of Sandra Sewell and Gayon Alcott in August Town, St. Andrew, went 
before the coroner's court in July, but no verdict was reached by 
year's end.
    No formal charges were filed in the 2004 police killing of 15-year-
old Donovan Hayles and 7-year-old Shakeira Thompson in Old Braeton, St. 
Catherine, which was sent to the DPP in 2005.
    The six members of the JCF's disbanded Crime Management Unit, 
including Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, charged in connection 
with the 2003 killing of four people at a home in Crawle, Clarendon, 
were reinstated to the JCF, after a judge ordered charges dropped 
against three of them, and a jury found the remaining three officers 
not guilty.
    Authorities tried five police officers for the 2003 police killing 
of two elderly men in the community of Flankers, St. James. In July the 
judge released one of the officers based on lack of evidence, and a 
jury found the four others not guilty.
    It can take many years to bring police officers to trial for 
unlawful killings. Authorities set a trial date of March 15, 2007 for 
three police officers charged with the 2001 killing of Richard 
Williams. A fourth officer involved in the killing was reported to be 
``on the run.'' Authorities also set a trial date of March 19, 2007 for 
the three police officers charged in 2003 with the 1999 killing of Noel 
Barnes in a shoot-out with police.
    In the case of the 2000 police killing of Janice Allen, her family 
appealed the dismissal of the case against the responsible police 
officer. In June the case went before an appeals court panel of judges. 
On December 20, the Court of Appeal upheld the original ruling, and the 
case was being taken to the Privy Council.
    Vigilantism and spontaneous mob killings in response to crime 
continued to be a problem. There were 14 vigilante killings during the 
year, with varying motives. On April 1, a vigilante mob killed a man 
thought to have stolen a cow the preceding week.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    In December 2005 authorities charged Lawrence Clayton, a police 
officer, with false imprisonment for his role in the 2004 police 
abduction of two men in Kingston. At year's end the case was before the 
court. The victims had not been found.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, reports of 
physical abuse of prisoners by guards continued, despite efforts by the 
Government to remove abusive guards and improve procedures.
    At year's end police were reviewing the case of one correctional 
officer under investigation for aiding with a 2005 prison escape.
    The Ministry of National Security reviewed 2005 charges by a former 
prison doctor for the St. Catherine Adult Correction Center in Spanish 
Town, who alleged that mass rapes, particularly of mentally ill inmates 
and inmates serving time for nonviolent offenses, occurred at the 
prison during the year. The corrections commissioner referred to the 
doctor as ``disgruntled'' and noted that he quit work in 2002. The 
investigation found one case reported in 2004 in which one inmate who 
claimed he was victimized by another was of ``unsound mind,'' and it 
could not corroborate the other allegations made by the doctor.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor, primarily due to overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions. The 
Department of Correctional Services took measures during the year to 
improve catering services and also entered into a new contract for 
insect and rodent control for all facilities. Medical care also was 
poor; primarily a result of having few doctors on staff.
    Men and women were incarcerated in separate facilities under 
similar conditions, except that women's prisons were generally not 
overcrowded.
    Although the law prohibits the incarceration of children in adult 
prisons, some juveniles were held with adults in jails. Adults and 
juveniles were segregated in the prison system. The majority of 
pretrial detainees were held in police custody either in police 
stations or in remand centers, generally separate from convicted 
prisoners.
    When prisoners raise allegations of abuse by correctional officers, 
the charges are first reviewed by corrections officials, then by an 
inspector from the Ministry of National Security, and finally by the 
police. Authorities file charges against correctional officers for 
abuse if evidence is found to support the allegations.
    In general the Government allowed private groups, voluntary and 
religious organizations, local and international human rights 
organizations, and the media to visit prisons and monitor prison 
conditions, and such visits took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law permits the arrest of 
persons ``reasonably suspected'' of having committed a crime. While the 
law prohibits arbitrary arrest, security forces performed ``cordon and 
search'' operations, during which they detained persons and took them 
into custody for processing.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The JCF has primary 
responsibility for internal security and is assisted by the Island 
Special Constabulary Force. The JDF is charged with national defense, 
marine narcotics interdiction, and JCF support. The JDF has no mandate 
to maintain law and order and no powers of arrest (with the exception 
of the JDF coast guard in the maritime domain) unless so ordered by the 
Prime Minister. The Jamaica Regiment (JDF infantry forces) was detached 
as part of a joint internal security operation to assist the JCF in 
patrolling certain communities. The Prime Minister occasionally 
authorized the JDF to cordon and search with the JCF. The Ministry of 
National Security oversees the JCF and the JDF.
    The JCF is headed by a commissioner who delegates authority through 
the ranks to its constables. The force maintains divisions focusing on 
community policing, special response, intelligence gathering, and 
internal affairs. Faced with a high rate of killings, the JCF generally 
was not effective. Although the homicide rate declined from 2005, the 
country still experienced one of the highest levels of violent crime in 
its history, and the perception of corruption and impunity within the 
force was a serious problem that contributed to a lack of public 
confidence in the institution. The Professional Standards Branch of the 
JCF, with responsibility to tackle corruption in the force, has never 
been able to charge or have dismissed even one senior police officer. 
Human rights groups identified systematically poor investigative 
procedures and weak oversight mechanisms.
    In March 2005 Mark Shields, formerly of the London Metropolitan 
Police, joined the JCF as deputy commissioner of police in charge of 
crime, hired for a four-year period with primary responsibility to 
reduce the homicide rate. During the year two additional officers from 
the United Kingdom joined the JCF and assumed the organized crime, 
firearms, and coastal security portfolios.
    The JCF conducted both administrative and criminal investigations 
into all incidents involving fatal shootings by the police. The JCF's 
BSI, which employed 23 investigators, specifically addressed police 
shootings. The BSI completed 452 investigations and sent 280 
investigations of shooting incidents to the DPP during the year. The 
DPP ruled on 238 cases and sent an undetermined number to criminal 
courts. No officer was found criminally liable during the year. The BSI 
supplemented the JCF Office of Professional Responsibility, which 
investigated police corruption and other misconduct, and the civilian 
Police Public Complaints Authority, which oversaw investigations by the 
other two bodies and could initiate its own investigations.
    The JCF continued an initiative of community policing to address 
the problem of long-standing antipathy between the security forces and 
many poor inner-city neighborhoods. The initiative included assigning 
JCF officers to targeted schools as resource officers to stem school 
violence and serve as liaison between the students, faculty, parents, 
and the police. The police academy includes training for policemen on 
citizens' rights and human rights.
    Human rights advocates contended that police did not consider 
killings by vigilante mobs a priority and expressed concern that the 
perpetrators rarely were charged (see section 1.a.).

    Arrest and Detention.--Arrests normally require warrants signed by 
a police officer of the rank of station sergeant or higher; however, 
arrests may be made without warrants. The law requires detained 
suspects to be charged or released within 24 hours of arrest. The law 
also requires police to contact duty counsel (a private attorney who 
volunteers to represent detainees at police stations and until cases go 
to trial), if requested by the detainee upon detention; however, 
authorities continued to wait until after detainees had been identified 
in an identification lineup before contacting duty counsel for them. 
There was a functioning bail system. The state provides indigent 
detainees access to counsel through the legal aid program, and 
detainees were provided with prompt access to family members.
    There were reports of arbitrary arrest during the year, and the 
authorities continued their cordon and search policy in neighborhoods 
where they believed certain suspects may be present. During these 
operations, conducted by the JCF sometimes in conjunction with the JDF, 
authorities detained groups of people and took them to a police station 
or other safe area where they were processed and held pending 
determination whether they were the suspects the police were looking 
for. By law, unless special permission is granted by a justice of the 
peace or a resident magistrate, persons must be released within 24 
hours if they have not been charged with a crime.
    Although the law requires police to present a detainee in court 
within a reasonable time period, in practice authorities continued to 
detain suspects for lengthy periods (often up to two or three years), 
which the Government attributed to an overburdened court system (see 
section 1.e.). Magistrates were required to inquire at least once a 
week into the welfare of each person listed by the JCF as detained.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice. However, the judicial system was overburdened 
and operated with inadequate resources. Most judges were appointed 
after serving in the public prosecutor's office, and it was very 
difficult for a private attorney or one who specialized in defense to 
be appointed as a judge. Human rights groups stated that this made the 
independence of the judiciary very fragile, owing to judges' strong 
ties to the prosecutor's office.
    The judiciary's lack of sufficient staff and resources hindered due 
process, and the BSI also had a large backlog. Trials in many cases 
were delayed for years, and other cases were dismissed because files 
could not be located or had been destroyed. A night court continued to 
operate in an effort to reduce the backlog of cases. The Supreme Court 
used mediation through the Dispute Resolution Foundation as an 
alternative to traditional trials, which alleviated some of the backlog 
in that court. The resident magistrate's courts also used alternative 
dispute resolution in limited cases.
    There was a general lack of confidence in the police's witness 
protection program, which led to the dismissal of a number of cases 
involving killings. In a culture in which it is widely believed that 
``informers will die,'' some criminal trials were dismissed because 
witnesses failed to come forward as a result of threats and 
intimidation. Some of those who came forward qualified for the witness 
protection program, but many either refused protection or violated the 
conditions of the program. According to the JCF, no participant in the 
witness protection program who abided by the rules of the program has 
ever been killed.
    The court system includes justices of the peace, resident 
magistrate's courts, and the Supreme Court, which has unlimited 
jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. Defendants have the right 
to appeal a conviction in any of the three trial courts to the Court of 
Appeal, which is the highest court in the country. The Privy Council in 
the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal.

    Trial Procedures.--Most trials are public and use juries. 
Defendants are presumed innocent, have the right to counsel, and have 
the right to confront witnesses against them. Legal Aid attorneys were 
available to defend the indigent, except those charged with certain 
offenses under the Money Laundering Act or Dangerous Drugs Act. The 
public defender may bring cases for persons who have had their 
constitutional rights violated. Although the Public Defender's Office 
contracted private attorneys to represent clients, funds were 
insufficient to meet the demand, and such attorneys sometimes requested 
payment from clients.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial civil judiciary process. Complainants may bring human 
rights abuse cases for civil remediation to the courts, but awards can 
be difficult to collect. The civil authority does not always have 
enough money to award each case and, consequently, a backlog of awards 
developed. There is a process to undertake pretrial negotiations 
between the complainant and the state in order to avoid trial. However, 
local human rights lawyers complained that the state did not take full 
advantage of this alternative.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the constitution prohibits such actions, the 
Constabulary Force Act gives security personnel broad powers of search 
and seizure. This act allows search without a warrant of a person on 
board or disembarking from a vehicle, ship, or boat, if a police 
officer has good reason to be suspicious. In practice the police 
conducted searches without warrants. There were no allegations of 
unauthorized wiretapping by the police.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. However, some local media professionals 
expressed concern that the country's libel laws limited their freedom 
of expression. Specifically, news outlets reported the need to self-
censor investigative reports because of the potential for courts to 
award high damages in cases of defamation. In one case the Privy 
Council awarded a libel judgment of approximately $540,000 (J$35 
million). That case led one media professional to bring a challenge to 
government libel laws at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 
in 2005. The Press Association of Jamaica and the Media Association of 
Jamaica continued to advocate changes in the libel laws, which they 
stated had a ``chilling effect'' on the media's ability to report 
effectively, especially on political issues.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Members of the Rastafarian 
community complained that law enforcement officials unfairly targeted 
them. However, it was not clear whether such complaints reflected 
discrimination on the basis of religious belief or were due to the 
group's illegal use of marijuana as part of Rastafarian religious 
practice. In 2003 a parliamentary joint select committee on marijuana 
recommended decriminalization of possession of small quantities of 
marijuana. In April the Senate passed a resolution to have the 
committee reconvene and conclude its deliberations, but by year's end 
the committee had not met.
    There was a small practicing Jewish congregation in the country. 
There were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination, including 
anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports that it 
occurred.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, and handled refugee or asylum cases administratively. The 
Government cooperated with the office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers.
    The Government provided temporary protection to a number of persons 
who did not qualify as refugees under the UN treaties. Immigration 
officers interviewed all Haitians who arrived during the year, 
determined that none qualified for refugee status, and repatriated all 
of them.
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 held on the basis of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--All citizens age 18 and 
over have the right to vote by secret ballot. However, in recent 
elections voters living in ``garrison communities'' in inner-city areas 
dominated by one of the two major political parties often faced 
substantial influence and pressure from politically connected gangs and 
young men hired by political parties, which impeded the free exercise 
of their right to vote.
    In 2002 P.J. Patterson's PNP won 34 of the 60 seats in the 
popularly elected House of Representatives. In March the PNP annual 
conference elected Portia Simpson-Miller to replace Patterson as party 
President, and on March 30 she was sworn in as the seventh prime 
minister (and the first woman to hold the office). At year's end, the 
PNP held 34 seats in the House of Representatives and 13 of the 21 
seats in the appointed Senate.
    There were seven women in the 60-seat House of Representatives, and 
five women in the 21-seat Senate. Including the Prime Minister, three 
of the 14 cabinet members were women.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of corruption in the executive and legislative 
branches of government, as well as in the ranks of the JCF. The 
nongovernmental organization ( NGO) Transparency International reported 
a serious level of perceived corruption in the country. According to a 
media poll, the public believed over half of the JCF was corrupt and 
considered nearly 50 percent of all government employees corrupt. A 
newspaper article carried a police officer's account of drug-
trafficking (and protection of drug traffickers), bribery, and close 
connections between JCF members and the gang leaders in the garrison 
communities.
    In August the national security minister said that ``there is no 
doubt that we have suffered from the confluence of criminality and 
politics. Violence became an element too closely linked with political 
life and that brought unsavory elements into the political process.'' 
He also expressed concern that individuals with criminal connections 
could influence both the political process and even be elected to 
parliament.
    On February 8, unknown assailants shot and killed Andrew Hope, a 
local ``don,'' or gang leader in a garrison community. In 2004 it was 
discovered that a prominent politician had an automobile coregistered 
in her name and that of Hope. The politician, a member of parliament, 
represents the district where the gang is based. At year's end the JCF 
had not identified any suspects in the killing.
    On July 24, Vin Lawrence, former chairman of the government-
operated Urban Development Corporation (UDC) resigned from the UDC and 
several other government boards, after the contractor general accused 
the UDC of deliberately withholding information regarding cost overruns 
at the Sandals Whitehouse hotel project. The UDC was the project 
manager and a one-third partner in a $70 million (J$4.6 billion) 
project that incurred cost overruns of $43 million (J$2.8 billion). At 
year's end the Public Accounts Committee of parliament was 
investigating the incident.
    In October Colin Campbell resigned as minister of information and 
development and PNP general secretary but retained his position as a 
senator after it was revealed that he may have presented Trafigura, a 
Dutch company, with a government invoice for services that had not been 
rendered. Trafigura then paid approximately $500,000 (J$31 million) to 
an account entitled ``Colin Campbell Our Candidate,'' funds that were 
used to pay for the PNP's annual conference. The PNP later agreed to 
repay the funds to Trafigura but had not done so by year's end.
    Reports indicated that more than 5,000 civil servants failed to 
file, or filed late or incomplete, financial declarations that are 
required under the Corruption Prevention Act.
    The Access to Information Act (ATI), which went into effect in 
January 2005, provides public access to information held by government 
ministries and agencies. However, there were reports that some 
legitimate requests for information were not granted, and in January a 
Joint Select Committee of parliament undertook a review of the ATI to 
consider its effectiveness from the standpoint of end-users as well as 
that of the public officials providing service under the act. The ATI 
Advisory Stakeholders Committee submitted recommendations for 
amendments to the law and changes in procedure to the Joint Select 
Committee, but the committee had not submitted its views to parliament 
by year's end.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups and 
other international bodies generally operated without government 
restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human 
rights cases. Government officials often were cooperative and 
responsive to their views.
    The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights was the country's 
only formal organization concerned with all aspects of human rights. 
The NGO Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) focused on the issues of police 
impunity, extrajudicial killings, and excessive use of force by the 
police and wrote a weekly newspaper column. JFJ reported that 
undercover police regularly attended its meetings. Some members of the 
police and the DPP were outspoken in their criticism of the 
organization. The group used to sit on the board of the Ministry of 
Justice's Justice Consultative Committee; however, that committee 
reportedly has not met since 2004.
    The Public Defender's Office brings cases on behalf of those who 
charged that their constitutional rights were violated. The office 
contracted private attorneys to bring suits against the Government on 
behalf of private citizens.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, place of 
origin, political opinions, color, or creed. The Government generally 
enforced these prohibitions in practice, although there continued to be 
widespread discrimination on the basis of political opinion in the 
distribution of scarce governmental benefits, including employment, 
particularly in the garrison communities.

    Women.--Social and cultural traditions perpetuated violence against 
women, including spousal abuse. Violence against women was widespread, 
but many women were reluctant to acknowledge or report abusive 
behavior, leading to wide variations in estimates of its extent. The 
law provides remedies for domestic violence, including restraining 
orders and other noncustodial sentencing. Breaching a restraining order 
is punishable by a fine of up to approximately $166 (J$10,000) and six 
months' imprisonment. There was a general reluctance by the police to 
become involved in domestic issues, which led to cases not being 
pursued vigorously when reported. The Bureau of Women's Affairs 
operated crisis hot lines and shelters and managed a public education 
campaign to raise the profile of domestic violence.
    Rape was illegal and carried a penalty of up to 25 years' 
imprisonment with hard labor. By early December, 635 incidents of rape 
were reported (not including statutory rape), a decrease of 7 percent 
over the same period in 2005, but NGOs stressed that the vast majority 
of rapes were not reported. Moreover, these statistics may be 
misleading because the decrease may have been due to a lack of 
confidence in the police. The JCF rape investigative and juvenile unit, 
which was headed by a female deputy superintendent, handled sex crimes.
    Although the law prohibits prostitution, it was widespread, 
particularly in tourist areas. Trafficking in women for prostitution 
was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    There is no legislation that addresses sexual harassment, and it 
was a problem. There were reports of sexual harassment of women by the 
police, but some observers believed that women often did not report 
such incidents because there was no legal remedy.
    Although the law accords women full legal equality including equal 
pay for equal work, in practice women suffered from discrimination in 
the workplace and often earned less than their male counterparts. The 
Bureau of Women's Affairs, reporting to the minister of development, 
oversaw programs to protect the legal rights of women. These programs 
had limited effect but raised awareness of problems affecting women.
    There was an active community of women's rights groups, including 
Women's Media Watch, the Women's Political Caucus, the St. Peter Claver 
Women's Housing Cooperative, the Women's Construction Collective, the 
Sistren Theatre Collective, Woman Inc., and the Centre for Gender and 
Development Studies at the University of the West Indies. Among the 
major concerns of these groups was the protection of victims of sexual 
abuse, participation of women in the political process, and legislative 
reforms affecting women.

    Children.--The Government was committed to improving children's 
welfare. The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Culture is responsible 
for implementation of the Government's programs for children. In 
January the Government established an Office of the Children's 
Advocate, mandated under the 2004 Child Care and Protection Act. The 
position has broad responsibilities for reviewing laws, policies, 
practices, and government services affecting children; providing legal 
services and investigating complaints against government; and 
publishing reports and issuing best practice guidelines regarding any 
matter concerning the rights or best interests of children. At year's 
end, however, staffing shortages and lack of infrastructure limited the 
office's ability to address all the reports and calls it received.
    Public primary education was free, universal, and compulsory for 
students between the ages of six and 11, and the Ministry of Education 
reported that 99 percent of children in that age group were enrolled in 
school. However, economic circumstances obliged thousands of children 
to stay home to help with housework and avoid school fees. As a result, 
attendance rates at primary schools averaged 78 percent, although some 
rural areas reported attendance as low as 50 percent. More than 70 
percent of children between the ages of 12 and 16 had access to 
secondary school, and the UN Children's Fund reported that most 
children completed secondary education.
    Medical care was widely available, and boys and girls enjoyed equal 
access.
    There was no societal pattern of abuse of children; however, there 
were numerous reports of rape and incest, particularly in inner cities. 
NGOs reported that inner city gang leaders and sometimes even fathers 
initiated sex with young girls as a ``right.'' As of early December, 
there were 397 cases of carnal abuse reported, a 31 percent increase 
over the same period in 2005. However, this may have been in part due 
to increased reporting and not necessarily an increase in the number of 
crimes. The Government expressed concern about child abuse and 
acknowledged that incidents were underreported. The Child Development 
Agency (CDA) held training sessions to familiarize police officers with 
the rights of children and to prepare them to enforce the Child Care 
and Protection Act.
    Child prostitution and trafficking for the purposes of sexual 
exploitation were problems (see section 5, Trafficking).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The country was a source for women and 
children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and labor. In a 
2005 exploratory assessment, the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM) stated that some trafficking occurred in the country, 
primarily for sexual exploitation. The report also stated there may be 
trafficking, including that of children, within the country for 
domestic servitude and forced labor.
    Although the law did not specifically prohibit trafficking in 
adults, there were laws against assault and fraud, and other laws 
established various immigration and customs regulations that could be 
used against this practice. On December 5, the lower house of 
parliament approved a comprehensive new antitrafficking law and sent it 
to the Senate, which was scheduled to consider it in January 2007.
    The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that several 
hundred minors were involved in the country's sex trade.
    Groups at a special risk for trafficking included migrants from 
rural areas who sought work in cities and tourist areas, usually in the 
sex industry.
    The Child Care and Protection Act specifically prohibits the sale 
or trafficking of minors and provides that violators receive the 
maximum penalty under the law. This law subjects convicted traffickers 
to a fine or imprisonment with hard labor for a term not exceeding 10 
years, or both. It also provides that no person under the age of 18 
years may be employed in a night club. Police raided some night clubs 
and charged six persons with trafficking during the year. Authorities 
rescued nine trafficking victims during the year, six over age 18 and 
three between the ages of 13 and 17.
    The CDA managed facilities for at-risk children, and the Government 
provided funding to NGOs that worked to reintegrate child laborers who 
were victims of trafficking.
    In August 2005 the Government launched a year-long educational 
campaign to educate citizens regarding the dangers of trafficking in 
persons; the campaign continued throughout the year. The Government 
formed a National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons and created 
a specialized police antitrafficking unit within the Organized Crime 
Division of the JCF. A main focus of this unit was to compile data on 
trafficking investigations and related legal proceedings. Six officers 
staffed the unit. The new officers did not receive IOM training, but 
they were trained by other officers who had been exposed to IOM 
training. Three major crime hot lines were available to receive reports 
of trafficking 24 hours per day.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There were no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons with disabilities nor any laws mandating 
accessibility for persons with disabilities, and such persons 
encountered discrimination in employment and denial of access to 
schools. Health care and other state services were reported to be 
universally available. Several government agencies and NGOs provided 
services and employment to various groups of persons with disabilities, 
but there was no government agency specifically charged with assisting 
persons with disabilities.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The Offenses Against the 
Person Act prohibits ``acts of gross indecency'' (generally interpreted 
as any kind of physical intimacy) between men, in public or in private, 
which are punishable by 10 years in prison.
    The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG) 
continued to report human rights abuses, including police harassment, 
arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual 
patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of 
homosexuals. Police often did not investigate such incidents. J-FLAG 
documented a number of instances of homophobic violence during the 
year, some of which resulted in charges brought to court, while others 
were never reported to authorities by reason of fear.
    On April 4, an angry mob of students chased and beat a man accused 
of making homosexual advances toward a male student at the University 
of the West Indies Mona campus. Campus security extracted the alleged 
homosexual from the mob scene and took him to the police station. At 
year's end no charges had been made, nor had there been a police 
investigation into the incident.
    On June 29, two women believed to be lesbians, Candice Williams and 
Phoebe Myrie, were killed. It was reported that an estranged male 
partner of Williams was the primary suspect in the killings and that 
the relationship between the women may have been the motive. However, 
no arrests were made.
    In November 2005 Lenford ``Steve'' Harvey, who operated Jamaican 
AIDS Support for Life, was killed on the eve of World AIDS Day. 
Authorities arrested six suspects for the robbery and murder of Harvey 
and held the same suspects in connection with a similar robbery/murder 
in which a heterosexual man was killed. Police cited this as evidence 
that Harvey's murder was not a hate crime, but civil society groups 
maintained that Harvey would not have been killed had he been 
heterosexual. Authorities set an early 2007 trial date for the four 
male suspects; at year's end no date had been set to try the two female 
suspects.
    In December 2005 a homophobic mob allegedly chased homosexual Nokia 
Cowen off a pier at Kingston Harbor where he drowned. At year's end the 
police had not identified any suspects in the killing, and the case was 
no longer being investigated.
    In May a court sentenced Dwight Hayden to life imprisonment for the 
2004 killing of Brian Williamson, a prominent homosexual rights 
activist and founding member of J-FLAG.
    On January 16, a court acquitted famous dancehall artist Mark 
Myrie, a.k.a. Buju Banton, of all charges related to a 2004 assault in 
a house in Kingston when a group of armed men beat six men while 
shouting homophobic insults.
    Male inmates deemed by prison wardens to be homosexual were held in 
a separate facility for their protection. The method used for 
determining their sexual orientation was subjective and not regulated 
by the prison system, although inmates were said to admit their 
homosexuality for their own safety. There were numerous reports of 
violence against homosexual inmates, perpetrated both by the wardens 
and by other inmates, but few inmates sought recourse through the 
prison system.
    Homosexual men were hesitant to report incidents against them 
because of fear for their physical wellbeing. Human rights NGOs and 
government entities agreed that brutality against homosexuals, both by 
police and private citizens, was widespread in the community.
    No laws protected persons living with HIV/AIDS from discrimination. 
Human rights NGOs reported severe stigma and discrimination against 
this group. The ILO worked with the Ministry of Labor on a program to 
reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the workplace and to assist employers 
in designing policies for workers with HIV/AIDS. Although health care 
facilities were prepared to handle patients with HIV/AIDS, health care 
workers often neglected such patients.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to 
form or join a trade union, and unions functioned freely and 
independently of the Government. Approximately 20 percent of the work 
force of 1.2 million was unionized. Some union workers charged that 
private sector employers laid them off and then rehired them as 
contractors with reduced pay and benefits, a practice that was legal as 
long as workers received severance pay.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law permits 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the 
Government protected this right in practice. An independent Industrial 
Disputes Tribunal (IDT) hears cases when management and labor fail to 
reach agreement. Any cases not resolved by the IDT pass to the civil 
courts. The IDT generally handled 35 to 40 cases each year. Most were 
decided within 90 days, but some took longer to resolve due to the 
complexity of the dispute or delays requested by the parties.
    Collective bargaining is denied to a bargaining unit if no single 
union represents at least 40 percent of the workers in the unit in 
question or when the union seeking recognition for collective 
bargaining purposes does not obtain 50 percent of the votes of the 
total number of workers (whether or not they are affiliated with the 
union). The ILO Committee of Experts (COE) considered that, where there 
was no collective bargaining agreement and where a trade union did not 
obtain 50 percent of the votes of the total number of workers, the 
union should be able to negotiate at least on behalf of its own 
members.
    The law neither authorizes nor prohibits the right to strike, and 
strikes occurred: of 220 disputes reported to the Ministry of Labor, 21 
resulted in strikes. Striking workers could interrupt work without 
criminal liability but could not be assured of keeping their jobs, 
although there were no reports of any workers losing their jobs over a 
strike action during the year. Workers in 10 broad categories of 
``essential services'' are prohibited from striking, a provision the 
ILO repeatedly criticized as overly broad. However, despite this 
prohibition, some workers who provide essential services went on strike 
by staging a ``sick-out.''
    Domestic labor laws applied equally to the ``free zones'' (export 
processing zones), but there were no unionized companies in any of the 
three publicly owned zones. Organizers attributed this circumstance to 
resistance to organizing efforts by foreign owners in the zones, 
asserting that there was an unwritten agreement among them to prevent 
free zone workers from participating in trade unions.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children, but other than child prostitution, there were no reports that 
such practices occurred (see section 5).
    The COE's annual report reiterated its recommendation that the 
Government amend prison rules so as to ensure that no prisoners may 
work for private individuals or companies except under conditions of a 
freely accepted employment relationship, which would bring the rules 
into conformity with ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labor. The Ministry of 
Labor stated that prisoners do not work privately unless they have 
approval from the commissioner, and those prisoners who work privately 
freely accept the employment and receive normal wages.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Child Care and Protection Act provides that children under the age of 
12 shall not be employed except by parents or guardians and that such 
employment may be only in domestic, agricultural, or horticultural 
work. It also prohibits children under the age of 15 from industrial 
employment. The police are mandated with conducting child labor 
inspections, and the CDA is charged with finding places of safety for 
children. However, according to CDA officials, resources to investigate 
exploitative child labor were insufficient. Children under the age of 
12 peddled goods and services or begged on city streets. There were 
also reports that underage children were employed illegally in fishing 
communities and in prostitution (see section 5).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government sets the minimum 
wage, after receiving recommendations from the National Minimum Wage 
Advisory Commission. The minimum wage was approximately $42 (J$2,800) 
per week for all workers except private security guards, whose minimum 
was approximately $62 (J$4,140) per week. The minimum wage did not 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, but most 
workers were paid more than the legal minimum. The Ministry of Labor 
administered and enforced the minimum wage.
    The law provides for a standard 40-hour workweek and mandates at 
least one day of rest per week. Work in excess of 40 hours per week or 
eight hours per day must be compensated at overtime rates, a provision 
that was observed widely, except by some security guard companies. The 
law does not prohibit excessive compulsory overtime, and some 
employees, including security guards, regularly were required to work 
12-hour shifts without overtime compensation. There were differing 
practices among security guard companies, but workers were generally 
not paid for overtime unless they worked more than 12 hours.
    The Ministry of Labor's Industrial Safety Division sets and 
enforces industrial health and safety standards, mainly through factory 
inspections. Insufficient staffing in the Ministries of Labor, Finance, 
National Security, and the public service contributed to the 
difficulties in enforcing workplace regulations. At year's end the 
Industrial Safety Division had 16 officers, who conducted 2,333 planned 
inspections, 31 special inspections, and 40 accident investigations. 
Violators were warned and given a time period in which to correct the 
violation. If the violation was not corrected within that time, the 
violator was taken to court.
    The law provides workers with the right to remove themselves from 
dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their continued 
employment if they are trade union members or covered by the Factories 
Act. The law does not specifically protect other categories of workers 
in those circumstances.

                               __________

                                 MEXICO

    Mexico, with a population of 107 million, is a federal republic 
composed of 31 states and a federal district, with an elected President 
and bicameral legislature. In July Felipe Calderon of the National 
Action Party (PAN) was elected President to a six-year term in 
generally free and fair multiparty elections. While civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces, there were frequent instances in which elements of the security 
forces acted independently of government authority.
    Although the Government generally respected and promoted human 
rights at the national level by investigating, prosecuting, and 
sentencing public officials and members of the security forces, a 
deeply entrenched culture of impunity and corruption persisted, 
particularly at the state and local level. The following human rights 
problems were reported: unlawful killings by security forces; 
kidnappings, including by police; torture; poor and overcrowded prison 
conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; corruption, inefficiency, 
and lack of transparency in the judicial system; statements coerced 
through torture permitted as evidence in trials; criminal intimidation 
of journalists, leading to self-censorship; corruption at all levels of 
government; domestic violence against women often perpetrated with 
impunity; criminal violence, including killings against women; 
trafficking in persons, sometimes allegedly with official involvement; 
social and economic discrimination against indigenous people; and child 
labor.
                        respect for human rights
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, 
security forces acting both within and outside the line of duty killed 
numerous persons during the year.
    On April 20, in an attempt by state and federal police to end a 
miners' strike in Michoacan, miners Hector Alvarez Gomez and Mario 
Castillo were killed and 53 other striking workers injured (see section 
6.a.). On October 11, the semiautonomous National Commission for Human 
Rights (CNDH) published a report placing responsibility for the 
killings on federal and state security forces due to their excessive 
use of force, violating the victims' right to life and physical 
integrity. The Secretariat for Public Security rejected the CNDH 
recommendation, disagreeing with the commission's interpretations and 
conclusions. An official investigation continued at year's end.
    During confrontations on May 3 and 4 with armed protesters in San 
Salvador Atenco (see section 1.c.), police fatally shot 14-year-old 
Javier Cortes Santiago. Ollin Alexis Behumea Hernandez was struck in 
the head by a tear gas grenade and died on June 5 from her injuries. A 
CNDH investigation, published on October 16, concluded that government 
authorities were responsible for both deaths. The State Attorney 
General's Office made no conclusions in its investigations by year's 
end (see section 1.c.).
    A prolonged conflict in the state of Oaxaca began in May when 
members of the 70,000-member state teachers union initiated an annual 
strike to demand higher wages. The teachers' position hardened after 
Oaxaca's state governor, Ulises Ruiz, ordered state police to break up 
a sit-in in the city's historic center. Oaxaca became paralyzed by 
organized protests led by teachers and an umbrella organization, the 
Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO). Unidentified gunmen 
allegedly linked to the governor and members of the APPO periodically 
clashed. According to CNDH, the resulting conflict directly or 
indirectly caused 20 civilian deaths, including the August 10 killing 
of demonstrator Jose Jimenez Colmenares, the August 20 killing of 
protester Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes, and three killings on October 
27, including the shooting of a freelance journalist (see section 
2.a.). By year's end, state and federal investigations had not 
identified the perpetrators of any of these killings, although human 
rights groups asserted that persons linked to state security forces 
were responsible. Following the October 27 killings, the Government 
deployed to Oaxaca City approximately 3,000 Federal Preventive Police 
(PFP), who remained there until December 17. During this period there 
were allegations of human rights violations connected to federal police 
as well as to unidentified gunmen believed linked to the governor. 
Between June 2 and year's end, CNDH received more than 1,200 complaints 
of human rights violations in Oaxaca, including torture, homicide, and 
disappearances.
    On August 27, Jose Gabriel Velazquez Perez died in the custody of 
municipal police in Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas. In the afternoon two 
police officers arrested Velazquez Perez, in response to a call from 
his mother who complained that he was in her house inebriated. The 
officers used tear gas after Velazquez Perez reportedly resisted, and 
they beat him en route to the municipal jail. Subsequently, he was 
denied medical treatment by the subcommander and guard at the jail. 
Velazquez Perez died before midnight of internal bleeding. Four 
officers--Bernardo Montejo Vicente, Rubicel Velasquez Flores, Carlos 
Antonio Cuesta Hernandez, and Luis Antonio Perez Hernandez--were 
arrested on September 27 on charges of homicide. While the suspects 
remained in jail, the case was pending at year's end.
    Throughout the year there were numerous reports of executions 
carried out by rival drug cartels, whose members allegedly included 
both active and former federal, state, and municipal security forces. 
Organized military-style groups were also associated with the cartels, 
including a group of former special forces soldiers (known as the 
Zetas) as well as a growing presence of former Guatemalan special 
forces soldiers known as Kaibiles, trained in unconventional 
counterinsurgency tactics. More than 2,000 persons were killed in 
crime-related violence throughout the country. In the state of 
Michoacan alone, there were reportedly more than 500 execution-style 
killings. On July 15, local police in Tabasco State arrested ``El 
Comandante'' Mateo Diaz Lopez, one of the leaders and founders of the 
Zetas; he was in jail awaiting trial at year's end. On December 8, 
President Calderon sent nearly 7,000 military and federal police forces 
to Michoacan to combat violence in the state.
    The killing of police officers nationwide continued to be a serious 
problem, with more than 123 such killings reported from January through 
November. Violence against police officials was particularly severe in 
many northern cities, including Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, and Tijuana. 
In Tijuana, according to the State District Attorney's office, the 
number of killings of police officers during the year (33 at year's 
end) tripled compared with the previous year. The Tijuana Homicide 
Division opened investigations into the killings of the law enforcement 
officers, but no suspects were named and no arrests made by year's end.
    On August 17, unknown assailants fatally shot federal Judge Rene 
Hilario Nieto Contreras in his car. Judge Nieto had handled cases 
involving the Gulf and Juarez cartels. The Attorney General reported 
that the investigation of the killing was ongoing and included 
examining links to the Gulf cartel.
    There were no new developments in the Office of the Attorney 
General's (PGR) investigation of the May 2005 killing of three 
university students in Tamaulipas by PFP officers.
    There were no developments concerning the case of the August 2005 
death of American citizen Pauline Baeza, who died while in police 
custody in Tijuana.
    On July 14, authorities arrested two municipal police officers in 
Zapotitlan Tablas, Guerrero, on charges of homicide and abuse of 
authority in connection with the 2004 death while in custody of 
Socrates Tolentino Gonzalez Genaro. The mother of Gonzalez Genaro 
complained of threats received before and after the July arrests. The 
case was pending at year's end.
    Special Prosecutor Ignacio Carillo Prieto, charged with the 
responsibility to investigate crimes against past political and social 
movements, issued a report on November 18 through the Attorney 
General's Office on the Government's crimes committed during the so-
called dirty war that occurred between 1960 and 1980. The report 
included the names of 645 persons who ``disappeared,'' 99 victims of 
extrajudicial killings, and more than 2,000 victims of torture. 
Moreover, the report held the administrations of three Presidents 
accountable for crimes, while dismissing the theory that atrocities 
were committed by rogue police or military units. Some of the authors 
of the report held reservations about the final version, and other 
critics noted that the Special Prosecutor's Office failed to convict 
any of the suspected criminals. Nevertheless, the report marked the 
first time the Government assumed responsibility for its actions in the 
``dirty war.''
    On June 30, former President Luis Echeverria was placed under house 
arrest on charges of genocide, related to the 1968 killings of student 
demonstrators at Tlatelolco (see section 1.b.), marking the first 
arrest of a former President. Although a judge ruled on July 8 that the 
statute of limitations for the crime had expired, the special 
prosecutor won an appeal on November 29 that reinstated the arrest 
warrant. However, officials postponed a medical evaluation required to 
advance the court proceedings, due to Echeverria's reported poor 
health. The case remained pending at year's end.
    On December 26, the state attorney general of Chiapas appointed a 
special prosecutor to investigate the 1997 killings of 45 Tzotzil 
Indians in Acteal, Chiapas, a case in which irregularities have been 
cited by lawyers and human rights groups. On July 27, a federal judge 
handed down sentences to 32 Tzotzil Indians for their roles in the 
massacre, while 51 others waited trial at year's end; 35 arrest 
warrants were outstanding.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, regarding a 
2004 vigilante attack on three PFP agents in the Tlahuac neighborhood 
of Mexico City. Twenty-six persons remained in prison, awaiting trial 
for their involvement in the crime.
    In August the state government of Guerrero made a one-time payment 
of up to $5,000 (55,100 pesos) to victims' families of the 1995 
massacre of 17 indigenous farmers in Aguas Blancas.
    Societal violence against women, including killings, remained a 
serious problem nationwide (see section 5).

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances; however, there were credible allegations of police 
involvement in kidnappings. Local police, including high-level officers 
and also sometimes in collusion with federal agents, kidnapped 
civilians and demanded ransom from their families. According to media 
reports, the Attorney General's Office (PGR) released information 
through the Federal Institute of Access to Public Information (IFAI) 
indicating that PGR employees were allegedly involved in 39 cases of 
forced disappearance during the Fox administration that took office in 
2000.
    In several cases of reported disappearances, police had detained 
the missing person incommunicado for several days (see section 1.d.).
    There were no developments in the case against a PGR agent and two 
counternarcotics agents accused in the September 2005 kidnapping and 
extortion of a nightclub manager in Mexico City.
    There were no developments in the April 2005 disappearance of 
Hermosillo investigative reporter Alfredo Jimenez Mota (see section 
2.a.).
    The Federal Special Prosecutors Office Against Organized Crime 
(SIEDO) continued investigating a case into drug-related disappearances 
and killings committed by Chihuahua State Judicial Police personnel 
arrested in 2004. At year's end nine officers awaited sentencing, while 
the former commander of the Chihuahua homicide unit, Miguel Angel Loya 
Gallegos, and three other former agents, remained at large. The 
Chihuahua state government offered more than $9,200 (100,000 pesos) for 
the arrest of Loya.
    On October 20, PGR agents arrested Jorge Bustos, a former commander 
in the former Federal Security Directorate, in connection with the 1974 
disappearance of six members of the Brigada Lancandona, a guerilla 
organization. The case remained pending at year's end. The office of 
Special Prosecutor Carrillo Prieto arrested other former government 
officials connected to crimes during the dirty war, but the charges 
often failed to hold (see section 1.a.).
    Kidnapping continued to be a serious problem for persons of all 
socioeconomic levels. Many cases went unreported, as families 
negotiated directly with kidnappers. Security forces made several high-
profile kidnapping arrests and rescues, with the Mexico City government 
having claimed to resolve approximately 60 percent of nearly 900 
reported kidnapping cases over the last six years; although the number 
of reported cases was believed to be far less than the actual number of 
kidnappings. Express kidnapping, in which a victim is detained for a 
short period to extract payment, often through forcing the victim to 
use an ATM card to drain his bank account, was a serious problem, with 
varying unofficial estimates that far surpassed the estimated number of 
traditional kidnappings.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, they persisted, 
and torture in particular continued to be a serious problem. Despite 
the law's provisions to the contrary, confessions obtained by torture 
often were admitted as evidence (see section 1.e.). Many citizens 
distrusted law enforcement officials and the justice system in general 
and were reluctant to register official complaints. PGR officials 
stated that arrested criminals often registered false complaints of 
torture as a legal defense.
    Authorities continued to use torture with near impunity in large 
part because confessions were the primary evidence in many criminal 
convictions (see section 1.e.). Human rights groups linked torture to 
the pervasiveness of arbitrary detention: police and prosecutors often 
attempted to justify an arrest by forcibly securing a confession to a 
crime (see section 1.d.).
    The Government took steps to implement preventive measures against 
the practice of torture. The federal government and some states 
implemented the Istanbul Protocol, the UN guidelines to investigate and 
document torture.
    CNDH received six torture complaints during the year, not including 
alleged torture cases linked to the events in San Salvador Atenco and 
Oaxaca. CNDH and other human rights groups charged that authorities 
employed sophisticated psychological torture techniques as well as 
traditional methods to extract confessions.
    On May 3 and 4, in San Salvador Atenco, state of Mexico, the state 
police and PFP attempted to evict flower vendors illegally installed in 
the town square, resulting in an armed confrontation with the 
protesting vendors and supporters from a local activist group, the 
Popular Front for the Defense of Land. Police and protesters sustained 
injuries; two protesters were killed (see section 1.a.); and 12 police 
were taken hostage, beaten, and later released by protesters. Police 
detained but soon released all but 33 of approximately 200 protesters. 
Subsequently, protesters and human rights groups registered complaints 
against the police through CNDH and government authorities, which 
included charges of excessive force, beatings of detainees, and sexual 
assaults of prisoners. State and federal investigations were pending at 
year's end. On August 17, the Supreme Court agreed to investigate the 
alleged human rights violations at Atenco but had made no ruling by 
year's end. The CNDH received 211 complaints of abuse and on October 
16, released a report confirming complaints of sexual assault and 
torture against 26 detainees during and after the Atenco confrontation. 
The Secretary of Public Security, which is responsible for the PFP, 
rejected CNDH's recommendations, stating that federal agents responded 
legitimately to the protesters' attacks. The UN Committee on the 
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the UN Committee 
Against Torture held sessions on Mexico, in August and November, 
respectively, and both expressed strong concerns about the acts of 
violence committed by security forces in Atenco, especially against 
women.
    During the Oaxaca conflict (see section 1.a.), human rights 
organizations raised many complaints of alleged torture and 
maltreatment by state and federal police, both of protesters and 
bystanders. A coalition of local and international human rights 
organizations, including Fray Bartolome de las Casas and the Christian 
Association for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), reported several 
arrests and beatings by armed individuals in civilian clothing during 
mid-August. On August 9, German Mendoza Nube, a kidney dialysis 
patient, and a member of the APPO-affiliated Popular Revolutionary 
Front, was allegedly removed from his wheelchair, stripped of his 
dialysis equipment, and forced to spend the night in jail without food 
or adequate medical attention. He was arrested for attempted murder (a 
charge from a previous year, unconnected to the current conflict) and 
other offenses. In the early hours of August 10, Ramiro Aragon Perez 
and two companions were detained, beaten, and delivered to Zimatlan 
municipal jail in Oaxaca State. The State Attorney General's Office 
charged Aragon Perez with a federal weapons offense. The PGR 
interviewed Aragon Perez and requested the local Attorney General's 
office to investigate charges of possible torture. On August 11, 
Erangelio Mendoza Gonzalez, a member of the Oaxaca teachers' union and 
its leader between 1992 and 1995, was apprehended and brought to 
Cuicuatlan jail. Human rights organizations claimed that he was 
physically abused in detention, denied medical attention, and held 
incommunicado for more than 72 hours before learning of the charges of 
robbery and property damage (the burning of a bus) against him.
    Human rights organizations claimed that the charges against Mendoza 
Nube, Aragon Perez, and Mendoza Gonazalez were fabricated or without 
merit. The three were released on October 30 as a result of 
negotiations between the Interior Ministry and the Oaxaca teacher's 
union. CNDH interviewed Mendoza Nube, Aragon Perez, and Mendoza 
Gonazalez; CNDH's conclusions had not been published by year's end.
    On November 25, a particularly violent clash occurred in Oaxaca 
between the PFP and APPO. During an APPO protest, the PFP responded to 
attacks against its security corridor in the city center by firing tear 
gas on protesters and wielding clubs. That night the APPO set its own 
encampments ablaze and burned several state and federal buildings. The 
PFP detained 141 protesters and transported them to a federal prison in 
Nayarit State. Despite the Attorney General's denial of any human 
rights violations by federal forces, reports emerged of the 
mistreatment of detainees by federal and state police. By year's end, 
most of the protesters were released and the remaining detainees were 
transferred to state-run jails in Oaxaca. According to media reports, 
66 protesters remained detained at the end of the year. CNDH reported 
that it interviewed and conducted medical checks of all 141 detainees 
and in some cases conducted examinations according to Istanbul Protocol 
guidelines to identify whether they were tortured.
    In March the Chihuahua Supreme Court approved the appeal and 
reversed the conviction, based on lack of evidence, of a Ciudad Juarez 
police officer arrested in September 2005 for the rape of an American 
citizen in August 2005. No other suspects were sentenced or under 
arrest for the crime at year's end.
    On July 29, David Meza, arrested in 2003 for the rape and murder of 
his cousin and tortured by police into confessing to the crime, was 
released due to lack of evidence.
    There were reports of vigilante behavior, especially in Oaxaca when 
state and local police vanished from the capital during the months-long 
crisis. On October 24, according to media reports, dozens of residents 
in the Libertad neighborhood of the capital tied a local prison guard, 
Jose Manuel Dominguez, to a pole and beat him until he nearly lost 
consciousness. They left him bound to the pole through the night and 
turned him over to local authorities the following morning.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor. The CNDH reported that corruption, overcrowding, alcoholism, and 
drug addiction were prevalent in most facilities. Poorly trained, 
underpaid, and corrupt guards staffed most prisons. Health and sanitary 
conditions were poor, and most prisons did not offer psychiatric care. 
Authorities occasionally placed prisoners in solitary confinement for 
indefinite periods; prisoners often had to bribe guards to acquire 
food, medicine, and other necessities. Prison overcrowding continued to 
be a common problem; as the occupancy in the country's 455 penal 
facilities was estimated on average to be at more than 130 percent 
design capacity. Mexico City's prison system calculated its facilities 
to be occupied at more than 160 percent design capacity.
    In many prisons, inmates exercised significant authority, 
displacing prison officials and creating general insecurity, leading to 
numerous inmate deaths, often at the hands of other prisoners. During 
the year there were at least 115 deaths, including 13 killings and 26 
suicides, among a nationwide federal prison population of nearly 
125,000. The Jalisco State Attorney General's Office investigated human 
rights violations in the Jalisco penitentiary system following an 
inmate's suicide in August. In the first four months of the year, seven 
inmates reportedly died in Jalisco's jails or holding cells. The 
Jalisco capital of Guadalajara installed video cameras in some of its 
municipal jails to promote transparency and comply with a 
recommendation from the State Commission of Human Rights concerning 
allegations of prisoner abuse.
    CNDH noted that conditions for women prisoners were inferior to 
those for men, particularly for children who lived with their mothers 
in the jails. A 2006 study by the Christian Association for the 
Abolition of Torture-Mexico (ACAT) of a prison for women in Mexico City 
found that 81 percent of the prisoners reported mistreatment when 
apprehended or in custody: 51 percent received threats; 44 percent were 
beaten; and 12 percent were sexually abused or raped.
    Pretrial detainees were routinely held together with convicted 
criminals.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and human rights 
organizations. The International Committee of the Red Cross, the CNDH, 
and state human rights commissions visited detainees during the year. 
The CNDH made 139 visits through October.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention as well as sponsoring or covering up an illegal 
detention; however, police routinely ignored these provisions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal, state, and 
municipal police forces included approximately 330,000 officers. The 
federal and state police are divided into preventive and judicial 
police. Preventive police maintain order and public security and 
generally do not investigate crimes. Judicial police serve as the 
investigative force under the authority and command of the public 
ministries (prosecutor's offices). The military is responsible for 
external security but also has significant domestic security 
responsibilities, particularly in combating drug trafficking and 
maintaining order.
    Corruption continued to be a problem, as many police were involved 
in kidnapping, extortion, or providing protection for, or acting 
directly on behalf of organized crime and drug traffickers. Impunity 
was pervasive to an extent that victims often refused to file 
complaints. Responsibility for investigating federal police abuse falls 
under the purview of the PGR and the Secretariat of Public 
Administration (SFP), depending on the type of offense. The CNDH also 
can receive complaints, but its recommendations are nonbinding and 
carry no legal weight. A similar mechanism exists at the state level. 
The CNDH provided human rights training for security and military 
forces, and the Government continued professional training of its law 
enforcement officials. Between January and October, in conjunction with 
the CNDH, the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) trained more than 
25,000 employees, and the Secretariat for Public Security (SSP) trained 
more than 11,000 employees in human rights issues.
    On December 7, the PFP raided the Oaxaca ministerial police 
headquarters, confiscating more than 340 guns to investigate whether 
any had been used in attacks against protesters. The investigation 
continued at year's end.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police arbitrarily arrested and detained 
persons suspected of crimes, in many cases without a warrant. In the 
legal system a suspect is deemed guilty until proven innocent. A 
prosecutor may hold a person up to 48 hours (96 hours in cases of 
organized crime) before presenting the suspect to a judge and 
announcing charges. The law provides that authorities must sentence an 
accused person within four months of detention if the alleged crime 
carries a sentence of less than two years' imprisonment, or within one 
year if the crime carries a longer sentence; in practice, judicial and 
police authorities frequently ignored these time limits (see sections 
1.c. and 1.e.). A financial bond may be placed as bail only in cases 
that carry penalties of five years or less; otherwise, release is not 
available. Detainees were usually allowed prompt access to family 
members and to counsel, although in some cases, police detained persons 
incommunicado for several days (see section 1.c.). CNDH received 276 
complaints of arbitrary detention from January to October.
    On January 12, Martin Barrios, coordinator of the Tehuacan Valley 
Human and Labor Rights Commission, was released from a Puebla city jail 
after being arrested and detained in December 2005 by Puebla state 
police on charges of blackmail connected with a labor dispute at a 
textile factory.
    Human rights organizations charged that federal police arbitrarily 
detained many of the 141 protesters in Oaxaca on November 25 (see 
section 1.c.).
    In December 2005 Puebla state police arrested independent 
journalist Lydia Cacho in Cancun and took her across state lines to 
Puebla, where she was held for 30 hours on charges of libel filed by a 
prominent businessman. The Supreme Court was investigating whether 
violations of human rights were committed (see section 2.a.).
    There were no developments in the case concerning the August 2005 
detention and alleged ill treatment of more than 500 demonstrators in 
Cancun, Quintana Roo.
    Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. Slightly more than 
90,000 inmates, or 43 percent, awaited sentencing nationwide. The media 
reported that detainees were sometimes held several years without a 
trial.

    Amnesty.--According to CNDH, the federal government did not grant 
amnesty to any prisoners during the year. Although not officially 
considered amnesty, the PGR's Special Unit for Indigenous Affairs did 
grant freedom to 819 members of the indigenous community, with priority 
to the old and sick, between 2000 and year's end.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, government authorities occasionally influenced 
court decisions, particularly at the state and local level. Corruption, 
inefficiency, and lack of transparency continued to be major problems 
in the justice system.
    The federal court system consists of the Supreme Court, 91 circuit 
courts of appeal, 49 courts of appeal, and 185 district courts.

    Trial Procedures.--Based on the Napoleonic Code, the trial system 
consists of a series of fact-gathering hearings during which the court 
receives documentary evidence or testimony. A judge in chambers reviews 
the case file and then issues a final, written ruling. The record of 
the proceeding is not available to the general public; only the parties 
involved have access to the official file, but only by special motion.
    The law provides for the right of the accused to attend the 
hearings and challenge the evidence or testimony presented, and the 
Government generally respected these rights in practice. In most cases, 
court hearings were open to the public.
    During the year Chihuahua State passed comprehensive criminal 
procedural codes that permit oral trials for all crimes, improve 
investigation techniques, strengthen victim's rights, and provide for 
alternative sentencing. From August through December, the state 
provided intensive training for defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, 
and investigative police, in preparation for the initiation of oral 
trials in January 2007. In August the state of Mexico began using oral 
trials in two courts for minor crimes.
    Although the law provides defendants with the right to an attorney 
at all stages of criminal proceedings, in practice this only meant that 
authorities had to appoint a ``person of confidence,'' who was not 
required to meet any particular legal qualifications, to represent a 
defendant. The public defender system was not adequate to meet demand. 
Public defender services were placed either in the judicial or 
executive branch; there were no autonomous public defender services.
    Although the law provides for translation services from Spanish to 
indigenous languages to be available at all stages of the criminal 
process, this generally was not done. Consequently, indigenous 
defendants who did not speak Spanish sometimes were unaware of the 
status of their cases, and suspects frequently were convicted without 
fully understanding the documents they were required to sign.
    Judges continued to allow statements coerced through torture to be 
used as evidence against the accused (see section 1.c.), a practice 
particularly subject to abuse because confessions were the primary 
evidence in nearly all criminal convictions. NGOs asserted that judges 
often gave greater evidentiary value to the first declaration of a 
defendant, thus providing prosecutors an incentive to obtain an 
incriminating first confession and making it difficult for defendants 
to disavow such declarations.
    The law provides for military jurisdiction for crimes or offenses 
involving any violation of military discipline. In cases in which a 
member of the military commits a crime and is arrested by civil 
authorities, the military has the right to request the immediate 
transfer of the case to military jurisdiction, a practice condemned by 
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no developments 
regarding the 2005 review by the Guerrero State Secretary of government 
Armando Chavarria Barrera of the cases of nine potential political 
prisoners held in the state's penitentiaries.
    A coalition of local and international human rights groups 
categorized some arrested leaders of APPO and the Oaxaca teachers' 
movement as political detainees (see section 1.c.), a concern they 
raised with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Human rights 
groups expressed concern that state officials in civilian dress 
arrested prominent APPO leaders for political motives, filing charges 
that lacked merit, and failing to follow due process. Prisoners were 
reportedly visited by family, lawyers, and local and international 
human rights groups, although at times with difficulty (see section 
1.c.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to a court 
to seek damages for a human rights violation. There were no such cases 
reported during the year.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits such practices and requires 
search warrants, authorities occasionally disregarded these provisions. 
The CNDH received 206 complaints of illegal searches from January to 
October.
    Although the law permits wiretapping that is conducted pursuant to 
a judicial order in organized crime investigations, it cannot be 
submitted as evidence in a court of law without an order.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice.
    While the federal government usually tolerated criticism, state and 
local level officials occasionally responded to unfavorable news 
articles by threatening their authors with libel and defamation 
lawsuits. There were approximately 300 privately owned newspapers, and 
most radio stations were privately owned.
    Despite federal government support for freedom of the press, many 
journalists worked in an extremely dangerous environment. On February 
15, in response to the increasing violence, the federal government 
established the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Committed 
Against Journalists. Although his jurisdiction does not cover 
activities of drug cartels or organized crime, the special prosecutor 
identified drug trafficking, abuse of political power, and economic 
interests as the greatest threats to journalists, noting that since 
1982, 53 journalists were murdered or had disappeared because of their 
profession.
    During the year Reporters without Borders listed 10 journalists 
killed and one disappeared, although the Committee to Protect 
Journalists reported seven journalists killed and one disappeared. 
Other journalists were harassed, threatened, or attacked. The Special 
Prosecutor's Office received 78 complaints of harassment of journalists 
between March and August. The CNDH received 34 complaints between 
January and August. With the exception of the infringement of press 
liberties in Oaxaca, most threats against journalists related to 
reporting on organized crime. By year's end, state and federal 
authorities had not concluded their investigations into the killing of 
American citizen Bradley Will, a reporter working in Oaxaca without 
national press credentials (see section 1.a.).
    During the crisis in Oaxaca, there were reports of numerous 
violations of press freedom committed by groups allegedly linked to the 
state government as well as by the APPO (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.). 
On July 14 and August 11, respectively, unidentified individuals used 
acid to destroy the transmission equipment of Radio Planton and Radio 
Universidad, stations sympathetic to the protesters. On August 10, 
armed assailants in Oaxaca attacked the newspaper Noticias, seriously 
injuring two employees. The newspaper continued to publish outside its 
main office. On August 22, state police allegedly fired on 
photographers from the newspapers Milenio and Reforma. There were 
reports that a Oaxaca-based station, known as Radio Ciudadana and 
reportedly linked to the governor, incited violence against protesters.
    APPO commandeered numerous radio stations, forcing them to 
broadcast its message. On August 3, APPO threatened attacks on the 
newspapers Tiempo and Extra, alleging that they maintained close ties 
with the governor; both publications closed their offices. On August 
16, APPO members physically attacked a Milenio journalist, accusing him 
of inaccurate reporting. On September 24, APPO members temporarily 
detained well-known Mexican journalist Ricardo Rocha in a hotel and 
took his equipment, including a camera and video tapes.
    Reporters covering the various drug cartels and associated corrupt 
public officials acknowledged practicing self-censorship, recognizing 
the dangers investigative journalism presented to themselves and their 
families. In February an armed gang raided the offices of Nuevo 
Laredo's newspaper El Manana, firing bullets in the newsroom and 
beating two members of the editorial staff. In August the newspaper Por 
Esto was the target of attacks, with bombs and grenades, at its Cancun 
and Merida offices. The publication investigated drug trafficking in 
the region.
    International press organizations contended that federal and state 
criminal defamation and libel laws violated freedom of expression and 
advocated their repeal.
    In December 2005 authorities arrested Lydia Cacho in Cancun on 
charges of failing to respond to a libel and defamation summons filed 
by a wealthy businessman, Kamel Nacif Borge. Cacho, who claimed she was 
never informed of the summons, was then taken to Puebla and detained 
for 30 hours until released on bail. Her 2004 book, The Demons of Eden, 
documented a child pornography and prostitution ring, with alleged 
collusion between wealthy businessmen and public officials. While not 
accusing Nacif of wrongdoing, Cacho wrote of close business ties 
between Nacif and a central figure implicated in the ring, Jean Succar 
Kuri (see section 5). In February Mexico City media released recorded 
telephone conversations, apparently between Nacif and Puebla Governor 
Mario Marin, in which the two appeared to collude in Cacho's arrest. On 
April 18, the Supreme Court agreed to investigate the potential human 
rights violations involved in her detention, invoking a rarely 
exercised constitutional jurisdiction. On September 19, the court 
rejected a motion claiming insufficient evidence and resolved to 
continue investigating the case.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice. Groups that wish to meet in public 
areas must inform local police authorities in advance. Organized, 
peaceful demonstrations occurred frequently throughout the country. 
Several times during the year demonstrators clashed with police, and 
subsequent arrests led to complaints of arbitrary detention, use of 
excessive force, torture, rape, and sometimes killings (see sections 
1.a., 1.c., and 1.d.).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice. However, 
poor enforcement mechanisms allowed local authorities to discriminate 
against persons based on their religious beliefs, especially in the 
south. Federal and local governments often failed to punish those 
responsible for acts of religious discrimination. The constitution bars 
members of the clergy from holding public office, advocating partisan 
political views, supporting political candidates, or opposing the laws 
or institutions of the state.
    Religious associations must register with the Government to apply 
for official building permits, receive tax exemptions, and hold 
religious meetings outside of their places of worship. Although the 
Government may reject applications because of incomplete documentation, 
the registration process was routine. More than 6,600 religious 
associations were registered.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--In the central and southern 
regions, some leaders of predominantly Catholic indigenous communities 
regarded evangelical groups as unwelcome outside influences and as 
economic and political threats. These leaders sometimes acquiesced in 
or ordered the harassment or expulsion of individuals belonging chiefly 
to Protestant evangelical groups. Whether a group was displaced 
forcibly with violence or left voluntarily to avoid harassment, it 
often found itself living on the outskirts of another local community 
in circumstances even worse than the extremely poor conditions common 
to the region. As in previous years, village officials imposed 
sanctions on evangelicals for resisting participation in community 
festivals or refusing to work on Saturdays.
    While state government officials claimed to have resolved the March 
2005 conflict between Catholics and Protestants in the town of 
Zinacantan, civil society members disagreed and reported an inclination 
towards violence persisted. On August 22, tensions emerged again during 
the gubernatorial campaign. According to media reports, groups of 
Catholics and Protestants, allegedly associated with the political 
parties Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Party of the 
Democratic Revolution (PRD), respectively, clashed when Protestant 
parents reportedly were not allowed to participate in election-day 
festivities. A PRD-linked Protestant reportedly shot and killed a PRI-
linked Catholic; two were wounded, and several members of both groups 
were detained. The state government Office for Religious Affairs 
attributed the events to social and political rather than religious 
tensions. Four remained in jail, and the case was pending at year's 
end. In July in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, the media reported that a 
group of PRI-affiliated Catholics destroyed an illegally constructed 
evangelical church that was attended by members of the PRD; the 
Catholics threatened to expel or kill the eight evangelical families if 
they attempted to rebuild. According to state officials, on July 28, 
the parties involved resolved the dispute and signed an agreement to 
respect local authority and religious freedom.
    According to the Hidalgo State Commission for Human Rights, the 40 
families threatened with expulsion in October 2005 from San Nicolas, 
Hidalgo, remained in the town, and religious tensions had significantly 
diminished.
    The Jewish community numbered approximately 50,000 persons. There 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law does not permit forced exile, and it was not practiced.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice, the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they fear 
persecution. From January to August, the Government granted refugee 
status or asylum to 61 applicants of 493 pending cases.
    Although in many instances the National Migration Institute (INM) 
eventually released Cuban migrants, in some cases they were returned to 
Cuba. Among the more than 3,000 presumed Cubans who entered the country 
illegally during the year, 184 were identified as Cuban nationals and 
deported; the remaining were released, and it was assumed they applied 
for asylum in the United States.
    The Government in the past provided temporary protection to 
individuals who may not have qualified as refugees under the 1951 
Convention and its 1967 Protocol but did not do so during the year. The 
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers.
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.--The Presidential and 
congressional elections of July 2 tested the country's electoral 
institutions. They were determined to be generally free and fair by the 
majority of neutral observers, including European Union representatives 
and local and international civil society organizations. However, PRD 
Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vigorously disputed 
PAN candidate Felipe Calderon's razor-thin victory margin in the 
electoral courts. The PRD also staged nonviolent protests and civil 
disobedience activities, including the blockage of streets in the 
capital as well as smaller demonstrations in several regional cities, 
demanding a full recount of ballots nationwide.
    The Federal Electoral Tribunal ruled to recount approximately 9 
percent of voting stations, principally those in which the PRD 
presented some evidence of inconsistencies. This partial recount had 
minimal impact on Calderon's 0.56 percent margin of victory.
    On September 5, the tribunal declared Felipe Calderon President-
elect, ending rival candidate Lopez Obrador's two-month-long legal 
challenge of the election results. In its final decision, the tribunal 
ruled that while it found no evidence of fraud, it had found a number 
of irregularities, including a large number of apparently random 
counting and arithmetic errors. It also rebuked President Fox for his 
thinly veiled endorsements of Calderon and criticism of Lopez Obrador, 
as well as pro-Calderon television ads sponsored by a business group. 
The tribunal determined, however, that these irregularities provided 
insufficient grounds to invalidate the election. Lopez Obrador refused 
to accept the tribunal's decision, declared himself the ``legitimate 
President,'' established a ``parallel government,'' and vowed to 
continue acts of civil disobedience.
    The results of concurrent congressional and state-level elections 
were far less controversial than the Presidential election, although 
the results in several individual races were challenged, as routinely 
occurs. The PAN won three gubernatorial races and approximately 40 
percent of congressional seats. The PRD retained the significant office 
of mayor of Mexico City and won the second largest number of seats in 
the lower house of Congress. Although its Presidential candidate ran 
more than 10 percentage points behind the two leading candidates, the 
PRI came in second place in the upper house of Congress and finished in 
a close third place in the lower house. In addition, two recently 
established political parties secured enough votes to guarantee their 
status as national parties entitling them to government funding.
    During the year political parties, opposition groups, and 
independent associations functioned freely without government 
interference or restriction. National political parties needed Federal 
Electoral Institute (IFE) recognition based on having won at least 2 
percent of the vote in the last national election. The IFE recognized 
eight national political parties. On October 3, the Supreme Court 
struck down state electoral laws barring independent candidates from 
running for public office.
    There were 22 women in the 128-seat Senate and 116 women in the 
500-seat lower house. Two female justices sat on the 11-member Supreme 
Court. President Calderon appointed four women to his 21-member 
cabinet. One woman held a position in former President Fox's cabinet. 
Many state electoral codes provide that no more than 70 to 80 percent 
of candidates can be of the same gender. All political parties 
continued their efforts to increase the number of women running for 
elected office. Some utilized quotas requiring that a certain 
percentage of candidates on a party list be female.
    There were no statistics available regarding minority participation 
in government.
    The law provides for the right of indigenous people to elect 
representatives to local office according to ``usages and customs'' 
law, rather than federal and state electoral law. Voter intimidation 
and conflict was not uncommon during elections in some indigenous 
communities (see section 2.c.). Traditional customs varied by village. 
In some villages, women did not have the right to vote or hold office; 
in others they could vote but not hold office (see section 5).

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption was a problem 
at all levels of government as public officials continued to be 
involved frequently in bureaucratic abuses and a variety of criminal 
acts with impunity (see sections 1.b., 1.c., 2.a., 5, and 6). In recent 
years all major political parties have been fined for illegal campaign 
funding. Paying bribes to administrative officials and security forces 
continued to be routine.
    In February Mexico City media released recorded telephone 
conversations, apparently between businessman Kamel Nacif and Puebla 
Governor Mario Marin, in which the two appeared to collude in 
journalist Lydia Cacho's arrest (see section 2.a.). In the 
conversation, the voice identified as Nacif expressed thanks and 
offered the governor two ``beautiful'' bottles of cognac. On April 18, 
the Supreme Court agreed to investigate the potential human rights 
violations involved in Cacho's detention, invoking a rarely exercised 
constitutional jurisdiction. The case was under the review of the 
Supreme Court at year's end.
    Since enactment of a 2002 law providing for public access to 
government information, transparency in public administration at the 
federal level has improved noticeably. Foreign media, citizens, and 
foreigners have successfully used the law, with an annual number of 
requests increasing from 24,000 in 2003 to more than 50,000 in 2005. At 
the state and local level, transparency remained mixed. According to 
the Federal Institute for Access of Information, the Federal District 
and 27 of the country's 31 states enacted transparency laws; 70 
municipalities in the country had enacted transparency rules.
Section 4. 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. Although federal 
government officials often were cooperative and responsive to their 
views, state and municipal authorities frequently harassed human rights 
defenders. UN agencies and other international bodies freely operated 
in the country and publicly criticized the Government without 
restriction or sanction.
    The semi-autonomous CNDH, which receives full funding from the 
federal government, has the authority to investigate allegations of 
human rights and did so in practice. CNDH operated without government 
or party interference, received adequate resources, and enjoyed the 
Government's cooperation. During the year, CNDH issued 46 
recommendations, although nonbinding and without legal weight (see 
section 1.d.), which were directed towards government entities on 
aspects related to human rights violations for which they were deemed 
responsible. While some recommendations were accepted and implemented, 
others were rejected (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
or religion. While the Government continued to make progress enforcing 
these provisions, significant problems, particularly violence against 
women, persisted.

    Women.--Domestic violence was pervasive and vastly underreported. 
The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, and 
stipulates fines equal to 30 to 180 days' pay and detention for up to 
36 hours; however, actual sentences were normally lenient. On the state 
level, laws sanctioning domestic violence, if any, are weak. Seven 
states have not criminalized domestic violence, and 15 states sanction 
family violence only when it is a repeated offense. Victims generally 
did not report abuse for a variety of reasons, including fear of 
reprisal by their spouses, fear of becoming economically destitute if 
their spouses are imprisoned, and the general disinterest of 
authorities in prosecuting such offenses. The special federal 
prosecutor for crimes against women, Alicia Elena Perez Duarte, 
reported that 1,600 women were killed annually, mostly from domestic 
violence. On December 19, the Senate passed a comprehensive bill aimed 
at preventing violence against women, including prevention and 
assistance measures provided by all levels of government.
    The Government's cabinet-level National Institute of Women 
(INMUJERES) reported that its national hot line established under the 
National Plan for a Life without Violence received more than 27,000 
calls between January 1 and October 31, a dramatic increase since it 
was established in 2002. Although there were some government-funded 
shelters, civil society organizations and women rights groups 
maintained the vast majority of available shelters.
    The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, imposing penalties 
of up to 20 years. However, rape victims rarely filed complaints with 
police, due to seeing the widespread impunity for rape in the justice 
system. In February 2005 Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on 
Human Rights on Violence Against Women Yakin Erturk stated that 
violence against indigenous women, in particular, was often ``dismissed 
or justified within the context of cultural specificity.''
    Other forms of violence against women within relationships were 
similarly widespread and unpunished. On October 10, the Attorney 
General's Office of the Federal District reported that on average it 
received 60 complaints of sexual violence per day.
    During the May 3 confrontation between PFP and citizens in San 
Salvador Atenco, CNDH confirmed 26 reports of sexual violence that 
occurred during the police operation (see section 1.a. and 1.c.).
    Gender-based violence in Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua, 
which have registered the unsolved killings of more than 350 women and 
young girls since 1993, continued with 18 killings of women registered 
in Ciudad Juarez during the year. Of the 17 cases opened to investigate 
the 18 killings, state authorities solved 12 cases, and the 
perpetrators were awaiting sentencing at year's end. According to the 
State Special Prosecutor's Office on Women's Homicides, the 18 women 
killed in Ciudad Juarez were not victims of sexual crimes, although 
approximately three quarters were victims of family violence in which 
the aggressor was a spouse, parent, or as in two cases, the victim's 
child.
    David Meza, arrested in 2003 for the rape and murder of his cousin 
in Ciudad Juarez and tortured by police into confessing to the crime, 
was released on July 29, due to lack of evidence (see section 1.c.).
    On December 12, the Fourth State Penal Court in Ciudad Juarez 
sentenced four men for the 2005 murder and rape of seven-year-old Airis 
Estrella Enriquez Pando. Luis Garcia Villalbazo was sentenced to 92 
years' imprisonment for the murder and rape of Airis and the rape of 
three other girls; Eustacio Aleman Zendejas, Juan Manuel Alvarado 
Saenz, and Rogelio Sandoval Carrasco were sentenced to 40 years' 
imprisonment.
    In January the PGR issued its final report from the Unit of the 
Special Prosecutor for the Attention to Crimes Related to the Homicides 
of Women in the Municipality of Juarez, Chihuahua, drawing on much of 
the work by the state's attorney general. The report concluded that 379 
women were killed between 1993 and 2005, of whom 345 had been 
identified. The report stated that 125 of the homicides (33 percent) 
occurred in the home of either the victim or perpetrator, and that 
``the great majority of the homicides were perpetrated by a person 
close to the victim's circle of family or affection.'' According to the 
report, 31.5 percent of the murders were attributed to social violence 
in a border area, including drug dependency, drug trafficking, high 
rates of crime, gang violence, and prostitution. Authorities arraigned 
289 persons and sentenced 177; 21 were found not guilty; and 91 awaited 
trial. Of the 47 women the PGR determined missing, 13 were located 
(three of whom were dead). The report detailed the various types of 
incompetence and irregularities committed in the investigations by 
state authorities, although the responsible officials were not 
sanctioned. The Government established a fund of approximately $2.7 
million (30 million pesos) to assist the victims' relatives. The 
Government also provided psychological, medical, and legal aid to 
relatives.
    On November 8, the College of the North Border and the Commission 
to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women in Ciudad Juarez 
presented publicly an academic study that categorized the nature of the 
murders of women from 1993 to 2005. By drawing from the cases of 442 
murders of women, the study found that 28.5 percent were committed by a 
close male friend, boyfriend, or spouse; 33.9 percent involved sexual 
violence, entailing kidnap, torture, mutilation, and rape.
    On February 17, the PGR appointed Alicia Elena Perez Duarte, a new 
special prosecutor with a nationwide mandate to examine the issue of 
violence against women.
    While the killings in Ciudad Juarez drew international attention, 
violence against women remained a widespread phenomenon throughout the 
country. Special Prosecutor Perez Duarte reported that on an annual 
basis approximately 1,600 women were killed nationwide, mostly 
resulting from domestic violence. According to 2004 statistics, the 
rate of women homicide victims over age 15 was highest in the states of 
Nayarit (5.4 per 100,000 persons), Oaxaca (5.3), Mexico (4.8), Guerrero 
(4.7), Baja California (3.6), and Chihuahua (3.6). In August the UN 
Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women said that 
there were no visible results from government efforts to prevent gender 
violence.
    Prostitution is legal for adults, and it continued to be practiced 
widely. While pimping and prostitution by minors under age 18 are 
illegal, these offenses also were practiced widely, often with the 
collaboration or knowledge of police. The country is a destination for 
sexual tourists and pedophiles, particularly from the United States. 
Apart from state laws against trafficking in persons, there are no 
specific laws against sex tourism, although federal law criminalizes 
corruption of minors, of which is punishable by five to 10 years' 
imprisonment. Trafficking in women and minors for prostitution remained 
a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment and provides for fines of up to 
40 days' minimum salary, but victims must press charges. Reports of 
sexual harassment in the workplace were widespread, but victims were 
reluctant to come forward, and cases were difficult to prove.
    The law provides that women shall have the same rights and 
obligations as men, and that ``equal pay shall be given for equal work 
performed in equal jobs, hours of work, and conditions of efficiency.'' 
While women earned less than men, the salary gap was decreasing. 
According to the National Institute for Geographic and Informational 
Statistics (INEGI), the average salary for women was 7.4 percent less 
than that of men, compared with 12.6 percent less in 2004. However, 
according to INMUJERES, in some occupations the disparity reached 50 
percent.
    Labor law provides protection for pregnant women, which some 
employers reportedly sought to avoid by requiring pregnancy tests in 
pre-employment physicals and by continuing to make inquiries into a 
woman's reproductive status. In April 2005 INMUJERES and several other 
government agencies launched a national campaign to raise awareness of 
laws protecting women against pregnancy testing.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. Although the Government maintained programs to support 
maternal and infant health, provide stipends for educating poor 
children, subsidize food, and provide social workers, problems in 
children's health and education remained pervasive. Public education is 
offered through the university level, including advanced degrees. Nine 
years of education are compulsory, and parents are legally responsible 
for their children's attendance. The 2002 INEGI census showed that 91 
percent of children between ages six and 14 attended school, but only 
68 percent of all children entering the first grade completed all nine 
years of compulsory education. In 2003 average educational attainment 
among the population 15 years of age and older was 7.9 years.
    The Government provided numerous health care programs for boys and 
girls on the basis of equal access. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
reported 98 to 99 percent immunization rates for one-year-old children.
    Government statistics for 2000 (the most current available) 
recorded the following rates of reported violent treatment in the home: 
28 percent of those aged six to nine, 9 percent of those aged 10 to 13, 
and 10 percent of those between 14 and 17.
    Child marriage remained a problem. UNICEF reported in a 2003 survey 
that 28 percent of women 20 to 24 years of age had been married or in a 
union before the age of 18. In 2003, according to INEGI, 12 percent of 
men and 27 percent of women married between the ages of 15 and 19.
    Trafficking in children for the purpose of sexual exploitation was 
a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor was a problem, particularly among migrant farming 
families (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--While the law prohibits aspects of 
trafficking in persons, persons were trafficked to, from, or within the 
country, and there were credible reports that police, immigration, and 
customs officials were involved (see section 2.d.).
    The country was a point of origin, transit, and destination for 
persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor. The vast majority 
of non-Mexican trafficking victims came from Central America; lesser 
numbers came from Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, China, Taiwan, India, and 
Eastern European countries. Victims were trafficked to the United 
States as well as to various destinations in the country. Although 
there were no reliable statistics on the extent of trafficking, the 
Government estimated that 20,000 children were sexually exploited each 
year. Sexual tourism and sexual exploitation of minors were significant 
problems in the northern border area and in resort areas. Undocumented 
migrants from Central America and the poor were most at risk for 
trafficking.
    Often poor and uneducated, trafficking victims were promised 
employment, but once isolated from family and home, were forced into 
prostitution or to work in a factory or the agriculture sector. Other 
young female migrants recounted being robbed, beaten, and raped by 
members of criminal gangs and then forced to work in table dance bars 
or as prostitutes under threat of further harm to them or their 
families. Many illegal immigrants fell prey to traffickers along the 
Guatemalan border, where the growing presence of gangs such as Mara 
Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 made the area especially dangerous for 
unaccompanied women and children migrating north.
    While no federal law prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons, 
two states enacted antitrafficking legislation, and there are 21 
different state and federal laws that criminally sanction certain 
aspects of trafficking. At the federal level, corruption of minors, 
child prostitution and child pornography are felonies; anyone convicted 
of a crime related to a minor under age 18 can be sentenced from five 
to 10 years' imprisonment. If the illicit activity involved a minor 
under 16 years of age, the sentence is increased by one third; if it 
involved a minor under 12 years of age, the sentence is increased by 
half. Persons who direct or facilitate the above illicit activity for 
purposes of financial gain may be imprisoned for six to 10 years. When 
physical or psychological violence is used for sexual abuse or to 
profit from exploitation of a minor, the penalties are increased by up 
to one half. The law also forbids forced or compulsory labor (see 
section 6.c.). While Baja California Norte in 2005 became the first 
state to approve a law specifically to combat trafficking in persons, 
the state legislature had to rescind it due to alleged incompatibility 
with federal laws. Michoacan and Chihuahua passed state antitrafficking 
legislation in July and November, respectively.
    The Government faced structural inefficiencies but made notable 
improvements in collecting data and fostering investigations, 
prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking cases. PFP and Save the 
Children entered into a formal collaborative relationship, which 
included a project to manage a Web-based database to track missing 
persons, including potential trafficking victims.
    Authorities disrupted smuggling operations, which affected the 
movement of trafficking victims through the smuggling corridors, and 
arrested a number of suspected traffickers during the year. The 
Government pursued approximately eight trafficking cases, all of which 
were active at year's end. As a result, the Government conducted 
several rescues of potential trafficking victims, issued one active 
state arrest warrant, and made one arrest under federal charges of 
child pornography. Nonetheless, securing convictions remained a 
challenge for the Government.
    On April 28, the PGR prevailed on appeal in a significant 
prosecution for trafficking in persons. The seven defendants, members 
of the Carreto family, were convicted, fined, and received prison 
sentences ranging from 19 to 27 years. The Carreto family filed a 
subsequent appeal, which was pending at years' end.
    In April CNDH issued its first formal recommendation on 
trafficking, addressing the INM and Secretary of Labor in regard to a 
case involving two Chinese trafficking victims working in a Guanajuato 
factory. In following the recommendations, INM fined the company for 
activities unauthorized under the work visas granted. INM granted visas 
for the two victims to remain in the country, contingent on their 
assistance in a prosecution case.
    On July 15, Jean Succar Kuri was extradited from the United States 
to Mexico on charges of corruption of minors and child pornography, 
among others. He was waiting trial in a Cancun jail at year's end.
    Extradited from Thailand in August 2005, Thomas Frank White was 
detained in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, awaiting trial for corruption of 
minors and child prostitution.
    The PFP, as the predominant federal law enforcement agency, is the 
new lead operational and coordinating agency for antitrafficking 
efforts. The INM, PGR, Center for Research on National Security, CNDH, 
the Foreign Ministry, and the Integral Development of the Family (DIF) 
also played key roles in combating trafficking, protecting victims, and 
prosecuting traffickers. During the year, PFP appointed a director 
general directly responsible for trafficking cases and dedicated five 
investigative units exclusively to such cases; two units already 
initiated investigations. More than 60 PFP officers received a 40-hour 
training course on the conduct of trafficking investigations, and 300 
PFP officers attended a four-hour module at its training academy. The 
Government also participated in international investigations of 
trafficking during the year.
    There were credible reports that individual police, immigration, 
and customs officials participated in, facilitated, or condoned 
trafficking, primarily for money. Poorly paid frontline officials 
frequently extorted money from victims and traffickers.
    In September 2005 a judge issued arrest warrants for seven INM 
agents in connection with their participation in a human smuggling 
ring; however, none were charged.
    In September INM authorized the issuance of visas to trafficking 
victims to remain in the country, contingent upon their cooperation 
with law enforcement in prosecuting traffickers. By year's end, INM 
reported that it issued nine such visas to trafficking victims.
    Several NGOs, including the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, 
Casa Alianza, Fundacion Infantia, and Sin Fronteras, as well as IOM and 
ILO, assisted trafficking victims with prevention programs and 
protection services. However, NGOs had limited entry to INM detention 
centers (while CNDH enjoyed complete access). Although DIF operated 
shelters nationwide, the country lacked shelters exclusively dedicated 
to trafficking victims.
    The Government supported general trafficking prevention campaigns 
for children and women and administered special assistance programs for 
children repatriated to the country. While a partial framework existed 
to protect and provide social services to the victims of trafficking, 
undocumented migrants usually were deported before they could be 
identified and removed from the detention system. The Government 
increased cooperation with NGOs and international organizations to 
build a network of trafficking victims' services and to identify 
potential trafficking victims. Bilateral cooperation against 
trafficking increased with programs to combat trafficking, increase 
protection for victims, and promote awareness.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of 
other services, the Government did not effectively enforce all these 
provisions. Most public buildings and facilities in Mexico City did not 
comply with the law requiring access for persons with disabilities. The 
federal government stated that entrances, exits, and hallways in all of 
its offices had been made accessible to persons with disabilities, and 
in May 2005 it began a program to improve access in 13 airports. The 
education system fell short of providing special education for children 
with disabilities, serving approximately 400,000 students of an 
estimated two million with disabilities in 2004; only 42 percent of 
municipalities in the country provided special education.
    Although the Government made progress in treating persons with 
mental health illnesses, problems remained. According to the Pan 
American Health Organization, no more than 25 percent of those with a 
mental illness received adequate treatment. The World Health 
Organization reported that psychiatric hospitals overused electroshock 
treatment. The Ministry of Health stated that it investigated claims of 
abuse and spent three million dollars (33 million pesos) in 2005 to 
improve mental health treatment in four states.
    During the Presidential and congressional elections, the federal 
and state governments provided ballots, including ballots in Braille, 
ballot boxes, and a special ballot holder and marker for voters with 
vision and motor skill disabilities.
    The secretary of health collaborated with the secretaries of social 
development, labor, and public education, as well as with DIF and the 
Office for the Promotion and Social Integration of the Disabled, to 
protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The Government 
established offices and programs for the social integration of persons 
with disabilities, including a program to enhance job opportunities and 
launch an online portal to disseminate information and assistance.

    Indigenous People.--The indigenous population has been long subject 
to discrimination, repression, and marginalization. Indigenous 
communities, located principally in the central and southern regions, 
represented 37 percent of the population in the states of Oaxaca and 
Yucatan. These groups remained largely outside the political and 
economic mainstream, due to longstanding patterns of social and 
economic discrimination. In many cases their ability to participate in 
decisions affecting their lands, cultural traditions, and allocation of 
natural resources were negligible.
    There were numerous allegations of the use of excessive force 
against indigenous people. During the year, the Government maintained 
troops in selected areas of Chiapas and Guerrero, which was a 
continuing point of concern for many NGOs and indigenous rights groups, 
who complained of intimidation and threats from soldiers. Federal 
forces were also dispatched to Oaxaca to help restore order and to 
Michoacan in a large-scale antinarcotics operation (see sections 1.a., 
1.b., and 1.c.).
    Sporadic outbursts of politically motivated violence continued to 
occur in indigenous communities in the states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and 
Oaxaca. Historic land disputes also caused tensions in the indigenous 
regions.
    Indigenous people did not live on autonomous reservations, although 
some indigenous communities exercised considerable local control over 
economic, political, and social matters. In the state of Oaxaca, for 
example, 70 percent of the 570 municipalities were governed according 
to the indigenous regime of ``usages and customs'' law, which did not 
follow democratic norms such as the secret ballot, universal suffrage, 
and political affiliation. These communities applied traditional 
practices to resolve disputes and choose local officials. While such 
practices allowed communities to elect officials according to their 
traditions, ``usages and customs'' laws tended to exclude women from 
the political process and often infringed on other rights of women.
    The law provides some protection for indigenous people, and the 
Government provided support for indigenous communities through social 
and economic assistance programs, legal provisions, and social welfare 
programs. Budget constraints, however, prevented these measures from 
meeting the needs of most indigenous communities, as severe shortages 
in basic infrastructure as well as health and education services 
persisted.
    The law provides that educational instruction shall be conducted in 
the national language, Spanish, without prejudice to the protection and 
promotion of indigenous languages. However, many indigenous children 
spoke only their native languages, and the Government did not provide a 
sufficient number of native language or bilingual teachers.
    The Government generally showed respect for the desire of 
indigenous people to retain elements of their traditional culture. 
During the year, the CNDH's Office of the Fourth Inspector General 
investigated more than 1,800 complaints of violations of human rights 
among the indigenous population during the year, concluding that more 
than 400 were credible. More than 130 NGOs were dedicated to the 
promotion and protection of indigenous rights.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--While homosexuals 
experienced a growing social acceptance, the National Center to Prevent 
and Control HIV/AIDS (CONASIDA) stated that discrimination persisted. 
Homophobic beliefs and practices were common, reflected principally in 
entertainment media programs and everyday attitudes. Reports of attacks 
against homosexuals and transsexuals were frequent.
    The law prohibits several types of discrimination, including bias 
based on sexuality, and requires federal agencies to promote tolerance. 
In April 2005 the Government launched a radio campaign to fight 
homophobia with material prepared by CONASIDA.
    On November 9, the Mexico City legislative assembly passed a bill, 
later signed into law, which authorizes homo- and heterosexual couples 
to register their union with municipal authorities, according them 
inheritance and certain other rights normally accorded only to spouses.
    There were several incidents of harassment and violent attacks 
against homosexuals. In the case of the June 2005 murder of Octavio 
Acuna, an activist for the rights of persons with HIV/AIDS, police 
arrested a minor on the charge of homicide; he remained in juvenile 
detention awaiting his trial at year's end. The state Attorney 
General's office charged with the case, however, said that the 
investigation lacked any evidence that suggested the crime was 
connected to homophobia.
    There were credible reports that police, immigration, and customs 
officials frequently violated the rights of undocumented migrants, 
including rape. Robbery and killings by the criminal gangs, such as the 
Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, intensified on the southern border and 
spread northward. Undocumented migrants rarely filed charges in such 
cases because the authorities generally deported such persons who came 
to their attention.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Federal law provides workers the 
right to form and join trade unions of their choice, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. According to INEGI, there were 43.6 
million workers in the workforce, with 15 million in the formal 
sector--those paying taxes to the Mexican Institute for Social Security 
(IMSS). Approximately 25 percent of the formal sector was unionized.
    By law, 20 workers can form an independent union with a formal 
registration. Administrative procedures for registration are complex 
and burdensome, and government labor boards frequently rejected 
independent unions' registration applications on technicalities. A new 
union also must challenge the government-sanctioned union, if one 
exists, for control of the labor contract. Representation elections are 
traditionally open, which means management and officials from the 
existing union are present with the presiding labor board official when 
workers openly and individually declare their votes. Open elections 
resulted in intimidation of pro-union workers.
    In late December 2005, Puebla labor rights activist Martin Barrios 
was jailed for two weeks after a local garment factory owner accused 
him of blackmail (see section 1.d.).
    In February the Labor Secretariat withdrew the legal recognition 
(toma de nota) from Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, general secretary of the 
Mine and Metal Workers' Union, charging him with corruption, although 
no legal charges had been filed. The secretariat then recognized Elias 
Morales as the new general secretary. Gomez's attorneys argued that 
there was no basis in the law or the union statutes for withdrawing 
recognition, and two union congresses subsequently reaffirmed support 
for Gomez. His supporters called strikes at several key mines and steel 
mills around the country.
    In an April 20 confrontation between striking workers and Michoacan 
state police, two union members were killed (see section 1.a.). Gomez 
fled to Canada after criminal charges were filed in the state courts of 
Sinaloa and San Luis Potosi alleging that he misallocated $55 million 
(605 million pesos) of union funds. In August the union workers and the 
Government negotiated a compromise, including a salary raise, which 
ended the 141-day strike.
    The CNDH and human rights activists criticized the Government's 
treatment of undocumented immigrant workers. On June 25, CNDH issued a 
report concerning INM abuses of 19 undocumented migrants from Central 
America who were apprehended in Coahuila in April 2005. The abuses 
included the beating of one migrant and the order that all 19 remove 
their shoes and walk one mile to a waiting vehicle.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the 
Government protected this right in practice. Collective bargaining 
contracts covered approximately 7 percent of workers. The law provides 
for the right to strike in both the public and private sector, and 
workers exercised this right. Although few formal strikes actually 
occurred, informal stoppages of work were common.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from labor laws in export 
processing zones. Management in the maquila (in-bond export) sector and 
elsewhere sometimes used protection contracts to discourage workers 
from forming authentic unions at a company. Such contracts were 
collective bargaining agreements negotiated by management and a 
representative of a so-called labor organization without the knowledge 
of the workforce, sometimes even prior to hiring a single worker in a 
new factory. The NGO Human Rights Watch attributed the problem to the 
lack of independent unions that could negotiate strong and fair 
collective bargaining agreements.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, such 
practices commonly persisted in both rural and industrial sectors. 
Migrants and children were the most vulnerable.
    Forced labor by children was a problem (see section 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, including a 
prohibition of forced or compulsory labor; however, the Government did 
not effectively enforce such prohibitions. The law prohibits children 
under age 14 from working, and those between ages 14 and 16 may work 
only limited hours with parental permission, with no night or hazardous 
work. According to UNICEF's most recent statistics, 16 percent of 
children age five to 14 were involved in child labor activities.
    The Secretariat of Labor (STPS) is charged with protecting worker 
rights. Government enforcement was reasonably effective at large and 
medium-sized companies, especially in the maquila and other industries 
under federal jurisdiction. Enforcement was inadequate at many small 
companies and in the agriculture and construction sectors, and it was 
nearly absent in the informal sector in which most children worked.
    During the year, STPS, the Secretariat of Social Development, and 
DIF carried out programs to prevent child labor abuses and promote 
child labor rights, including specific efforts to combat the commercial 
sexual exploitation of children (see section 5). UNICEF stated that, 
despite the Government's progress in reducing its incidence over the 
past 10 years, child labor remained a significant problem.
    It was not uncommon to find girls under the age of 15 working in 
prostitution. Trafficking in children for sexual exploitation was a 
problem (see section 5).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for a daily 
minimum wage, which is set each December for the coming year. For the 
year the minimum daily wages, determined by zone, were: $4.46 (49 
pesos) in Zone A (Baja California, Federal District, State of Mexico, 
and large cities); $4.28 (47 pesos) in Zone B (Sonora, Nuevo Leon, 
Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Jalisco); and $4.19 (46 pesos) in Zone C (all 
other states). The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family, and only a small fraction of the 
workers in the formal workforce received the minimum wage. STPS is 
charged with protecting worker rights, including minimum wage 
provisions in the law, and it did so effectively.
    The law sets six eight-hour days as the legal workweek. Any work 
over eight hours in a day is considered overtime for which a worker 
receives double the hourly wage. After accumulating nine hours of 
overtime, a worker earns triple the hourly wage, and the law prohibits 
compulsory overtime. However, there were labor rights disputes filed 
with labor boards and international labor organizations during the year 
with complaints that workers did not receive overtime pay they were 
owed.
    The law requires employers to observe occupational safety and 
health regulations, issued jointly by STPS and the IMSS. Legally 
mandated joint management and labor committees set standards and were 
responsible for workplace enforcement in plants and offices. Individual 
employees or unions may complain directly to inspectors or safety and 
health officials. Workers may remove themselves from hazardous 
situations without jeopardizing their employment. Plaintiffs may bring 
complaints before the federal labor board at no cost to themselves.
    While STPS and IMSS officials reported that compliance was 
reasonably good at most large companies, there were not enough federal 
inspectors to enforce health and safety standards at smaller firms. On 
February 19, 65 miners died in an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos 
mine in Sabinas, Coahuila. A CNDH investigation found fault with the 
Government's inspection procedures and the employer's efforts to meet 
safety standards. The congressional commission determined that no 
conclusions could be drawn concerning culpability or the cause of the 
incident. Commission members from the PRD and Workers' Party issued a 
dissenting report that laid blame on both the Government and employer. 
At year's end, the Coahuila attorney general was investigating the 
employees of the mining company and local employees of STPS on charges 
of negligence for failure to ensure safe working conditions at the 
Pasta de Conchos mine. At year's end, at least three other 
investigations related to this mining accident were still ongoing.

                               __________

                               NICARAGUA

    Nicaragua is a constitutional democracy with a population of 
approximately 5.4 million. The Presidential term of Enrique Bolanos 
Geyer, who ran as the candidate of the Liberal Constitutionalist Party 
(PLC), was to expire in January 2007. On November 5, Sandinista 
National Liberation Front (FSLN) Presidential candidate Daniel Ortega 
was elected in generally free and fair elections and was to assume 
office on January 10, 2007. While civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some 
cases of human rights abuses reported involving the police.
    The most significant human rights abuses during the year included 
harsh prison conditions; widespread corruption and politicization of 
the judiciary, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), and other 
government organs; harassment and abuse of journalists; 
ineffectiveness, corruption, and politicization of the Office of Human 
Rights Ombudsman (PDDH); domestic violence; abuse and exploitation of 
women; violence against children; widespread child labor; and violation 
of worker rights in free trade zones.
                        respect for human rights
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 during the 
year. Police received a number of allegations from nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs), the media, and private citizens of unlawful 
killings or excessive use of force by police officers. Although the 
courts rarely found officers guilty of wrongdoing, the Office of the 
Police Inspector General (IG), which makes determinations independently 
of court rulings, conducted parallel investigations and administered 
punishments including demotion and dismissal of officers.
    During the year the IG investigated allegations of police abuses 
and remanded to the courts for review 41 cases in which police 
allegedly used excessive force. As of year's end the courts had not 
rendered decisions on any of these cases.
    On May 31, district court judges sentenced Byron Leonel Canteno, 
the personal driver of Managua Police Chief Carlos Bendana, and Lenin 
Alberto Calderon, the son of William Calderon, a close personal advisor 
to Police Chief Bendana, to 18 years in prison for the March 28 killing 
of nightclub owner Jeronimo Polanco. Police investigations revealed 
that the pistol used to kill Polanco belonged to Chief Bendana. Several 
days later Police Commissioner Edwin Cordero and other senior officials 
agreed to suspend Bendana, but shortly afterwards Cordero rescinded 
that decision. On September 29, Aminta Granera ordered Bendana to 
retire based on suspicion of corruption, bribery, and obstruction of 
justice. At year's end there was no further investigation regarding 
Calderon (see section 1.d.).
    In September 2005 police officers Francisco Javier Gonzalez and 
Mayra Ines Altamirano were cleared of all charges in connection with 
the killing of three squatters in a February 2005 land occupation 
confrontation near Chinandega.
    On August 28, former police officer Delvin Jiron was sentenced to 
30 years in prison for the 2004 killings of four police officers at the 
police station in Bluefields. In October the Bluefields Appellate Court 
added seven years to Jiron's sentence.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, the IG reported 
35 cases of injuries inflicted on criminal suspects by police during 
the arrest process (see section 1.d.), in comparison with 79 cases 
reported during the same period in 2005. In addition, the IG reported 
that during the year it had received from detainees 536 complaints of 
human rights violations by police officers, 70 of which were found to 
have merit. Most cases were related to excessive use of force and 
unnecessary use of weapons. The IG's office punished 177 officers for 
violating human rights through dishonorable discharges, demotions, and 
other measures.
    In November a Cuban detainee who escaped from the immigration 
detention center in Managua alleged that while in detention, he 
witnessed immigration officers and senior immigration officials engaged 
in bribery for special privileges, extortion, and prolonged detention 
without access to legal counsel. He also alleged that female detainees 
could avoid deportation or obtain early release in exchange for sexual 
favors provided to immigration officials. At the end of the year there 
was no information available regarding a police investigation of the 
matter.
    By year's end a court found Leonel Duarte Sequeira, who was 
dishonorably discharged in 2005 from the Nicaraguan National Police 
(PNN) for raping a fellow officer in May 2005, not guilty of any 
wrongdoing.

    Prison and Prison Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
remained harsh. A study conducted by the Government's National 
Penitentiary System (SPN) reported that the prison population increased 
by 6 percent during the first half of the year. According to government 
statistics, through December there were 6,060 inmates in prisons 
designed to hold 4,567 prisoners. Some prisons and police holding cells 
were significantly overcrowded and lacked proper sanitation. The 
Bluefields prison held 100 inmates in a prison designed to hold 40 
prisoners.
    The prison system remained underfunded and continued to lack 
adequate medical supplies. For the country's nine penitentiaries and 
6,060 prisoners, the authorities maintained a staff of 28 medical 
specialists. Prison authorities reported that 30 percent of prisoners 
slept on metal bunks or mattresses directly on floors. The SPN reported 
that for each of 511 prisoners with serious mental and physical 
illnesses, the prison system had an average budget of only $0.18 (three 
cordobas) per month to purchase medicine.
    The SPN study also reported that the quality of prison food 
remained poor, and malnutrition remained a problem in local jails and 
police holding cells. Many prisoners received additional food, medical 
supplies, and medical attention from visitors and some religious and 
charitable organizations. Conditions in jails and holding cells 
remained harsh; many facilities had deteriorated infrastructure, lacked 
potable water, and had inadequate electric and sewage systems. Holding 
cells were poorly ventilated, unhygienic, and overcrowded. Suspects 
regularly were left in holding cells during their trials because 
budgetary shortfalls restricted the use of fuel for transfers to 
distant courtrooms.
    On January 23, seven inmates at the Modelo Prison in Tipitapa 
attacked and held hostage a guard, took his keys, and opened the cells 
of three rival gang members whom they beat severely. The seven inmates 
also demanded better living conditions and access to medicine. After 
four hours of failed negotiations, counterterrorism police troops 
discharged 15 sound bombs and rubber bullets to subdue the prisoners 
and rescue the prison guard and the beaten prisoners. Police 
investigated the incident and submitted the case to the prosecutor's 
office, which charged the prisoners with disorderly conduct. At year's 
end the court had not made a ruling regarding the case.
    The Bluefields prison, which the general director of the 
penitentiary system characterized as ``obsolete, deplorable, and 
inhuman,'' had two showers and four toilets for approximately 100 
prisoners and was designed to hold 40 inmates. The authorities 
occasionally released detainees when they could no longer feed them. 
During the year two inmates died, one from an apparent suicide and the 
other from a long-term illness.
    In March a women's prison with capacity for 60 inmates was 
completed in the department of Esteli, making it the second all-female 
prison in the country along with the women's prison in Managua. 
Elsewhere, women were held in separate wings of prison facilities and 
were guarded by female custodians. Although juveniles were generally 
held in prison wings separate from adults, in March SPN opened a small 
detention facility for juveniles, which employed a social worker, a 
psychologist, and a sociologist.
    The Government permitted prison visits by local and international 
human rights observers, and such visits took place during the year.

    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 PNN is a single, 
unified force responsible for law enforcement throughout the country 
and is controlled by the Ministry of government. There were 9,410 
officers and civilian personnel in the PNN and 1,866 voluntary police, 
who filled staffing gaps in some areas. Through December the IG 
reported 18 complaints involving 34 members of the voluntary police, of 
whom 11 were punished.
    Under the joint control of the PNN and the municipal governments, 
municipal police are trained by the PNN, but their equipment and 
salaries are paid by the local governments. Municipal police are 
charged with protecting public property that is directly controlled by 
the municipality, and they have legal authority to arrest and detain 
suspects.
    Inadequate budget support, including low salaries, for the PNN 
hampered efforts to improve police performance and resulted in a 
continuing shortage of officers. The army provided limited support in 
rural areas, primarily to support counternarcotics efforts. Problems 
and rivalries between the PNN and the army undermined operational 
efficiency. Although the IG investigated and remanded to the court 
system or punished through internal administrative measures cases 
involving lower-level officers, corruption and impunity continued to be 
a problem at senior levels within the police force.
    In August an M&R poll revealed that only 15 percent of respondents 
expressed a high degree of confidence in the police, and only 34 
percent expressed a high degree of confidence in the military. 
Approximately 32 percent of respondents perceived police corruption as 
a serious problem.
    Police Commissioner Aminta Granera forced the retirement of three 
senior police officials--the Managua police chief, the head of the 
national drug unit, and the head of the judicial police--based on 
suspicion of corruption, bribery, and obstruction of justice (see 
section 1.a.).
    Police trainees are required to receive human rights instruction to 
graduate from the police academy and become officers, and police 
officers must be recertified in human rights annually. Police reported 
that during the year many officers completed training focusing on 
attitude change that addressed protection of individual human rights. 
The army included human rights training in its core training curriculum 
(see section 4).

    Arrest and Detention.--Persons are apprehended openly, and the law 
requires police to obtain a warrant from a judicial authority prior to 
detaining a suspect and to notify family members of the detainee's 
whereabouts within 24 hours. The law requires that a prosecutor 
accompany police making an arrest. Detainees have the right to an 
attorney as soon as they are arrested. Police may hold a suspect 
legally for 48 hours before they must bring the person before a judge 
to decide if charges should be brought. The judge then must order the 
accused released or transferred to jail. Few prisoners were held 
illegally beyond the 48-hour deadline (see section 1.c.). After the 
initial 48 hours, the suspect has access to bail, visits from family 
members, and legal representation. The IG investigated 127 reported 
cases of arbitrary detention and took administrative action against 69 
officers responsible in accordance with police disciplinary 
regulations.
    Statistics from the NPS indicated that the number of pretrial 
detainees increased during the year, with approximately 21 percent of 
prisoners awaiting final verdicts, compared with 16 percent in 2005.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, the judicial system remained susceptible to 
corruption and politicization. Many judicial appointments were made 
based on nepotism, influence, or political affiliation. Once appointed, 
many judges were subject to political and economic pressures that 
affected their judicial independence.
    The PLC and FSLN continued to manipulate the judiciary, with the 
FSLN utilizing its political control of the judiciary to impede the 
resolution of property claims. By year's end the property appeals court 
had not effectively resolved approximately 1,000 outstanding property 
claims. Many trial courts continued to render controversial judgments 
in cases involving alleged drug traffickers. Appellate courts and the 
Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) overturned convictions of persons found 
guilty of drug trafficking and other defendants with ties to organized 
crime.
    While civil and criminal courts continued to expedite the judicial 
process for those in prison awaiting a final verdict, human rights and 
lawyers' groups continued to complain about the delay of justice caused 
by judicial inaction.
    In June and August Judge Ivania McCrea signed releases for two 
convicted narcotraffickers from Bluefields prison on the grounds that 
they suffered from hemorrhoids and hypertension. According to media 
reports, however, the Bluefield's prosecutor prevented the release of 
the two narcotraffickers.
    On September 26, FSLN Deputy Chief Justice of the CSJ Rafael Solis 
appointed 10 judges to the trial bench. He acknowledged that he made 
these appointments in violation of the provisions of the Judicial 
Career Law.
    On October 17, pursuant to a search warrant, police seized firearms 
from the residence of Juan Carlos Lanuza, who claimed the weapons 
belonged to Nestor Moncada Lau, a former member of the Sandinista state 
security force in the 1980s. At a preliminary hearing on October 20, 
Judge Maria Concepcion Ugarte, who had issued the search warrant, 
dismissed the charges against Lanuza on grounds of alleged 
incongruities in the timing of the operation and procedural 
discrepancies by the police and prosecution.
    Former President Arnoldo Aleman, convicted in 2003 of money 
laundering, fraud, and corruption, remained on medical parole following 
a court decision to release him from house arrest in September 2005.
    The judicial system comprises both civil and military courts. The 
16-member CSJ is the system's highest court, administers the judicial 
system, and nominates all appellate and lower court judges. The CSJ is 
divided into specialized chambers on administrative, criminal, 
constitutional, and civil matters. The law requires that the Attorney 
General investigate crimes committed by and against juveniles. The 
military code requires that the civilian court system try members of 
the military charged with common crimes.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public and juries are used. 
Defendants have the right to legal counsel and are presumed innocent 
until proven guilty. The law provides public defenders to represent 
indigent defendants. Defendants can confront and question witnesses who 
testify against them and also have the right to appeal a conviction. 
The Napoleonic legal process continued to be used for some old cases, 
particularly those which had been on appeal many times.
    The country continued to lack an effective civil law system, with 
the result that private litigants often filed their cases as criminal 
complaints to force one party to concede to the party with more 
influence over the judge rather than face the prospect of detention in 
jail. This civil-based criminal caseload diverted resources from an 
overburdened prosecutor's office.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides that 
persons can bring lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations 
before civil courts. In practice, many members of the judiciary did not 
render impartial judgments in civil matters and were not independent of 
political or other influence. The law also permits litigants to resolve 
civil claims through mediation. Due to bureaucratic inefficiencies, 
litigants unable to resolve claims through mediation often had to wait 
months or years for the courts to process their claims, including 
enforcing domestic court orders. The system was subject to corruption; 
citizens often paid bribes to judicial officials to expedite their 
cases.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family 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.--Although the constitution provides 
for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice, several constitutional provisions 
potentially qualify freedom of the press. The constitution stipulates 
that citizens have the right to accurate information, which means that 
the Government could abridge information that the Government deems 
inaccurate. Although the right to information cannot be subject to 
censorship, the law establishes a retroactive liability, implying the 
potential for sanctions against the press. During the year the 
Government did not invoke these provisions to suppress the media.
    In December the National Assembly overrode a Presidential veto and 
passed the Organic Law, which includes an article empowering 
commissions of the National Assembly to subpoena any resident for any 
reason deemed necessary by the commission. Persons failing to comply 
with a request are subject to between one and three years' 
imprisonment. NGOs complained that the law represented a substantial 
threat to freedom of speech and press.
    Journalists asserted that it remained extremely difficult to 
produce balanced, nonpartisan media content, because political 
interests owned or directly financed most radio and television 
stations. The Presidential election campaign during the year further 
contributed to a sharp narrowing of space for independent journalism. A 
number of station owners pressured journalists to sell advertisement 
space to their candidate or to party-affiliated businesses.
    On January 4, CSJ Justice Rogers Camilo Arguello sent a letter to 
the National Assembly waiving his right to immunity and also publicly 
apologized to journalist Eloisa Ibarra for his December 2005 verbal 
attack on Ibarra for questioning him about alleged involvement in 
embezzling $609,000 (10.44 million cordobas) of drug money the court 
had seized in 2004. On January 16, Ibarra filed a criminal complaint 
against Arguello for slander, but on February 20, the case was 
dismissed on appeal. The President of the Nicaraguan Journalists Union 
criticized the dismissal, alleging that it demonstrated unwillingness 
by the courts to protect journalists from harassment.
    On February 23, the FSLN mayor of Granada, Alvaro Chamorro Mora, 
and approximately 200 supporters blocked the entrance to La Prensa, 
demanding that the newspaper stop publishing articles from 
correspondent Arlen Cerda regarding alleged irregularities in the 
Granada municipal government. On February 28, while Cerda and 
photographer Guillermo Flores covered a meeting of the Granada City 
Council, a number of people surrounding the mayor verbally insulted 
Cerda and tried to assault Flores as he was filming them. The Inter 
American Press Association condemned the Granada mayor's harassment of 
La Prensa and its journalists and called on government authorities to 
guarantee press freedom.
    On two occasions in April unidentified persons in unmarked cars 
stopped El Nuevo Diaro journalist Heberto Rodriguez and threatened him 
with a gun (see section 4). Between January and March Rodriguez had 
published several articles reporting financial abuses and corruption 
concerning Human Rights Ombudsman Omar Cabezas.
    On August 24, the station owner of Univision affiliate Canal 10 
cancelled the airing of a prerecorded interview between correspondent 
Tifani Roberts and Zoilamerica Narvaez, regarding Narvaez's sex abuse 
lawsuit against her stepfather Daniel Ortega, because the station owner 
had reportedly received death threats (see section 5).
    On October 24, journalists Miguel Figueroa Rugama, Famnuel Ubeda 
Henriquez, and Leonidas Rodriguez of Esteli Vision Radio 94.9 FM 
received death threats from a group of FSLN supporters while covering a 
preelection Ortega campaign caravan. The journalists filed a complaint 
with the SEC, the public prosecutor, and the Public Ministry. At year's 
end there were no developments regarding any investigation of the 
matter.
    In November FSLN supporters beat and forcibly removed Canal 2 
reporter Martha Irene Sanchez as she attempted to approach a stage 
where Daniel Ortega was speaking during the FSLN's Presidential 
campaign closing rally in Matagalpa.
    On November 9, the CSJ upheld the 25-year sentence of Eugenio 
Hernandez, under appeal since March 2005, for the 2004 killing of La 
Prensa journalist Maria Jose Bravo Sanchez.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chartrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 
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 recognizes the right to public assembly, 
demonstration, and mobilization in conformity with the law and requires 
demonstrators to obtain permission for a rally or march by registering 
its planned size and location with the police.
    On September 30, following the breakdown of three weeks of labor 
negotiations with company management, employees of the Arrocera 
Altamira company took over the company and blocked the main access 
roads (see section 6). Ten police and three workers were injured, and 
14 workers were detained when police reopened the roads. Police 
released five suspects and filed charges against the remaining nine 
workers for crimes against a governmental authority and its agents. The 
IG's investigation found that the police officers had not committed any 
offense.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right to organize 
or affiliate with political parties, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice. Private associations do not have 
legal status to conduct private fundraising or receive public financial 
support until they receive authorization from the National Assembly.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    All religious organizations, regardless of denomination, are 
required to register for legal standing. The Government's requirements 
for legal recognition of a church are similar to its requirements for 
other private associations (see section 2.b.). A church must apply for 
legal standing, which the National Assembly must approve. Following 
approval, a church must register with the Ministry of government as an 
association or a foundation and with the tax office to obtain tax-free 
status. The registration process was at times lengthy and bureaucratic. 
The Government considers foreign missionary groups seeking to engage in 
activities related to religious work to be temporary residents and 
requires them to obtain a religious worker visa, which the authorities 
routinely provided.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community had fewer than 50 members.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for freedom of movement 
within the country and freedom to travel and emigrate abroad, and the 
Government generally respected these rights in practice. The right of 
citizens to return to the country is not established in the 
constitution, but the Government did not restrict its citizens' return 
in practice.
    Statutory provisions prohibit forced exile, and the Government did 
not employ it.
    There were no reports of political violence against citizens 
returning from civil-war-era, self-imposed exile.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. There was no information available on the number people 
granted refugee status or asylum by the Government during the year.
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.--On November 22, the CSE 
declared Daniel Ortega of the FSLN the winner in the Presidential 
elections with 38 percent of the popular vote in elections described by 
international observers as generally free and fair. Ortega's victory 
was facilitated by a 1999 legislative change that lowered the minimum 
threshold for a first-round victory from 45 percent to 35 percent. Tens 
of thousands of persons were precluded from voting in the Presidential 
elections because the CSE delayed the printing and distribution of 
voter identification documents. In simultaneous legislative elections, 
the FSLN won 38 deputy seats, the PLC 25, the Nicaraguan Liberal 
Alliance (ALN) 22, and the Sandinista Renewal Movement five.
    There were 22 women in the 90-seat National Assembly, four women on 
the 16-member CSJ, and two female ministers of the 12 cabinet-level 
posts. No specific National Assembly seats were set aside for women or 
minorities. As a result of the November 5 election, women were elected 
to 24 out of 92 seats in the National Assembly.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was widespread 
public perception of corruption and political deal making in many 
government institutions, including the judiciary, the National 
Assembly, the CSE, the Office of the Controller General, the PDDH, and 
the Office of the National Prosecutor (see section 1.e.). The law does 
not specify particular corruptive practices or make it a crime to cause 
monetary damage to the state.
    On September 21, the five-year statute of limitations expired in a 
criminal case involving then solicitor general for property Denis 
Maltez's 2001 forgery of official government documents and theft of 
government funds through the undervaluation of $120,000 (2.04 million 
cordobas) of government property. Maltez's undervaluing of the property 
circumvented a legally mandated National Assembly vote and facilitated 
his donation of the property to an NGO operated by then first lady 
Maria Flores de Aleman. In September, after the expiration of the 
statute of limitations for the case, the CSJ appointed Maltez as a 
magistrate for the National Property Court, giving him immunity from 
prosecution.
    There was evidence of pervasive corruption in immigration services. 
In October the Attorney General opened a criminal investigation, 
resulting in the reported suspension of the Director of Immigration 
Services Fausto Carcabelos for facilitating the illegal entrance into 
the country of more than 100 immigrants from various countries, 
authorizing the release of illegal immigrants from custody, and 
conspiring to embezzle more than $600,000 (10,020,000 cordobas) from an 
immigrant repatriation fund. An investigation in November revealed that 
Carcabelos was involved in widespread trafficking of falsified visas 
involving several of the country's embassies and consulates. On 
December 11, President Bolanos reinstated Carcabelos as director of 
immigration services, alleging a lack of progress in the investigation.
    Although the constitution provides for public access to government 
information, no law defines a mechanism for the transmission of the 
information. There were no formal procedures for requesting 
information, explaining why access to information was denied, or 
appealing the denial of a request for access. In practice the 
Government sometimes provided such access for citizens and noncitizens.
Section 4. 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 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views with some 
exceptions.
    The NGO Permanent Human Rights Commission of Nicaragua (CPDH) 
alleged discrimination by the CSJ and CSE due to CPDH's involvement in 
a human rights lawsuit brought in June by members of the Miskito 
indigenous community against several former Sandinista government 
officials (see section 5). CPDH reported that the CSJ refused to 
certify Miskito witness testimonies for an October hearing before the 
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and that the CSE 
refused to accredit CPDH's electoral observers for the November 
Presidential elections. CPDH reported that police authorities did not 
investigate anonymous death threats that CPDH staff and their families 
received throughout the year.
    The autonomous, government-financed PDDH suffered from financial 
problems, politicization, and loss of credibility among civil society 
and was not effective. In March the media produced evidence that Human 
Rights Ombudsman Omar Cabezas used nearly $3,000 (51,000 cordobas) in 
PDDH funds to pay his personal assistant's medical bills. In July the 
comptroller opened an investigation of the PDDH for mismanagement of 
public funds, but as of year's end the PDDH had not complied with the 
comptroller's requests for documents. During the year the ombudsman did 
not publish any reports related to human rights violations.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status, in practice the 
Government made little effort to enforce it. Few discrimination suits 
or formal complaints were filed with government officials.

    Women.--The most prevalent violations of women's rights involved 
domestic and sexual violence, including spousal abuse, which was 
widespread and underreported. The law criminalizes domestic violence 
and provides up to six years' imprisonment for those found guilty. The 
law provides for the issuance of restraining orders for women who fear 
for their safety.
    According to police statistics, 30,000 crimes against women were 
reported during the first six months of the year compared with 32,000 
reported for 2005, an increase of approximately 88 percent. There was 
no information available for the second half of the year. More than 50 
percent of complaints involved domestic violence, and more than 30 
percent of crimes registered with the police were sex crimes. Police 
stated that an unknown proportion of the increase resulted from 
initiatives by police and NGOs to increase public awareness of family 
violence (see section 5).
    Between January and June the Ministry of Family reported a 58 
percent increase in the number of sex abuse cases it handled. The NGO 
Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) received 216 complaints of 
domestic violence in the first six months of the year compared with 197 
for 2005. The NGO Network of Women Against Violence reported that 63 
women were killed during the year due to domestic violence, estimated 
that 60 percent of the country's women had suffered some kind of 
violence, and also reported that only 3 percent of cases of violent 
crimes against women were prosecuted.
    Although laws specifically criminalize intrafamily violence, 
studies released during the year by the Spanish Agency for Cooperation 
and the NGO Ixchen indicated that the law was rarely enforced. Although 
the law forbids mediation in intrafamily violence cases, the SAC study 
reported that authorities referred 57 of the gravest abuse cases to 
mediation.
    The law criminalizes rape. While the law does not treat spousal 
rape as a separate category, the law covers all forms of rape, 
regardless of the relationship between the victim and the accused. 
Women can seek to have the law against rape applied against spouses who 
have sexually assaulted them. The PNN reported receiving 1,066 rape 
complaints between January and October, compared with 1,212 reported 
rape complaints in 2005. Many women were reluctant to report abuse or 
file charges due to the social stigma attached to rape. NGOs asserted 
that the law against rape was not effectively enforced.
    In September Police Commissioner Aminta Granera announced a ``Break 
the Silence'' campaign to raise public awareness about intrafamily 
violence, and help victims of domestic abuse identify themselves as 
crime victims and denounce perpetrators. According to the PNN, the 
campaign trained 5,914 persons to provide victim support. With the 
assistance of police, civil society, and educational institutions it 
also undertook approximately 1,400 awareness-raising educational and 
media information activities. Media and NGO sources reported that 
although the campaign and related efforts encouraged more women to 
speak out about abuse situations, leading to an increase in reported 
cases, the actual number of cases of violence and abuse remained 
underreported.
    During the year the number of women's commissariats increased from 
23 to 27. The commissariats trained 2,080 students, teachers, and 
police on identifying and handling domestic violence situations through 
60 workshops. The commissariats also facilitated 129 discussions on 
related topics involving more than 4,500 persons. The commissariats 
provided social and legal help to women, mediated spousal conflicts, 
investigated and helped prosecute criminal complaints, and referred 
victims to other governmental and nongovernmental assistance agencies. 
As of September 32,165 women had sought help from the commissariats, 
and 10,964 of them had pressed charges against their alleged abusers, 
an increase of 38 percent from 2005.
    There was no resolution by the IACHR of the 2003 complaint of 
Zoilamerica Narvaez that the Government had denied her due process in 
2002 by dropping sexual molestation, harassment, and rape charges 
against her stepfather, President elect Daniel Ortega (see section 
2.a.). In May Narvaez petitioned CPDH and the IACHR to assist in 
reviving her case. The IACHR agreed to hear the case in October but 
postponed and later canceled the hearing. By year's end the IACHR had 
not issued a ruling in the case.
    Prostitution is legal for persons 14 years of age and older, but 
the law prohibits its promotion, including procurement. Prostitution 
was common, and in Managua most prostitutes worked on the streets or in 
nightclubs and bars or offered sexual services in massage parlors. 
According to the PNN there were no reported cases of sex tourism during 
the year. The National Assembly approved a law criminalizing sex 
tourism, imposing a penalty of five to seven years' imprisonment for 
convicted offenders.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment, and those convicted face 
between one and three years' imprisonment, or between three and five 
years' imprisonment where the victim is under 18 years old. During the 
year police reported 298 cases, and the PDDH reported 278 cases, of 
sexual harassment. The Network of Women Against Violence reported that 
the law was rarely enforced and that police statistics did not fully 
reflect the extent of the problem.
    The PDDH and the Nicaraguan Women's Institute (Instituto 
Nicaraguense de la Mujer) are the two principal government entities 
charged with ensuring the legal rights of women. In addition, the PNN's 
Office of the Superintendent of Women is responsible for enforcing the 
law to protect women. According to women's advocacy NGOs, the office 
was the most effective advocate available on behalf of women. Under the 
law, women enjoy the same rights as men, including with regard to 
family and property matters.
    While the Ministry of Family established shelters for children, 
there were no government-operated shelters dedicated for women victims 
of violence and other forms of abuse. The Network of Women Against 
Violence operated the only three shelters in the country that were set 
up to assist women.

    Children.--Although the Government publicly expressed its 
commitment to children's human rights and welfare, it did not 
adequately fund children's programs and primary education.
    The law provides for free and compulsory education through the 
sixth grade. Although some schools continued to require that students 
pay voluntary fees for registration, exams, and other services, by 
year's end the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (MECD) 
reported that these fees had been eliminated in 90 percent of primary 
schools. According to MECD statistics approximately 800,000 school-age 
children did not attend school. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 
data reported that 18 percent and 60 percent of primary and secondary 
school-age children, respectively, did not attend school. Approximately 
19 percent of the population over six years of age was illiterate, 
especially on the Atlantic Coast. According to a report released during 
the year by the Nicaraguan Coordinator of NGOs Working with Children 
and Adolescence (CODENI), although nationwide 66 percent of enrolled 
children finished primary school, on the Atlantic Coast and in the 
Central Region, children completed on the average only 2.1 and 2.7 
years of schooling, respectively.
    PAHO reported that 20 percent of children under the age of five 
suffered from chronic malnutrition. Approximately 25 percent of 
children did not receive adequate medical treatment. Although medical 
care was often limited, boys and girls had equal access.
    Violence against children remained a significant problem. According 
to the Center for Prevention of Violence, one of three girls and one of 
five boys had been the victim of sexual abuse. Between January and 
October police reported approximately 1,322 cases of physical and 
sexual assault, statutory rape, and incest against minors. Additionally 
police reported that 736 minors between 13 and 17 years and 1,230 
minors under 13 were rape victims compared with 639 and 219, 
respectively, throughout 2005. NGOs held that the increase in numbers 
reported reflected a greater willingness among mothers to report 
domestic violence. Government statistics showed that during the year, 
82 minors between 13 and 17 years old died as result of violent crimes. 
The PNN estimated that 10 percent of these victims were younger than 
13.
    Child prostitution remained a problem. The law permits juveniles 14 
years of age or older to engage in prostitution (see section 5, 
Trafficking).
    Child labor was a serious problem (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law states that recruiting or 
enrolling victims for the purpose of prostitution, within or outside 
the country, constitutes trafficking. There were no official statistics 
regarding the scope of trafficking in the country during year. NGOs 
reported that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.
    The country was a source for women and children trafficked for 
sexual exploitation, with Costa Rica and Guatemala the primary 
destinations for victims. Victims were also trafficked to Canada, the 
United States, and El Salvador. Persons trafficked from the country to 
foreign destinations usually were women and girls from poor 
neighborhoods in urban areas; recruited ostensibly as domestic 
servants, nannies, and waitresses; and then forced to work as 
prostitutes in the countries of destination. Between January and June 
the Ministry of Family repatriated 23 trafficking victims from El 
Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. The 
PNN, army, and immigration authorities confirmed media reports that 
young men from southern border areas were trafficked to Costa Rica for 
labor exploitation.
    Trafficking within the country usually involved poor rural women 
and girls drawn to major urban centers to work as prostitutes. Young 
women from poor areas of Managua and border towns were at greatest risk 
from internal and external trafficking. According to PNN and media 
reports, the victims of external trafficking were often approached by 
acquaintances who offered lucrative job offers in neighboring 
countries.
    NGOs reported that many victims were trafficked using legal 
migration procedures. Traffickers sometimes utilized the minimal 
documentation requirements within the C-4 countries of El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras to transport Nicaraguan trafficking 
victims. Traffickers also took advantage of the low price of falsified 
immigration documents to move victims through the country. Unlike in 
the previous year, NGOs indicated that there were no reports of 
trafficking of victims through smuggling by boat across the Gulf of 
Fonseca to Honduras and El Salvador.
    Trafficking carries a sentence of between four and 10 years in 
prison. The maximum penalty is applied against perpetrators in cases 
where the victim is married, less than 14 years of age, or living as a 
concubine with the perpetrator. There is no penalty for attempted 
trafficking. Labor trafficking is not criminalized, and laws against 
commercial sexual exploitation of minors do not protect all adolescents 
under 18 years old.
    During the year the Government initiated seven trafficking 
investigations and closed down businesses where minors were sexually 
exploited. Many victims remained unwilling to assist in investigations 
or prosecutions. According to a report released by the PNN in November, 
traffickers were rarely detained or prosecuted.
    Between January and September the Ministry of Family coordinated 
with the Salvadoran Institute for the Integral Development of Childhood 
and Adolescence to return three girls victimized by traffickers in El 
Salvador. The NGO Casa Alianza reported that it had information about 
eight cases of trafficking during the year. Seven of these cases 
involved children. In one of the cases a trafficker in Chinandega was 
sentenced. Another case was closed due to lack of evidence. A third 
case was ongoing at the end of the year. The Government was not able to 
provide complete information on the number of persons prosecuted or 
convicted for trafficking during the year.
    The Ministry of Family and Ministry of government collaborated with 
civil society organizations to launch a public awareness campaign to 
prevent trafficking in persons. The ministries designated an emergency 
24-hour hot line staffed by social workers, lawyers, and healthcare 
workers to encourage reporting of trafficking incidents, and they 
provided a vehicle to bring victims to safety. By year's end there were 
reports that the hot line service was not fully operational and that 
transportation was often not available.
    The Ministry of government has primary responsibility for combating 
trafficking through its antitrafficking liaison office, which 
coordinates efforts with 16 ministries and autonomous government 
agencies as well as with national and international organizations. The 
Government worked with the International Organization for Migration and 
the NGO Save the Children on investigations of trafficking cases. By 
law the Government is not authorized to extradite its own citizens, 
regardless of the crime.
    The women's commissariats investigate abuse against women and 
children, including trafficking allegations (see section 5). The 
Ministry of government is in charge of the National Coalition Against 
Trafficking in Persons, and the Office of the National Prosecutor is 
charged with prosecuting trafficking cases.
    The Ministry of government continued its awareness and capacity-
building activities throughout the country and held an education 
program in Granada with the Ministry of Tourism to train hotel owners 
and taxi drivers to encourage zero tolerance of commercial sexual 
exploitation of children.
    The Ministry of government reported that during the year the PNN 
had increased its efforts to combat and prevent trafficking in persons 
by disrupting operations, increasing police presence, and targeting 
massage parlors, nightclubs, and other suspected areas of trafficking 
activity.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities, but in practice 
such discrimination was widespread in employment, education, access to 
health care, and in the provision of state services. The Government did 
not effectively enforce the law with regard to protection of persons 
with disabilities. The Government had not legislated or otherwise 
mandated accessibility to buildings for persons with disabilities.
    According to the Ministry of Education, 926 schools offered 
integrated educational programs to approximately 5,000 children with 
special needs compared with 2,500 in 2005. However, only 65 students 
with disabilities were enrolled in regular secondary programs.
    According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Statistics and Census, 
10.25 percent of the population had some type of disability, few of 
whom received adequate medical treatment. Government clinics and 
hospitals provided care for war veterans and other persons with 
disabilities, but the quality of care was generally poor. The 
Government continued a public relations campaign focusing on greater 
integration into society of persons with disabilities. The Ministry of 
Family is responsible for the protection and advancement of rights for 
persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Various indigenous and other 
ethnic groups from the Northern and Southern Autonomous Atlantic 
Regions (RAAN and RAAS) sometimes attributed the Government's lack of 
resources devoted to the Atlantic Coast to discriminatory attitudes 
toward ethnic, racial, and religious minorities that predominate in 
those regions. In contrast with the rest of the country, the regions' 
racial makeup tended to be black and Amerindian. Its religious 
composition was principally Protestant.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous people constituted approximately 5 
percent of the country's population and lived primarily in the RAAN and 
RAAS. The four major identifiable indigenous groups were the Miskito, 
the Sumo, the Garifuna of Afro-Amerindian origin, and the Rama.
    In March the political party of the indigenous Miskito community, 
Yatama, won 13 and six seats in the regional parliamentary elections in 
the RAAN and RAAS, respectively. On March 14, Yatama supporters took 
over the airport, and the office of the Regional Electoral Council 
(CER) in Bilwi and blocked the major east-west road in the RAAN when 
the CER initially awarded the party only 12 of the 13 seats earned in 
the election.
    In June CPDH filed a lawsuit with the CSJ on behalf of the Miskito 
indigenous community. The lawsuit alleged genocide and other serious 
human rights violations against several former leaders of the 
Sandinista regime for the Red Christmas operation and related actions 
taken against the Miskito and other Atlantic Coast communities during 
the 1980s. Those cited in the complaint included then President Daniel 
Ortega, his brother and former head of the Sandinista army Humberto 
Ortega, former Sandinista minister of the interior Tomas Borge, former 
Sandinista director of state security Lenin Cerna, and Omar Cabezas, 
former deputy at the Ministry of the Interior and current human rights 
ombudsman. In October CPDH presented the case before the IACHR (see 
section 4).
    By year's end the Government had not paid an $80,000 (1.36 million 
cordobas) penalty imposed by the IACHR to be paid to Yatama before 
December 31. The penalty was imposed pursuant to the commission's July 
2005 ruling against the CSE's decision to prohibit Yatama from 
participating in the 2000 elections.
    In September the Mayangna indigenous community of Musawas in the 
RAAN became the first indigenous group to complete the registration 
process required by the National Commission of Demarcation and Titling 
to demarcate, title, and register their territory. On the Atlantic 
Coast there were 17 indigenous territories seeking formal demarcation, 
titling, and registration.
    Although the law requires that the Government consult indigenous 
people regarding the exploitation of their areas' resources, as in 
previous years some indigenous groups and organizations, including 
Yatama, complained that government authorities excluded Atlantic Coast 
indigenous people from meaningful participation in decisions affecting 
their lands, cultures, traditions, and the allocation of natural 
resources. Representatives of autonomous regions and indigenous groups 
regularly complained to the Government, media, and NGOs that the 
Government made no effort to invest in infrastructure for the benefit 
of those who lived in those regions.
    The majority of indigenous people in rural areas did not have 
access to modern health care, and deteriorating roads made medicine and 
health care almost inaccessible for many communities. The rates of 
unemployment, illiteracy, and absenteeism of school-age children were 
among the highest in the country. Most of the indigenous population on 
the Atlantic Coast was engaged in subsistence fishing, farming, and 
mining.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although sexual 
orientation is not mentioned specifically, the constitution states that 
all persons are equal before the law and have the right to equal 
protection. The penal code criminalizes homosexual acts with a penalty 
of between one and three years' imprisonment, but this prohibition was 
not enforced.
    The law provides specific protections for persons with HIV/AIDS 
against employment and health services discrimination. During the year 
there were no reports of police or other authorities perpetrating or 
condoning violence against persons based on sexual orientation or HIV/
AIDS status, and there were no reliable statistics on the extent of 
societal discrimination based on sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS status. 
The Government undertook minimal effort to address discrimination based 
on sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS status.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of all 
public and private sector workers, with the exception of those in the 
military and police, to organize voluntarily in unions, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. Workers are not required to notify 
either the employer or the Ministry of Labor in advance of their 
intention to organize a union.
    Although employers are legally required to reinstate workers fired 
for union activity, the Ministry of Labor cannot legally order 
employers to rehire fired workers. Formal reinstatement requires a 
judge's orders. The law allows employers to obtain permission from the 
Ministry of Labor to dismiss any employee, including union organizers, 
provided the employer agrees to pay double the usual severance pay. In 
practice, employers often did not reinstate workers due to weak 
enforcement of the law.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to bargain collectively. A collective bargaining 
agreement cannot exceed two years and is automatically renewed if 
neither party requests its revision. While the Government protected 
this right, in practice it often sought to foster resolution of labor 
conflicts through informal negotiations rather than formal 
administrative or judicial processes. Companies engaged in disputes 
with employees must negotiate with the employees' union if the 
employees are organized. The possible existence of more than one union 
at a place of employment means that several unions, each with different 
demands, may coexist at any one enterprise. The law permits management 
to sign collective bargaining agreements with each union operating at 
the enterprise.
    Although the law recognizes the right to strike, according to labor 
ministry information, there were no legal strikes during the year. The 
law contains burdensome and lengthy conciliation procedures for calling 
a strike. During a strike, employers cannot hire replacement workers. 
If a strike continues for 30 days without resolution, the Ministry of 
Labor will suspend the strike and submit the matter for arbitration.
    On September 30, following the breakdown of three weeks of labor 
negotiations with company management, employees of the Arrocera 
Altamira company began a strike, took over the company and blocked 
access roads. The strike was declared illegal and the police entered 
the facility to restore order. As a result of these actions, police 
arrested nine workers. The IG reported that the police released the 
arrested workers without pressing charges shortly after order had been 
restored (see section 2.b).
    There were repeated allegations of violations of the right to 
organize, especially in the free trade zones (FTZ), where employers 
fired or harassed employees who were trying to form unions. Labor 
organizers reported that these incidents increased in the FTZs after 
the country implemented legislation for the Central America Free Trade 
Agreement in April.
    There were credible reports that the Ministry of Labor issued 
registrations to employer-backed unions within a few days while 
delaying issuance of registrations to independent employee unions for 
months. The ministry also reportedly failed to take corrective action 
for labor violations reported by its inspectors, favored employers in 
union disputes, and revealed the names of union leaders to employers, 
facilitating the leaders' dismissal. There were no statistics 
available, however, to document these patterns.
    Between June and August the FTZ garment factory Atlantics fired 26 
workers affiliated with a union formed in June. The company rehired six 
of the workers on condition that they sign contracts prohibiting them 
from labor organizing. Following an appeal brought by the union, on 
August 31, the Ministry of Labor ordered the factory to ``unfire'' the 
workers, issuing a return to work resolution. On September 1, the 
factory appealed the decision claiming the ministry lacked legal 
authority to reinstate the workers. On September 12, the ministry 
upheld the September 1 appeal by the employer without notifying the 
union of the ministry's reversal of the August 31 order.
    In August the Ministry of Labor reversed a reinstatement order on 
appeal regarding the firing of workers at the FTZ garment factory 
Calypso Apparel. On September 20, the Ministry of Labor referred the 
Atlantics and Calypso Apparel cases, along with a similar dispute at KB 
Manufacturing, where 35 union organizers were fired, to the Labor 
Issues Commission in the National Assembly. In October a special 
subcommission convened to negotiate agreements with Atlantics and 
Calypso Apparel by which the workers were reinstated. At year's end the 
National Assembly had not negotiated a reversal of the firing of the 
union organizers at KB Manufacturing.
    By year's end the FTZ garment factory Mil Colores had fulfilled 
most of its outstanding financial obligations, including providing 
severance payments to workers fired in 2004.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the 41 FTZs. While many workers in the FTZs were represented by one of 
approximately 35 different union organizations associated with five 
labor confederations, less than 10 percent of FTZ workers were union 
members. A number of these unions did not have effective collective 
bargaining power.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
any type of forced or compulsory labor but does not specifically 
address forced or compulsory labor by children, and such practices 
occurred (see section 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Whereas the law provides for the protection of children's rights and 
prohibits any type of economic or social exploitation of children, 
child labor was a widespread problem. According to a study published 
during the year by the National Survey of Adolescent and Child Labor 
(ENTIA), the number of working children under the age of 18 had 
declined by more than 5 percent since the year 2000 to approximately 
239,000, of which approximately 36 percent were under the age of 14. A 
study by the International Labor Organization reported that more than 
25,000 children worked as domestic employees.
    ENTIA statistics revealed that child labor occurred in both urban 
and rural areas and that 76 percent of children were employed in the 
informal sector. More than 60 percent did not receive direct 
compensation for their labor, working instead for a family venture or 
goods in kind. More than 135,000 children worked in agriculture, 
forestry, fishing, and hunting, with the majority working in coffee 
plantations or at a subsistence level to support their families. 
Approximately 22 percent worked in restaurants, hotels, and other 
commercial businesses. The incidence of children engaged in garbage 
scavenging, street vending, and prostitution continued to be a serious 
problem in urban areas (see section 5).
    The labor law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years and 
limits the workday to six hours. Children between 14 and 16 must have 
parental approval to work. Although the law imposes fines for violators 
and permits inspectors to close facilities employing child labor, rules 
controlling child labor rarely were enforced except in the small formal 
sector.
    The National Commission on Child Labor, which includes government 
ministries, local and international NGOs, and the private sector, 
continued its campaign to raise awareness about the problem of child 
labor and its social implications for the country over time. The 
Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but 
the Government did not allocate adequate resources to enable the 
ministry to perform its duties effectively.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The statutory minimum wage is 
set through tripartite negotiations involving business, government, and 
labor and must be approved by the National Assembly. Each key sector of 
the economy has a different minimum wage, which must be reviewed every 
six months. A new minimum wage scale took effect on March 2, ranging 
from $50 (869 cordobas) in the agricultural sector to $117 (2018 
cordobas) in the financial sector. A Central Bank comparison at the 
time of the minimum wage increase revealed that average wages in six of 
the 10 key sectors were above the minimum wage. Agricultural and 
fisheries workers, however, earned an average of only 30 and 19 
percent, respectively, of the mandated monthly salary. In general the 
minimum wage was enforced only in the formal sector. The national 
minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker 
and family. In every sector, the minimum wage was between 30 and 70 
percent below the $174 (3,000 cordobas) that the Government estimated 
an urban family needed monthly for a basic basket of goods.
    Although the standard legal workweek is a maximum of 48 hours, with 
one day of rest, this provision was routinely ignored by employers who 
often claimed that workers readily volunteered for these extra hours 
for additional pay. While the law mandates premium pay for overtime and 
prohibits excessive compulsory overtime, these requirements were not 
always effectively enforced.
    The law establishes occupational health and safety standards, but 
the Office of Hygiene and Occupational Security in the Ministry of 
Labor lacked adequate staff and resources to enforce these provisions. 
Working conditions often did not meet acceptable international 
standards. Workers in some factories in the FTZs complained of poor 
working conditions, unsafe drinking water, forced unpaid overtime, and 
of being told when they could not go to the toilet. In one factory, 
several pregnant women complained that management would not allow them 
to visit the doctor for medical appointments during work hours. The law 
provides workers with the right to remove themselves from dangerous 
workplace situations without jeopardizing their continued employment, 
but many workers were unaware of this right. In the first half of the 
year, CENIDH received 244 complaints related to working conditions from 
various sectors.
    During the year eight lobster divers on the Atlantic Coast died and 
approximately 600 others suffered decompression sickness injuries 
resulting from the failure of employers to provide appropriate 
occupational health and safety training and adequate diving equipment. 
NGOs reported that the Government had not inspected diver working 
conditions during the year. The President of the Divers and Mariners 
Union in the Northern Autonomous Region reported to the media that 
employers had provided basic technical diving training to only 
approximately 2 percent of the 4,000 lobster divers. At year's end the 
Ministry of Health declared that lobster fishing should be suspended, 
and local governments of the Atlantic Coast coordinated with PAHO to 
begin funding a basic lobster diver training program.

                               __________

                                 PANAMA

    Panama, a representative multiparty democracy with an elected 
executive composed of a President and two vice Presidents, has a 
population of approximately three million. In 2004 national elections, 
which were considered by international and domestic observers to be 
generally free and fair, voters elected as President Martin Torrijos of 
the Democratic Revolutionary Party. The civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces.
    Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there continued to be serious problems in several areas. The 
most significant human rights problems included harsh prison 
conditions, with reports of abuse by prison guards; prolonged pretrial 
detention; corruption, ineffectiveness, and political manipulation of 
the judicial system; political pressure on the media; discrimination 
and violence against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination 
against indigenous people and other ethnic minorities; and child labor.
                        respect for human rights
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.
    There were no developments concerning the 2004 request of the 
Fourth Superior Prosecutor that two off-duty Panamanian National Police 
(PNP) officers be tried for homicide in the 2001 killings of two men 
whose bodies were found on the beach in Punta Chame.
    Pursuant to the country's acceptance of responsibility before the 
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for certain crimes 
committed during the 1968-1989 military dictatorship, the Government 
continued to evaluate these cases on an individual basis. By year's end 
the Government had discussed settlement with two families.
    In March the Public Ministry ordered the detention of Ricardo 
Garibaldo in connection with the 1970 disappearance and death of 
Heliodoro Portugal, the subject of a 2002 petition before the IACHR. 
Garibaldo surrendered, was brought to trial, and died on July 6, the 
day the judge was scheduled to rule on his case.
    The Office of Truth Commission Continuation continued its request 
to the Public Ministry to open or reopen 16 cases and to pursue 17 
other cases of killings during the 1968-89 military dictatorship.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    In January the Attorney General named a temporary prosecutor to 
follow up on the Office of the Truth Commission Continuation's 2004 
request to investigate 33 cases, including the 33 cases that the office 
had requested the Public Ministry to open or reopen, of killings or 
disappearances during the 1968-89 military dictatorship. There were no 
new developments regarding the identification of 16 to 20 human bodies 
found in 2004 buried in the former penal island of Coiba. The Office of 
the Truth Commission Continuation and the Public Ministry continued to 
lack funds to conduct DNA tests to identify the remains, and the area 
continued to be unguarded by authorities. Due to bureaucratic delays, 
the Public Ministry did not disburse assigned funds to support 
excavations and investigations regarding the 1971 disappearance of 
Colombian-born Catholic priest Hector Gallego. The commission 
questioned why this particular case received special funding while 
other cases received no additional resources.
    In contrast with 2005 there were no reports from indigenous groups 
of alleged kidnapping or disappearances due to Colombian insurgents in 
Darien Province. In January Colombian insurgents kidnapped and later 
released two Spanish nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers near 
Jaque in Darien Province.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits treatment or punishment that 
harms the physical, mental, or moral integrity of persons.
    Prison guards sometimes physically abused inmates. As of September 
the PNP Office of Professional Responsibility (DRPO) had investigated 
eight cases of police abuse against prison inmates. During the year the 
Office of the Ombudsman (Defensoria del Pueblo) received 17 complaints 
of abuse against PNP guards.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and, in some cases, life-threatening. Many of the problems within 
the prisons continued to be due to overcrowding and lack of separation 
of inmates according to the type or severity of the crime committed. By 
year's end the prison system, which had an official capacity of 7,271 
persons, held 11,575 prisoners. Most prisons remained dilapidated and 
overcrowded. Despite the ombudsman's 2004 recommendation that the 
Government begin closing La Chorrera prison due to overcrowding and 
very unsanitary conditions, it remained open. Abuse by prison guards, 
both PNP and civilian, was a recurrent problem. Between January and 
November police officials received and investigated eight cases of 
alleged abuse by prison guards. DRPO investigations resulted in 
administrative sanctions against 15 agents. As of December the Public 
Ministry was considering the prosecution of two superior officers for 
alleged abuses.
    Medical care for prisoners was inadequate. AIDS, tuberculosis, 
hepatitis B, and other communicable diseases were common among the 
prison population.
    The La Joya and La Joyita prisons resolved water shortage problems 
experienced in 2005. During the year prisoners had access to potable 
water 24 hours per day. By year's end 18 inmates had died due to 
various causes including AIDS, suicide, stabbing, heart attack, 
intoxication, and asphyxiation.
    The General Penitentiary Inspection Directorate (DGSP) replaced 22 
civilian correction officers who were discharged for corruption.
    The DGSP largely depended on 1,200 PNP officers to supply both 
internal and perimeter security at all prisons. There were 610 
custodians for the entire prison system. As in previous years the DGSP 
continued to use regular PNP officers to fill staffing gaps. PNP 
officers sometimes were untrained for prison duty. In prisons 
controlled by the PNP, prisoners complained of ongoing human rights 
violations, such as limited time outside of cells and limited access to 
family visits. Civilian custodians handled inmates within Nueva 
Esperanza, Tinajitas, El Renacer, and the central women's prisons in 
Panama and Chiriqui provinces. The women's prisons used only female 
guards. The DGSP did not have authority to discipline prison guards 
with criminal or civil sanctions but submitted complaints against PNP 
custodians before the PNP. Only the PNP disciplinary board could 
sanction a PNP agent or a custodian.
    Small jails attached to local police stations around the country 
sometimes held prisoners for the entire length of their sentences, but 
police officers who guarded them lacked the necessary custodial 
training to prevent abuses.
    A pilot program for classifying inmates based on type of crime 
committed, which began in El Renacer in 2005, was extended during the 
year to Tinajitas, Nueva Esperanza, and the women's prisons in Panama 
and Chiriqui provinces.
    Even though conditions at women's prisons and at juvenile detention 
centers were noticeably better than at adult male prisons, female 
prisoners, especially in primary detention areas, reportedly suffered 
from overcrowding, poor medical care, and lack of basic supplies for 
personal hygiene.
    With the exception of one modern facility near Panama City, 
juvenile pretrial and custodial detention centers throughout the 
country suffered from inadequate resources to provide for education or 
supervision.
    By year's end 7,153 inmates who had not been convicted remained in 
prison. Pretrial detainees often shared cells with sentenced prisoners 
due to lack of space.
    In contrast with 2005, there were no reports of independent human 
rights groups denied or otherwise impeded access to prisons. The 
ombudsman's office had an established prison visit program, and the 
Government generally allowed ombudsman staff to speak with prisoners 
without monitoring. Prisoners expressed fear of retaliation if they 
complained. The NGO Justicia y Paz, the Catholic Church's human rights 
monitoring group, brought prison abuses to the attention of the 
authorities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions. The law permits exceptions when an officer apprehends a 
person during the commission of a crime, or when an individual 
interferes with an officer's actions. The law provides that suspects be 
brought promptly before a judge. Lack of prompt arraignment, however, 
continued to be a problem. The law requires arresting officers to 
inform detainees immediately of the reasons for arrest or detention and 
of the right to immediate legal counsel. There is a functioning bail 
system, and detainees were allowed prompt access to family members. 
Police arrested and detained children for minor infractions during 
neighborhood sweeps, but there were no credible statistics reported 
during the year on the number of children arrested in these operations 
(see section 5).

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Judicial Technical 
Police (PTJ) and PNP are the only police agencies in the country. 
Although its primary mission is law enforcement, the PNP was also 
detailed for prison and border security. The country has no army. The 
PNP is under the civilian authority of the Ministry of government and 
Justice. There were approximately 15,211 police officers. The PTJ, a 
semiautonomous body with leadership appointed by the Supreme Court of 
Justice, is a separate branch of law enforcement and perform criminal 
investigations in support of public prosecutors. The law includes 
specific guidelines for the use of force, including deadly force; 
requires that police officers respect human rights; and prohibits 
instigation or tolerance of torture, cruelty, or other inhuman or 
degrading behavior.
    Corruption among police officers remained a problem. Although PNP 
and PTJ directors sometimes enforced disciplinary measures against 
officers with proven involvement in illicit activities, in general both 
organizations took corrective actions only in reaction to cases of 
egregious abuses. In December the Attorney General dismissed PTJ Deputy 
Director General Eric Bravo following a March 2005 request by 
authorities to dismiss Bravo on charges of manipulating an 
investigation to favor his personal friends.
    The PTJ and the PNP had offices of professional responsibility to 
act as internal affairs organs for holding officers accountable for 
their actions. Both had staffs of independent investigators, 
administrative authority to open internal investigations, and a defined 
legal process. During the year the PNP increased its internal affairs 
staffing and trained nine investigators to conduct polygraph 
examinations.
    The PNP's deputy director and the secretary general addressed human 
rights problems that arose in the police force. Between January and 
September the PTJ received an average of 26 complaints per month. The 
human rights ombudsman also received complaints against the police for 
abuse of authority but did not provide statistics (see section 4). As 
of December the DRPO had received 1245 complaints against police, 
including 295 cases of abuse of office or unprofessional behavior and 
135 cases of physical mistreatment. Through December the DRPO imposed 
penalties on 330 officers, including reductions in rank, criminal 
prosecutions, and dismissals.
    By year's end the PNP had removed one officer from his job, and the 
criminal court had dismissed provisionally charges against three other 
officers relating to alleged sexual abuse of minors in 2005 in Darien 
Province. The minors were not in police custody or detention at the 
time of the alleged abuses (see section 5).
    The PTJ received complaints from the public, and officers could 
make anonymous complaints of corruption and other problems. By the end 
of the year the PTJ Office of Professional Responsibility had opened 
206 new cases. The PTJ dismissed 31 agents, 14 for abandonment of duty, 
as a result of investigations by its professional responsibility office 
and the human resources office.
    Although the PNP provided some training during the year, including 
physical tactics training in the use of force, not all PNP staff 
members were trained in the use of force. All PNP physical tactics 
trainers received an updated course on the use of non- and less-lethal 
force. The course was adapted to entry level and in-service PNP 
training. The ombudsman's office provided human rights and legal 
training to PNP officers assigned as prison guards.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides for judicial review of the 
legality of detention, mandates the immediate release of any person 
detained or arrested illegally, and prohibits police from detaining 
suspects for more than 24 hours without bringing them before a judge. 
The preliminary investigation phase may last from eight days to two 
months and the follow-on investigation phase another two to four 
months, depending on the number of suspects. The courts and the Public 
Ministry frequently granted extensions of time limits, leaving the 
accused in detention for long periods without formal charges. Court 
officials and other observers criticized judges and prosecutors for 
excessive use of this measure. While the law provides for bail, in 
practice judges often declined to grant it. Detainees were allowed 
prompt access to legal counsel and family members, and the Government 
provided indigent defendants with a lawyer.
    Extended pretrial detention continued to be a serious human rights 
problem, due in part to the use of a written inquisitorial system. 
According to government statistics, approximately 62 percent of 
prisoners were pretrial detainees. The average period of pretrial 
custody was 24 months, and pretrial detention in excess of the maximum 
sentence for the alleged crime was common.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, the judicial system was susceptible to 
corruption and outside influence, including manipulation by other 
branches of government. The President appoints nine Supreme Court of 
Justice magistrates to 10-year terms, subject to National Assembly 
ratification. The Supreme Court of Justice magistrates in turn appoint 
appellate (Superior Tribunal) judges, who appoint circuit and municipal 
court judges in their respective jurisdictions. Although these judicial 
appointments were supposed to be made under a merit-based system, the 
system was undermined by political influence and undue interference by 
higher-level judges.
    At the local level, mayors appoint administrative judges 
(corregidores), who exercise jurisdiction over minor civil cases and 
who hold wide powers to arrest and to impose fines or jail sentences of 
up to one year. Outside of Panama City, this system had serious 
shortcomings. Defendants lacked adequate procedural safeguards. 
Administrative judges usually were not attorneys, had not completed 
secondary education, and in some cases were corrupt. In practice appeal 
procedures were nonexistent. Affluent defendants often paid fines while 
poorer defendants went to jail, contributing to prison overcrowding 
(see section 1.c.).

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides that all citizens charged with 
crimes have the right to counsel, to be presumed innocent until proven 
guilty, to refrain from incriminating themselves or close relatives, 
and to be tried only once for a given offense. If not under pretrial 
detention, the accused may be present with counsel during the 
investigative phase of the proceeding.
    Trials are open to the public. The law provides for trial by jury 
at the defendant's election but only in cases where at least one of the 
charges is murder. Judges may order the presence of pretrial detainees 
for the rendering or amplification of statements or for confronting 
witnesses. Trials are conducted on the basis of evidence presented by 
the public prosecutor. Whereas defendants have the right to be present 
and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, the law permits 
trials without the accused being present under limited circumstances. 
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. 
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and have a right of appeal.
    The law obliges the Government to provide public defenders for the 
indigent. Many public defenders were appointed late in the 
investigation, after the prosecutor already had evaluated the bulk of 
the evidence and decided either to recommend trial or to dismiss the 
charges. Public defenders' caseloads remained extremely high, averaging 
over 450 cases per attorney per year. Ten new attorneys were added to 
the staff during the year, bringing the total number to 47.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and the 
judicial code establish an independent judiciary in civil matters. 
Political manipulation of the judicial system remained a problem, and 
bureaucratic delays hindered access to judicial and administrative 
remedies for human rights violations. There were problems in enforcing 
domestic court orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Whereas the law prohibits such actions and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions, there were 
complaints that in some cases, law enforcement authorities failed to 
follow legal requirements and conducted unauthorized searches.
    In an effort to prevent unauthorized searches, the Public Ministry 
maintained a representative to approve searches in each of the PTJ's 
divisions. The representative approved several searches during the 
year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press. In practice individuals generally enjoyed 
freedom of expression, although there were some attempts to impede it.
    The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views 
without restriction. The Government owned one educational television 
station, SERTV/11, and one radio station, Radio Nacional. The law 
prohibits newspapers from holding radio and television concessions and 
vice versa. International media operated freely in the country.
    Journalists and press freedom advocacy organizations reported that 
the Government engaged in substantial manipulation of the free flow of 
information. Journalists alleged that the Government purchased 
advertising space to reward news organizations for publication of 
stories favorable to the Government and withdrew advertising funding 
from news organizations engaged in unfavorable coverage of the 
Government. There remained pending legal actions against many 
journalists. The IACHR, the Inter-American Press Association, Reporters 
Without Borders, and other groups criticized these measures as efforts 
to censor the press.
    The ombudsman office delegate position responsible for freedom of 
expression and access to information became vacant on February 15. 
Journalists alleged that the absence of a functioning delegate deprived 
them of an important advocate. At year's end no progress had been made 
in 15 libel cases pending against journalists since 2005. There were no 
new developments in the two-million-dollar civil damage lawsuit filed 
by Supreme Court Justice Winston Spadafora against El Panama America 
journalists for defamation of character. Spadafora objected to their 
reporting of his use of public funds to construct a road near his home.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 the right of freedom of assembly and association and the Government 
generally respected it in practice.
    There were no further developments and none were expected regarding 
cases filed with the Public Ministry relating to alleged police 
brutality of 22 persons held in detention as a result of a 2004 
incident in Bocas del Toro involving attempts by antiriot police to 
open roads closed by protesting local residents.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion 
provided that ``Christian morality and public order'' are respected, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    The law prohibits clerics from holding public office, except as 
related to social assistance, education, or scientific research. Roman 
Catholicism enjoyed certain state-sanctioned advantages over other 
faiths, including the teaching of Catholic theology in public schools. 
Parents had the right to exempt their children from religious 
instruction.
    The ombudsman received one complaint from a Rastafarian child 
denied access to public school because of his refusal to cut his hair 
on religious grounds. The case remained pending at year's end.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses, discrimination, or anti-Semitic acts. There was a 
Jewish population of approximately 10,000 persons.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice. A 9:00 p.m. curfew 
directed at unaccompanied minors in Panama City and San Miguelito 
remained in effect.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its 
use.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government sometimes granted refugee status or asylum.
    A 1998 decree grants protection to all persons entering the country 
due to ``state persecution based on race, gender, religion, 
nationality, social group, or political opinion.'' The decree grants 
two months' temporary protection to ``displaced persons'' in the case 
of a large influx. In practice the Government did not enforce the two-
month time limit. The 1998 decree provides for a meeting by the 
Government's refugee commission every three months to determine the 
status of persons seeking refugee status. The commission met three 
times during the year and granted asylum to 135 persons. In December 
the commission granted refugee status to 42 persons from the indigenous 
Wounaan community who came to the country in May from Colombia's Darien 
Province.
    The Government also provided temporary protection to individuals 
who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 
Protocol and provided it to approximately 901 persons during the year.
    According to the Office of the UN High Commission for Refugees 
(UNHCR), there were 901 displaced Colombians under temporary protective 
status in the country. Many of them had given birth to children in the 
country. There often were problems in registering these children as 
citizens due to lack of documentation. The Government did not permit 
displaced Colombians to move or work outside of their assigned 
villages. Although the Government was reluctant to classify displaced 
Colombians as refugees, it took some steps with the Government of 
Colombia and UNHCR to regularize the status of these Colombians under 
other immigration categories. Some of the Colombians had lived in the 
country for years without formal refugee status. The 901 displaced 
Colombians who remained in the country informed the Government and 
UNHCR that they did not want to return to Colombia due to family and 
cultural ties with local communities among whom they lived.
    The Government cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. UNHCR had a 
permanent office for the country operating out of Panama City and was 
granted unimpeded access to refugees and UNHCR project sites.
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. The law 
provides for direct popular election by secret ballot of the President, 
the vice President, legislators, and local representatives every five 
years. Naturalized citizens may not hold certain categories of elective 
office.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Democratic Revolutionary 
Party candidate Martin Torrijos won the presidency in 2004 national 
elections characterized by domestic and international observers as 
generally free and fair.
    The law requires new political parties to meet strict membership 
and organizational standards to gain official recognition and 
participate in national campaigns. The law also requires political 
parties to be structured democratically, permits independents to 
campaign for the National Assembly, increases the autonomy of the 
Electoral Tribunal, and limits the immunity of representatives in the 
National Assembly by permitting the Supreme Court of Justice to 
prosecute criminal cases against representatives.
    Women held 11 of 78 seats in the legislature. There were three 
women in the 13-member cabinet and two female judges on the Supreme 
Court of Justice, one of whom was black and appointed as chief justice. 
The Attorney General was a woman.
    There were five dedicated seats in the 78-seat legislature to 
represent the country's recognized indigenous regions. In general 
deputies in the legislature, the cabinet, and the Supreme Court of 
Justice did not identify themselves as members of ethnic or racial 
minorities.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--According to the NGO 
Transparency International, a perceived level of serious domestic 
corruption worsened during the year. Political parties, the National 
Assembly, police and the judiciary were perceived as the most corrupt 
government entities.
    During the year the Attorney General's office and the comptroller 
general's office implemented broad institutional reforms to improve 
their capacity to prosecute corruption through a multidisciplinary 
anticorruption task force.
    The transparency law provides public access, including from foreign 
media, to information from and about public entities, with the 
exception of cabinet meeting minutes. When requests were denied, the 
reasons for the denial were given. Requesters can appeal access 
decisions to the Supreme Court of Justice.
Section 4. 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.
    The human rights ombudsman's office had moral but no legal 
authority. It operated without government or party interference and had 
adequate resources. The Government cooperated with the ombudsman. 
During the year the office received one anonymous complaint against a 
local government official for corruption.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuse, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, but there were allegations that 
these prohibitions were not always effectively enforced.
    Although the law specifically prohibits discrimination involving 
entry to public or commercial establishments and sets fines from $250 
to $1,000 (250 to 1000 balboas) for violations, many commercial 
establishments continued openly to operate a ``right of admission'' 
policy, discriminating against dark-skinned individuals of lower social 
status. Cases of discrimination were difficult to prove, with 
complicated, time-consuming, and costly legal remedies for victims.

    Women.--Domestic violence against women continued to be a serious 
problem. The Family Code criminalizes rape, spousal rape, and family 
violence, including psychological, physical, or sexual abuse, and 
provides prison terms of one to five years. Convictions for rape were 
rare, and statistics on convictions were not available. There were few 
convictions for domestic violence because victims generally chose 
spousal therapy over prosecution. Abusers were commonly convicted of 
unintentional killing in cases of spousal death. Between January and 
September the PTJ had registered 1,224 cases of domestic violence, 588 
cases of rape, and 120 cases of attempted rape. The PTJ reported that 
it investigated every case it received during the year. Between January 
and December the DRPO reported that it had received 336 cases of 
domestic violence and one case of rape committed by officers. The DRPO 
dismissed the officer accused of rape.
    Spouses or other family members frequently perpetrated domestic 
violence. The Foundation for the Promotion of Woman and the Center of 
Colon Women, among other women's advocacy groups and government 
agencies, operated programs to assist victims of abuse and to educate 
women on their legal rights.
    Prostitution was legal and regulated, but there was no information 
available during the year on the extent to which it occurred.
    Trafficking in women was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in cases of established 
employer/employee and teacher/student relations, and violators can 
receive one- to three-year prison sentences. The extent of the problem 
was difficult to determine because convictions for sexual harassment 
were rare, and pre-employment sexual harassment was not actionable. Due 
to the small number of cases brought before the courts, effectiveness 
of law enforcement could not be ascertained.
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, and women 
enjoy the same rights as men, including rights under the family law, 
the property law, and the judicial penal system. Although the law 
recognizes joint or common property in marriages, the Government did 
not allocate sufficient resources to enforce the law effectively.
    The law mandates equal pay for men and women in equivalent jobs, 
but in practice women on the average received wages that were 30 to 40 
percent lower than those received by men. Although women constituted 
the majority of workers in many service jobs, they occupied only 40 
percent of management and executive positions. There were some reports 
of irregular hiring practices based upon age and appearance.
    The Ministry of Social Development, through the National 
Directorate of Women, promoted equality of women in the workplace and 
equal pay for equal work, attempted to reduce sexual harassment, and 
advocated legal reforms. A number of private women's rights groups 
disseminated information about the rights of women, countering domestic 
abuse, enhancing employment and other skills, and pressing for legal 
reforms.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. Education is compulsory through the ninth grade, and the law 
establishes free public education through high school. Children did not 
always attend school due to traditional attitudes, financial and 
economic constraints, lack of transportation, and scarcity of secondary 
schools. The problem was most extreme in Darien Province and among 
indigenous groups. According to the 2000 census, the most recent 
available, 65 percent of persons nationally between the ages of 15 and 
19 had some schooling beyond the sixth grade. In the Embera and Ngobe-
Bugle indigenous regions, however, only approximately 18 percent of 
persons ages 15 to 19 had schooling beyond the sixth grade.
    Schools did not differentiate in their treatment between boys and 
girls. School attendance figures were identical for boys and girls 
through elementary school. Beginning at the junior high level, more 
girls attended schools than boys (130,000 versus 125,000).
    The Government furnished basic health care for boys and girls on an 
equal basis through local clinics run by the Ministry of Health, but 
clinics were difficult to reach from rural areas and often lacked 
medicine. Malnutrition and inadequate medical care were generalized 
problems and were most severe among rural indigenous groups. A central 
children's hospital in Panama City operated with government funds and 
private donations.
    Through September the PTJ registered 505 cases of child abuse and 
neglect. Sexual abuse, including incest, accounted for 201 of these 
cases. Lack of reporting remained a problem, often because of parental 
involvement or complicity. Sexual abuse of children was reported in 
both urban and rural areas, as well as within indigenous communities.
    The Ministry of Social Development received complaints regarding 
physical abuse of children. The ministry maintained a free phone line 
attended by psychologists and social workers for children to call to 
report abuses and implemented a television campaign encouraging its 
use. By June the ministry had received an average of 424 calls per day 
mainly related to neglect and physical and emotional abuse. Victims 
were directed to police authorities, hospitals, and protection centers 
for support.
    Due to inadequate government resource allocations and training, 
family courts continued to render controversial decisions, including 
the return of children to abusive situations. The juvenile penal courts 
in Panama and Colon provinces reported 143 new cases against juveniles.
    Gang recruitment of minors by young adults, especially in Panama 
City and San Miguelito, continued to increase, with recruiters focusing 
on procuring youth to engage in killing for hire. Police arrested and 
detained children for minor infractions during neighborhood sweeps.
    At year's end charges were dismissed provisionally against three 
high-ranking police officers under investigation since 2005 for sexual 
abuse of minors in Darien Province (see section 1.d.).
    Trafficking in children and child labor were problems (see sections 
5, Trafficking, and 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and 
within the country. The magnitude of the problem was difficult to 
determine because the country was a transit point for illegal economic 
migrants who were not forced into prostitution or debt bondage but who 
used similar smuggling routes. It was thought that women and children 
were trafficked during the year within the country for purposes of 
sexual exploitation, but there were no statistics available on numbers 
of persons actually trafficked within the country.
    The Ministry of government and Justice is responsible for 
developing policies to reduce trafficking in persons, and the Ministry 
of Social Development has responsibility for protecting victims through 
shelters and related services. The PTJ Sex Crimes Unit is charged with 
investigating and arresting persons involved in trafficking.
    The law criminalizes trafficking and pornography and proscribes the 
promotion of sex tourism and use of the Internet for soliciting victims 
for trafficking and sexual exploitation. Persons who engage in human 
trafficking for purposes of sexual activity can receive five to eight 
years in prison, or in the case of a minor, eight to 10 years. The law 
permits undercover operations and the monitoring of suspects' computers 
in sex crime cases. There were no convictions during the year of any 
individuals engaged in trafficking of persons.
    The National Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Crimes 
(CONAPREDES) provided additional funding for combating trafficking and 
for victims' assistance.
    There was evidence that rural children were trafficked internally 
to work as domestic servants in urban areas. The country also was a 
destination point for trafficked women. Colombia remained the primary 
country of origin for trafficked women. Although many Colombians came 
willingly to the country apparently intending to become prostitutes, 
anecdotal evidence suggested that some were forced to continue as 
prostitutes after they sought to end their involvement.
    The country was a transit point for persons in prostitution from 
Colombia to other Central American countries and the United States. 
Although some of these women were assumed to be trafficking victims, 
the Government could not verify numbers. Alien smuggling remained a 
widespread problem. Most aliens came from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, 
China, and India. They transited the country by means of smuggling 
networks in route to the United States. Some were trafficked for debt 
bondage, including Chinese debt bondage in the country. The 
Government's consular officers in Jamaica, Guatemala, and Mexico 
provided assistance to Panamanian trafficking victims in those 
countries.
    The Government allocated inadequate funding and resources to the 
PTJ Sex Crimes Unit. As of December the unit had investigated five 
cases of sexual trafficking, 24 cases of child pornography, 21 cases of 
procurement of persons for commercial sexual activities, four cases of 
sexual tourism, and eight cases of child molestation. The prosecutor's 
office initiated its own investigations. The Government did not provide 
the prosecutor with adequate resources to conduct undercover 
investigations or to perform its other duties. The Public Ministry 
received three reported cases of trafficking in persons in Panama City. 
Information sharing between the Government and other countries 
occurred, but it needed to be strengthened as did coordination among 
the PTJ Sex Crimes Unit, the PNP, and immigration authorities.
    The PNP and the Immigration Department conducted raids every two to 
three months on bars and brothels, but lack of government funding 
limited undercover operations. There were no further developments in 
the case of a foreign national who owned a club with female dancers and 
was charged with procurement in May 2005, nor were there further 
developments regarding the May 2005 investigation by immigration 
authorities and the PTJ of a massage club where Colombian workers 
complained that the owners seized their passports.
    In many of the cases investigated for possible trafficking 
violations, defendants alleged that the purported trafficking victim 
could not have been trafficked because that person entered the country 
as a visitor and then applied for an alternadora visa. The holder of an 
alternadora visa is legally permitted to engage in commercial sexual 
activities. During the year the Immigration Department reinstated the 
alternadora visa despite opposition from the Attorney General's office.
    Commercial sexual exploitation of minors continued to be a problem. 
Commercial sexual exploitation remained primarily an internal issue. 
Perpetrators, however, included foreigners, and there continued to be 
limited evidence of international trafficking networks of minors to or 
through the country.
    The law does not hold trafficking victims criminally responsible 
for prostitution or immigration crimes. The law provides for 
indemnification of victims of trafficking, even if they return to their 
native country, and for costs of medical and psychological treatment, 
temporary housing, legal fees, and emotional suffering.
    The Ministry of Social Development continued providing shelter and 
other services to victims of commercial sexual exploitation, using 
substitute families, its own shelter, and the shelter of an NGO it 
subsidized.
    During the year the Government worked with the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) on trafficking issues, including the production of 
1,056 pamphlets on sexual exploitation and trafficking for distribution 
to public school educators. On August 31, the ILO and CONAPREDES held a 
workshop for media owners on awareness of trafficking issues and victim 
protection. Throughout the year the ILO and CONAPREDES conducted a 
media campaign on trafficking awareness including two television 
commercials and four posters.
    NGO and government efforts in prevention and education remained 
limited by inadequate allocation of governmental resources and 
coordination problems.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination based 
on physical or mental disability. While awareness of disability issues 
increased under the Torrijos administration, substantial discrimination 
continued against persons with disabilities in employment, education, 
access to health care, and in the provision of other state services. 
Most public schools did not have adequate facilities for children with 
special needs. The Government took some steps, including installing 
ramps in schools and some mainstreaming of children with disabilities, 
to decrease discrimination. The law mandates access to new or remodeled 
public buildings for persons with disabilities and requires that 
schools integrate children with special needs. During the year 
approximately 175 public schools built ramps and admitted children with 
mental and physical disabilities. Children with severe disabilities 
were not included in the mainstreaming effort. Most public schools did 
not have adequate facilities for children with special needs. Private 
schools built ramps to comply with the law mandating access. Very few 
private schools, however, admitted children with special needs. During 
the year the ombudsman's office received 22 complaints of violations of 
the rights of persons with disabilities.
    The National Secretariat for the Social Integration of Persons with 
Disabilities (SENADIS) was responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities. It coordinated and provided technical 
assistance to government and civil society efforts to decrease 
discrimination against and increase inclusion of persons with 
disabilities. The Council for the Social Integration of the Disabled 
supported SENADIS and consisted of members of civil society and several 
ministries. The Ministry of Education was responsible for educating and 
training minors over the age of four with disabilities, while the 
Ministry of Social Development provided training to children under 
four. Pursuant to a January commitment by several government agencies 
to fund rehabilitation centers, in July authorities opened two new 
centers for children with disabilities in Chiriqui and Veraguas 
provinces.
    The Ministry of Labor was responsible for placing workers with 
disabilities in suitable jobs. Placement remained difficult due to 
employer reluctance to hire workers with disabilities despite a legal 
requirement that at least 2 percent of personnel be persons with 
disabilities. Persons with disabilities also tended to be paid less 
than employees without disabilities for performing the same job.
    Panama City's building code requires that all new construction 
projects meant to serve the public shall be accessible to persons with 
disabilities, with fines for the public sector between $100 and $500 
(between 100 and 500 balboas) for noncompliance. A national law with 
similar requirements for new construction projects generally was not 
enforced, and in some cases the ramps built did not comply with the 
minimum legally required lengths and widths. Some handicapped-
designated parking spaces were not wide enough to allow for exit and 
entry of wheelchairs from vehicles. SENADIS began a campaign to 
increase voluntary compliance.
    During the year the Government began a project to train 800 low-
income families with at least one member with disabilities to open 
microbusinesses. The Government also inaugurated the remodeled 
facilities of the city's largest rehabilitation center at a cost of 
$150,000 (150,000 balboas). The Government also began disbursing one 
million dollars (one million balboas) in subsidies to 800 low-income 
parents of children with disabilities. The Government donated 
rehabilitation equipment, including crutches, wheelchairs, and cerebral 
palsy chairs to persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minority groups generally have 
been integrated into mainstream society, but there remained problems 
with discrimination against blacks, indigenous people, and other ethnic 
communities. Discrimination against the country's newer immigrants, 
especially Chinese, sometimes was overt. There were an estimated 150 
thousand to 200 thousand persons of Chinese descent. Cultural 
differences and language difficulties hindered many Chinese immigrants 
from fully integrating into mainstream society. Racial slurs directed 
at Asians continued to be used openly among the general population, and 
substantial numbers of first-generation resident Chinese frequently 
were subject to discrimination. Second- and third-generation Chinese 
were seen as distinct from recent immigrants and generally were 
accepted in society if they assimilated.
    Along with the Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian residents also 
continued to suffer from discriminatory treatment. All three groups 
often worked in the country's retail trade, particularly in urban 
areas. Immigrants were accorded fewer legal protections than citizens 
for their trade activities. A constitutional provision reserving retail 
trade for citizens of the country was not enforced generally. By law, 
however, immigrants are not permitted to own their businesses as sole 
proprietorships and sometimes encountered bureaucratic difficulties in 
practicing their professions.
    Racism against blacks was generally subtle and often connected with 
admission or entry to restaurants, clubs, and other commercial 
establishments. Blacks comprised at least 14 percent of the population 
but were underrepresented in the highest positions of political and 
economic power. Many blacks remained clustered in the economically 
depressed province of Colon and poorer neighborhoods of Panama City.
    The country's lighter-skinned elite discriminated against citizens 
with darker skin through preferential hiring practices in the private 
sector and manipulation of government resources in the public sector.
    Racial discrimination against various ethnic groups was evident in 
the workplace. In general lighter-skinned persons were represented 
disproportionately in management positions and jobs that required 
dealing with the public, such as bank tellers and receptionists.

    Indigenous People.--The law affords indigenous persons the same 
political and legal rights as other citizens, protects their ethnic 
identity and native languages, and requires the Government to provide 
bilingual literacy programs in indigenous communities. Indigenous 
persons, comprising approximately 9.5 percent of the population, have 
the legal right to take part in decisions affecting their lands, 
cultures, traditions, and the allocation of natural resources. There 
were indigenous regions governed by tribal chiefs for five of the 
country's seven indigenous groups, including the Embera-Wounaan, Ngobe-
Bugle, and Kuna. The much smaller Bri-Bri and Naso communities, 
residing near the border with Costa Rica, did not have officially 
recognized indigenous regions.
    The Ministry of government and Justice maintained an Office of 
Indigenous Policy. Although federal law is the ultimate authority on 
indigenous reserves, local groups maintained considerable autonomy. The 
Government recognized traditional Kuna marriage rites as the equivalent 
of a civil ceremony. Laws protect intellectual property rights of 
indigenous artwork and establish regulations for artisan fairs. Despite 
legal protection and formal equality, indigenous people generally had 
higher levels of poverty, disease, malnutrition, and illiteracy than 
the rest of the population. The poverty rate among the indigenous 
population was estimated at between 90 and 98 percent, depending on the 
group.
    With the exception of the Kuna Yala, whose leaders enforced their 
territorial boundaries and maintained their cultural integrity, 
indigenous groups had not succeeded in using their autonomy to preserve 
their culture or develop economic independence.
    Because many indigenous persons did not have an adequate command of 
Spanish, they often misunderstood their rights and failed to employ 
legal channels when threatened. The Government did not provide legal 
tribunals in indigenous areas and failed to attend to specific 
indigenous property and resource use rights problems. The Kuna of the 
Madugandi indigenous region complained of encroachment by settlers who 
were deforesting their lands. The Ngobe were under threat due to the 
isolation of their reserve, encroachment by settlers, and generalized 
poverty. The Embera-Wounaan struggled to protect their intellectual 
property rights concerning medicinal plants.
    Social and employment discrimination against indigenous people was 
widespread. Employers frequently did not afford indigenous workers 
basic rights provided by the labor laws such as minimum wage, social 
security benefits, termination pay, and job security. Indigenous 
laborers in the country's sugar, coffee, and banana plantations 
continued to work under worse conditions than their nonindigenous 
counterparts. Indigenous migrant workers were unlikely to be provided 
with quality housing or food, and their children were much more likely 
to work long hours of heavy farm labor than nonindigenous children (see 
section 6.d.).

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--A law prohibiting 
homosexuality was not enforced. The March gay pride parade was headed 
by former Miss Universe Justine Pasek, who asked for tolerance. The NGO 
New Men and Women of Panama averred that employers discriminated 
against openly gay people.
    The law prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS in 
employment and education, but discrimination continued to be common due 
to ignorance of the law and of HIV/AIDS. The Government provided 
treatment for HIV/AIDS in at least 80 percent of cases through the 
Ministry of Health and Social Security, but the Government had problems 
maintaining retroviral medication in stock.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law recognizes the right of 
private sector workers to form and join unions of their choice, subject 
to the union's registration by the Government. The law sets the minimum 
size of private sector unions at 40 workers and permits one union per 
establishment. Umbrella unions based on skill groups may also operate 
in the same establishment. The law provides that if the Government does 
not respond to a registration application within 15 days, the union 
automatically gains recognition with all rights and privileges under 
the law. Union associations complained that such automatic registration 
did not function in practice. Employees of small companies may organize 
under a larger umbrella group of employees with similar skills and form 
a union as long as they number at least 40 persons. The law also allows 
labor leaders to keep their union positions if fired from their jobs.
    There were no developments regarding the 2005 request by the ILO 
Committee of Experts that the Government take measures to amend 
national legislation requiring a minimum of 50 public servants to 
establish a union.
    By year's end there were no reliable statistics on the percent of 
the total labor force that was organized.
    There were no developments during the year regarding demands by 270 
dismissed public-sector electricity and telecommunications workers for 
compensation additional to the Government's November 2005 payment of 
$800,000 (800,000 balboas) to them resulting from a 2001 ruling of the 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
    The Government and political parties exercised political, 
ideological, or financial influence over some unions.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides all private sector and most public sector workers with the 
right to organize and bargain collectively, and private worker unions 
exercised this right widely. The law establishes a conciliation section 
in the Ministry of Labor to resolve private labor complaints and 
provides a procedure for mediation.
    Public workers had an association consisting of 21 public worker 
associations, but this association did not strike or negotiate 
collective bargaining agreements because only approximately 14.5 
percent of government workers were protected from arbitrary dismissal 
as certified career employees. During the year the ombudsman's office 
reported that it had received 214 complaints of alleged unjustified 
dismissal from public employees. The law grants some public employees a 
limited right to strike, except for those in areas vital to public 
welfare and security such as police and health workers. At least 25 
percent of the workforce must continue to work to provide minimum 
service in the case of administrative workers, and 50 percent of 
workers providing ``essential public services,'' such as 
transportation, firefighting, telecommunications, and mail, must 
continue to provide those services. There was no information regarding 
whether the Government had responded to the ILO Committee of Experts 
2005 comments that inclusion of transport workers under the law 
regarding limitation on strikes in essential services sectors went 
beyond essential services in the strict sense of the term.
    The law prohibits federations and confederations from calling 
strikes. There were no developments regarding the request by the ILO 
Committee of Experts in 2005 that legislation be amended to permit 
federations and confederations to enjoy the right to strike.
    The law governing the autonomous Panama Canal Authority prohibits 
the right to strike for its 9,000 employees but does allow unions to 
organize and to bargain collectively on such issues as hours and safety 
and provides for arbitration to resolve disputes.
    Employers in the retail industry commonly hired temporary workers 
to circumvent labor code requirements for permanent workers. In lower-
skilled service jobs, employers often hired employees under three-month 
contracts for several years, sometimes sending such employees home for 
a month, and later rehired them. Employers also circumvented the law 
requiring a two-week notice for discharges by dismissing some workers 
one week before a holiday. Due to labor laws that made it difficult to 
fire employees who had worked two years or more, it was not uncommon to 
hire workers for one year and 11 months and subsequently lay them off.
    Employers increasingly negotiated directly with unorganized workers 
before unions formed or had a majority presence in the workplace. 
According to data from the Ministry of Labor, since 1990 approximately 
645 of 998 collective agreements were negotiated directly between 
employers and workers.
    Unions and collective bargaining are permitted in export processing 
zones (EPZs). There was no information regarding any response by the 
Government to the ILO Committee of Experts 2005 request that the 
Government confirm whether workers in EPZs have the right to strike. A 
strike is considered legal only after 35 workdays of conciliation are 
exhausted; otherwise, striking workers can be fined or fired. The law 
regarding EPZs does not mention arbitration or specify procedures to 
resolve labor disputes in the courts.
    The same labor laws governing EPZs apply to call centers. There 
were approximately 945 employees in the country's 13 EPZs and up to 
10,000 employees in 34 call centers. Minimum wage provisions apply in 
the EPZs and call centers, and wages were generally higher in the call 
centers than in the economy as a whole. In the EPZs, workers could 
agree to take the law's compulsory Sunday rest period on another day 
and to receive overtime compensation based on a straight 25 percent 
differential, compared to a complex and costlier system under the Labor 
Code.
    The law establishing the special economic area in the former Howard 
Air Force Base contains provisions intended to facilitate greater labor 
flexibility along the lines of the minimum wage and required rest day 
provisions employed in the EPZs. Workers in this special economic area 
have the right to strike, organize, and engage in collective 
bargaining.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by adults and children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law contains provisions to prevent exploitation of children in the 
workplace. The Ministry of Labor has responsibility for enforcement. 
Although the Government allocated inadequate staffing and funding, the 
ministry was reasonably effective in enforcing the law regarding child 
labor in the formal sector. As of December the ministry had performed 
369 inspections of businesses in Panama City to ensure compliance with 
child labor regulations, as well as 139 inspections in the interior of 
the country. Child labor in agriculture and in the informal sector of 
the economy, however, remained a problem.
    On June 12, the Government issued a decree identifying the worst 
forms of child labor in the country, and proscribing child labor 
involving inherently dangerous activities, including work performed 
underground, using dangerous chemicals, using heavy machinery, as well 
as work involving construction, selling alcoholic beverages, garbage 
collection, and domestic service in homes.
    The law prohibits the employment of children under 14 years of age, 
with the exception that children age 12 and over are permitted to 
perform light farm work for up to six hours per day that does not 
interfere with their school hours. The law prohibits the employment of 
children under age 15 if the child has not completed primary school. 
Child labor was a problem in some provinces and some economic sectors.
    Children under age 18 legally cannot work more than six hours per 
day and cannot work at night. The law includes a prohibition on 
employment of minors under the age of 18 in hazardous labor. The 
Ministry of Labor enforced these provisions in response to complaints 
and could order the termination of unauthorized employment. The 
Government acknowledged that it was unable to enforce some child labor 
provisions in rural areas, and it conducted only limited inspections 
due to insufficient staff (see section 6.e.).
    Child labor violations occurred most frequently in rural areas, in 
both subsistence and commercial agriculture, especially during the 
harvest of sugar cane, coffee, palm, melons, and tomatoes. Farm owners 
often paid according to the amount harvested, leading many laborers to 
bring their young children to the fields to help with the work. Unlike 
last year, there were no credible reports that child labor continued in 
the commercial banana sector.
    The problem of child labor in agricultural areas fell most heavily 
on indigenous families, who often migrated out of their isolated 
reserves in search of paid work (see section 5). These frequent 
migrations interrupted schooling.
    Child domestic labor was a problem. According to the 2000 census, 
more than 6,000 children between the ages of 10 and 17 worked as 
domestic servants. Government enforcement of domestic labor violations 
was traditionally weak because the place of work was a private 
residence.
    Many children continued to work in the informal sector of the 
economy as street vendors, shoe shiners, car window washers, grocery 
baggers in supermarkets, trash pickers, or beggars. A 2005 ILO survey, 
the most recent available, estimated that 52,000 children between the 
ages of five and 17 worked in the informal sector. The Government 
estimated that there were 15,000 children employed or working on their 
own informally in urban areas. Approximately 45 percent of these 
children did not attend school.
    The Government, the ILO, and the NGO Casa Esperanza funded a 
campaign of television commercials and advertising to stop child labor. 
Casa Esperanza operated 56 centers throughout the country to reduce 
child labor, and through its DESTINO project it operated 41 educational 
centers for children and youth.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law establishes minimum wage 
rates for specific regions and for most categories of labor, excluding 
public sector workers. The minimum wage ranged from $0.89 (0.89 
balboas) to $1.68 (1.68 balboas) per hour, depending on the region and 
sector. This wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. The estimated annual poverty income level was $953 
(953 balboas), which was below the minimum wage level. Most workers 
formally employed in urban areas earned the minimum wage or more. 
Approximately 40 percent of the population, however, worked in the 
large informal sector and earned far below the minimum wage. This was 
particularly the case in most rural areas, where unskilled laborers 
earned from three to six dollars (three to six balboas) per day without 
benefits. The Government did not enforce labor laws in most rural 
areas.
    The law establishes a standard workweek of 48 hours; provides for 
at least one 24-hour rest period weekly, limits the number of hours 
worked per week, provides for premium pay for overtime, and prohibits 
excessive or compulsory overtime. The Ministry of Labor generally 
enforced these standards in the formal sector.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for setting and enforcing 
health and safety standards and generally did so. As of December the 
Ministry of Labor had conducted 2,179 workplace inspections in Panama 
City and 5,331 inspections in the interior to verify compliance with 
labor laws.
    Although inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and the occupational 
health section of the Social Security Administration conducted periodic 
inspections of hazardous employment sites and responded to complaints, 
the Government failed to enforce adequately health and safety 
standards. Construction workers and their employers were lax about 
conforming to basic safety measures. Workers have the right to remove 
themselves from situations that present an immediate health or safety 
hazard without jeopardizing their employment. They generally were not 
allowed to do so if the threat was not immediate but could request a 
health and safety inspection to determine the extent and nature of the 
hazard.

                               __________

                                PARAGUAY

    Paraguay is a constitutional republic with a population of 
approximately 6.3 million. The President is the head of government and 
head of state. In 2003 voters elected Nicanor Duarte Frutos of the 
Colorado Party as President in generally free and fair elections. The 
country has a multiparty electoral system but has been governed by the 
Colorado Party for 60 years. The civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces.
    Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were serious problems in some areas. There were reports 
of killings by the police and military, which the Government 
investigated. Convicted prisoners, other detainees, and conscripts were 
subject to abuse by government authorities. Prisons were routinely 
overcrowded and violent. In isolated cases, the civil rights of 
citizens were violated by arbitrary arrest and detention and lengthy 
pretrial detention. The judiciary remained inefficient and subject to 
corruption and political influence. Police occasionally used excessive 
force against illegal but generally peaceful demonstrations. Violence 
and discrimination against women remained a problem, as did trafficking 
in persons, discrimination against persons with disabilities and 
indigenous persons. Protections for worker rights and child labor were 
inadequately enforced.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--While the Government 
or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, 
security forces were responsible for killings involving the use of 
unwarranted or excessive force. There were reports of police officers 
killing persons while acting outside the scope of their duties and of 
deaths in custody.
    Members of the National Commission for Citizen Security (CONASEG), 
which was created by Presidential decree to give citizens a role in 
supporting the National Police, were accused of killings, robbery, 
assault, harboring and protecting drug and arms traffickers in cities 
located in the Alto Parana Department such as Ciudad del Este, 
Presidente Franco, Minga Guazu, and Hernandarias. CONASEG units in 
these cities and two other jurisdictions were under investigation for 
killings; however, no CONASEG members had been prosecuted by year's 
end.
    On July 11, CONASEG members in San Jose del Norte, San Pedro 
Department, allegedly killed Luis Martinez and injured Zacarias Vega, 
who managed to escape. Martinez and Vega were community activists who 
campaigned for peasants' rights and against the excessive use of 
agricultural pesticides. Family members received death threats and were 
warned not to pursue an investigation into the case. The case remained 
pending at year's end.
    On November 26, Leoncio Piatti, a former member of CONASEG in 
Obrero (a neighborhood in Asuncion), killed Josais Adan Valiente Ovelar 
(12 years old) with a gun shot to the head. Piatti reportedly suffered 
from delirium. He had been expelled from CONASEG but continued his 
activities. An investigation remained pending at year's end.
    On January 17, police in Arroyo Costa, Paraguari, allegedly 
tortured to death Agustin Cristaldo. Police reportedly stopped 
Cristaldo as he walked to a friend's home, beat and shot him in the 
legs, then took him to the police station where beating continued until 
he died. The case remained pending at year's end.
    According to a congressional report, on January 9, six police 
officers in Iturbe, Guaira Department, beat and tortured to death 
Miguel Angel Benitez, whom they had detained for public drunkenness and 
making threats. On February 2, more than 200 residents of Iturbe 
marched to protest the killing. The Attorney General's investigation 
remained pending at year's end.
    On February 3, police officers Crispin Brizuela and Gabriel Ramon 
Duarte Lopez killed Alberto Escobar Silvero in Tavai, Caazapa 
Department, for allegedly driving his motorcycle directly at the 
officers. The Congressional Human Rights Commission reportedly heard 
evidence questioning the officers' account of the situation and 
suggesting that police used excessive force. The case remained pending 
at year's end.
    An investigation continued in the case of police subcommissioner 
Francisco Ramon Rojas Aveiro who was detained in July 2005 on charges 
of ordering the killing of three persons in San Pedro in January 2005.
    The case of a police officer, a cadet in the Military Academy, and 
two others arrested in August 2005 for killing Lucio Luis Vera remained 
pending at year's end.
    In June 2005 police action to evict families from property claimed 
by a Brazilian settler in Tekojoja, Caaguazu Department, resulted in 
the deaths of Angel Cristaldo and Leopoldo Torres, who were members of 
the Agrarian and Popular Organization, and injuries to five others. 
Authorities arrested the settler, Ademar Aloisio Opperman, and several 
of his employees for their role in the killings. There were 25 suspects 
in the case, three of whom were in prison, and the case remained 
pending at year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    Enrique Galeano, host of a news and music program on the Horqueta-
based Radio Azotey, disappeared on February 4 while on his way home 
from work near the city of Yby Yau, Concepcion Department. On March 29, 
National Police Commandant Fidel Isasa Palacios put all police 
officials in Yby Yau as well as some officials from nearby Azotey on 
administrative leave pending the investigation and named a new lead 
investigator. Galeano had reported on and criticized powerful political 
figures for corruption and involvement in narcotics trafficking. At 
year's end, Galeano was still missing, and the investigation into his 
disappearance continued.
    Political figures Juan Arrom and Anuncio Marti, members of the 
Patria Libre Party (PPL), accused of kidnapping Maria Edith Bordon de 
Debernardi in 2001, remained in Brazil, where authorities granted them 
political asylum in 2003. In June 2005 the lead prosecutor in the case 
stated that the same band of individuals involved in the Debernardi 
kidnapping was also responsible for the February 2005 killing of 
Cecilia Cubas, daughter of former President Raul Cubas, who had been 
kidnapped in 2004. In October 2005, after the Attorney General filed 
formal charges, a judge indicted 15 suspects in the case, all of whom 
had ties to a militant faction of the PPL. Twelve of the 15 suspects 
were found guilty on November 28 and, on December 1, were sentenced to 
between five and 35 years' imprisonment. Several other PPL members fled 
to Argentina and Bolivia seeking asylum. Five fugitives in Argentina 
were in the custody of authorities there awaiting return to the country 
(a sixth fled to Bolivia after the others were arrested). Two who fled 
to Bolivia obtained refugee status on June 30 by virtue of a Bolivian 
Refugee Commission decision. While the Bolivian Supreme Court decided 
in August to revoke their refugee status, the two had not yet been 
returned to the country and were reportedly missing at year's end. Nine 
other suspects in the case remained at large.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, there were 
reports that some government officials continued to employ them. The 
Paraguayan Human Rights Coordinating group (CODEHUPY)--comprising 37 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), civic organizations, and trade 
unions--reported several cases of police torture and other abusive 
treatment of persons, including women and children, designed to extract 
confessions, punish escape attempts, or intimidate detainees.
    CODEHUPY noted increased overcrowding and violence and 
deterioration in food safety and medical care in the penal system, as 
well as a failure to separate prisoners (accused and convicted persons, 
women and men, and adults and children). CODEHUPY highlighted 52 deaths 
within the prison system during the year. CODEHUPY reported that 
torture and other inhumane acts remained a significant problem within 
prisons, acts for which police or prison guards enjoyed impunity.
    The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak noted in a 
November 29 statement that torture was widely practiced during the 
first days of police custody. ``In particular,'' he reported, ``the use 
of torture to obtain confessions is a standard practice in Ciudad del 
Este and other regions, where the methods used include beatings, 
stripping detainees naked, placing plastic bags over their heads, and 
squeezing their testicles.'' The rapporteur cited ``impunity'' as one 
of the most important reasons for the continuing practice of torture 
and ill-treatment, noting that ``there have been no convictions for 
torture, and very few prosecutions, if any, since the criminal code 
entered into force in 1999.''
    An investigation continued at year's end in the case of Marcial 
Martinez Amarilla, a member of the Popular Rural Campesino 
Organization, who stated that, in March 2005, police in Valle Pe, 
Guaira Department, entered his home, forcibly apprehended him without a 
warrant for his arrest, and tortured him for three hours on suspicion 
of cattle theft.
    There were no known developments in the December 2005 case of Juan 
Carlos Silvero Medina in San Juan Nepomuceno, Caazapa Department, who 
was detained for more than 10 hours for allegedly disturbing the peace 
and severely beaten. An investigation remained pending at year's end.
    There were several reports of members of the police harassing, and 
beating civilians, particularly while responding to land invasions and 
protests.
    There were accusations of sexual misconduct and rape by senior 
military officials. On May 2, several female cadets claimed they had 
been sexually assaulted or raped by their superiors. The military 
released a preliminary report in August indicating that some of the 
allegations could not be substantiated. The allegations remained under 
investigation at year's end.
    The law allows the human rights ombudsman to investigate and seek 
monetary compensation in cases of human rights abuses stemming from the 
1954-89 Stroessner regime. Since his appointment in 2001, the ombudsman 
ruled that 1,198 of 2,122 victims who filed petitions were entitled to 
compensation and awards ranging from $583 to $17,500 (3.1 million to 
94.5 million guaranies). More than 400 victims (or family members) 
either already received payments or were due to receive payments, 
according to the ombudsman. Since 1993, 3,583 human rights cases have 
been filed, predominantly stemming from the Stroessner era. Although 
the Truth and Justice Commission continued to investigate and document 
human rights abuses between 1954 and October 2004, a tight budget 
constrained its progress. On October 4, the Truth and Justice 
Commission exhorted President Duarte to release Armed Forces files for 
the purpose of clearing up the mystery behind forced disappearances 
during the Stroessner dictatorship. Also in October the Inter-American 
Court on Human Rights found the Government culpable and stated that it 
should pay the victims of Operation Condor who were tortured or killed 
under the Stroessner regime.
    In his November 29 statement, the UN special rapporteur on torture 
noted that he had ``received allegations about the beating of 
conscripts and degrading treatment, such as a form of hazing known as 
descuereo, which involves forcing individuals to carry out extreme 
forms of exercise as a method of punishment.'' The Government 
distributed to all military units booklets that the UN resident 
representative prepared on human rights practices.
    On June 20, Defense Minister Roberto Gonzalez, then commanding 
general of the Armed Forces Jose Kanazawa, and then foreign minister 
Leila Rachid officially apologized on behalf of the Government for the 
deaths in 1989 and 1995 of two minors-Gerardo Vargas Areco and Victor 
Hugo Maciel--conscripted into the military.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison facilities were 
deficient, and prison conditions were extremely poor. Overcrowding, 
unsanitary living conditions, and mistreatment were the most serious 
problems affecting all prisoners.
    In August a special Senate Committee on Prisons released a report 
on its investigation of abuse and conditions at the prisons. The study 
found that prisons remained in ``deplorable'' conditions, an assessment 
unchanged from the previous year. Most prisons were overcrowded, lacked 
sufficient infrastructure to accommodate the inmates, needed additional 
security guards, required maintenance, and raised serious health 
concerns. Former commission President Senator Ana Maria Mendoza de Acha 
also noted that guards forced female inmates of Buen Pastor into 
prostitution at the Tacumbu prison.
    According to CODEHUPY, Tacumbu prison, the largest in Asuncion, was 
built to hold approximately 1,000 inmates but held more than 3,000 for 
most of the year, of whom approximately 2,400 were awaiting trial. 
Regional prisons generally held approximately three times more inmates 
than their intended capacity. The exception is the new prison facility 
in Coronel Oviedo, Caaaguazu Department, completed in late 2005, which 
has a capacity of 600 but held approximately 400 inmates.
    Security was a problem throughout the prison system. There were 
only 540 prison guards for 6,530 inmates in the entire prison system, 
which consists of 17 penal institutions. The national ratio of one 
guard for 12 inmates was much higher at Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, 
Central Department, where there were approximately 40 guards for 
approximately 3,000 prisoners (or one guard for 75 inmates). Inmates 
frequently had weapons, particularly at the Emboscada prison in Minas, 
Cordillera Department. Escapes and escape attempts were frequent, while 
corruption among prison guards and judicial officials remained a 
problem.
    On June 25, prisoners attempted an escape at Tacumbu prison, using 
a large amount of explosive material, which weakened the prison's 
exterior reinforced wall. The military deployed to restore order and 
did not allow the National Police or the prison guards to enter. It was 
widely believed that some guards were complicit and allowed the 
explosive material to be smuggled into the facility.
    Sixteen prisoners escaped from Emboscada prison in Minas, 
Cordillera Department, on August 26, passing several guard stations 
along the way. Several prisoners were recaptured, but most remained at 
large at year's end. According to the investigation, the prisoners were 
able to escape after bribing some guards $5,000 (26.5 million 
guaranies) to look the other way.
    A makeshift maximum security facility, not designed as a prison or 
officially designated as a prison and known as the ``black hole,'' held 
dangerous offenders or those considered high escape risks in solitary 
confinement. The UN special rapporteur found that poor detainees in the 
``black hole'' were held in extremely overcrowded conditions without 
light, ventilation, or basic hygiene while facing the constant threat 
of being infected with tuberculosis.
    Male and female prisoners generally were held separately. While 
some smaller institutions held prisoners of both sexes, it was 
government policy to hold them in separate wings, but this was not 
always done in practice.
    Although juvenile prisoners generally were held separately from 
adults, adults and juvenile prisoners continued to be held together in 
smaller prisons outside the capital.
    Convicted prisoners were usually not separated from pretrial 
detainees.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by human rights organizations. Amnesty International and 
diplomatic representatives were granted access to prisons for announced 
and some unannounced visits. In his November 29 statement, the UN 
special rapporteur welcomed the prison inspections conducted by three 
inter-institutional commissions and the closures of the Panchito Lopez 
Juvenile facility and the Emboscada High Security Prison, which he 
stated ``were both notorious for the use of torture and ill 
treatment.'' During sensitive periods following unrest in the prisons, 
some prison directors required the human rights and diplomatic 
representatives to obtain permission from the minister of justice and 
labor before discussing prison information.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits detention 
without an arrest warrant signed by a judge and stipulates that any 
person arrested must appear before a judge within 24 hours to make a 
statement; however, arbitrary arrest and detention were problems. The 
police may arrest without a warrant persons apprehended in the act of 
committing a crime, but they must notify a prosecutor. In practice the 
authorities did not always comply with these provisions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police, 
under the authority of the minister of interior, have responsibility 
for law enforcement and internal security. The police were inadequately 
funded, poorly trained, and generally corrupt. The Government took 
steps to control and punish human rights violations committed by police 
officers; however, the police enjoyed impunity for many of their 
actions. Although the National Police incorporated classes on human 
rights into its training courses, there were reports of police 
involvement in homicide, arms and narcotics trafficking, car theft, 
robbery, extortion, and kidnapping. In August more than 120 police 
officers in Alto Parana Department were reassigned to various parts of 
the country due to allegations of their involvement in illegal 
activities. In addition, authorities fired 61 officers for involvement 
in criminal activities.
    The 1996 Presidential decree creating CONASEG gave its citizen 
members a role in supporting the National Police. Participants do not 
have arrest authorities or authorization to use weapons. According to 
the Ministry of Interior, the CONASEG in Presidente Franco assumed the 
functions of the police, particularly in the San Rafael neighborhood 
where its members allegedly killed two persons during the year (see 
section 1.a.). The ministry also indicated that CONASEG members in San 
Rafael carried out vehicular patrols, carried weapons, set up road 
blocks, and checked vehicle and personal identification documents, all 
of which are legally functions of the National Police. Some members of 
Congress called for dismantling CONASEG, while others conveyed support 
for CONASEG with a more carefully defined role.
    On October 4, National Police Chief Fidel Isasa ordered all police 
officials on red alert to combat a perceived escalation of criminal 
activity in the country particularly those perpetrated by assailants 
using large caliber firearms. Police thereafter made arrests in a 
number of high-profile cases. The country's Antinarcotics Secretariat 
(SENAD) was effective in antinarcotics efforts.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides that, after making an 
arrest, police have up to six hours to notify the prosecutor's office, 
at which point the prosecutor's office has up to 24 hours to notify a 
judge whether it intends to prosecute the case.
    The law provides a person in detention with the right to a prompt 
judicial determination regarding the legality of the detention, and 
authorities appeared to respect this right and to inform detainees 
promptly of the charges against them. The average time from arrest to 
trial was approximately 240 days. The law permits detention without 
trial until the accused completes the minimum sentence for the alleged 
crime, which often occurred in practice. The law allows judges to 
utilize ``substitute measures,'' such as house arrest, in place of bail 
for most crimes; however, judges frequently set relatively high bail, 
and many accused persons were unable to post bond.
    The law grants accused criminals the right to counsel, but the 
Government lacked resources to provide counsel to poor defendants, and 
many went to trial without representation. The Government permitted 
defendants to hire attorneys at their own expense. Inmates were allowed 
regular visits from family members, including conjugal visits.
    Pretrial detainees constituted approximately 75 percent of the 
prison population. Supreme Court justices and staff and many criminal 
court judges made periodic visits to the prisons to identify and 
release improperly detained individuals.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, courts remained inefficient and subject to 
corruption and political influence. Politicians and other interested 
parties blocked or delayed investigations and often pressured judges, 
although the judiciary was not allied with any political group.
    On March 9, the Supreme Court temporarily suspended the Superior 
Electoral Court (TSJE) ruling prohibiting President Nicanor Duarte 
Frutos from exercising the Colorado Party presidency, which he won in 
an election on February 19. The TSJE had based its interpretation on a 
constitutional provision that prohibits the country's President from 
discharging the responsibilities of another position. Many opposition 
leaders and political rivals accused the court's justices of yielding 
to Presidential pressure.
    On August 30, several Colorado senators discussed with Supreme 
Court Justice Raul Torres Kirmser the case against imprisoned coup 
leader former colonel Lino Oviedo, who was serving a 10-year prison 
sentence for his involvement in a 1996 coup attempt and who was also 
charged with the 1999 killing of Vice President Luis Argana. Justice 
Torres originally denied discussing Oviedo's case but later asserted 
that he only spoke of the case as an anecdote and not from a judicial 
viewpoint.
    The nine-member Supreme Court appoints lower court judges and 
magistrates, based upon recommendations by the Magistrates' Council. 
There are five types of appellate tribunals: civil and commercial, 
criminal, labor, administrative, and juvenile. Minor courts and 
justices of the peace come within four functional areas: civil and 
commercial, criminal, labor, and juvenile. The military has its own 
judicial system, which is subordinate to the civilian justice system.

    Trial Procedures.--All trials are open to the public. The law 
stipulates that all defendants have the right to an attorney, at public 
expense if necessary; however, this right often was not respected in 
practice. Many destitute suspects received little legal assistance, and 
few had access to an attorney sufficiently in advance of the trial to 
prepare a defense. The 148 public defenders in the country, including 
44 in Asuncion, lacked the resources to perform their jobs adequately.
    The law requires prosecutors to bring charges against accused 
persons within 180 days of arrest. Defendants enjoy a presumption of 
innocence, and defendants and the prosecutor may present the written 
testimony of witnesses as well as other evidence. Juries are not used; 
the judge alone determines guilt or innocence and decides punishment. A 
convicted defendant may appeal the sentence to an appeals court, and 
the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over constitutional questions.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While the justice system 
provides for an independent civil and commercial judiciary, courts 
remained inefficient and subject to corruption and political influence. 
Politicians and other interested parties have considerable influence 
and often pressured judges. Citizens have access to the courts to bring 
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights 
violation.

    Property Restitution.--In August 2005 the Government expropriated 
approximately 129,000 acres of land in Puerto Casado owned by Reverend 
Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church purportedly for distribution to 
local farmers. The Government held that the land was not in productive 
use. Since then, Victoria, S.A., the company owned by the Unification 
Church, has not had access to the property. As of August, the land had 
not been redistributed to local farmers, but company property on the 
lot had been stolen. Victoria, S.A., offered more than 24,000 acres to 
avoid expropriation, and congress was considering the offer. The law 
requires compensation to the owners, but funding was not allocated by 
year's end.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits police entry into private homes 
except to prevent a crime in progress or when the police possess a 
judicial warrant. While the Government and its security forces 
generally did not interfere in the private lives of citizens, human 
rights activists credibly claimed that local officials and police 
officers abused their authority by entering homes and businesses 
without warrants and harassing private citizens. There were credible 
allegations that some government officials occasionally spied on 
individuals and monitored communications for partisan or personal 
reasons.
    On May 26, government officials raided the home of Colonel 
Heriberto Galeano, former commander of the Presidential Escort Regiment 
and former commander of the First Infantry Division, as part of an 
investigation into his involvement in illegal telephone tapping 
operations from his home. The prosecutor claimed most of Galeano's 
communications equipment had been removed prior to the raid, indicating 
that he had been tipped off about the pending raid.
    Norma Silva Centurion stated that police officers in Ciudad del 
Este raided her home on August 24 and stole money, electronics, and her 
car. Silva also claimed to have been assaulted by four of the men. The 
case remained under investigation at year's end.
    There were no developments regarding the March 2005 complaint of 
Marcial Martinez Amarilla, a member of the Popular Rural Campesino 
Organization that police in Valle Pe, Guaira Department, entered his 
home and forcibly apprehended him without a warrant for his arrest (see 
section 1.c.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. However, some government agents attempted to 
intimidate journalists.
    The print and electronic media were independently owned; some media 
outlets were tied closely to political parties or business entities. 
Many media outlets clearly reflected personal business or political 
interests, and ethical and professional standards were low. The 
independent media frequently criticized the Government and freely 
discussed opposition viewpoints without restriction.
    Enrique Galeano, host of a morning news and music program on the 
Horqueta-based Radio Azotey, disappeared on February 4. Galeano had 
reported on and criticized powerful political figures for corruption 
and involvement in narcotics trafficking. The Yby Yau prosecutor was 
investigating a possible connection between Galeano's journalistic work 
and his disappearance (see section 1.b.).
    Application of libel law was irregular. Judges were biased toward 
plaintiffs and frequently ruled in their favor regardless of the merits 
of a case. Political figures used police or private security officers 
to threaten or intimidate journalists. On December 28, 2005, the 
Supreme Court unanimously agreed that ABC Color, a leading publication, 
was guilty of defamation against Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna of the 
ruling Colorado Party. The case stemmed from a series of reports ABC 
Color published in 1997 and 1998 that identified Galaverna as an 
``influential trafficker'' and a ``looter.'' In 2001 and 2002 lower 
courts found ABC Color guilty of defamation, calumny, and slander. On 
January 5, the Inter-American Press Association said the Supreme 
Court's decision ``limits the ability of the press to independently 
investigate alleged wrongdoing by public officials.''
    On February 27, private security officers working for alleged drug 
traffickers in Itapua Department shot at (but did not injure) Juan 
Agosto Roa, an ABC Color correspondent, while Roa was investigating the 
alleged traffickers. On March 2, the Paraguayan Journalists Union 
issued a declaration holding federal and Itapua government officials 
responsible for Roa's well-being. The Government's investigation was 
pending at year's end.
    On December 7, Colorado mayoral candidate and journalist Julio 
Benitez Ruiz Diaz was killed at his home in Pedro Juan Caballero. 
Benitez lost the mayoral election to Jose Acevedo, the brother of 
Amambay Department Governor Roberto Acevedo. The case remained under 
investigation at year's end.
    On several occasions, politicians and prosecutors publicly 
threatened journalists who revealed embarrassing information about 
them, typically related to corruption. In February during a radio 
interview in Ciudad del Este, police officer Ever Cantero threatened 
reporters who had written articles critical of him.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 association, 
and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. In 
some cases, police violently dispersed illegal protests or assemblies.
    On November 29, workers from the health sector protested the 
proposed health budget and blocked the Senate entrance, effectively 
preventing senators from leaving the building for several hours. 
Protesters and media observers accused the police of use of excessive 
force in dispersing the crowd.
    On December 5, a controversial court ruling in the case of the Ycua 
Bolanos supermarket fire of 2004 turned a largely peaceful assembly of 
victims or their families into immediate rage and rioting in Asuncion. 
The National Police responded with force using rubber bullets, batons, 
water canons and throwing stones. The riot resulted in injuries to 52 
civilians and 16 police officers, as well as the arrest of 
approximately 80 individuals.
    The law restricts demonstrations in Asuncion to certain times and 
places and specifically prohibits meetings or demonstrations in front 
of the Presidential palace and outside military or police barracks. The 
law also requires that organizers notify the Asuncion police 24 hours 
before any rally downtown. In addition, the law prohibits public 
gatherings in the congressional plaza in Asuncion, the traditional 
focal point for many demonstrations, during daylight hours on workdays. 
The police may ban a demonstration but must provide written 
notification of the ban within 12 hours of receipt of the organizers' 
request. The law permits a police ban only if another party already has 
given notice of plans for a similar rally at the same place and time. 
This law does not apply to religious processions. The law prohibits 
closing roads as a form of protest, but demonstrators did so on many 
occasions during the year.
    Several campesino organizations held demonstrations during the 
year. Members blocked several national highways, and campesinos invaded 
and occupied numerous rural properties, mainly calling on the 
Government to expropriate farmland for redistribution.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
citizens to free association, and the Government generally respected 
this right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. The Government required all religious groups to register with 
the Ministry of Education and Culture but imposed no controls on these 
groups, and many unregistered churches existed.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Approximately 70 incidents of 
graffiti conveying messages or depicting symbols commonly associated 
with anti-Semitism and pro-Nazism occurred in Asuncion during January 
and February. Some of the graffiti was spray-painted on the private 
property of a well-known radio commentator of Jewish descent and at the 
home of the Jewish son-in-law of an ABC Color newspaper executive. The 
Government investigated the incidents, but no arrests were made, and 
the case remained under investigation at year's end. There were 
approximately 350 Jewish families in the country.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice. Authorities 
frequently prohibited those accused of crimes from leaving the country 
and, on occasion, barred those convicted of crimes from traveling 
abroad after completing their sentences.
    The law expressly prohibits forced exile, and the Government did 
not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. The Government provided protection and granted refugee 
status to Cubans and Lebanese, on a case-by-case basis.
    On November 14, seven Cuban refugees, who were rescued at sea, 
requested and received asylum after reaching the country. The 
International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Committee of 
Churches, a local NGO, and the Government all took part in relocating 
and resettling the refugees. The Government cooperated with the Office 
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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. The law mandates general elections every five years with 
voting by secret ballot.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the April 2003 
multiparty general elections, Nicanor Duarte Frutos of the Colorado 
Party won the presidency. Observers from the Organization of American 
States characterized the elections as generally free and fair. There 
were no reports of systematic nationwide irregularities, although the 
NGO Transparency Paraguay cited irregularities at several polling 
stations.
    There are no legal impediments to women's participation in 
government and politics. There were 12 women in congress (four of 45 
senators and eight of 80 national deputies), one woman on the Supreme 
Court, one woman elected as a departmental governor, one woman heading 
a cabinet ministry, and six additional women holding ministerial rank 
and heading secretariats. The Electoral Code requires that 20 percent 
of each party's candidates in their internal primaries for elective 
office be women. On May 6, the Authentic Radical Liberal Party approved 
a requirement that 33 percent of its candidates be women.
    Although there were no legal impediments to minority groups' 
participation in government and politics, there were no indigenous 
members of the legislature. An estimated 50 percent of the 
approximately 40,000 indigenous persons eligible to vote did so in the 
2003 general elections, but members of some indigenous communities 
reported that they were threatened and prohibited from fully exercising 
their political rights, and indigenous persons continued to hold 
rallies protesting limits on their political and human rights.
    In December the TSJE's director of technical information, 
responsible for overseeing administration of electronic balloting and 
voter's lists, was fired in response to pressure brought to bear by 
Colorado Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
public perception of corruption in government. The NGO Transparency 
International reported that corruption remained a ``serious'' problem 
but showed some improvement during the year. Congress was perceived to 
be the most corrupt institution followed closely by the judiciary. The 
Government maintained working relationships with civil society 
organizations to promote transparency in the public sector.
    In December the University of Asuncion released a comprehensive 
analysis of the fate of economic crime and corruption cases between 
2001 and 2005 that revealed extraordinarily long delays at every step 
of the process, which in many instances greatly exceeded timeframes set 
by law. The analysis found that approximately 77 percent of the cases 
merely expired under the statute of limitations, indicating that 
wealthy or well-connected defendants often simply played ``beat the 
clock,'' filing motions that prevented legal progress and led to 
legalized impunity.
    On July 23, Colorado Party Deputy Magdaleno Silva sought to lift a 
SENAD roadblock, which targeted drug traffickers in Concepcion. Silva 
allegedly had links to drug traffickers in the Departments of 
Concepcion and Amambay and interfered in judicial proceedings.
    On June 5, a court sentenced former President Luis Angel Gonzalez 
Macchi to six years in prison for his involvement in the illegal 
transfer of $16 million from the liquidated Oriental Bank in 2000. The 
decision was overturned on appeal and was pending a final ruling by the 
Supreme Court at year's end. In a separate case, a court on December 4 
sentenced Gonzalez Macchi to eight years in prison for illegal 
enrichment and providing false documents; that case remained under 
appeal, and Gonzalez Macchi remained under house arrest at year's end.
    Government prosecutors opened a number of high-profile corruption 
cases including one against Colorado Deputy Victor Bogado, the 
President of the House of Deputies. In October Colorado Party deputies 
rejected a motion to lift Bogado's congressional immunity, effectively 
obstructing prosecution in the case.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Nearly 50 domestic and international human rights groups operated 
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were 
cooperative with domestic and international NGOs; however, their 
response to the views and recommendations of the human rights groups 
was mixed.
    Local NGO human rights groups included the Committee of Churches 
(an interdenominational group that monitored human rights, investigated 
refugee claims, and provided legal assistance), Grupo Luna Nueva (a 
group dedicated to the protection of children's rights), and Peace and 
Justice Service (SERPAJ), a group that defended conscientious objectors 
and provided legal assistance to those with grievances arising from 
military service. Transparency Paraguay, the local affiliate of 
Transparency International, monitored public perceptions regarding 
corruption. The CODEHUPY produced an annual report that highlighted 
abuses of police authority and other government agents or entities and 
mistreatment of military recruits.
    The IOM developed reports on various migration problems including 
trafficking in persons. The International Labor Organization (ILO) 
produced reports on union labor activities, child labor, and indigenous 
labor issues. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) developed reports on 
children's health, education, labor, and living conditions.
    Ombudsman Manuel Paez Monges remained the country's human rights 
advocate. The ombudsman's office operated generally without government 
interference; however, severe budgetary constraints hindered its 
operations and occasionally resulted in months-long delays in paying 
employees.
    The director general of human rights, located in the Ministry of 
Justice and Labor, chaired the National Commission on Human Rights. The 
commission sponsored seminars to promote human rights awareness. The 
director general's office has access to the congressional, executive, 
and judicial authorities. It does not have subpoena or prosecutorial 
power, but the commission may forward information concerning human 
rights abuses to the Attorney General for action. It served as a 
clearing house for information on human rights.
    The Foreign Ministry's human rights office organized an inter-
ministerial roundtable on human rights that met periodically throughout 
the year. It served as a forum for human rights officials from various 
ministries and secretariats to coordinate their efforts and focused 
principally on combating trafficking in persons. Domestic and 
international NGOs also participated in the roundtable.
    In November 2005 the Truth and Justice Commission issued a report 
holding the Stroessner regime accountable for 60 instances of human 
rights violations. Investigations continued into the more than 8,000 
cases submitted, although resource constraints restricted the 
commission's effectiveness. The commission released its preliminary 
findings in December and projected issuing its final report in 2007.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    While the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, certain groups, such as 
indigenous persons, faced significant discrimination in practice.

    Women.--The most pervasive violations of women's rights involved 
sexual and domestic abuse. Spousal abuse was common. The Attorney 
General's Office reported that there were 12 domestic violence 
convictions during the year and many others in process. Although the 
law criminalizes spousal abuse, it stipulates that the abuse must be 
habitual before being recognized as criminal and then is punishable by 
a fine. Thousands of women were treated for injuries sustained in 
violent domestic altercations. Between January and August, the 
Secretariat of Women's Affairs recorded 1,004 cases of domestic 
violence. Despite an apparent trend toward increased reporting of 
complaints, such complaints were often withdrawn soon after filing due 
to spousal reconciliation or family pressure, including from the 
attacker who is often the spouse. According to the Attorney General's 
Office, in 13 years there have been only four cases prosecuted where 
the wife continued with the case. In addition, the courts allow 
mediation of some family violence cases, although not provided for in 
the law. The Secretariat of Women's Affairs' Office of Care and 
Orientation receives reports on violence against women and coordinates 
responses with the National Police, primary health care units, the 
Attorney General's Office, and NGOs. Although these services were 
available only in Asuncion, the secretariat partnered with several NGOs 
in other cities to assist in the protection of victims. The NGOs 
provided health and psychological assistance, including shelter, to 
victims and communicated with the authorities on behalf of the victims. 
The secretariat also conducted training courses for the police, health 
care workers, prosecutors, and others in assisting victims of 
trafficking and domestic violence. In August the secretariat organized 
a conference attended by 248 police officers on protecting victims of 
domestic violence.
    The NGO Women's November 25th Collective operated a reception 
center where female victims of violence received legal, psychological, 
and educational assistance. The NGO Kuna Aty also offered services to 
abused women. There were no shelters for battered and abused women 
outside of Asuncion. In April Asuncion's mayor opened the country's 
first municipal shelter to care for victims of domestic violence. The 
shelter has the capacity to provide housing, medical, social, and 
psychological support to 30 victims and their children.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and provides 
penalties of up to six years in prison. According to the Office of the 
Attorney General, rape was a significant problem. During the year, 
there were more than 260 reported cases of rape in Asuncion and many 
more in the other departments. The Government generally prosecuted rape 
allegations and often obtained convictions; however, many rapes went 
unreported because victims feared their attackers or were concerned 
that the law did not adequately respect their privacy.
    The law prohibits the sexual exploitation of women, but the 
authorities did not enforce the prohibition effectively. Prostitution 
is legal for persons over the age of 18, and exploitation of women, 
particularly underage prostitutes, remained a serious problem (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits but does not criminalize sexual harassment, and 
it remained a problem for many women in the workplace. While there are 
no penalties specifically for harassment, related violations of the law 
are punishable by fines and up to three months' imprisonment. Claims of 
abuse may be filed with the courts and the Ministry of Justice and 
Labor, but harassment was difficult to prove, and most complaints were 
settled privately.
    Although women generally enjoyed the same legal status and rights 
as men, gender-related job discrimination was widespread and widely 
tolerated. Women often were paid significantly less than men for the 
same work. The Secretariat of Women's Affairs occasionally sponsored 
programs intended to give women equal access to employment, social 
security, housing, ownership of land, and business opportunities. 
According to CODEHUPY, unemployment rates for women (15 percent) were 
nearly double those for men (8 percent). Women generally were employed 
as domestic workers, secretaries, and in other traditional roles.

    Children.--The law protects certain children's rights and 
stipulates that parents and the state should care for, feed, educate, 
and support children.
    Public schooling was provided through the age of 17, and education 
was compulsory until the age of 14. According to the Ministry of 
Education and Culture, in 2005 the enrollment rate for children between 
the ages of six and 14 was 89 percent and 50 percent for those between 
the ages of 15 and 17. On July 19, the National Advisory Committee of 
Education and Culture reported that more than 230,000 adolescents 
between the ages of 15 and 17, or 60 percent of that age group, were 
not in school. The law entitles boys and girls to equal educational 
access; enrollment among girls at all ages was slightly greater than 
enrollment among boys. Rates of overall enrollment in urban areas were 
slightly higher than rates of enrollment in rural areas. Approximately 
59 percent of indigenous children between the ages of six and 14 were 
enrolled in school. The national literacy rate was 92 percent.
    According to UNICEF, 48 percent of children age 14 or younger lived 
in poverty (20 percent in extreme poverty), and 11 percent of those 
suffered from chronic malnutrition, with both figures trending upward. 
Boys and girls generally had equal access to state-provided medical 
care. The Government provided free consultation for children under the 
age of five, but medical services must be paid by the parent or 
guardian.
    Abuse and neglect of children was a serious problem. A local NGO 
attributed a rise in the number of complaints of mistreatment of 
children to the increased awareness of child abuse and neglect. The 
Government has a National Plan to Prevent and Eradicate the 
Exploitation of Children. The Secretariat of Children and Adolescents 
is responsible for this five-year program, for identifying and 
providing assistance to abused and neglected children, and for 
educating the public to prevent abuse. According to the Institute of 
Comparative Studies in Punitive and Social Sciences and UNICEF, 2,573 
children lived in 56 shelters largely because of poverty. Some children 
in these facilities were victims of sexual abuse.
    Sexual exploitation of children also was a problem. UNICEF reported 
that two-thirds of sex industry workers were minors, the majority of 
whom began working between the ages of 12 and 13. In addition, UNICEF 
reported frequent sexual exploitation of the 40,000 criadas (domestic 
servants) between the ages of six and 12 (see section 6.d.). In April 
the ILO estimated that during 2005 more than 3,500 children between the 
ages of five and 17 years of age had been sexually exploited in Ciudad 
del Este and that there were 250 minor girl prostitutes in the city.
    During the year the Secretariat of Children and Adolescents 
registered more than 25,000 children not previously included in the 
Civil Registry; the secretariat estimated that more than 600,000 
children remained to be registered. The secretariat also participated 
in or organized programs related to combating trafficking in persons, 
abuse of children, and child labor issues, such as children who are 
domestic servants.
    There were reports of trafficking in girls for the purpose of 
sexual exploitation (see section 5, Trafficking).
    The Government requires that all military officers responsible for 
recruiting ensure that all conscripts meet the legal minimum age of 18.
    Child labor was a problem (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law prohibits trafficking in 
persons, persons were trafficked from and within the country for sexual 
purposes.
    Anecdotal evidence suggested that several hundred women and 
children were trafficked abroad annually. There were no estimates 
available on the extent of trafficking within the country because the 
Government kept no relevant statistics, and the extent of international 
trafficking was unknown. The Government reported there were 64 
confirmed victims of international trafficking in 2005. According to 
the IOM, the trafficking of women and children in the country increased 
27 percent in the last five years. On July 5, the country's ambassador 
to Spain announced that more than 1,500 Paraguayan prostitutes, many 
believed to have been trafficked, lived in Spain.
    Most victims came from the rural interior of the country, 
particularly the departments of Alto Parana, Canindeyu, Caaguazu, and 
Itapua, which border Argentina and Brazil and where international 
organized crime groups had a heavy presence. The borders were very 
porous, and there were few border officials. Within the country, 
victims were trafficked primarily to the two largest cities, Asuncion 
and Ciudad del Este; the most significant foreign destinations were 
Argentina and Spain; smaller numbers of victims went to Brazil. 
Trafficking victims within the country worked in the sex industry. 
Underage girls reportedly also were forced to work as criadas, both 
domestically and in neighboring countries. According to the Secretariat 
for Children and Adolescents, many of these children were sexually 
abused. Government and NGO studies showed that most of the girls 
trafficked were working as street vendors when traffickers targeted 
them and that 70 percent of victims had drug addictions.
    The trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation was a 
high-profit, low-risk activity for traffickers who moved easily across 
the borders with Argentina and Brazil. The traffickers took advantage 
of the poor who lived in the border departments, promising women, and 
in many cases young girls, jobs in the retail industry. In some cases, 
the parents were fully aware that their daughters planned to work in 
other cities or countries but were unaware of the conditions and actual 
job.
    On several occasions, Spanish and Argentine police rescued 
Paraguayan women from brothels, where they had been forced to work as 
prostitutes. In June governmental authorities announced that Spanish 
police rescued 39 Paraguayan female trafficking victims. In May and 
June, Spanish police raids on clubs in four cities discovered 146 women 
working as prostitutes, many of whom were Paraguayan.
    In July three victims returned from Argentina with the assistance 
of IOM. The women had been promised jobs as waitresses and hotel 
workers, but upon arrival in Buenos Aires they were informed they were 
to work as prostitutes. They later escaped with assistance from a local 
good samaritan.
    The law punishes trafficking in persons with up to 10 years in 
prison; the law also forbids compelling anyone to travel outside the 
country or to enter the country for the purpose of prostitution or 
compelling a minor under 18 to work as a prostitute. At year's end, 
there were more than 50 transnational cases under investigation, 23 of 
which had entered judicial proceedings. There were 34 persons in prison 
on trafficking-related offenses; 11 of these individuals had been 
convicted of trafficking and associated crimes, 23 were charged with 
these crimes, and five were in restrictive custody. Others remained at-
large and were still sought by authorities. The Secretariat of Women's 
Affairs noted it processed 53 female victims during the year, nine of 
whom were minors.
    The Secretariats of Women's Affairs and Children and Adolescents 
were responsible for combating trafficking, and the Secretariat for 
Repatriations had a mandate to assist victims who were trafficked 
abroad; however, the secretariats' small budgets limited their 
effectiveness. Foreign governments and international organizations 
provided additional assistance.
    On September 6, police arrested Bolivian citizen Jorge Antonio 
Cortes Villena for recruiting young girls to work in Santa Cruz, 
Bolivia, as prostitutes. Other members of Cortes' group who were 
arrested included Bolivian citizen Ramiro Noguer Garcia and Paraguayan 
citizens Juana Rocio Adorno Silguero and Jorge Kraufer Gimenez. The 
case remained pending at year's end.
    On July 27, authorities arrested Claudia Lorena Martinez and Andres 
Eligio Ponce, both of Spanish descent, for trafficking children to 
Spain. Because of their Spanish ancestry, the couple had no trouble 
taking the children to Spain where they were to be adopted for $6,000 
to $10,000 per child. The case remained pending at year's end.
    The case of Carolina Maidana Duarte, who was extradited from Spain 
in July 2005 for her involvement in the trafficking of Lurde Resquin, 
was closed because the victim, whose testimony is required, left the 
country; Carolina Maidana Duarte was released from custody.
    Resource constraints limited government assistance to trafficking 
victims. Victims received some legal, medical, and psychological 
support for limited periods of time. The Government's primary focus in 
protecting victims was the repatriation of its own citizens. Provision 
for the physical and mental health of those repatriated, as well as for 
their transportation home, was limited. The lack of resources also 
prevented periodic follow-up after repatriation.
    The Itaipu Binational Authority, a public utility company jointly 
owned by the country and Argentina, supported the NGO Children's and 
Adolescents' Care and Assistance Center, which operated a hot line and 
shelter for trafficking victims in Ciudad del Este.
    Efforts to prevent trafficking included interministerial 
roundtables organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss 
trafficking in persons. A national communications campaign, organized 
by the Secretariat of Women's Affairs with foreign government and NGO 
support, sought to prevent women and girls from becoming victims of 
trafficking.

    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. Nonetheless, many persons with disabilities faced significant 
discrimination in employment; others were unable to seek employment 
because of a lack of accessible public transportation. The law does not 
mandate accessibility for persons with disabilities, and most of the 
country's buildings, public and private, were inaccessible.
    The Ministry of Health noted that half of all children with 
disabilities did not attend school because public buses could not 
accommodate them. Many bus drivers reportedly refused boarding to 
persons with disabilities or required them to be accompanied.
    Conditions for the more than 400 residents at the Neuropsychiatric 
Hospital in Asuncion remained substandard, and patients continued to 
have inadequate physical and mental health care. Parasitic and skin 
infections were widespread, and outbreaks were not treated effectively. 
Children continued to be housed in the institution, despite the 
Government's pledge to move them to placements in the community. The 
Government took minimal steps to implement reforms that it had 
committed to undertake in a March 2005 agreement with the NGOs Mental 
Disability Rights International (MDRI) and Center for Justice and 
International Law. According to MDRI, the Government remodeled the 
hospital and increased its budget; however, patient treatment had not 
improved. In addition, the hospital remained severely overcrowded.

    Indigenous People.--The law provides indigenous people with the 
right to participate in the economic, social, political, and cultural 
life of the country; however, the indigenous population (officially 
estimated at more than 90,000) was unassimilated and neglected. Low 
wages, long work hours, infrequent payment (or nonpayment) of wages, 
job insecurity, lack of access to social security benefits, and racial 
discrimination were common. Weak organization and lack of financial 
resources limited access by indigenous persons to the political and 
economic system. The law protects the property interests of indigenous 
people, but these rights were not fully codified. The law allows public 
ministry officials to represent indigenous people in matters involving 
the protection of life and property.
    Lack of access to sufficient land hindered the ability of 
indigenous groups to progress economically and maintain their cultural 
identity. In addition, there was insufficient police and judicial 
protection from persons encroaching on indigenous lands, and many 
indigenous people found it difficult to travel to the capital to 
solicit land titles.
    Other significant problems facing the indigenous population 
included lack of shelter and medical care, economic displacement 
resulting from other groups' development and modernization, and 
malnutrition. Scarce resources and limited government attention slowed 
progress in dealing with these problems.
    On June 30, leaders from the country's 10 indigenous nations 
founded a National Indigenous Movement with the goal of advancing their 
rights and working to gain political representation. In September the 
leaders presented candidates for the November municipal elections, but 
none of them were elected.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows both private and 
public sector workers (with the exception of the armed forces and the 
police) to form and join unions without government interference, and 
workers exercised this right in practice. The law contains provisions 
that protect fundamental worker rights, including an antidiscrimination 
clause, provisions for employment tenure, severance pay for unjustified 
firings, collective bargaining, and the right to strike. Approximately 
121,000 (15 percent) of workers were organized in approximately 1,600 
unions. These numbers excluded the informal sector, which represented a 
significant segment of the economy.
    All unions must be registered with the Ministry of Justice and 
Labor. Although the official registration process was cumbersome and 
could take more than a year, the Ministry of Justice and Labor issued 
provisional registrations within weeks of application. Employers who 
opposed the formation of a union can delay union recognition by filing 
a writ, but almost all unions requesting recognition eventually 
received it.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, but it was not always 
enforced. Harassment of some union organizers and leaders in the 
private sector continued. Fired union leaders may seek redress in the 
courts, but the labor tribunals were slow to respond to complaints. A 
number of cases involving union leaders fired as many as nine years ago 
remained pending in the courts. Although the courts typically favored 
employees in disputes, backlogs in the judicial system delayed cases 
for several years. As a result, most employees could not afford the 
time and expense of seeking judicial redress. The courts were not 
required to order the reinstatement of workers fired for union 
activities. In some cases, when judges ordered the reinstatement of 
discharged workers, employers continued to disregard the court order 
with impunity. The failure of employers to meet salary payments also 
frequently precipitated labor disputes.
    There were also complaints that management created parallel or 
``factory'' unions to compete with independently formed unions. In 
several cases, workers allegedly chose not to protest due to fear of 
reprisal or anticipation of government inaction.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for collective bargaining, and this provision generally was 
respected in practice. According to the Ministry of Justice and Labor, 
there were approximately 30 collective bargaining agreements in place, 
covering approximately 10 percent of private sector employees and 60 
percent of public sector employees; however, the agreements typically 
did little more than reaffirm minimum standards established by law. 
When wages were not set in free negotiations between unions and 
employers, they were made a condition of individual offers of 
employment.
    Although the law provides for the right to strike, bans binding 
arbitration, and prohibits retribution against strikers and leaders 
carrying out routine union business, employers often took action 
against strikers and union leaders. Voluntary arbitration decisions are 
enforceable by the courts, but this mechanism rarely was employed. 
Senior Ministry of Justice and Labor officials were available to 
mediate disputes.
    There were numerous strikes by members of all three worker centrals 
and smaller unions. Many of the strikes were related to management 
violations of a collective contract, management efforts to prevent the 
free association of workers, or demands for benefits such as payment of 
the minimum wage or contribution to the social security system. Others 
were directed at broader economic problems.
    There are no export processing zones. Factories that assemble 
imported parts for re-export (maquiladoras) operated in the eastern 
part of the country. The Mercosur trade association accepted the 
country's maquiladoras into its automotive regime. The country's labor 
laws apply to maquila operators.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5). Unlike last year, 
there were no reports of conscripts forced to work for military 
officers in their private enterprises.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
director general for the protection of minors in the Ministry of 
Justice and Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws. In 
practice the Government did not enforce minimum working age 
regulations, and child labor was a problem in both the legal and 
illegal economy of the country.
    Minors between 15 and 18 years of age may work only with parental 
authorization and may not be employed in dangerous or unhealthy 
conditions. Children between 14 and 15 years of age may work only in 
family enterprises, agriculture, or apprenticeships. The Labor Code 
prohibits work by children under age 14. On April 28, the ILO reported 
that more than 322,000 children participated in various economic 
activities and an additional 687,000 did domestic work, mostly in rural 
areas.
    The 2001 census reported that 5 percent of the workforce was under 
the age of 14. According to the NGO Organization for the Eradication of 
Child Labor (COETI), 265,000 children, or 13.6 percent of those between 
the ages of five and 17, worked outside their homes, many in unsafe 
conditions. In supermarkets, boys as young as age seven bagged and 
carried groceries to customers' cars for tips. Thousands of children in 
urban areas (an estimated 15,000 in Asuncion alone) many of them 
younger than 12 years of age, were engaged in informal employment, such 
as selling newspapers and sundries and cleaning car windows. Many of 
the children who worked on the streets suffered from malnutrition and 
disease and lacked access to education. Despite new initiatives to 
combat child street labor, exploitation and abuse of children 
persisted.
    According to the Secretariat for Children and Adolescents, many of 
40,000 criadas were also sexually abused. Some employers of the 
estimated 11,500 young girls working as criadas in Asuncion denied them 
access to education and mistreated them. In rural areas, children as 
young as 10 years of age often worked beside their parents in the 
fields; according to COETI, 88 percent of rural children in the labor 
force worked at home or with family members. Local human rights groups 
did not regard families harvesting crops together as an abuse of child 
labor. UNICEF reported that 25 percent of children between the ages of 
10 and 17 worked, of whom almost 50 percent were below age 15. Forty-
seven percent worked on family farms, 22 percent in construction, 13 
percent work in the street, and 11 percent operated machinery or were 
artisans. The children worked approximately five hours per day. 
According to the General Office of Statistics, Surveys, and Census, 
2005 statistics indicated that economic participation by those ages 10 
to 14 increased to 16.4 percent.
    While the Government took some steps in implementing its 2003 plan 
to eliminate child labor, including the worst forms of child labor, 
these efforts have not been accompanied by strong public institutions 
and programs nor translated into changes of social practices.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Justice and 
Labor established a mandatory national private sector minimum wage, 
approximately $221 per month (1.198 million guaranies), sufficient to 
maintain a minimally adequate standard of living for a worker and 
family. According to an analysis by the local economic think tank 
Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD), the median wage in the 
formal economy was $165.45 (893,430 guaranies) per month, reflecting 
lower public wages, but in the informal sector the median wage was 
$36.36 (196,344 guaranies) per month, which is well below the mandated 
minimum. FSD estimated that 80 percent of workers were employed in the 
informal sector with urban poverty rates on the rise.
    There was no public sector minimum wage. In practice most 
government agencies paid government workers on an hourly basis at a 
rate comparable to the private sector minimum wage. The minimum salary 
is adjusted whenever annual inflation exceeds 10 percent. However, the 
Ministry of Justice and Labor did not enforce the minimum wage and 
estimated that 50 percent of government workers earned less than the 
minimum wage, while 48 percent of private sector workers earned less. 
The law requires that domestic workers be paid at least 40 percent of 
the minimum wage and allows them to work up to a 12-hour day.
    The law allows for a standard legal workweek of 48 hours (42 hours 
for night work), with one day of rest. The law also provides for an 
annual bonus of one month's salary and a minimum of six vacation days a 
year. The law requires overtime payment for hours in excess of the 
standard. However, many employers violated these provisions. There are 
no prohibitions on excessive compulsory overtime. Workers in the 
transport sector routinely staged strikes to demand that their 
employers comply with the law's provisions on working hours, overtime, 
and minimum wage payments.
    The law also stipulates conditions of safety, hygiene, and comfort. 
The Government did not allocate sufficient resources to enable the 
Ministry of Justice and Labor and the Ministry of Health to enforce 
these provisions effectively.
    Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations that 
endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to their continued 
employment, but they may not do so until the Ministries of Justice and 
Labor and Health recognize such conditions formally. While there are 
laws intended to protect workers who file complaints about such 
conditions, many employers took disciplinary action against such 
workers.

                               __________

                                  PERU

    Peru is a multiparty republic with a population estimated at 28 
million. On June 4, Alan Garcia of the Popular Revolutionary Party 
Alliance (APRA) won the presidency in elections that were generally 
free, fair, and transparent. The civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, and the Government continued efforts begun during the Toledo 
administration to expand and consolidate labor law and to prosecute 
those responsible for gross human rights violations.
    The terrorist organization, Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), was 
responsible for killings and other human rights abuses.
    The following human rights problems were reported: beatings, abuse, 
and torture of detainees and inmates by police and prison security 
forces; inability to protect witnesses involved in criminal cases; poor 
prison conditions; prolonged pretrial detention and inordinate delays 
of trials; attacks on the media by local authorities and organized 
crime; violence and discrimination against women; violence against 
children; including sexual abuse; trafficking in persons; 
discrimination against indigenous people and minorities; significant 
obstacles to persons with disabilities; failure to either apply or 
enforce labor laws; and child labor in the informal sector.
                        respect for human rights
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 January 24, the Penal Court on Anticorruption extended the time 
limit for detention without sentencing in the La Colina case involving 
56 military officers charged with participating in the massacre of 
civilians at Barrios Altos in 1991, La Cantuta in 1992 and del Santa in 
1992 and the disappearance of Pedro Yauri in 1992. The accused had been 
detained for 36 months, and the court extended their detention for 
another 36 months.
    On February 20, authorities filed homicide charges in criminal 
court in Huanta against two military officers in the 2004 case of Peter 
Vasquez Chavez, a 23-year-old recruit found dead at the Cangari Huanta 
Military Base in Ayacucho.
    On March 16, the International Commission on Human Rights presented 
the La Cantuta case to the anticorruption court and asked that army 
officers be retried for the murder of nine students and a professor at 
the National University of Education in 1992.
    On May 31, the National Penal Court charged policemen Flavio 
Roberto Vasquez Burga and Walter Ochoa Magallanes for their role in the 
death of Ricardo Huaringa Felix, who died in police custody in 2004. 
According to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, witnesses 
in the case continued to receive threatening phone calls.
    On June 16, a mass grave containing 80 bodies was discovered in 
Pichari in northern Cusco. The Public Ministry began investigating the 
case.
    On July 12, superior prosecutor Luz Ibanez Carraza notified the 
Government that he would begin investigations into 516 cases of alleged 
human rights violations committed by the state over the past 20 years.
    In August the prosecutor's office dropped the case against Alan 
Garcia and members of his cabinet for their alleged roles in the 1986 
El Fronton prison massacre. (Garcia's first term as President lasted 
from 1985-1990). The Human Rights Commission (COMISEDH) appealed the 
decision, and the First Supraprovincial Court continued investigating 
the possibility of issuing charges against the officials allegedly 
responsible for the loss of life at El Fronton.
    On August 20, the Second Supranational court began an investigation 
into charges that former President Alberto Fujimori ordered the killing 
of 41 members of Shining Path in May 1992 at the Ramon Castro 
penitentiary.
    On August 21, opposition leader Ollanta Humala was charged with 
human rights violations and was prohibited from leaving the country. 
Humala was charged with participating in disappearances, torture, and 
murder at the Madre Mia military base in 1992.
    On October 11, the Superior Attorney of the Third Penal Court on 
Anti-Corruption asked for sentences of 20 years for former Intelligence 
Service Director Vladimiro Montesinos, former Armed Services Chief 
General Nicolas Hermoza, Colonel Roberto Huaman, and Colonel Jesus 
Zamudio, who remained in custody. The case involved charges of 
extrajudicial killings in the 1997 rescue of 74 hostages at the 
Japanese ambassador's residence.
    The court of Puquio in Ayacucho continued investigations into the 
role of four military officers in the 2004 death of Army Corporal Edgar 
Ledesma Lopez, who was found dead in his barracks.
    On April 26, oral proceedings began in the National Criminal Court 
for the 1980 case of eight peasants in Chuschi, who were reportedly 
tortured and killed by soldiers. In 2004 the Supreme Court of Justice 
had ruled that civilian courts should try the soldiers because the case 
involved allegations of human rights violations. The proceedings 
continued at year's end.
    On October 13, a civilian court in Lima found Abimael Guzman, the 
71-year-old leader of Shining Path, guilty of terrorism. Guzman 
received a life sentence, as did Shining Path's second-in-command, 
Elena Iparraguirre. Nine other Shining Path leaders received lesser 
prison sentences.

    b. Disappearance.--According to the Peruvian National Police (PNP), 
the terrorist group Shining Path killed five police officers and eight 
civilians and were responsible for 92 serious terrorist incidents 
during the year. Unlike in 2005, there were no reports of kidnappings 
committed by the Shining Path.
    On March 21, PNP Colonel Juan Carlos Mejia Leon was sentenced to 16 
years in prison for the 1990 kidnapping and disappearance of Ernesto 
Rafael Castillo Paez. Two low-ranking military officials and an officer 
were sentenced to 15 years in prison while 12 others were absolved of 
the crime. At year's end the defendants were appealing the decision.
    On July 21, the Public Defender's Office officially recognized that 
150 cases of missing persons were actually political disappearances. 
The Public Defenders office continued its investigations into an 
additional 941 cases.
    There were no new developments in the trial of 11 policemen for the 
2003 disappearance of Andy Williams Graces.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, reports 
surfaced of excessive use of force by security officials. The 
authorities seldom punished those who committed abuses.
    Allegations of torture most often arose immediately following an 
arrest, when families were prohibited from visiting suspects and when 
attorneys had limited access to detainees (see section 1.d.).
    In some cases police and security forces allegedly threatened or 
harassed victims, their relatives, and witnesses to prevent them from 
filing charges of human rights violations. According to COMISEDH, a 
nongovernmental organization, some victims were reluctant to pursue 
judicial proceedings for fear that abusers would be released without 
being charged. COMISEDH reported 13 cases of aggravated torture by 
security forces. Three victims died from their wounds. The PNP were 
involved in seven cases. Municipal security units were involved in two 
cases, as were penitentiary guards and military units, for a total of 
six cases.
    On February 7, authorities filed homicide charges in criminal court 
in Huanta against two military officers in the 2004 case of Peter 
Vasquez Chavez, a 23-year-old recruit found dead at the Cangari-Huanta 
Military Base in Ayacucho.
    On February 15, the national superior penal prosecutor charged five 
police officers for the crime of simple torture. Oral proceedings began 
in the National Penal Court.
    On February 21, the presiding judge in Ancash found six prison 
guards guilty of beating inmate Alfonso Valle Oquendo in 2002. The 
defendants' continued their appeal in the superior court.
    On March 31, 20 police officers allegedly beat Luis Alberto Saravia 
to death. The Public Defender's Office continued to investigate the 
case.
    On April 3, Cristhian Rolangelo Contreras Atco charged that three 
policemen had beaten him unconscious. The Fifth Supraprovincial Penal 
Prosecutor of Lima continued its investigation into the case.
    The April 2005 case of the alleged police beating of Wilmer Cubas 
Carranza remained at year's end in the preliminary investigation stage 
with the Second Supraprovincial Prosecutor of Lima.
    In June the Public Defender's Office began an investigation into 
the May 28 riot at La Asuncion prison in Junin. Guards were accused of 
allowing prisoners access to alcohol and prostitutes within the 
penitentiary and of beating prisoners after the riot.
    In July the director of Sarita Colonia Prison, Manuel V squez 
Coronado, allegedly beat inmate Samuel David Flores Valdivia. An 
investigation by the Fifth Prosecutor's Office of Callao continued at 
year's end.
    The 11th provincial prosecutor of Lima's Northern Cone continued to 
investigate the case of army soldier Misael Mendoza Carrion, who was 
allegedly beaten by a superior officer in 2004 and suffered a loss of 
hearing.
    The National Penal Courts absolved the policeman involved in the 
2002 beating of Jair Martin Rodriguez and his brother. COMISEDH 
appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh. Prisoners with money had access to cellular telephones, illicit 
drugs, and meals prepared outside of the prison, but conditions were 
poor to extremely harsh in all facilities for prisoners lacking funds. 
Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate nutrition and health care 
were serious problems. Inmates had intermittent access to running 
water; bathing facilities were inadequate; kitchen facilities were 
unhygienic; and prisoners slept in hallways and common areas for lack 
of cell space. Illegal drugs were available in many prisons, and 
tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS were reportedly at near epidemic levels. 
Prison authorities budgeted approximately one dollar (3.18 soles) per 
prisoner per day for food. At Lima's San Juan de Lurigancho men's 
prison, the country's largest; more than 8,500 prisoners lived in a 
facility built for 1,500. The National Penitentiary Institute (INPE), 
with support from the Red Cross (ICRC) and the NGO Doctors without 
Borders, provided diagnostic equipment and updated technology to 
improve the healthcare services provided to inmates.
    The INPE runs 55 of the country's 84 prisons; the PNP controls the 
rest. In June the congress passed laws requiring the INPE to take 
charge of all prisons within three years. Congress also authorized INPE 
to hire 400 additional prison guards.
    The ICRC reported a shortage of trained medical personnel, 
inadequate legal representation for prisoners, a lack of social workers 
and psychologists, and a disorganized system of administration.
    Conditions were especially harsh in maximum-security facilities 
located at high altitudes. The Government responded to criticisms from 
human rights monitors, including Amnesty International, and permanently 
closed the Challapalca Prison in Tarata, Tacna in 2005. The Yanamayo 
prison in Puno was also closed. The high-security prison in Iquitos was 
in poor condition, with the physical infrastructure of the building 
near collapse. The prison facility in Maynas was in such disrepair that 
rubble prevented guards from reaching some watchtowers.
    Prison guards and fellow inmates routinely victimized and abused 
prisoners. Guards received little or no training or supervision. 
Corruption was a serious problem, and some guards cooperated with 
criminal bosses, who oversaw the smuggling of guns and drugs into 
prison facilities.
    The total prison population was 35,600 (33,200 males), only 11,200 
of whom had been sentenced. Detainees were held temporarily in pretrial 
detention centers located at police stations, judiciary buildings, and 
the Ministry of Justice. In most cases, pretrial detainees were held 
with convicted prisoners.
    In June Jose Gamboa Mendoza, director of the Piedras Gordas 
penitentiary was caught on tape negotiating bribes. By year's end 
Gamboa is in prison awaiting trial
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, including the ICRC. The ICRC made 74 unannounced visits to 
inmates in 46 different prisons, detention centers, and juvenile 
detention facilities.
    In July the Human Rights Ombudsman and the Institute of Legal 
Defense (IDL) released a report stating that 75 of 84 prisons were in 
poor condition and that 12 had reached a critical state of 
overcrowding, with populations 300 per cent larger than intended. The 
report called for improving prison infrastructure by building two more 
prisons, increasing the budget for existing prisons, eliminating 
corruption, and reducing sentences for thousands of detainees held for 
petty crimes.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution, criminal code, 
and antiterrorist statutes prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, 
although the law permits police to detain persons for investigative 
purposes. The law requires a written judicial warrant for an arrest 
unless the perpetrator of a crime is caught in the act. Only judges may 
authorize detentions, including in corruption cases. Authorities are 
required to arraign arrested persons within 24 hours. In cases of 
terrorism, drug trafficking, or espionage, arraignment must take place 
within 30 days. Military authorities must turn over persons they detain 
to the police within 24 hours; in remote areas, arraignment must take 
place as soon as practicable.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNP, with a force 
of 90,385, is responsible for all areas of law enforcement and 
functions under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior. The 
PNP's personnel structure follows that of the military, with an officer 
corps and enlisted personnel. The organizational structure is a mixture 
of directorates that specialize in specific areas (such as kidnapping, 
counternarcotics, and terrorism) and local police units. Each 
department, province, city, and town has a PNP presence.
    Observers noted that the PNP was undermanned and suffered from a 
lack of training, professionalism, and an inability to counter criminal 
activity or fulfill its responsibilities, such as witness protection. 
Corruption and impunity remained problems. On December 4, minister of 
interior Pilar Mazzetti estimated that 20 percent of PNP officers were 
corrupt.
    On July 13, the PNP and Interior Ministry completed work on a human 
rights training manual, which was distributed to all police academies 
and stations in the country. The manual teaches the latest techniques 
for conducting arrests, disbursing crowds, and controlling riots while 
emphasizing the importance of respecting human rights.
    The PNP is charged with witness protection for the entire country. 
The witness protection law is thorough and well written, but the PNP 
lacked resources to provide training for officers, conceal identities, 
and offer logistical support to witnesses. Officers assigned to witness 
protection cases often brought witnesses into their homes to live. 
COMISDH was processing 106 cases of serious threats against witnesses, 
lawyers, and human rights activists.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law requires police to file a report 
with the Public Ministry within 24 hours after an arrest. The Public 
Ministry, in turn, must issue its own assessment of the legality of the 
police action in the arrest. The law also provides for the right to 
prompt judicial action. The time between an arrest and an appearance 
before a judge averages 20 hours. Judges then have two hours to decide 
whether to release a suspect or continue detention. A functioning bail 
system exists, but many poor defendants lacked the means to post bail. 
By law, detainees are allowed access to a lawyer and to family members. 
The Justice Ministry provided indigent persons with access to an 
attorney at no cost. Persons detained for espionage, drug trafficking, 
corruption, and terrorism may be held for up to 15 days. Police may 
detain suspected terrorists incommunicado for 10 days. The Public 
Ministry oversees the detention centers, which are also monitored by 
the Ombudsman's Office.
    In practice, lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. According to 
a study prepared by the Technical Secretary of the Special Commission 
for Integral Reform of the Justice System, only 31 percent of the 
persons in prison had been sentenced, with 69 percent awaiting trial. 
If prisoners are held more than 18 months without being sentenced--36 
months in complex cases--under the law they must be released.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The three-tier court structure consists of lower courts, superior 
courts, and a Supreme Court of Justice of 30 judges. A seven-person 
Constitutional Tribunal operates independently of the judicial branch. 
The independent and autonomous National Judicial Council (CNM) 
appoints, disciplines, and evaluates all judges and prosecutors who 
have served in their position for at least seven years (excluding those 
chosen by popular election). Lack of certification from the CNM 
permanently disqualifies a judge or prosecutor.

    Trial Procedures.--The justice system is based on the Napoleonic 
Code. The prosecutor investigates cases and submits an opinion to a 
first instance judge, who determines if sufficient evidence exists to 
open legal proceedings. The judge conducts an investigation, evaluates 
facts, determines guilt or innocence, and issues a sentence. All 
defendants are presumed innocent; they have the right to be present at 
trial, call witnesses, and be represented by counsel, although in 
practice the public defender system often failed to provide indigent 
defendants with qualified attorneys. Defendants may appeal verdicts to 
the superior court and then to the Supreme Court of Justice.
    Under the military justice system, judges in the lower courts must 
sentence and pass judgment within 10 days of the opening of trial. 
Defendants can appeal convictions to the Superior Military Council, 
which has 10 days to issue a decision. A final appeal may be made to 
the Supreme Council of Military Justice, which must issue a ruling 
within five days. At the Superior Military Council and Supreme Council 
levels, a significant number of judges are active-duty officers with 
little or no professional legal training.
    In 2004 the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the military-
political commands created to maintain order during states of national 
emergency were unconstitutional. A commission created by the executive 
branch continued to make the revisions necessary to bring the Code of 
Military Justice in line with this decision.
    The Special Terrorism Court, in accordance with decisions of both 
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Constitutional 
Tribunal, continued to retry defendants previously convicted by 
military tribunals. The National Penal Court found 768 persons guilty 
and absolved 236 persons. At year's end between 20 to 25 cases were 
still pending. Approximately 77 percent of individuals tried were found 
guilty; 23 percent were absolved. Approximately 1,400 persons remained 
in prison for acts of terrorism.
    The National Penal Court continued investigations into cases 
involving allegations of human rights abuses by security forces during 
the war against the Shining Path in the 1980s and 1990s. The court had 
a total of 47 cases; 26 involved active investigations.
    The NGO, IDL continued its efforts to reduce the large case backlog 
involving those officially sought for acts of terrorism. In November 
the IDL complained about the slow pace of judicial investigations, 
noting that 389 judicial investigations, most dating from before 2002, 
were ongoing and that no member of the military had been convicted of 
human rights violations, suggesting members of the armed forces may not 
be punished for human rights violations.
    More than 9,000 invalid arrest warrants for terrorism, involving 
more than 1,500 persons, were eliminated as a result of IDL's efforts.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has an 
independent judiciary that enables citizens to bring lawsuits for 
violations of their rights. Nonetheless, significant problems affected 
this branch, which has been a frequent target of reform efforts. Court 
cases often dragged on for years, making it difficult for some 
plaintiffs, particularly those of limited economic means, to pursue 
legal redress. In addition, press reports, NGO sources and others 
alleged that judges were frequently subject to corruption and/or 
influence by powerful outside actors.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions, although reports surfaced that 
authorities did not always obtain warrants before entering private 
dwellings.
    COMISEDH received no reports of forced military recruitment.
    The Shining Path continued to coerce indigenous persons to join its 
ranks (see section 5).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. 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. There were, however, reports of 
press harassment by provincial authorities and by private groups such 
as coca growers (cocaleros). Harassment took the form of attacks on 
journalists, illegal arrests, and threats of judicial action.
    The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views. 
All media outlets were privately owned except for one government-owned 
daily newspaper, two television networks, and one radio station.
    Journalists and media outlets reportedly suffered intimidation. The 
National Journalists Association reported 133 cases of harassment 
(mainly in the provinces). The Press and Society Institute issued 298 
alerts. Both statistics were higher than the figures for 2005. The 
majority of incidents took the form of violent attacks, threats, 
judicial pressure, illegal arrests, and theft of broadcasting equipment 
and of journalists' files. Many cases occurred for lack of an effective 
government presence in parts of the country, a factor that rendered 
journalists vulnerable to attacks.
    There were approximately 70 incidents in which government 
authorities were reported to have harassed reporters.
    On January 6, police officer Javier Matta allegedly beat Jorge 
Catanded, a reporter with Lima's Channel 5 television news program 24 
Horas, as he was filming a prison riot at Miguel Castro prison.
    On January 9, the mayor of Nuevo Chimbote, Valentin Fernandez, sued 
Alfonso Ego, the editor of Channel 4's Sunday program Cuarto Poder, and 
reporters Raul Tola and Carola Miranda for defamation, for broadcasting 
a report accusing the mayor of using public funds to help finance 
President Garcia's 2006 Presidential campaign.
    On February 28, Carlo Magna Pasqual, the manager of the San Martin 
Provincial Municipality, tried to hit two reporters filming a protest 
in Tarapoto with a motorcycle.
    On March 8, Justion Montes, the mayor of the Chavin de Huantara 
District in Huari, Ancash, attacked three reporters who had tried to 
interview him about a missing electrical generator.
    On March 9, police captain Bernardo Andrade attacked Walter Acuna, 
a radio journalist. Acuna was reporting from the scene of a violent 
confrontation between police and protestors near the Tumbes River.
    On March 18, journalists Rory Huaney and Carlos Miranda of Huaraz 
said that Jean Carlos Leon, the son of Yungay Mayor Amaro Leon, had 
made death threats against them for their reporting on the legal case 
against their father. In 2004 the mayor had allegedly asked David 
Moises Julca to kill journalist Antonio de la Torre. Moises was 
acquitted of the charges, but Leon received a 17-year prison sentence 
in December 2005. On July 12, Leon was released from prison and 
acquitted of the charges. De la Torre's widow then brought charges 
against the Government to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 
for the release and acquittal of Leon. Leon failed to win re-election 
in November.
    Congressman Jorge Mufarech's 2004 lawsuit against Correo journalist 
Pedro Salinas for alleged defamation continued. In 2004 a court 
acquitted Salinas, but Mufarech appealed the decision.
    The Pucallpa court continued its investigation into the 2004 
killing of radio announcer Alberto Ramirez.
    On July 25, Francisco Rodriquez, a radio journalist, was beaten by 
a worker of the municipality of Huaraz. Rodriquez was attacked while 
interviewing the mayor, Lombardo Motion.
    On August 9, television reporter Ronald Marquez said he received 
death threats after reporting the illegal purchase of a motorcycle by 
police.
    On August 23, two armed men entered the radio station Alegra in 
Huarez and threatened Angel Duran, who had criticized Caesar Alvares, a 
candidate for regional President.
    On August 24, Superior Prosecutor Pedro Angulo brought charges 
against journalist Humberto Ortiz for concealing a tape of an 
interview. Angulo subsequently sought and received political asylum in 
the United States.
    On September 11, three journalists accused police captain Manuel 
Vareda, of Huaranchal police headquarters, for seizing equipment and 
for preventing them from completing an interview at Ciena mining 
company.
    The defamation case against foreign reporters Jane Holligan and 
Sally Bowen, filed by alleged narcotrafficker Fernando Zevallos, 
continued at year's end.
    On March 19, Adam Pollca, a friend of President Toledo, withdrew 
his 2001 defamation suit against journalist Alvaro Vargas Llosa.
    On April 5, television reporter Marilu Gambini left the country 
after receiving death threats. Gambini had investigated businessmen 
involved in drug trafficking.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individual and groups engaged in the free 
expression of views via the Internet, including the use of electronic 
mail. The chief impediment to Internet access was a lack of 
infrastructure.
    The Government led a campaign to promote e-commerce, focusing on 
educating the public on investing money over 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.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of 
freedom of assembly, and the Government generally respected this right 
in practice. The law does not require a permit for public 
demonstrations, but organizers must inform the Interior Ministry's 
political authority (prefect) about the type of demonstration and its 
location. Demonstrations may be prohibited for reasons of public safety 
or health. The police used tear gas and occasional force to disperse 
protesters in various demonstrations. Although most demonstrations were 
peaceful, protests in some areas turned violent.
    During the year the Human Rights Ombudsman reported 98 individual 
cases of social unrest in 2006; social unrest precipitating conflict 
was continuing in 12 of these cases at year's end.
    On May 28, 250 PNP officers clashed with 3,500 cocaleros protesting 
coca eradication in the town of Puerto Pizana, San Martin. Nine farmers 
and nine policemen were injured. The Ombudsman's Office was continuing 
an investigation at year's end.
    On August 2 in Cajamarca, demonstrators protesting the proposed 
expansion of the Yanacocha mine clashed with security guards; one 
protestor was killed, and mining operations were suspended. The local 
government brokered an agreement between the mine and local communities 
that ended the protest on September 3.
    On September 11, 37 persons (31 police and six civilians) were 
injured in Campanilla, San Martin, when cocaleros tried to stop 
eradication efforts. The police officers were injured by protestors 
throwing bricks. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse 
the protesters.
    In October the Government officially formalized the Multi-Sector 
Commission for the Prevention of Social Conflicts to anticipate, 
prevent, and contribute to the resolution of dangerous conflicts.
    Demonstrations against outgoing Apurimac Regional President Rosa 
Suarez turned violent in December. One person was killed and the 
Government declared a 30-day state of emergency on December 6. 
Opposition parties accused Suarez of illegally transferring money 
belonging to the city of Abancay.
    The Ombudsman's Office continued to issue monthly reports noting 
the prevalence of rural unrest regarding a variety of issues, including 
mining operations, border disputes between communities, strikes, and 
road blockages.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    Laws favoring the Roman Catholic Church remained in force. The 
Catholic Church and clergy received extra benefits from the Government 
in education, salary, and taxation of personal income and institutional 
property. By law, the military may hire only Catholic clergy as 
chaplains, and Catholicism is the only recognized religion for military 
personnel. The Education Ministry requires that Catholic religion 
courses be taught in all public and private primary schools. Parents 
may request an exemption by writing to the school principal.
    Although Catholicism remains the official state religion, 
Protestantism has grown throughout the country, and approximately 15 
percent of the population identified themselves as non-Catholic 
Christians. Protestants gained high-level leadership positions in 
society.
    Churches may register voluntarily with the Office of Ecclesiastical 
Affairs in the Ministry of Justice to receive tax benefits and 
exemption from import duties on religious materials.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses, discrimination, or anti-Semitic acts. The 4,000-member 
Jewish community was integrated into the larger society.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--Although the law provides for the right 
of free movement, authorities may restrict persons with pending 
criminal cases or civil charges from leaving the country. Police have 
the right to check documents at control points throughout the country.
    The Shining Path at times interrupted the free movement of persons 
by establishing roadblocks in sections of the Upper Huallaga, Apurimac, 
and Ene River valleys. Farmers occasionally blocked roads in an attempt 
to pressure the Government to purchase surplus crops.
    The law prohibits forced internal and external exile, and the 
Government did not engage in such activity.
    Although the law prohibits the revocation of citizenship, 
naturalized citizens may lose their citizenship for committing crimes 
against the state or for jeopardizing national defense or public 
security, as well as for reasons that ``affect the public interest and 
the national interest.''

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government also provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
prosecution, and laws exist allowing individuals to apply for refugee 
status or asylum.
    The Government cooperated with the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees and recognized the Catholic Migration Commission (CMC) as the 
official provider of technical assistance to refugees. The CMC also 
advised citizens who feared persecution and sought asylum abroad. The 
Government provided protection to political refugees on a renewable, 
year-to-year basis, in accordance with CMC recommendations. The CMC 
granted refugee status to 47 persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens To 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides for the right of citizens to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of 
mandatory voting and universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On July 28, Alan Garcia 
Perez assumed the presidency after two rounds of Presidential elections 
that were free and fair. The two principal parties represented in the 
120-member congress were the Union for Peru and Nationalist Party of 
Peru coalition with 42 seats and the President's party, APRA, with 36 
seats.
    Nationwide municipal elections were held November 19. Independent 
candidates captured 21 of 25 regional governments and the majority of 
provincial capitals. Only 26 out of 194 incumbent mayors were re-
elected. APRA won only two of the 25 regional governments (down from 
12) and only one provincial capital. The party of Presidential runner-
up Ollanta Humala of the Nationalist Party of Peru won no regions and 
only one provincial capital. The new regional leaders came to power 
with limited support and highly divided councils, complicating an 
already fragmented political system. Domestic and international 
observer delegations declared the elections to be fair and transparent, 
despite a few localized incidents of violence.
    Registration of a new political party requires the signature of one 
per cent of the voters who participated in the past election. 
Presidential and congressional terms are five years, and the law 
prohibits the immediate reelection of a President. Groups that advocate 
the violent overthrow of government are barred from participating in 
the political process.
    There were 35 women in the congress, including the President and 
two vice-Presidents. No female regional Presidents were elected in 
2006, compared to three in 2002. Five out of a total of 194 mayors were 
women. There were six women in the cabinet, and there was one woman on 
the Supreme Court of Justice. The Law on Political Parties mandates 
that at least 30 percent of candidates on the party lists be women. 
While parties abided by the legislation, many women candidates were 
included at the bottom of the party lists, reducing their likelihood of 
winning seats on regional and municipal councils.
    Indigenous persons comprise approximately 33 percent of the 
population. Twenty-three Quechua speakers and one Aymara speaker were 
elected to the national congress. One congressman was a native speaker 
of the indigenous Chipiyo language.
    One congressperson represented the Afro-Peruvian minority, 
estimated at 3 to 5 percent of the population, but no Afro-Peruvians 
were in the cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Corruption remained a 
serious problem, and widespread public perception existed that 
corruption was pervasive in all branches of government.
    From 1991 to 2000, authorities accused 1,742 persons of corruption 
and released 1,541. Approximately 43 percent of the remaining cases 
were in the instruction or investigation stage as of October. Since 
2001, 8,598 total cases of corruption have been processed at the state 
level. Human rights activists and civil society actors noted that the 
law permits 36 months of detention without sentencing, opening the 
possibility that some of those accused could be freed unless their 
cases were handled promptly. During the year, authorities detained 43 
persons and placed another 37 under house arrest.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
most ministries and central offices provided key information on 
Websites. Implementation of the law was incomplete, particularly in 
rural areas, where few citizens exercised or understood their right to 
information. The Ombudsman's Office encouraged regional governments to 
adopt more transparent practices for releasing information and 
monitored the compliance of regional governments with a law that 
requires public hearings at least twice a year.
    The Government did not act on a request by the Peruvian Press 
Council (CPP) to modify the Law of the National Intelligence System, 
enacted in 2005. The CPP said the law defined national security in 
ambiguous terms and mandated excessive prison terms for the publication 
of confidential government information.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A large number of domestic and international human rights groups 
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally 
were cooperative and responsive to their views. There was considerable 
controversy surrounding a law, signed by President Garcia on December 
8, which required all NGOs to register with the Government and to 
provide an annual financial statement listing sources of income and how 
funds were spent. The law also contains loosely worded provisions that 
could require NGOs to align their development programs with those of 
the Government and gives the Government wide discretion to impose 
sanctions. NGOs planned to appeal the law to the Constitutional 
Tribunal.
    According to COMISEDH, military commanders continued to deny access 
to military facilities to human rights observers. To obtain information 
about activities in those areas, NGOs had to work through the 
Ombudsman's Office.
    The Government continued to implement recommendations in the 2003 
Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation report and established a commission 
of reparations to identify those persons who had suffered during the 
conflict with the Shining Path between 1980 and 2000 and were eligible 
for reparation. The Government also identified 562 communities that 
have suffered from the violence and required some type of compensation. 
On October 24, the Government created the National Council for 
Reparations to aid the victims of the violence from 1980 through 2000. 
The law provides for a percentage of taxes from mining companies to 
help fund the reparations.
    A human rights Ombudsman's Office exists and operated without 
government or party interference.
    The Government continued to seek extradition of former President 
Fujimori from Chile to face charges of human rights abuses and 
corruption.
    In October Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo requested that the 
Office of the National Electoral Process investigate the charge that 
Ollanta Humala received four million dollars (12.7 million soles) from 
the Venezuelan government for his campaign. There was no movement on an 
investigation by year's end.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, but enforcement lagged, and discrimination 
against women, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and racial 
and ethnic minorities persisted.

    Women.--Violence against women and girls, including rape, spousal 
abuse, and sexual, physical, and mental abuse was a problem. Abuses 
were aggravated by insensitivity on the part of law enforcement and 
judicial authorities toward female victims.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, and penalties range from one 
month to six years in prison. The law gives judges and prosecutors the 
authority to prevent the convicted spouse or parent from returning to 
the family's home and authorizes the victim's relatives and unrelated 
persons living in the home to file complaints of domestic violence. It 
also allows health professionals to document injuries. The law requires 
police investigation of domestic violence to take place within five 
days and obliges authorities to extend protection to women and children 
who are victims of domestic violence.
    Ministry of Women and Social Development (MIMDES) centers reported 
25,036 cases of domestic violence. The centers helped an average of 
2,067 men and women per month. MIMDES also operated a toll-free hot 
line, which handled 7785 requests for assistance regarding family 
disturbances during the year.
    Women's organizations noted that alcohol abuse and traditional 
attitudes toward women aggravated the problems of rape and sexual 
abuse, particularly in rural areas. On November 30, the World Health 
Organization reported that 69 percent of women said they had suffered 
from some form of physical violence in their lives.
    MIMDES and NGOs stated that many domestic abuse cases went 
unreported. NGO sources stated that the majority of reported cases did 
not result in formal charges because of fear of retaliation or because 
of the expense of filing a complaint. The legal and physical 
protections offered were limited because of legal delays, ambiguities 
in the law, and the lack of shelters for victims. MIMDES ran the 
Women's Emergency Program, which sought to address the legal, 
psychological, and medical problems facing victims of domestic 
violence. MIMDES operated 39 centers, bringing together police, 
prosecutors, counselors, and public welfare agents together to help 
victims of domestic abuse.
    MIMDES continued efforts to sensitize government employees and the 
citizenry to domestic violence, but the Ombudsman's Office continued to 
complain that police officers reacted indifferently to charges of 
domestic violence, despite legal requirements to investigate the 
complaints. However, female community leaders, former members of 
congress, and local media outlets launched awareness campaigns to 
provide citizens with more information about domestic violence.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the 
Government enforced the law effectively. The law provides penalties for 
those who derive financial benefits from trafficking in persons, 
Internet child pornography, and sexual tourism involving children. 
Penalties for procurers and clients of underage prostitutes range from 
four to eight years in prison.
    Prostitution is legal for women over 18 years of age if they 
register with municipal authorities and carry a health certificate. In 
practice the vast majority of prostitutes worked in the informal sector 
where they lacked health protection. NGOs reported that traffickers 
lured increasing numbers of underage women into prostitution (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment was a problem. The law defines sexual harassment 
as a labor rights violation subject to administrative punishment. 
Punishments differ depending on the professional situation where the 
violation took place.
    The law provides for equality between men and women and prohibits 
discrimination against women with regard to marriage, divorce, and 
property rights. Racial and sexual discrimination in employment or 
educational advertisements is prohibited, although in practice 
discrimination continued. The law prohibits the arbitrary dismissal of 
pregnant women.
    Traditional assumptions often impeded access to leadership roles 
for women in both the public and private sectors. Women from the upper 
and upper-middle classes have assumed leadership roles in companies and 
government agencies; by law they receive equal pay for equal work, but 
because of societal prejudice and discrimination, women historically 
suffered disproportionately from poverty and unemployment.

    Children.--The Government was committed to the welfare and rights 
of children.
    Education was free and compulsory through secondary school and 
generally was available throughout the country, although a shortage 
existed of qualified teachers, primarily in jungle regions. The 
Ministry of Education provided books to all public schools. An 
estimated 12 percent of children did not attend schools, for a variety 
of reasons; the most common was a desire work to help the family 
economically. Children living in poverty averaged 7.8 years of 
education, compared with 9.4 years for children living above the 
poverty line. The 2004 National Institute of Statistics and Information 
report, for 2004, indicated a decline in the rate of extreme poverty, 
from 33 percent in 2002 to 26 percent in 2004. Based on 2005 population 
data from the National Institute for Statistical Information (INEI), 55 
percent of children from three to five years old attended school, 92 
percent of children ages six to 11 and 69 percent of adolescents 
between 12 and 16. Absenteeism was highest in rural and jungle areas.
    The Education Ministry operated night schools for working 
adolescents and offered a tutorial program where teachers provided 
extra help to working students. The ministry also began a program to 
teach children their rights, in order to lessen the incidence of 
exploitation.
    The Government's health security program continued to offer poor 
mothers and infants, as well as school-age children, access to basic 
health care. The program included children not attending school. Boys 
and girls had equal access to health services under this system.
    The Ministry of Health led a vaccination campaign against rubella 
and estimated that 90 percent of citizens were vaccinated.
    Violence against children and the sexual abuse of children were 
serious problems. MIMDES reported that there were 544 cases of violence 
or sexual abuse of children five years of age and under and 1,067 cases 
of children ages six to 11.
    NGOs noted that many abuse cases went unreported because societal 
norms viewed such abuse as a family problem that should be resolved 
privately. The Women's Emergency Program worked to help children who 
were victims of violence.
    The Children's Bureau of MIMDES coordinated government policies and 
programs for children and adolescents. At the grassroots, 1,312 
Children's Rights and Welfare Protection Office resolved complaints 
ranging from physical and sexual abuse of children to abandonment and 
failure to pay child support. Provincial or district governments 
operated approximately 46 percent of these offices, while schools, 
churches, and NGOs ran the remaining 54 percent. Law students staffed 
most of the units; only the offices in the wealthiest districts of the 
country had professionally trained lawyers, psychologists, and social 
workers. When these offices could not resolve disputes, officials 
usually referred cases to the local prosecutors' offices of the Public 
Ministry. Settlements adjudicated by these offices were legally binding 
and had the same force as judgments entered by a court of law.
    Trafficking of children was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Child labor was a serious problem (see section 6.d.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law prohibits trafficking in persons; 
however, there were reports that persons were trafficked from and 
primarily within the country.
    No authoritative estimates existed on the extent of trafficking, 
but NGOs and international organizations reported that significant 
domestic trafficking occurred, notably in districts located in the 
highlands or in the Amazon jungle. These activities brought underage 
women into cities to work as prostitutes or domestics.
    The trafficking took place through informal networks, including 
family friends, boyfriends, and even the families of the victims. 
Trafficking to Spain, and particularly to Japan, operated through 
organized criminal networks.
    Trafficking laws provide penalties from five to 12 years' 
imprisonment for those who move a person, either within the country or 
to an area outside the country, for the purposes of sexual exploitation 
(including prostitution, sexual slavery, or pornography). If the victim 
is less than eight years old, the punishment is 10 to 15 years' 
imprisonment. Laws prohibiting kidnapping, sexual abuse, and illegal 
employment of minors were also enforced and used to punish those who 
trafficked persons. Press reports estimated there were 700 underage 
prostitutes working in Lima.
    The PNP repeatedly raided clandestine brothels, resulting in the 
rescue of a number of young women, who were returned to their families. 
However, the raids resulted in few arrests for trafficking crimes. Most 
persons were charged for sexual exploitation and related crimes. The 
PNP unit that investigates trafficking crimes reported four cases 
through July that were passed to prosecutors for further investigation 
and trial.
    In February Arndt Huber Kupper, a German citizen, and his wife Eva 
La Torre Alonso de Kupper, a Peruvian, were arrested for trafficking 
children to Europe.
    In July the PNP arrested Carlos Arturo and 20 others for 
trafficking infants to France. In July charges were brought against 
seven of the accused; the other cases remained under investigation at 
year's end.
    Prosecutors were processing six cases from 2005. On December 27, 
Edwin Sanchez Aguilar was convicted of trafficking in persons for the 
purpose of sexual exploitation. He received a 10-year jail sentence and 
must pay $1,550 (5,000 soles) to each of his three victims. The PNP 
arrested Sanchez in March for domestic and international trafficking of 
women from the northern highlands. This case was the only trafficking 
trial or conviction reported during the year.
    The Government coordinated its antitrafficking activities with 
NGOs. A Catholic order of nuns, the Sisters of Adoration, operated 
three programs for underage female prostitutes: a live-in center for 
approximately 75 girls (and 20 children of the victims) in Callao and 
two drop-in centers--one each in Lima and Chiclayo. All facilities 
offered medical attention, job training, and self-esteem workshops 
designed to keep underage girls from the streets. The Government's 
Institute for Adolescents and Children provided the building in Callao 
and paid for upkeep, utilities, and food.
    On March 13, the Ministry of Interior established a nationwide, 
toll-free trafficking crimes hot line within its Office of Human 
Rights, which received an average of 1,000 calls per month. 
Approximately 15 percent of the calls could be considered trafficking 
related. The hot line staff also received support from the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM provided 
assistance for informational campaigns and training of government 
officials in trafficking issues.
    The NGO Capital Humano y Social designed and installed, in eight 
police districts, a computerized tracking system for trafficking cases. 
PNP officers were trained to operate the system and instructed on the 
law enforcement aspects related to trafficking crimes.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and provides for ``protection, care, 
rehabilitation, and security.'' The law also mandates that public 
spaces be free of barriers and accessible to the disabled. The law 
provides for the appointment of a disability rights specialist in the 
Ombudsman's Office; however, the Government devoted limited resources 
to enforcement, and many persons with disabilities remained 
economically and socially marginalized.
    The law prohibits discrimination in the workplace, but the 
Government did not fund programs to train workers with disabilities. As 
a result, persons with disabilities and the private agencies serving 
them generally relied on public charity and on funding from 
international organizations to maintain programs.
    The Government made little effort to ensure access to public 
buildings. There were no interpreters for the deaf in government 
offices and no access to recordings or to Braille for the blind. On May 
25, the Government published a law requiring public organizations and 
universities to make Web pages available to the blind by employing 
software that would read pages aloud. The law gave institutions 120 
days to implement changes or face a $2,000 fine (6,500 soles). 
Observers worried that the law, while well-intentioned, might not be 
enforced.
    Two persons with disabilities served in Congress.
    According to officials of the Institute for Social Security, less 
than 1 percent of persons with severe disabilities actually work. Some 
private companies operated programs to hire and train persons with 
disabilities, and a private foundation provided small loans to persons 
with disabilities to start businesses. Nevertheless, discrimination 
remained a problem.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides all citizens 
equality before the law and forbids discrimination on the basis of 
race, national origin, or language.
    The population includes large minorities of persons of Asian and 
African descent. Afro-Peruvians faced discrimination and social 
prejudice and were among the poorest groups in the country. Afro-
Peruvian civil rights groups contended that official surveys did not 
accurately reflect their numbers. Afro-Peruvians generally did not hold 
leadership positions in government, business, or the military, although 
one Afro-Peruvian woman was elected to congress. Few Afro-Peruvians 
served as officers in either the navy or the air force. Although the 
law prohibits mentioning race in job advertisements, NGOs alleged that 
employers often found ways to refuse Afro-Peruvians jobs or relegate 
them to low-paying service positions. Employers, for example, often 
required applicants to submit photos. Although the law prohibits 
discrimination against customers in stores, discriminatory practices 
against Afro-Peruvians continued. Afro-Peruvians often were portrayed 
in the media as stereotypes.

    Indigenous People.--The law prohibits discrimination based on race 
and provides for the right of all citizens to speak their native 
language. Spanish and Quechua are the official languages; the 
Government also recognizes 49 other indigenous languages.
    Most indigenous persons and those with indigenous features faced 
pervasive societal discrimination and prejudice. Several factors 
impeded their ability to participate fully in the political process, 
including language barriers and inadequate infrastructure in indigenous 
communities. Many indigenous persons lacked identity documents and 
could not exercise basic rights.
    The geographic isolation of highland and Amazon jungle communities 
also disadvantaged indigenous persons. The UN Children's Fund reported 
that indigenous persons in rural areas often did not have access to 
public services, particularly health care and education. Ninety percent 
lived in poverty, and only 39 percent had completed primary school. 
Child mortality rates were higher in indigenous areas, and only 20 
percent of births took place in public health centers.
    The indigenous population of the Amazon region, estimated at 
200,000 to 300,000 persons, faced discrimination. Local culture and 
tradition rejected the idea of land as a marketable commodity. Although 
local communities retain the legal right of ``unassignability,'' which 
prevents the title of indigenous lands from being reassigned to non-
indigenous tenants, in practice the marketing and sale of the lands 
took place. Indigenous groups continued to resist encroachment on their 
native lands but often lacked legal title to the land. Mineral or other 
subsoil rights belong to the state, a situation that often causes 
conflict between mining interests and indigenous communities.
    On October 23, the Government and the Argentine-run oil company, 
Pluspetrol signed an agreement with the Native Federation of the 
Corriente River to end the dumping of contaminated oil waste into the 
rain forest by July 2008. The regional government of Loreto would 
contribute $11 million (35 million soles) and Pluspetrol $40 million 
(127 million soles) to finance the basic needs of the population in the 
area.
    In the congress, native speakers of Quechua conducted some debate 
in Quechua (translators were available for non-Quechua speakers).
    The Shining Path continued to violate the rights of indigenous 
persons by coercing individuals into its ranks as military conscripts 
and by demanding war taxes.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The law provides all 
citizens with the right to a name, nationality, and legal recognition 
and guarantees other civil, political, economic, and social rights. 
However, more than one million citizens, including at least 312,000 
women, however, lacked identity documents and could not fully exercise 
these rights. An estimated 15 percent of births were unregistered, and 
95,000 persons each year are born without a birth certificate. Poor 
indigenous women and children in rural areas were disproportionally 
represented among those lacking identity documents. Undocumented 
citizens were marginalized socially and politically and faced barriers 
in accessing government services, including running for public office 
or holding title to land.
    Obtaining a National Identity Document requires a birth 
certificate, but many births in rural areas take place at home. In an 
effort to lower infant mortality rates, the Health Ministry fines women 
who do not give birth in clinics or hospitals, but poor women often 
cannot pay the fines and cannot register their children retroactively.
    The NGO CARE continued working with local authorities in the 
department of Huancavelica in a project designed to help the rural 
population obtain identity documents and to increase local 
participation in the political process. More than 1,500 persons have 
received identity documents as a result of the program.
    The Ombudsman's Office investigated complaints about the unlawful 
practice of charging fees to issue identity documents and facilitated 
refunds when such fees had been paid. The Ombudsman's Office also 
helped citizens obtain documents quickly.
    Homosexuals faced extensive discrimination, although homosexual 
rights gained a higher profile. On July 16, for the fifth year, 
hundreds of persons, including public officials, union leaders, 
lesbians, homosexuals, and bisexuals marched in downtown Lima.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
association. Regulations allow workers to form unions on the basis of 
their occupation, employer affiliation, or geographic territory. 
Workers are not required to seek authorization prior to forming a trade 
union, and employers cannot prevent employment because of union 
membership. Judges, prosecutors, and members of the police and military 
are not permitted to form or join unions.
    Many businesses, contracted workers who are legally not permitted 
to participate in the same unions as full-time employees. Although the 
law forbids businesses from hiring more than 20 percent of the 
workforce as temporary workers, some unions reported that some 
employers hire excess temporary workers.
    While the law establishes fundamental rights for domestic workers, 
the Ministry of Labor possessed limited ability to enforce these 
provisions.
    The local office of the AFL-CIO reported that during the year union 
membership grew by approximately 0.5 percent of the labor force.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
recognizes the right of public and private sector workers to organize 
and bargain collectively but specifies that this right must be 
exercised in harmony with broader social objectives. A union must 
represent at least 20 workers to become an official collective 
bargaining agent. Union representatives have the right to participate 
in collective bargaining negotiations and establish negotiating 
timetables.
    Although a conciliation and arbitration system exists, union 
officials complained that the high cost of arbitration made it 
difficult to use. In an effort to address this complaint, on July 4 
then President Toledo signed a supreme decree designed to cap 
arbitrators' fees to prevent employers from unilaterally changing 
previous collective bargaining agreements. The decree also establishes 
a system for defining arbitrator compensation. The Ministry of Labor 
estimated that the new system would reduce arbitration costs by 50 
percent, but unions feared that the reduction may not be enough to 
speed arbitration. In the past, arbitrations often lasted two years or 
longer.
    The constitution provides the right to strike but aims to balance 
this right with broader economic objectives. Unions in essential public 
services, as determined by the Government, must provide a sufficient 
number of workers during a strike to maintain operations. The law bans 
government unions, in essential public services, from striking. It also 
requires strikers to notify the Labor Ministry in advance before 
carrying out a job action. According to the Labor Ministry, four legal 
strikes and 49 illegal strikes took place during the year. According to 
labor leaders, permission to strike was difficult to obtain, in part 
because the Labor Ministry feared harming the economy.
    There are four EPZs and no recognized unions in the EPZs. All labor 
in the EPZs was sub-contracted and no utilities (profit-sharing 
mechanisms) existed.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including labor by children; although there 
were reports of such practices (see section 5).
    On May 12, the International Labor Organization (ILO) stated that 
nearly 30,000 persons are involved in forced labor in Peru, 
particularly in the logging industry located in the Amazonia provinces.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws 
exist to protect children from exploitation in the workplace and 
prohibit forced or compulsory labor. The legal minimum age for 
employment is 14. However, if they obtain special permission from the 
Labor Ministry and certify that they are attending school, children 
between 12 and 14, however, may work in certain jobs for up to four 
hours per day. In practice, child labor remained a serious problem, and 
the laws were violated routinely in the informal sector.
    Narcotics traffickers and Shining Path terrorists continued to hold 
indigenous families captive in remote areas, using their labor--
including child labor--to grow food crops and coca (see section 5). 
Credible press reports surfaced that illegal loggers employed forced 
labor in the Amazon region.
    In certain sectors of the economy, higher minimum ages were in 
force: age 15 in industrial, commercial, or mining and age 16 in 
fishing. The law prohibits children from engaging in certain types of 
employment, such as working underground, lifting or carrying heavy 
weights, accepting responsibility for the safety of others, or working 
at night. The law prohibits work that jeopardizes the health of 
children and adolescents, puts their physical, mental, and emotional 
development at risk, or prevents regular attendance at school.
    In January the Ministry of Labor created a special Office of Labor 
Protection for Minors (PMT). The PMT issued permits authorizing persons 
under age 18 to work legally. The PMT granted 1,326 permits for jobs in 
the formal sector to children between 12 and 17. The majority of 
permits, 1,086, went to children between 16 and 17. Parents must apply 
for the permits, and employers must have a permit on file to hire a 
child. The PMT conducts on-site inspections to ensure compliance with 
the legal codes.
    INEI estimated that 2.3 million children between 6 and 17 years of 
age were engaged in work; 1.9 million worked in the informal sector.
    The Santa Filomena mine in Ayacucho eliminated child labor during 
the year.
    Forms of child labor varied. In rural areas, many children worked 
on small farms with their parents, in the mining sector, or as 
domestics. In urban areas, children often worked on the streets 
providing entertainment, selling candy, begging, shining shoes, or 
scavenging in municipal dumps. Children on the outskirts of Lima also 
worked in brick-making, which the Government labeled one of the worst 
forms of child labor. The Government worked with the private sector to 
return hundreds of children working in brick-making to schools in 
metropolitan Lima.
    Employers frequently required long hours from domestics and paid 
wages as low as $20 to $30 (75 to 105 soles) per month.
    NGOs and other observers maintained that the country suffered a 
serious problem with adolescent prostitution, although no reliable 
statistics existed. To combat child prostitution in Iquitos, a popular 
tourist destination, the Government created a video warning of the 
legal sanctions against child prostitution (see section 5).
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor 
laws, and its inspectors have the legal authority to investigate 
reports of illegal child labor. Inspectors conducted routine visits 
without notice to areas where child labor problems were reported. Firms 
found guilty of violating labor laws were fined and had operations 
suspended.
    Inspectors maintained contact with a wide variety of local NGOs, 
church officials, law enforcement officials, and school officials. 
There were 236 labor inspectors, with 150 working in Lima. Inspectors 
focused on the formal sector.
    The Office of the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents (DEMUNA) 
works with the Ministry of Labor to document complaints regarding 
violations of child labor laws. More than 1,000 thousand DEMUNA offices 
were located in communities throughout the country. DEMUNA also 
operated a decentralized child labor reporting and tracking system to 
insure compliance with the Palermo Protocol. MIMDES administered a 
``street educator'' program, which sent specialized teachers to the 
streets to provide education and support to minors involved in begging 
or work as shoe-shiners.
    In 2004, Peru's Labor Ministry inaugurated a pilot program in Lima 
to provide legal assistance to domestics regarding labor rights. In 
2006, the Labor Ministry signed a contract with the Center of Social 
Studies and Publications to expand the project beyond Lima over the 
next five years. At year's end 23 practitioners had been trained to 
register and train domestic laborers under this program.
    Narcotics traffickers routinely violated the rights of children by 
using them to produce illegal drugs. In 2004 the National Commission 
for Development and Life Without Drugs estimated that 5,000 children 
were employed in the illegal narcotics industry, work that exposed them 
to a variety of toxic chemicals, with effects ranging from blisters and 
burns to permanent damage to the nervous system and even death.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law states that workers 
should receive a just and sufficient wage determined by the Government 
in consultation with labor and business representatives, as well as 
adequate protection against arbitrary dismissal. On January 1 the 
minimum wage was increased on January 1 from $134 (426 soles) to $153 
(486 soles) per month. Many workers in the formal sector received the 
minimum wage, which was based on a 48-hour week. The wage did not 
provide a decent standard of living for many families. The Government 
estimated the poverty line to be approximately $65 (207 soles) a month 
per person, a figure that varied by region. INEI's 2004 survey showed 
the poverty line at $80 (254 soles) a month per person in Lima, 
compared with $57 (181 soles) for the rural regions in the Amazon 
jungle. The Ministry of Labor enforced the minimum wage only in the 
formal sector, less than 25 percent of the labor force, and many 
workers in the unregulated informal sector received less.
    Inspectors made 33,874 visits to work sites and levied 4,500 fines 
for violations of labor laws, including child labor laws. With regard 
to health and safety violations, inspectors made approximately 4,800 
visits and levied fines against 182 firms.
    The law provides for a 48-hour workweek and one day of rest and 
requires companies to pay overtime for more than eight hours of work 
per day and for additional compensation for work at night. Labor, 
business, and the Government reported that the majority of companies in 
the formal sector complied with the law.
    In May the Labor Ministry issued a decree compelling businesses to 
maintain a registry of employee hours to ensure workers received 
overtime. The law also requires employers to document a 45-minute lunch 
break and to make these records available to workers and union 
representatives.
    Occupational health and safety standards exist, and the Government 
attempted to enforce them. Nevertheless, the Government often lacked 
the resources, ability, or authority to enforce compliance with labor 
laws. The Labor Ministry's budget for fiscal year was reduced by $5.1 
million (16 million soles). Local AFL-CIO officials claimed that many 
inspectors were forced to pay for transportation to sites and were 
often harassed or refused entry by businesses. Many fines went 
uncollected, in part because the Labor Ministry lacked an efficient 
tracking system.
    To address these concerns, the Government issued a supreme decree 
in July designed to strengthen and professionalize labor inspections by 
establishing standards and a national office to oversee the inspection 
process. The laws also created a separate office to collect funds.
    In cases of industrial accidents, compensation was usually 
determined by an agreement between the employer and worker. The worker 
did not need to prove an employer's culpability in order to obtain 
compensation for work-related injuries.

                               __________

                         SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

    Saint Kitts and Nevis is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy and 
federation, with a population of approximately 39,200. In the 2004 
national elections, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas's Saint Kitts and 
Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) won seven seats in the 11-seat legislature. 
International observers considered the electoral process flawed. The 
constitution provides the smaller island of Nevis considerable self-
government under a premier, as well as the right to secede from the 
federation in accordance with certain enumerated procedures. In July 
voters in Nevis elected Joseph Parry of the Nevis Reformation Party 
(NRP) as premier. The civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces.
    Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, problems included poor prison conditions, lack of opposition 
access to government-controlled media, corruption, and violence against 
women.
                        respect for human rights
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, 
security forces shot and killed one person. Authorities had not made 
any determination regarding possible culpability in this killing by 
year's end.
    On October 1, police shot and killed Nigel Langley Sweeney after he 
fired shots at them, killing one police officer. According to media 
reports, the officers were responding to a report of a robbery in 
progress when the suspect, who had been the focus of a nationwide 
manhunt, opened fire on them. According to the assistant police 
commissioner, police conduct internal investigations whenever 
warranted, but there is no time frame in which the investigations must 
be completed.
    The investigation and inquests into 2005 killings by police of 
Rechalieu Henry and Garnet Tyson had not yet been completed at year's 
end.

    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. Corporal punishment 
is legal; a court can order that an accused person receive lashes if 
found guilty.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons were overcrowded, 
and resources remained limited. The prison on Saint Kitts had a 
capacity for 150 prisoners but held 204 prisoners at year's end, 
including three women; some prisoners slept on mats on the floor. There 
were separate facilities for men and women. A low-security prison on 
Nevis held 33 inmates. The prison staff periodically received training 
in human rights.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred during 
the year.

    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 security forces 
consist of a 400-officer police force, including a paramilitary Special 
Services Unit, a coast guard, and a small defense force. Military 
forces patrolled jointly with the police. The military and the police 
report to the Ministry for National Security, Justice, and Labor.
    Senior police officers investigated complaints against members of 
the police force, and criminal offenses were referred to the director 
of public prosecutions.

    Arrest and Detention.--Police may arrest a person based on the 
suspicion of criminal activity without a warrant. The law requires that 
persons detained be charged within 48 hours or be released. If charged, 
a detainee must be brought before a court within 72 hours. There is a 
functioning system of bail. Family members, attorneys, and clergy were 
permitted to visit detainees regularly.
    There were 43 prisoners in pretrial detention and 17 awaiting a 
court hearing at year's end. Detainees may be held for a maximum of 
seven days awaiting a bail hearing. Those accused of serious offenses 
are remanded to custody to await trial, while those accused of minor 
infractions are released on their own recognizance.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The court system includes the High Court and four magistrate's 
courts at the local level, with the right of appeal to the Eastern 
Caribbean Court of Appeal. Final appeal may be made to the Privy 
Council in the United Kingdom.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for a fair, speedy, 
and public trial, and these requirements generally were observed. 
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with counsel in 
a timely manner. There is a presumption of innocence, and defendants 
may question or confront witnesses. Free legal assistance was available 
for indigent defendants in capital cases only.

    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 for civil matters.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. 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.
    While the independent media were active and expressed a wide 
variety of views, the opposition People's Action Movement (PAM) party 
continued to allege that the ruling SKNLP blocked PAM's access to the 
government-controlled media. The PAM acknowledged, however, that it had 
access to independent media outlets.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    Rastafarians complained that the use of marijuana, an aspect of 
their religious ritual, was prohibited.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained of 
widespread discrimination, especially in hiring and in schools. There 
were no other reports of societal abuses or discrimination, including 
anti-Semitic acts. There was no organized Jewish community.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law does not address forced exile, but the Government did not 
use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is a signatory of the 1951 UN 
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, but not to its 1967 
Protocol. The Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees or asylum seekers. In practice the Government 
provided protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a 
country where they feared persecution, but did not routinely grant 
refugee status or asylum.
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 elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the October 2004 general 
elections, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas's SKNLP was returned to office 
after winning seven of eight Saint Kitts-assigned seats in the 11-seat 
National Assembly. The PAM party won one seat after nearly five years 
without representation. The Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) party won 
two of the three assembly seats assigned to Nevis. The Commonwealth 
observer team categorized the electoral rules as ``followed but 
flawed,'' and there were reports of vote fraud, intimidation, and 
foreign influence. During and after the election, government 
information services touted the SKNLP and criticized the opposition.
    The island of Nevis exercises considerable self-government, with 
its own premier and legislature. In July voters in Nevis ousted 
incumbent Vance Amory and elected Joseph Parry of the NRP as premier.
    A multiparty political system existed, in which political parties 
were free to conduct their activities; however, the PAM continued to 
allege that the ruling party restricted access to the media (see 
section 2.a.). The PAM also alleged widespread employment 
discrimination by the SKNLP against public sector employment of persons 
perceived to be PAM supporters.
    The governor general appoints three senators, two on recommendation 
of the Prime Minister and one on the recommendation of the leader of 
the opposition. There were no women in the parliament or the cabinet; 
three of four magistrates were women, the court registrar was a woman, 
and six of 11 permanent secretaries were women. In Nevis one member of 
parliament and the President of the House of Assembly were women.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were a number of 
allegations of corruption in the Government. The opposition PAM party 
continued to allege corrupt electoral practices and brought a civil law 
suit against an SKNLP candidate. In July the High Court dismissed the 
case for lack of compelling evidence.
    While no laws provide for public access to government information, 
the Government maintained a Web site with limited information 
concerning government actions.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    While there are no governmental restrictions on human rights 
groups, no local human rights groups operated in the country. There 
were no requests for investigations or visits by international human 
rights groups during the year.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, place of 
origin, birth out of wedlock, political opinion or affiliation, color, 
gender, or creed, and the Government generally respected these 
prohibitions in practice.

    Women.--Violence against women was a problem. The law criminalizes 
domestic violence, including emotional abuse, and provides penalties of 
up to $5,000 (EC$13,500) and/or six months in prison. Although many 
women were reluctant to file complaints or pursue them in the courts, 
the Department of Gender Affairs reported 29 cases of domestic violence 
during the year, commensurate with the average of 25-30 reports 
received during each of the last few years. The departmental director 
believed that the true number was higher, but that due to the nature of 
the crime, many women did not feel comfortable reporting it. There is 
no central database of the reports, and she plans to create a mechanism 
to centralize all the reports. The department offered counseling for 
victims of abuse and conducted training on domestic violence and gender 
violence for officials in the police and fire departments, nurses, 
school guidance counselors, and other government employees. In addition 
the department's permanent secretary participated in a weekly radio 
program to discuss gender issues, including domestic violence.
    The law prohibits rape, but does not address spousal rape. 
Penalties for rape range from two years' imprisonment for incest 
between minors to life imprisonment for statutory rape or incest with 
someone under 16. Indecent assault has a maximum penalty of seven 
years' imprisonment. Incest with a person 16 or older carries a penalty 
of 20 years' imprisonment.
    Prostitution is illegal and was not considered to be a problem.
    The law does not specifically address sexual harassment, and it 
remained a problem.
    The role of women in society is not restricted by law but was 
circumscribed by culture and tradition. There was no overt societal 
discrimination against women in employment, although analyses suggested 
that women did not occupy as many senior positions as men did. The 
Department of Gender Affairs conducted programs addressing poverty and 
health and promoting institutional mechanisms to advance the status of 
women and attain leadership positions for women. One such program, the 
Viola Project, focused on teenage mothers and enabled them to finish 
their education and learn life skills. According to the UN Children's 
Fund, there were over a dozen participants from five high schools, and 
six alumnae of the program were studying in higher education 
institutions. The program had strong support from the private sector 
and was being expanded to include fathers as well.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. Education is compulsory, free, and universal, up to the age of 
16. More than 98 percent of children completed secondary school.
    The Government provides free medical care for children.
    Child abuse remained a problem. The law sets the age of consent at 
16. Authorities brought charges in two cases involving alleged sexual 
activity with minors (indecent assault). Unlike the previous year there 
were no charges of incest (which includes sexual activity with any 
member of the household).
    According to the police, juveniles committed 10 percent of crimes 
detected in the country, including malicious damage, possession of 
controlled drugs, larceny, robbery, shooting with intent, and attempted 
murder.

    Trafficking in Persons.--While no laws address trafficking in 
persons specifically, there were no reports that persons were 
trafficked to, from, or within the country.
    The country continued an economic citizenship program, whereby 
foreign investors were permitted to purchase passports through loosely 
monitored procedures requiring an investment of at least $250,000 
(EC$675,000) in real estate and an additional registration fee of 
$35,000 (EC$94,500) for the head of household (amounts varied for other 
family members). This process reportedly facilitated the illegal 
immigration of persons from China and other countries to North America, 
where, in some instances, criminal organizations that provided the 
funds to such persons forced them to work under conditions similar to 
bonded labor until the debt was repaid. The Government denied any 
knowledge of illegal immigration facilitated through this program and 
asserted that applicants were screened adequately.

    Persons With Disabilities.--While the law prohibits discrimination, 
it does not specifically cite discrimination against persons with 
disabilities. There was no reported discrimination against persons with 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services. The law does not mandate access to 
buildings for persons with disabilities.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised their legal right 
to form and join trade unions. Employers were not bound legally to 
recognize a union, but in practice employers did so if a majority of 
workers polled wished to organize. Approximately 10 percent of the 
workforce was unionized. The end of the sugar industry, which was 
largely unionized, caused a drop in union membership. The law permits 
the police, civil service, and other organizations to organize 
associations that serve as unions. The major labor union, the Saint 
Kitts Trades and Labour Union (SKTLU), was associated closely with the 
SKNLP and was active in all sectors of the economy. The opposition PAM 
party alleged that the ruling party used its influence to stifle other 
unions that would threaten the SKTLU in the workplace.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination but does not require 
employers found guilty of such action to rehire employees fired for 
union activities. However, the employer must pay lost wages and 
severance pay to employees who had worked at least one year, based upon 
their length of service.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Labor unions 
have the legal right to organize and to negotiate for better wages and 
benefits for union members, and the Government protected these rights 
in practice. A union that obtains membership of more than 50 percent of 
employees at a company can apply to be recognized by the employer for 
collective bargaining. There are no export processing zones.
    The right to strike, while not specified by law, is well 
established and respected in practice. Restrictions on strikes by 
workers who provide essential services, such as the police and civil 
servants, were enforced by established practice and custom, but not by 
law. Foreign companies that recently opened reportedly discouraged 
workers from organizing.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.
    Prisoners were required to work if their sentence was more than 30 
days and stipulated ``hard labor.'' They received a small stipend for 
this work, paid upon discharge.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
constitution prohibits slavery, servitude, and forced labor of 
children, and the Department of Labor effectively enforced this law in 
practice. There were no reported complaints of child labor during the 
year. The minimum legal working age is 16 years. The Department of 
Labor relied heavily on school truancy officers and the Community 
Affairs Division to monitor compliance, which they generally did 
effectively.
    Juveniles worked in agriculture, domestic service, and illicit 
activities. In rural areas where families engaged in livestock farming 
and vegetable production, children often were required to assist as 
part of family efforts at subsistence. Girls often engaged in domestic 
service. Such labor included family-oriented work where children were 
made to look after younger siblings or ailing parents and grandparents 
at the expense of their schooling. Children often worked in other 
households as domestic servants or babysitters. In general society did 
not consider domestic work exploitive child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wage rates for various 
categories of workers, such as domestic servants, retail employees, 
casino workers, and skilled workers, were last updated in 1994, and 
manufacturing sector wages were revised in 1996. The minimum wage for 
full-time domestic workers was $56 (EC$150) per week and $74 (EC$200) 
per week for skilled workers. However, average wages were considerably 
higher in these and all other categories, and there was no need to 
enforce the outdated legal minimum wages, which would not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Many workers 
supplemented wages by keeping small animals such as goats and chickens, 
or other activities. The Labor Commission undertook regular wage 
inspections and special investigations when it received complaints; it 
required employers found in violation to pay back wages.
    The law provides for a 40- to 44-hour workweek, but the common 
practice was 40 hours in five days. Although not required by law, 
workers receive at least one 24-hour rest period per week. The law 
provides for premium pay for work above the standard workweek. There 
was no legal prohibition of excessive or compulsory overtime, although 
local custom dictated that a worker could not be forced to work 
overtime.
    While there were no specific health and safety regulations, the law 
provides general health and safety guidance to Department of Labor 
inspectors. The Labor Commission settles disputes over safety 
conditions. Workers have the right to report unsafe work environments 
without jeopardy to continued employment; inspectors then investigate 
such claims, and workers may leave such locations without jeopardy to 
their continued employment.

                               __________

                              SAINT LUCIA

    Saint Lucia is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a 
population of approximately 168,000. In generally free and fair 
elections on December 11, former Prime Minister Sir John Compton 
returned to power when his United Workers Party (UWP) defeated the 
previously ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP), winning 11 seats in 
the 17-member House of Assembly. The civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were problems in a few areas, primarily abuse of 
suspects and prisoners by the police, long delays in trials and 
sentencing, violence against women, and child abuse.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although the 
Government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated 
killings, security forces killed three persons during the year.
    On September 15, an officer shot twice and killed 20-year-old Troy 
Jn Jacques. According to the press, eyewitnesses claimed that Jn 
Jacques posed no threat to the police but was shot deliberately and 
with intent to kill. The official police report, however, claimed that 
police were attempting to arrest Jn Jacques for two burglaries that 
happened previously that day and that Jn Jacques pulled a knife on the 
police while resisting arrest. At year's end the police investigation 
was complete, and the case was before the director of public 
prosecutions (DPP).
    On October 21, two plain-clothes police shot at a commuter bus with 
shotguns, killing 70-year-old Maurison Flavius and wounding two other 
passengers. The police officers tried to flag down the bus and opened 
fire when the bus did not stop. According to eyewitnesses, the driver 
and passengers did not know the armed men were police officers. The 
police explained that the officers involved were responding to 
information about a bus with an armed passenger in possession of 
illegal drugs. On November 16, authorities charged the officer who 
appeared to have caused the fatality with manslaughter by recklessness. 
The other officers involved remained on administrative leave while the 
police continued the investigation.
    On November 17, police shot and killed escaped convict Perry Jules 
in a gun battle. At year's end the investigation was complete, and the 
case was before the DPP.
    At year's end the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was 
still investigating all four police killings that occurred in 2005.

    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, prisoners and 
suspects regularly complained of physical abuse by police and prison 
officers. During the year citizens filed 200 complaints against the 
police, 96 of which were for assault, 28 for threats or harassment, 18 
for abuse of authority, 20 for negligence, and eight for damaging 
property.
    On January 3, authorities arrested a police officer and charged him 
with wounding a member of his community. A court later convicted the 
officer.
    On May 13, authorities arrested an officer and charged him with two 
counts of causing harm, two counts of uttering threatening words, two 
counts of unlawful assault, and two counts of assault. At year's end 
this case was still before the court.
    On September 23, a police officer shot and wounded a 17-year-old 
boy who was causing a disturbance. At year's end the case was still 
under investigation.
    Of the 146 complaints made in 2005, only 26 were still under 
investigation at year's end. Most of the completed investigations were 
dropped by the complainants or the police department. Where necessary, 
the police followed internal disciplinary procedures.
    At year's end the CID was still investigating a July 2005 incident 
in which a police officer shot Brian Felix during an argument.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met minimum international standards at the three-year-old 
Bordelais Correctional Facility, which had a capacity of 500 prisoners 
and held approximately that number. There were complaints regarding the 
treatment of prisoners at the facility.
    On January 30, the Visiting Justices, an independent investigative 
body appointed by the Government to oversee and represent inmates in 
matters of allegations, concluded an investigation into the September 
2005 beating of Wilson Exhale. According to the report, the police 
officer who beat Exhale was acting in self-defense in response to a 
lashing out by Exhale.
    The Boys Training Center, a facility for boys charged with criminal 
offenses or suffering from domestic or other social problems, operated 
separately from the prison. It held 30 juveniles between 12 and 18 
years of age. Of these, 11 were housed for criminal offenses, including 
four for murder, and 18 for protection from domestic problems. The boys 
in the program normally stay for two years and receive vocational 
training while enrolled. There were allegations of poor conditions and 
harsh treatment of the juveniles at the facility, including beatings by 
police officers.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, who visited early in the year.

    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 Royal Saint Lucia 
Police numbered 932 officers, which included a Special Services Unit 
with some paramilitary training and a coast guard unit. The police 
force reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. 
The police commissioner continued a community policing initiative to 
increase professionalism, prevent crime, and address customer service 
issues. The police force's internal complaints unit received and 
investigated complaints made by the public against police officers. The 
complaint unit's findings were sent to the Police Complaints 
Commission, a civilian body, which reviewed the cases and made 
recommendations for internal disciplinary action to the police 
commissioner.
    In October the Government contracted 10 police officers from the 
United Kingdom to enhance intelligence capacity, develop research and 
development capability, and improve management systems and processes.
    There were rumors of corruption in the police force but little 
evidence (see section 3).

    Arrest and Detention.--The law stipulates that persons must be 
apprehended openly with warrants issued by a judicial authority and 
requires a court hearing within 72 hours of detention. Detainees were 
allowed prompt access to counsel and family. There is a functioning 
bail system.
    Prolonged pretrial detention continued to be a problem; 150 of the 
nearly 500 prisoners at Bordelais Correctional Facility were on remand 
awaiting trial. Those charged with serious crimes spent an estimated 
six months to four years in pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.
    The court system includes magistrate's courts and the High Court, 
both of which have civil and criminal authority. The lower courts 
accept civil claims up to approximately $1,850 (EC$5,000) and criminal 
cases generally classified as ``petty.'' The High Court has unlimited 
authority in both civil and criminal cases. All cases may be appealed 
to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. Cases also may be appealed to 
the Privy Council in the United Kingdom as the final court of appeal. A 
family court handles child custody, maintenance, support, domestic 
violence, juvenile affairs, and related matters.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for public trials, including 
trial by jury, before an independent and impartial court and, in cases 
involving capital punishment, provision of legal counsel for those who 
cannot afford a defense attorney. While there was no requirement for a 
speedy trial, the Government used the magistrate's court located in the 
prison to reduce processing time for court hearings after detention. In 
criminal cases not involving capital punishment, defendants must obtain 
their own legal counsel. Defendants are entitled to select their own 
representation, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and 
have the right of appeal. Defendants have the right to confront or 
question witnesses. Authorities observed both constitutional and 
statutory requirements for fair public trials.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent, 
impartial judiciary in civil matters where one can bring lawsuits 
seeking damages for a human rights violation.

    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.--The law 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.
    On November 7, parliament repealed a section of the criminal code 
commonly referred to as the ``spreading false news'' clause. According 
to then-prime minister Kenny Anthony, even those who supported the law 
accepted that it was difficult to obtain a prosecution under it.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    Rastafarians complained that the use of marijuana, an aspect of 
their religious ritual, was prohibited.
    In April authorities remanded to custody a person accused of 
attempting to kill the Eastern Caribbean's Roman Catholic archbishop. 
The accused was to be sent for psychological evaluation before being 
formally charged. Government officials denounced the attack as 
reprehensible and called for tolerance among religious groups.
    Leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 
Muslim leaders reported difficulties receiving official government 
recognition while the Government was revising its policies on 
registration of churches. The issue was still pending at year's end.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Some evangelicals allegedly 
criticized Catholics and mainline Protestants for adherence to ``slave 
religions'' and for not accepting a literal interpretation of the 
Bible. Muslim leaders claimed that some recent converts to Islam hid 
their new religion from non-Muslim friends and family to avoid 
criticism and discrimination. Rastafarians complained of widespread 
discrimination, especially in hiring and in schools.
    There were no other reports of societal abuses or discrimination, 
including anti-Semitism. There was no organized Jewish community.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a signatory to the 1951 
UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, 
and no formal government policy toward refugee or asylum requests 
existed. In practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution, but did not routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
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.--On December 11, Sir John 
Compton's UWP defeated Kenny Anthony's SLP by winning 11 of 17 seats 
and 52 percent of the popular vote. According to electoral observer 
missions from both the Organization of American States and the 
Caribbean Community, the elections were generally considered free and 
fair.
    Four women competed in the elections in a field of 38 candidates 
for 17 seats, but none were elected to the House of Assembly. The 
appointed speaker of the house was a woman. There were two women in the 
11-member appointed Senate, one of whom served as President of the 
Senate. Of the 15 members of the cabinet, one was a woman, as was the 
governor general.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--The public perception of 
corruption in government was reportedly low, although there was a 
belief that obtaining public sector jobs was linked to political ties 
and cronyism.
    There were rumors of corruption in the police force, but little 
evidence. The strongest statement on police corruption came from former 
minister of home affairs and internal security Velon John. In an 
address to parliament on October 24, John dismissed the police force as 
absolutely corrupt, irreversibly undisciplined, and altogether useless.
    The law provides for public access to information, and 
parliamentary debates are open to the public. The Government 
Information Service disseminated public information on a daily basis, 
operated an extensive Web site, and published a number of official 
periodicals.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A few domestic human rights groups generally operated without 
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on 
human rights cases. Although the Government officially cooperated with 
such investigations, observers noted occasional reluctance by 
government officials to cooperate, as well as occasional retaliatory 
harassment following critiques of the Government.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination, but there was no 
specific legislation addressing discrimination in employment or against 
persons with disabilities. However, government policy was 
nondiscriminatory in the areas of housing, jobs, education, and 
opportunity for advancement.

    Women.--Violence against women was recognized as a serious problem. 
The Government prosecuted crimes of violence against women only when 
the victim pressed charges. The family court heard cases of domestic 
violence and crimes against women and children and filed 460 cases by 
year's end. The Ministry of Health, Human Services, Family Affairs, and 
Gender Relations assisted victims. Most of the cases were referred to a 
counselor, and the police facilitated the issuance of court protection 
orders in some cases.
    On January 12, Feliciana Charles and her daughter Maquina Charles 
were killed by Feliciana's common-law husband following a heated 
argument. On July 8, Sherry Ann Mayers was stabbed several times and 
killed by her male companion. The murder was witnessed by Mayers' six-
year-old son. Both perpetrators were awaiting trial at year's end.
    On May 15, Anthony Beaubrun was charged with abusing his common- 
law wife by punching her several times in the face on the steps of a 
probation office on April 18. The court sentenced him to pay $100 
(EC$250) to his common-law wife and one year's probation. The 
magistrate also sentenced Beaubrun to attend anger management sessions, 
to abstain from alcohol during probation, and said that he faced two 
months in prison if he broke his probation.
    The ministry's Gender Relations Division also ran the Women's 
Support Center, which provided a shelter, counseling, residential 
services, a 24-hour hot line, and assistance in finding employment. The 
center assisted 37 women and 129 children during the year. One of the 
greatest successes of the center was its ability to keep its location a 
secret, enhancing the security of the women at the center. The center 
also engaged in an active community outreach program that included 
visits to schools, health centers, and community centers. Various 
nongovernmental organizations, such as the Saint Lucia Crisis Center 
and the National Organization of Women, also provided counseling, 
referral, educational, and empowerment services. The Crisis Center 
assisted in approximately 100 cases of physical violence, incest, 
nonpayment of child support, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, 
custody, and visitation rights.
    The law allows a judge to issue a protection order prohibiting an 
abuser from entering or remaining in the place where the victim is 
living. It also allows the judge to order occupation orders, which 
remove an abuser's name from housing leases or rental agreements, 
revoking the right of the abuser to live in the same residence as the 
victim. Of the 460 cases of domestic violence lodged with the family 
court during the year, 316 resulted in protection orders and 25 
resulted in occupation orders.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime punishable by 14 years' to 
life imprisonment. Police and courts enforced laws to protect women 
against abuse, although police were hesitant to intervene in domestic 
disputes, and many victims were reluctant to report cases of domestic 
violence and rape or to press charges.
    The police force conducted some training for police officers 
responsible for investigating rape and other crimes against women. A 
special police unit handled domestic violence, and its officers, who 
included women, worked closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs and 
the Gender Relations Division in the Ministry of Health, Human 
Services, Family Affairs, and Gender Relations.
    Prostitution is illegal, but it was a growing problem. Although 
there was little evidence, various organizations reported rumors of 
trafficking tied to prostitution. In response, the Government began 
training sessions and established a network of assistance for victims 
(see section 5, Trafficking).
    Sexual harassment is prohibited under the criminal code; however, 
it remained a problem. The Gender Relations Division continued an 
awareness program through which it provided training opportunities in 
workplaces and assisted establishments in creating policies and 
procedures on how to handle sexual harassment. As a result, most cases 
of sexual harassment were handled in the workplace rather than being 
prosecuted under the criminal code.
    Women generally enjoy equal rights, including in economic, family, 
property, and judicial matters. Women's affairs were under the 
jurisdiction of the Gender Relations Division of the Ministry of 
Health, Human Services, Family Affairs, and Gender Relations. The 
ministry was responsible for protecting women's rights in domestic 
violence cases and preventing discrimination against women, including 
ensuring equal treatment in employment. In May the Government fulfilled 
its first five reporting obligations under the UN Convention on the 
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

    Children.--The Government gave high priority to improving 
educational opportunities and health care for children.
    Education was compulsory from age five through 15; registration 
fees were required. The Ministry of Education reported attendance rates 
of 92 percent for primary school-age children and 86 percent for 
secondary school-age children. In September the Government initiated 
universal secondary education, upgrading senior primary schools to 
secondary schools and starting construction on two additional secondary 
schools.
    Government clinics provided prenatal care, immunization, child 
health care, and health education services. Boys and girls had equal 
access to medical care.
    Child abuse remained a problem. During the year the Division of 
Human Services of the Ministry of Health, Human Services, Family 
Affairs, and Gender Relations reported 83 cases of child sexual abuse, 
81 cases of physical abuse, 22 cases of psychological abuse, and 83 
cases of neglect and abandonment, all in the Castries office alone (the 
division has two other regional offices). The media criticized the 
Government for failing to respond sufficiently to reports of sexual 
abuse of children, including alleged cases of incest. As there was no 
welfare system, parents of sexually abused children sometimes declined 
to press sexual assault charges against the abuser in exchange for 
financial contributions toward the welfare of children born of such 
abuse.
    On January 27, a court sentenced Gerald Joseph to five years in 
prison for indecent assault of a 12-year-old girl in 2003. On June 13, 
a judge convicted George Labadee on four counts of incest for multiple 
incidents of forceful intercourse with his daughter in 2003. The court 
sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonment, but he appealed his case.
    On June 21, media reported that a 14-year-old girl had been 
repeatedly and severely abused by her police officer father and 
stepmother. Abuse of the child was both physical and verbal and 
included such humiliation as being forced to urinate in the yard rather 
than in the house. Neighbors became involved when the child was found 
running down the street with a badly bruised and bleeding back. They 
contacted the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action 
(CAFRA) for assistance and then took the child to the police for 
protection. As soon as the police realized she was the daughter of a 
police officer, they returned her to her father, an action that 
outraged the neighbors because of the number of times they witnessed 
abuse. With CAFRA's assistance, the girl was placed in her aunt's 
custody while her father and stepmother were investigated. The case was 
still under investigation at year's end.
    The Division of Human Services provided a number of services to 
victims of child abuse, including counseling, facilitating medical 
intervention, finding foster care, providing family support services, 
and supporting the child while working with the police and attending 
court. Furthermore, the division was involved with public outreach in 
schools, church organizations, and community groups. In November the 
division ran a foster care and adoption awareness campaign 
simultaneously with the Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association's 
``Good Touch, Bad Touch--Know the Difference'' sexual abuse awareness 
campaign.
    CAFRA also was involved with child abuse issues. In July CAFRA 
began a hot line for families suffering from different forms of abuse. 
In October CAFRA held a counseling skills workshop for the hot line 
volunteers. Through the hot line, CAFRA learned of various cases of 
sexual abuse that were never reported to the police. For example, a 
mother called in to report that her daughter's 82-year-old grandfather 
was molesting her nine-year-old daughter. Another mother called to 
report that her children were first sexually abused by their father, 
and when she confided in her boyfriend's brother for help, he began 
abusing the children as well.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not prohibit trafficking in 
persons, and there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, 
or within the country. Although there are laws prohibiting slavery, 
forced labor, forced imprisonment, or kidnapping that could be used to 
prosecute alleged traffickers, there were no reports of such 
prosecutions during the year.
    The Government acknowledged that, despite a lack of documented 
cases of trafficking, surveys and media reports indicated that it 
occurred. The country had a growing sex tourism industry with a number 
of strip clubs and brothels, many of which were staffed by women from 
the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands.
    In October the Gender Affairs Division participated with the 
International Organization for Migration in training on identifying and 
assisting trafficking victims in preparation for Cricket World Cup, 
which will be held in the Caribbean in 2007.

    Persons With Disabilities.--No specific legislation protects the 
rights of persons with disabilities or mandates provision of government 
services for them. The Government is obliged to provide disabled access 
to all public buildings, and several government buildings had ramps to 
provide access. There was no rehabilitation facility for persons with 
physical disabilities, although the health ministry operated a 
community-based rehabilitation program in residents' homes. There were 
schools for the deaf and for the blind up to the secondary level. There 
also was a school for persons with mental disabilities.
    In August 2005 14-year-old Kevin Jn Baptiste took the Common 
Entrance exam for secondary school but was unable to attend his 
assigned school because it could not accommodate his wheelchair. 
Baptiste and his mother spent months trying to find a way for him to 
attend school, and he was allowed to retake the Common Entrance exam on 
August 15. He began classes at a different school that month but needed 
help from students to climb the stairs to his classes. In September the 
school principal declared that the school could no longer accommodate 
Baptiste. Reports conflicted as to whether his expulsion was due to the 
strain on the school from assisting with Baptiste's mobility or if it 
was related to alleged behavioral problems.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There was widespread 
stigma and discrimination against persons infected with HIV/AIDS, 
although the Government implemented several programs to address this 
issue, including a five-year program to combat HIV/AIDS. The UN 
Population Fund also provided support for youth-oriented HIV/AIDS 
prevention programs.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law specifies the right of 
workers to form or belong to trade unions under the broader rubric of 
the right of association. Most public sector employees and 
approximately 25 percent of the total work force was unionized.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the 
Government generally protected this right. Collective bargaining is 
protected by law and was freely practiced. Unions have a right to 
strike, and workers exercised that right. However, the law prohibits 
members of the police and fire departments from striking on the grounds 
that these professions were ``essential services.'' Workers in other 
``essential services"--water and sewer authority workers, electric 
utility workers, nurses, and doctors--must give 30 days' notice before 
striking.
    Labor law is applicable in the export processing zones, and there 
were no administrative or legal impediments to union organizing or 
collective bargaining in those zones; however, there were no unions 
registered in these zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there 
were no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law provides for a minimum legal working age of 16 years. The minimum 
legal working age for industrial work is 18 years. Child labor existed 
to some degree in the rural areas, primarily where larger, stronger, 
school-age children helped harvest bananas from family trees. Children 
also typically worked in urban food stalls or sold confectionery on 
sidewalks. However, these activities occurred on nonschool days and 
during festivals. The Department of Labor of the Ministry of Labor 
Relations, Public Service, and Cooperatives was responsible for 
enforcing statutes regulating child labor. Employer penalties for 
violating the child labor laws were $3.55 (EC$9.60) for a first offense 
and $8.88 (EC$24) for a second offense. There were no formal reports of 
violations of child labor laws.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wage regulations in 
effect since 1985 set wages for a limited number of occupations. The 
minimum monthly wage for office clerks was $111 (EC$300), for shop 
assistants $74 (EC$200), and for messengers $59 (EC$160). The minimum 
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family, but most categories of workers received much higher wages based 
on prevailing market conditions. In June the Government named members 
of the commission responsible for setting a minimum wage, but it had 
not finished its work by year's end.
    The legislated workweek is 41 hours, although the common practice 
was to work 40 hours in five days. Special legislation covers work 
hours for shop assistants, agricultural workers, domestics, and persons 
in industrial establishments.
    While occupational health and safety regulations were relatively 
well developed, there were only two qualified inspectors for the entire 
country. The ministry enforced the act through threat of closure of the 
business if it discovered violations and the violator did not correct 
them. However, actual closures rarely occurred because of lack of staff 
and resources. Workers had the legal right to leave a dangerous 
workplace situation without jeopardy to continued employment.

                               __________

                    SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a multiparty, parliamentary 
democracy with a population of approximately 118,000. In December 2005 
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves' Unity Labour Party (ULP) was returned 
to office in elections that international election observers assessed 
as generally free and fair. The opposition questioned the results in 
several constituencies citing what they considered to be unfair 
electoral procedures. The civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces.
    Although the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were problems in a few areas, primarily impunity for 
police who used excessive force, poor prison conditions, an 
overburdened court system, violence against women, and abuse of 
children.
                        respect for human rights
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 February 2005 a police officer shot and killed Selwyn Moses, and 
in December 2005 another officer shot and killed Joel Williams. 
Authorities investigated both cases, and at year's end they were before 
the director of public prosecution.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, a local human 
rights group noted that a high percentage of convictions were based on 
confessions. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines Human Rights Association (SVGHRA) asserted that most 
confessions, including false confessions, resulted from unwarranted 
police practices, including the use of physical force during detention, 
illegal search and seizure, and failure to inform properly those 
arrested of their rights. The SVGHRA complained that the Government 
failed to investigate adequately allegations of abuse or punish those 
police officers responsible for such abuses.
    During the year citizens filed 27 complaints of assault, 12 
complaints of disrespect, and six complaints of negligence, harassment, 
or threats by members of the police force. Most of the complaints of 
assault involved police making arrests. Police officers investigated 
all such complaints and submitted their findings to the police 
commissioner. At year's end authorities had brought disciplinary 
charges against six police officers, and hearings were pending. All 
other cases were still under investigation.
    The April 2005 incident of police officers beating Leon Burgin 
while in custody was still under investigation at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor. Prison buildings were antiquated and overcrowded, with Her 
Majesty's Prison in Kingstown holding 377 inmates in a building 
originally designed for 75, but which after being renovated, was 
intended to hold approximately 150 inmates. These conditions resulted 
in serious health and safety problems.
    On January 16, the Government opened the Belle Isle Prison Farm 
that allows inmates to learn and work on the farm on a daily basis. 
Despite such reforms, problems such as endemic violence, understaffing, 
underpaid guards, uncontrolled weapons and drugs, an increase in the 
incidence of HIV/AIDS, and unhygienic conditions persisted. The prison 
also suffered from corrupt prison staff who commonly served as a source 
of drugs, weapons, and cell phones. Furthermore, the SVGHRA reported 
that prison guards routinely beat prisoners to extract information 
regarding escapes, violence, and crime committed in the prison.
    The Fort Charlotte prison held 10 female inmates in a separate 
section designed to hold 50 inmates. Pretrial detainees and young 
offenders (16 to 21 years of age) were held with convicted prisoners. 
Conditions were inadequate for juvenile offenders.
    Boys under the age of 16 were held at the Liberty Lodge Boys' 
Training Center, a center that takes in boys who can no longer stay at 
home due to domestic problems or involvement with criminal activity. Of 
the 30 boys at the center, the majority were there because of domestic 
problems, and only a small number were charged with committing a crime.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, and such visits took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions; however, complaints continued regarding police practices 
in bringing cases to court.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Saint Vincent 
and the Grenadines Police, the only security force in the country, 
includes a coast guard, a small Special Services Unit with some 
paramilitary training, and the fire service. There were approximately 
850 members of the police force, all of whom were law enforcement 
officers who could be rotated among the various parts of the force. The 
police report to the minister of national security, a portfolio held by 
the Prime Minister. The Government operated an oversight committee to 
monitor police activity and hear public complaints about police 
misconduct. The committee reported to the minister of national security 
and to the minister of legal affairs and actively participated in 
investigations during the year.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law requires arrest warrants in most 
instances, which are issued by judicial authority. Police apprehended 
persons openly, and detainees may seek judicial determinations of their 
status after 48 hours if not already provided. The bail system 
functioned and was generally effective. A local human rights group 
reported that most detainees were given prompt access to counsel and 
family members, although in some instances, access delays occurred.
    Although there were only three official magistrates, the registrar 
of the High Court and the presiding judge of the family court 
effectively served as magistrates when called upon to do so. Lengthy 
delays occurred in preliminary inquiries for serious crimes.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice. However, there were allegations of undue 
government influence over a magistrate's contract renewal.
    In February Sharon Morris-Cummings' contract as President of the 
family court was not renewed; she is married to an activist opposition 
politician. Although the Judicial and Legal Services Commission of the 
Eastern Caribbean officially renews contracts of magistrates, a number 
of observers alleged government involvement in this decision, 
speculating that the sole reason Morris-Cummings' contract was not 
renewed was her marriage to the opposition politician. As evidence, the 
observers pointed out that Morris-Cummings was widely considered a very 
good magistrate during a time when there was a shortage of magistrates. 
No public explanation was given as to why she was not reappointed, and 
the notice that her contract would not be renewed did not provide any 
reason for the action.
    The judiciary consists of lower courts and the High Court, with 
appeal to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and final appeal to the 
Privy Council in the United Kingdom. There were three official 
magistrates, including the chief magistrate, a senior magistrate, and 
one other magistrate. In addition the registrar of the High Court has 
the authority to sit as a magistrate if called upon. The chief 
magistrate also served as President of the family court, which handled 
criminal cases for minors up to age 16.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for fair, public trials, and an 
independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Juries are used at 
the High Court level for criminal matters but are not used for civil 
court or crimes at the magistrate level. The court appoints attorneys 
only for indigent defendants charged with a capital offense. Defendants 
are presumed innocent until proven guilty, may confront and question 
witnesses, may appeal verdicts and penalties, and have access to 
relevant government-held evidence once a case reaches the trial stage. 
A backlog of pending cases continued, because the magistrate's court in 
Kingstown lacked a full complement of magistrates. A local human rights 
group reported that magistrates were overworked and underpaid.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent, 
impartial judiciary in civil matters where one can bring lawsuits 
seeking damages for a human rights violation.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
    A government official alleged that the Government conducted 
wiretapping, which the Prime Minister denied. Other than the original 
statement, there was no evidence of such occurrences.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law 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.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. There were three major newspapers and 
numerous smaller publications; all were privately owned. The sole 
television station and six of seven radio stations were privately 
owned.
    Although the Government did not directly interfere with the press, 
there were a number of accounts of the Prime Minister or other 
officials rebuking the press for comments critical of the Government. 
In 2005 the Government prosecuted and convicted leading radio talk show 
host and opposition figure Eduardo Lynch for making false statements 
likely to cause public alarm. Lynch appealed the conviction, but on 
March 20 the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal upheld it. Lynch paid a 
$1,200 (EC$3,000) fine in May.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.
    Rastafarians complained that the use of marijuana, an aspect of 
their religious ritual, was prohibited.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained that 
there was widespread discrimination against their members, especially 
in hiring and in schools. Tension continued to exist among some 
Christian denominations, with evangelical Christians allegedly 
criticizing Catholics and mainstream Protestants for adhering to 
``slave religions.'' Baha'i representatives noted that some followers 
hid their religious affiliation to avoid criticism and discrimination.
    There was no organized Jewish community, and there were no reports 
of anti-Semitic acts.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--Although the country is a signatory of the 
1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 
Protocol, the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees or asylum seekers. In practice the Government 
provided protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a 
country where they feared persecution, but did not grant refugee status 
or asylum.
    On January 11, the Prime Minister and cabinet practiced non-
refoulement by issuing official residence status to two Haitians. 
According to the Prime Minister, the two women, who had been living in 
the country for over a year before receiving official status, worked 
for ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and feared they 
would be killed if they returned to Haiti.
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.--In December 2005 the ruling 
ULP was returned to office in elections that international observers 
declared to be generally free and fair. The opposition New Democratic 
Party (NDP), however, claimed there were electoral irregularities that 
could have affected the outcome in three constituencies. The NDP 
intended to challenge the results in court but chose not to because of 
legal technicalities. The nonpartisan SVGHRA also reported 
irregularities and questioned the ability of international observers to 
declare the election free and fair, citing the limited period of time 
that observer missions from both the Caribbean Community and the 
Organization of American States were in the country. The NGO 
specifically criticized the observers for failing to remain until all 
votes were counted. The elections produced no change in the makeup of 
the 15-seat parliament, with the ULP maintaining its 12 to three 
majority over the NDP.
    There were two women in parliament and three women in the cabinet--
the minister of education, the minister of urban development, labor, 
culture, and electoral matters, and the Attorney General.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--Although the country had a 
national anticorruption plan, corruption remained a moderate problem. 
There was anecdotal evidence of corruption and nepotism in government 
contracting.
    The law provides for public access to information, and the 
Government provided such access in practice.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no restrictions on international human rights groups, 
but none were known to have expressed interest in or concern about the 
country during the year. A domestic human rights group, the SVGHRA, 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing its findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
generally were responsive, but the SVGHRA reported that its complaints 
regarding allegations of police brutality typically received 
perfunctory responses from the Government. The SVGHRA continued to 
monitor government and police activities, particularly with respect to 
treatment of prisoners, publicizing any cases of abuse. The SVGHRA 
participated in training seminars. Other advocacy groups, particularly 
those involved with protection against domestic violence and child 
abuse, worked closely with their corresponding government offices.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equal treatment regardless of race or gender, 
and the Government generally enforced this provision in practice.

    Women.--Violence against women remained a serious problem. The law 
does not criminalize domestic violence but rather provides protection 
for victims of domestic violence. Cases involving domestic violence 
were normally charged under assault, battery, or other similar laws. 
The SVGHRA reported that, in many instances, domestic violence went 
unpunished due to a culture in which victims learn not to seek 
assistance from the police or the prosecution of offenders. 
Furthermore, a number of victims decide not to press charges once 
domestic tensions cool down after having already complained to the 
police. For this reason, police were often reluctant to follow up on 
domestic violence cases.
    The Gender Affairs Division of the Ministry of National 
Mobilization, Social Development, NGO Relations, Family, Gender Affairs 
and Persons with Disabilities provided a referral and information 
service to domestic violence victims, educating victims on the role of 
the police, legal affairs, and the family court in dealing with 
domestic violence, as well as possible assistance from various NGOs. 
The Marion House provided counseling to victims of abuse. The SVGHRA 
and other organizations conducted numerous seminars and workshops 
throughout the country to familiarize women with their rights. 
Development banks provided funding through the Caribbean Association 
for Feminist Research and Action for a program on domestic violence 
prevention, training, and intervention. Police received training on 
domestic abuse, emphasizing the need to file reports and, if there was 
sufficient evidence, to initiate court proceedings. To counter the 
social pressure on victims to drop charges, some courts imposed fines 
against persons who brought charges but did not testify.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the Government 
enforced the law. Depending on the magnitude of the offense and the age 
of the victim, sentences for rape could be eight to 10 years. The 
possible sentence of life imprisonment was very rarely used. On October 
17, a court sentenced Alonzo Lewis to three years' probation for raping 
a 15-year-old girl in 2004. The public was mystified and dismayed by 
this sentence, much lighter than usual for rape. During the year the 
police investigated 50 cases of rape, 29 cases of carnal knowledge (or 
rape of a minor), and 67 cases of indecent assault.
    Although prostitution is illegal, a local human rights group 
reported that it remained a problem among young women and teenagers.
    The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although 
it could be prosecuted under other laws. A local human rights group 
considered these laws ineffective.
    Women enjoyed the same legal rights as men. Women received an 
equitable share of property following separation or divorce. The Gender 
Affairs Division assisted the National Council of Women with seminars, 
training programs, and public relations. The minimum wage law specifies 
that women should receive equal pay for equal work.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. Primary and secondary education was compulsory, free, and 
universal through age 17, and the Ministry of Education estimated 
attendance rates of 98 percent for primary school-age children and 99 
percent for secondary school-age children. However, of the secondary 
school-age children, 79 percent were in secondary school while 21 
percent were still in primary school. As a post-secondary school 
program, the Government sponsored Youth Empowerment, an apprenticeship 
program for young adults interested in learning a trade. Approximately 
500 youths were enrolled in this program, earning a stipend of 
approximately $148 (EC$400) a month; private sector employers 
contributed additional amounts in some instances.
    Child abuse remained a problem. The law provides a limited legal 
framework for the protection of children, and the Family Services 
Division of the social development ministry monitored and protected the 
welfare of children. The Family Services Division referred all reports 
of child abuse to the police for action.
    On February 22, a court sentenced 20-year-old Augustus Caine-
Andrews to 18 months' incarceration for sexually assaulting a 14-year-
old boy on February 5. On March 3, 49-year-old Myron Brazel was 
sentenced to two concurrent three-year sentences for abducting and 
indecently assaulting a six-year-old girl in May 2005. On August 23, a 
young woman was treated at Milton Cato Memorial Hospital for abuse by a 
male, adult relative. The woman beat her younger sibling with a belt, 
which angered the male relative who then beat the young woman. However, 
the family chose not to bring charges against the perpetrator.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not address trafficking in 
persons specifically, but there were no reports that persons were 
trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state 
services, and the Government generally followed these practices. The 
law does not mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities, 
and the circumstances for such persons generally were difficult. Most 
persons with severe disabilities rarely left their homes because of the 
poor road system and lack of affordable wheelchairs. The Government 
partially supported a school for persons with disabilities, which had 
two branches. A separate, small rehabilitation center treated 
approximately five persons daily. The social development ministry is 
responsible for assisting persons with disabilities.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There are no laws that 
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual 
orientation. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence 
suggested that societal discrimination against homosexuals and persons 
with HIV/AIDS occurred.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised the legal right to 
form and join unions; however, no law requires employers to recognize 
unions. Approximately 11 percent of the work force was unionized.
    The Protection of Employment Act provides for compensation and 
worker rights, but these were restricted to protection from summary 
dismissal without compensation and reinstatement or severance pay if 
unfairly dismissed. This act protects workers from dismissal for 
engaging in union activities and provides them with reinstatement 
rights if illegally dismissed.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Although the 
law permits unions to organize and bargain collectively, and the 
Government protected these rights in practice, no law requires 
employers to recognize a particular union as an exclusive bargaining 
agent. The law provides that if both parties to a dispute consent to 
arbitration, the minister of labor can appoint an arbitration committee 
from the private sector to hear the matter. There are no export 
processing zones.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice; however, the Essential Services Act prohibits 
persons providing such services (defined as electricity, water, 
hospital, and police) from striking.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum working age at 16, and workers may receive a 
national insurance card at that age. The Ministry of Labor monitored 
and enforced this provision, and employers generally respected it in 
practice. There were five labor officers in the labor inspectorate with 
responsibility for monitoring all labor issues and complaints. The 
ministry reported no child labor problems. The only known child labor 
was work on family-owned banana plantations, particularly during 
harvest time, or in family-owned cottage industries. The Government 
operated Youth Empowerment, which provided training and increased job 
opportunities by employing young people in government ministries for up 
to one year.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Wages Council, which is 
supposed to meet every two years to review minimum wages, last met in 
2003. Minimum wages vary by sector and type of work and are specified 
for several skilled categories, including attendants, packers, 
cleaners, porters, watchmen, and clerks. In agriculture, the minimum 
wage for workers provided shelter was $9.26 (EC$25) per day; industrial 
workers earned $11.11 (EC$30) per day. In many sectors, the minimum 
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family, but most workers earned more than the minimum.
    The law prescribes hours of work according to category, such as 
industrial employees (40 hours per week), professionals (44 hours per 
week), and agricultural workers (30 to 40 hours per week). The law 
provides that workers receive time-and-a-half for hours worked over the 
standard workweek. There was a prohibition against excessive or 
compulsory overtime, which was effectively enforced in practice.
    Legislation concerning occupational safety and health was outdated, 
and enforcement of regulations was ineffective. The law does not 
address specifically whether workers have the right to remove 
themselves from work situations that endanger health or safety without 
jeopardy to their continued employment, but it stipulates conditions 
under which factories must be maintained. Failure to comply with these 
regulations would constitute a breach, which might cover a worker who 
refused to work under these conditions.

                               __________

                                SURINAME

    Suriname is a constitutional democracy, with a President elected by 
the unicameral legislature or by the larger United People's Assembly. 
The population is approximately 493,000. After generally free and fair 
elections in May 2005, the New Front Plus government, a coalition of 
eight parties, was formed. On August 3, 2005, the United People's 
Assembly reelected Ronald Venetiaan as President. The civilian 
authorities generally maintained effective control of the security 
forces.
    While the Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens, there were problems in some areas, including police 
mistreatment of detainees at the time of arrest; abuse of prisoners by 
guards; overcrowded detention facilities; an overwhelmed judiciary with 
a large case backlog; lengthy pretrial detention; self-censorship by 
some media; increased corruption in the Government; societal 
discrimination against women, minorities, and indigenous people; 
violence against women; trafficking in women, girls, and boys; and 
child labor in the informal sector.
                        respect for human rights
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Although the 
Government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated 
killings, security forces killed two persons during the year.
    In October a court sentenced a police officer to eight years' 
imprisonment for the January shooting of a 16-year-old barbershop 
apprentice during an argument.
    In April police shot and killed a man who fled after robbing a 
supermarket. A police investigation concluded that there was no 
wrongdoing on the officer's part and cleared the officer of all 
charges.
    In July a court convicted a police officer of manslaughter, 
sentenced him to one year in prison, and suspended him from the police 
force for two years for the fatal shooting in February 2005 of a 5-
year-old girl while attempting to break up a fight between two men. It 
was determined that the officer was under the influence of alcohol when 
the incident occurred.
    There were no developments in the 2004 case in which two officers 
shot and killed a defenseless suspect.
    In accordance with a June 2005 ruling by the Inter-American Court 
of Human Rights that found the Government guilty of human rights 
violations in the 1986 massacre of at least 39 civilians at the N'Djuka 
Maroon village of Moiwana, the Attorney General established a 
coordination team to investigate the Moiwana massacre and other crimes 
committed by the security forces that remain unpunished. In February 
the Government established a working group consisting of officials from 
various ministries and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to oversee 
execution of the court's orders, and the Government paid $13,000 in 
reparations to each survivor of the massacre and organized a large 
public ceremony in July to offer its apologies to the N'Djuka Maroons. 
The Government's failure to fully implement the court's judgment 
remained controversial, as demonstrated by protests during November's 
commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the massacre.
    In 2000 the Court of Justice ordered the prosecutor's office to 
investigate the 1982 killings by the Desi Bouterse regime of 15 
prominent political, labor, business, and media leaders. In mid-2004 
the prosecutor's office completed its investigation and scheduled 
trials for more than 20 suspects, including the prime suspect--former 
military dictator (and current National Assembly member) Bouterse. The 
suspects appealed a military court's ruling on pretrial objections, and 
the Court of Justice is scheduled to start the appeal hearings in early 
2007; the actual murder trial can only start after the court's ruling.

    b. Disappearance.--Although there were no reports of politically 
motivated disappearances, the Government had yet to investigate 
allegations of certain disappearances that occurred between 1983 and 
1991.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, human rights 
groups continued to express concern about official mistreatment, and 
they documented cases of police mistreatment of detainees, particularly 
during arrests, and abuse of prisoners by prison officials.
    Human rights activists accused the police of using excessive force 
during arrests. There were reports that police shot and injured three 
suspects, including armed dangerous criminals, during arrests.
    In January police shot a man who fled after robbing two people in a 
park. In February police officers beat a suspect while arresting him 
for possession of marijuana. In November a citizen filed a complaint 
against a police officer asserting that he had been assaulted at the 
police station. At year's end authorities continued investigations into 
the actions taken by the police officers in these cases.
    An investigation was still pending into the October 2005 case in 
which a police officer shot and injured an unarmed detainee who tried 
to escape from the police station.
    No information was available about results of other investigations 
by the police Personnel Investigation Department (OPZ) into reports 
that police beat suspects in 2005. Likewise, no information was 
available about any investigation into the December 2005 complaint by a 
father and his 13-year-old daughter charging physical abuse by police 
when the two entered and refused to leave the motorcade escorting the 
visiting Dutch prime minister to the airport in November of that year.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor. Most facilities, particularly older jails, remained unsanitary 
and seriously overcrowded, with as many as four times the number of 
detainees for which jail capacity was intended.
    Violence among prisoners was common, and prisoners continued to 
complain of mistreatment by guards. In November authorities arrested 
eight prison officers in connection with an inmate's death. The 
coroner's report showed that his death was due to grievous bodily harm, 
and an investigation into this case continued at year's end.
    Human rights monitors expressed concern about conditions in 
pretrial detention facilities, which remained overcrowded. A steadily 
growing number of people who had been convicted, but not yet placed in 
prisons due to a lack of space in prison facilities, continued to be 
held in these detention cells. Because of staff shortages, police 
officers rarely permitted detainees to leave their cells. Detainees and 
human rights groups also complained about inadequate meals.
    Conditions in women's jail and prison facilities were generally 
better than those in the men's facilities. Once sentenced, there was no 
separate facility for girls under the age of 18; girls were held in the 
women's detention center and in the women's section of one of the 
prison complexes.
    Juvenile facilities for both boys and girls between the ages of 10 
and 18 within the adult prison located outside the city of Paramaribo 
were considered adequate and included educational and recreational 
facilities. A separate wing of that prison held boys under age 18 who 
committed serious crimes. Conditions in a separate youth detention 
center in Paramaribo remained inadequate, and prisoners and NGOs 
complained about overcrowding and poor ventilation, physical and verbal 
abuse by the guards, and unchecked violence among detainees.
    In January construction began on a new youth detention center for 
Paramaribo. The Welzijns Institute Nickerie, an NGO operating in the 
western district of Nickerie, renovated the youth detention center in 
that district with financial assistance from a Dutch NGO. The Welzijns 
Institute has a cooperation agreement with the police permitting it to 
visit and provide counseling for the detainees in the youth detention 
center in Nickerie.
    The Government permitted visits by independent human rights 
observers. Representatives of the NGO Moiwana '86 group reported that, 
in general, they had access to prisoners and received cooperation from 
prison officials on routine matters.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While the law prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed 
these prohibitions, prisoners who appealed their cases often served 
their full sentences before the lengthy appeals process could be 
completed, as a result of the shortage of judges.
    The Attorney General's office reiterated its concern that prisoners 
who completed their original sentences were not released on a timely 
basis. Defense lawyers often utilized an article of the Code of 
Criminal Proceedings that allows a judge to release a suspect if the 
case against the accused appears weak.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The armed forces are 
responsible for national security and border control, with the military 
police having direct responsibility for immigration control at the 
country's ports of entry. All elements of the military are under the 
control of the minister of defense. Civilian police bear primary 
responsibility for the maintenance of law and order and report to the 
Ministry of Justice and Police. The OPZ conducts investigations into 
complaints of police abuse. Police effectiveness was hampered by a lack 
of equipment and training, low salaries, and poor coordination with 
other law enforcement agencies. While joint police and military 
operations were limited in the past, the ministers of justice and 
police and defense formalized their cooperation in October 2005.
    Corruption remained a problem, and senior officers met monthly with 
the Attorney General's office to review corruption and other cases 
against the police.
    Through October authorities disciplined 26 officers for various 
offenses and jailed 19, including nine officers on narcotics charges, 
one for manslaughter, and four for extortion.
    In December 2005 authorities dishonorably discharged and jailed two 
police officers who stole four machine guns from a police weapons 
depot; an investigation remained under way at year's end.

    Arrest and Detention.--Individuals were apprehended with warrants 
and were promptly informed about the charges against them. The police 
may detain for up to 14 days a person suspected of committing a crime 
if the sentence for that crime is longer than four years, and an 
assistant district attorney or a police inspector may authorize 
incommunicado detention. The police must bring the accused before a 
prosecutor to be charged formally in that period, but if additional 
time is needed to investigate the charge, a prosecutor and, later, a 
judge of instruction may extend the detention period an additional 150 
days. There is no bail system. Detainees were allowed prompt access to 
counsel of their choosing, but the prosecutor may prohibit access if he 
thinks that this could harm the investigation. Detainees were allowed 
weekly visits from family members.
    The average length of pretrial detention was 30 to 45 days for 
lesser crimes. Detainees were held in 22 overcrowded detention cells 
located at police stations throughout the country. In December there 
were 974 persons detained in these cells. In accordance with the law, 
the courts freed most detainees who were not tried within the 164-day 
period.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, disputes over the appointment of judges 
undermined the independence of the judiciary. The Attorney General is 
appointed for life. The President had yet to appoint a President of the 
Court of Justice; the acting President had occupied his position since 
2000.
    The judicial system consisted of three lower courts, two 
specialized courts, and the Court of Justice as an appeals court.
    The judiciary was significantly hampered by a shortage of judges, 
which limited the effectiveness of the civilian and military courts. 
There were 11 permanent judges and one deputy judge for the entire 
country, a number that human rights groups and lawyers' associations 
viewed as inadequate. A government program continued to train 10 new 
judges, who were expected to assume their duties in 2008.
    Other problems the judiciary faced included financial dependence on 
the Ministry of Justice and Police (and hence the executive branch), 
lack of professional court managers and case management systems to 
oversee the courts' administrative functions, and lack of space. These 
contributed to a significant case backlog. The courts required a 
minimum of six months to process criminal cases.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair, public 
trial in which defendants have the right to counsel, and the judiciary 
generally enforced this right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of 
innocence and have the right to appeal their verdict. Defendants' 
lawyers can question witnesses. There is no jury system. The courts 
assign private sector lawyers to defend indigent detainees, paying the 
costs from public funds. However, court-assigned lawyers, of whom there 
were 14, generally appeared at the trial without prior consultation 
with defendants. According to Moiwana '86, these lawyers often did not 
appear at all. To remedy this situation for juveniles, a one-year NGO-
funded pilot project was launched in July 2005 giving juvenile 
detainees who could not afford a lawyer immediate access to counsel 
upon arrest. Although the program was considered successful, it was 
discontinued after a year due to a lack of funds.
    Military personnel generally are not subject to civilian criminal 
law. A member of the armed forces accused of a crime immediately comes 
under military jurisdiction, and military police are responsible for 
all such investigations. Military prosecutions are directed by an 
officer on the public prosecutor's staff and take place in separate 
courts before two military judges and one civilian judge. Due to the 
shortage of judges, military and civilian judges are selected from the 
same pool of 11 permanent judges and one deputy judge by the Court of 
Justice, which makes assignments to specific cases. A mechanism exists 
to prevent conflicts of interest. The military courts follow the same 
rules of procedure as the civil courts. There is no appeal from the 
military to the civil system.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although there are 
separate procedures for civil judicial processes, the same pool of 
judges is responsible for presiding over these procedures. There is 
access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation 
of, a human rights violation. However, the shortage of judges impeded 
the expediency of this process; most civil cases were resolved 
approximately three to four years after being heard by the courts.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The law requires 
warrants, which are issued by quasi-judicial officers who supervise 
criminal investigations, for searches. The police obtained them in the 
great majority of investigations.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice.
    Some media members continued to practice occasional self-
censorship, due to a history of intimidation and reprisals by certain 
elements of the former military leadership and in response to pressure 
by senior government officials and other important community leaders on 
journalists who published negative or unflattering stories about the 
administration.
    In May the Association of Journalists voiced strong protests when a 
minister's bodyguard threatened a journalist and took away his camera 
when he was taking pictures of the minister's car.
    After a radio call-in program alleged corrupt practices with regard 
to acquisition of land by a coalition party, the party chairman 
threatened to file a lawsuit against the radio announcer but did not 
follow up on his threat.
    In December 2005 a local newspaper, De Ware Tijd, refused to 
publish a court-ordered retraction to an article published in De West, 
a competing publication. Journalists voiced their concern about the 
precedent the ruling could set, and De West filed an appeal of the 
ruling ordering the retraction. Hearings were scheduled to start in 
2007.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were no reports of 
societal abuses or discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community numbered approximately 150.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    Although the law does not address exile, it was not used in 
practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. Under special circumstances, persons may be granted refugee 
status, and in practice the Government provided protection against 
refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared 
persecution. During the year the Government did not grant asylum or 
refugee status.
    The Government cooperated with the office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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 held on the basis of universal 
suffrage. Elections in 2005 marked the third such peaceful electoral 
transition; however, in its 31 years of independence, the country 
experienced two military coups, seven years of military rule, and one 
instance in which massive public demonstrations forced an agreement to 
hold elections a year early.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The constitution provides 
for direct election by secret ballot of the 51-member National Assembly 
every five years. The National Assembly in turn elects the President by 
a two-thirds majority vote. If the legislature is unable to do so, the 
constitution provides that the United People's Assembly, composed of 
members of parliament and elected regional and local officials, shall 
elect the President. After generally free and fair elections in May 
2005, the United People's Assembly reelected incumbent Ronald Venetiaan 
as President in August of that year.
    Historical and cultural factors, such as early, arranged marriages 
for Hindu and Muslim women, impeded equal participation by women in 
leadership positions in government and political parties. In the past, 
participation by women in politics (and other fields) generally was 
considered inappropriate. Data from the Ministry of Home Affairs showed 
that while women made limited gains in attaining political power in 
recent years, political circles remained under the influence of 
traditional male-dominated groups. There were 13 women in the 51-seat 
National Assembly, and the cabinet included three women. In 2001 the 
first female judge joined the Court of Justice. In August 2005 two 
women were appointed police commissioners, and in May a woman was 
appointed as head clerk, the highest administrative position in the 
parliament.
    Several factors traditionally limited the participation of 
indigenous Amerindians and Maroons--descendants of escaped slaves who 
fled to the interior to avoid recapture--in the political process. Most 
of the country's political activity takes place in the capital, 
Paramaribo, and in a narrow belt running east and west of it along the 
coast. The Maroons and Amerindians are concentrated in remote areas in 
the interior and therefore have limited access to, and influence on, 
the political process. There were three Maroon and one Amerindian 
political parties, and voters elected eight Maroons and one Amerindian 
to the National Assembly. The opportunity for Maroons to participate in 
the political process increased when the three Maroon parties formed a 
coalition for the May 2005 election and became part of the governing 
coalition, with three Maroons in the cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread 
perception of corruption in the executive branch of the Government, and 
corruption of government officials remained a serious problem. A 
shortage of police personnel continued to hamper police investigations 
of fraud cases.
    In February a court sentenced an official from the Ministry of Home 
Affairs to one year in prison for embezzling thousands of dollars 
through a pension benefits scheme; in addition, she was ordered to pay 
the money back within two years of her release from prison.
    In March authorities arrested a customs officer stationed in the 
eastern district of Marowijne and charged him with extortion and 
embezzlement. In July a judge sentenced the customs officer to one year 
in prison and suspended him from the service for two years.
    The trial of former minister of public works, Dewanand Balesar, and 
16 other suspects on charges of fraud, forgery, and extortion at the 
Ministry of Public Works continued at year's end.
    Authorities arrested and placed on trial for corruption three 
officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and 
Fisheries. The trial concluded in December. While the ministry's deputy 
director was acquitted due to lack of evidence, the judge sentenced 
other suspects in this case to prison terms ranging from 12 to 24 
months.
    The media reported on alleged corrupt practices with regard to the 
acquisition of land by one of the political parties in the governing 
coalition.
    Although the law provides for public access to government 
information, such access was limited in practice for both citizens and 
noncitizens, including foreign media. While almost every ministry has 
an information service, onerous bureaucratic hurdles made obtaining 
information very difficult.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of independent domestic human rights groups, such as the 
Organization for Justice and Peace, the Know Your Rights Foundation, 
and Moiwana '86, generally operated without government restriction, 
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. 
However, government officials often were not cooperative or responsive 
to their views. No international human rights groups operated in the 
country during the year.
    A parliamentary commission on human rights continued operating 
throughout the year, but its effectiveness was hampered by resource 
constraints. In February parliament established a commission dealing 
with women's and children's rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race and ethnicity but 
does not address discrimination based on disability, language, or 
social status. While the law does not specifically prohibit gender 
discrimination, it provides for protection of women's rights to equal 
access to education, employment, and property. In practice several 
societal groups, including women, Maroons, Amerindians, persons with 
HIV/AIDS, and homosexuals, suffered various forms of discrimination.

    Women.--Violence against women was a common problem, which the 
Government had not addressed specifically. The law does not 
differentiate between domestic violence and other forms of assault. 
There was no information available regarding the number of reports of 
domestic violence the police received during the year. The chairwoman 
of the NGO Stop Violence Against Women stated that the working 
relationship between the police and the various NGOs dealing with this 
issue was slowly improving, as attention was now being paid to the 
victim, rather than just focusing on the offender. An NGO-driven 
network, including police units, continued working to combat domestic 
violence. There were four victims' rooms in police stations in 
Paramaribo and in Nickerie, and police units were trained on dealing 
with victims and perpetrators of sexual crimes and domestic violence.
    The law prohibits rape but does not address spousal rape. The 
maximum penalty for rape or forcible sexual assault is a 12-year 
sentence. The only statistics available covered sex crimes in general: 
as of October, authorities had opened 218 new cases against 277 
defendants, 212 of whom were imprisoned pending the outcome of their 
trials.
    Although the law prohibits sexual exploitation, including 
prostitution, in practice prostitution generally was tolerated. 
Concerns about the link between prostitution and trafficking in persons 
resulted in police raids on commercial sex locations and arrests of 
several prostitutes. Poverty continued to put young women at risk of 
becoming prostitutes. The presence of large groups of illegal miners in 
the gold mining sector in the interior drew many young Maroon women and 
girls into prostitution. Police allowed many brothels to operate, and 
officials asserted that they made random checks on the brothels twice a 
month to see if women were being abused, held against their will, or 
having their passports retained by brothel owners to ensure fulfillment 
of work contract obligations (see section 5, Trafficking).
    Women have the legal right to equal access to education, 
employment, and property; nevertheless, social pressures and customs, 
especially in rural areas, inhibited their full exercise of these 
rights, particularly with respect to marriage and inheritance. Social 
pressures on families to have their daughters married at or near the 
legal age of marital consent frequently interfered with the girls' 
education and resulted in the direct passage of all property the women 
would have inherited from their parents to their husband and parents-
in-law in accordance with these customs.
    Women experienced economic discrimination in access to employment 
and in rates of pay for the same or substantially similar work. 
According to a report, more than 60 percent of women worked in 
traditionally female administrative or secretarial jobs. The Government 
did not make specific efforts to combat economic discrimination.
    The National Women's Movement, the most active women's rights NGO, 
continued assisting women to launch small home-based businesses, such 
as sewing and growing vegetables, and provided general legal help. The 
Women's Business Group advocated business opportunities for women, 
while the Women's Parliament advocated opportunities in the public 
sector. Stop Violence against Women provided assistance to victims of 
domestic violence, including legal help with dissolving an abusive 
marriage. The Maxi Linder Foundation worked with persons in 
prostitution, including women and children who were victims of 
trafficking, and conducted outreach and informational sessions to 
inform victims of human rights abuses about their rights. Resource 
constraints continued to limit the effectiveness of these groups. In 
March the Women's Rights Center organized a five-day training course 
about the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against 
Women; participants included government officials, NGOs, journalists, 
and academics.

    Children.--The Government allocated limited resources to ensure 
safeguards for the human rights and welfare of children.
    Schooling is compulsory until 12 years of age; however, in practice 
some school-age children, particularly in the interior, did not have 
access to education due to a lack of transportation, building 
facilities, or teachers. Although school attendance was free through 
university level, most public schools imposed a nominal enrollment fee, 
ranging from $9 to $40 (SRD 25 to SRD 115) a year to cover costs. 
Approximately 85 percent of children in cities attended school; 
however, as few as 50 percent of children in the interior attended 
school. Most children attended school through middle school (age 16). 
There was no legal difference in the treatment of girls and boys in 
education or health care services, and in practice both were treated 
equally.
    Government medical care for children was generally adequate, and 
vaccination for all children was obligatory. However, the Government 
offered very limited mental health care. The NGO Bureau for Child 
Development provided mental health care for abused children. There was 
a home for HIV/AIDS orphans and abandoned children in Paramaribo.
    While there was no societal pattern of abuse directed against 
children, some children were abused sexually and physically. Through 
December police received reports of 235 cases of sexual abuse of 
children and 100 cases of cruelty against children. The police Youth 
Affairs Office conducted three visits per week to different schools in 
the capital and the surrounding areas on a rotating schedule to provide 
outreach and raise awareness about child abuse and to solicit and 
investigate complaints. In March a court sentenced an elementary school 
principal who had sexually molested and assaulted at least 23 boys to 
four years' imprisonment.
    Various laws were used to prosecute perpetrators of sexual 
harassment, and several cases of sexual abuse against minors came to 
trial. Sentences averaged three years in prison. There were several 
orphanages and one privately funded shelter for sexually abused 
children in the capital, where approximately 49 percent of the 
country's population was concentrated.
    While the legal age of sexual consent is 14, it was not enforced 
effectively. The marriage law sets the age of marital consent at 15 for 
girls and 17 for boys, provided parents of the parties agree to the 
marriage. Parental permission to marry is required up to age 21. The 
law also mandates the presence of a Civil Registry official to register 
all marriages.
    Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained a 
problem (see section 5, Trafficking). According to the Mamio Namen 
Project Foundation, an NGO working on the well-being of HIV-infected 
persons, sex tourism was increasing; boys reportedly were targeted in 
particular. The Salvation Army and a Catholic charitable organization 
provided shelter for homeless boys.
    Children faced increasing economic pressure to discontinue their 
education to seek employment, particularly in the interior of the 
country, and child labor remained a problem in the informal sector (see 
section 6.d.).
    In June the Ilse Henar Hewitt Bureau for Legal Assistance for 
Women, an NGO, launched a campaign to inform and educate the public 
regarding the right of children to be heard in any judicial and 
administrative procedure affecting them. In October the Code of Civil 
Procedure was amended to include this right.
    The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) continued cooperating with the 
Government on the basis of a multiannual plan of action. UNICEF 
provided training to officials from various ministries dealing with 
children and children's rights. UNICEF coordinates its activities with 
the Bureau for Children's Rights and the national steering committee, 
which includes representatives from the Ministries of Health, 
Education, Regional Development, Planning and Development Cooperation, 
and Labor.

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although trafficking in persons is 
criminalized by law, persons were trafficking to, through, and within 
the country, primarily for sexual exploitation.
    The country was primarily a transit and destination country for 
women and children trafficked internationally for the purpose of sexual 
exploitation. Foreign girls and women were trafficked from Brazil, the 
Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Colombia for commercial sexual 
exploitation; some transited the country en route to Europe. The 
majority of these girls and women were reportedly unaware that they 
would be working as prostitutes. Authorities noted that ``snake 
heads,'' Chinese human trafficking organizations, were active. Chinese 
nationals transiting the country risked debt bondage to these migrant 
smugglers; men were exploited in forced labor and women in commercial 
sexual exploitation. Haitians migrating illegally were also vulnerable 
to forced labor exploitation in the country. There also were reports of 
underage girls and boys trafficked within the country for prostitution 
by recruiters or caretakers.
    In March the National Assembly approved a Penal Code amendment to 
increase the maximum prison term for human traffickers and human 
smugglers from two to four years, make assisting or facilitating human 
trafficking a crime, and institute heavy fines for the offenders. The 
penalty for sexual exploitation, a criminal felony, is a five-year 
sentence; labor exploitation is covered only by labor law and is a 
misdemeanor carrying a three- to six-month sentence. Criminal law 
prohibits solicitation and brothel operation, but the law was not 
enforced.
    Government efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers 
intensified significantly.
    In two separate instances in January and February, police arrested 
four brothel owners, including a woman, and charged them with human 
trafficking and participation in a criminal organization. The four 
brothel owners were in the business of trafficking women from the 
Dominican Republic; the women were unaware that they would be expected 
to work as prostitutes. In November a court convicted the female 
brothel owner and sentenced her to 18 months' imprisonment; she was 
released for time served. At year's end the cases against the other 
brothel owners were still pending in the courts.
    In March 2005 a court sentenced Marie Bichotte, a Haitian national, 
to two and a half years' imprisonment for human smuggling and ordered 
her to pay a fine of approximately $3,570 (SRD 10,000). Bichotte and 
her husband were reportedly involved in large-scale smuggling and 
trafficking of Haitians for eventual transit to French Guiana. At 
year's end authorities were seeking the husband and intended to 
prosecute him.
    In July police arrested a person on charges of trafficking in 
persons, assault, and intimidation. The women were trafficked under 
false pretenses and were forced to work as prostitutes.
    In December a court convicted Henk Kunath and sentenced him to six 
months' imprisonment on charges of trafficking in persons. Kunath, who 
owned Paramaribo's largest brothel, Diamond, trafficked Brazilian women 
to work in his club.
    The Government's Antitrafficking Commission had primary 
responsibility for combating trafficking; the commission included 
representatives from law enforcement (Attorney General's office, police 
force, and the military police, which handles immigration), the 
Ministries of Justice and Police, Labor, Home Affairs, and Foreign 
Affairs. The commission met monthly to assess the Government's progress 
in combating trafficking in persons and coordinate new action steps. 
Police cooperated with counterparts in Guyana and the Dominican 
Republic, and justice officials sought improved mechanisms for 
cooperation with Colombia, the Netherlands Antilles, and French Guiana.
    The Special Antitrafficking Police Unit conducted limited 
investigations and raids throughout the year. The public prosecutor's 
office and the police continued a registry of all brothels and their 
employees by nationality. The police operated a telephone hot line to 
handle all cases involving the commercial sex industry. The police had 
informal agreements with many brothel owners allowing them to proceed 
with their business. However, police conducted random checks to ensure 
that women were not mistreated, that no minors were present, and that 
owners did not keep the women's airline tickets and passports. During 
the year there were fewer than four reports of brothel owners retaining 
passports and airline tickets to enforce contract obligations. In such 
cases the police assisted these women to return to their country of 
origin at their own expense.
    There were reports that government officials, including consular 
affairs, customs, and immigration officials, facilitated trafficking in 
persons by allowing individuals who were not bona fide visitors to 
enter the country. Authorities continued to investigate such reports.
    Although the Government continued to lack resources for the direct 
provision of services to victims of trafficking, it increased efforts 
to work with civil society to shelter and assist these victims. 
Authorities extended services provided for domestic violence victims 
and worked with civil society contacts and consular representatives of 
victims' source countries. As a result, identified foreign victims were 
temporarily sheltered and kept safe until their repatriation. Victims 
could file suit against traffickers, but few victims came forward. 
Women arrested in brothel raids as immigration violators and who did 
not indicate they were trafficked were deported, but efforts were made 
to treat identified victims as material witnesses needing protection 
rather than as criminals. An NGO receiving government funding, the Maxi 
Linder Foundation, continued working with trafficking victims, 
providing counseling and rehabilitative training.
    In February the Government launched an intensive trafficking in 
persons awareness campaign, funded by the International Organization 
for Migration (IOM). In March two foreign judges visited their 
counterparts with whom they held intensive discussions about effective 
approaches to handle cases involving trafficking in persons. The judges 
also met with government and NGO officials, academics, and members of 
the legal community. In June three officials from the Antitrafficking 
Commission attended an IOM-sponsored training course on trafficking in 
persons for law enforcement officials.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There were no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of state 
services. There were no laws, provisions, or programs to ensure access 
to buildings for persons with disabilities. Some training programs were 
provided for the blind and others with disabilities. In general persons 
with disabilities suffered from discrimination when applying for jobs 
and services. A Ministry of Social Affairs working group remained 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities but 
made no progress during the year.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, and no discrimination 
complaints were filed during the year. Nonetheless, Maroons (see 
section 3), who represent approximately 15 percent of the population, 
generally continued to be disadvantaged in the areas of education, 
employment, and government services. Most Maroons lived in the 
interior, where limited infrastructure narrowed their access to 
educational and professional opportunities and health and social 
services. Maroons in Paramaribo suffered from negative social 
stereotypes.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no new protests by residents 
of neighboring Maroon villages against gold mining activities by the 
Gross Rosebel Goldmines Company in the interior. Some forms of 
discrimination that affected indigenous Amerindians also extended to 
Maroons (see section 5, Indigenous People).

    Indigenous People.--The law affords no special protection for, or 
recognition of, indigenous people. Most Amerindians (approximately 3 
percent of the population) suffered a number of disadvantages and had 
only limited ability to participate in decisions affecting their lands, 
cultures, traditions, and natural resources. The country's political 
life, educational opportunities, and jobs were concentrated in the 
capital and its environs, while the majority of Amerindians (as well as 
Maroons) lived in the interior, where government services were largely 
unavailable.
    Official and informal meetings between the parties involved in 
implementing the 2001 Lelydorp Accord (which superseded the 1992 peace 
accords that formally ended the 1986-91 insurgencies) continued without 
substantive results. No former Jungle Commando members were integrated 
into the police force, but some obtained jobs with the Government. In 
October more than 200 former members of the Jungle Commando complained 
to the Government that they were not being integrated into the civil 
services as outlined in the 1992 peace agreement.
    The Amerindian (and Maroon) populations continued to face problems 
with illegal and uncontrolled logging and mining.
    Organizations representing Maroon and Amerindian communities 
complained that small-scale mining operations, mainly by illegal gold 
miners, dug trenches that cut residents off from their agricultural 
land and threatened to drive them away from their traditional 
settlements. Mercury runoff from these operations also contaminated and 
threatened traditional food source areas.
    In March the Government established a commission consisting of 
officials from various ministries and representatives from Maroon and 
Amerindian groups to advise the Government on the issue of land rights.
    In 2005 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) heard 
a petition filed in 2000 by the Vereniging van Saramakaanse 
Gezagdragers, an organization representing 12 Saramaccaner clans with 
authority over 60 villages in the Upper Suriname River area, claiming 
that lumber operations, mostly by Chinese-owned concessions, threatened 
their way of life. After the Government failed to take appropriate 
measures, in June the IACHR sent the case to the Inter-American Court 
of Human Rights. The court was expected to start hearings in 2007.
    Human rights and environmental groups continued monitoring the 
joint venture activities of SURALCO and BHP Billiton, which were 
exploring the possibility of mining bauxite and generating hydropower 
in the western part of the country.
    Maroon and Amerindian groups continued to cooperate with each other 
in an effort to exercise their rights more effectively. NGOs such as 
Moiwana '86 continued working to promote the rights of indigenous 
people.

    Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Although the law 
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there were 
reports that homosexuals continued to suffer from employment 
discrimination. Persons with HIV/AIDS continued to experience societal 
discrimination in employment and medical services. In March local 
newspapers reported that a patient infected with HIV/AIDS died because 
hospital workers were reluctant to treat him. An NGO working with HIV-
infected persons reported that HIV testing was still part of the hiring 
procedures of law enforcement agencies and the fire department.
    During the year the National AIDS Program expanded and authorities 
filled crucial positions that had been vacant since its inception. The 
Ministry of Health also intensified its efforts in prevention of mother 
to child transmission. By the end of the year, the ministry expected to 
reach 90 percent of pregnant women for voluntary testing. Testing was 
also available through hospitals, Primary Health Services' clinics, 
family practitioners, and the Regional Health Services. The Government 
included combating HIV/AIDS as an issue in its 2006-11 Multi-Year 
Development Program, and in December it launched a ``Unite for 
Children, Unite Against AIDS'' campaign against AIDS.
    In July the Union of Teachers, together with the NGOs Education 
International and the Education for All Commission organized a seminar 
on HIV/AIDS and prevention for Teacher's College teachers.
    In December 2005 the business community launched the Business 
Coalition against HIV/AIDS. The coalition wrote a protocol on dealing 
with HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment on the work floor and combating 
stigma and discrimination. Initially intended to be a three-month 
project, the Know Your Status campaign concluded in June after seven 
months and produced good results. In an effort to reach as many people 
as possible for testing, there were seven voluntary counseling and 
testing sites.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive 
requirements, and the workers did so in practice. Nearly 60 percent of 
the work force was organized into unions, and most unions belonged to 
one of the country's seven major labor federations. Unions were 
independent of the Government but played an active role in politics.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the 
Government generally protected this right in practice. Collective 
bargaining agreements covered approximately 50 percent of the labor 
force.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers in both 
public and private sectors exercised this right in practice.
    In July Fernandes Bakery employees went on strike demanding payment 
of a previously agreed lump sum from their employer, although a 
collective bargaining agreement had already been signed between the 
union and the employer. Fernandes fired the 82 employees. In August the 
Dismissal Committee of the Ministry of Labor, Technological 
Development, and Environment ruled that the decision to fire the 
employees was unlawful and that the employees had to be rehired. 
However, in September a judge ruled in a summary suit filed by 
Fernandes that the company had acted correctly. Fernandes subsequently 
rehired approximately 50 percent of the employees.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children, there were reports that such practices occurred (see section 
5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years and restricts 
working hours for minors to day shifts but does not specify the length 
of such day shifts. Children younger than 18 are prohibited from doing 
hazardous work, defined as work dangerous to their life, health, and 
decency; those younger than 14 are only allowed to work in a family or 
special vocational setting or for educational purpose. However, the 
Ministry of Labor and the police enforced this law sporadically, and 
child labor remained a problem in the informal sector, especially in 
the districts of Nickerie and Saramacca in the west.
    Children under 14 worked as street vendors, newspaper sellers, rice 
and lumber mill workers, packers for traders, or shop assistants. 
Working hours for youths were not limited in comparison with the 
regular work force. Employers in these sectors did not guarantee work 
safety, and children often worked barefoot and without protective 
gloves, with no access to medical care. Although government figures 
reported that only 2 percent of children were economically active, a 
2002 survey conducted by the Institute for Training and Research found 
that 50 percent of children between the ages of four and 14 were 
economically active, working mainly in the informal sector. The worst 
forms of child labor, such as prostitution, remained a problem; there 
were reports of commercial sexual exploitation of children and 
teenagers by caretakers and older recruiters (see section 5).
    The Ministry of Labor's Department of Labor Inspection, with 
approximately 40 inspectors, has responsibility to implement and 
enforce labor laws, including those pertaining to the worst forms of 
child labor. Inspectors covered the entire country, but no data were 
available regarding the number of inspections performed during the 
year. The Government did not investigate exploitive child labor cases 
outside urban areas. As in the past, labor inspectors were not 
authorized to conduct inspections in the informal sector, where child 
labor remained a problem, as responsibility for controlling the 
informal sector lies with police.
    The police continued raids on known child labor locations in 
Paramaribo, including street spots where underage vendors worked, as 
well as nightclubs, casinos, and brothels, to combat the problem.
    In December the Government installed the National Commission 
dealing with Child Labor, consisting of officials from the Ministries 
of Labor, Social Affairs, and Education, and representatives from the 
labor unions, the private sector, and NGOs. The commission was 
primarily tasked with establishing an authority on child labor, as 
provided for the International Labor Organization convention on the 
worst forms of child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no legislation 
providing for a minimum wage. The lowest wage for civil servants was 
approximately $211 (SRD 593) per month, including a cost of living 
allowance, which did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. Government employees, who constituted approximately 
50 percent of the work force of 100,000 persons, frequently 
supplemented their salaries with second or third jobs, often in the 
informal sector. The President and the Council of Ministers set and 
approved civil service wage increases.
    Work in excess of 45 hours per week on a regular basis required 
special government permission, which was granted routinely. Such 
overtime work earned premium pay. The law prohibits excessive overtime 
and requires a 24-hour rest period per week.
    A 10- to 12-member inspectorate in the Occupational Health and 
Safety Division of the Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcing 
occupational safety and health regulations. Resource constraints and 
lack of trained personnel precluded the division from making regular 
inspections. There was no law authorizing workers to refuse to work in 
circumstances they deem unsafe; they must appeal to the inspectorate to 
declare the workplace situation unsafe.

                               __________

                          TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

    Trinidad and Tobago is a parliamentary democracy governed by a 
prime minister and a bicameral legislature. The population was 
approximately 1.3 million. Tobago has a House of Assembly that has some 
administrative autonomy over local matters on that island. In the 2002 
elections, which observers considered generally free and fair, Prime 
Minister Patrick Manning's People's National Movement (PNM) secured a 
20 to 16 seat victory over the United National Congress (UNC). The 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the 
security forces.
    The Government generally respected the human rights of its 
citizens; however, there were problems in some areas: police killings 
during apprehension or custody, inmate injuries in riots over poor 
prison conditions and other grievances, high-profile attempts to 
pervert the course of justice and cases of alleged bribery, violence 
against women, inadequate services for vulnerable children, and unsafe 
working conditions.
                        respect for human rights
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, 
11 persons died during the year while in police custody or at the hands 
of law enforcement authorities. Authorities investigated or opened 
inquests into all such killings.
    On June 21, police shot and killed Sherwin Daniel, a suspect in 
five murders and several robberies, after he reportedly opened fire on 
police officers who were attempting to arrest him.
    On July 29, a coast guard vessel came upon an alleged fishing boat 
carrying Shazard Mohammed and two other men. In a confusing series of 
events, Mohammed was shot in the head and transported unconscious to a 
hospital where he died on August 4. An internal coast guard 
investigation found no reason to charge anyone with the shooting, but a 
police investigation led to charges of murder against Quincy Allum, 
reportedly a defense force mechanic. At year's end the case was still 
being heard in magistrate's court.
    On August 14, Stefan Mills, a construction worker and alleged gang 
member, died in a hospital two days after police officers shot him in 
the face and chest, as he attempted to abduct two teenage girls.
    On September 21, police shot and killed Noel French near his home, 
after he reportedly opened fire on police officers who were attempting 
to execute an outstanding arrest warrant.
    On January 27, authorities arrested three members of the defense 
force and charged them, along with 12 civilian accomplices, with the 
April 2005 kidnapping and killing of Balram Bachu Maharaj, whose 
dismembered body was found buried in a wooded area. At year's end 
extradition hearings in this case continued in magistrate's court.
    There was no definitive resolution of most of the investigations 
into persons killed by police during 2005 (including Mervyn Caton, 
Jameel Alexander, Anthony Ellis, Calvin Campbell, and Damian Gould) or 
during 2004 (including Galene Bonadie and Noel Stanley).
    In a landmark case, however, police Constable Dave Burnett became 
the first officer in the country's history to be convicted of murder 
while on duty. In March a judge sentenced him to death after a jury 
found him guilty of the 2004 killing of teenager Kevin Cato at a party.
    The police had yet to fulfill the director of public prosecutions' 
(DPP) 2005 request for a police report of the circumstances surrounding 
the 2001 death of Marcel McLeod, allegedly killed in a shootout with 
police.
    In August 2005 authorities ordered a retrial in the case of a 
prison officer charged with the 2001 death of prisoner Anton Cooper, 
but it had not taken place by year's end.
    In January after losing an appeal of his manslaughter conviction, 
police Constable Mihiset Greene began a 10-year sentence for killing 
Neil Sutherland in 1995.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances, and there was a sharp decrease in the number of general 
kidnappings: during the year, there were 126 such kidnappings, compared 
with 235 during 2005. The number of kidnappings for ransom also 
decreased dramatically, to 17, as compared with 54 in 2005. This 
significant decline was widely attributed to the arrest of the three 
defense force members and their accomplices in connection with the 
Balram Bachu Maharaj case (see section 1.a.).
    At year's end authorities were still investigating the two special 
reserve police officers arrested in August 2005 for their alleged role 
in a kidnapping characterized by the media as ``high-profile'' because 
the two victims were sons of a well-known businessman and one of the 
police officers was himself a member of a prominent family.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and the law prohibit such 
practices, there were credible reports of police officers and prison 
guards mistreating individuals under arrest or in detention.
    At year's end investigations and legal proceedings continued in the 
2004 case of Camille Mitchell, who claimed that she suffered a 
miscarriage as a result of police mistreatment during a search of her 
home.
    At year's end a 2003 lawsuit in which Danesh Mahabir charged police 
officers with assault, battery, and unlawful detention continued in the 
courts.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the prison 
system's eight facilities were somewhat upgraded but continued to be 
harsh. According to the prison service commissioner, the number of 
prisoners at the Port of Spain prison, originally designed to 
accommodate 250 inmates, was reduced from 650 in 2005 to 554 at year's 
end. The number of prisoners in each 10- by 10-foot cell remained at 
five. The recently built maximum-security prison in Arouca helped 
relieve the overcrowding at the Port of Spain prison.
    Staff shortages compelled the prison service to limit the 
``airing'' time provided to prison inmates. This issue served as the 
basis of a complaint filed against the prison service by death row 
inmate Alladin Mohammed, which was still pending at year's end.
    According to prison authorities, at year's end they had brought 
charges against 23 prison officers for assault and battery or for poor 
conduct on the job, including possession of narcotics and provision of 
cell phones to inmates.
    In March authorities charged a prison guard with intent to sell 
marijuana in the prison. The prison service commissioner told a 
parliamentary committee that a ``rogue element'' of prison guards 
regularly trafficked drugs, cell phones, and weapons within the 
country's jails.
    In August and September, inmates in the remand section of the 
Golden Grove Prison rioted over poor prison conditions, including 
alleged beatings by prison officers, bad food, denial of prison visits 
by relatives, and an order depriving inmates of their cell phones. 
During the riots, inmates injured prison guards, broke electrical 
fixtures, and set fires in their cells. Faced with a situation of near-
anarchy, the prison service commissioner entered into direct 
negotiations with the inmates. The prison officers' association 
criticized this initiative and called for a prison guard ``sick-out.'' 
By year's end relations between the prison commissioner and the 
association had improved.
    Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners, 
usually in the remand section of the same facilities as convicted 
prisoners. However, convicted prisoners often were held in the remand 
section until they exhausted their appeals.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, but the Ministry of National Security must approve each 
visit.

    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 Ministry of 
National Security oversees the police service, the prison service, and 
the defense force. The police service maintains internal security, 
while the defense force is responsible for external security but also 
has certain domestic security responsibilities. An independent body, 
the Police Service Commission, makes hiring and firing decisions in the 
police service, and the ministry has little direct influence over 
changes in senior positions. The Government sponsored training programs 
and sought expert advice with a view to professionalizing and enhancing 
the effectiveness of the police and prison services.
    The national police force comprises nine countrywide divisions, 
including 17 specialized branches, with approximately 7,000 members. 
The Police Service Commission, in consultation with the Prime Minister, 
appoints a commissioner of police to oversee the police force. 
Municipal police under the jurisdiction of 14 regional administrative 
bodies supplement the national police force. The Special Anticrime 
Unit, composed of both police and defense force personnel, combats 
violent crime--including kidnappings for ransom--and carries out other 
security operations. During the year the Government hired 39 British 
police officers who assisted police in the investigation of crimes.
    Police corruption continued to be a problem. On a number of 
occasions during the year, the authorities apprehended members of the 
police in connection with illegal drugs, firearms possession, and other 
illicit activities. The Police Complaints Authority receives complaints 
about the conduct of police officers for transmittal to the Complaints 
Division of the Police Service where uniformed officers investigate 
them. The authority simply monitors the division's investigations and 
its disciplinary measures. Police Service Commission restrictions 
limited the division's ability to dismiss police officers. The public 
had little confidence in the police complaints process because the 
Police Complaints Authority had no power to investigate complaints and 
because those investigating complaints against the police were 
themselves police officers.

    Arrest and Detention.--A police officer may arrest a person either 
based on a warrant issued or authorized by a magistrate, or without a 
warrant when the officer witnesses the commission of an alleged 
offense. Detainees, as well as those summoned to appear before a 
magistrate, must appear in court within 48 hours. In the case of more 
serious offenses, the magistrate either commits the accused to prison 
on remand or allows the accused to post bail, pending a preliminary 
inquiry. Detainees were granted prompt access to a lawyer and to family 
members.
    There is a functioning bail system, although persons charged with 
murder, treason, piracy, and hijacking are ineligible, as are persons 
charged with kidnapping for ransom for a period of 60 days following 
the charge and persons already convicted twice of violent crimes. 
However, a judge may grant bail to such persons under exceptional 
circumstances, which occurred in July when Imam Yasin Abu Bakr, leader 
of the extremist Jamaat al-Muslimeen group, jailed on charges of 
sedition, incitement, and terrorism, was granted bail on grounds of ill 
health. Where bail was refused, magistrates advised the accused of 
their right to an attorney and, with few exceptions, allowed them 
access to an attorney, once they were in custody and prior to any 
interrogation.
    The minister of national security may authorize preventive 
detention in order to preclude actions prejudicial to public safety, 
public order, or national defense, in which case the minister must 
state the grounds for the detention. There were no reports that the 
authorities abused this power.
    Lengthy pretrial detention resulting from heavy court backlogs and 
an inefficient judicial system continued to be a problem. Out of a 
prison population of 3,750, 1,402 inmates were waiting to be tried at 
year's end. Many criminal indictees waited months, if not years, for 
their trial dates in the High Court. An added inefficiency resulted 
from the legal requirement that anyone charged and detained must appear 
in person for a hearing before magistrate's court every 10 days, if 
only to have the case postponed for a further 10 days, pending 
conclusion of the investigation.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and the law 
provide for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally 
respected this provision in practice. Although the judicial process was 
generally fair, it was slow due to backlogs and inefficiencies.
    In July the President suspended the chief justice after the Court 
of Appeal ruled against the latter in a case in which he was charged 
with attempting to influence the outcome of a high-profile integrity 
trial of the party chairman and parliamentary leader of the opposition 
UNC (see section 3). Referring to this development at the September 
opening of the Supreme Court of Judicature, the acting chief justice 
appealed for the restoration of public trust in the independence and 
apolitical nature of the judiciary.
    The judiciary is divided into the Supreme Court of Judicature and 
the magistracy. The Supreme Court is composed of the High Court and a 
Court of Appeal. The magistracy includes the summary courts and the 
petty civil courts.

    Trial Procedures.--Magistrates try both minor and more serious 
offenses, but in the case of more serious offenses, the magistrate must 
conduct a preliminary inquiry. Trials are public, and juries are used 
in the High Court. Defendants have the right to be present, are 
presumed innocent until proven guilty, and have the right to appeal. 
While all defendants have the right to consult with an attorney in a 
timely manner, an attorney is provided at public expense to defendants 
facing serious criminal charges, and the law requires the provision of 
an attorney to a person accused of murder. Although the courts may 
appoint attorneys for indigent persons charged with indictable offenses 
(serious crimes), an indigent person may refuse to accept an assigned 
attorney for cause and may obtain a replacement. Defendants can 
confront or question witnesses against them, can present witnesses and 
evidence on their own behalf, and have access to government-held 
evidence relevant to their cases.
    Both civil and criminal appeals may be filed with the Court of 
Appeal and ultimately with the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.
    The regional Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), inaugurated in 2005, 
was intended to be a final court of appeal for the 15 member states of 
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). However, the Government has not 
passed legislation for it to play this role. The CCJ has a separate 
original jurisdiction whereby it interprets and applies the treaty 
which established CARICOM as well as the agreement creating the 
Caribbean Single Market and Economy.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and the 
law provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil 
matters, and citizens are free to file law suits against civil 
breaches, in both the High Court and petty civil court. The High Court 
may review the decisions of lower courts, may order parties to cease 
and desist from particular actions, may compel parties to take specific 
actions, or may award damages to aggrieved parties. However, the petty 
civil court is authorized to hear only cases involving damages of up to 
$2,500 (TT$15,000).

    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.--The constitution and the law 
provide for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an 
effective although slow and inefficient judiciary, and a functioning 
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of 
the press.
    During the year, parliament established a cable television channel 
exclusively dedicated to the live broadcast of parliamentary 
proceedings in their entirety. According to the guidelines governing 
the new service, if a member of parliament or a witness makes allegedly 
false statements about a person who is outside parliament, that person 
has the right to apply to have a rebuttal placed on the parliamentary 
record, in which case, media that had reported the original allegation 
are required also to report the rebuttal.
    On July 4, the Privy Council ordered the Government to issue 
immediately a commercial FM broadcasting license to Sanatan Dharma Maha 
Sabha (SDMS), the principal Hindu organization in the country. In its 
decision, which concluded a six-year-long quest by the Hindu community 
for its own radio station, the Privy Council determined that the 
Government had subjected the SDMS to unequal treatment under the law 
and, in the process, had denied it the right to freedom of expression. 
Amid threats of further legal action, the Government granted the 
license in September, and at year's end the SDMS was about to begin its 
radio broadcasting operations.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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.
    In October security guards ordered a symposium on health issues, 
sponsored by the newly formed opposition Congress of the People (COP) 
party, to halt its proceedings and disperse. The Minister of Health 
claimed that the venue had been booked in a manner designed to conceal 
the political identity of the sponsoring organization and that the COP 
had violated an unwritten rule that the government-owned Eric Williams 
Medical Sciences Center could not be booked for political meetings. The 
COP leadership charged that the Government violated the party's right 
to freedom of assembly, claiming that promotional advertisements for 
the symposium not only had named the COP as the event sponsor but had 
highlighted the apolitical nature of the symposium agenda.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for 
freedom of association, and the Government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution and the law provide for 
freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right 
in practice.
    The Government limits the number of foreign missionaries allowed in 
the country to 30 per denomination at any given time. Missionaries must 
meet standard requirements for an entry visa and must represent a 
registered religious group. They may not remain in the country for more 
than three years per visit but may re-enter after a year's absence.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--The return visit of a 
controversial Pentecostal preacher prompted the head of the Hindu 
community to demand that he be barred from coming or arrested upon 
arrival under the Summary Offenses Act for remarks made on his first 
visit. However, the Pentecostal preacher came and preached without 
incident.
    There were no other reports of societal abuses or discrimination, 
including anti-Semitic acts. The Jewish community was very small.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution and the law provide for 
these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
    Although the Government acceded to the 1951 UN Convention Relating 
to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, it had not passed 
legislation to implement its obligations under the convention. The 
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
refugees and asylum seekers. The Government placed asylum seekers in 
the care of the Living Water Community, a local Catholic social 
services agency, while their cases were reviewed by UNHCR and final 
resolution reached. Pending parliament's approval of legislation 
implementing the UN convention and its protocol, the Ministry of 
National Security's immigration division handled all requests for 
asylum on a case-by-case basis.
    The Government did not provide temporary protection to persons who 
may not qualify as refugees, but the Living Water Community provided 
such persons with needed social services.
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 held on the basis 
of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The most recent national 
election was held in 2002, and observers found it to be generally free 
and fair. The two major political parties that contested the 2002 
election were the PNM, which is primarily but not exclusively Afro-
Trinidadian, and the UNC, which is primarily but not exclusively Indo-
Trinidadian. A majority of voters in the 2002 national election 
supported the PNM, which retained control of the Government. In 
September a substantial number of UNC representatives and senators 
split away from the UNC to form the COP, with the aim of creating a 
broad-based national political consensus spanning all racial, ethnic, 
and religious groups in the country.
    There were 18 women in the 67-seat legislature, excluding the 
female President of the Senate; six women in the 25-member cabinet; and 
10 female judges on the High Court and the Court of Appeal. All major 
political parties reached out to voters from relatively small ethnic 
minorities, such as the Chinese, Syrian, Lebanese, and European-origin 
communities, and members of these groups held important positions in 
government. There were six members of these minorities in the 
legislature and three members of minorities in the cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a widespread and 
growing public perception of serious corruption in the country.
    The Integrity in Public Life Act mandates that public officials 
disclose their assets, income, and liabilities to an Integrity 
Commission. However, a growing number of officials and candidates for 
public office were reluctant to comply with this provision, claiming 
that such disclosures would make them and their families a target of 
criminals engaged in kidnappings for ransom. At year's end the High 
Court, in response to a 2005 request by the Integrity Commission, had 
yet to issue its interpretation of the Integrity in Public Life Act, 
clarifying whether judges were exempt from the act's disclosure 
provisions.
    In April a magistrate's court convicted UNC Party Chairman and 
Parliamentary Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday of failing to disclose a 
London bank account under the act. After a week in prison, the court 
released Panday on health grounds and gave him bail, pending an appeal 
of his case. However, under the law, he was relieved of his opposition 
leadership post and prevented from retaining his seat in parliament. 
Although he voluntarily resigned his UNC party chairmanship, he resumed 
it in September, following the formal split in the UNC, and in December 
was called back to serve as interim political leader of the party. At 
year's end Panday was still pursuing his appeal through the legal 
system.
    In a related series of events, Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma was 
accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by trying to 
influence the chief magistrate's decision in the Panday case in 
Panday's favor. When the DPP ordered the police to arrest the chief 
justice in July, Sharma applied for judicial review to the High Court, 
which granted his request. When the state appealed this ruling to the 
Court of Appeal, the chief justice removed himself from his judicial 
responsibilities, retaining only his administrative duties. However, 
when the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court's ruling for judicial 
review, the President suspended the chief justice from all his 
functions. At this point, the state and the chief justice jointly 
decided to take the chief justice's request for judicial review to the 
Privy Council. In November the Privy Council dismissed the chief 
justice's request for judicial review and ordered him to answer the 
case against him in criminal court.
    At year's end the 2005 bribery cases and allegations against former 
PNM minister of works and transport and party chairman Franklin Khan 
and against former PNM minister of energy and energy industries Eric 
Williams continued to be heard in the courts and to be investigated by 
the authorities.
    The courts continued to hear a case that implicated the most senior 
members of the 1995-2001 UNC government in embezzlement and bid-rigging 
on the Piarco Airport expansion project. At year's end the corruption 
case against then prime minister Panday, charging that he had accepted 
a bribe that led his government to favor a contractor on the project, 
was still being heard in the courts.
    In June authorities brought charges in magistrate's court against 
Hafeez Karamath, part-owner of a desalination company, for conspiring 
in 1998-99 to enrich himself by manipulating a bid on a contract for 
supplying desalinated water to the Government's Water and Sewerage 
Authority. Karamath was released on bail, and investigation into the 
matter continued at year's end.
    A committee of experts continued to work on reform of the public 
procurement regime that would enhance public accountability and reduce 
opportunities for corruption by government officials.
    The Freedom of Information Act provides for public access to 
government documents, upon application. However, critics charged that a 
growing number of public bodies were exempted from the act's coverage. 
The Government countered that the exemptions were intended to avoid 
frivolous requests and searches for information.
Section 4. 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 and publishing their findings. Government officials 
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The ombudsman investigates citizens' complaints concerning the 
administrative decisions of government agencies. Where there is 
evidence of a breach of duty, misconduct, or criminal offense, the 
ombudsman may refer the matter to the authority competent to take 
appropriate remedial action. The ombudsman has a quasi-autonomous 
status within the Government and publishes a comprehensive annual 
report. In 2005 the ombudsman received 1,344 new complaints and made 
183 inquiries, which represented a 34 percent increase over the average 
number of complaints received in previous years. Important factors 
contributing to the increased inflow of complaints included a greater 
awareness of the services provided and a growing demand by citizens for 
state agencies to provide better services. In addition, the ombudsman 
continued to investigate 2,600 complaints carried over from previous 
years. During the year the ombudsman resolved 699 complaints.
    In 1999 the Government withdrew from the American Convention on 
Human Rights. The convention states that such an action does not 
release a government from its obligations under the convention with 
respect to acts taken prior to the effective date of denunciation. In 
2005 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued rulings on cases 
predating the Government's withdrawal; by year's end the Government had 
not provided any official or public reaction to the rulings.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The Government generally respected in practice the constitutional 
provisions for fundamental human rights and freedoms for all without 
discrimination based on race, origin, color, religion, or gender.

    Women.--Many community leaders asserted that abuse of women, 
particularly in the form of domestic violence, continued to be a 
significant problem. The law provides for protection orders separating 
the perpetrators of domestic violence, including abusive spouses, from 
their victims, as well as for penalties that include fines and 
imprisonment. While reliable national statistics were not available, 
women's groups estimated that from 20 to 25 percent of all women 
suffered abuse. Increased media attention to domestic violence resulted 
in a clear shift in public opinion from past views that had held that 
abuse of women in the home was a private matter.
    Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) charged that police 
enforcement of the law often was lax. The Division of Gender Affairs 
(DGA) in the Ministry of Community Development, Culture, and Gender 
Affairs operated a 24-hour hot line for victims of rape, spousal abuse, 
and other violence against women, referring callers to eight shelters 
for battered women, a rape crisis center, counseling services, support 
groups, and other assistance.
    Although rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and punishable by 
life imprisonment, the courts often handed down considerably shorter 
sentences. Both the Government and NGOs estimated that many incidents 
of rape and other sexual crimes were unreported, partly due to 
perceived insensitivity on the part of the police.
    Prostitution is illegal, and the authorities continued to monitor, 
investigate, and prosecute major operators believed to be engaged in 
soliciting for prostitution. Authorities deported the 26 Colombian and 
two Venezuelan women arrested in 2005 for prostitution and illegal 
entry into the country.
    There are no laws specifically prohibiting sexual harassment. 
Although related statutes could be used to prosecute perpetrators of 
sexual harassment, and although some trade unions have incorporated 
antiharassment provisions in their contracts, both the Government and 
NGOs suspected that many incidents of sexual harassment went 
unreported.
    Women generally enjoyed the same legal rights as men, including 
employment, education, and inheritance rights. There are no laws or 
regulations requiring equal pay for equal work. While equal pay for men 
and women in public service was the rule rather than the exception, 
both the Government and NGOs noted considerable disparities in pay 
between men and women in the private sector, particularly in 
agriculture.
    The DGA had primary government responsibility for the protection of 
women's rights and women's advancement and sponsored income-generation 
workshops for unemployed single mothers, nontraditional skills training 
for women, and seminars for men on redefining masculinity.

    Children.--A lack of funds and expanding social needs challenged 
the Government's ability to carry out its commitment to protect the 
rights and welfare of children.
    Education is compulsory up to the age of 12, and public education 
is free for all elementary and secondary students up to the age of 20. 
In addition, higher education is free for nationals enrolled in 
undergraduate programs at the country's public institutions as well as 
in approved programs at private institutions. The Ministry of Education 
estimated that 89 percent of school-age children attended school, and 
most students achieved the equivalent of a high school diploma. Some 
parts of the public school system failed to meet the needs of the 
school-age population due to overcrowding, substandard physical 
facilities, and occasional classroom violence. The Government committed 
resources to building new facilities and expanded access to free 
secondary education.
    Medical care for children was widely available, with equal access 
for girls and boys.
    The Domestic Violence Act provides protection for children abused 
at home. The Ministry of Education's Student Support Services Division 
reported that young school children were vulnerable to rape, physical 
abuse, and drug use, and that some had access to weapons or lived with 
drug-addicted parents. Abused children removed from the home were first 
assessed at a reception center for vulnerable children and then placed 
with relatives, government institutions, or NGOs. According to the Rape 
Crisis Society, there were 38 child sexual abuse cases, a decrease from 
49 cases in 2005. The Coalition against Domestic Violence operated 
Childline, a free and confidential telephone hot line for at-risk or 
distressed children and young persons up to age 25. From January 
through June, Childline received 1,614 calls, 83 percent from girls and 
17 percent from boys.
    There were a number of cases of children who, either in their own 
homes or in institutional settings, were abused or, in some cases, 
brutally tortured to the point of death. Most notably, 4-year-old Amy 
Emily Anamanthodo, although known to the police and to the social 
service establishment, was raped, sodomized, suffocated, and burned 
with cigarettes throughout her life by people close to her, until she 
died in May. At year's end authorities held two of her relatives in 
custody awaiting trial for the crimes.
    The law defines a child as under 18 years of age, outlaws corporal 
punishment for children, and prohibits sentencing a child to prison. 
One law sets the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 for both males and 
females; however, in practice the minimum legal age of marriage is 
determined by the distinct laws and attitudes of the various religious 
denominations: under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, the minimum 
legal age of marriage is 16 for males and 12 for females, while under 
the Hindu Marriage Act and the Orisa Marriage Act, the minimum legal 
age of marriage is 18 for males and 16 for females.

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the law does not specifically 
prohibit trafficking in persons, there were no substantiated reports 
that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country. In the 
event of trafficking, perpetrators can be prosecuted under several 
related laws, with penalties ranging from seven years' to life 
imprisonment. There were no prosecutions during the year.
    The Government had not designated a specific agency to combat 
trafficking in persons, and it sponsored no public awareness campaigns 
to address this issue during the year. However, in September the 
Government cooperated with the International Organization for Migration 
in a seminar on trafficking in persons as a first step in promoting an 
understanding of trafficking in persons and assessing the extent of its 
prevalence in the country. Domestic NGOs were available to provide care 
and protection to trafficking victims.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no statutes either 
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability or mandating 
equal access for the disabled to the political process, employment, 
education, transportation, housing, health care, and other citizen 
services. In December 2005 the Government approved a national policy on 
persons with disabilities, and the Ministry of Social Development was 
developing guidelines to implement the policy.
    In practice persons with disabilities faced discrimination and 
denial of opportunities in the form of architectural barriers, employer 
reluctance to make necessary accommodations that would enable otherwise 
qualified job candidates to work, an absence of support services to 
assist children with special needs to study, lowered expectations of 
the abilities of persons with disabilities, condescending attitudes, 
and disrespect. According to the NGO Disabled People's International, 
the majority of public schools and most government and commercial 
facilities were inaccessible to wheelchair users, and there were only 
five buses modified to accommodate the country's 125,000 persons with 
disabilities. However, the national library was widely regarded as a 
model of barrier-free design and genuinely equal service to patrons 
with disabilities. In addition, a few commercial facilities, such as 
some supermarkets, made parking spaces available to disabled shoppers.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's diverse racial 
and ethnic groups lived together in what appeared on the surface to be 
peace and mutual respect. However, nonviolent racial tensions regularly 
emerged between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians who each made 
up approximately 40 percent of the population.
    Indo-Trinidadians and persons of European, Middle Eastern, and 
Asian descent predominated in the private sector, and Indo-Trinidadians 
also predominated in agriculture. Afro-Trinidadians were employed 
heavily in the civil service, the police, and the defense force. Some 
Indo-Trinidadians asserted that they were not equally represented in 
senior civil service and security force positions and among winners of 
state-sponsored housing grants and scholarships. In 2005 some in the 
Indo-Trinidadian community challenged the constitutionality of the 
Trinity Cross, the country's highest honor, claiming that its Christian 
motif was not representative of a multireligious society and was 
therefore discriminatory. In May a civil court judge ruled that the 
Trinity Cross was in fact indirectly discriminatory, and the Government 
removed the cross from the year's roster of Independence Day honors and 
undertook to replace it in the future with an alternative 
nondiscriminatory award.

    Indigenous People.--A very small group of people identified 
themselves as descendants of the country's original Amerindian 
population. The Government effectively protected their civil and 
political rights, and they were not subject to discrimination.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers, 
including those in state-owned enterprises, may form and join unions of 
their own choosing without prior authorization. The law also provides 
for the mandatory recognition of a trade union when it represents 51 
percent or more of the workers in a specified bargaining unit. The 
Government's Registration and Certification Board, however, determines 
whether a given workers' organization meets the definition of 
bargaining unit and can limit union recognition by this means.
    According to the National Trade Union Center, one of two umbrella 
organizations in the labor movement, some 22 to 24 percent of the 
workforce was organized in approximately 25 active unions. Most unions 
were independent of government or political party control, although the 
Sugar Workers' Union historically was allied with the UNC. A union also 
may bring a request for enforcement to the Industrial Court, which may 
order employers found guilty of antiunion activities to reinstate 
workers and pay compensation, or may impose other penalties including 
imprisonment.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, to participate 
in collective bargaining and to strike, although there were heavy 
restrictions on strikes and collective bargaining. Employees in 
``essential services,'' such as police and teachers, do not have the 
right to strike, and walkouts can bring punishment of up to 18 months 
in prison. These employees negotiate with the Government's chief 
personnel officer to resolve labor disputes. There was no official 
response to the International Labor Organization (ILO) request that 
parliament pass legislation to narrow the definition of ``essential 
services.''
    There are several export processing zones where the same labor laws 
are in effect as in the rest of the country.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children, there were no reports that such practices occurred. Laws do, 
however, mandate that workers should be paid and impose fines on 
employers who violate this law.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum legal age for workers is 12 years. Children from 12 to 16 years 
of age may work only in family businesses. Children under the age of 18 
may work legally only during daylight hours, with the exception that 
16- to 18-year-olds may work at night in sugar factories. The Ministry 
of Labor and Small and Micro Enterprise Development and the Ministry of 
Social Development are responsible for enforcing child labor 
provisions. However, enforcement was not consistent since there was no 
comprehensive government policy on child labor and no formal mechanisms 
for receiving, investigating, and resolving child labor complaints.
    There was no organized exploitation of child labor. A 2004 study by 
the UN Children's Fund estimated that 2 percent of children from five 
to 14 years of age were engaged in paid work.
    The Government had not passed implementing legislation for ILO 
conventions 182 and 138, both of which it has ratified. In 2005 the 
National Steering Committee on the Prevention and Elimination of Child 
Labor completed a comprehensive draft national policy on child labor, 
but the cabinet had not yet approved it by year's end.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage is 
$1.50 (TT$9.00) per hour, which did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family. Actual wages varied considerably among 
industries. There were press reports of minimum wage violations with no 
enforcement by the Government.
    The law establishes a 40-hour workweek, a daily period for lunch or 
rest, and premium pay for overtime. The law does not prohibit excessive 
or compulsory overtime. Media carried reports about workers who did not 
receive premium pay for their overtime work.
    During the year the Government updated its occupational safety and 
health legislation, which establishes standards and provides for 
inspections to monitor and enforce compliance. By year's end, however, 
the Government had not yet fully established the occupational safety 
and health administration within the Ministry of Labor and Small and 
Micro Enterprise Development. Labor unions and business organizations 
criticized the delay, especially in light of a number of high-profile 
industrial accidents after the law entered into force.
    The law protects workers who file complaints with the labor 
ministry regarding illegal or hazardous working conditions. If 
complainants refuse to comply with an order that would place them in 
danger, and if it is determined upon inspection that hazardous 
conditions exist in the workplace, the complainants are absolved from 
blame.

                               __________

                                URUGUAY

    The Oriental Republic of Uruguay, with a population of 
approximately 3.2 million, is a constitutional republic with an elected 
President and a bicameral legislature. In October 2004 in free and 
fair, multiparty elections, Tabare Vazquez, leader of the Broad Front 
or Frente Amplio (FA) coalition, won a five-year Presidential term. The 
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the 
security forces.
    The Government generally respected the rights of its citizens. 
Although the Government took concrete steps to reduce prison 
overcrowding and repair damaged facilities, harsh prison conditions 
continued to be a problem. Violence against women and discrimination 
against some societal groups continued to challenge government policies 
of nondiscrimination. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some 
trafficking in persons occurred.
                        respect for human rights
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 Government continued to investigate the serious human rights 
violations committed during the 1973-85 military dictatorship. In 
November former President Juan Bordaberry and former foreign minister 
Juan Blanco were convicted of conspiracy to murder four opponents of 
the military regime in 1976. Bordaberry and Blanco appealed their 
conviction, and the case remained pending at year's end.

    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. The judicial and 
parliamentary branches of government are responsible for investigating 
specific allegations of abuse. A government prison monitor reported 
that new training of prison guards reduced some forms of abuse. Despite 
such efforts, many prisoners remained in crowded cells 23 hours or more 
each day, and prisoner-on-prisoner violence continued. Detainees rarely 
filed complaints, but the Government investigated those complaints that 
were filed.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor, as aging facilities were not adequately maintained. There were 
fewer reports of abuse of prisoners than in previous years. Human 
rights groups complained and government officials agreed that food, 
bedding, and clothing were of poor quality and insufficient quantity 
and that access to medical care, recreation, and training were poor.
    Overcrowding continued due to budget constraints and stiff minimum 
sentencing guidelines. A high rate of recidivism and the arrest of a 
large number of first-time offenders countered the early release 
program begun in 2005. The overcrowding caused sanitation, social, and 
health problems in the major facilities. Renovations began on the 
maximum-security prison, Libertad, and according to the Government's 
prison monitoring agency, the Government repaired 800 prison cells. The 
Government also began construction on cells for approximately 200 
additional prisoners throughout the prison system. The Government 
continued to hold some prisoners in modified shipping containers; these 
cells lacked running water and posed sanitation problems.
    In addition to overcrowding, the penal system suffered from 
understaffing and corruption. Authorities did not always separate 
prisoners according to the severity of their crimes. Narcotics and cell 
phones were smuggled into facilities, allegedly through bribes to 
prison guards. Prison officials took steps to regularize family 
visitation, but problems of access remained.
    Female and male prisoners were held in separate facilities except 
for the Artigas prison, where women were held in a separate facility 
within the prison. In general conditions for female prisoners were 
significantly better than for male prisoners, due to the small 
population and the availability of training and education 
opportunities.
    The National Institute for Adolescents and Children (INAU) operated 
institutions to hold minor detainees. Juveniles who committed serious 
crimes were incarcerated in juvenile detention centers, which resemble 
traditional jails and have cells. Conditions in some of these 
facilities were as poor as in the adult versions, with some youths 
permitted to leave their cells only one hour per day.
    Judges placed most juvenile offenders in halfway houses that 
focused on rehabilitation. These facilities provided educational, 
vocational, and other opportunities, and the residents could enter and 
leave without restriction.
    Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners.
    The Government permitted general prison visits by independent human 
rights observers as well as inmate visitation and visits from foreign 
diplomats.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions in practice. The law requires police to have a written 
warrant issued by a judge before making an arrest (except when police 
apprehend the accused during commission of a crime), and authorities 
generally respected this provision in practice.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Interior administers the National Police and the prison system and is 
responsible for domestic security and public safety. The National 
Police has a hierarchical structure: the chief of police, director of 
its intelligence unit, and director of the antidrug unit report to the 
vice minister of the interior.
    An internal police investigative unit receives complaints from any 
person concerning possible noncriminal police abuse of power, but the 
unit was understaffed and could only issue recommendations for 
disciplinary action. Ministry of Interior authorities responded 
promptly to accusations of alleged police brutality. Police officers 
charged with less serious crimes may continue on active duty; those 
charged with more serious crimes were separated from active service 
until a court resolves their cases. The law requires a proportional use 
of force by the police and the use of weapons only as a last resort; 
this law was respected in practice. Police were unable to prevent 
violence during two labor protests during the year because the new 
government had not outlined clear police procedures for such incidents.

    Arrest and Detention.--The law provides detainees with the right to 
a prompt judicial determination of the legality of detention, which was 
not always respected, and requires that the detaining authority explain 
the legal grounds for the detention. Police may hold a detainee 
incommunicado for 24 hours before presenting the case to a judge, at 
which time the detainee has the right to counsel. The law stipulates 
that confessions obtained by the police before a detainee appears 
before a judge and attorney (without the police present) are not valid. 
Further, a judge must investigate any detainee claim of mistreatment.
    For a detainee who cannot afford a lawyer, the courts appoint a 
public defender. Judges rarely granted bail for persons accused of 
crimes that carry at least two years in prison. Between 60 and 65 
percent of all persons incarcerated awaited final decisions in their 
cases. Because these procedures applied only to the most serious cases, 
most persons facing charges were not jailed. Some detainees spend years 
in jail awaiting trial, and the uncertainty and length of detention 
contributed to tension in the prisons.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    The Supreme Court heads the judiciary system and supervises the 
work of the lower courts. Criminal trials are held in a court of first 
instance. Aggrieved parties have a right of appeal to the appellate 
court but not to the Supreme Court. A parallel military court system 
operates under a military justice code. Two military justices sit on 
the Supreme Court but participate only in cases involving the military. 
Military justice applies to civilians only during a state of war or 
insurrection.

    Trial Procedures.--Trial proceedings usually consist of written 
arguments to the judge, which normally are not made public. Only the 
judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney have access to all documents 
that form part of the written record. Human rights groups reported some 
difficulty in maintaining confidentiality between client and attorney. 
Individual judges may hear oral arguments at their option. Most judges 
choose the written method, a major factor slowing the judicial process. 
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Either the defense 
attorney or the prosecutor may appeal convictions to a higher court, 
which may acquit the person of the crime, confirm the conviction, or 
reduce or increase the sentence.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Transparent administrative 
procedures handle complaints of abuse against government agents. An 
independent and impartial judiciary handles civil disputes, but its 
decisions were ineffectively enforced. Local police lacked the training 
and manpower to enforce restraining orders, which were the most common 
result of civil disputes.

    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.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, and the Government 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 the 
Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or Internet 
chatrooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic 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 freedom of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The law provides for freedom of religion, 
and the Government generally respected this right in practice.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Jewish community leaders 
reported that government officials and society generally respected 
members of their community, which numbered approximately 25,000. During 
the year Jewish leaders noted a significant increase in the quantity of 
anti-Semitic graffiti across the country. Local leaders reported 
effective cooperation with police to investigate these incidents. A 
Jewish cemetery was vandalized in the capital, and anti-Semitic 
graffiti appeared in the second-largest city for the first time. In 
September four persons were arrested in connection with anti-Semitic 
graffiti. Authorities had not resolved the case by year's end.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The law provides for these rights, and 
the Government generally respected them in practice.
    The law provides that in extreme cases of national emergency an 
individual may be given the option to leave the country as an 
alternative to trial or imprisonment, but this option has not been 
exercised in at least two decades.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to 
the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided protection against refoulement, the return of 
persons to a country where they feared persecution. The Government 
granted refugee status and grants asylum only for political crimes as 
set forth in the 1928 Treaty of Havana, the 1889 Treaty of Montevideo, 
and the 1954 Caracas Convention. During the year the Government 
accepted 120 refugees for resettlement. The Government cooperated with 
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
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.--In October 2004 Tabare 
Vazquez, of the FA coalition, won a five-year Presidential term in free 
and fair elections. The FA won 16 of 30 seats in the Senate and 52 of 
99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. President Vazquez took office on 
March 1, 2005.
    Women participated actively in the political process and 
government, although primarily at lower and middle levels. Four of 30 
senators and 11 of 99 deputies were women. Three of the 13 cabinet 
ministers were women. There was one Afro-Uruguayan among the 99 
deputies.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There were isolated 
reports of government corruption during the year.
    Although there is no general public disclosure law, the Government 
requires all government agencies to produce regular public reports. All 
agencies complied with these reporting requirements.
Section 4. 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.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion, 
or disability; however, societal discrimination against some groups 
existed.

    Women.--Violence against women continued to be a significant 
problem. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) National Follow-Up 
Commission Women for Democracy, Equality and Citizenship reported that 
a woman died every nine days as a result of rape or domestic violence. 
The law provides for sentences of six months to two years in prison for 
a person found guilty of committing an act of violence or of making 
continued threats to cause bodily injury to persons related emotionally 
or legally to the perpetrator; however, civil courts decided most of 
the more than 6,000 domestic cases during the year. Judges in these 
cases often issued restraining orders, which were difficult to enforce. 
In many instances, courts did not apply criminal penalties.
    The state-owned telephone company provided a free nationwide 
hotline answered by trained NGO employees for victims of domestic 
violence. A directorate within the Ministry of Interior operated 
community assistance centers where abuse victims received information 
and referrals to government and private organizations for aid. Both the 
Ministry of Interior and NGOs operated shelters in which abused women 
and their families could seek temporary refuge.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape. During the year 
police received 805 accusations of rape nationwide. An unknown number 
of these claims involved spousal rape, but police had anecdotal 
evidence indicating that spousal rape occurred frequently. Authorities 
believed that some victims did not report such incidents because of 
failure to understand their rights and fear of social stigma.
    Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18, and 
prostitution was visible in major cities and tourist resorts. There 
were no known reports of police abuse of individuals engaging in 
prostitution. Trafficking in women for prostitution was a problem (see 
section 5, Trafficking).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and punishes 
it by fines or imprisonment; however, women filed few such complaints, 
a circumstance attributed to a lack of understanding by women of their 
rights.
    In the judicial system women enjoyed the same rights as men, 
including rights under family and property law. However, they faced 
discrimination stemming from traditional attitudes and practices, and 
no gender discrimination cases have ever been litigated. There was some 
segregation by gender in the workforce. Women constituted almost one-
half the workforce but tended to be concentrated in lower-paying jobs; 
their salaries averaged two-thirds those of men. Women often pursued 
professional careers, and approximately 60 percent of public university 
students were women.

    Children.--The Government was committed to protecting children's 
rights and welfare, and it regarded the education and health of 
children as a top priority. The INAU oversees implementation of the 
Government's programs for children. The Government provided free 
compulsory kindergarten, primary, and secondary education, and 95 
percent of children completed their primary education. Girls and boys 
were treated equally. Free education was available through the 
undergraduate level at the national university.
    Health care was free for all citizens.
    There was no societal pattern of abuse of children.
    Although there were few reliable statistics, polls and arrests 
indicated that exploitation of children for prostitution was a problem 
(see section 5, Trafficking).

    Trafficking in Persons.--While the laws prohibit trafficking in 
minors and trafficking-related abuses within the country, they do not 
include specific provisions covering the transportation of persons 
across international borders. Some evidence of trafficking from and 
within the country existed.
    The country was a source, destination, and transit point for 
trafficked persons, and internal trafficking was a problem; however, 
hard information was lacking as to the extent of trafficking. 
Trafficking reportedly occurred primarily to and from Argentina and 
Brazil across poorly controlled land borders. Based on anecdotal 
evidence, government and NGO experts estimated that approximately 100 
individuals were trafficked in or through the country during the year, 
but there were no reliable estimates on the number of women engaged in 
prostitution abroad (generally in Europe, Australia, Argentina, and 
Brazil) or on the proportion induced into prostitution by fraud or 
subjected to conditions approaching servitude. Some foreign citizens 
entered the country to engage in prostitution. Officials believed from 
anecdotal information that trafficking mostly affected women between 
the ages of 18 and 24.
    According to police sources, commercial sexual exploitation of 
women and children occurred mostly in the states bordering Brazil. A 
child welfare organization expressed concern about possible 
prostitution rings exploiting children in Montevideo and the resort 
areas of Punta del Este and Maldonado, where taxi drivers or hotel 
staff may be involved. There were isolated reports of prostitution by 
boys. Police sources indicated that traffickers often perpetrated other 
transborder crime such as drug smuggling. Children's rights NGOs 
received reports that minors resorted to prostitution to survive or to 
assist their families. INAU estimated that 90 percent of minors engaged 
in prostitution did so to assist their families, who allowed or 
actively promoted the activity.
    Laws criminalize trafficking of minors and provide penalties 
ranging from six months' to 12 years' imprisonment. No laws 
specifically prohibit trafficking of adults. In past years suspected 
traffickers were prosecuted on charges of corruption, conspiracy, 
fraud, and other felonies. The Ministry of the Interior has primary 
responsibility for investigating trafficking cases and maintained a 
database of all trafficking-related activities. Authorities responded 
promptly to the one trafficking case that came to light during the 
year.
    The Interdepartmental Commission for the Prevention and Protection 
of Children Against Sexual Exploitation continued to work with INAU to 
protect victims and witnesses but reported a lack of resources to 
pursue these objectives.
    INAU provided funding for a number of NGOs that had programs to 
assist homeless children and victims of trafficking. A number of NGOs 
offered treatment for victims of trafficking, and others provided 
shelter, food, or education.
    The Ministry of Education produced public service announcements in 
an attempt to prevent trafficking. The announcements were aired on 
national television. The Government disseminated information and 
trained some police forces on new antitrafficking legislation.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, but the Government did not 
effectively enforce these provisions. Local entities lacked resources 
to provide appropriate accommodations. Persons with disabilities 
regularly experienced discrimination in employment despite government 
efforts to assist in individual cases. The Government did not 
discriminate against persons with disabilities and provided additional 
services as resources allowed; however, difficulties in transportation 
inhibited some persons from accessing these services.
    A national disabilities commission oversees implementation of a law 
on the rights of persons with disabilities. The law mandates 
accessibility for persons with disabilities to new buildings or public 
services, but the law was not consistently enforced. The law reserves 4 
percent of public sector jobs for persons with disabilities, but the 
quota was not filled. The country has a generally excellent mental 
health system and an interest in the rights of persons with mental 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's Afro-Uruguayan 
minority, estimated at nearly 6 percent of the population, continued to 
face societal discrimination. The NGO Mundo Afro reported that a much 
larger percentage of Afro-Uruguayans worked as unskilled laborers than 
members of other groups in society despite equivalent levels of 
education. Afro-Uruguayans were practically unrepresented in the 
legislature or the cabinet, the bureaucratic and academic sectors, or 
the mid and upper echelons of private-sector firms.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--The law promotes the organization of 
trade unions and the creation of arbitration bodies and protects union 
leaders and negotiators from workplace discrimination. Unions 
traditionally organized and operated free of government regulation. 
Civil servants, employees of state-run enterprises, and private 
enterprise workers may join unions. Unionization was high in the public 
sector (more than 80 percent) and low in the private sector 
(approximately 5 percent). Labor unions were independent of political 
party control but traditionally associated more closely with the Broad 
Front political coalition.
    The Ministry of Labor's Collective Bargaining Division investigates 
antiunion discrimination claims filed by union members. There were no 
new developments in the August 2005 complaint by workers that a media 
company dismissed several workers for their prounion activities.
    There are mechanisms for resolving workers' complaints against 
employers. Complaints that employers dismissed organizers for 
fabricated reasons (thus allowing employers to avoid penalties) 
diminished after the December 2005 enactment of remedial legislation.
    The law expressly prohibits antiunion discrimination. The law 
requires employers to reinstate workers fired for union activities and 
requires employers to pay an indemnity to such workers.

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 
constitution provides workers with the right to strike, and workers 
exercised this right in practice.
    The Government may legally compel workers to work during a strike 
if they perform an essential service, which, if interrupted, ``could 
cause a grave prejudice or risk, provoking suffering to part or all of 
the society.'' In October the Government invoked this power during a 
work stoppage by truck company owners. The minister of transportation 
stated that the Government stood ready to seize and operate trucks if 
owners did not comply with a requirement to resume operations. Owners 
complied with the Government order.
    Collective bargaining between companies and their unions determines 
a number of private-sector salaries. The executive branch, acting 
independently, determines public-sector salaries.
    All labor legislation fully covers workers employed in the eight 
special export zones. No unions operated in these zones, but the 
Government did not prohibit their formation.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred (see section 5).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children against exploitation in the workplace, including 
a prohibition of forced or compulsory labor, and the Ministry of Labor 
and Social Security is responsible for enforcing it. Enforcement was 
difficult due to a lack of resources and because most child labor was 
in the informal sector (which accounted for 40 percent of total 
employment in the country). Some children worked as street vendors in 
the expanding informal sector or in agricultural activities, areas 
generally regulated less strictly and where pay was lower than in the 
formal sector.
    The law prohibits minors under the age of 15 from working, and this 
was generally enforced in practice. Minors between the ages of 15 and 
18 require government permission to work, and such permission is not 
granted for dangerous, fatiguing, or night work. All workers under age 
18 must undergo a physical examination to identify job-related physical 
harm. Children between age 15 and 18 may not work more than six hours 
per day within a 36-hour workweek and may not work between 10 p.m. and 
6 a.m.
    Permission to work is granted only to minors who have completed 
nine years of compulsory education or who remain enrolled in school and 
are working to complete compulsory education. Controls over salaries 
and hours for children are stricter than those for adults. Children 
over the age of 16 may sue in court for payment of wages, and children 
have the legal right to dispose of their own income.
    INAU implements policies to prevent and regulate child labor and 
provides training on child labor issues. INAU also works closely with 
the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to investigate complaints of 
child labor and with the Ministry of Interior to prosecute cases. INAU 
has seven specially trained inspectors to handle an estimated 2,000 
inspections per year; the labor ministry has 109 inspectors to 
investigate all types of labor complaints. Authorities imposed 
sanctions in approximately 5 percent of the cases.
    A program by INAU and an NGO continued to provide food vouchers of 
$56 (1,360 pesos) per month to parents who take their children off the 
streets and send them to school. This amount approximated what a child 
might earn working on the street, and the program was considered 
successful.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor enforces a 
legislated minimum monthly wage that covers both the public and private 
sectors. The ministry adjusts the minimum wage whenever it adjusts 
public sector wages. The monthly minimum wage of $125 (3,000 pesos) 
functions more as an index for calculating wage rates than as a true 
measure of minimum subsistence levels; it did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. The vast majority of 
workers earned more than the minimum wage.
    The standard workweek ranged from 44 to 48 hours per week, 
depending on the industry, and employers were required to give workers 
a 36-hour block of free time each week. The law stipulates that 
industrial workers receive overtime compensation for work in excess of 
48 hours, entitles workers to 20 days of paid vacation after a year of 
employment, and prohibits compulsory overtime beyond a maximum 50-hour 
workweek.
    The law protects foreign workers and does not discriminate against 
them, but official protection requires the companies to report the 
foreign workers as employees. Many native and foreign workers worked 
informally and thus forfeited certain legal protections.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Security enforces legislation 
regulating health and safety conditions in a generally effective 
manner. However, some of the regulations cover urban industrial workers 
more adequately than rural and agricultural workers. Workers have the 
right to remove themselves from what they consider hazardous or 
dangerous conditions without jeopardy to their employment; the 
Government effectively upheld this right, but some workers claimed a 
subsequent loss of other privileges at work based on their refusal to 
work in unsafe conditions.

                               __________

                               VENEZUELA

    Venezuela is a constitutional democracy with a population of 
approximately 26 million. In December voters reelected President Hugo 
Chavez of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) with approximately 63 
percent of the popular vote. Official observation missions from both 
the European Union and Organization of American States deemed the 
elections generally free and fair, having noted some irregularities, 
including continued problems with the electoral rolls (voter 
registries), a perception of progovernment bias on the part of the 
National Electoral Council (CNE), and questions about the role of the 
military in its heavy election day coverage. While civilian authorities 
generally maintained control of the security forces, there were 
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently 
of government authority.
    Politicization of the judiciary, harassment of the media, and 
harassment of the political opposition continued to characterize the 
human rights situation during the year. The following human rights 
problems were reported: unlawful killings; disappearances reportedly 
involving security forces; torture and abuse of detainees; harsh prison 
conditions; arbitrary arrests and detentions; a corrupt, inefficient, 
and politicized judicial system characterized by trial delays, 
impunity, and violations of due process; illegal wiretapping and 
searches of private homes; official intimidation and attacks on the 
independent media; widespread corruption at all levels of government; 
violence against women; trafficking in persons; and restrictions on 
workers' right of association.
                        respect for human rights
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; however, security forces committed unlawful 
killings, including summary executions of criminal suspects, and 
mistreated persons in custody resulting in deaths.
    The human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) Venezuelan 
Program of Action and Education in Human Rights (PROVEA) documented 169 
unlawful killings at the hands of government security forces from 
October 2005 through September 2006.
    In July the NGO Victims' Committee Against Impunity reported that 
90 percent of homicides in Lara state involved state security forces, 
of which more than 50 percent involved officers from the armed forces 
or police ranks; 35 percent involved officers of the Scientific, Penal, 
and Criminalistic Investigative Body (CICPC-the scientific police); 3 
percent involved the National Guard; and 2 percent involved transit 
police.
    On April 4, authorities discovered the bodies of the Faddoul 
brothers, ages 12, 13, and 17, and their driver, who had been kidnapped 
41 days before. The kidnappers, alleged to be Caracas Metropolitan 
Police officers, demanded a $4.5 million ransom from the children's 
father, a Canadian-Venezuelan businessman. Twenty-two individuals 
subsequently faced charges, two of whom were Caracas Metropolitan 
Police officers. Approximately half of those charged confessed to 
involvement and were immediately sentenced to prison. At year's end, 
the remaining accused were awaiting trial.
    On April 5, news photographer Jorge Aguirre was killed during 
demonstrations in the aftermath of the Faddoul murders, allegedly by a 
metropolitan police officer or someone masquerading as a police officer 
(see section 2.a.). The NGO Foro Penal reported that the individual had 
previously been a police officer for both Chacao Municipality and 
Caracas Metropolitan Police but had been relieved of his duties for bad 
conduct prior to this incident. On April 13, authorities arrested a 
former Caracas police officer, Boris Blanco Arcia, after they 
discovered pistol cartridges at his home matching those found at the 
scene of the shooting. On April 26, authorities indicted active police 
officer Charly Briceno in connection with the Aguirre killing, charging 
that, while on duty, Briceno drove the motorcycle on which Blanco was 
riding when he allegedly shot Aguirre. Blanco was charged with murder 
and posing as a police officer, while Briceno was charged with covering 
up a criminal act. Blanco Arcia was supposed to have been arraigned on 
June 21, but at year's end, no further information was available.
    In July family members of the victims of the so-called 1986 Yumare 
Massacre asked authorities to reopen the investigation into the case. 
Henry Lopez Sisco, then-commander of state intelligence police, faced 
charges in the killing of nine students in Yaracuy State. As an Office 
of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP) commander, Lopez Sisco 
was held responsible in the 1970s and 1980s for the ``elimination'' of 
subversive elements, particularly guerrillas. The case lay dormant for 
two decades before returning to public attention in July during the 
December Presidential elections campaign period; Lopez Sisco was a 
security advisor to the primary opposition Presidential candidate. Two 
of the nine students' bodies were exhumed on October 5. On December 12, 
judicial authorities in Yaracuy ruled that the remaining seven bodies 
were to be exhumed, as well, although none had been exhumed by year's 
end.
    On September 14, three members of the CICPC shot and killed Jesus 
Carvajal Cardenas for failing to heed police calls to stop his vehicle. 
The three police officers, Jesus Arrioja, Luis Campos, and Jairo Lira, 
were indicted on September 19.
    On September 22, military forces killed six miners in the La 
Paragua region of Bolivar state. Reports indicated that the miners were 
strafed from a military helicopter. President Chavez acknowledged 
excessive use of military force in these killings; as a result of an 
investigation, at least 14 soldiers were arrested. On November 15, 10 
soldiers were charged in the killings of the six miners.
    On August 31, 24 police officers were sentenced for their 
involvement in the June 2005 killings of students Leonardo Gonzalez, 
Erick Montenegro, and Edgar Quintero, and injury to three others near a 
Caracas police checkpoint. Sentences ranged from three to 30 years' 
imprisonment.
    There were no developments in the January 2005 killing of Rigoberto 
Barrios, or in the March 2005 burning deaths of two soldiers in a 
``punishment cell,'' in Sucre State.
    There were no reports that security forces killed prisoners; 
however, substantial numbers of deaths in prison resulted from other 
causes (see section 1.c.).
    Prosecutors rarely brought cases against perpetrators of unlawful 
killings. When prosecutors investigated, they alleged that unsecured 
crime scenes, poor investigative techniques, and constantly changing or 
inexperienced personnel ensured that political and human rights abuse 
cases were delayed indefinitely or had a preordained result. Sentences 
frequently were light, and convictions often were overturned on appeal. 
Members of the security forces charged with or convicted of crimes 
rarely were imprisoned.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no substantiated reports of 
politically motivated disappearances.
    Human rights groups claimed that police officers sometimes disposed 
of their victims' bodies to avoid investigations. PROVEA recorded 15 
reports of disappearances allegedly involving security forces in the 12 
months through September.
    There were no significant developments in the January 2005 
disappearance of Silvino Bustillos or in the 1999 forced disappearances 
of Oscar Blanco Romero, Roberto Hernandez Paz, and Jose Rivas 
Fernandez, for which the Government acknowledged culpability in June 
2005.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution states that no person shall be 
subjected to cruel, inhumane, or degrading punishment, NGOs, media, and 
opposition groups accused security forces of continuing to torture and 
abuse detainees.
    PROVEA reported that in the 12 months prior to September, it 
received 19 complaints of torture (down from 31 the previous year), but 
1,394 complaints regarding cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, a 
sharp increase from the 503 cases reported the year prior.
    On January 11, four armed members of the CICPC came to the home of 
Miguel Pina and allegedly tortured him before killing him because of 
his purported participation in a bank robbery. Pina's wife alleged that 
both she and their daughter were also tortured.
    The Government did not authorize independent investigation of 
torture complaints. Human rights groups continued to question the 
Attorney General's commitment to oversee neutral investigations. Few 
cases of torture resulted in convictions.
    Reports of beatings and other humiliating treatment of suspects 
during arrests were common and involved various law enforcement 
agencies.
    On August 14, members of the Military Intelligence reportedly took 
Captain Luis Figueroa from the Ramo Verde military prison, tortured 
him, and returned him to the prison in early morning hours.
    On September 13, Rosa Figueroa appeared on the national television 
news show La Entrevista to draw attention to the torture of her son 
Kristo Damales Figueroa, a soldier incarcerated at Ramo Verde military 
prison. The interview included footage taken from a cellular telephone 
video showing severe wounds on Damales Figueroa's body, allegedly from 
torture.
    There were no developments in the alleged February 2005 torture of 
retired Venezuelan National Guard Major General Felipe Rodriguez, who 
was arrested and held at Military Intelligence Headquarters and 
allegedly subjected to sensory deprivation and psychological torture.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh due to scarce resources, poorly trained and corrupt prison staff, 
and violence by guards and inmates. The prison monitoring NGO 
Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) estimated that existing prisons 
were designed to hold approximately 60 percent of the estimated 19,000 
prisoners. Severe overcrowding in some prisons and food and water 
shortages remained problems.
    The Government failed to provide adequate prison security. The 
National Guard and the Ministry of Interior and Justice have 
responsibility for exterior and interior security, respectively. The 
OVP estimated that the prison guard force was 10 percent of the 
required strength. Violence among prison gangs, including shootouts and 
riots, was common. OVP recorded 378 deaths and 805 injuries in the 
prisons through November. Most inmate deaths resulted from prisoner-on-
prisoner violence, riots, fires, and generally unsanitary and unsafe 
conditions. Prisoners also died as a consequence of poor diet and 
inadequate medical care.
    More than 9,000 inmates participated in a hunger strike in July, 
insisting on reform of the Organic Law of Penal Processes. Inmates in 
16 prisons participated in the strike.
    Inmates often had to pay guards and other inmates to obtain 
necessities such as space in a cell, a bed, and food. Most prisoners 
obtained food from their families, by paying prison guards, or in 
barter with other prisoners. Many inmates also profited from exploiting 
and abusing others, particularly since convicted violent felons often 
were held with pretrial detainees or first-time petty offenders. 
Trafficking in arms and drugs fueled gang-related violence and 
extortion. Prison officials often illegally demanded payment from 
prisoners for transportation to judicial proceedings (see sections 1.d. 
and 1.e.).
    Security forces and law enforcement authorities often imprisoned 
minors together with adults, even though separate facilities existed 
for juveniles. Because reform institutions were filled to capacity, 
hundreds of children accused of infractions were confined in juvenile 
detention centers where they were crowded into small, unsanitary cells, 
fed only once a day, and forced to sleep on bare concrete floors. Women 
and men were generally held in separate prison facilities, with 
juveniles of either gender also held in separate facilities. The 
Central Venezuelan University's Center for Women's Studies indicated 
that, while no prison had good conditions, women's facilities were 
generally less violent and more healthy than men's.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, and such visits took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits the 
arrest or detention of an individual without a judicial order; provides 
for the accused to remain free while being tried, except in specific 
cases where the laws of the state or individual judges can supersede 
this provision; and provides that any detained individual has the right 
to immediate communication with family and lawyers, who in turn have 
the right to know of the detainee's whereabouts.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Guard, a 
branch of the military, is largely responsible for maintaining public 
order, guarding the exterior of key government installations and 
prisons, conducting counternarcotics operations, monitoring borders, 
and providing law enforcement in remote areas. The Ministry of Interior 
and Justice controls the CICPC, which conducts most criminal 
investigations, and the DISIP, which collects intelligence within the 
country and is responsible for investigating cases of corruption, 
subversion, and arms trafficking. Mayors and governors oversee local 
and state police forces. Corruption was a major problem among all 
police forces, whose members were poorly paid and trained. Impunity for 
corruption, brutality, and other acts of violence were major problems. 
The National Commission for Police Reform was created in June, and one 
of its goals was to create a more defined structure or mechanism for 
reporting police abuses.
    Some local police forces offered human rights training for their 
personnel. In June the Ministry of Interior and Justice announced the 
creation of the National Commission for Police Reform. Human Rights 
NGOs PROVEA and Foro Penal commended the work of the commission. In 
June Chacao Municipality in metropolitan Caracas released a 
comprehensive proposal for justice and security, called ``Plan 180,'' 
to provide police forces with better tools and training to respect 
human rights. Foundation Venezuela 180 was created subsequent to the 
launch of Plan 180, and began implementing certain elements in Chacao 
municipality. Metropolitan Caracas began establishing pilot zones in 
which to begin implementing certain elements, as well. Considerable 
training projects were underway by year's end.
    PROVEA reported that in the year ending in September, there were 
103 violent demonstrations and 1,280 peaceful demonstrations, of which 
less than 5 percent were repressed forcefully.

    Arrest and Detention.--Persons were sometimes apprehended openly 
without warrants from judicial authorities. Detainees must be brought 
before a prosecutor within 12 hours and before a judge within 48 hours 
to determine the legality of the detention. A person accused of a crime 
may not be detained for longer than the possible minimum sentence for 
that crime, nor for longer than two years, except in certain 
circumstances, such as when the defendant is responsible for the delay 
in the proceedings. Detainees were promptly informed of the charges 
against them.
    There was a functioning system of bail, but March 2005 penal code 
reforms eliminated bail for certain crimes (see section 2.a.). Bail 
also may be denied if the person was apprehended in the act of 
committing a crime or if a judge determines that there is a danger that 
the accused may flee or impede the investigation. Detainees were 
provided access to counsel and family members.
    PROVEA documented 1,913 arbitrary detentions in the 12 months prior 
to September and criticized the security forces for a systematic 
practice of illegal arrests to combat crime.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was increasingly less so. 
The judiciary also was highly inefficient, sometimes corrupt, and 
subject to political influence, particularly from the Attorney 
General's Office, which in turn was pressured by the executive branch.
    The judicial sector consists of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and 
lower courts, the Attorney General's Office, and the Ministry of 
Interior and Justice. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice is the country's 
highest court and directly administers the lower courts through the 
Executive Directorate of the Judiciary.
    According to the NGO Foro Penal, less than 40 percent of the judges 
were provisional and temporary. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice's 
Judicial Committee may hire and fire temporary judges without cause and 
without explanation, and it did so. Provisional judges legally have the 
same rights and authorities as permanent judges. The provisional and 
temporary judges, lacking tenure in their profession, were particularly 
subject to political influence from the Ministry of Interior and 
Justice and the Attorney General.
    The law provides that the Moral Council (attorney general, human 
rights ombudsman, and comptroller general) may suspend judges and 
allows the National Assembly to revoke the appointment of supreme 
tribunal of justice judges by a simple majority vote. Human Rights 
Watch noted that the law threatens the independence of the judiciary by 
subjecting it to political control.
    Lower court judges hear pretrial motions, including prosecution and 
defense motions, prior to criminal cases going to trial judges. 
Executive judges oversee the application of sentences. Appeals courts, 
consisting of three-judge panels, review lower court decisions. The 
Attorney General oversees the prosecutors who investigate crimes and 
bring charges against criminal suspects.
    In May 2005 the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice 
revoked the October 2004 appeals court ruling dismissing the case 
against Baruta mayor Henrique Capriles Radonski on charges relating to 
a violent demonstration in front of the Cuban embassy in 2002 and 
ordered the case reheard. The trial faced substantial delays throughout 
the year. In July the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice 
removed the judge in the case without explanation. In October the 
Supreme Court announced a shuffling of federal judges, depriving the 
Capriles case of an appointed judge and delaying the trial until it 
began anew in December, before the 30th judge to preside over this 
case. Capriles was acquitted of all charges against him on December 15. 
The prosecution indicated that it would appeal.
    In December Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez announced that the 
investigation of two suspected material authors and an intellectual 
author of the 2004 killing of prosecutor Danilo Anderson was on hold, 
as the three were in Miami and the law prohibits accusations in 
abstentia. Rodriguez shelved cases against businessman Nelson Mezerhane 
and two other suspects due to lack of evidence. A judge was reviewing 
this decision at year's end, however, as the law requires prosecutors 
either to accuse or to exonerate suspects after two years of 
investigation. A seventh suspect was exonerated.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for open, public, and fair 
trials with oral proceedings. The accused have the right to be present 
and consult with an attorney. Public defenders are provided for 
indigent defendants, but there continued to be a shortage of public 
defenders. Defendants have the right to question witnesses against them 
and present their own witnesses. The accused and their attorneys have 
access to government-held evidence. Defendants are innocent until 
proven guilty. Defendants and plaintiffs have the right of appeal.
    Trial delays were common. A professional judge and two ``lay 
judges'' try serious cases; a single judge may hear serious cases if 
requested by the defendant or victim or if attempts to appoint lay 
judges have failed. Difficulty in finding persons willing to serve as 
lay judges also resulted in delays.
    The law provides that trials for military personnel charged with 
human rights abuses be held in civilian rather than military courts; 
the provision does not apply to cases that predate the 1999 
constitution.
    Human rights NGOs continued to express concern that the Supreme 
Tribunal of Justice's selection of military judges from a list of 
candidates provided by the minister of defense linked the careers of 
military judges to the high command.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were an estimated 13 
political prisoners in the country. In some cases, the political 
prisoners were held in distinct penal facilities, including DISIP 
quarters. Given their profile, they were often extended certain 
courtesies not given to general prison populations, such as individual 
cells and access to cellular telephones.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross was permitted access 
to these political prisoners.
    After the December 3 elections, NGOs Foro Penal and VIVE mounted a 
very public campaign to seek amnesty for all political prisoners and 
collected signatures to propose legislation on national amnesty and 
reconciliation for 2007.
    Retired Army General Francisco Uson remained imprisoned at the Ramo 
Verde military prison for ``defaming'' the army, despite being retired 
and not subject to military jurisdiction. There were indications in 
July that Uson was threatened, specifically that his ``physical and 
moral integrity'' were in danger. Sources close to Uson claimed that 
prison authorities sought to ``eliminate'' certain prisoners who were 
an ``annoyance'' to the Government.
    Former Caracas Metropolitan Police commissioners Ivan Simonovis, 
Henry Vivas, and Lazarro Forero, along with eight other police 
officers, remained imprisoned without conviction, stemming from charges 
of being accomplices to murder during the events related to the civil 
disturbances in 2002. Although Simonovis was not present at the site of 
the unrest, he and the 10 other prisoners were accused of shooting and 
killing unarmed protesters. The defendants argued that they were 
protecting the protesters and were ambushed. Simonovis, Vivas, and 
Forero have remained imprisoned for approximately two years, while the 
eight additional officers have been in jail for more than three years.
    On May 30, DISIP officials arrested and detained the former 
opposition governor of Yaracuy State, Eduardo Lapi, on charges of 
corruption and misappropriation of government funds, stemming from a 
highway project during his administration, which ended in 2004. Lapi 
remained imprisoned even though his case had not made it to trial. 
While governor, he was an outspoken critic of President Chavez. The 
prosecution claimed Lapi was considered a flight risk, thus 
necessitating his detention, although Lapi volunteered to surrender his 
passport. Lapi's trial has been delayed indefinitely.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There were separate civil 
courts that permitted citizens to bring lawsuits seeking damages. Like 
all courts in the country, however, the civil elements of the judiciary 
remained subject to strong executive control.
    There were administrative remedies available, but they were 
generally inefficient. The most common consumer-protection mechanism 
was the Institute for the Defense of the Consumer and the User 
(INDECU), which fell under the rubric of the Ministry of Light Industry 
and Commerce. INDECU used reconciliation, mediation, and arbitration to 
settle disputes and was empowered to sanction the providers of goods 
and services who violated the law.
    Other entities that provided administrative or civil remedies 
included the Superintendencies of Banks, Free Competition, Insurance, 
Leasing, and Securities.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the inviolability of the 
domestic home and personal privacy; however, security forces routinely 
infringed on citizens' privacy rights by searching homes without 
warrants, for example during anticrime sweeps in poor neighborhoods. 
There were reports of illegal wiretapping and invasion of privacy by 
the security forces.
    On August 17, Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez acknowledged that 
charges of complicity in the alleged August 13 escape of former labor 
leader Carlos Ortega and members of the Faria military family from the 
Ramo Verde military prison, which were levied against independent 
television network Globovision, were based on intercepted e-mails from 
the network's director's assistant. Rodriguez refused to answer 
questions about whether or not there was proper legal authorization to 
intercept the correspondence.
    The Government was complicit with others, including MVR deputy Luis 
Tascon, in creating and maintaining the ``Tascon'' and ``Maisanta'' 
Lists, which were used to identify and punish regime opponents. Early 
in the year, the Tascon List, which provided names and identification 
numbers of all persons who had signed petitions to recall President 
Chavez, was combined with lists of participants in the country's social 
missions and voting records. The combined lists created a program, 
called Programa Maisanta that not only identified the political 
orientation of individuals but also attempted to characterize the 
degree of their revolutionary dedication.
    The use of fingerprint machines and electronic voting led many 
citizens to believe their votes were not secret and were subject to 
government tampering. Opponents of these methods in November 2005 
demonstrated that the fingerprint machines held flash memory, in theory 
permitting vote sequence to be recorded and thereby fueling speculation 
that voter identity could be reconstructed. Some voters feared that the 
Government, if it could obtain voting records, would use the 
information against those supporting the opposition. Signatures 
provided to the CNE for the 2004 recall referendum were circulated via 
the Tascon List, which the Government used to harass, and in many cases 
fire, opposition supporters. Voter intimidation remained a very 
significant factor during the December elections.
    In its annual report released in December, PROVEA expressed concern 
over official political discrimination against, and firing of, state 
employees whose views differed from those of the Government. According 
to PROVEA, the Government used coercion and the threat of dismissal to 
compel state employees to attend partisan political functions (see 
section 3).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press; however, the combination of new laws governing 
libel and broadcast media content, legal harassment, and physical 
intimidation resulted in limitations on these freedoms and a climate of 
self-censorship. The Government employed a variety of mechanisms--
legal, economic, regulatory, judicial, and rhetorical--to harass the 
private media, engendering a repressive attitude towards a free press.
    The President frequently preempted broadcasting on the nation's 
airwaves to present government programs. Independent media observers 
criticized the state media for extreme progovernment politicization.
    The Government denied private media equal access to many official 
events, and, in cases when private media had access to government 
facilities, they often did not have access to officials and 
information. For example, only the Government radio and television 
stations were authorized to have reporters at the Presidential palace. 
Major independent all-news outlet Globovision reported on August 15 
that independent journalists were denied access to penal installations 
at Ramo Verde, the military prison from which four high-profile 
prisoners escaped on August 13. According to Globovision, only official 
government media outlets were given access inside the facility. 
Globovision also reported that on August 17, several of their 
journalists were detained while covering the processing of 14 military 
officials charged with involvement in the escape. State-controlled 
television and radio stations and many foreign news reporters continued 
to have full access to official events.
    Amendments to the penal code in March 2005 make insulting the 
President punishable by six to 30 months in prison and eliminate bail, 
with lesser penalties for insulting lower ranking officials. Comments 
exposing another person to public contempt or hatred are subject to a 
one- to three-year prison sentence and a fine. Inaccurate reporting 
that disturbs the public peace is punishable with a prison sentence of 
two to five years. The requirement that media disseminate only ``true'' 
information was undefined and open to politically motivated 
interpretation.
    The law requires that practicing journalists have journalism 
degrees and be members of the National College of Journalists, and it 
prescribes three- to six-month jail terms for those who practice 
journalism illegally. These requirements were waived for foreigners and 
opinion columnists.
    Throughout the year, various international organizations expressed 
concern about the country's lack of press freedom and the harassment, 
intimidation, and violence, including killings, directed at 
journalists. Such harassment came from government actors as well as 
other government supporters. Amnesty International's 2005 report, 
issued in May, expressed concern that the Government used tax and 
administrative measures to restrict freedom of expression, for example 
by closing the newspaper El Impulso. At its annual assembly in 
September, the International American Press Association criticized the 
country's record on press freedom. On October 12, the Office of the 
Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) 
presented a report covering the period from July to September 30, which 
highlighted infringements on freedom of expression in the country. 
Specifically, the special rapporteur highlighted the unsolved killing 
of Jesus Rojas Flores and the attack on regional newspaper Correo del 
Caron!.
    On June 16, journalist Jose Joaquin Tovar Figueroa, editor of 
Ahora, was shot to death in Caracas. Reporters Without Borders believed 
that Tovar's murder was likely a direct result of his critical, anti-
Chavez reporting. At year's end, no arrests had been made, and there 
were no further details about who was behind Tovar's killing.
    On July 25, three journalists working for regional newspaper Diario 
Los Andes were attacked while investigating a story on border security 
in Tachira state. DISIP (intelligence) agents reportedly detained the 
journalists after spotting the photographer taking pictures and 
demanded they turn over the camera. A DISIP agent beat one of the 
journalists while attempting to pull her from the vehicle.
    On July 26, approximately 40 individuals, including municipal 
employees, forced their way into a radio interview and hurled 
invectives at the interviewee, the editor of El Carabobeno. The 
protesters burned issues of the newspaper and threatened to set fire to 
the building.
    On August 23, journalist Jesus Flores Rojas was killed in 
Anzoategui State. Flores was critical of the Government in his writings 
and in his weekly columns attributed to public officials possible acts 
of corruption. Several international organizations condemned the 
killing, and Reporters Without Borders indicated Flores's killing was 
directly tied to his critical writings. By year's end, there had been 
no arrests made in regard to this killing.
    On August 26, police officers in Simon Rodriguez Municipality of 
Anzoategui State beat and insulted Adrian Salazar, a reporter for the 
daily Nueva Prensa de Oriente. Salazar stated that he did not know the 
motive for the beating but did not dismiss the possibility it was 
related to his journalistic endeavors. The police officers accosted him 
as he arrived at his home. They were later stripped of their official 
responsibilities, pending investigation of the matter.
    On September 22, the chief of security for the municipality of 
Sucre, in Bolivar State, along with one of the mayor's bodyguards, 
attacked the headquarters of radio station La Maripena. The attackers 
broke protective barriers of the station's transmitter and threw rocks 
into the building. The Venezuelan Institute of Press and Society 
reported that the attackers responded violently to the radio station 
director's photographing them while they were guarding official 
vehicles during a miners' protest. Following the attack, the 
perpetrators stole one of the radio station's transmitters, causing an 
outage that lasted two days. Media reports speculated that the attacks 
were in response to the radio station's criticism of government acts.
    While the law permits the President to suspend telecommunications 
broadcasts, it was not invoked during the year; however, the Government 
threatened to review and cancel broadcasting licenses. On June 14, 
President Chavez announced he had directed a review of all radio and 
television licenses because many outlets had hidden behind ``freedom of 
expression'' in an effort to divide the country.
    Some commercial radio stations complained that broadcasting 
frequencies for community radios were not allocated in accordance with 
broadcast regulations. According to the National Venezuelan Radio 
Broadcasting Chamber, most of these community radio stations neither 
received broadcasting licenses nor followed regulations, and they 
interfered with the broadcasts of licensed stations. The Government 
reportedly funded the community stations, whose broadcasting was 
progovernment.
    The law permits the Government to order national broadcast cadenas 
(lengthy, commercial-free programming, usually consisting of 
Presidential speeches) to require all broadcast media to preempt 
scheduled programming and transmit the Government's entire message. Use 
of cadenas was much more restrained in elections during the year, 
compared to 2005. Both the OAS and EU, however, mentioned abuse of 
government resources as an irregularity during the election campaign, 
citing cadenas and other government public media methods. According to 
private media sources, there were approximately 182 cadenas during the 
year, totaling more than 90 hours of air time.
    In mid-March the Government temporarily imprisoned two journalists. 
Gustavo Azocar, a Tachira state journalist who questioned the 
qualifications of a judge involved in a sensitive political case, was 
imprisoned March 7 pending trial for allegedly failing to appear at 
court dates. One week later, on March 13, a Caracas court issued an 
arrest warrant for El Nacional columnist Ibeyise Pacheco, who was found 
guilty of defamation in 2005 and punished with nine months of house 
arrest (after reportedly being threatened with detention at DISIP). 
Both journalists were released almost immediately following 
international outcry.
    On July 13, an appeals court sentenced journalist Henry Crespo to 
one year and four months in prison for allegedly defaming the MVR 
governor of Guarico State, Eduardo Manuitt.
    On August 11, a circuit court judge issued an arrest warrant 
against Miguel Salazar, editor of the weekly Las Verdades de Miguel. 
Salazar, who was facing prosecution for aggravated slander, reportedly 
failed to appear before the court, as ordered by the judge. Salazar was 
accused of slandering several high-ranking officials, including the 
former secretary of the presidency, the governor of Guarico State, and 
a National Assembly deputy and his political party.
    On May 18, the MVR-controlled Bolivar state legislature decided 
that the building in which the anti-Chavez newspaper Correo del Caroni 
operated had been incorrectly purchased and zoned in 1991 and 
recommended to the state governor that the building be demolished and 
the newspaper closed. On June 26, an act of sabotage left the newspaper 
without electricity and caused an explosion.
    On June 19, Numa Rojas, the MVR mayor of Maturin, Monagas State, 
withdrew all municipal advertisements and indicated that reporters from 
two local newspapers would be denied access to city hall and MVR 
headquarters. Rojas reportedly acted in retaliation for the papers' 
accusations of corruption against the daughter of the mayor's 
girlfriend. Rojas held a public rally in Maturin inviting municipal 
employees to assemble and protest against those media that opposed him.
    On June 8, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) 
forced the removal of Valencia radio station 810 AM's transmitter from 
public lands. The stated justification for the closure concerned 
ownership and zoning of the real estate where the transmitter was 
located. The closure was seen by station management and other media as 
a government effort to close all media outlets that criticized the 
President. CONATEL ordered the radio station to relocate within a 
period of 45 days; citing insufficient resources and time to do so, the 
radio station closed down.
    On August 7, supporters of the independent political movement ROGE 
assaulted journalist Manases Capriles of the daily El Siglo when he was 
covering a protest in the town of Turmero, Aragua State. According to 
Capriles, a town councilmember who belongs to the movement tried to 
snatch the notebook in which Capriles was taking notes and threatened 
to kill him. Several other protesters surrounded Capriles and beat him 
with sticks. Several policemen were reportedly present but did nothing 
to stop the beating.
    On December 28, President Chavez announced that the Government 
would not renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television, the 
country's oldest commercial television network. The Government accused 
the network owners of being ``coup-mongers'' and of violating the 
public trust. International press freedom organizations, including 
Reporters Without Borders, the Inter-American Press Association, and 
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights special rapporteur for 
freedom of expression, condemned the decision as an attempt to silence 
a media outlet.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet. The Government sometimes monitored some e-mails (see 
section 1.f.). Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no reported 
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the 
Government generally respected this right in practice. PROVEA noted 
that at least 113 injuries resulted from security force interventions 
in peaceful demonstrations, a significant decrease from the previous 
year.
    There was also one death reported during a peaceful demonstration. 
PROVEA reported that Jose Gonzalez, a student protester in Cumana, 
Sucre State, was killed on March 21, when he fell from the roof of a 
building as a result of being struck by a tear gas canister thrown by a 
police officer.
    Human rights groups continued to criticize the March 2005 penal 
code revision for the strict penalties it imposes on some forms of 
peaceful demonstration. The law outlaws pot-banging protests often 
identified with opponents of the Government and punishes street 
closures with up to eight-year prison terms. The NGO Foro Penal filed 
an official complaint before the Supreme Court on June 27, challenging 
the legality of this measure, which, by year's end, had not been heard.
    Government supporters sometimes disrupted marches and rallies. 
Supporters and opponents of the Government demonstrated in the capital 
and other cities during the year. Opposition Presidential candidate 
Manuel Rosales's campaign rallies and marches were often disrupted by 
government supporters, who typically threw bottles and other debris at 
Rosales supporters.

    Freedom of Association.--While the constitution provides for 
freedom of association, the Government only partially respected this 
right. Although indicating that they generally operated without 
interference, professional and academic associations complained that 
the CNE repeatedly interfered with their attempts to hold internal 
elections. A 2000 Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruling declared that 
groups belonging to civil society could not receive money from foreign 
governments or groups influenced by foreign governments, engage in 
political activism, or be run by members of the military or religious 
groups. The Government indefinitely postponed its conspiracy case 
against the NGO SUMATE, which was based in part on the fact that the 
organization received financing from abroad (see section 4).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion, on the condition that its practice does not violate public 
morality, decency, or the public order, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice.
    The Directorate of Justice and Religion (DJR) is mandated to 
maintain a registry of religious groups. Registration is required for 
legal status as a religious organization. Requirements for registration 
are largely administrative but stipulate that groups serve the 
community's social interests. Foreign missionaries require a special 
visa to enter the country, and they noted increased difficulties.
    Catholic bishops continued to urge the Government to protect 
democratic freedoms, including voting rights.
    On February 3 the Supreme Court denied the request of the New 
Tribes Mission for a stay of the Interior Ministry's November 2005 
resolution ordering the group's withdrawal. The New Tribes Mission 
subsequently removed all of its personnel from indigenous tribal areas 
in compliance with the ruling, but continues to appeal the decision.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--There were reports that 
citizens harassed Mormon missionaries in poor areas.
    There were more than 15,000 Jews in the country. The President, 
government institutions and officials, and government-affiliated media 
outlets promoted anti-Semitism through numerous anti-Semitic comments; 
these actions created a spillover effect into mainstream society, which 
witnessed a rise in anti-Semitic vandalism, caricatures, and 
expressions at rallies. Incidents of intimidation, vandalism, and 
physical attacks against Jewish institutions became more frequent.
    The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that the President and 
government officials expressed anti-Semitic sentiments, blaming Israel 
and the Jews for the world's problems and utilizing stereotypes about 
Jewish financial influence and control. For example, in an interview 
broadcast domestically and on Al-Jazeera television, President Chavez 
said Israel's actions regarding the Palestinians and Lebanon were 
``perpetrated in the fascist manner of Hitler--they are doing what 
Hitler did to the Jews.''
    On January 21, a group of Jewish intellectuals published a letter 
condemning remarks made by President Chavez in December 2005 referring 
to ``some minorities, the descendants of the same ones who crucified 
Christ.'' Some international Jewish groups and observers criticized 
Chavez' remarks as anti-Semitic; others said his remarks were simply 
anti-imperialistic. Days later, the Government announced that it would 
remove from the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art the name of Sofia 
Imber, the retired museum founder and a signatory to the letter. Imber 
said the name change was already in the offing but considered the 
timing a result of her signing the January 21 letter.
    The local Jewish community maintained strong concerns over anti-
Semitic comments that regularly appeared in the Government's de facto 
official daily newspaper, Vea, and some recurring slurs by the hosts of 
La Hojilla, a pro-Chavez talk show on official government television.
    Anti-Semitic graffiti increased on synagogue walls in the Caracas 
areas following the July-August conflict involving Israel and Lebanon, 
and editorials and political cartoons in government media outlets 
adopted pro-Hizballah stances and often failed to distinguish between 
anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiments. The ADL documented that anti-
Semitic graffiti and leaflets appeared near synagogues and densely 
populated Jewish neighborhoods with statements including ``Jews 
Assassins,'' ``Jews Dogs,'' ``Go Away Zionists,'' and with Stars of 
David equated with swastikas.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International 
Religious Freedom Report.

    d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--The constitution provides for these 
rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice, 
although there were numerous reports that persons were denied passports 
and other official documents by government agencies for having signed 
the 2004 recall referendum. There were regular reports of individuals 
bribing authorities for expedited issuance of identification documents. 
Extremely long waits for issuance of passports often had the effect of 
restricting freedom of foreign travel.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention 
Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the 
Government established a system for providing protection to refugees. 
In practice the Government provided protection against refoulement, the 
return of persons to a country where they feared persecution.
    The Government cooperated with the UN High Commission for Refugees 
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers. The UNHCR reported 2,566 applicants for refugee status 
in the country during the year, 261 of whom were recognized as 
refugees.
    On October 17, according to the Jesuit Refugee Service of Venezuela 
(SJR), armed militants forcibly displaced 32 families numbering almost 
300 individuals from Santa Ines Village in Apure State. The 32 families 
were a mixture of Colombian refugees and internally displaced persons. 
With the SJR's assistance, 21 individuals presented official complaints 
to the Public Ministry, which had not been addressed by 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 through 
periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On December 3, voters 
reelected Hugo Chavez as President in elections that observers judged 
to be generally free and fair. The European Union, the OAS, and the 
Carter Center sent official electoral observation missions and deemed 
the elections to be generally free and fair. President Chavez was 
reelected with approximately 63 percent of the national vote. Chavez 
received the most votes in each state in the country, as well as in the 
Caracas metropolitan area. While judged to be generally free and fair, 
the observation missions did note some irregularities, such as the 
Government's failure to heed previous observer missions' 
recommendations. They also noted minor problems with the ``Plan 
Republica,'' the military's plan to enforce security at polling sites 
and protect the integrity of both voters and voting materials.
    Eighty-one different political parties appeared on the Presidential 
ballot in December. Notable political party Christian Democrats barely 
surpassed the threshold of 1 percent of votes needed to remain on the 
ballot. Movement Towards Socialism failed to obtain enough votes to 
remain on the ballot, barring collection of the requisite number of 
signatures. Democratic Action, having boycotted national elections for 
two elections in a row, also lost the right to remain on the ballot 
without a signature drive.
    In December, following his reelection, Chavez announced the 
dissolution of the primary political party, the Fifth Republic 
Movement, and his plans to create one unified progovernment party.
    In September opposition members revealed a videotape of the 
minister of energy and President of the state oil-company PDVSA, Rafael 
Ramirez, threatening workers with loss of their jobs if they did not 
vote for the Government in December elections. Ramirez invoked the 
terminology ``rojo, rojito'' (``red, very red'') to describe the 
political orientation of the oil company. Other government agencies, 
including the military and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adopted the 
mantra as a manner of proclaiming their loyalty to the current 
government (see section 1.f.).
    In May the National Assembly appointed a new five-member CNE board 
consisting of four progovernment representatives and one opposition 
member, skewing the CNE in the Government's favor.
    There were 34 women in the 165-seat assembly, 3 women in the 21-
member cabinet, and nine women among the 32 justices on the Supreme 
Tribunal of Justice.
    The constitution reserves three seats in the National Assembly for 
indigenous people, which were filled in the 2000 election and remained 
occupied during the year. There were no indigenous members in the 
cabinet.

    Government Corruption and Transparency.--There was a perception of 
widespread corruption at all levels of the Government. Journalists 
reported several cases of apparent corruption implicating high-level 
government officials, but none was investigated. Officials acknowledged 
that the National Office of Identification and Immigration, the agency 
responsible for issuing identity cards and passports, was corrupt.
    On May 24, the Government's Moral Republican Council suspended 
Supreme Court Justice Luis Velasquez Alvaray for alleged mismanagement 
of public funds earmarked to purchase property for the construction of 
a judicial complex. Velasquez Alvaray counter-accused several high-
ranking government officials, including Vice President Jose Vicente 
Rangel, of corruption. On June 8, the National Assembly unanimously 
voted to remove Velasquez Alvaray. Amid concerns of safety following 
his counteraccusations, Velasquez Alvaray disappeared, and at year's 
end his whereabouts were uncertain.
    The law provides for citizens' access to government information. 
Human rights groups reported that the Government routinely ignored this 
requirement and did not make information available.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide 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 were somewhat responsive to their views. Major 
domestic human rights NGOs that operated independently from the 
Government included COFAVIC, PROVEA, Red de Apoyo, and the Venezuelan 
Prison Observatory. However, many NGOs reported threats and harassment, 
especially in a climate of possible criminalization of receipt of 
foreign funding. For example, the director of Una Ventana a la Libertad 
reported receiving threatening phone calls and that DISIP agents told 
him that he and his family were being watched for receiving funds from 
foreign government agencies.
    COFAVIC's executive director continued to operate under threats of 
personal harm. The Interamerican Commission of Human Rights ruled in 
2005 that the threats were credible and ruled the Government should 
provide her security detail. After Caracas Metropolitan Police withdrew 
these bodyguards in late 2005, the IACHR reinstituted the security 
detail. In October COFAVIC's director indicated that the Government 
continued to try to convince the courts to overrule the IACHR ruling, 
suggesting that the threats were fabricated.
    In July 2005 a Caracas court ruled that SUMATE leaders Maria Corina 
Machado, Alejandro Plaz, Luis Enrique Palacios, and Ricardo Estevez 
would stand trial for conspiracy to destroy the country's republican 
form of government. The charges were based on the group's acceptance of 
funds from a foreign source in 2003. The trial briefly resumed during 
the year but was indefinitely postponed. The defendants were free 
pending trial at year's end.
    However, in mid-July the National Assembly opened a separate 
investigation against SUMATE leaders for treason, conspiring against 
the National Electoral Council, and inciting criminal activity because 
they allegedly accepted foreign money to organize an opposition primary 
to choose a Presidential candidate for the December election. The 
legislature's investigation concluded that the NGO attempted to commit 
treason, evade taxes, and violate foreign exchange rules. The results 
were forwarded to the Attorney General, Foreign Exchange Commission, 
and Tax Authority for follow-up. As of late October, the Tax Authority 
and superintendent of banks had begun investigations into Machado's and 
Plaz's personal and business activities.
    A draft International Cooperation Law was under consideration in 
the National Assembly at year's end. The draft law clearly delineates 
those sectors in which NGOs are allowed to function; noticeably absent 
from the list are sectors such as human rights and democracy promotion 
or advocacy. The proposed legislation would also establish a public 
entity that reports directly to the President and ``which is to be 
responsible and charged with carrying out and backing international 
cooperation policies, projects, and activities fostered by the State, 
by drawing on, providing, and administering funds originating from or 
destined to international cooperation activities'' and gives the 
Government the option of requiring international donors to deposit 
their funding in a government fund, which would administer these funds 
on behalf of the donors. The proposed legislation would also create a 
parallel registration mechanism (above and beyond the civil 
registration, the tax system, social security registration, etc.), 
which would require each NGO to submit to a series of requirements 
specified by the Government, after which the federal government would 
decide whether or not they can be registered, and, in turn, operate in 
the country. The law, if enacted, would be regulated by decree of the 
President of the republic, allowing him or her to establish any 
regulation or addendum to the law by executive order.
    Several domestic human rights NGOs received threats and 
intimidation by government representatives and supporters. On April 21, 
unknown assailants shot and injured human rights defender Maria del 
Rosario Guerrero Galluci and her husband Adolfo Martinez Barrios in 
Guarico State. Guerrero had accused the Guarico police of human rights 
abuses.
    The Government cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits by OAS representatives. The OAS, EU, 
and the Carter Center all received invitations and sent official 
electoral observation missions to the country to cover the December 
Presidential election. The Government, however, considerably delayed 
the accreditation of these missions, in some cases not agreeing to 
their observation until only weeks prior the election--thereby reducing 
the missions' ability to efficiently prepare for an impartial and 
thorough observation.
    Although the ombudsman is responsible for ensuring that citizens' 
rights are protected in a conflict with the state, human rights NGOs 
claimed that the Ombudsman's Office was not independent and rarely 
acted on public interest cases.
    The National Assembly's Sub-Commission on Human Rights played an 
insignificant role in the national debate on human rights.
Section 5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, discrimination against women, 
persons with disabilities, and indigenous people were problems.

    Women.--The law prohibits domestic violence, and violators faced 
penalties of six to 18 months in prison. Violence against women 
continued to be a problem, and women faced substantial institutional 
and societal prejudice with respect to rape and domestic violence. The 
Center for Women's Studies reported that one woman in Caracas died 
every 10 days from domestic violence According to the Pan American 
Health Organization, 70 percent of women killed in the country were 
killed by their husbands, boyfriends, or ex-partners. The law requires 
police to report domestic violence and obligates hospital personnel to 
notify the authorities when they admit patients who are victims of 
domestic abuse. Police generally were reluctant to intervene to prevent 
domestic violence, and the courts rarely prosecuted those accused of 
such abuse. Women generally were unaware of legal remedies and had 
little access to them. The Government sought to combat domestic 
violence through a public awareness campaign and a national victim 
assistance hot line, which was created in 2005 and administered by the 
National Women's Institute, a government agency. It was widely 
advertised during the year and continued to enjoy much success.
    On November 25, the National Assembly passed the Organic Law on the 
Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence. The law preserves the life 
and physical integrity of women facing violent circumstances or who may 
be vulnerable to violence.
    The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, but it remained a 
problem. Rape is punishable with prison terms of eight to 14 years, 
although cases often were not reported to the police. An adult man 
guilty of raping an adult female acquaintance may avoid punishment if 
he marries the victim before sentencing.
    Prostitution is legal. While there was no government information on 
the extent of prostitution, local antitrafficking NGO Association of 
Women for Welfare and Mutual Help noted that prostitution was a serious 
problem, particularly in Caracas and domestic tourist destinations.
    Sexual harassment is illegal and punishable with a prison sentence 
of six to 18 months. Sexual harassment was common in the workplace but 
rarely reported. There were no reported cases of sexual harassment 
during the year.
    Women and men are legally equal in marriage, and the law provides 
for gender equality in exercising the right to work. The law specifies 
that employers must not discriminate against women with regard to pay 
or working conditions. According to the Ministry of Labor and the 
Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV), these regulations were enforced 
in the formal sector, although women reportedly earned 30 percent less 
than men on average. Although reliable official statistics were 
unavailable, the Central Venezuelan University's Center for Women's 
Studies reported that the unemployment rate for women was generally 
believed to be 3 percent higher than that for men. Some estimates 
placed female unemployment as high as 22 percent. The National 
Institute for Women, a government agency, worked to protect women's 
rights.
    Through November the Women's Development Bank (BANMUJER), 
administered by the Ministry of Popular Economy, awarded 12,450 loans, 
totaling approximately $28 million (60 million bolivars), that 
benefited more than 340,000 individuals. BANMUJER also held 
professional training courses on the creation of microbusinesses for 
approximately 109,000 individuals.
    The law provides women with property rights equal to men's. In 
practice, however, women frequently waived these rights by signing over 
the equivalent of ``power of attorney'' to their husbands.
    The Fatherland For All political party and the Women's Manuelita 
Saenz Movement held a national conference in August with the aim of 
creating a national strategy to institutionalize women's roles in the 
political and economic sectors.

    Children.--The Government was committed to children's rights and 
welfare. The law provides for universal, compulsory, and free education 
up to the university-preparatory level; however, the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) reported that in 2004 an estimated 45 percent of boys and 35 
percent of girls left school before the ninth grade. Many children of 
African and indigenous descent had no access to the education system.
    The Government provided numerous government health care programs 
for boys and girls on the basis of equal access.
    Reports of child abuse were rare due to a fear of entanglement with 
the authorities and ingrained societal attitudes regarding family 
privacy. According to UNICEF and NGOs working with children and women, 
child abuse, including incest, often occurred at home. Although the 
judicial system acted to remove children from abusive households, 
public facilities for such children were inadequate and had poorly 
trained staff.
    The human rights NGO For the Rights of Children and Adolescents 
estimated that approximately 15,000 children lived on the street. 
UNICEF concurred that official government statistics, putting this 
figure at 1,500, grossly underrepresented the actual number. 
Authorities in Caracas and several other jurisdictions imposed curfews 
on unsupervised minors to cope with this problem. Because reform 
institutions were filled to capacity, hundreds of children accused of 
infractions, such as curfew violations, were confined in inadequate 
juvenile detention centers (see section 1.c.).

    Trafficking in Persons.--Although the constitution prohibits 
slavery or servitude and the law prohibits trafficking in persons, 
there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and within 
the country. There is no implementing law specifically for prosecution 
of trafficking in persons.
    The country was reported to be a source, destination, and transit 
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. An underdeveloped 
legal framework, corruption among immigration authorities, and the ease 
with which fraudulent passports, identity cards, and birth certificates 
could be obtained created favorable conditions for trafficking. No 
overall statistics on trafficking were available from government or NGO 
sources.
    Women and children from Colombia, China, Peru, Ecuador, and the 
Dominican Republic were trafficked to and through the country and 
subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Citizens 
were trafficked internally and to Western Europe, particularly Spain 
and the Netherlands, and countries in the region such as Mexico, Aruba, 
and the Dominican Republic for commercial sexual exploitation. The 
country was a transit country for undocumented migrants from other 
countries in the region--particularly Peru and Colombia--and for Asian 
nationals, some of whom were believed to be trafficking victims. 
Subgroups particularly at risk included women from poor areas.
    Trafficking may be prosecuted under laws against forced 
disappearance and kidnapping, with penalties of two to six years' 
imprisonment, and under a law to protect children, with a penalty of 
one to 10 months' income for trafficking in children and two to six 
years' imprisonment for trafficking a child abroad. In addition, under 
a law against organized crime, child trafficking by members of an 
organized group is punishable by 10 to 18 years' imprisonment.
    Government efforts to combat trafficking are the responsibility of 
the public prosecutor's Family Protection Directorate, the National 
Institutes for Women and Minors, and the Ministry of Interior and 
Justice's Crime Prevention Unit. Enforcement efforts generally were 
limited.
    The Government provided trafficking victims with psychological and 
physical examinations. Several NGOs complained that they lacked 
government support and cooperation to assist victims and prevent future 
cases of human trafficking.
    In August the Ministry of Interior and Justice hosted a roundtable 
on trafficking in persons; the minister of justice presided, and nearly 
every cabinet ministry had high-level representation. The heads of the 
CICPC and DISIP, as well as local NGO experts on the subject, 
participated. The event culminated with a comprehensive plan to address 
trafficking in persons in the country, although by year's end the plan 
had not been implemented.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in 
education, employment, health care, and the provision of other state 
services. Persons with disabilities had minimal access to public 
transportation, and ramps practically were nonexistent, even in 
government buildings. The law requires that all newly constructed or 
renovated public parks and buildings provide access and prohibits 
discrimination in employment practices and in the provision of public 
services; however, the Government had not made a significant effort to 
implement the law, inform the public of it, or to combat societal 
prejudice against persons with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--Although the law prohibits discrimination based 
on ethnic origin, members of the country's indigenous population 
suffered from inattention to and violation of their rights. There were 
approximately 316,000 indigenous people in 27 ethnic groups, many of 
whom were isolated from urban areas and lacked access to basic health 
and educational facilities. Their communities suffered from high rates 
of disease. The Government included indigenous people in its literacy 
campaigns, in some cases teaching them to read and write in their own 
languages, as well as in Spanish.
    The law creates three seats in the National Assembly for indigenous 
deputies and also provides for ``the protection of indigenous 
communities and their progressive incorporation into the life of the 
nation.'' Nonetheless, local political authorities seldom took account 
of the interests of indigenous people when making decisions affecting 
their lands, cultures, traditions, or the allocation of natural 
resources. Few indigenous people held title to their land, and many did 
not want to do so because most indigenous groups rejected the concept 
of individual property. Instead, they called on the Government to 
recognize lands traditionally inhabited by them as territories 
belonging to each respective indigenous group.
    The NGO Consorcio Desarrollo y Justicia reported that the federal 
government did not recognize these lands and continued to fail to hand 
over any such land that it considered government-owned. The Government 
also drew arbitrary boundaries around lands claimed by indigenous 
groups, to their detriment.
    Although the National Agrarian Institute granted the Bari and 
Sierra de Perija indigenous communities property rights to 200 hectares 
for 20 years, the Government did not recognize these property rights 
during the year. The Environment and Natural Resources Ministry redrew 
the demarcation lines, severely limiting these communities' claims to 
this land. The few hectares left to these communities were heavily 
populated by strip mining interests.
Section 6. Worker Rights

    a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides that all 
private and public sector workers (except members of the armed forces) 
have the right to form and join unions of their choice, the Government 
continued to violate these rights. Approximately 10 to 12 percent of 
the 12 million-person labor force was unionized.
    The CNE has the authority to administer internal elections of labor 
confederations. In 2004 the CNE issued regulations governing internal 
elections that many labor leaders claimed violated freedom of 
association. Furthermore, the CNE failed to certify the results of 
elections held during the year by more than 500 unions and federations 
under these new regulations. Labor leaders complained that the CNE also 
failed to give permission to hold elections to hundreds of unions and 
federations.
    In January 2005 the CNE passed a resolution annulling the CTV's 
2001 election results. In addition the Government refused to appoint 
the CTV secretary general as labor's representative at the 
International Labor Organization (ILO) annual meeting. In 2005 the ILO 
called upon the Government to recognize the CTV's elected leadership, 
but the Government had not done so.
    The Ministry of Labor continued to deny registration to UNAPETROL, 
a union composed of oil workers who were later fired for participating 
in the 2002 to 2003 national strike (see section 6.b.).

    b. The Right To Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides that all public and private sector workers have the right to 
conduct their activities without interference and protects collective 
bargaining. The law stipulates that employers must negotiate a 
collective contract with the union that represents the majority of 
their workers. The ILO continued to object to this provision and 
requested that the Government amend it so that ``in cases where no 
union organization represents an absolute majority of workers, minority 
organizations may jointly negotiate a collective agreement on behalf of 
their members.''
    The Government continued to show preference toward government-
affiliated unions in collective bargaining agreements and fostered the 
creation of parallel unions such as the National Union of Venezuelan 
Workers. CTV leaders claimed that the Ministry of Labor routinely 
rejected collective bargaining agreements negotiated by CTV affiliates 
on administrative grounds. CTV leaders further claimed that, in those 
sectors or firms where contracts were rejected, ministry officials 
facilitated the rapid formation of parallel unions, which legally could 
force a vote among workers over which union would represent them. The 
CTV also complained that the ministry usually designated the parallel 
union as the one authorized to negotiate the contract.
    Although the law recognizes the right of all public and private 
sector workers to strike in accordance with conditions established by 
labor law, public servants may strike only if the strike does not cause 
``irreparable damage to the population or to institutions.'' 
Replacement workers are not permitted during legal strikes, and the 
President may order public or private sector strikers back to work and 
submit their disputes to arbitration if the strike ``puts in immediate 
danger the lives or security of all or part of the population.''
    The Government had resolved approximately 25 percent of the cases 
involving 19,000 PDVSA employees who were fired during and in the 
aftermath of the 2002-03 national strike. The Government continued to 
deny the former workers severance and pension benefits as well as 
access to company housing, schools, and medical clinics.
    On August 13, former CTV President Carlos Ortega, who in December 
2005 was convicted and sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for his role 
in the 2002-03 national strike, escaped from Ramo Verde prison. His 
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
    Labor law and practice are the same in the sole export processing 
zone of Punto Fijo, Falcon State, as in the rest of the country.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, there were 
reports of trafficking in children for employment purposes, 
particularly in the informal economic sector (see sections 5 and 6.d.).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. The Ministry 
of Labor and the National Institute for Minors enforced child labor 
policies effectively in the formal sector of the economy but less so in 
the informal sector. The Community Center of Apprenticeship, a domestic 
NGO promoting the rights of children, estimated that there were 
approximately one million minors working in the country and that a 
large percentage of them did not receive the benefits due to them under 
the law.
    The law permits children between the ages of 12 and 14 to work only 
if the National Institute for Minors or the Ministry of Labor grants 
special permission; children between the ages of 14 and 16 may not work 
without the permission of their legal guardians. Those under 16 years 
of age may by law work no more than six hours per day or 30 hours per 
week. Minors under the age of 18 may work only between 6 a.m. and 7 
p.m. Minors may not work in mines or smelting factories, in occupations 
that risk life or health or could damage intellectual or moral 
development, or in public spectacles. Fines are established for 
employing children ages eight to 11, and for employing a 12- or 13-
year-old without a work authorization. Employing a child younger than 
eight years of age is punishable by one to three years' imprisonment. 
The law prohibits inducing the prostitution and corruption of minors. 
Penalties range from three to 18 months in prison and up to four years 
in prison if the minor is younger than 12 years old. If the crime is 
committed repeatedly, or for profit, it is punishable by three to six 
years' imprisonment. Prison sentences for inducing a minor into 
prostitution are increased by up to five years if various aggravating 
circumstances occur. Penalties for several crimes relating to child 
prostitution do not apply if the perpetrator marries the victim. The 
production and sale of child pornography is prohibited, and the law 
establishes penalties of 16 to 20 years' imprisonment for this crime. 
The law establishes sentences of one to three years' incarceration for 
forced child labor. There were no substantiated reports that these 
penalties were enforced.
    The Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports ran educational 
programs to reincorporate school dropouts and adults into the 
educational system; however, there was no independent accounting of the 
effectiveness of the programs. The Government also provided free adult 
educational and technical training through the Barrio Adentro Mission 
program.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wage rates are adjusted 
annually by administrative decree, which the legislature may suspend or 
ratify but may not change. In September the Government raised the 
monthly minimum wage to $238 (512,325 bolivars). The national minimum 
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family. The Ministry of Labor enforced minimum wage rates effectively 
in the formal sector, but approximately 50 percent of the population 
worked in the informal sector, where labor laws and protections 
generally were not enforced.
    The law stipulates that the work week may not exceed 44 hours. 
Managers are prohibited from obligating employees to work additional 
time, and workers have the right to weekly time away from work. 
Overtime may not exceed two hours daily, 10 hours weekly, or 100 hours 
annually, and may not be paid at a rate less than time-and-one-half. 
The ministry effectively enforced these standards in the formal sector.
    While the constitution provides for secure, hygienic, and adequate 
working conditions, authorities did not implement the Health and Safety 
Law. The law states that employers are obligated to pay specified 
amounts (up to a maximum of 25 times the minimum monthly salary) to 
workers for accidents or occupational illnesses, regardless of who is 
responsible for the injury. Workplaces must maintain ``sufficient 
protection for health and life against sickness and accidents,'' and 
penalties range from one-quarter to twice the minimum monthly salary 
for first infractions. In practice ministry inspectors seldom closed 
unsafe job sites. Under the law, workers may remove themselves from 
dangerous workplace situations without jeopardy to continued 
employment.

                               __________

                               APPENDIX A

                              ----------                              


   Notes on Preparation of the Country Reports and Explanatory Notes

                              ----------                              

    The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are 
based on information available from a wide variety of sources, 
including U.S. and foreign government officials, victims of 
human rights abuse, academic and congressional studies, and 
reports from the press, international organizations, and 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with human 
rights. We find particularly helpful, and make reference in the 
reports to, the role of NGOs, ranging from groups within a 
single country to those that concern themselves with human 
rights worldwide. While much of the information that we use is 
already public, information on particular abuses frequently 
cannot be attributed, for obvious reasons, to specific sources.
    By law, the Secretary of State must submit the Country 
Reports to Congress by February 25. The Country Reports cover 
respect for human rights in foreign countries and territories 
worldwide; they do not purport to assess any human rights 
implications of actions by the United States Government or its 
representatives, nor do they consider human rights implications 
of actions by the United States Government or of coalition 
forces in Iraq or Afghanistan. To comply with the congressional 
requirement for the reporting of human rights practices, we 
provide guidance to U.S. diplomatic missions in July for 
submission of draft reports in September and October, which we 
update at year's end as necessary. Other offices in the 
Department of State provide contributions, and the Bureau of 
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor prepares a final draft. Due 
to the submission deadline, the report may not reflect 
developments that became known only after the end of the year. 
We make every effort to include references to major events or 
significant changes in trends.
    We have attempted to make the reports as comprehensive, 
objective and uniform as possible in both scope and quality of 
coverage. We have paid particular attention to attaining a high 
standard of consistency in the reports despite the multiplicity 
of sources and the obvious problems associated with varying 
degrees of access to information, structural differences in 
political, legal, and social systems, and differing trends in 
world opinion regarding human rights practices in specific 
countries.
    Evaluating the credibility of reports of human rights 
abuses is often difficult. Most governments and opposition 
groups deny that they commit human rights abuses and sometimes 
go to great lengths to conceal any evidence of such acts. There 
are often few eyewitnesses to specific abuses, and they 
frequently are intimidated or otherwise prevented from 
reporting what they know. On the other hand, individuals and 
groups opposed to a government sometimes have powerful 
incentives to exaggerate or fabricate abuses, and some 
governments similarly distort or exaggerate abuses attributed 
to opposition groups. We have made every effort to identify 
those groups (for example, government forces or terrorists) or 
individuals that are believed, based on all the evidence 
available, to have committed human rights or other abuses. Many 
governments that profess to oppose human rights abuses in fact 
secretly order or tacitly condone them or simply lack the will 
or the ability to control those responsible for them. 
Consequently, in judging a government's policy, the reports 
look beyond statements of policy or intent and examine what a 
government has done to prevent human rights abuses, including 
the extent to which it investigates, brings to trial, and 
appropriately punishes those who commit such abuses.
    To increase uniformity, each country report begins with a 
brief overview that includes a description of the country's 
political structure and the extent to which civilian 
authorities control security agencies. The overview summarizes 
human rights developments during the calendar year, identifying 
abuses and notable specific improvements.
    We have continued the effort from previous years to cover 
human rights problems affecting women, children, persons with 
disabilities, and indigenous people in the reports. The 
appropriate section of each country report discusses any abuses 
that are targeted specifically against women (for example, rape 
or other violence perpetrated by governmental or organized 
opposition forces, or discriminatory laws or regulations). In 
Section 5, we discuss socioeconomic discrimination; 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; societal violence 
against women, children, homosexuals, persons with 
disabilities, or ethnic minorities; and the efforts, if any, of 
governments to combat these problems.
    The following notes on specific sections in each country 
report are not meant to be comprehensive descriptions but 
rather to provide an overview of the key problems covered and 
their organization:

    Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Includes 
killings by governments without due process of law or where 
there is evidence of a political motive. Also covers 
extrajudicial killings (for example, the unlawful and 
deliberate killing of individuals carried out by order of a 
government or with its complicity), as well as killings by 
police or security forces and actions that resulted in the 
unintended death of persons without due process of law (for 
example, mistargeted bombing or shelling or killing of 
bystanders). The section generally excludes combat deaths and 
killings by common criminals if the likelihood of political 
motivation can be ruled out. Deaths in detention due to adverse 
conditions are covered in detail in the section on ``Torture 
and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.''

    Disappearance.--Covers cases in which political motivation 
appears likely and in which the victims have not been found or 
perpetrators have not been identified. Cases eventually 
classified as political killings in which the bodies of missing 
persons are discovered also are covered in the previous 
section, while those eventually identified as having been 
arrested or held in detention may be covered under ``Arbitrary 
Arrest or Detention.''

    Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Covers torture (an act of intentionally inflicting 
severe pain, whether physical or mental) and cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading treatment or punishment committed by or at the 
instigation of government forces, including paramilitary 
forces, or opposition groups. The section discusses actual 
occurrences, not whether they fit any precise definition, and 
includes use of physical and other force that may fall short of 
torture but which is cruel, inhuman, or degrading, including 
judicially sanctioned violent or abusive punishment. There also 
may be discussion of poor treatment that may not constitute 
torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The section 
also covers prison conditions and deaths in prison due to 
adverse conditions.

    Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Includes cases in which 
detainees, including political detainees, are held arbitrarily 
in official custody without being charged or, if charged, are 
denied a public preliminary judicial hearing within a 
reasonable period. The section also includes subsections on the 
role of the police and security apparatus, arrest and detention 
practices, and any amnesties that may have occurred during the 
year.

    Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Describes the court system 
and evaluates whether there is an independent judiciary and 
whether trials are both fair and public (failure to hold any 
trial is noted in the section above). The subsection 
``Political Prisoners and Detainees'' covers persons convicted, 
imprisoned or detained essentially for political beliefs or 
nonviolent acts of dissent or expression, regardless of the 
actual legal charge. The subsection ``Civil Judicial Procedures 
and Remedies'' inquires whether there is access to an 
independent and impartial court to seek damages for or 
cessation of an alleged human rights violation. The optional 
subsection ``Property Restitution'' is included if there is a 
systemic failure of a government to enforce court orders with 
respect to restitution or compensation for the taking of 
private property under domestic law.

    Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Includes government punishment of family 
members for alleged violations by individuals and efforts to 
coerce or forbid membership in a political organization. 
Discusses the ``passive'' right of the individual to 
noninterference by the state. It includes the right to receive 
foreign publications, for example, while the right to publish 
is discussed under ``Freedom of Speech and Press.'' Includes 
the right to be free from coercive population control measures, 
including coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization, but 
does not include cultural or traditional practices, such as 
female genital mutilation, which are addressed in Section 5.

    Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal 
Conflicts.--This optional section describes abuses in countries 
experiencing significant internal armed conflict. Includes 
indiscriminate, nonselective killings arising from excessive 
use of force, or by the shelling of villages (deliberate, 
targeted killing is discussed in the section on ``Arbitrary or 
Unlawful Deprivation of Life''). Also includes abuses against 
civilian noncombatants. For countries where use of this section 
would be inappropriate because there is no significant internal 
or external conflict, killings by security forces are discussed 
in the section on ``Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of 
Life''; nonlethal abuses are discussed in the section on 
``Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.''

    Freedom of Speech and Press.--Evaluates whether these 
freedoms exist and describes any direct or indirect 
restrictions. A subsection (``Internet Freedom'') includes 
discussion of monitoring or restriction on the peaceful 
expression of opinion via the Internet. Another subsection, 
entitled ``Academic Freedom and Cultural Events,'' asks for 
information on restrictions, intimidation and censorship in 
these fields.

    Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Evaluates 
the ability of individuals and groups (including political 
parties) to exercise these freedoms. It considers instances of 
government failure to provide permits and licenses for 
meetings, demonstrations, as well as information on the ability 
of trade associations, professional bodies, NGOS and similar 
groups to maintain relations or affiliate with recognized 
international bodies in their fields. The right of workers to 
associate, organize, and bargain collectively is discussed 
under the section on ``Worker Rights'' (see Appendix B).

    Freedom of Religion.--Discusses whether the law provides 
for the right of citizens of any religious belief to worship 
free of government interference and whether the government 
generally respected that right. The section covers the freedom 
to publish religious documents in foreign languages; addresses 
the treatment of foreign clergy and whether religious belief or 
lack thereof affects membership in a ruling party, a career in 
government, or ability to obtain services and privileges 
available to other citizens. The subsection ``Societal Abuses 
and Discrimination'' reports societal violence, harassment and 
discrimination against members of religious groups. Examples of 
anti-Semitism, if applicable, are included in this subsection. 
The annual International Religious Freedom Report supplements 
the information in this section.

    Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, 
Emigration, and Repatriation.--Includes subsections 
``Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)'' (if applicable) and 
``Protection of Refugees.'' Refugees may refer to persons 
displaced by civil strife or natural disaster as well as 
persons who are ``refugees'' within the meaning of the Refugee 
Act of 1980, that is, persons with a ``well-founded fear of 
persecution'' in their country of origin or, if stateless, in 
their country of habitual residence, on account of race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion. The section also discusses whether, and 
under what circumstances, governments exiled citizens, 
restricted foreign travel, especially for women, and revoked 
passports.

    Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
Change Their Government.--Discusses the extent to which 
citizens have freedom of political choice and the legal right 
and ability in practice to change the laws and officials that 
govern them. The subsection ``Elections and Political 
Participation'' assesses whether elections were free and fair, 
including participation by women and minorities on an equal 
basis. The subsection ``Government Corruption and 
Transparency'' covers allegations of corruption in the 
executive or legislative branches of government and actions 
taken to combat it. Also, the subsection covers whether the 
public has access in law and practice to government 
information.

    Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
Rights.--Discusses whether the government permits the free 
functioning of local human rights groups (including the right 
to investigate and publish their findings on alleged human 
rights abuses), whether these groups are subject to reprisal by 
government or other forces, and whether government officials 
are cooperative and responsive to their views. The section also 
discusses whether the government grants access to and 
cooperates with outside entities (including foreign human 
rights organizations, international organizations, and foreign 
governments) interested in human rights developments in the 
country. Reports on national human rights commissions, 
parliamentary commissions, relations with international war 
crimes tribunals and truth or similar commissions.

    Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in 
Persons.--Contains subheadings on Women, Children, Trafficking 
in Persons, and Persons with Disabilities. If applicable, also 
includes subheadings on National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities, 
Indigenous People, Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination, 
and Incitement to Acts of Discrimination. Addresses 
discrimination and abuses not discussed elsewhere in the 
report, focusing on laws, regulations, or state practices that 
are inconsistent with equal access to housing, employment, 
education, health care, or other governmental benefits for 
members of specific groups. (Abuses by government or opposition 
forces, such as killing, torture and other violence, or 
restriction of voting rights or free speech targeted against 
specific groups would be discussed under the appropriate 
preceding sections.) The subsection ``Women'' discusses 
societal violence against women, e.g., ``dowry deaths,'' 
``honor killings,'' wife beating, rape, female genital 
mutilation, and government tolerance of such practices, as well 
as the extent to which the law provides for, and the government 
enforces, equality of economic opportunity for women. The 
subsection ``Children'' discusses violence or other abuse 
against children. Coverage of the practice of child marriage 
has been expanded in this year's report. The subsection 
``Persons with Disabilities'' covers discrimination against 
persons with physical and mental disabilities in, among other 
things, employment, education, and the provision of other 
government services.
    The trafficking in persons subsection covers all acts 
involving the recruitment, harboring, transportation, 
provision, or obtaining of a person (man, woman, or child) for 
labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion 
for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, 
peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Sex trafficking is the 
recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining 
of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act induced by 
force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to 
perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age. Reporting 
describes any legal prohibitions against trafficking; the 
extent to which the government enforces these prohibitions; the 
extent and nature of trafficking in persons to, from, or within 
the country, other geographic regions or countries affected by 
the traffic; the participation, facilitation, involvement or 
complicity of any government agents in trafficking; and aid or 
protection available to victims.

    Worker Rights.--See Appendix B.
Explanatory Notes
    Occasionally the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
state that a country ``generally respected'' the rights of its 
citizens. The phrase ``generally respected'' is used because 
the protection and promotion of human rights is a dynamic 
endeavor; it cannot accurately be stated that any government 
fully respected these rights all the time without 
qualification, in even the best of circumstances. Accordingly, 
``generally respected'' is the standard phrase used to describe 
all countries that attempt to protect human rights in the 
fullest sense, and is thus the highest level of respect for 
human rights assigned by this report.
    In some instances, this year's Country Reports use the word 
``Islamist,'' which should be interpreted by readers as a 
Muslim who supports Islamic values and beliefs as the basis for 
political and social life.
    Since the Secretary of State designates foreign groups or 
organizations as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) on the 
FTO list, only those groups on the FTO list dated October 11, 
2005 will be described as ``terrorists'' in the reports.
    When describing whether a government provides ``protection 
against refoulement,'' the reports are referring to the 
international legal principle contained in the Convention 
relating to the Status of Refugees that prohibits states from 
expelling or returning a refugee in any manner whatsoever to 
the frontiers of territories where his or her life or freedom 
would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, 
political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
    Subject headings in these reports are used to introduce 
general topics, and the report text that follows such headings 
is intended to describe facts generally relevant to those 
topics and is not intended to reach conclusions of a legal 
character.

                              ----------                              


                               APPENDIX B

                              ----------                              


                       Reporting on Worker Rights

                              ----------                              

    The 1984 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Renewal 
Act requires reporting on worker rights in GSP beneficiary 
countries. It states that internationally recognized worker 
rights include: ``(A) the right of association; (B) the right 
to organize and bargain collectively; (C) a prohibition on the 
use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; (D) a minimum 
age for the employment of children; and (E) acceptable 
conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of 
work, and occupational safety and health.'' All five aspects of 
worker rights are discussed in each country report under the 
section heading ``Worker Rights.'' The discussion of worker 
rights considers not only laws and regulations but also their 
practical implementation.
    This discussion is informed by internationally recognized 
labor standards, including the Conventions and Recommendations 
of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Differences in 
the levels of economic development are taken into account in 
the formulation of these standards. For example, many ILO 
standards concerning working conditions permit flexibility in 
their scope, implementation, and coverage. Governments are 
expected to take steps over time to achieve the higher levels 
specified in such standards. However, this flexibility applies 
only to internationally recognized standards concerning working 
conditions, not to the basic human rights standards, such as 
freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain 
collectively, the prohibition of forced labor and child labor, 
and the absence of discrimination in employment. Some specific 
guidelines derived from international standards are discussed 
below.

    The right of association has been defined by the ILO to 
include the right of workers and employers to establish and 
join organizations of their own choosing without previous 
authorization; to draw up their own constitutions and rules, 
elect their representatives, and formulate their programs; to 
join in confederations and affiliate with international 
organizations; and to be protected against dissolution or 
suspension by administrative authority.

    The right of association includes the right of workers to 
strike. While it is generally accepted for strikes to be 
restricted in essential services, the interruption of which 
would endanger the life, personal safety, or health of a 
significant portion of the population, and in the public 
sector, these restrictions must be offset by adequate 
safeguards for the interests of the workers concerned (for 
example, mechanisms for mediation and arbitration, due process, 
and the right to judicial review of legal actions). Reporting 
on restrictions on the ability of workers to strike generally 
includes information on any procedures that may exist for 
safeguarding workers' interests.

    The right to organize and bargain collectively includes the 
right of workers to be represented in negotiating the 
prevention and settlement of disputes with employers, the right 
to protection against interference, and the right to protection 
against acts of antiunion discrimination. Governments should 
promote mechanisms for voluntary negotiations between employers 
and workers and their organizations. Coverage of the right to 
organize and bargain collectively includes a review of the 
extent to which collective bargaining takes place and the 
extent to which workers, both in law and practice, are 
protected against antiunion discrimination.

    Forced or compulsory labor is defined as work or service 
exacted under the menace of penalty and for which a person has 
not volunteered. ``Work or service'' does not apply where 
obligations are imposed to undergo education or training. 
``Menace of penalty'' includes loss of rights or privileges as 
well as penal sanctions. The ILO has exempted the following 
from its definition of forced labor: compulsory military 
service, normal civic obligations, certain forms of prison 
labor, emergencies, and minor communal services. Constitutional 
provisions concerning the obligation of citizens to work do not 
violate this right so long as they do not take the form of 
legal obligations enforced by sanctions and are consistent with 
the principle of ``freely chosen employment.''

    Prohibition of child labor and minimum age for employment 
concerns the effective abolition of child labor by raising the 
minimum age for employment to a level consistent with the 
fullest physical and mental development of young people. ILO 
Convention 182 on the ``worst forms of child labor'' identifies 
anyone under the age of 18 as a child and specifies certain 
types of employment as ``the worst forms of child labor.'' 
These worst forms of labor include slavery, debt bondage, 
forced labor, forced recruitment into armed conflict, child 
prostitution and pornography, involvement in illicit activity 
such as drug production or trafficking, and ``work which, by 
its nature, or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is 
likely to harm the health, safety or morals or children.'' In 
limited circumstances, ILO Convention 182 permits the 
employment of children between the ages of 16 and 18 in what 
the convention describes as an ``unhealthy environment,'' if 
adequate protective measures have been taken.

    Acceptable conditions of work refers to the establishment 
and maintenance of mechanisms, adapted to national conditions, 
that provide for minimum working standards, that is: wages that 
provide a decent living for workers and their families; working 
hours that do not exceed 48 hours per week, with a full 24-hour 
day of rest; a specified number of annual paid leave days; and 
minimum conditions for the protection of the safety and health 
of workers.

                              ----------                              


                                                                                      APPENDIX C.--Selected International Human Rights Conventions
                                                                                              (See Footnotes for Treaty/Convention Titles)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         COUNTRY                             A      B      C      D      E      F      G      H      I      J      K      L      M      N      O      P      Q      R      S      T      U      V      W      X      Y
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan..............................................     P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      S      P      P     --
Albania *................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Algeria..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Andorra..................................................    --     --     --      P     --      P      P     --      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --
Angola...................................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P     --      P      P
Antigua & Barbuda........................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      1      P      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Argentina................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Armenia..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Australia................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Austria..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Azerbaijan...............................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P
Bahamas..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Bahrain..................................................     P      P     --      P     --      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Bangladesh...............................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Barbados.................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Belarus..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Belgium..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Belize...................................................     1      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      1      P      P      P      S      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Benin....................................................     2      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Bhutan *.................................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      S     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --      P     --
Bolivia..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Bosnia & Herzegovina.....................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Botswana.................................................     1      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --      1      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Brazil...................................................     P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Brunei *.................................................     1     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --      1     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P     --
Bulgaria.................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Burkina Faso.............................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Burma....................................................     P      P      P      P     --      P      P      S     --      S     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --      P     --
Burundi..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Cambodia.................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      S      S      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Cameroon.................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Canada...................................................     P     --      P      P     --      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Cape Verde...............................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Central African Republic.................................     2      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Chad.....................................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Chile....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
China....................................................     2     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --      P     --     --      P      S      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
China (Hong Kong)........................................     P     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --
China (Macau from 12-20-99)..............................    --     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --
China (Macau to 12-19-99)................................    --     --     --      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --
China (Taiwan only)*.....................................     P     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --      P      S      S     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --
Colombia.................................................     S      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Comoros..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      S      P      P
Congo, Democratic Republic of............................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Congo, Republic of.......................................     2      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Cook Islands.............................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --
Costa Rica...............................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Cote D'Ivoire............................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Croatia..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Cuba.....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --
Cyprus...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Czech Republic...........................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Denmark..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      S      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Djibouti.................................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      S      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Dominica.................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      1      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Dominican Republic.......................................     S      P      P      S      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      S      P      P
East Timor...............................................    --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --
Ecuador..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Egypt....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
El Salvador..............................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      S      S      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Equatorial Guinea........................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Eritrea..................................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --      P     --
Estonia..................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Ethiopia.................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Fiji.....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P
Finland..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
France...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Gabon....................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Gambia...................................................     1      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      1      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      S      P      P
Georgia..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Germany..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Ghana....................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Greece...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Grenada..................................................     1      P      P      1      P      P      P     --     --      1      1      P      S      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Guatemala................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Guinea...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Guinea-Bissau............................................    --      P     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      S      S      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      S      P     --
Guyana...................................................     1      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --   .....     P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Haiti....................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      P     --
Holy See.................................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      P      P     --
Honduras.................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Hungary..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Iceland..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
India....................................................     P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      S      P     --
Indonesia................................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P
Iran.....................................................     S      P     --      P     --      P      P      S     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      S      S     --     --      P      P
Iraq.....................................................     P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P
Ireland..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Israel...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P
Italy....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Jamaica..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Japan....................................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Jordan...................................................     P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Kazakhstan...............................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      S      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Kenya....................................................    --      P     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Kiribati *...............................................     1      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      1      1      P     --      1      1     --      1     --     --     --     --      P     --      P     --
Korea, Dem. Rep. of *....................................    --     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --      P     --      P     --      P     --
Korea, Republic of *.....................................    --     --     --      P     --      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Kuwait...................................................     P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Kyrgyzstan...............................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Laos.....................................................    --      P     --      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      S      S     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Latvia...................................................     2     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Lebanon..................................................     2      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Lesotho..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Liberia..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      S     --      S      S      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Libya....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Liechtenstein *..........................................    --     --     --      P     --      P      P     --      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --
Lithuania................................................     S      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Luxembourg...............................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Macedonia................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Madagascar...............................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P      S     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Malawi...................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Malaysia.................................................    --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P
Maldives *...............................................    --     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P
Mali.....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Malta....................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Marshall Islands *.......................................    --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --      P     --
Mauritania...............................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Mauritius................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Mexico...................................................     P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P
Micronesia *.............................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P     --
Moldova..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Monaco *.................................................     P     --     --      P     --      P      P     --      S     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --
Mongolia.................................................     P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Montenegro *.............................................     P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --
Morocco..................................................     P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      S      S      P      P      P      P
Mozambique...............................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Namibia..................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Nauru *..................................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      S      S     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --      S      P     --
Nepal....................................................     P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P
Netherlands..............................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
New Zealand..............................................     P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Nicaragua................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Niger....................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Nigeria..................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Niue.....................................................    --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --
Norway...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Oman *...................................................    --      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Pakistan.................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      S     --     --     --      P      S      S      P     --      P      P
Palau....................................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      P     --
Panama...................................................     S      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Papua New Guinea.........................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P
Paraguay.................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      S      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Peru.....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      S      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Philippines..............................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      S      P      P      P      P      P
Poland...................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Portugal.................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Qatar....................................................    --      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P
Romania..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Russia...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Rwanda...................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Samoa *..................................................    --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      P      P      P     --      P     --
San Marino...............................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P      P      P
Sao Tome & Principe......................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      S      S      S      P      P     --      P      P      P      S      S      P      P
Saudi Arabia.............................................     P      P     --      P     --      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P
Senegal..................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Serbia...................................................    --      P      P     --      P     --      P     --      P     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --      P     --     --      P
Seychelles...............................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      1      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Sierra Leone.............................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --
Singapore................................................     P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P
Slovak Republic..........................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Slovenia.................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Solomon Islands..........................................     P      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      P      P     --      1     --      1      P      P     --     --      P      P      P     --      P     --
Somalia..................................................    --      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      S     --
South Africa *...........................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      S     --      P      P      P      S      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Spain....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Sri Lanka................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P
St. Kitts & Nevis *......................................     1      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      1      1      P      P     --     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
St. Lucia................................................     P      P      P      1      P      P      P     --     --      1      P      P      P     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P      P
St. Vincent & the Grenadines *...........................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Sudan....................................................     P      P     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      S      P      P
Suriname.................................................     2      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      1      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --      P      P
Swaziland................................................     1      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      1      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Sweden...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Switzerland..............................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Syria....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      P      P      P
Tajikistan *.............................................    --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Tanzania.................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Thailand.................................................    --      P     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --      P     --     --      P     --      P      P
Togo.....................................................     2      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Tonga *..................................................     1     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --      1      1      1      P     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      P     --
Trinidad & Tobago........................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
Tunisia..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Turkey...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      S      S      P      P     --      P     --     --      P      P      P      P
Turkmenistan.............................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --
Tuvalu *.................................................     1     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --      1      1     --     --      1     --      P      P     --     --     --     --      P     --      P     --
Uganda...................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Ukraine..................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
United Arab Emirates.....................................    --      P     --      P     --      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
United Kingdom...........................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
United States............................................     P     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      S     --      P      S     --      S      S      S      P      S      P
Uruguay..................................................     S      P      P      P      P      P      P     --     --      S      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Uzbekistan...............................................    --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --     --     --     --      P      P      P      P      P     --
Vanuatu *................................................    --     --      P     --      P      P      P     --     --     --      1      P     --     --     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --      P      P
Venezuela................................................    --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Vietnam *................................................     P     --     --      P     --      P      P     --     --     --     --     --      P      P      P     --     --     --      P      P     --      P     --      P      P
Yemen....................................................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Yugoslavia (the former Yugoslavia).......................     P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P     --
Zambia...................................................     P      P      P     --      P      P      P     --     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P
Zimbabwe.................................................     1      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P      P      P      P      P     --      P      P      P      P     --      P      P
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P = Party
S = Signatory
* = non-ILO member
1 = Based on general declaration concerning treaty obligations prior to independence
2 = Party to 1926 Convention only
 
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
 
Key to Human Rights Conventions:  A--Slavery  B--ILO Convention 29  C--ILO Convention 87  D-- Genocide  E--ILO Convention 98  F--Prisoners of War  G--Civilians in War  H--Traffic in Persons  I--European HR Conv.  J--Pol. Rights of
  Women  K--Suppl. Slavery Conv.  L--ILO Convention 105  M--Racial Discrimination  N--Civil and Pol. Rights  O--Econ./Soc./Cul. Rights  P--UN Refugee Convention  Q--UN Refugee Protocol  R--American HR Conv.  S--ILO Convention 138
  T--Geneva Protocol I  U--Geneva Protocol II  V--Disc. Against Women  W--Torture  X--Rights of the Child  Y--ILO Convention 182

                               APPENDIX D

                              ----------                              


  Description of International Human Rights Conventions in Appendix C

                              ----------                              

    A.  Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery of 
September 25,1926, as amended by the Protocol of December 7, 
1953.

    B.  Convention Concerning Forced Labor of June 28, 1930 
(ILO Convention 29).

    C.  Convention Concerning Freedom of Association and 
Protection of the Right to Organize of July 9, 1948 (ILO 
Convention 87).

    D.  Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 
Crime of Genocide of December 9, 1948.

    E.  Convention Concerning the Application of the Principles 
of the Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively of July 1, 
1949 (ILO Convention 98).

    F.  Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of 
Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949.

    G.  Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of 
Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949.

    H.  Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in 
Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others 
of March 21, 1950.

    I.  European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights 
and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950.

    J.  Convention on the Political Rights of Women of March 
31, 1953.

    K.  Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, 
the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to 
Slavery of September 7, 1956.

    L.  Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor of 
June 25, 1957 (ILO Convention 105).

    M.  International Convention on the Elimination of All 
Forms of Racial Discrimination of December 21, 1965.

    N.  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 
December 16, 1966.

    O.  International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
Rights of December 16, 1966.

    P.  Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of July 
28, 1951.

    Q.  Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of January 
31, 1967.

    R.  American Convention on Human Rights of November 22, 
1969.

    S.  Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to 
Employment of June 26, 1973 (ILO Convention 138).

    T.  Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 
12, 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of 
International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), of June 8, 1977.

    U.  Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 
12, 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-
International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), of June 8, 1977.

    V.  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
Discrimination Against Women of December 18, 1979.

    W.  Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
Degrading Treatment or Punishment of December 10, 1984.

    X.  Convention on the Rights of the Child of November 20, 
1989.

    Y.  Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate 
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor of 
June 17, 1999 (ILO Convention 182).

                              ----------                              



                                                                                                 APPENDIX E.--Country Assistance FY 2006
                                                                                                            ($ in thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Country/Account  Summary                TOTAL       ACI      SEED       FSA       CSH         DA        ESF        FMF        GHAI       IMET      INCLE       MRA        NADR       PKO       PL 480       TI       OTHER
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS                                           21,840,171   727,155   357,390   508,860  1,591,425  1,508,760  2,616,075  4,464,900  1,975,050     85,877    472,428    783,090    405,999    173,250  1,138,500     39,600  4,991,812
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Africa                                            3,635,295        --        --        --    391,936    596,273    133,135     13,860  1,239,152     10,177      3,168         --     26,446    110,866    850,873     14,583    244,826
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angola                                               32,171        --        --        --     13,634      5,468      2,970         --         --        486         --         --      6,120         --      3,493         --         --
Benin                                                16,731        --        --        --      7,606      4,378         --         --         --        145         --         --         --         --      1,591         --      3,011
Botswana                                             43,231        --        --        --         --         --         --         --     41,000        760         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,471
Burkina Faso                                         20,611        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        123         --         --         --         --     17,709         --      2,779
Burundi                                              25,488        --        --        --      2,570      2,917      3,811         --         --        140         --         --         --         --     14,669      1,381         --
Cameroon                                              3,225        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        231         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,994
Cape Verde                                            7,011        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        124         --         --         --         --      5,195         --      1,692
Central African                                         670        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        105         --         --         --         --        565         --         --
  Republic
Chad                                                 30,539        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        342         --         --      2,405         --     26,475         --      1,317
Comoros                                                  53        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         53         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Cote d'Ivoire                                        33,676        --        --        --         --         --         --         --     30,137         --         --         --        100         --      3,439         --         --
Democratic Republic of the Congo                     90,176        --        --        --     23,537     21,447      4,950         --         --        306         --         --         --         --     39,898         38         --
Djibouti                                             11,431        --        --        --         --         --      4,950      3,960         --        307         --         --        120         --      2,094         --         --
Eritrea                                               2,832        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        400         --      2,432         --         --
Ethiopia                                            307,850        --        --        --     30,692     31,910      9,900      1,980    109,500        594         --         --        270         --    123,004         --         --
Gabon                                                   231        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        231         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Gambia                                                5,202        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         72         --         --         --         --      3,034         --      2,096
Ghana                                                72,104        --        --        --     18,157     27,354         --        495         --        645         --         --        100         --     22,656         --      2,697
Guinea                                               27,139        --        --        --      7,001      9,140         --         --         --        376         --         --         --         --      8,330         --      2,292
Guinea-Bissau                                           136        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        136         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Kenya                                               272,677        --        --        --     17,840     21,615      6,420         --    175,950         --         --         --      4,763         --     42,965         --      3,124
Lesotho                                               2,297        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,297
Liberia                                             105,997        --        --        --      2,867     23,726     42,719      1,980         --        130        990         --        220         --     26,971      6,394         --
Madagascar                                           40,666        --        --        --     11,526     10,266         --         --         --        231         --         --         --         --     16,426         --      2,217
Malawi                                               50,047        --        --        --     21,125     18,632         --         --         --        345         --         --         --         --      7,838         --      2,107
Mali                                                 42,483        --        --        --     16,554     15,349         --         --         --         --         --         --        564         --      6,361         --      3,655
Mauritania                                            8,960        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      6,065         --      2,895
Mauritius                                             1,029        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        126         --         --        903         --         --         --         --
Mozambique                                          130,791        --        --        --     17,262     13,407         --         --     79,600        245         --         --      2,344         --     15,601         --      2,332
Namibia                                              62,395        --        --        --      1,168      7,079         --         --     51,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,648
Niger                                                23,162        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        905         --     19,445         --      2,812
Nigeria                                             180,354        --        --        --     21,544     12,488      4,950        990    138,600        792        990         --         --         --         --         --         --
Republic of the Congo                                   939        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        155         --         --         --         --        784         --         --
Rwanda                                               95,259        --        --        --      7,284      7,257         --         --     60,000        288         --         --         --         --     20,430         --         --
Sao Tome and Principe                                   289        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        289         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Senegal                                              51,245        --        --        --     14,001     25,909         --        495         --      1,089         --         --      1,200         --      4,503         --      4,048
Seychelles                                              103        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        103         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Sierra Leone                                         29,538        --        --        --         --      3,756     13,000         --         --        311         --         --         --         --     12,471         --         --
Somalia                                              35,289        --        --        --         --      7,912         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     27,377         --         --
South Africa                                        227,587        --        --        --      5,070     25,662      1,287         --    191,553         --        594         --         39         --         --         --      3,382
Sudan                                               498,773        --        --        --     19,000     70,000     19,800         --         --         --         --         --      3,020     70,000    145,208      6,755    164,990
Swaziland                                             2,005        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        123         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,882
Tanzania                                            154,013        --        --        --     21,954     12,617         --         --    100,312         --         --         --      2,701         --     13,711         --      2,718
Togo                                                  2,756        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         37         --         --         32         --         --         --      2,687
Uganda                                              246,232        --        --        --     20,648     23,414         --         --    145,000        340         --         --        140         --     54,862         --      1,828
Zambia                                              168,880        --        --        --     16,004     27,972         --         --    116,000        261         --         --        100         --      4,488         --      4,055
Zimbabwe                                             17,559        --        --        --     10,973      3,601      2,970         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         15         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Africa Regional                                   158,117        --        --        --     28,204     68,949     15,408      3,960         --        136        594         --         --     40,866         --         --         --
  Central Africa Regional                            17,500        --        --        --         --     17,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  East Africa Regional                               45,197        --        --        --     10,098     20,299         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     14,800
  Southern Africa                                   174,983        --        --        --      7,401     16,799         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    150,783         --         --
    Regional
  West Africa Regional                               57,666        --        --        --     18,216     39,450         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
East Asia & Pacific                                 537,360        --        --        --    106,551     96,988    181,665     37,867     31,214      9,169     10,395         --     31,049         --     14,068         --     18,394
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brunei                                                   18        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         18         --         --         --         --
Burma                                                10,890        --        --        --         --         --     10,890         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Cambodia                                             56,014        --        --        --     28,556      5,483     14,850        990         --         54         --         --      5,000         --         --         --      1,081
China                                                10,593        --        --        --         --      4,950      3,960         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,683
East Timor                                           23,487        --        --        --         --         --     18,810        990         --        193      1,485         --         --         --      1,182         --        827
Fiji                                                  2,561        --        --        --         --         --         --        494         --        235         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,832
Indonesia                                           157,168        --        --        --     28,017     33,199     69,300        990         --        938      4,950         --      6,888         --     12,886         --         --
Kiribati                                              1,362        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,362
Laos                                                  4,290        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --        990         --      3,300         --         --         --         --
Malaysia                                              2,417        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        891         --         --      1,526         --         --         --         --
Mongolia                                             13,008        --        --        --         --         --      7,425      2,970         --        866         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,747
Papua New Guinea                                        288        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        288         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Philippines                                         115,954        --        --        --     24,651     24,212     24,750     29,700         --      2,926      1,980         --      4,968         --         --         --      2,767
Samoa                                                 1,368        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,368
Singapore                                               140        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        140         --         --         --         --
Solomon Islands                                         171        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        149         --         --         --         --         --         --         22
Taiwan                                                  450        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        450         --         --         --         --
Thailand                                             12,035        --        --        --         --         --        990      1,485         --      2,369        990         --      3,989         --         --         --      2,212
Tonga                                                 1,732        --        --        --         --         --         --        248         --        113         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,371
Vanuatu                                               2,220        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         98         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,122
Vietnam                                              40,831        --        --        --         --      3,818      1,980         --     31,214         49         --         --      3,770         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  East Asia and Pacific                              29,710        --        --        --         --         --     28,710         --         --         --         --         --      1,000         --         --         --         --
    Regional
  Asia and Near East Regional                        17,654        --        --        --      6,386     11,268         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Regional Development                               32,999        --        --        --     18,941     14,058         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
    Mission--Asia
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Europe and Eurasia                                1,026,629        --   357,390   406,848      5,146        100     36,630    140,571         --     27,703         --         --     26,081         --      3,370         --     22,790
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albania                                              32,210        --    24,750        --         --         --         --      3,465         --      1,028         --         --      1,005         --         --         --      1,962
Armenia                                              76,312        --        --    69,000         --         --         --      3,960         --        838         --         --        700         --         --         --      1,814
Azerbaijan                                           47,873        --        --    34,205         --         --         --      3,960         --        823         --         --      5,064         --      1,954         --      1,867
Belarus                                              11,734        --        --    11,484         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        250         --         --         --         --
Bosnia and Herzegovina                               51,022        --    39,600        --         --         --         --      8,910         --        973         --         --      1,539         --         --         --         --
Bulgaria                                             35,177        --    20,100        --         --         --         --      9,900         --      1,580         --         --        400         --         --         --      3,197
Croatia                                              16,150        --    14,850        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,300         --         --         --         --
Cyprus                                               20,150        --        --        --         --         --     19,800         --         --         --         --         --        350         --         --         --         --
Czech Republic                                        5,993        --        --        --         --         --         --      3,957         --      2,036         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Estonia                                               5,797        --        --        --         --         --         --      4,451         --      1,296         --         --         50         --         --         --         --
Georgia                                              87,392        --        --    67,780         --        100         --     11,880         --      1,275         --         --      3,137         --      1,416         --      1,804
Greece                                                  573        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        573         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Hungary                                               4,799        --        --        --         --         --         --      2,474         --      1,685         --         --        640         --         --         --         --
Ireland                                              16,830        --        --        --         --         --     16,830         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Kosovo                                               77,800        --    77,700        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        100         --         --         --         --
Latvia                                                7,376        --        --        --         --         --         --      5,940         --      1,326         --         --        110         --         --         --         --
Lithuania                                             6,274        --        --        --         --         --         --      4,455         --      1,281         --         --        538         --         --         --         --
Macedonia                                            43,732        --    35,100        --         --         --         --      3,960         --        700         --         --      2,295         --         --         --      1,677
Malta                                                   760        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        760         --         --         --         --
Moldova                                              22,027        --        --    17,820         --         --         --        495         --        989         --         --        320         --         --         --      2,403
Montenegro                                           15,000        --    15,000        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Poland                                               31,840        --        --        --         --         --         --     29,700         --      2,140         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Portugal                                                593        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        593         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Romania                                              37,356        --    20,000        --         --         --         --     12,870         --      1,485         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,001
Russia                                               84,331        --        --    80,200      2,970         --         --         --         --        461         --         --        700         --         --         --         --
Serbia                                               71,010        --    69,450        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,560         --         --         --         --
Slovakia                                              5,328        --        --        --         --         --         --      3,960         --        962         --         --        406         --         --         --         --
Slovenia                                              1,439        --        --        --         --         --         --        494         --        895         --         --         50         --         --         --         --
Turkey                                               18,591        --        --        --         --         --         --     14,850         --      3,011         --         --        730         --         --         --         --
Ukraine                                             105,144        --        --    82,160      2,176         --         --     10,890         --      1,753         --         --      3,100         --         --         --      5,065
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Eurasia Regional                                   44,199        --        --    44,199         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Europe Regional                                    41,817        --    40,840        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        977         --         --         --         --
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Near East                                         5,221,406        --        --        --         --     10,284  1,351,350  3,814,469         --     12,244        990         --     16,798         --      4,723        343     10,205
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Algeria                                                 823        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        823         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Bahrain                                              19,005        --        --        --         --         --         --     15,593         --        651         --         --      2,761         --         --         --         --
Egypt                                             1,779,287        --        --        --         --         --    490,050  1,287,000         --      1,208         --         --      1,029         --         --         --         --
Iraq                                                 60,390        --        --        --         --         --     55,440         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,950
Israel                                            2,495,326        --        --        --         --         --    237,600  2,257,200         --         --         --         --        526         --         --         --         --
Jordan                                              462,427        --        --        --         --         --    247,500    207,900         --      3,020         --         --      2,491         --         --         --      1,516
Kuwait                                                  628        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        628         --         --         --         --
Lebanon                                              49,324        --        --        --         --      2,000     39,600      3,713         --        752         --         --      2,978         --        281         --         --
Morocco                                              38,937        --        --        --         --      8,284     10,890     12,375         --      1,884        990         --        775         --         --         --      3,739
Oman                                                 15,395        --        --        --         --         --         --     13,860         --      1,135         --         --        400         --         --         --         --
Qatar                                                   906        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        906         --         --         --         --
Saudi Arabia                                          1,577        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,577         --         --         --         --
Tunisia                                              10,285        --        --        --         --         --         --      8,413         --      1,847         --         --         25         --         --         --         --
United Arab Emirates                                    961        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        961         --         --         --         --
West Bank and Gaza                                  153,285        --        --        --         --         --    148,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,442        343         --
Yemen                                                18,700        --        --        --         --         --      7,920      8,415         --        924         --         --      1,441         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Near East Regional                                114,150        --        --        --         --         --    113,850         --         --         --         --         --        300         --         --         --         --
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
South and Central Asia                            2,084,389        --        --   102,012    168,381    248,639    747,470    305,118         --      9,085    267,620         --     57,536         --    166,457      3,497      8,574
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan                                         967,780        --        --        --     41,449    174,021    428,600         --         --        979    232,650         --     30,050         --     60,031         --         --
Azerbaijan                                            1,867        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,867
Bangladesh                                           85,275        --        --        --     31,509     10,889      4,950        990         --        930         --         --      5,094         --     30,207         --        706
India                                               124,949        --        --        --     52,815     19,700      4,950         --         --      1,272         --         --      2,711         --     43,501         --         --
Kazakhstan                                           33,783        --        --    24,750         --         --         --      3,465         --        995         --         --      2,041         --         --         --      2,532
Kyrgyz Republic                                      36,525        --        --    29,029         --         --         --      1,881         --        887         --         --      2,917         --         --         --      1,811
Maldives                                                173        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --        173         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Nepal                                                35,582        --        --        --     18,613      8,393      4,950         --         --        644         --         --         --         --      1,213      1,769         --
Pakistan                                            706,609        --        --        --     22,757     26,990    296,595    297,000         --      2,037     34,970         --      8,585         --     17,675         --         --
Sri Lanka                                            14,527        --        --        --         --      3,705      3,960        990         --        529         --         --      3,615         --         --      1,728         --
Tajikistan                                           40,403        --        --    23,760         --         --         --        495         --        348         --         --      1,970         --     13,830         --         --
Turkmenistan                                          7,596        --        --     4,950         --         --         --        297         --        291         --         --        400         --         --         --      1,658
Uzbekistan                                           17,820        --        --    17,820         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Central Asia Regional                               2,941        --        --     1,703      1,238         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  South Asia Regional                                 4,941        --        --        --         --      4,941         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  South and Central Asia                              3,618        --        --        --         --         --      3,465         --         --         --         --         --        153         --         --         --         --
    Regional
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Western Hemisphere                                1,639,779   683,325        --        --    140,861    262,360    120,456    109,950     65,300     12,876     63,535         --     13,710         --    109,613     13,623     44,170
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argentina                                             1,632        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --      1,082         --         --        550         --         --         --         --
Bahamas                                               1,747        --        --        --         --         --         --         99         --        399        495         --        754         --         --         --         --
Belize                                                2,334        --        --        --         --         --         --        198         --        294         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,842
Bolivia                                             136,678    79,200        --        --     17,233     10,091      5,940         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     15,953      5,373      2,888
Brazil                                               13,559     5,940        --        --      3,605      2,899         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,115         --         --         --         --
Chile                                                 1,708        --        --        --         --         --         --        592         --        646         --         --        470         --         --         --         --
Colombia                                            564,003   464,781        --        --         --         --         --     89,100         --      1,673         --         --      5,476         --      2,973         --         --
Costa Rica                                            1,731        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,731
Cuba                                                 10,894        --        --        --         --      1,984      8,910         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Dominican Republic                                   28,229        --        --        --     12,721      7,835        840        941         --      1,328         --         --      1,285         --         --         --      3,279
Eastern Caribbean                                     5,136        --        --        --         --         --         --        905         --        695         --         --        404         --         --         --      3,132
Ecuador                                              32,712    19,800        --        --         --      6,578      3,265         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,069
El Salvador                                          47,778        --        --        --      8,144     24,165         --      9,900         --      1,782         --         --        423         --        856         --      2,508
Guatemala                                            54,159        --        --        --     12,040     10,504      5,445         --         --        488      2,475         --         --         --     19,515         --      3,692
Guyana                                               23,846        --        --        --         --      3,920         --         99     18,000        312         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,515
Haiti                                               205,738        --        --        --     19,801     29,700     49,500        988     47,300        213     17,500         --         --         --     35,955      4,569        212
Honduras                                             53,105        --        --        --     13,140     20,604         --        891         --      1,218         --         --        315         --     13,105         --      3,832
Jamaica                                              17,580        --        --        --      4,472      7,821         --        594         --        908        990         --        110         --         --         --      2,685
Mexico                                               68,276        --        --        --      3,990     11,357     11,385         --         --          8     39,600         --        625         --         --         --      1,311
Nicaragua                                            50,178        --        --        --      7,699     22,169      3,366        594         --        740         --         --          9         --     13,006         --      2,595
Panama                                               10,423     4,455        --        --         --        200        990        990         --        894         --         --        175         --         --         --      2,719
Paraguay                                             13,313        --        --        --      2,884      4,385      1,980         --         --         --         --         --      1,010         --         --         --      3,054
Peru                                                144,340   106,920        --        --     14,213      9,369      2,765         --         --         --         --         --        205         --      8,250         --      2,618
Suriname                                              1,883        --        --        --         --         --         --         99         --        196         --         --        100         --         --         --      1,488
Trinidad and Tobago                                     234        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        234         --         --         --         --
Venezuela                                             5,910     2,229        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,681         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Caribbean Regional                                 11,326        --        --        --      6,435      4,891         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Central America                                    16,832        --        --        --      6,167     10,665         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
    Regional
  Latin America and Caribbean Regional               80,055        --        --        --      8,317     71,738         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  South America                                       1,485        --        --        --         --      1,485         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
    Regional
  Western Hemisphere                                 32,955        --        --        --         --         --     26,070      3,960         --         --      2,475         --        450         --         --         --         --
    Regional
========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================
Bureau of International Security and                169,813        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    169,813         --         --         --         --
 Nonproliferation
  CTBT International Monitoring System               14,207        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     14,207         --         --         --         --
  Export Control and Related Border Security         16,907        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     16,907         --         --         --         --
   Assistance
  Global Threat Reduction (formerly NWMDE)           52,074        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     52,074         --         --         --         --
  International Atomic Energy Agency Voluntary       49,500        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     49,500         --         --         --         --
   Contribution
  Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund              37,125        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     37,125         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Political and Military Affairs            128,311        --        --        --         --         --         --     43,065         --      4,623         --         --     18,239     62,384         --         --         --
  FMF Admin                                          41,085        --        --        --         --         --         --     41,085         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Military Health Affairs                             1,980        --        --        --         --         --         --      1,980         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IMET Admin                                          4,623        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --      4,623         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Global Peace Operations Initiative                 43,384        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     43,384         --         --         --
  Multinational Force and Observers                  19,000        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     19,000         --         --         --
  Humanitarian Demining Program                       7,890        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      7,890         --         --         --         --
  International Trust Fund                            9,900        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      9,900         --         --         --         --
  Small Arms/Light Weapons Destruction                  449        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        449         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration         817,740        --        --        --         --         --      4,950         --         --         --         --    783,090         --         --         --         --     29,700
  Administrative Expenses                            21,285        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     21,285         --         --         --         --         --
  Humanitarian Migrants to Israel                    39,600        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     39,600         --         --         --         --         --
  Migration                                          12,889        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     12,889         --         --         --         --         --
  Refugee Admissions                                159,440        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    159,440         --         --         --         --         --
  Strategic Global Priorities                        66,624        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     66,624         --         --         --         --         --
  MRA--Africa                                       245,486        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    245,486         --         --         --         --         --
  MRA--East Asia                                     22,594        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     22,594         --         --         --         --         --
  MRA--Europe                                        43,429        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     43,429         --         --         --         --         --
  MRA--Near East                                     97,215        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     97,215         --         --         --         --         --
  MRA--South Asia                                    50,193        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     50,193         --         --         --         --         --
  MRA--Western Hemisphere                            24,335        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     24,335         --         --         --         --         --
  US Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance      29,700        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     29,700
   (ERMA)
  Wheelchair Fund (PRM)                               4,950        --        --        --         --         --      4,950         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law           170,550    43,830        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --    126,720         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Enforcement Affairs
  Air Bridge Denial Program                          13,860    13,860        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Critical Flight Safety Program                     29,970    29,970        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Anticrime Programs                                 10,395        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --     10,395         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Civilian Police Programs                            1,980        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,980         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Demand Reduction                                    9,900        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --      9,900         --         --         --         --         --         --
  International Law Enforcement Academies            15,840        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --     15,840         --         --         --         --         --         --
  International Organizations                         3,960        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,960         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Interregional Aviation Support                     62,865        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --     62,865         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Trafficking in Persons                              4,950        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,950         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Program Development and Support                    16,830        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --     16,830         --         --         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor           94,050        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     94,050
  Democracy Fund                                     94,050        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     94,050
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Oceans and International                    7,920        --        --        --         --         --      7,920         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Environmental and Scientific Affairs
  Asia--Pacific Partnership                           1,000        --        --        --         --         --      1,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Oceans, Environmental and Science Initiative        6,920        --        --        --         --         --      6,920         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in          11,880        --        --        --         --         --     11,880         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Persons
  Trafficking in Persons                             11,880        --        --        --         --         --     11,880         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism       46,327        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     46,327         --         --         --         --
  Anti-Terrorism Assistance                          43,555        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     43,555         --         --         --         --
  Counter Terrorism Engagement with Allies              990        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        990         --         --         --         --
  Counter Terrorism Financing                         1,086        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,086         --         --         --         --
  Terrorist Interdiction Program                        696        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        696         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator          639,384        --        --        --         --         --         --         --    639,384         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Central Programs                                  285,232        --        --        --         --         --         --         --    285,232         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  International Partnerships                        227,700        --        --        --         --         --         --    227,700         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Other Bilateral Programs                           50,552        --        --        --         --         --         --         --     50,552         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Strategic Information/Evaluation                   31,185        --        --        --         --         --         --         --     31,185         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Technical Oversight and Management                 44,715        --        --        --         --         --         --         --     44,715         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID Functional Bureaus and Admin                2,008,355        --        --        --    778,550    294,116     20,619         --         --         --         --         --         --         --   --10,604      7,554    918,120
  Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian             128,183        --        --        --      2,970    107,564     17,649         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Assistance (DCHA)
  DCHA Contingency                                    7,554        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      7,554         --
  P.L. 480 Adjustment                               -10,604        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     10,604         --         --
  International Disaster and Famine Assistance      181,560        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    181,560
   (IDFA)
  Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (EGAT)     168,968        --        --        --         --    165,998      2,970         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Global Development Alliances (GDA)                 12,180        --        --        --        300     11,880         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Global Health (GH)                                320,387        --        --        --    320,387         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  International Partnerships                        452,319        --        --        --    452,319         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Legislative & Public Affairs                        1,801        --        --        --         --      1,801         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Policy and Program Coordination (PPC)               9,447        --        --        --      2,574      6,873         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Development Credit Program--Subsidy        [21,000]        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --   [21,000]
  USAID Development Credit Authority--Admin           7,920        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      7,920
  USAID Operating Expense                           623,700        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    623,700
  USAID Capital Investment Fund                      69,300        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     69,300
  USAID IG Operating Expense                         35,640        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     35,640
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Organization                          303,888        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    303,888
  Center for Human Settlements                          149        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        149
  IMO Maritime Security Programs                        396        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        396
  International Civil Aviation Organization             941        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        941
  International Conservation Programs                 5,890        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      5,890
  International Contributions for Scientific,           990        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        990
   Educational, and Cultural Activities
  International Panel on Climate Change/UN            5,940        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      5,940
   Framework Convention on Climate Change
  Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund                21,285        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     21,285
  OAS Development Assistance Programs                 4,702        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,702
  OAS Fund for Strengthening Democracy                2,475        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,475
  UN Children's Fund                                125,730        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    125,730
  UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF)                        [10,000]        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --   [10,000]
  UN Development Fund for Women                       3,218        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,218
  UN Development Program                            108,900        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    108,900
  UN Environment Program                             10,159        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     10,159
  UN Office for the Coordination of                     805        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        805
   Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA)
  UN Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation         1,485        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,485
   in the Field of Human Rights
  UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture            6,517        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      6,517
  UNIFEM Trust Fund                                   1,485        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,485
  World Meteorological Organization                   1,881        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,881
  World Trade Organization                              940        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        940
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent Department and Agencies               2,019,859        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --  2,019,859
  African Development Foundation                     22,770        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     22,770
  Treasury Technical Assistance                      19,800        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     19,800
  Debt Restructuring                                 64,350        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     64,350
  Export-Import Bank--Administrative Expenses        72,468        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     72,468
  Export-Import Bank--Direct Loans, Negative       --50,000        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --   --50,000
   Subsidies
  Export-Import Bank--Inspector General                 990        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        990
  Export-Import Bank--Loan Subsidy                   74,000        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     74,000
  Inter-American Foundation                          19,305        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     19,305
  Millennium Challenge Account                    1,752,300        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --  1,752,300
  OPIC--Administrative Expenses                      41,851        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     41,851
  OPIC--Credit Subsidy                               20,073        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     20,073
  OPIC--Net Offsetting Collections                --223,000        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --  --223,000
  Peace Corps Other                                 154,561        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    154,561
  Trade and Development Agency                       50,391        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     50,391
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Financial Institutions              1,277,236        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --  1,277,236
  Global Environment Facility                        79,200        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     79,200
  International Development Association             940,500        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    940,500
  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency            1,287        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,287
  Asian Development Fund                             99,000        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     99,000
  African Development Fund                          134,343        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    134,343
  African Development Bank                            3,602        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,602
  European Bank for Reconstruction and                1,006        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,006
   Development
  Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral            1,724        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,724
   Investment Fund
  Inter-American Investment Corporation               1,724        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,724
  International Fund for Agricultural                14,850        --        --        --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     14,850
   Development
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Other: ERMA, IDFA, DF, IRRF, Peace Corps, U.S. ID administrative accounts, International Financial Institutions, International Organizations and Programs, and Independent Agencies
Note: The table includes total allocations of Foreign Operations programs and P.L. 480 Title II.


                                                                                      FY 2006 Supplemental
                                                                                        ($ in thousands)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Country/Account Summary                      TOTAL       CSH        DA        ESF      IDFA      INCLE       MRA        PKO       PL 480        DF         IRRF       Other*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2006 SUPPLEMENTAL                                         2,881,030    113,000    16,500  1,681,00   217,630    107,700     75,700    178,000     350,000      22,500       5,000     114,000
                                                                                                    0
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Africa                                                         589,800         --        --    50,000    66,300         --         --    121,000     350,000       2,500          --          --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Democratic Republic of the Congo--Democracy Fund                 2,500         --        --        --        --         --         --         --          --       2,500          --          --
Ethiopia                                                        21,500         --        --        --        --         --         --         --      21,500          --          --          --
Kenya                                                           49,500         --        --        --        --         --         --         --      49,500          --          --          --
Liberia                                                         50,000         --        --    50,000        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
Somalia                                                         54,000         --        --        --        --         --         --         --      54,000          --          --          --
Sudan                                                          407,300         --        --        --    66,300         --         --    116,000     225,000          --          --          --
Africa Regional                                                  5,000         --        --        --        --         --         --      5,000          --          --          --          --
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Near East                                                    1,646,400         --        --  1,530,00        --     91,400         --         --          --      20,000       5,000          --
                                                                                                    0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iran--Democracy Fund                                            20,000         --        --        --        --         --         --         --          --      20,000          --          --
Iraq                                                         1,571,400         --        --  1,480,00        --     91,400         --         --          --          --          --          --
                                                                                                    0
Jordan                                                          50,000         --        --    50,000        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund                              5,000         --        --        --        --         --         --         --          --          --       5,000          --
================================================================================================================================================================================================
South and Central Asia                                          99,300      5,300    10,500    83,500        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan                                                     43,000         --        --    43,000        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
Pakistan                                                        56,300      5,300    10,500    40,500        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Western Hemisphere                                              42,300      2,500     6,000    17,500        --     16,300         --         --          --          --          --          --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colombia                                                        16,300         --        --        --        --     16,300         --         --          --          --          --          --
Guatemala                                                        6,000         --     6,000        --        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
Haiti                                                           20,000      2,500        --    17,500        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Bureau of Political and Military Affairs                        57,000         --        --        --        --         --         --     57,000          --          --          --          --
  Global Peace Operations Initiative                            57,000         --        --        --        --         --         --     57,000          --          --          --          --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration                   75,700         --        --        --        --         --     75,700         --          --          --          --          --
  Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA)                        75,700         --        --        --        --         --     75,700         --          --          --          --          --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USAID                                                          357,530    105,200        --        --   151,330         --         --         --          --          --          --     101,000
  Global Health--Avian Influenza (GH)                          105,200    105,200        --        --        --         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
  DCHA Contingency                                             151,330         --        --        --   151,330         --         --         --          --          --          --          --
  USAID Operating Expenses (OE)                                101,000         --        --        --        --         --         --         --          --          --          --     101,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Treasury                                          13,000         --        --        --        --         --         --         --          --          --          --      13,000
  Treasury Technical Assistance                                 13,000         --        --        --        --         --         --         --          --          --          --      13,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Other: U.S. ID OE and Treasury Technical Assistance

                               APPENDIX F

                              ----------                              


  UN General Assembly's Third Committee Country Resolution Votes--2006

                              ----------                              





                      UN General Assembly's Third Committee Country Resolution Votes--2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Belarus          Burma           DPRK            Iran
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    05      06      05      06      05      06      05      06
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afganistan......................................               y               y       y       y       n       n
Albania.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Algeria.........................................               n               n       a       n       n       n
Andorra.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Angola..........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Antigua-Barbuda.................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Argentina.......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Armenia.........................................               n               y                       n       n
Australia.......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Austria.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Azerbaijan......................................                               n       y       a       n       n
Bahamas.........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Bahrain.........................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Bangladesh......................................               n               n       a       a       n       n
Barbados........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Belarus.........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Belgium.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Belize..........................................               a               a       y       y       y       y
Benin...........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Bhutan..........................................               a               a       y       y       a       a
Bolivia.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       a
Bosnia/Herzeg...................................               y               y       y       y       y       a
Botswana........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Brazil..........................................               a               y       y       y       a       a
Brunei Dar-Salam................................               a               n       a       a       n       n
Bulgaria........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Burkina Faso....................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Burundi.........................................               a               y       a       a       a       y
Cambodia........................................                               n               a               a
Cameroon........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Canada..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Cape Verde......................................               a               a               a       a       a
Central Afr Rep.................................                               a               a       a
Chad............................................
Chile...........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
China...........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Colombia........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Comoros.........................................                                               y               n
Congo...........................................               a               n               a               a
Costa Rica......................................               a               a       y       a       y       a
Cote D'ivoire...................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Croatia.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Cuba............................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Cyprus..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Czech Republic..................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Dem Rep of Korea................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Dem Rep of Congo................................               n               n       a       a       a       n
Denmark.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Djibouti........................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Dominica........................................
Dominican Rep...................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Ecuador.........................................               a               y       y       y       y       y
Egypt...........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
El Salvador.....................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Equat Guinea....................................                                       a               y
Eritrea.........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Estonia.........................................               y               y       a       y       y       y
Ethiopia........................................               n               a       a       a       a       a
Fiji............................................               y               a       y       y       y       y
Finland.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
France..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Gabon...........................................
Gambia..........................................                                       n               n
Georgia.........................................               y               y       y               a
Germany.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Ghana...........................................               a               a       a       y       a       a
Greece..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Grenada.........................................
Guatemala.......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Guinea..........................................               a               n       n       n       n
Guinea-Bissau...................................               a               a       a       y       a
Guyana..........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Haiti...........................................               a               a       y       a       y       a
Honduras........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Hungary.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Iceland.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
India...........................................               n               n       a       a       n       n
Indonesia.......................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Iran (Islamic Rep)..............................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Iraq............................................                                       y       y       a
Ireland.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Israel..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Italy...........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Jamaica.........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Japan...........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Jordan..........................................               a               a       a       a               a
Kazakhstan......................................               n               a       y       y       n       n
Kenya...........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Kiribati........................................                                                       y       y
Kuwait..........................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Kyrgyzstan......................................               n               a       a       a       n       n
Lao Rep.........................................               a               n       n       n       a       a
Latvia..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Lebanon.........................................               n               y               y       n       n
Lesotho.........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Liberia.........................................                                               a
Libyan AJ.......................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Liechtenstein...................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Lithuania.......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Luxembourg......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Madagascar......................................               a               a               a               a
Malawi..........................................               a               a               y               a
Malaysia........................................               n               n       n       a       n       n
Maldives........................................                                       y       y       n       n
Mali............................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Malta...........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Marshall Islands................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Mauritania......................................               a               a               a       n       n
Maurtius........................................               a               y       a       a       a       a
Mexico..........................................               a               y       y       y       y       a
Micronesia (FS).................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Moldova.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Monaco..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Mongolia........................................               a               y                       a       a
Montenegro......................................               y               y               y               y
Morocco.........................................               n               y       a       y       n       n
Mozambique......................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Myanmar.........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Namibia.........................................               a               a       a       n       a       a
Nauru...........................................                               y       y       y       y       y
Nepal...........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Netherlands.....................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
New Zealand.....................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Nicaragua.......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Niger...........................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Nigeria.........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Norway..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Oman............................................                                                       n       n
Pakistan........................................               n               n       a       a       n       n
Palau...........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Panama..........................................               a               y       y       y       a       a
Papua N Guinea..................................               a               a       y       y       y       a
Paraguay........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Peru............................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Philippines.....................................               a               a       a       y       a       a
Poland..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Portugal........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Qatar...........................................               n               a       a       a       n       n
Rep of Korea....................................               y               y       a       y       a       a
Romania.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Russian Federation..............................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Rwanda..........................................               a               a               a       a       a
St Kitts-Nevis..................................                                       a
Saint Lucia.....................................                                       a               n
St Vincent-Grenedines...........................                                       y               y
Samoa...........................................               a               a       y       y       y       y
San Marino......................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Sao Tome Principe...............................
Saudi Arabia....................................               a               a       y       y       n       n
Senegal.........................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Serbia..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Seychelles......................................
Sierra Leone....................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Singapore.......................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Slovakia........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Slovenia........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Solomon Islands.................................               a               a       a       y       y       y
Somalia.........................................                                                       n
South Africa....................................               n               a       a       a       n       n
Spain...........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Sri Lanka.......................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Sudan...........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Suriname........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Swaziland.......................................               a               a       n       a       n       a
Sweden..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Switzerland.....................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Syrian AR.......................................               n               n       y       n       n       n
Tajikistan......................................               n                       n       n       n       n
Thailand........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
The FYR Macedonia...............................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Timor-Leste.....................................               y               y       y       y       y
Togo............................................               a               a       a       n       n       n
Tonga...........................................               y               y               y       y       y
Trinidad-Tobago.................................               a               a       a               a
Tunisia.........................................                                       a               n       n
Turkey..........................................               y               y       y       y
Turkmenistan....................................               a               a       n       a       n       a
Tuvalu..........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Uganda..........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Ukraine.........................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
U A Emirates....................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
United Kingdom..................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
U R Tanzania....................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
United States...................................               y               y       y       y       y       y
Uruguay.........................................               y               y       y       y               a
Uzbekistan......................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Vanuatu.........................................                                       a               y       y
Venezuela.......................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Vietnam.........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
Yemen...........................................               a               a       a       a       n       n
Zambia..........................................               a               a       a       a       a       a
Zimbabwe........................................               n               n       n       n       n       n
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Final Vote
    yes.........................................              70              79      84      91      77      70
    no..........................................              31              28      22      21      51      48
    abstain.....................................              67              63      62      60      46      55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               APPENDIX G

                              ----------                              


                 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

                              ----------                              


                                Preamble

    Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the 
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family 
is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

    Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have 
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience 
of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings 
shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear 
and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the 
common people,

    Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to 
have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny 
and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the 
rule of law,

    Whereas it is essential to promote the development of 
friendly relations between nations,

    Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the 
Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in 
the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal 
rights of men and women and have determined to promote social 
progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

    Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, 
in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of 
universal respect for and observance of human rights and 
fundamental freedoms,

    Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms 
is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this 
pledge,

    Now, therefore, The General Assembly, proclaims this 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of 
achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that 
every individual and every organ of society, keeping this 
Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and 
education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and 
by progressive measures, national and international, to secure 
their universal and effective recognition and observance, both 
among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the 
peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1

    All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and 
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should 
act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

    Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set 
forth in this Declaration, without distinction of an kind, such 
as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other 
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other 
status.

    Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of 
the political, jurisdictional or international status of the 
country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be 
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other 
limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3

    Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of 
person.

Article 4

    No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and 
the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5

    No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman 
or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6

    Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a 
person before the law.

Article 7

    All are equal before the law and are entitled without any 
discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled 
to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of 
this Declaration and against any incitement to such 
discrimination.

Article 8

    Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the 
competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental 
rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

    No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or 
exile.

Article 10

    Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public 
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the 
determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal 
charge against him.

Article 11

    1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to 
be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a 
public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary 
for his defence.

    2. No one shall be held guilty without any limitation due 
to race, of any penal offence on account of nationality or 
religion, have the any act or omission which did not constitute 
a penal offence, under national or international law, at the 
time when it was committed.

Article 12

    No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with 
his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks 
upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the 
protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

    1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and 
residence within the borders of each state.

    2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including 
his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

    1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other 
countries asylum from persecution.

    2. This right may not be invoked in the case of 
prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or 
from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United 
Nations.

Article 15

    1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.

    2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality 
nor be denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

    1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to 
race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to 
found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to 
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

    2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and 
full consent of the intending spouses.

    3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of 
society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

    1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as 
in association with others.

    2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18

    Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience 
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his 
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community 
with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion 
or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19

    Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and 
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions 
without interference and to seek, receive and impart 
information and ideas through any media and regardless of 
frontiers.

Article 20

    1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly 
and association.

    2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

    1. Everyone has the right to take part in the Government of 
his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

    2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service 
in his country.

    3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the 
authority of government; this will shall be expressed in 
periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and 
equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by 
equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

    1. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to 
social security and is entitled to realization, through 
national effort and international cooperation and in accordance 
with the organization and resources of each State, of the 
economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his 
dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23

    1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of 
employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to 
protection against unemployment.

    2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to 
equal pay for equal work.

    3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable 
remuneration insuring for himself and his family an existence 
worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by 
other means of social protection.

    4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions 
for the protection of his interests.

Article 24

    Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including 
reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays 
with pay.

Article 25

    1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate 
for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, 
including food, clothing, housing and medical care and 
necessary social services, and the right to security in the 
event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age 
or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his 
control.

    2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care 
and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of 
wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

    1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be 
free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. 
Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and 
professional education shall be made generally available and 
higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the 
basis of merit.

    2. Education shall be directed to the full development of 
the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for 
human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote 
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, 
racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of 
the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

    3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of 
education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27

    1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the 
cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share 
in scientific advancement and its benefits.

    2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral 
and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary 
or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28

    Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in 
which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can 
be fully realized.

Article 29

    1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the 
free and full development of his personality is possible.

    2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone 
shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by 
law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and 
respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting 
the just requirements of morality, public order and the general 
welfare in a democratic society.

    3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised 
contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30

    Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying 
for any State, group or person any right to engage in any 
activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any 
of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting
Resolution 217(A)(III) of the United Nations General Assembly,
December 10, 1948

(THIS MATERIAL IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND MAY BE REPRINTED WITHOUT 
          PERMISSION; CITATION OF THIS SOURCE IS APPRECIATED.)

                                 
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